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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Kind of vaccine : ORAL

A vaccine used to be exclusively a modified virus administered to an individual to stimulate the immune system into developing immunity, until mRNA vaccines were introduced to combat COVID-19. British physician Edward Jenner came up with the first vaccine, injecting people with the cowpox virus in order to prevent smallpox. The term “vaccination” comes from the Latin “vaccinus” meaning “from cows”, with “vacca” translating as “cow”.

15A What Stan Lee has in many a Marvel movie : CAMEO

Stan Lee did just about everything at Marvel Comics over the years, from writing to being president and chairman of the board. If you like superhero movies based on the characters from Marvel Comics, then you could spend a few hours trying to spot Stan Lee in those films as he had a penchant for making cameo appearances. Lee can be spotted in “X-Men” (2000), “Spider-Man” (2002), “Hulk” (2003), “Fantastic Four” (2005), “Iron Man” (2008) and many other films.

17A Elite soldier from GERMANY : ARMY RANGER

Army Rangers belong to a Special Operations unit known as the 75th Ranger Regiment. The modern Army Rangers have roots that go back to Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys, a militia organization that served in the Revolutionary War.

The country that we know in English as “Germany” is known as “Deutschland” in German. The name “Germany” comes from “Germania”, which is the Latin name that Julius Caesar gave to the peoples located east of the Rhine. The name “Deutschland” comes from an Old High German word meaning “land belonging to the people”.

20A It’s famously sealed with red wax : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

25A Vessel for cooking rice from NEPAL : PAELLA PAN

Paella is sometimes referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia. The name “paella” means “frying pan” in Valencian, and is a reference to the shallow vessel traditionally used to cook the dish over an open fire.

Nepal lies to the northeast of India. Today, the state is known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. In 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal won the country’s general election. Soon after, the Assembly voted to change the form of government, moving away from a monarchy and creating a secular republic.

29A A schooner has at least two of them : MASTS

By definition, a schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts, but one on which the foremast is shorter than the rear mast(s).

31A Its roles include the kings of both Egypt and Ethiopia : AIDA

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

32A Note above fa : SOL

The sol-fa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

33A Sci-fi attack from SLOVENIA : ALIEN INVASION

The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that is bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.

38A ___ Robinson (role in “The Graduate”) : MRS

When Mike Nichols was making the 1967 film “The Graduate” he apparently became obsessed with the music of Simon and Garfunkel, who were just coming into the limelight. Nichols made a deal with Paul Simon to write three songs that he could use on the soundtrack of his new movie. Simon and Garfunkel were touring constantly around that time, so Nichols had to badger Simon to hold up his end of the bargain. When Nichols was ready to lay down the film’s soundtrack there was only one commissioned song available, so Nichols had to basically beg Paul Simon for anything. Simon mentioned that he was finishing up one new song, but it wasn’t written for the film. It was more a celebration of former times, with lyrics about baseball great Joe DiMaggio and former First Lady, Mrs. Roosevelt. Nichols informed Simon that the song was no longer about Mrs. Roosevelt, and instead was about “Mrs. Robinson” …

The marvelous 1967 film “The Graduate” is a big screen adaptation of a novel of the same name by Charles Webb. Apparently director Mike Nichols wanted Doris Day to play Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft was cast), and Robert Redford to play Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman was cast). In the storyline, Benjamin is 20 years old, and Mrs. Robinson is “twice his age”. In fact, Hoffman was 30 at the time, and Bancroft was just 36.

42A Japanese beer brand : ASAHI

Asahi is a Japanese beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Sapporo close behind.

47A Fighting style from OMAN : MANO A MANO

“Mano a mano” is Spanish for “hand-to-hand”, and is used in English to mean “face-to-face”.

Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.

49A Gillian ___, author of “Sharp Objects” : FLYNN

“Sharp Objects” is a 2018 HBO miniseries based on a 2006 novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn. The TV show stars Amy Adams as an alcoholic journalist who returns to her hometown to investigate and report on the murders of two young girls. I haven’t read the book or seen the series, but I hear good things about both …

50A Chinese monastery known for its style of kung fu : SHAOLIN

The Shaolin Monastery is a Buddhist temple in China that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

In the West, we sometimes use the term “kung fu” to describe a Chinese martial art. We’ve gotten the wrong idea though, as the term “kung fu” really describes any skill that can be learned through dedication and hard work. So, “kung fu” can indeed describe a martial art, but by no means exclusively.

51A Greeting from Bowser : WOOF!

“Bowser” became a popular name for a dog in the late 1800s and early 1900s, largely due to the writings of Thornton Burgess. He created the character Bowser the Hound, who was known for his loud bark.

53A Seasonal precipitation from SURINAME : SUMMER RAIN

The Republic of Suriname is located on the northeast coast of South America, and is the continent’s smallest country. What is now Suriname fell under Dutch rule in the late 1600s, gaining independence in 1975.

58A Toledo’s lake : ERIE

Toledo, Ohio lies in the northwest of the state, at the western end of Lake Erie. Toledo was founded as a result of the prosperity that hit the area when the Miami and Erie Canal was constructed in the 19th century connecting Cincinnati to the Great Lakes. Toledo is known as the Glass City as several glass companies originated there, including Owens Corning and Pilkington North America. There is a large exhibition of glass art at the Toledo Museum of Art.

60A FAQ page contents : INFO

Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Even this blog has one!

62A Looks at a Nook, say : READS

The Barnes & Noble electronic-book reader is called the Nook. The reader’s name is intended to evoke the usage of “nook” as a familiar place to sit and read quietly.

Down

1D Stole from a show? : BOA

A stole is a narrow shawl. It can be made of quite light decorative material, but also can be heavier if made of fur.

3D Keepsake after a rookie’s first touchdown : GAME BALL

The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads”, which was originally published in 1892.

6D M&M’s color replaced by blue in 1995 : TAN

Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that give the name to the candy.

9D Fungus with a pitted cap : MOREL

A morel is a mushroom with a honeycomb-like structure on the cap. They are highly prized, especially in French cuisine. Morels should never be eaten raw as they are toxic, with the toxins being removed by thorough cooking.

10D Boxer who retired undefeated (24-0) in 2007 : LAILA ALI

Laila Ali is the daughter of the great Muhammad Ali and is a very capable boxer in her own right. Laila’s professional record is an impressive 24 wins, including 21 knockouts. Now retired, she never lost a fight, and nor did she ever draw. One of those victories was against Jackie Frazier-Lyde, daughter of her father’s nemesis Joe Frazier. Laila is not a bad dancer either, coming in third place in the fourth season of “Dancing with the Stars”.

13D Most middle schoolers : TWEENS

The term “tween” is used to describe preadolescence, the years “between” 8 and 12 years of age.

18D Splinter in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” e.g. : RAT

The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” started out as a parody of comic book superheroes, first appearing in a self-published comic book in 1984. A couple of years later the characters were picked up by someone who built a whole line of toys around the characters, and then television and movies followed. Do you remember the names of all four of the Turtles? Their names were all taken from Renaissance artists:

• Leonardo
• Raphael
• Michelangelo
• Donatello

23D Blackjack half : ACE

In the card game blackjack, an ace has the point value of one or eleven. When one of the two cards dealt to a player is an ace, the hand is called “soft”. This means that the player cannot go bust by taking another card, as the ace can be revalued at “one” if necessary in order to stay under 21.

24D Spanish for “tar” : BREA

The La Brea Tar Pits, in Hancock Park in Los Angeles, represent one of the world’s richest fossil sites from the Ice Age. Natural asphalt has seeped up from the ground for tens of thousands of years, trapping countless animals, from mammoths and saber-toothed cats to insects and plants, providing an unparalleled record of prehistoric life. The site continues to be an active paleontological excavation.

28D Takes gold : WINS

In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

35D Power to remove a nomination for eviction on “Big Brother” : VETO

The verb “veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The term was used by tribunes of ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

42D Dutch beer brand : AMSTEL

Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery that was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river that runs through the city.

43D Desert whose name comes from the Arabic for “desert” : SAHARA

The name “Sahara” means “desert” in Arabic. The Sahara is just that, a great desert covering almost 4 million square miles of Northern Africa. That’s almost the size of the United States.

44D Painkiller brand that sponsored the first TV sitcom : ANACIN

Anacin is a brand of pain reliever that comprises aspirin and caffeine as active ingredients.

45D River through four European capitals : DANUBE

The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe (after the Volga). It flows through four European capitals (Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bratislava).

46D ___ Estefan, Miami Sound Machine vocalist : GLORIA

Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-American singer who was born in Havana. Estefan fled Cuba along with her family after the Cuban Revolution, and ended up in Miami. Her father fought for the US military in Vietnam, and also took part in the doomed Bay of Pigs invasion. Years later, Estefan herself was approached by the CIA to work for the agency due to her skill with languages. She ended up doing quite well singing instead …

Musician and producer Emilio Estefan started his professional life in music when founded the band Miami Latin Boys in 1975. A few months later, cousins Gloria Fajardo and Merci Navarro joined the band, and the group changed its name to Miami Sound Machine. Fajardo was to become the group’s lead singer over time, and Emilio’s wife. Emilio and Gloria Estefan married in 1978.

54D Wharton offering, in brief : MBA

Wharton is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. The school was established in 1881 largely due to a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton, co-founder of Bethlehem Steel.

55D TV’s “Chicago ___” : MED

“Chicago Med” is a medical drama TV show that started airing in 2015. It is part of what’s known as the “Chicago” franchise, which also includes “Chicago Fire”, “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Justice”.