Constructed by: David P. Williams
Edited by: Will Shortz
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Bill’s time: DNF
Bill’s errors: Too many to count ☹️
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 ___ TV : PLASMA
Plasma televisions are so called because the screen is made up of tiny cells containing electrically charged ionized gases (plasmas). Each of the cells is effectively a tiny fluorescent lamp.
7 What an alley-oop is, essentially : ASSIST
An alley-oop is a play in basketball in which one player lobs the ball close to the basket for a teammate who usually scores with a slam dunk.
13 Business headache : RED TAPE
Back in the days of yore in England, official documents were bound in bundles with red ribbon. So, getting through all the paperwork required “cutting through the red tape”.
15 Joint : REEFER
Marijuana cigarettes have been known as reefers since the twenties. It is thought that the term “reefers” comes from either the Mexican Spanish for a drug addict (“grifo”), or from its resemblance to a rolled sail, i.e. a sail that has been “reefed”.
20 One arriving tomorrow, supposedly : GODOT
“Waiting for Godot” is a play by novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett that premiered in 1953. Irishman Beckett actually wrote the piece in French, under the title “En attendant Godot”. He then translated the play into English himself.
25 Sport whose name means “the gentle way” : JUDO
Judo is a martial art from Japan that developed relatively recently, in 1882. The name “judo” translates as “gentle way”. It was the first martial art to become an Olympic sport. Judo made its debut as an Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in Japan.
27 The brachiocephalic trunk branches from it : AORTA
The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.
31 Innovation of the 1920s that’s still spoken of with wonder today : SLICED BREAD
Wonder Bread was introduced in 1921 by the Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis. Wonder Bread was introduced as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped”. The loaves were unsliced back then, with the sliced version being introduced nationally in the 1930s. It was the “wonder” of this sliced bread that eventually led to the idiom “the best thing since sliced bread”.
34 Aqua ___ : VITAE
“Aqua vitae” is Latin for “water of life”. The original use of the term was for a concentrated solution of ethanol. Over time “aqua vitae” became the term used for distilled spirits and wine. “Water of life” translates into Scots Gaelic as “uisge-beatha” and into Irish as “uisce beatha”. These terms give rise to our modern word “whiskey”.
35 “Miracle Workers” airer : TBS
“Miracle Workers” is a comedy show based on a 2012 novel by Simon Rich titled “What in God’s Name”. Rich created the show, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as an angel whose job it is to handle all of the prayers of humanity. Steve Buscemi plays God. I haven’t seen this one yet, but it sounds intriguing …
39 Fashion label founded by Rihanna : FENTY
Singer Rihanna was born and grew up on the island of Barbados and moved to the US when she was 16-years-old to pursue a singing career. “Rihanna” is her stage name, as she was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The name “Rihanna” is derived from the Welsh name “Rhiannon”. And, Rihanna sometimes goes by the nickname “RiRi”, which is also the name of her line of beauty products.
41 Farm creature : ANT
“Formicary” is another name for “ant nest”, and comes from the Latin “formica” meaning “ant”. The phrase “ant colony” describes the ants living in an ant nest. A formicarium is similar to an aquarium, and used to house an ant colony perhaps for study. The phrase “ant farm” is usually reserved for ant nests built by an ant colony in a formicarium.
42 Blender setting : PUREE
A purée is a food that has been made smooth by straining or blending. “Purée” is a French term, which I believe is now used to mean “pea soup” (more completely written as “purée de pois”). The French verb “purer” means “to strain, clean”, from the Latin “purare” meaning “to purify, clean”.
44 John Deere product : REAPER
John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.
46 Condiment sometimes mixed with mayonnaise : SRIRACHA
Sriracha hot chili sauce is named for the coastal city of Si Racha in eastern Thailand, where the recipe likely originated. Here in North America, we are most familiar with the Sriracha sold in a red bottle with a green that is made by Huy Fong Foods in the city of Irwindale, California. The manufacturer was founded by Vietnamese refugee David Tran, who escaped from Vietnam in 1978 on a Taiwanese freighter called the Huey Fong, after which he named his new company.
50 Eve ___, playwright who created the activist movement V-Day : ENSLER
Eve Ensler is a playwright whose most famous work is “The Vagina Monologues”. When Ensler was only 23 years of age, she adopted a 15 year old boy. We are familiar with that boy on the big screen these days; actor Dylan McDermott.
Down
4 “___ is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn”: Gore Vidal : STYLE
Gore Vidal was an author and political activist from West Point, New York. Vidal’s most celebrated novel is probably “Myra Breckinridge”. His most controversial work has to be “The City and the Pillar” from 1948, which is cited as one of the first major novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality.
5 Dark side of the moon? : MARE
A mare is a large dark area on the moon. “Mare” is the Latin for “sea”. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility.
9 Fleur de ___ (delicate crust on the surface of seawater) : SEL
Fleur de sel is a form of sea salt that forms as a thin crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. It is now used mainly as a finishing salt in the cooking process, meaning that it is sprinkled on the surface of a dish just before it is served. The name “fleur de sel” translates from French as “flower of salt”, which is a reference to the flowery patterns that form in the salty crust as seawater evaporates.
25 Nick, Joe or Kevin of pop : JONAS
The Jonas Brothers Pop rock band comprises brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas. They recorded their first song in 2005, and really achieved fame a few years later due to repeated appearances on the Disney Channel. They split up in 2013, citing “creative differences”, but came back as a trio in 2019.
28 Best, in an idiom : CREME
The crème de la crème are the elite, the best of the best. The term “crème de la crème” is French, and translates as “cream of the cream”.
35 Alan of “Growing Pains” : THICKE
Canadian actor Alan Thicke is best known for portraying the patriarch of the Seaver family on the sitcom “Growing Pains”. He was also quite successful as a composer of TV theme songs. Along with his first wife, Thicke co-wrote the theme songs to the sitcoms “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”.
42 Name added to a Brazilian dictionary in 2023 as an adjective meaning “incomparable” : PELE
“Pelé” was the nickname of Edson de Nascimento, a soccer player who used the name “Pelé” for most of his life. For my money, Pelé was the world’s greatest ever player of the game. He was the only person to have been a member of three World Cup winning squads (1958, 1962 and 1970), and was a national treasure in his native Brazil. One of Pele’s nicknames was “O Rei do Futebol” (the King of Football).
45 Campaigner, informally : POL
Politician (pol)
47 What some smartphones run on : IOS
iOS is what Apple now calls its mobile operating system. Previously, it was known as iPhone OS.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 ___ TV : PLASMA
7 What an alley-oop is, essentially : ASSIST
13 Business headache : RED TAPE
15 Joint : REEFER
16 Breeze for the beach, maybe : EASY READ
18 “Never attribute to ___ that which is adequately explained by stupidity” (Hanlon’s razor) : MALICE
19 Not stiff at all : AGILE
20 One arriving tomorrow, supposedly : GODOT
22 Set piece? : GEM
23 Superficially clever : CUTE
24 Put off : DETER
25 Sport whose name means “the gentle way” : JUDO
26 “Tee” follower : -HEE
27 The brachiocephalic trunk branches from it : AORTA
28 Apple product? : CORER
29 “How about that!” : I’LL BE DARNED!
31 Innovation of the 1920s that’s still spoken of with wonder today : SLICED BREAD
32 They beep when tested : SMOKE ALARMS
33 Tail, maybe : CHASE
34 Aqua ___ : VITAE
35 “Miracle Workers” airer : TBS
38 Verb that becomes its opposite when its first letter is changed to an “f” : HIRE
39 Fashion label founded by Rihanna : FENTY
40 Converse : CHAT
41 Farm creature : ANT
42 Blender setting : PUREE
43 Not fresh : TRITE
44 John Deere product : REAPER
46 Condiment sometimes mixed with mayonnaise : SRIRACHA
48 Break from the band : GO SOLO
49 Snatched up, in slang : YOINKED
50 Eve ___, playwright who created the activist movement V-Day : ENSLER
51 Fleet : SPEEDY
Down
1 “Amen to that!” : PREACH
2 American, for example : LEAGUE
3 Pop-up destination : AD SITE
4 “___ is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn”: Gore Vidal : STYLE
5 Dark side of the moon? : MARE
6 Mimic : APE
7 Heavy coat : ARMOR
8 Goal for some runners : SEAT
9 Fleur de ___ (delicate crust on the surface of seawater) : SEL
10 “That makes sense” : I FIGURED
11 Broke off : SECEDED
12 Earth-shaking event : TREMOR
14 Enthusiastic sort : EAGER BEAVER
17 Common spots for autographs : DOTTED LINES
21 Concern for the 1%? : DEAD BATTERY
24 ___ far niente (pleasant idleness) : DOLCE
25 Nick, Joe or Kevin of pop : JONAS
27 Uniform : ALIKE
28 Best, in an idiom : CREME
29 Remark from one waving a white flag : I LOSE
30 Ordered lineup : ARRAY
31 One clever enough to win every argument … but not clever enough not to : SMARTASS
32 Deceive, especially to avoid responsibility for something : SHINE ON
33 Word with electric or criminal : … CHARGE
35 Alan of “Growing Pains” : THICKE
36 Got clean, in a way : BATHED
37 Fixed : STEADY
39 Red state : FUROR
40 Towering sight at a site for a tower : CRANE
42 Name added to a Brazilian dictionary in 2023 as an adjective meaning “incomparable” : PELE
43 Set off : TRIP
45 Campaigner, informally : POL
47 What some smartphones run on : IOS
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