Constructed by: Jeffrey Lease
Edited by: Joel Fagliano
Not your puzzle? Try today’s …
… syndicated NY Times crossword
Today’s Reveal Answer: Lightning Bolt
Themed answers are all associated with LIGHTNING BOLTS. And, connecting circled letters as instructed gives us a lightning bolt in the grid:
- 37A What’s formed by connecting this puzzle’s circled letters from A to F and then back to A : LIGHTNING BOLT
- 18A Photography option commonly represented by a 37-Across : CAMERA FLASH
- 23A N.F.L. team whose helmet features a 37-Across : CHARGERS
- 50A Drink with a 37-Across in its logo : GATORADE
- 56A Character with a 37-Across on his forehead : HARRY POTTER
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… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 8m 06s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 “RuPaul’s Drag Race” airer : MTV
RuPaul is a famous drag queen who has developed a diverse career beyond performing on stage. He works as an actor, model, author and a recording artist. Famously, RuPaul doesn’t mind whether one addresses him as “he” or as “she” …
You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.
He currently hosts his own reality TV show called “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, which is billed as a search for “America’s next drag superstar”.
4 Self-assurance : APLOMB
“Aplomb” is such a lovely word, one meaning “confidence, assurance”. It is a French word that literally means “perpendicularity”, or “on the plumb line”. The idea is that someone with aplomb is poised, upright, balanced.
10 Letter that’s sixth in the Greek alphabet, not last : ZETA
Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the letter name “zed”, which became “zee”, the term that we use here in the US.
14 “I’m on vacation” email inits. : OOO
Out of office (OOO)
15 High-end German car, casually : BEEMER
A BMW automobile might be referred to, informally, as a beemer.
The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.
16 Dwarf planet with the largest mass : ERIS
Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system. It is also the ninth largest body orbiting the sun, a fact that helped relegate Pluto (the tenth largest body) from its status of planet in 2006. Eris was discovered in 2005, and named for the goddess of discord.
22 Like Igor’s posture : HUNCHED
In the world of movies, Igor has been the assistant to Dracula, Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein among others. Igor is almost invariably portrayed as a hunchback.
23 N.F.L. team whose helmet features a 37-Across : CHARGERS
The Chargers were an AFL charter team, and so the franchise was founded in 1959. The Chargers played one season in Los Angeles, before moving to San Diego in 1961, and then returning to Los Angeles in 2017.
29 Arm of the Mediterranean : AEGEAN
The Aegean Sea is that part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and Turkey. Within the Aegean Sea are found the Aegean Islands, a group that includes Crete and Rhodes.
32 Game whose name is shouted : UNO
In my youth I remember being taught a great card game by a German acquaintance of mine, a game called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that UNO is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.
37 What’s formed by connecting this puzzle’s circled letters from A to F and then back to A : LIGHTNING BOLT
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.
40 Port, for one : WINE
We tend to see two main styles of port (although there are several available): ruby and tawny. Ruby port is stored in concrete or stainless steel tanks that prevent oxidative aging, leaving the wine a bright red color. Tawny port is aged in wooden barrels, which allow gradual oxidation, leaving the wine a golden-brown color.
43 “___ So Fine” (1963 #1 hit) : HE’S
“He’s So Fine” is a great little song that was released by the Chiffons in 1962. Famously, the owners of the rights to the song sued George Harrison in 1971, claiming that he was guilty of plagiarizing “He’s So Fine” in writing his hit “My Sweet Lord”. Harrison was found guilty of “subconscious” plagiarism. In a strange twist, the Chiffons recorded a version of “My Sweet Lord” a year before the case was decided.
50 Drink with a 37-Across in its logo : GATORADE
Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida by a team of researchers at the request of the school’s football team. And so, Gatorade is named after the Gators football team.
55 Muslim denomination : SHIA
The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.
56 Character with a 37-Across on his forehead : HARRY POTTER
Author J. K.Rowling’s famous character Harry Potter has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, the result of an attack on his life as a baby by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort.
64 Tikka masala go-with : NAAN
Chicken tikka masala is a dish consisting of chicken tikka (chunks of marinated chicken) served in a masala sauce. Masala is the Hindi word for “mixture”, and describes a mixture of spices. A dish named “masala” uses the spices incorporated into a sauce that includes garlic, ginger, onions and chili paste. Although served as part of Indian cuisine, there seems to be a lot of evidence that chicken tikka masala was actually invented in an Indian restaurant in Britain.
66 Dead end? : DEE
At either end of the word “dead” is a letter D (dee).
Down
1 Friend on “Friends” : MONICA
Courteney Cox played Monica Geller on the incredibly successful sitcom “Friends”. Before “Friends” she played the girlfriend of Michael J. Fox’s character on “Family Ties” for a couple of years in the late eighties. Her role in “Friends” was her biggest success, no question, when she and her fellow female co-stars became the highest paid TV actresses ever, earning a million dollars per episode.
2 “Fair point!” : TOUCHE!
“Touché” is a term from fencing, one acknowledging a successful “touch” in a duel. The usage has been extended to mean that a successful criticism or riposte has hit home in a conversation.
3 Ixnay : VOTE AGAINST
Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).
4 Jackson 5 song that begins “You went to school to learn, girl” : ABC
“ABC” topped the charts for the Jackson 5 in 1970, and might perhaps be called the Jackson 5’s signature tune.
5 Bird with a showy mate : PEAHEN
The female peafowl, the peahen, has very dull plumage compared to the extravagant display on the tail of the peacock.
6 Madagascar mammal : LEMUR
Lemurs are unusual-looking creatures that are native to the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa. With their white fur and dark eyes that are very reflective at night, they have a “ghostly” appearance. Indeed, the animals take their name from Roman mythology in which “lemures” were spirits of the restless dead.
Madagascar is a large island nation lying off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The main island of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo).
8 Soldier for hire, in brief : MERC
Mercenary (merc.)
10 Princess of Nintendo games : ZELDA
“The Legend of Zelda” is a whole series of video games. First released in 1986, I hear that it is very successful …
11 Queen Victoria has one named for her : ERA
The Victorian era was a period in British history from 1837 to 1901 that is defined by the reign of Queen Victoria. Generally speaking, the Victorian era was a period of peace and prosperity for the UK. How times have changed …
12 “___ the Voice of the Lobster” (Lewis Carroll poem) : ‘TIS
Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born in 1832 in the village of Daresbury near Warrington in the county of Cheshire, in the northwest of England. And, let’s not forget one of Carroll’s most beloved characters, the Cheshire Cat.
19 Fedora fabric : FELT
A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …
31 French toast ingredient : EGG
The dish made from bread soaked in milk with beaten eggs and then fried is usually called French toast in the US, but it also goes by the names German toast and Spanish toast. In France, the dish is known as “pain perdu”, which translates as “lost bread”. This name is a reference to the fact that “lost” or “stale” bread can be reclaimed by dipping it in a mixture of milk and eggs and then frying it.
34 Haughty sort : SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a snob was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word “snob” was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.
36 Big name in tourism guides : FODOR’S
Fodor’s is the world’s largest publisher of English-language travel and tourist guides. The guidebooks were introduced in 1936 by Eugene Fodor, an American-Hungarian who was a keen traveller.
37 Concern when transferring a title deed : LIEN
A lien is a right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.
38 The Horned Frogs of the N.C.A.A. : TCU
The sports teams of Texas Christian University (TCU) are known as the Horned Frogs. The name is a reference to the Texas horned lizard, which is also known as the “horned frog”. The school mascot used to be called “Addy the All-American Frog, but in 1979 was renamed to “SuperFrog”.
39 Common clown name : BOBO
“Bobo the Clown” was the stage name of Chester Barnett who worked the circus circuit from the 1920s to the 1970s. Barnett gave himself the nickname “Bobo” when he was a child, using it for a persona that he adopted when he ran around the house wearing a paper bag on his head, with two holes cut to allow him to see.
40 “Doctor ___” : WHO
The iconic science-fiction television show “Doctor Who” first aired in 1963 on the BBC, and relaunched in 2005. The relaunched series is produced in-house by the BBC in Cardiff in Wales, the location that is the setting of the successful “Doctor Who” spin-off called “Torchwood”. The new show is about the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute which investigates incidents involving extraterrestrials. Why “Torchwood”? Well, “Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who”.
46 Pot brownie, e.g. : EDIBLE
“Potiguaya” is the Mexican-Spanish word for “marijuana leaves”. The slang name “pot” comes from “potiguaya”.
47 Naval engineer : SEABEE
The Seabees are members of the Construction Battalions (CB) of the US Navy, from which the name “Seabee” originates. There’s a great 1944 movie called “The Fighting Seabees” starring John Wayne that tells the story of the birth of the Seabees during WWII. The Seabees’ official motto is “Construimus. Batuimus”, Latin for “We build. We fight.” The group’s unofficial motto is “Can Do!”
49 Kitchen cover-up : APRON
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”.
53 Neon sign word : OPEN
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.
58 Molecule involved in protein synthesis : RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a single-stranded molecule that is made up of nucleotides. The four nucleotides that make up RNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U). RNA is transcribed from DNA, which means that the information stored in DNA is used to create RNA. RNA then carries this information to the ribosomes, which are the cellular structures responsible for protein synthesis.
59 Greek consonant : RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R. It is the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 “RuPaul’s Drag Race” airer : MTV
4 Self-assurance : APLOMB
10 Letter that’s sixth in the Greek alphabet, not last : ZETA
14 “I’m on vacation” email inits. : OOO
15 High-end German car, casually : BEEMER
16 Dwarf planet with the largest mass : ERIS
17 Fanatic : NUT
18 Photography option commonly represented by a 37-Across : CAMERA FLASH
20 Coffee order specification : ICED
22 Like Igor’s posture : HUNCHED
23 N.F.L. team whose helmet features a 37-Across : CHARGERS
25 Relish : LAP UP
29 Arm of the Mediterranean : AEGEAN
30 Lick … or slick : WET
32 Game whose name is shouted : UNO
33 Episode interruptions : ADS
34 Hitch : SNAG
36 Buy and then quickly sell : FLIP
37 What’s formed by connecting this puzzle’s circled letters from A to F and then back to A : LIGHTNING BOLT
40 Port, for one : WINE
41 Far from friendly : COLD
42 Poetic praise : ODE
43 “___ So Fine” (1963 #1 hit) : HE’S
44 Deli order : SUB
45 Houses : ABODES
48 Ready to be drawn, perhaps : ON TAP
50 Drink with a 37-Across in its logo : GATORADE
52 Shield : PROTECT
55 Muslim denomination : SHIA
56 Character with a 37-Across on his forehead : HARRY POTTER
60 Counterpart of flow : EBB
61 [Gasp!] : [OH NO!]
62 Tangle : ENMESH
63 Drink aptly found within “social event” : ALE
64 Tikka masala go-with : NAAN
65 Don’t have a choice : NEED TO
66 Dead end? : DEE
Down
1 Friend on “Friends” : MONICA
2 “Fair point!” : TOUCHE!
3 Ixnay : VOTE AGAINST
4 Jackson 5 song that begins “You went to school to learn, girl” : ABC
5 Bird with a showy mate : PEAHEN
6 Madagascar mammal : LEMUR
7 Portentous signs : OMENS
8 Soldier for hire, in brief : MERC
9 Surfer dude : BRAH
10 Princess of Nintendo games : ZELDA
11 Queen Victoria has one named for her : ERA
12 “___ the Voice of the Lobster” (Lewis Carroll poem) : ‘TIS
13 Pale wood : ASH
19 Fedora fabric : FELT
21 Coat, as with flour : DREDGE
24 This is a deep cut : GASH
26 Took the lead : PULLED AHEAD
27 Squadron, e.g. : UNIT
28 Grammy category : POP
30 What might be out for a spell? : WAND
31 French toast ingredient : EGG
34 Haughty sort : SNOB
35 Naught : NIL
36 Big name in tourism guides : FODOR’S
37 Concern when transferring a title deed : LIEN
38 The Horned Frogs of the N.C.A.A. : TCU
39 Common clown name : BOBO
40 “Doctor ___” : WHO
44 Agile : SPRY
45 Certify : ATTEST
46 Pot brownie, e.g. : EDIBLE
47 Naval engineer : SEABEE
49 Kitchen cover-up : APRON
50 “Catch my drift?” : GET ME?
51 Was part of a series, say : ACTED
53 Neon sign word : OPEN
54 Soften, with “down” : TONE …
56 Sweetie : HON
57 “I’ve got it!” : AHA!
58 Molecule involved in protein synthesis : RNA
59 Greek consonant : RHO
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