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Constructed by: Winston Emmons
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Anagram … Clue

Themed answers are defined by the end of corresponding clues, and are anagrams of the missing word(s) at the start of the clues:

• 15A Cleanliness is next to … a minimalist approach? : DOING LESS (… godliness)
• 19A Going to hell in a … damaged armored vehicle? : BASHED TANK (… handbasket)
• 34A Don’t throw the baby out with the … decorative Halloween ring? : BAT WREATH (… bathwater)
• 50A The only thing we have to fear is … feeling better quickly? : FAST RELIEF (… fear itself)
• 56A Famous … weapon that would dissolve in water? : SALT SWORD (… last words)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 7m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 PIN point : ATM

One enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Given that the N in PIN stands for “number”, then “PIN number” is a redundant phrase. And, given that the M in ATM stands for “machine”, then “ATM machine” is a redundant phrase as well. Grr …!

12 Napping racer of fable : HARE

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

13 “Vive le __!” : ROI

“Vive le roi!” is French for “Long live the king!” “À bas le roi!” is French for “Down with the king!”, which was a phrase often heard during the French Revolution.

14 Gas brand with a torch logo : AMOCO

“Amoco” is an abbreviation for “American Oil Company”, an oil company that merged with BP in 1998. Amoco was the first oil company to introduce gasoline tanker trucks and drive-through filling stations. I wonder if they know what they were starting …?

18 Muppet who had a meltdown over a rock named Rocco : ELMO

In 2002, The Muppet Elmo got to testify before a US House subcommittee. Elmo’s goal was to get an increase in funding for music education. In the transcript of the hearing, his statements are ascribed to “Elmo Monster” and “Mr. Monster”.

19 Going to hell in a … damaged armored vehicle? : BASHED TANK (… handbasket)

One theory about the origin of the expression “to go to hell in a handbasket” refers back to the days of the guillotine. If we are to believe the movies, those decapitated heads fell into handbaskets, and the unfortunate victim presumably headed off to hell soon after.

During WWI, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill formed the Landship Committee to oversee development of armored fighting vehicles. The vehicles in development were referred to using the codeword “tank” for secrecy. Within a few months, the committee was renamed to the “Tank Supply Committee”. The codeword eventually became the overt name for the weapon.

21 Nabisco wafer cookies : NILLAS

As one might expect, “Nilla” is a shortened form of “vanilla”. However, you won’t find any vanilla in Nilla brand cookies or wafers. They have always been flavored with vanillin, which is synthetic vanilla. Is nothing sacred …?

25 Squalid : SEEDY

We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.

30 Genesis twin : ESAU

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Esau was the elder twin brother of Jacob, and son of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau sold his birthright, which entitled him to a double portion of his father’s inheritance, for a bowl of lentil stew because he was hungry and didn’t want to wait for his brother to cook food.

36 Bart in the Pro Football Hall of Fame : STARR

Bart Starr was a football player and coach who spent his whole career with the Green Bay Packers, playing quarterback for the Packers from 1956 to 1971. Starr was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the first two Super Bowls.

38 Mongolian desert : GOBI

The Gobi, the large desert in Asia, lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. It is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This “desertification” is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert’s forward progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so-called “Green Wall of China”. The name “Gobi” is Mongolian for “waterless place, semidesert”.

39 Altar constellation : ARA

The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.

48 MIT’s domain : EDU

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

50 The only thing we have to fear is … feeling better quickly? : FAST RELIEF (… fear itself)

When Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as president for his first term, he made a 20-minute inaugural address. The most famous lines of the speech are probably:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

54 Pad __ : THAI

The delicious dish called pad Thai is a meld of stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind juice, red chili pepper plus a mix of vegetables and possibly tofu, meat or fish. It is usually topped with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime. The name “pad Thai” translates as “fried Thai-style”.

55 Monteverdi work : OPERA

The Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi was a true pioneer. His opera “L’Orfeo” was one of the first operas ever composed, and is the earliest surviving opera that is still regularly performed. The debut performance of “L’Orfeo” was in 1607.

58 Some Redfin transactions : RELOS

Redfin is a real estate company founded in 2004 and based in Seattle.

60 Ont. neighbor : MINN

Minnesota in the Upper Midwest shares a water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. It also borders Iowa to the south, and North and South Dakota to the west. To the north are the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

61 L’Oréal polish brand : ESSIE

Essie Cosmetics is a company that was founded by Essie Weingarten, and which is now owned by L’Oreal. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth II would only wear Essie’s Ballet Slippers color nail polish. Well, that’s what Wikipedia claims …

62 Icarus, to Daedalus : SON

Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.

Down

1 German auto pioneer : DAIMLER

German engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz worked independently of each other, although just sixty miles apart, to develop the first gasoline-powered vehicle. Most historians credit Benz the win in that race in 1885/86, as he came up with a three-wheel vehicle that used a four-stroke gasoline engine for power. Daimler showed off his four-wheel vehicle in 1886, that was also powered by a four-stroke gasoline engine. Daimler died in 1900, and the company bearing his name merged with Benz’s company in 1926 to form Daimler-Benz. Benz passed away three years later, in 1929.

2 “Baked the Right Way” bread brand : ARNOLD

The Arnold bread company was founded in 1940 as a small bakery Stamford, Connecticut by Dean and Betty Arnold.

11 Long-haired terrier, familiarly : YORKIE

The Yorkshire terrier is a breed of dog from the county of Yorkshire in the north of England. That part of the country became very industrialized in the 19th-century, and was home to hundreds of clothing mills. The “Yorkie” was developed to catch rats in those mills.

20 Clean water company : ECOLAB

Ecolab is a company that specializes in water treatment. It was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, with the company’s first product being a cleaning solution for carpets in hotels.

22 Per annum : A YEAR

The Latin word for year is “annus” (plural “anni”). We often see it used in Latin phrases, but usually with a different spelling. In “anno Domini”, the “anno” is the ablative case of “annus” as the phrase means “in the year of the Lord”. Another example is “per annum”, in which “annum” is the accusative case as the literal translation of the phrase is “during the year”.

26 Detroit labor org. : UAW

The United Auto Workers (UAW) was founded to represent workers in auto plants in the Detroit area in 1935. Nowadays the UAW’s membership extends into aerospace, agriculture and other industries.

28 Texter’s “How disappointing” : SMH

Shaking my head (SMH)

35 Proterozoic, e.g. : EON

The Earth’s Proterozoic eon lasted from about 2,500 to 540 million years ago. The eon started with the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, and ended just before complex life began to proliferate.

36 Colorful shawls : SERAPES

“Serape” is the English pronunciation and spelling of the Spanish word “zarape”. A zarape is like a Mexican poncho, a soft woolen blanket with a hole in the middle for the head. Most serapes have colorful designs that use traditional Mayan motifs.

37 Mortarboard attachments : TASSELS

Tasseled mortarboards, or square academic caps, are associated with school graduations all over the world, although traditions do differ. For example in Ireland (where I come from), mortarboards are only worn by female graduates.

39 Ramos of “In the Heights” : ANTHONY

Anthony Ramos is an actor and singer who originated the dual roles of Philip Hamilton and John Laurens in the Broadway production of “Hamilton”. He went on to play Usnavi de la Vega in the 2021 film version of “In the Heights”.

41 Secret alternative : ARRID

Arrid is an antiperspirant deodorant brand introduced in the thirties. Slogans associated with Arrid have been “Don’t be half-safe – use Arrid to be sure”, “Stress stinks! Arrid works!” and “Get a little closer”.

44 Signs of life : PULSES

One’s pulse is the rhythmic throbbing of arteries that is usually detected at the wrist or the neck. The contraction of the heart creates a pressure wave in the blood that moves the arterial walls, which is detected as the pulse.

49 Asset on a blockchain, for short : NFT

Non-fungible token (NFT). I admit it; I don’t understand NFTs (or the related cryptocurrencies).

A blockchain is … well, you know … need I say more …? 🙂

51 Starship Enterprise counselor : TROI

Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the “Star Trek” universe (pun!). There have been several generations of starships with the name Enterprise, starting with the vessel numbered NCC-1701, which appeared in the original TV series. My favorite “Star Trek” series is “Next Generation”, which features USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

52 Othello advisor : IAGO

Despite being portrayed as a villain in William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Iago is one of the most complex characters in the play. He is known for his Machiavellian tactics, manipulating the other characters to achieve his selfish goals.

53 Entrepreneur Musk : ELON

An entrepreneur is someone who takes on most aspects of a business venture, from the original idea to the execution. The term is imported from French, with “entreprendre” meaning “to undertake”. The original usage in English dates back to the early 1800s, when it applied to a manager and promoter of a theatrical production.

57 Texting letters : SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is the name for the text messaging service that many of us still use on our cell phones to contact friends and family.