Category: Jonathan Raksin

Bill’s time: 11m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Like Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher, some say : MISCAST

Lee Child is the pen name of British thriller writer Jim Grant. The hero of Child’s stories is an American ex-military policeman named Jack Reacher. The novel “One Shot” was adapted for the big screen as “Jack Reacher”, which was released in 2012 with Tom Cruise in the title role.

8A App brought back by Microsoft in 2024 : MSN

Microsoft Network (MSN)

15A Disney film set in a fictional Colombian village : ENCANTO

“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).

19A Fast-paced scam, such as the shell game : SHORT CON

A shell game (also “thimblerig”) is a gambling game, at least at first sight. It is usually a confidence trick. Typically, a small ball is placed under three face-down containers on a flat surface. The containers are shuffled around, and a player wins if he or she can “follow the ball” and correctly guess which container has that ball. In an illegal street game, the operator will often use sleight of hand to fool the players. The alternative name “thimblerig” comes from the fact that the con was originally played out using sewing thimbles.

23A Folkie DiFranco : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a feminist icon, and in 2006 won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

26A “___ Recall” (1990 sci-fi film) : TOTAL

“Total Recall” is a very entertaining 1990 sci-fi action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is loosely based on a short story by Philip K. Dick called “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”. The 1990 film was remade in 2012. The 2012 version stars Colin Farrell, and is very forgettable …

31A Jay who hosted the 2020s revival of “You Bet Your Life” : LENO

“You Bet Your Life” is a quiz show first aired on radio, in 1947. Host of the original show was the celebrated Groucho Marx. Groucho then took the show to television in 1950, while still hosting the radio version until 1960. The TV format was renamed to “The Groucho Show”, and it ceased airing in 1961. “You Bet Your Life” was revived several times. A 1980-81 version was hosted by Buddy Hackett, a 1992-93 version by Bill Cosby, and a 2021-23 version by Jay Leno.

47A Osso ___ (veal dish) : BUCO

Osso buco is a traditional Italian dish that is typically made with veal shanks that are braised with vegetables and herbs. The name “osso buco” means “bone with a hole” in Italian, which refers to the marrow-filled bone in the center of the veal shank. The marrow is considered a delicacy and is often scooped out and served with the dish.

49A Blond, but not really : DYED

In today’s world, the usage of masculine and feminine forms of English words is largely frowned upon. The one word that seems to have retained its gender specificity is “blond”, the feminine version of which is “blonde”.

51A Many a discovery in the Valley of the Kings : TOMB

The Valley of the Kings in Egypt is located on the west bank of the Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, the site of ancient Thebes. There are about 60 individual burial chambers in the area that housed the bodies of notable royals and nobles of Ancient Egypt.

57A ___ With Friends : WORDS

“Words With Friends” (WWF) is a word game application that can be played on smartphones and other electronic devices. “Words With Friends” is basically Scrabble under a different name, or so I hear.

61A Vardalos of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” : NIA

Not only is Nia Vardalos the star of the 2002 hit movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, she also wrote the screenplay. The film never made it to number one at the box office, but it still pulled in more money than any other movie up to that time that didn’t make it to number one. That record I think reflects the fact that the film wasn’t a blockbuster but rather a so-called “sleeper hit”, a movie that people went to see based on referrals from friends. The big fat mistake came when a spin-off TV show was launched, “My Big Fat Greek Life”. It ran for only 7 episodes. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” hit movie theaters in 2016.

65A AFTER (Deck 2): Noted quality of the Fonz : COOLNESS

Fonzie is a character in the sitcom “Happy Days” that was originally aired from 1974 to 1984. The Fonz (aka Arthur Fonzarelli) was written as a secondary character, but eventually took over the show. Fonzie is played by Henry Winkler.

67A Geraldo Rivera uncovered his “vaults” on live TV : AL CAPONE

In the 1980s a construction company surveyed the Lexington Hotel in Chicago prior to starting renovations. In the process the engineers turned up a hidden shooting range and tunnels leading from a suite that used to be occupied by gangster Al Capone. Further investigation unearthed a vault beneath the hotel, the opening of which became the subject of a television special hosted by Geraldo Rivera. The walls to the vault were demolished on live TV after a great deal of hype, but inside was nothing but a pile of debris.

72A “___ the Day” (Thomas Pynchon’s longest novel) : AGAINST

Thomas Pynchon is an American novelist who won the 1974 National Book Award for Fiction for “Gravity’s Rainbow”. He is a well-known recluse, and is famously shy of dealing with the media. There are remarkably few photographs of Pynchon in the public domain.

74A Was up the river : DID TIME

The pen (penitentiary) is “up the river”. The phrase derives from the fact that Sing Sing prison (in Ossining, NY) is up the Hudson River from New York City.

75A Awards achievement reached in 2026 by Steven Spielberg : EGOT

Steven Spielberg achieved the much-respected EGOT awards combination in 2026 by winning a Best Music Film Grammy as a producer for the documentary “Music by John Williams”. His other honors include Oscars for “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan”, a Tony Award for producing the Broadway musical “A Strange Loop”, and multiple Emmy Awards for TV miniseries including “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific”.

77A Rival of a Raven : STEELER

The Pittsburgh Steelers football team was founded in 1933, making it the oldest franchise in the AFC. Back in 1933, the team was known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates name was chosen as the Pittsburgh baseball team was the Pirates. The name was changed to the Steelers in 1940, and then the Steagles in 1943 when the team merged with the Philadelphia Eagles. There was a further merger in 1944, with the Chicago Cardinals to form Card-Pitt. The Steelers name was resurrected in 1945.

The name of the Baltimore Ravens football team has a literary derivation. Baltimore was the home of the writer Edgar Allan Poe, and so the team took its moniker from his most famous poem, “The Raven”. The name was selected in a fan contest. Baltimore’s mascot is a raven named Poe. Prior to the 2008 season, the Ravens had a trio of avian mascots: Edgar, Allan and Poe.

Down

1D Paul who played William Shakespeare in “Hamnet” : MESCAL

2025’s “Hamnet” is a historical drama film based on a 2020 novel of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell, who also co-wrote the movie’s screenplay. The story follows William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes (also “Anne”) Hathaway, as they deal with the death of Hamnet, their 11-year-old son.

4D “Just What I Needed” band, with “the” : … CARS

The Cars are a rock band from Boston, Massachusetts who were at the height of their success in the late seventies and early eighties.

5D Disney+ series whose name sounds like a compound conjunction : ANDOR

The TV show “Star Wars: Andor” serves as a prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One”, which itself is a prequel to the first “Star Wars” movie, released in 1977. The title character is Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna.

7D “The Complete Works of …” books, say : TOMES

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

8D Booker T.’s backing band : MGS

Booker T. & the M.G.’s were in effect the house band at Stax Records, and so appeared on loads of famous recordings including some by Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. As such, they became synonymous with what became known as the Stax Sound. One of the unique things about the band was that it was racially integrated, with two white guys making a name for themselves in soul music, which at the time was very much part of black culture. And of course Booker T. & the M.G.’s produced the fabulous 1962 hit “Green Onions”.

9D Neighborhood mentioned in “Werewolves of London” : SOHO

The area of London called Soho had a very poor reputation for most of the 20th century as it was home to the city’s red-light district. Soho went through a transformation in recent decades, and has been a very fashionable neighborhood since the 1980s.

10D Former queen of Jordan : NOOR

Queen Noor is the widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was born Lisa Halaby in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Najeeb Halaby. Her father was appointed by President Kennedy as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, and later became the CEO of Pan Am. Lisa Halaby met King Hussein in 1977, while working on the design of Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport. The airport was named after King Hussein’s third wife who had been killed that year in a helicopter crash. Halaby and the King were married the next year, in 1978.

12D Mixed martial arts org. : UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …

13D Bay Area airport code : SFO

The San Francisco Bay Area is served by three major airports: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).

17D Instrument ridge : FRET

A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

21D Valvoline rival : STP

Valvoline is the oldest brand of motor oil marketed here in the US. The formulation was trademarked in 1873.

25D Gathering, informally : SESH

Session (abbreviated to “sess.” formally, and “sesh” informally)

27D Cat that’s spotted in South America : OCELOT

The ocelot is a wild cat found mainly in South and Central America, although there have been sightings as far north as Arkansas. An ocelot doesn’t look too different from a domestic cat, and some have been kept as pets. Perhaps most famously, Salvador Dali had one that he carried around everywhere with him.

29D Sale caveat : AS IS

A caveat is a warning or a qualification. “Caveat” is the Latin for “let him, her, or it beware”.

38D Subject of a declassified Pentagon document, in brief : UFO

In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.

39D Averted a tag, maybe : SLID

That would be baseball.

40D Start of a counting-out rhyme : EENY

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

42D Lions and Bears are in it, in brief : NFC

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that play home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

The Chicago Bears football team was founded in Decatur, Illinois in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. The Bears are one of only two franchises in the NFL that were around at the time of the league’s founding (the other being the Arizona Cardinals, also based in Chicago in 1921).

45D Goulash, e.g. : STEW

Goulash is a soup or stew that is seasoned with spices, especially paprika. It is a national dish of Hungary, and the term “goulash” comes from the Hungarian word “gulyás”, which actually translates as “herdsman”. The original goulash was a meat dish prepared by herdsmen.

46D UV blockage fig. : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

56D Research for a political hit, slangily : OPPO

In the world of politics, “oppo” is “opposition research”. The idea is to collect information on one’s opponent that can be used against them.

59D Give minimum effort : DOG IT

To dog it is to not expend the effort necessary to accomplish a task. Folks tell me that the expression is quite common, but I must confess that I personally haven’t heard it used outside of crosswords. I’ll have to listen more carefully in the future …

60D British glam rock band of the 1970s : SLADE

Slade is a favorite band from my youth, a rock band from the West Midlands in England who made it big during the seventies. One of Slade’s hallmark marketing techniques was a deliberate misspelling of their song titles. A couple of those titles are “Gudbuy T’Jane” and my personal favorite “Cum On Feel the Noize”.

64D 411 : INFO

Several large US cities started using the telephone number “411” in the 1930s for local directory assistance. “411” was used in markets where the Bell System of telephone companies was prevalent. The number “113” served the same purpose on markets dominated by GTE and other telephone companies, with the last such usage of “113” disappearing in the 1980s. The term “4-1-1” is now used in North America as slang for “information”.

66D TV’s Nick at ___ : NITE

“Nick at Nite” is the name given to the late-night programming aired on the Nickelodeon channel space. Nick at Nite started broadcasting in 1985 and was conceived as television’s first “oldies” television network.

68D Record : LOG

The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.

69D Bill’s partner : COO

When birds bill and coo together they touch beaks and make noises to each other. The term “bill and coo” is also used when two lovers talk quietly to each other, and kiss.