Category: Paolo Pasco

Bill’s time: 22m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sonic boom generator? : SEGA

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

5 “Curious George” channel : PBS

Curious George is a character in a series of children’s books written by husband and wife Hans Augusto and Margret Rey. The couple wrote the original stories in Paris, taking the manuscripts with them as they fled from the city ahead of the Nazi invasion in 1940.

13 Chris of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” : PRATT

Chris Pratt is an actor who really got his big break playing the rather dopey Andy Dwyer on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. Pratt then played a pretty macho role as a SEAL team operator in “Zero Dark Thirty”, before taking leading heroic roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World”. Pratt was married from 2009 until 2018 to Anna Faris, the comedic actress who plays Christy Plunkett on the sitcom “Mom”.

17 “Vive ___!” : LE ROI

“Vive le roi!” is French for “Long live the king!” “À bas le roi!” is French for “Down with the king!”, which was a phrase often heard during the French Revolution.

19 English rock band with a string section, for short : ELO

The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is a symphonic rock group from the north of England.

22 Word before drum or trumpet : EAR-

The eardrum lies at the intersection of the outer ear and middle ear. Also called the tympanic membrane, the eardrum picks up vibrations in air caused by sound waves, and transmits these vibrations to three tiny bones called “ossicles”. These ossicles (hammer, anvil and stirrup) are in the middle ear, and transmit the vibration to an oval window. The oval window is the membrane-covered opening lying at the intersection of the middle ear and the inner ear. The vibrations are transmitted into fluid in the inner ear, and converted into nerve impulses in the cochlea that are transmitted to the brain.

27 Company with a pine tree and mountains in its logo : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

28 “Otello,” for one : OPERA

Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” was first performed in 1887 at La Scala Theater in Milan. The opera is based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello” and is considered by many to be Verdi’s greatest work.

29 “Otello” composer : VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer, mainly of operas, who was active during the Romantic era. Equally as famous as Verdi’s operas, are arias and choruses from those operas such as “La donna è mobile” from “Rigoletto”, “The Drinking Song” from “La Traviata” and “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from “Nabucco”. Verdi was a big fan of William Shakespeare and wrote three operas based on the Bard’s plays: “Macbeth”, “Otello” and “Falstaff”.

32 Lake home to the cryptid “Bessie” : ERIE

The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology, and a cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

35 “Hogwash!” : LIES

“Hogwash” means “rubbish, of little value”. “Hogwash” was originally the name of swill fed to pigs.

36 “___ puns are a rare medium well done” (dad joke) : STEAK

Here are a few dad jokes that I use to annoy my kids:

• When does a joke become a “dad joke”? When it becomes apparent.
• I had a happy childhood. My dad used to put me in tires and roll me down hills. Those were Goodyears.
• It’s a shame that the Beatles didn’t make the submarine in that song green. That would’ve been sublime.
• I told your mom she needs to start embracing her mistakes. So she hugged me
• When your mom is depressed, I let her color in my tattoos. She just needs a shoulder to crayon.

40 “Hotel Transylvania” nickname : DRAC

“Hotel Transylvania” Is an animated film released in 2012. Hotel Transylvania of the title, is owned by Count Dracula and is used by the world’s monsters to get some time away from human civilization. Count Dracula is played by comedy actor Adam Sandler.

42 Kiss in Kent : SNOG

“Snogging” is British slang of unknown origin that dates back to the end of WWII. The term is used for “kissing and cuddling”, what we call “making out” over here in the US.

Kent is a county in the southeast of England. Kent is a little unusual in that it shares a “land” border with France. That border nominally exists halfway through the Channel Tunnel, one end of which comes to the surface in the Kent port of Folkestone.

43 R&B trio with the album “CrazySexyCool” : TLC

“CrazySexyCool” is a 1994 studio album released by girl group TLC. The album was a commercial success. About 20 years later, a 2013 TV movie about the trio was released under the title “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story”.

46 One way for a co. to raise money : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

51 Style that’s long behind : RAT TAIL

A rat’s tail (also “rattail”) is a hairstyle with a tail-like, thin tuft of hair growing down the back of the neck.

55 Alphabetically first in a set of 12 : APRIL

The exact etymology of “April”, the name of the fourth month of our year, seems to be uncertain. The ancient Romans called it “mensis Aprilis”, which roughly translated as “opening month”. The suggestion is that April is the month in which fruits, flowers and animals “open” their life cycles.

58 Hunt in spy films : ETHAN

It was Tom Cruise’s idea to adapt the “Mission: Impossible” television series for the big screen, and it became the first project for Cruise’s own production company. Cruise took on the starring role of Ethan Hunt, the point man for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

60 “Dominus illuminatio ___” (Oxford’s motto) : MEA

“Dominus illuminatio mea” is the motto of the University of Oxford. The words come from the opening to Psalm 27, and translate from Latin as “The Lord is my light …”

61 Prey for an arctic fox : VOLE

Vole populations can increase very rapidly. Mama vole is pregnant for just three weeks before giving birth to litters of 5-10 baby voles. Then, the young voles become sexually mature in just one month! If you have one pregnant vole in your yard, within a year you could have over a hundred of the little critters.

The arctic fox is a mammal that is remarkably well adapted to its native environment in the Arctic region of the northern hemisphere. One adaptation is that its thick fur is brown in the summer and white in the winter.

62 State that’s approximately trapezoidal: Abbr. : NEV

The official nickname of Nevada is the Silver State, a reference to the importance of silver ore in the state’s growth and economy. An unofficial nickname is the Battle Born State. “Battle Born” is a reference to Nevada being awarded statehood during the American Civil War.

63 Group cleared by this puzzle’s subject, depicted literally : BUS BUS BUS

We use the term “bus” for a mode of transportation as it is an abbreviated form of the original “omnibus”. We imported “omnibus” via French from Latin, in which language it means “for all”. The idea is that an omnibus is a carriage “for all”.

Daredevil Evel Knievel contracted hepatitis C from the many blood transfusions that he needed after injuries incurred during stunts. He had to have a liver transplant as a result, but his health declined after that. Knievel eventually passed away in 2007.

64 Late start? : ELL

The start of the word “late” is a letter L (ell).

Down

1 2012 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis single with the lyric “I can’t change even if I tried” : SAME LOVE

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were a hip-hop duo from Seattle who were active from 2009 to 2017. “Macklemore” is the stage name of rap artist Benjamin Haggerty. Ryan Lewis is a record producer and DJ.

5 One of three South African capitals : PRETORIA

Pretoria is the executive capital of South Africa (RSA), and one of three capital cities in the country. Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.

6 Certain member of the House of Lords : BARONESS

The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.

14 “The Addams Family” nickname : TISH

Gomez and Morticia (“Tish”) Addams were the parents in “The Addams Family”, a creation of cartoonist Charles Addams. In the sixties television show, Gomez was played by John Astin and Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones.

25 Noted feature of “The Brothers Karamazov” : EPILOG

Our word “epilog” (also “epilogue”) applies to an addition at the end of a play or other literary work. The term ultimately comes from the Greek “epi-” signifying “in addition”, and “logos” meaning “speech”.

“The Brothers Karamazov” was the last novel completed by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky, as the author died just four months after it was published.

33 So-called “African unicorn” : OKAPI

The okapi is closely related to the giraffe, although it does have markings on its legs and haunches that resemble those of a zebra. The okapi’s tongue is long enough to reach back and wash its eyeballs, and can go back even further to clean its ears inside and out.

34 Part of Egypt that’s in Asia : SINAI

The nation of Egypt straddles the geographical border between Asia and Africa. That land border is the 75-mile-wide Isthmus of Suez, which is crossed by the Suez Canal. The bulk of Egyptian territory is in Africa. The part of Egypt that is in Asia is the Sinai Peninsula.

37 One of Microsoft’s “core fonts” : ARIAL

We tend to use the terms typeface and font interchangeably. Technically, a typeface and font are not the same thing. A complete set of characters with a common design is referred to as a typeface (common examples being Helvetica and Arial). That typeface consists of a whole collection of fonts, all varying in weight and size. One set of Helvetica fonts, for example, might be Helvetica 14 point or Helvetica 16 point, i.e. a specific size. Another set might be Helvetica bold, or Helvetica italic. The difference between fonts and typefaces mattered a great deal when printers had collections of individual letters to make up blocks of text. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that these days.

39 Creator of Sherlock Holmes : DOYLE

According to author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his character Sherlock Holmes was based on a Dr. Joseph Bell for whom Doyle worked in Edinburgh. That said, Bell actually wrote a letter to Doyle in which he said “you are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it”.

41 State capital with the nickname “Arch City” : COLUMBUS

The city of Columbus, Ohio is a “purpose-built” state capital. The state legislature selected the location for Ohio’s new capital in 1812, choosing dense forest land with no significant settlement, largely due to its strategic location in the center of the state. The name was chosen in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus.

42 Paper handed out as a matter of course? : SYLLABUS

“Syllabus” (plural “syllabi”) is the Latin word for “list”.

43 Cargo hauler : TRAIN

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

48 Lake that feeds the Truckee River : TAHOE

The Truckee River is the only outlet of the magnificent Lake Tahoe in the High Sierra of California/Nevada. The Truckee River flows northeast through Reno, Nevada and empties into Pyramid Lake.

49 Lilliputian : SMALL

The word “lilliputian” meaning “wee” or “very small”, comes from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. In Swift’s tale, Lilliput and Blefuscu are two island nations that are inhabited by tiny people who are under six inches tall.

54 Original “Are You the One?” channel : MTV

“Are You the One?” is an MTV reality show that starts the season with ten men and ten women hoping to find their perfect love match. Nope …

57 “T_RN,” for “No U-Turn,” e.g. : REBUS

A rebus is a puzzle that uses pictures to represent letters and groups of letters. For example, a picture of a “ewe” might represent the letter “U” or the pronoun “you”, a picture of an “oar” might represent the letter “R” or the conjunction “or”, and a picture of an “awl” might represent the word “all”.