Category: Sam Ezersky

Bill’s time: 23m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 These don’t hold water : CAMEL HUMPS

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of a camel is the large deposit of fatty tissue on its back. The dromedary is the most common camel, and has one hump of fatty tissue on its back. The Bactrian camel has two humps, and makes up just 6% of the world’s camel population. Those fatty humps are useful if no food or water is available, as fat can be broken down into water and energy.

11 Canal implement : Q-TIP

Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”. This was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

16 100 cents, in Africa : RAND

The rand is the currency of South Africa. Much of South Africa’s famed gold comes from mines around Johannesburg in the Witwatersrand (Afrikaans for “the ridge of white waters”). The rand currency takes its name from this ridge.

18 Arrangement for a prom, say : COIF

A coif is a hairdo. The term “coif” comes from an old French term “coife” describing a skull-cap that was worn under a helmet back in the late 13th century.

19 Chuckleheads : SAPS

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

22 Court activity, familiarly : HOOPS

Basketball is truly a North American sport. It was created in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. His goal was to create something active and interesting for his students in the gym. The first “hoops” were actually peach baskets, with the bottoms of the baskets intact. When a player got the ball into the “net”, someone had to clamber up and get the ball back out again in order to continue the game!

25 Literally, “way of the gods” : SHINTO

It is perhaps best not to describe Shinto as a religion, but more as a “spirituality of the Japanese people”, a spirituality that encompasses folklore, history and mythology. Having said that, “Shinto” translates literally as “Way of the gods”. Most people in Japan who are described as practicing Shinto, also practice Buddhism.

31 Vodka cran alternative : COSMO

Like so many famous cocktails, the actual origins of the cosmopolitan are disputed. It is a very nice drink, in my humble opinion. One of the standard recipes is 4 parts citrus vodka, 1.5 parts Cointreau, 1.5 parts lime juice and 3 parts cranberry juice.

33 Delivery room offering, informally : EPI

The epidural space is found between the two layers of the dura mater, the thick membrane that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. The spinal epidural space is often the target for local anesthetics, in a procedure that provides relief from pain during childbirth or surgery.

34 Simple sort : RUBE

A rube is a person lacking sophistication, someone often described as a country bumpkin. The term derives from the masculine name “Reuben”, which was considered back in the early 1800s to be a typical name used in rural areas.

36 Lobster catchers? : BIBS

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

37 ___ hub (tech device) : USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

39 Freak out : PANIC

In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god who was part-man and part-goat, and one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.

42 Foods that can be prepared “hedgehog-style,” so-named for the crisscross patterns of cuts : MANGOS

The delicious mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines. Almost half of the world’s supply of mangoes comes from India.

44 Truck maker since 1947 : TONKA

The toy manufacturer today known as Tonka started out as a manufacturer of garden implements in Mound, Minnesota in 1946. By 1955, toys had become the main product line for the company. At that time the owners decided to change the company name and opted for “Tonka”, a Dakota Sioux word meaning “great, big”.

49 Storm warning, maybe : CLAP

The word “thunder” precedes the word “lightning” in the phrase “thunder and lightning”. However, thunder comes after lighting in reality, at least to the observer. The observer sees the flash of lightning and then seconds later hears the crash of thunder. That’s because light travels faster than sound.

53 Cool brand to have around the kitchen : FRIGIDAIRE

Frigidaire made the first self-contained refrigerator in 1916. Just three years later, the company was taken over by General Motors, who owned it right up to 1979. Frigidaire also made the first home freezer and room air conditioner.

55 Novelist Waugh : ALEC

Alec Waugh was an older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both were successful novelists (Evelyn of “Brideshead Revisited” fame), but what I like about Alec is that he supposedly invented the cocktail party. He invited his friends around “for tea” in the twenties, and served them all rum swizzles instead!

56 Download source : FILE SERVER

In the computing world, to upload something (a file, data, etc.) is to transfer it from say one computing device to another device. Usually, the receiving device is a large computer acting as a server, and the transfer often takes place over the Internet. Downloading is transferring files and data in the opposite direction, from a large computer or server to a smaller device.

58 Purveyor of game pieces : SPORTS DESK

Our words “provide” and “purvey” have similar meanings, and both derive from the Latin verb “providere” meaning “to supply”.

Down

2 Song in mariachi? : ARIA

The letter string “aria” is found in the word “mariachi”.

6 Daily Beast alternative, familiarly : HUFFPO

“The Huffington Post” (now “HuffPost”) is a news website founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington. It is a very active site, with 3,000 people contributing blog posts (including many celebrities and politicians), and readers leaving over one million comments every month. “The Huffington Post” was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million, with Arianna Huffington staying on as editor-in-chief.

8 Attitude : MIEN

One’s mien is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.

9 Pebble Beach or Quail Hollow, e.g. : PGA COURSE

Pebble Beach Golf Links, located just south of Monterey, California, is a public course. It was the first public golf course to be chosen as the top course in the country by “Golf Digest”.

10 Like Shakespeare’s Katherina : SHREWISH

William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” is about a courting couple. The male in the couple is Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and the female is Katharina/Kate, the so-called “shrew”. As the play progresses, the “shrew” is “tamed” and becomes an “obedient” bride … a controversial storyline in the contemporary world, to say the least. Regardless, modern adaptations have been made, including 1948’s Broadway musical “Kiss Me, Kate” and the 1999 romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You”.

11 Element of many modern ads : QR CODE

A QR Code (for “Quick Response Code”) is a two-dimensional barcode that is favored over UPC barcodes as it can read more quickly and can store much more information. The QR Code comprises black squares within a square grid on a white background.

12 Where Southern Methodist University has a satellite campus : TAOS

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, Texas (part of Dallas) and was founded in 1911. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Mustangs. Also, SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

14 Things that a Mac’s Preview app helps to preview : PDFS

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications and platforms, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

21 St. ___ (popular spring break locale, informally) : PETE

St. Petersburg, Florida is often referred to as “St. Pete” by locals and visitors alike. Located on a peninsula lying between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, St. Pete was founded in 1888 and named for Saint Petersburg in Russia. The co-founders were Russian immigrant Peter Demens and Detroit native John C. Williams. The pair tossed a coin for the privilege of naming the new city, and Demens won. Williams lost, but did get to name the city’s first hostelry “The Detroit Hotel”.

28 Song from “Company” that marks the show’s climax : BEING ALIVE

“Company” is a comedy stage musical by Stephen Sondheim that premiered on Broadway in 1970. The show was originally titled “Threes”, a reference to the three girlfriends that the main character juggles.

29 Class for future scientists, in brief : AP BIO

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers college-level courses to kids who are still in high school (HS). After being tested at the end of an AP course, successful students receive credits that count towards a college degree.

30 Nickels and dimes : DISCS

The 5-cent American coin known as a nickel is actually made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The first nickel was introduced in 1866, and was named the Shield nickel due to the shield design on the front of the coin. The current design is the Jefferson nickel, which was introduced in 1938.

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

38 Unfancy jacket material : JEAN

Denim fabric originated in Nîmes in France. The French phrase “de Nîmes” (meaning “from Nîmes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

42 Philosophical denier of duality : MONIST

Monism is the philosophy that many apparent disparate objects and views, can in fact be unified. For example, although the universe appears to be made of many stars and planets, a monist would point out that it is just one universe. A monist may argue in the field of religion that there really is only one God, and that the deities worshiped in various religions are just manifestations of that one God.

44 Year of the ___ (2022) : TIGER

The 12-year cycle in the Chinese calendar uses the following animals in order:

• Rat
• Ox
• Tiger
• Rabbit
• Dragon
• Snake
• Horse
• Goat
• Monkey
• Rooster
• Dog
• Pig

46 Met highlight : GALA

The Costume Institute Gala is an annual fundraising event that benefits the Anna Wintour Costume Center in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. The fundraiser is commonly referred to as the “Met Gala” or “Met Ball”, and was established in 1948.

48 Home of Wailuku River State Park : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

50 Epic battle figure : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.