Tag: Romulus and Remus e.g. for short crossword clue

Bill’s time: 15m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Romulus and Remus, e.g., for short : SIBS

According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born, perhaps instead of “Reme”!

14A Skateboarding trick : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. A similar move can be performed on a snowboard. Yeah, I could do that …

16A Bird related to the 46-Down : RHEA
[46D World’s second-tallest bird : EMU]

The rhea is a flightless bird that is native to South America. It takes its name from the Greek Titan Rhea. That’s an apt name for a flightless bird as “rhea” comes from the Greek word “éra” meaning “ground”.

17A City center, often : PLAZA

“Plaza” is a Spanish word meaning “square, place”.

20A “Les ___” : MIZ

The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London many years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor who had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.

22A Setting of “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” : IOWA

“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” is a 1993 film adapted from a 1991 novel of the same name by Peter Hedges. The film stars Johnny Depp in the title role, and Leonardo DiCaprio as Gilbert’s mentally disabled brother.

23A 10 Hamiltons : BENJAMIN

Benjamin Franklin’s portrait is featured on one side of the hundred-dollar bill (also called a “C-spot, C-note, benjamin”), and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on the other side. There is a famous error in the image of Independence Hall. If you look closely at the clock face at the top of the building you can see that the “four” is written in Roman numerals as “IV”. However, on the actual clock on Independence Hall, the “four” is denoted by “IIII”, which has been the convention for clock faces for centuries.

The obverse of the US ten-dollar bill features the image of Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury. As such, ten-dollar bills are sometimes called “Hamiltons”. By the way, the $10 bill is the only US currency in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left. The reverse of the ten-dollar bill features the US Treasury Building.

32A Daiquiri flavor : BANANA

Daiquirí is a small village on the coast near Santiago, Cuba and a key location in the American invasion of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Supposedly, the cocktail called a “daiquiri” was invented by American mining engineers in a bar in nearby Santiago.

36A George Washington’s presidential status on February 4, 1789 : ELECT

After George Washington was inaugurated as president in 1789, he lived in the Samuel Osgood House and then the Alexander Macomb House in New York City. When the capital moved to Philadelphia, President Washington occupied the Market Street Mansion, as did his successor John Adams. President Adams moved to the White House in the nation’s new capital in 1800.

37A Chrome alternative : SAFARI

Safari is Apple’s flagship Internet browser, one that is used on its Mac line of computers. A mobile version of Safari is included with all iPhones.

Google’s Chrome is the most popular web browser by far, with Mozilla Firefox in second place and Apple’s Safari in third. I find Chrome to be much, much more user-friendly than Safari, and more featured than Firefox. Chrome also works very seamlessly with other Google products and with Android phones.

39A Simple wooden shoes : SABOTS

There is a story that disgruntled textile workers would kick their wooden shoes, called “sabots”, into the looms in order to disable them so that they didn’t have to work. This act of vandalism was named for the shoe, an act of … “sabotage”.

42A Last full year of John Adams’s presidency : MDCCC

John Adams was the second President of the United States. I must admit that I learned much of what I know about President Adams in the excellent, excellent HBO series “John Adams”, which is based on David McCullough’s 2001 biography of the same name. Having said that, I have also visited the Adams home in Quincy, Massachusetts several times. He was clearly a great man with a great intellect …

46A Heart chart, for short : ECG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

50A Jewish mysticism : CABALA

“Cabala” refers to a Jewish mystical doctrine. The word has several spellings, including “Kabbalah”, “Qabalah” and “Cabalah”, which can correspond to different historical and theological traditions. The Hebrew root of the term means “to receive”, which is a reference to the oral tradition of receiving mystical knowledge.

52A “Nixon in China” tenor : MAO

“Nixon in China” is an opera by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. The piece was inspired by President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972.

53A Periodic survey started under Secy. of State Thomas Jefferson : US CENSUS

The taking of the nationwide census every ten years is a requirement specified in Article 1, Section 2 of the US Constitution. The first US census was taken in 1790. As stated in the Constitution, the main purposes of the census are to ensure fair representation by population, and fair assessment of direct taxes.

The US Department of State is the equivalent of the Foreign Ministry in many other countries, and is responsible for international relations. Ceremonially, the Secretary of State is the highest ranking of all Cabinet officials, and is the highest ranking in the presidential line of succession (fourth, after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tem of the Senate). The department was created in 1789 by President Washington, and was the first of all executive departments created. The first Secretary of State was future-president Thomas Jefferson.

58A “Father of the Constitution” and his family : MADISONS

James Madison was one of the Founding Fathers, and the fourth President of the US. Madison played a key role in drafting the US Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights, and so is sometimes referred to as the Father of the Constitution. Along with future president Thomas Jefferson, Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party, which was one of the nation’s first two major political parties along with Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Party.

60A Like the Revolutionary War battles led by John Paul Jones : NAVAL

John Paul Jones was perhaps the most famous naval commander in the American Revolutionary War, and is sometimes referred to as “Father of the American Navy”. After the American Revolution, Jones found himself basically out of a job for several years until he signed up with Catherine II’s Russian Navy in 1787. He was given the rank of rear admiral, but served just one year with the Russians. Jones left in 1788, having been awarded the Order of St. Anne for his service. He died in 1792 in Paris while serving as US Consul, and was buried at the city’s Saint Louis Cemetery. His remains were exhumed in 1905 and finally re-interred in a sarcophagus at the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis in 1913.

64A First signer of the Declaration of Independence : JOHN HANCOCK

We use the term “John Hancock” to mean a signature. The reference is to the large and flamboyant signature placed by John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence. Hancock was President of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777.

66A “The Divine ___” (showbiz nickname) : MISS M

One of my favorite singers, and indeed all-round entertainers, is Bette Midler. If you’ve ever seen her live show you’ll know that “camp” is a good word to describe it, as her humor is definitely “out there” and quite bawdy. Early in her career, Midler spent years singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York City. There she became very close friends with her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. While singing in the bathhouse, Bette only wore a white towel, just like the members of her audience. It was in those days that she created her famous character “the Divine Miss M” and also earned herself the nickname “Bathhouse Betty”.

68A Conglomeration : OLIO

“Olio” is a term meaning “hodgepodge, mixture” that comes from the mixed stew of the same name. The stew in turn takes its name from the Spanish “olla”, the clay pot used for cooking.

70A Soul singer Adams : OLETA

Oleta Adams is an American soul singer from Seattle, Washington. Adams has had most of her success over in the UK, rather than here in the US.

71A Angler’s hope : BITE

We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” is an Old English word meaning “hook”.

73A American settlement until 1776 … or a hint to 13 squares in this puzzle : COLONY

The Thirteen Colonies were those founded by the British on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They eventually declared independence as a group in 1776, and formed the United States of America. The thirteen were:

1. Virginia (founded 1607)
2. Massachusetts (founded as Plymouth Colony in 1620)
3. New Hampshire (1623)
4. Maryland (1634)
5. Connecticut (c. 1635)
6. Rhode Island (1636)
7. Delaware (1638)
8. North Carolina (1653)
9. South Carolina (1663)
10. New Jersey (1664)
11. New York (1664)
12. Pennsylvania (1682)
13. Georgia (1732)

Down

1D Word with bar or bunny : … HOP

The bunny hop is a dance similar to the conga, in that the dancers are in a line and holding the hips of the person in front of them. The cycle of steps is:

1. Tap the floor twice with the left foot
2. Tap the floor twice with the right foot
3. One hop forwards
4. One hop backwards
5. Three hops forwards

6D Location of “Sloop John B” on the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” album : SIDE ONE

The Beach Boys hit “Sloop John B” is a traditional folk song from the West Indies that was originally titled “The John B. Sails”. The John B. was a real boat, one used for collecting sponges. The John B. foundered and sank in Governor’s Harbor on the Bahamas in or about 1900. The folk song was around as far back as 1927, with recordings being made as early as 1935. The Kingston Trio recorded a version in 1958, as did Johnny Cash in 1959. The Beach Boys version of the song made it to #3 in the US charts in 1966. We liked it even more in Ireland and sent it to the top of the Irish charts.

“Pet Sounds” is a 1966 album recorded by the Beach Boys, with Brian Wilson being the creative force behind the album. Though not a commercial success at the time, Pet Sounds has since been recognized as one of the most influential albums in pop music history. The 2014 biopic “Love & Mercy” features Wilson’s production of “Pet Sounds” as one of the two main storylines. Good film …

7D Just chillaxing : IDLE

“Chillax” is a slang term meaning “chill and relax”. Who’da thunk it …?

10D A ___ : PRIORI

In the world of philosophy, one can have “a priori” knowledge or “a posteriori” knowledge. A priori (“from the earlier”) knowledge is independent of experience, it is just known or assumed. For example, one might say that “all boys are males” is a priori knowledge. A posteriori knowledge relies on experience or some empirical evidence. For example, one might say that “boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ADD” is a posteriori knowledge.

11D Hot dog on a roll? : SHOW-OFF

Although “hotdogging” is a term now used across all sports, it was primarily associated with skiing and described the performance of showy and risky stunts on the slopes.

12D One whose qualifications are enumerated in Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution : SENATOR

Article I of the US Constitution establishes the US Congress. The second section of Article I establishes the House of Representatives, and the third section establishes the US Senate. Section 8 of Article I lists the powers delegated to the legislature.

13D Some coll. instructors : TAS

Teaching assistant (TA)

21D Printing size : PICA

A pica is a unit of measure used in typography. One pica is equivalent to 1/6 of an inch. Also, each pica unit contains 12 points.

23D Two-time Tony winner Neuwirth : BEBE

Bebe Neuwirth is a wonderful actress and dancer who famously played Dr. Lilith Sternin, the wife of Dr. Frasier Crane on “Cheers” and “Frasier”. Neuwirth is a fabulous dancer, having studied ballet at Juilliard. In more recent years she has had starring roles on Broadway, and in 2010 played opposite Nathan Lane in “The Addams Family”. Neuwirth also played a leading role on the show “Madam Secretary”.

25D Comedian Poundstone : PAULA

Paula Poundstone is a stand-up comedian who grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts. She is a regular panelist on the NPR weekly news quiz show “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me”. I had the privilege of seeing Poundstone performing in local theaters several times over the years, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

29D ___ Island : STATEN

Staten Island is part of New York City and is the least populous of the city’s five boroughs. The island was originally called Staaten Eylandt by Henry Hudson and was named after the Dutch parliament, the Staaten Generaal.

38D Website that added podcast info in 2021 : IMDB

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website was launched in 1990, and is now owned by Amazon.com. It’s a great site for answering questions one has about movies and actors.

40D Granada grandma : ABUELA

Granada is a city and province in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Granada should not be confused with Grenada (note the different spelling), an island nation in the Caribbean that was invaded by the US in 1983.

41D Pears used for cooking : BOSCS

Bosc is a cultivar of the European pear that is grown mainly in the northwest of the United States. It is named for French horticulturist Louis Bosc. The cultivar originated in Belgium or France in the early 19th century. The Bosc is that pear with a skin the color of a potato, with a long neck.

46D World’s second-tallest bird : EMU

The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

47D Trattoria treat in a shell : CANNOLI

Cannoli (singular “cannolo”) are Italian sweet pastries that originated in Sicily. Cannoli are made by filling tubes of fried pastry dough with a creamy filling that usually contains ricotta cheese. “Cannolo” is Italian for “little tube”.

48D Doubled, say : GOT A HIT

That would be baseball.

50D Things to chew on : CUDS

Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely, exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.

57D Rowena’s love, in fiction : IVANHOE

“Ivanhoe” is an 1819 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott that is set in 12th-century England. The story is divided into three adventures that involve such characters as Richard the Lionheart, King John and Robin Hood, although the protagonist is a Saxon knight named Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe. An underlying theme in the book is the tension between the Saxons and the Normans who conquered Britain a century earlier.

59D 1970 Neil Diamond song about an imaginary childhood friend : SHILO

The Neil Diamond song “Shilo” was released in 1970. The title refers not to the Civil War Battle of Shiloh, nor to the Biblical city of Shilo. Instead, Shilo was an imaginary friend that Diamond had as a child.

65D CBS drama starting in 2003 : NCIS

The “NCIS” franchise of military police procedurals was launched in 2003 with the original “NCIS” TV show. The franchise really grew over time:

1. “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2009)
2. “NCIS: New Orleans” (2014)
3. “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” (2021)
4. “NCIS: Sydney” (2023)
5. “NCIS: Origins” (2024)
6. “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” (2025)

66D Soft slip-on, for short : MOC

“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, a type of shoe. The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.