Tag: Devils’ center appropriately crossword clue

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 ___ monster (only venomous lizard native to the U.S.) : GILA

A Gila monster is a venomous lizard found in the southwestern US and northern Mexico, and is the only venomous lizard native to America. Gila monsters move along at a snail’s pace so aren’t normally a danger to humans. The name “Gila” is a reference to the Gila River Basin in the American Southwest, where the Gila monster was prevalent.

12 British weekly on business, politics and culture, with “The” : … ECONOMIST

“The Economist” is a British publication dating back to 1843. It is read by a lot of people on this side of the Atlantic, and North America accounts for half of the magazine’s sales revenue.

15 Devils’ center, appropriately : EVIL

The word “evil” is hidden at the center of the word “devils”.

19 University just north of Harvard : TUFTS

Tufts University is a private school based in the city of Medford, near Boston. The school was built in 1852 on land donated by Charles Tuft, a local businessman. One of the early benefactors of the school was P. T. Barnum who funded the Barnum Museum of Natural History located on the college grounds. This museum is home to the stuffed hide of Jumbo, the famous elephant. Jumbo is also the school’s mascot.

24 Study of the mind, for short : COG-SCI

Cognitive science (cog-sci)

29 Tavern owner who’s often prank-called by Bart Simpson : MOE

On the animated TV comedy “The Simpsons”, Bart likes to prank-call Moe’s Tavern. Bart asks Moe to “page” someone in the bar using a fictitious name, a name which sounds like a rude phrase when called out loud. This running joke on “The Simpsons” is a homage to a series of legendary calls made in real life to the Tube Bar in Jersey City by John Elmo and Jim Davidson that were taped and circulated widely in the mid-seventies. Some of the milder names used in the original prank calls were:

• Al Cholic (alcoholic)
• Cole Kutz (cold cuts)
• Sal Lammy (salami)
• Anita Bath (I need a bath)

31 Attire for a contemporary dancer : UNITARD

A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and perhaps long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …

33 Source of a certain essential oil : TEA TREE

Tea tree oil is an essential oil that is extracted from the leaves of several species known as “tea tree”, all of which are in the myrtle family. The oil is used as a folk remedy for several skin conditions, including acne, nail fungus and athlete’s foot and dandruff. We are warned that tree oil is poisonous when taken internally, and may cause skin irritation when used externally.

37 R, as in a Rolls-Royce? : REVERSE

PRNDL … that would be Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low. The gear shift for an automatic transmission is sometimes known familiarly as the “prindle” stick, from the abbreviation PRNDL.

Henry Royce founded the Rolls-Royce company in 1904 with his partner, Charles Rolls. Royce died at 70 years of age in 1933. His last words were, reportedly, “I wish I had spent more time in the office …”

Charles Rolls founded the Rolls-Royce auto manufacturing company along with his partner Henry Royce in 1906. Sadly, Rolls died just a few years later in a plane crash. Rolls was a pioneering aviator. He became the first Briton to die in a powered aircraft crash when the tail of his plane broke off during a flying display.

38 Hush-hush : ON THE DL

Something described as on the down low is secret. The phrase “on the down low” is often shortened to “on the DL”, The same abbreviated expression can also mean “on the disabled list” in sports.

43 Apt name for a socialite? : DEB

“Deb” is short for “debutante”, which translates from French as “female beginner”.

47 Goose of Hawaii : NENE

The nene is a bird that is native to Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name “nene” is an imitation of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful. The nene was named State Bird of Hawaii in 1957.

48 Global movement to end violence against women : V-DAY

The movement known as V-Day was founded on Valentine’s Day in 1998 by playwright and activist Eve Ensler (who now goes by the mononym “V”). The movement grew out of performances of Ensler’s celebrated 1996 play “The Vagina Monologues”. V-Day’s mission is to raise awareness and funds to end violence against women and girls.

63 Toilette water : EAU

“Eau de toilette” (toilet water) is a diluted perfume. A French person when dressing is said to be attending to his or her “toilette”.

65 Alternative to AOL : MSN

Microsoft Network (MSN)

Down

6 Former NPR host Hansen : LIANE

Liane Hansen was the very capable host of Weekend Edition Sunday who retired from broadcasting in 2011. She was married to fellow NPR broadcaster Neil Conan, although the two divorced, also in 2011.

9 Group of elite colleges : IVIES

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

11 Largest human muscle, informally : GLUTE

There are three gluteal muscles in the human body, the largest of which is the gluteus maximus. It’s the gluteus maximus which really dictates the shape and size of the human buttocks. In evolutionary terms, the human “glutes” (also “glutei”) are larger than those in related species because they play a big role in maintaining our erect posture.

14 Comic actor Jacques : TATI

Jacques Tati was a very famous filmmaker and comic actor in his homeland of France. Even though he only directed six feature-length movies, Tati is often cited by insiders as one of the greatest movie directors of all time.

21 A&W specialties : FLOATS

A&W is a brand of root beer that has been around since 1920, when Roy Allen partnered with Frank Wright to create the A&W moniker from their family names.

24 Where the sidewalk ends : CURB

Back in Ireland, the “pavement” is what we call the “sidewalk, footpath” (because the footpath is “paved”, often with “paving” stones!). It’s very confusing when you arrive in this country from Ireland, and a little dangerous when one has been taught from a young age to “walk on the pavement” …

25 First-year legal student, informally : ONE L

“One L” is a name used in general for first-year law students, especially those attending Harvard.

28 À la ___ : CARTE

On a restaurant menu, items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately. A menu marked “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) is a fixed-price menu with limited choice. “Table d’hôte” translates from French as “table of the host”.

30 Renewable gasoline additive : ETHANOL

Ethyl alcohol is more usually known as ethanol. It is the alcohol found in intoxicating beverages, and nowadays is also used as a fuel for cars. Ethanol is also found in medical wipes and hand sanitizer, in which it acts as an antiseptic.

32 Anti-trafficking org. : DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

33 ___ Hall (“The Wind in the Willows” residence) : TOAD

Mr. Toad is one of the main characters in the children’s novel “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. A. A. Milne (of “Winnie-the-Pooh” fame) wrote several plays based on “The Wind in the Willows”, the first of which is “Toad of Toad Hall”.

41 ___ in the hole : ACE

“Stud poker” is the name given to many variants of poker, all of which are characterized by the dealer giving each player a mix of cards face-down and face-up. The cards facing upwards are called “upcards”. The cards facing downwards are called “hole cards”, cards only visible to the individual who holds that particular hand. This gives rise to the phrase “ace in the hole”, a valuable holding that only the player with the ace is aware of.

44 Marilyn Monroe or Britney Spears : BLONDE

In today’s world, the usage of masculine and feminine forms of English words is largely frowned upon. The one word that seems to have retained its gender specificity is “blond”, the feminine version of which is “blonde”.

Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 in LA County Hospital, the child of Gladys Pearl Baker. The young girl was given the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson on her birth certificate, but her mother changed this to Norma Jeane Baker almost immediately. She and her estranged husband, Martin Edward Mortensen, had separated before Baker became pregnant so it is suggested that the Mortensen name was used just to give Norma Jeane “legitimacy”. Norma Jeane married Jim Dougherty when she was 16 years old, and took his name to become Norma Jeane Dougherty in 1942. During WWII she was discovered by a photographer and became quite a successful model. The modeling earned her a screen test, at which time it was suggested that Norma Jeane change her name yet again. The first name chosen for her by studio executives was Carole Lind (after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind), but then Norma Jeane chose “Jeane Monroe” for herself, using her mother’s maiden name. It didn’t take long before the studio intervened again, suggesting that they had too many “Jeans” already. The name Marilyn Monroe was floated as it had a nice ring to it. Along with the new name, Marilyn changed from a brunette to a blonde, and a star was born …

Britney Spears was the best-selling female artist in the first decade of the 21st century. In recent years, Spears has attracted public attention for more than just her performances as a musician. Against her will, she was placed under the conservatorship of her father and an attorney in 2008, due to concerns about her mental wellbeing. Originally meant to last days, the conservatorship was extended to months, and was then made permanent. A social movement to “free” Britney from the conservatorship took off in 2019, and a court granted a termination of the arrangement in 2021.

48 Italian scooter brand : VESPA

Vespa is a brand of motor scooter that was originally made in Italy (and now all over the world) by Piaggio. “Vespa” is Italian for “wasp”.

54 Today, in Tijuana : HOY

Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.

58 Big ___ (college conference) : EAST

The Big East collegiate athletic conference was founded in 1979. The conference went through a major realignment between 2010 and 2013 with 14 schools departing, and 15 schools joining the lineup.

59 Common sushi fish : TUNA

There are 15 species of tuna, the size of which varies greatly. The smallest is the bullet tuna, which can grow to about 4 pounds in weight and just over 1½ feet in length. The Atlantic bluefin tuna can weigh over 1,500 pounds, and reach about 15 feet in length. That’s a lot of tuna …