Category: Tracy Gray

Bill’s time: 25m 42s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Rear ends : CABOOSES

The word “caboose” originally came from Middle Dutch and was the word for a ship’s galley. When the last car in a train in North America was given a stove for the comfort of the crew, it took on the name “caboose”. The term has also become slang for a person’s backside.

14 Mensa prereq : IQ TEST

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

20 Lightweight curtain fabric : VOILE

Voile is a soft and sheer fabric, usually made from cotton, that is often used as a window treatment. Voile curtains are similar to net curtains and may be used as mosquito nets, for example. Aptly enough, “voile” is the French word for “veil”.

22 Tito who wrote “Oye Como Va” : PUENTE

After serving in the Navy in WWII for three years, musician Tito Puente studied at Juilliard, where he got a great grounding in conducting, orchestration and theory. Puente parlayed this education into a career in Latin Jazz and Mambo. He was known as “El Rey” as well as “The King of Latin Music”.

“Oye Como Va” is a song written by Tito Puente in 1963. The best-known recording is the cover version by Santana released in 1970.

23 Song performed three times in “The Wiz” : EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD

“Ease on Down the Road” is a song from “The Wiz”, the 1975 stage musical adaptation of the L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. “Ease on Down the Road” is used for the same sequences as the songs “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” from the celebrated 1939 movie adaptation “The Wizard of Oz”.

27 Marty Feldman’s role in “Young Frankenstein” : IGOR

I am not really a big fan of movies by Mel Brooks, but “Young Frankenstein” is the exception. I think the cast has a lot to do with me liking the film, as it includes Gene Wilder (Dr. Frankenstein), Teri Garr (Inga), Marty Feldman (Igor) and Gene Hackman (Harold, the blind man).

Marty Feldman was a very talented comedy writer and performer from England. He is best known in the US for playing Igor in the Mel Brooks movie “Young Frankenstein”, for which performance Feldman won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. I’ll always remember a famous sketch he did for British television called “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Golfer”. Hilarious stuff …

28 Cioppino ingredient : CLAM

“Cioppino” is a fish stew that originated in San Francisco, despite the Italian-sounding name. That said, the dish is considered part of Italian-American cuisine. Cioppino came out of the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco in the late 19th century, which was then home to Italian immigrants, mainly from the port city of Genoa. The name comes from “ciuppin”, a soup from the Liguria region in northwestern Italy.

33 One place to find a pair of parrots : ARK

Genesis 6:19-20 states that Noah was instructed to take two animals of every kind into the ark. Later, in Genesis 7:2-3 Noah was instructed to take on board “every clean animal by sevens … male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth”. Apparently, “extras” (7 rather than 2) were needed for ritual sacrifice.

35 Backless stool : TABOURET

A taboret (also “tabouret”) is a type of stool, one without a back or arms. “Tabouret” is the diminutive of the Old French word “tabour” meaning “drum”, a reference to the stool’s resemblance to the instrument.

37 DFW stat : ETA

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) is the largest hub for American Airlines, and is also the third busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft landings and takeoffs (Chicago O’Hare is the world’s busiest, followed by Atlanta). At 27 square miles in area, DFW is the second-largest airport in the US, second only to Denver. That makes Dallas/Fort Worth larger than the island of Manhattan!

38 Riddle-me-___ : REE

There’s an old English nursery rhyme that goes:

Riddle-me riddle-me riddle-me-ree,
Perhaps you can tell what this riddle may be:
As deep as a house, as round as a cup,
And all the king’s horses can’t draw it up.

And the answer is …

… a well!

39 Group with the 2009 hit “I Gotta Feeling” : BLACK EYED PEAS

The hip-hop group known as the Black Eyed Peas comprises three rap artists (will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo) as well as the singer Fergie.

43 Apple variety whose name sounds like part of a flower : STAYMAN

The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament that carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

45 Steph Curry and LeBron James, e.g. : OHIOANS

Basketball great Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and former volleyball player Sonya Curry. Off the court, Curry is an avid golfer, playing off a low handicap. He regularly participates in celebrity golf tournaments, and has played alongside President Barack Obama.

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African-American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

53 Pinnacle : APOGEE

In the celestial world, an apsis is a point in an orbit when the orbiting body is at its greatest, or least, distance from its center of orbit. The farthest and closest points of orbit are known as the apogee and perigee, when talking about bodies orbiting the Earth. The farthest and closest points for bodies orbiting the sun are known as the aphelion and perihelion.

54 Mérida mister : SENOR

Mérida is the capital city of the Mexican state of Yucatán in southeastern Mexico. It has a high level of public security, so that it is considered one of the safest cities in the Americas. It has also been listed as the Mexican city with the highest quality of life.

59 Number of Gospels in the New Testament : FOUR

“Gospel” is a term that came to us via Old English. The Old English term is “godspel” meaning “good story”, and referred to the glad tidings announced by Jesus. There are four Gospels in the Christian New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

61 Author Koontz : DEAN

Dean Koontz is an American author of mainly suspense-thriller and horror novels. He is a prolific author, and published up to eight books a year during the 1970s. He used a series of pen names, as well as his own.

62 Big ___ : BEN

“Big Ben” is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower (“Elizabeth Tower” since 2012) of the Palace of Westminster (aka “Houses of Parliament”). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who supervised the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day Benjamin Caunt. Big Ben fell silent in 2017 to make way for four years of maintenance and repair work to the clock’s mechanism and the tower.

69 Japanese vegetable : UDO

Udo is a perennial plant native to Japan known taxonomically as Aralia cordata. The stems of udo are sometimes boiled up and served in miso soup.

70 Suffering memory loss : AMNESIC

“Amnesia”, meaning “loss of memory”, is a Greek word that we imported into English in the 17th century. The Greek term comes from combining the prefixes “a-” meaning “not” and “mnesi-” meaning “remembering”.

73 Nicholas II was the last one : TSAR

The last ruler of Imperial Russia was Tsar Nicholas II (of the House of Romanov). Famously, the Tsar and his family were murdered in 1918 in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia by members of the Bolshevik secret police. The Tsar’s youngest daughter was 16-year-old Anastasia and rumors of her escape have persisted for years. The rumors grew with the help of numerous women who claimed to be Anastasia. In 2009, DNA testing finally proved that the remains of all of the Tsar’s immediate family, including Anastasia, have been found and identified.

79 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.

80 POTUS’s military title : C IN C

Commander in Chief (C IN C)

81 Bird whose first letter is silent : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

82 Baby ___ : YODA

Grogu is a character in “The Mandalorian”, a TV series that’s part of the “Star Wars” franchise. Grogu is a very young member of the same alien species to which the celebrated character Yoda belongs. As Grogu has a strong resemblance to the Jedi Grandmaster, fans of the franchise often refer to him as “Baby Yoda”.

93 Surfboard/kayak hybrid : WAVESKI

A waveski surfboard is a board that allows the rider to sit on top. Also, the rider uses a double-ended paddle to help propel the board. As such, the waveski might be described as a cross between a kayak and surfboard.

96 Casey of classic radio : KASEM

Not only was Casey Kasem closely associated with the radio show “American Top 40”, but he was also well known for playing the voice of Shaggy Rogers on the “Scooby-Doo” animated series.

104 Alex and ___ (jewelry brand) : ANI

The jewelry retailer Alex and Ani was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Cranston, Rhode Island. The founder Carolyn Rafaelian named her business for her two daughters: Alex and Ani.

105 2022 #1 hit for Taylor Swift : ANTIHERO

Singer Taylor Swift had one of her first gigs at the US Open tennis tournament when she was in her early teens. There she sang the national anthem and received a lot of favorable attention for the performance.

108 Snoopy, to Charlie Brown : PET

Snoopy is a central and much-loved character in the Charles M. Schulz comic strip “Peanuts”. He is Charlie Brown’s pet beagle, and first appeared in “Peanuts” just two days after the strip’s debut in 1950. He was identified as “Snoopy” a month later, and first “spoke” (in a thought balloon) in 1952. Initially depicted as a more traditionally dog-like figure, Schulz started to anthropomorphize Snoopy in 1952, first drawing him upright on his hind legs in 1952, while ice-skating on a frozen lake.

109 Actress Campbell of the “Scream” films : NEVE

Neve Campbell is a Canadian actress whose big break in the movies came with the “Scream” horror film series, in which she had a leading role. I don’t do horror films, so I haven’t seen any of the “Scream” movies. Nor have I seen the TV series “Party of Five” that launched the acting careers of both Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt in the nineties.

110 N.Y.C. subway inits. : MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut).

111 Former African country, and its currency : ZAIRE

The African nation once called Zaire is a neighbor of Rwanda. The genocide and war in Rwanda spilled over into Zaire in 1996, with the conflict escalating into what is now called the First Congo War. As part of the war’s fallout there was a regime change, and in 1997 Zaire became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

116 F-14 fighter jet : TOMCAT

The F-14 Tomcat was the US Navy’s primary fighter from 1974 to 2006, and was the airplane that featured in the movie “Top Gun”.

122 Fashion designer Pucci : EMILIO

Emilio Pucci was an Italian fashion designer from Florence. Pucci had served as a torpedo bomber pilot during WWII for the Italian Air Force.

124 Emoticon’s mouth, for short : PAREN

Parenthesis (paren.)

Down

4 Ransom Eli ___ (pioneering automaker) : OLDS

Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer in the automotive industry, and the founder of the Oldsmobile and REO brands. Olds introduced the first modern “stationary” assembly line (Henry Ford’s famous innovation was the “moving” assembly line). As a result, it can be argued that the Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced, low-priced automobile, rather than Ford’s Model T.

6 What “the Hill” is a metonym for : CONGRESS

The designer of Washington D.C., Pierre L’Enfant, chose the crest of a hill as the site for the future Congress House. He called the location “Jenkins Hill” and “Jenkins Heights”. Earlier records show the name as “New Troy”. Today, we call it “Capitol Hill”.

8 Paint brand : BEHR

The name of the Behr brand of paint is pronounced “bear”, and the cans even have a bear logo. The company was founded in 1947 by Otho Behr, Jr.

9 Fútbol cheer : OLE!

In Spanish, a “fútbol” (football, soccer) supporter might shout “olé!” (bravo!).

10 “Come ___ the Sea” (Thomas Moore poem) : O’ER

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet and songwriter, best known for writing the lyrics of “The Minstrel Boy” and “The Last Rose of Summer”.

11 Daytona vehicle : STOCK CAR

The coastal city of Daytona Beach in Florida is known for hard-packed sand on the beach. This makes a good surface for driving motorized vehicles, and resulted in Daytona Beach becoming a center for motorsports. The Daytona 500 is the event with the largest purse on the NASCAR calendar.

14 Computer addresses, for short : IPS

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label assigned to every device on a computer network. The device that you’re using to read this blog post on has been assigned a unique IP address, as has the computer that I’m using to make this post …

16 Variety of tiny dog : TEACUP POODLE

The toy group of dogs is made up of the smallest breeds. The smallest of the small breeds are sometimes called teacup breeds.

17 Belgian Surrealist painter James : ENSOR

James Ensor was a Belgian painter who was active in the first half of the twentieth century. He lived in Ostend for almost all of his life. In fact, Ensor only made three brief trips abroad, to Paris, London and Holland.

19 Doctrinal belief : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

24 “The Good ___” (Emmy-winning series) : WIFE

“The Good Wife” is a legal drama show on CBS starring Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, a litigator who returns to practicing law after spending 13 years as a stay-at-home mom. I binge-watched the show some time back and found it to be well-written, with a great cast and great acting …

29 Bread spread : MAYO

Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” that we use in English today.

33 Olympian Raisman : ALY

Aly Raisman is a retired gymnast. She captained the US gold-winning teams in the Olympics in 2012 (“The Fierce Five”) and in 2016 (“The Final Five”).

34 Zodiac animal : RAM

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

36 “The View” co-host Joy : BEHAR

Joy Behar is a comedian, and former co-host of the hit talk show “The View”. Behar was one of the original co-hosts of “The View”, and stayed with the show from 1997 until 2013, and then rejoined the show in 2015. She briefly hosted her own talk show called “Late Night Joy” in November 2015.

48 Largest of New York’s Finger Lakes : SENECA

When I first moved to the US, I settled in Upstate New York and was lucky enough to live near the beautiful Finger Lakes. The largest of the eleven lakes is Seneca Lake, which is one of the deepest bodies of water in the United States.

50 Pennsylvania city that’s home to Gannon University : ERIE

Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania is a private Catholic school founded in 1925. It is named after the then Bishop of Erie, John Mark Gannon, the man most influential in the establishment of the university.

55 Best Animated Feature winner of 2021 : 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).

58 Hot cocktail : TODDY

The word “toddy” has come a long way. Its origins lie in the Hindi word for a palm tree, which is “tar”. The derivative word “tari” was used for palm sap, which came into English as “tarrie”, then “taddy” and “toddy”, all of which described an alcoholic drink made from fermented palm sap. That was back around 1600. Late in the 18th century, the palm sap drink called “toddy” had morphed into meaning any alcoholic drink made with liquor, hot water, sugar and spices.

68 Where to see the midnight sun : ARCTIC CIRCLE

The summer phenomenon of “midnight sun” occurs north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. At those locations, and at those times of the year, the sun is visible at midnight, and indeed for the full 24 hours.

72 Aaron Judge, e.g., in brief : NY YANKEE

Aaron Judge is a baseball outfielder who was selected as 2017’s American League Rookie of the Year. Judge is a big guy. He weighs 282 pounds, and is 6 foot 7 inches tall.

76 When a football may be snapped : ON TWO

The quarterback (QB) starts each play in football with a snap (also called a “hike”). He announces to his teammates the exact moment of the snap by calling out signals, usually including the word “hut” one or more times in a prearranged sequence.

77 Walt Whitman, notably : ODIST

Walt Whitman is considered to be one of the greatest American poets. He was born in 1819 on Long Island, and lived through the American Civil War. Whitman was a controversial character, even during his own lifetime. One view held by him was that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were not actually written by Shakespeare, but rather by someone else, or perhaps a group of people.

81 Preamble start : WE THE …

The US Constitution begins with the words “We the People …” So, the first “article” in the text of the document is the definite article, i.e. “the”.

90 Laundry purchase in an orange container : TIDE PODS

The dark side of social media struck again in late 2017 when “The Tide Pod Challenge” became an Internet sensation. Participants were eating Tide detergent pods on camera, and getting very sick and dangerously injured.

92 Belgrade resident : SERB

Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia. The name “Belgrade” translates into “White City”.

94 Service center? : VEE

The center of the word “service” is a letter V (vee).

95 Tympanostomy performer, for short : ENT

A tympanostomy tube (often referred to as a “grommet”) is a tiny tube that is inserted into the eardrum to ease an accumulation of fluid in the middle ear. Our youngest son had grommets inserted when he was very young, and his hearing improved dramatically within hours …

97 Iraqi city on the Tigris : SAMARRA

Samarra is a city north of Baghdad in Iraq. We are perhaps familiar with the city name from John O’Hara’s 1934 novel “Appointment in Samarra”.

103 O.T.C. part : OVER

Over-the-counter (OTC)

105 Like the emblem on Mexico’s flag : AZTEC

The Mexican flag consists of three vertical stripes of green, white and red. The national coat of arms is displayed in the center of the white stripe. That coat of arms features a golden eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, while sitting atop a prickly pear cactus.

106 Two-time Australian Open winner Osaka : NAOMI

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese-born tennis professional who became the first Asian player to be ranked number-one in singles. She was also the first ever tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during an opening ceremony, doing so for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

119 It merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon : GTE

The telecommunications company that we know today as Verizon was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic, and was one of the “Baby Bells” that were formed after the breakup of AT&T. Bell Atlantic merged with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX in 1997, and then merged with GTE in 2000 to form Verizon. The new company name is a portmanteau of “veritas” (“truth” in Latin) and “horizon”.

121 Letters on some skin care products : SPF

Sun protection factor (SPF)