Tag: One method of sibling torture crossword clue

Bill’s time: 11m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A El ___ (precursor of the Expressionists) : GRECO

El Greco (“the Greek”, in Spanish) was the nickname of the artist whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. He was born in Crete in 1541, and moved to Venice to study art when he was in his early twenties. A few years later he moved to the city of Toledo in central Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.

15A Novelist Quindlen who wrote “One True Thing” : ANNA

“One True Thing” is a 1994 semi-autobiographical novel by author and journalist Anna Quindlen that explores the complex relationship between a mother and daughter. Ellen Gulden, a successful journalist, is forced to return to her childhood home to care for her mother, Kate, who is dying of cancer. As Ellen takes on the role of caregiver, she begins to see her mother in a new light, gaining an understanding of the sacrifices Kate made for her family. “One True Thing” was adapted into a 1998 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep as Kate and Renée Zellweger as Ellen.

16A One of five … or maybe six? : SENSE

The so-called sixth sense is extrasensory perception (ESP). It is also referred to as second sight.

17A Like darts : AIMED

It was illegal to play darts in English pubs in the early 1900s because it was considered a game of chance. The law was overturned in 1908 when a pub owner, prosecuted for allowing the game, brought a skilled player into court. The player proved it was a game of skill by throwing three darts into the 20-point segment and then challenged any court official to do the same. When none could, the judge dismissed the case.

18A *Oft-quoted advice in Matthew 7:7 : SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND (“YES” at a bias)

The quotation “Seek, and ye shall find” comes from the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible (Matthew 7:7).

The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. One famous section of the discourse is known as the Beatitudes. The eight Beatitudes are:

• … Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
• … Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted
• … Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth
• … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled
• … Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy
• … Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God
• … Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God
• … Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

22A Part of L.G.B.T.Q. : GAY

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ)

24A First name in rap? : LIL

“Lil’” is a short form of the word “little”. There are a whole slew of rappers named “Lil’ something”, such as Lil Wayne, Lil’ J, and Lil’ Kim.

25A Stat for Aaron Judge : RBI

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. Judge set the American League single-season home run record in 2022 with 62 home runs, surpassing Roger Maris’s 61 from 1961.

32A Some scanners, for short : TSA

The AIT (Advanced Imaging Technology) full-body scanners at airports are “millimeter wave” scanners. They get their name because they use safe, non-ionizing radio waves, with wavelengths measured in millimeters (between 1 and 10 mm), to see if anything is hidden under your clothes.

35A Jan. 1 through today : YTD

Year-to-date (YTD)

36A Oodles of time : EONS

It’s thought that the term “oodles”, meaning “a lot”, comes from “kit and caboodle”.

In the idiomatic expression “the whole kit and caboodle”, “caboodle” (sometimes spelled “kaboodle”) is an informal term describing a bunch of people, or sometimes “the whole lot”.

38A Nobelist Joliot-Curie who synthesized radioactive isotopes : IRENE

Along with her husband Frederick, Irene Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Irene was the daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, who also won Nobel Prizes. Irene died when she was 58 years old, suffering from leukemia brought on by her exposure to high doses of radiation. Her mother, Marie, died from aplastic anemia, also caused by high exposure to radiation. To this day, Marie’s personal papers are kept preserved in lead-lined boxes as they are highly radioactive, even her personal cookbook.

41A Stereotypical dog : FIDO

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

43A Sol, but not Luna : NOTE

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

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

54A Possible response to “Tu veux du chocolat?” : OUI

In French, one might answer “oui” (yes) if asked “Tu veux du chocolat?” (Do you want some chocolate?).

60A Directive written in currants in “Alice in Wonderland” : EAT ME

In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Alice follows the white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds a bottle labeled “DRINK ME”. When she drinks the contents, it causes her to shrink. She also sees a cake adorned with the words “EAT ME” written using currants, and when she eats the cake she grows so big she finds it hard to stand up. After eating the cake, she utters the words, “Curiouser and curiouser”.

65A Playwright Chekhov : ANTON

Anton Chekhov was a Russian writer of short stories and a playwright, as well as a physician. He wrote four classic plays that are often performed all around the world, namely “The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Three Sisters” and “The Cherry Orchard”. All the time Chekhov was writing, he continued to practice medicine. He is quoted as saying “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.”

70A Quinceañera celebrant, e.g. : TEEN

“Quinceañera” is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday, and is an event common in many parts of Latin America.

Down

1D Indian spice blend : MASALA

“Masala” is a Hindi word meaning “spice mixture”. A dish named “masala” uses the spices incorporated into a sauce that includes garlic, ginger, onions and chili paste. Who doesn’t love Indian cuisine? Yum …

4D Fifth Avenue store : SAKS

Fifth Avenue in New York City is sometimes referred to as the “most expensive street in the world”. The section that runs through Midtown Manhattan is home to upscale stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue.

5D W-9 fig. : SSN

IRS form W-9 is a Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. It is used by businesses to obtain the Taxpayer Identification Number of independent contractors or freelancers to whom they are paying non-wage income.

7D Oscar-nominated singer/songwriter for “May It Be” (2001) : ENYA

Irish singer Enya co-wrote and performed two songs for the 2001 film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. Her song “May It Be” was nominated for that season’s Best Original Song Academy Award. The second number, called “Aniron”, was sung in Tolkien’s Elvish language called Sindarin.

12D Title for any male in the House of Saud : EMIR

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saud family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

13D Actor John who has granted more than 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation : CENA

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

14D Sportsbook calculation : ODDS

A sportsbook is a place that accepts bets on sporting events. The name comes from:

• Sports: it accepts wagers on various sports, duh …
• Book: a reference to the ledgers that “bookmakers” (or “bookies”) traditionally used to keep track of all the bets and odds.

20D Created Yoda, he did : LUCAS

George Lucas is a filmmaker best known for creating the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises. Lucas initially declined his director’s fee for the first “Star Wars” film in exchange for ownership of the merchandising and sequel rights, which the studio considered to be of little value at the time. This turned out to be a shrewd business move, as the merchandise sales for “Star Wars” have generated billions of dollars in revenue over the years.

26D Brief letters? : BVD

The men’s underwear known as BVDs are made by Bradley, Voorhees & Day. The company was started in 1876 to make bustles for women, and is named for its founders.

29D Unit of force : DYNE

A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”. Ergs and dynes are related to each other in that one erg is the amount of energy needed to move a force of one dyne over a distance of one centimeter.

30D Energy-healing practice : REIKI

The Japanese practice of hands-on healing called “reiki” was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922. “Reiki” is a Japanese term meaning “universal energy”. Practitioners of reiki believe that they are transferring this universal energy through the palms of the hand into the patient’s body.

33D Show that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025, in brief : SNL

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) was named “NBC’s Saturday Night” during its first season. This was to differentiate it from the ABC show airing at that time, called “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell”. Chevy Chase uttered the famous line “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night” in the very first SNL episode on October 11, 1975. That careful wording has persisted, even though the NBC show’s name was changed to “Saturday Night Live” after Cosell’s show went off the air in 1976.

37D Highway behemoth : SEMI

A behemoth is something that is huge in size. The term comes from the Hebrew word “b’hemoth”, which is a beast described in the Book of Job. It is suggested that the Biblical creature is an elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, crocodile or perhaps something mythical.

38D Fortune competitor : INC.

“Inc.” is a business magazine that specializes in articles about growing companies. “Inc.” publishes a list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country each year, calling it the “Inc. 500”. The “Inc. 5000” is an expanded list also published by the magazine.

39D 5.5 yards : ROD

A “rod” is a unit of length, the same length as a “perch” or a “pole”. A rod is equal to 5½ yards.

40D Subject of astrobiology, in brief : ETS

Astrobiology is the study of extraterrestrial life, as well as life on earth. The term “exobiology” applies to the study and search for life beyond earth.

42D Seattle N.H.L. team : KRAKEN

The Kraken are an NHL team based in Seattle. They played their first league game in Seattle in 2021, marking the first time that Seattle hosted a professional hockey team since the days of the Seattle Totems in 1975.

44D April fool, e.g. : CAPER

April Fools’ Day is celebrated on April 1st in the Western world. In the US (and Ireland) one can make practical jokes all day long if one wants, but in the UK there is a noon deadline. Anyone pranking after midday is called an “April Fool”.

45D Sixth word of the Gettysburg Address : AGO

I admit to having profound respect and admiration for great speeches delivered by great men and women. Forgive me as I reproduce here the full text of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.”

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

48D Bulldog supporters : YALIES

The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of Yale University. The Yale school mascot is “Handsome Dan”, the Yale bulldog. The Bulldogs’ logo features a bulldog in front of a letter Y.

50D “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being ___”: Mahatma Gandhi : HUMANE

Mohandas Gandhi was a political and spiritual leader in India in the first part of the 20th century, as the country sought independence from Britain. He was also referred to as “Mahatma”, meaning “great soul”. His remarkable philosophy of nonviolence and living a modest lifestyle was a great inspiration to the Indian people. India (and Pakistan) was granted independence in 1947. Tragically, Gandhi was assassinated the very next year.

51D Dons, as an apron : TIES ON

In Old French, a “naperon” was a “small table-cloth”. The term was absorbed into English as “napron”, describing a cloth used to cover the front of a person at work. Over time, “a napron” was heard as “an apron”, giving us our contemporary noun “apron”.

55D C-section reminder : SCAR

The story that Julius Caesar was born via caesarean section (C-section) seems to be unfounded. Although such procedures were indeed carried out in ancient Rome, there are no reports of the mother surviving (and Julius Caesar’s mother did raise her child). The term “cesarean” comes not from (Julius) Caesar, but rather directly from the Latin “caedere” meaning “to cut”.

59D “At Last” singer James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.