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Constructed by: Chandi Deitmer

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): The Right Directory

Themed answers are common phrases ending in a synonym of “directory, roll”. The corresponding clues are a collection of words that might be found in that specific directory:

• 17A Amex, Visa, Discover, etc. : CARD CATALOG
• 27A Dell, Acer, Apple, etc. : COMPUTER MENU
• 45A Ones, fives, tens, etc. : CASH REGISTER
• 59A Whites, knits, delicates, etc. : LAUNDRY LIST

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

Bill’s time: 8m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Hairstyle of Diana Ross and Bob Ross : AFRO

Diana Ross is one of the most prolific recording artists in history. She sang with the Supremes from 1959 to 1970 and then launched an incredibly successful solo career. Ross was listed in the 1993 edition of “The Guinness Book of World Records” as the most successful music artist ever, with eighteen #1 records.

Bob Ross was an artist and art instructor. Ross created and appeared in the long-running PBS show “The Joy of Painting”, a show which provided instructions for budding artists. He was known for some colorful phrases that he tended to repeat on screen, one of the most famous being “let’s add some happy little trees”.

17A Amex, Visa, Discover, etc. : CARD CATALOG

“Amex” is short for “American Express”, the name of the financial services company that is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler’s check businesses. The company name is indicative of its original business. American Express was founded in 1850 in Buffalo, New York as an express mail service.

VISA doesn’t actually issue any credit or debit cards. The company just sells the electronic systems and infrastructure to banks which then put the VISA logo on their own cards. Seeing the logo, both customer and merchant know to use the VISA system when making a transaction.

Sears introduced the Discover Card in 1985. The card brought with it some innovative features for the period, such as no annual fee and a higher-than-normal credit limit. As other credit card companies adopted those ideas, Discover Card later introduced cash-back bonuses on purchases.

21A Inclination to stay put : INERTIA

Newton’s first law of motion states that a body that is moving maintains the same velocity unless it is acted upon by an external force. That resistance to changing velocity is known as inertia. Johann Kepler introduced the Latin word “inertia” to describe the physical phenomenon in the 17th century. The Latin term translates as “apathy, inactiveness”. We started using the Latin “inertia” in English to mean the same thing only in the 19th century, after the term had bopped around in science texts for a couple of centuries.

24A Japanese honorific : SAN

The Japanese honorific “-san” is added to the end of names as a title of respect, and can be translated as “Mr.” or “Ms.” The usage is wider than it is in English, though. Sometimes “-san” is added to the name of a company, for example.

27A Dell, Acer, Apple, etc. : COMPUTER MENU

Computer manufacturer Dell is named for the company’s founder Michael Dell. Dell started his company in his dorm room at college, shipping personal computers that were customized to the specific needs of his customers. He dropped out of school in order to focus on his growing business, a decision that I doubt he regrets. Michael Dell is now one of the richest people in the world.

Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

Apple Computers was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company incorporated the following year, but without Wayne. He sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak, for $800. But he did make some more money, when he later received an additional $1,500 to formally withdraw his claim to the company. Dearie, dearie me …

36A Vandykes, e.g. : BEARDS

The style of facial hair known as a vandyke is made up of a mustache and a goatee, with the cheeks fully shaven. The style takes its name from the 17th century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck who wore such a beard, as did many of the men whose portrait he painted.

45A Ones, fives, tens, etc. : CASH REGISTER

What we usually call a cash register here in North America, we mostly call a “till” in Ireland and the UK. I haven’t heard the word “till” used much here in that sense …

48A Undergrad deg. option : BLA

Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA)

50A UNESCO World Heritage Site in England : BATH

Bath is a beautiful city in South West England of which I have very fond memories. It is an old Roman spa town, and the city’s name comes from the Roman baths that have been excavated and restored.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is better known by the acronym “UNESCO”. UNESCO’s mission is to help build peace in the world using programs focused on education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The organization’s work is aimed in particular at Africa, and gender equalization. UNESCO also administers a World Heritage Site program that designates and helps conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to humanity across the world.

56A Well-trained groups : CADRES

A cadre is, most commonly, a group of experienced personnel at the core of a larger organization that the small group trains or heavily influences. “Cadre” is a French word meaning “frame”. We use it in the sense that a cadre is a group that provides a “framework” for the larger organization.

58A Latto genre : RAP

“Latto” (also “Big Latto”, and formerly “Mulatto”) is the stage name of rap singer Alyssa Stephens. She was the winner of the first season of the LIfetime reality show “”The Rap Game”, in 2016.

65A Degs. for House and Grey : MDS

I think that “House” is one of the better shows made by Fox television. It is fun for me, coming from the other side of the Atlantic, to see English actor Hugh Laurie in the dramatic title role. I have been watching him in various comedic roles for decades. Famously, he played Bertie Wooster opposite Stephen Fry in P.G. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves & Wooster”, as well as one of the bumbling “bad guys” in the film “101 Dalmatians” (the version starring Glenn Close).

In the medical drama TV show “Grey’s Anatomy”, The main character is surgeon Meredith Grey, who is the daughter of famous general surgeon Ellis Grey. Meredith is played by Ellen Pompeo, and Ellis by Kate Burton.

Down

6D Stout grain : OAT

Oatmeal stout is a dark, rich beer known for its creamy texture due to the addition of oats during the brewing process. It often has a slightly higher alcohol by volume (ABV) than traditional stouts.

8D First-aid item : SPLINT

Orthoses are medical devices applied externally to support or immobilize part of the skeleton. Examples are splints and braces.

9D “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” singer Bridges : LEON

Leon Bridges is an R&B singer from Fort Worth, Texas who is best known for his 2015 hit single “Coming Home”. Bridges’ debut album, also titled “Coming Home,” was released in 2015 and peaked at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was praised for its authenticity and vintage sound, which Bridges achieved by recording with analog equipment and using techniques from the 1960s.

10D __ case : EDGE

An edge case is a situation that occurs at, or close to, the minimum or maximum operating parameter. Examination of edge cases is something that computer programmers have to do, to stress a program that otherwise is operating as expected. An example of an edge case is running the program using an “extreme” date, especially 29th February, leap day.

12D Raita herb : CORIANDER

What we know here in North America as cilantro is called coriander in my home nation of Ireland and in other parts of the world. “Cilantro” is the Spanish name for the herb.

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

13D Sedgwick of “The Closer” : KYRA

Actress Kyra Sedgwick is perhaps best known for playing Deputy Chief Johnson, the lead character on the crime drama show “The Closer”. Sedgwick married fellow actor Kevin Bacon in 1988. Sedgwick appeared on a family history show, and discovered that she and her husband are cousins, albeit tenth cousins once removed. I bet that was a surprise …

“The Closer” is a crime drama about a CIA-trained interrogator working for LAPD. The lead is played by Kyra Sedgwick, who is married to actor Kevin Bacon. Bacon directed his wife in several episodes of “The Closer”, including one that featured their daughter Sosie Bacon.

18D Resort town near El Arco, familiarly : CABO

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

The arch of Cabo San Lucas (“El Arco”) is located at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, at a point where the Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of California. There are a couple of adjacent beaches that have interesting names. On the Gulf side is Lovers Beach, and on the Pacific side is Divorce Beach.

22D Epic hero of Indian mythology : RAMA

In the Hindu tradition, the god Vishnu has several different avatars i.e. incarnations or manifestations. Rama is the seventh of these avatars.

25D Racetrack attraction at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris : AUTOPIA

Autopia is a race track ride that is one of the few attractions existing today that were present when Disneyland opened in 1955.

28D Many a native of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom : MOOSE

The moose is the largest species in the deer family, and can stand almost at 7 feet at the shoulder. Moose are a little unusual in that they are solitary animals, unlike other deers who tend to move in herds. We use the term “moose” here in North America, but confusingly, the same animal is referred to as “elk” in British English.

The region of Vermont known as the Northeast Kingdom is in the very northeast of the state (duh!). Its name was coined by the US Senator George Aiken in 1949. He spontaneously declared, during a public speech, “This is such beautiful country up here. It should be called the Northeast Kingdom.” The name stuck and has been the region’s official moniker ever since.

29D Critic Roger : EBERT

Roger Ebert was a film critic for “The Chicago Sun-Times” for 50 years. He also co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Siskel and Ebert famously gave their thumbs up or thumbs down to the movies they reviewed. Ebert was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, which he did in 1975. He was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in 2002, and finally succumbed to a recurrence of the disease in April 2013.

30D Crimson : RED

Both crimson and carmine are deep reds, but their tones come from two different types of insect-derived dyes. Carmine is a slightly purplish red, and its pigment is extracted from the crushed bodies of the female cochineal beetle, which is native to Mexico and South America. This was the dye used to create the red coats of the British army. Crimson’s pigment is extracted from the scale insect called Kermes vermilio, which lives on the sap of oak trees in the Mediterranean.

31D Like most flea market goods : USED

Flea markets are known by various names around the world. In Australia, the term “trash and treasure market” is used. Such outdoor events are called car boot sales in Britain and Ireland, whereas indoor versions might be jumble sales or bring-and-buy sales.

32D Catchall abbr. : MISC.

Out terms “miscellany” and “miscellaneous” ultimately come from the Latin verb “miscere” meaning “to mix”.

42D Home to the Lakes of Ounianga : CHAD

The Lakes of Ounianga in northeastern Chad are located in the heart of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and hottest places on Earth. The series of lakes are fed by a huge underground aquifer of “fossil water” that was collected thousands of years ago.

51D Flutist’s quaver : TRILL

In music a “trill” is the rapid alternation of two tones that are very close to each other to make a vibrato sound.

52D “Siddhartha” novelist : HESSE

The 1922 novel “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse focuses on the spiritual journey of a man called Siddhartha. Even though the Buddha’s name was Siddhartha Gautama before he renounced his former life, Hesse’s Siddhartha is a different character, but one who lived around the time of the Buddha.

55D Actor Malek : RAMI

Actor Rami Malek’s big break came with the leading role in the television series “Mr. Robot”. In 2018, Malik gave an Oscar-winning performance playing Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That marked the first time that an actor of Egyptian descent won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

57D Étouffée, for one : STEW

Étouffée is a Cajun and Creole dish made with shellfish, the most famous version being Crawfish Étouffée. Étouffée is like a thick shellfish stew served over rice. The dish uses the cooking technique known as “smothering” in which the shellfish is cooked in a covered pan over a low heat with a small amount of liquid. “Étouffée” is the French word “stifled, smothered”.

61D Beats by __ : DRE

Beats by Dre is a brand of audio products made by Beats Electronics, a company that was co-founded by rapper Dr. Dre. Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in 2014, the largest acquisition by far in the company’s history.