Category: Rebecca Goldstein

Bill’s time: 5m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Improvises during a gig : RIFFS

A riff is a short rhythmic phrase in music, especially one improvised on a guitar.

17A Independence Day banger : FIRECRACKER

A firecracker is a noisemaker usually comprising a small amount of explosive in a paper tube with a fuse. Prior to the invention of fireworks in China, the equivalent of firecrackers were made by exposing bamboo to continuous heat, until it exploded with a loud crack. Indeed, the Chinese name for gunpowder firecrackers translates literally as “exploding bamboo”, a reference to the older devices.

On 11 June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of five people to draft a declaration of independence. Included in the five were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams persuaded the other committee members to give Jefferson the task of writing the first draft. A resolution of independence was passed by the Congress on 2 July 1776. The final draft of the declaration was approved by the Congress two days later, on July 4th. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife that included an assertion that July 2nd (the date of the resolution of independence) would become a great American holiday. Adams was wrong, and it was actually the date the Declaration of Independence was finalized that came to be celebrated annually.

19A Tuna type in a poke bowl : AHI

Poke is a Native Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

21A Tissue torn by some athletes, in brief : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee. It is located in the center of the knee and connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone).

32A Dance in which the guest of honor is often raised in a chair : HORA

The hora is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. It was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional, Israeli folk songs. The hora (also “horah”) is a regular sight at Jewish weddings. Sometimes the honoree at an event is raised on a chair during the dance.

35A “Cómo ___ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is a more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

37A Channel with a call to order? : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982. Its first product was a can opener.

47A Actor Levy of “Schitt’s Creek” : DAN

Canadian actor Dan Levy’s career really took off with the success of the sitcom “Schitt’s Creek”, which he co-created with his father, fellow actor Eugene Levy. Outside of “Schitt’s Creek”, Levy co-hosted the first two seasons of “The Great Canadian Baking Show”.

48A Actor Damon of the “Bourne” movies : MATT

Actor Matt Damon was a Harvard University student before he dropped out to pursue his acting career. He was just 12 credits shy of graduating when he left to star in the movie “Geronimo: An American Legend”. Despite not having completed his degree, Harvard later awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2013 for his humanitarian work through his co-founding of Water.org, an organization that provides clean water and sanitation to people in developing countries.

The “Bourne” series of films are based on a series of three “Bourne” novels penned by Robert Ludlum. The first three “Bourne” movies star Matt Damon in the title role of Jason Bourne. Damon opted out of the fourth movie (“The Bourne Legacy”), and so a new lead character was added and played by Jeremy Renner. That said, Damon’s image was used in the fourth film, and references were made to his character Jason Bourne. Damon returned for the fifth film in the series, but has suggested that he is unlikely to take on the role again.

55A Recipient of two Golden Globe Best Actress nominations for Netflix’s “GLOW” : ALISON BRIE

Alison Brie is an actress best known for playing Trudy Campbell, the wife of Pete Campbell on the TV drama “Mad Men”.

58A Dry, like Champagne : BRUT

Sparkling wines can be classified according to sweetness. These classifications are, from driest to sweetest:

• Brut Nature
• Extra Brut
• Brut
• Extra Dry
• Dry
• Semi-Dry
• Sweet

63A ___ Paulo, Brazil : SAO

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

68A Tonsil-examining M.D. : ENT

The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the human throat. The exact role that tonsils play isn’t completely understood, but it is known that they are in the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. They provide some level of protection against pathogens that are ingested and inhaled.

70A Completed an alley-oop : DUNKED

An alley-oop is a play in basketball in which one player lobs the ball close to the basket for a teammate who usually scores with a slam dunk.

73A Short-tempered : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

Down

2D “Complete ___ Guides” (how-to series) : IDIOT’S

“Complete Idiot’s Guides” is a series of how-to reference books published by DK, the British publishing house. The series competes with the “For Dummies” line published by Wiley.

4D Typical hotel or library amenity : FREE WI-FI

“Wi-Fi” is nothing more than a trademark, a trademark registered by an association of manufacturers of equipment that use wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology. A device labeled with “Wi-Fi” has to meet certain defined technical standards, basically meaning that the devices can talk to each other. The name “Wi-Fi” suggests “Wireless Fidelity”, although apparently the term was never intended to mean anything at all.

5D One of 60 in a min. : SEC

We use base-10, the decimal system for our numbers. Base-60, the sexagesimal system, was used by the ancient Babylonians. This ancient usage gives rise to our 60 seconds in a minute, and 360 (6 x 60) degrees in a circle.

7D Reindeer relative : ELK

The reindeer species of deer is also known as “caribou” in North America.

9D Gracias : Spanish :: ___ : French : MERCI

“Thank you” translates to “merci” in French, “gracias” in Spanish, and “danke” in German.

10D Salutation in a breakup letter : DEAR JOHN

The expression “Dear John letter” originated in WWII among American troops who were serving abroad. The servicemen highly valued letters from girlfriends and wives back home, and almost invariably those missives started out with “Dearest”, or “My Darling” or some other expression of affection. A curt, “Dear John” set the tone for a letter which was likely to contain news of a new love interest in the life of the girlfriend or wife. The contemporary equivalent missive from a male to a female is a “Dear Jane letter”.

18D 43,560 square feet : ACRE

At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. Then, an acre was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one chain wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. An area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

39D Citizens of Venice and Verona : ITALIANS

The city of Venice (“Venezia” in Italian) in northeast Italy is built in a saltwater lagoon on the Adriatic Coast, on 117 small islands. The classic transportation along the waterways is the gondola, but this is really only used for tourists these days, as well as on ceremonial occasions. The locals rely on motorized water-buses.

Verona is a city in northern Italy. Famously, William Shakespeare set three of his plays in Verona: “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “The Taming of the Shrew”.

40D Nasal irrigation devices : NETI POTS

A neti pot is a spouted vessel that is used for nasal irrigation. “Neti” is a Sanskrit word meaning “nasal cleansing”.

46D Craftiest animal in the Garden of Eden : SERPENT

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

49D PreCheck org. : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates its precheck program known as “TSA Pre✓” (or “TSA PreCheck”). Members of the program receive expedited screening at most airports. In order to become a member, a traveler must apply online, appear in person at a designated office for a background check and fingerprinting, and pay a fee for a 5-year membership.

54D Small tower on a castle : TURRET

A turret is a small tower, with the word “turret” coming to us from Latin via French. The French word is “tourette” meaning “small tower” (small “tour”).

56D Muppet who lives in a trash can : OSCAR

Oscar the Grouch is the Muppet who lives in a garbage can. Oscar’s persona comes from various sources. He is named after Oscar Brand who was one of the board members of the Children’s Television Workshop, the backers for “Sesame Street” as the Muppets were being developed in the sixties. Oscar’s personality was inspired by an angry waiter that once served Jim Henson (father of the Muppets). The voice was modeled on a grumpy New York cab driver encountered one day by Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who brings Oscar to life.

59D Stereotypical name for a stuffed bear : TEDDY

The stuffed toy known as a teddy bear was introduced in the early 1900s and was named for President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. The toy was inspired by a political cartoon that was drawn in 1902 showing President Roosevelt on a bear hunt and refusing to kill a black bear cub. That event is celebrated annually on September 9th as National Teddy Bear Day.

63D ___ of Galilee : SEA

The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake, the largest freshwater lake in Israel and the lowest elevation freshwater lake in the world. The main source of the water in the Sea of Galilee is the Jordan River that flows through it.