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Constructed by: Samuel A. Donaldson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Hardly Right

Themed answers are common two-word phrases with -LY added to the starting adjective, changing it to an adverb to match the corresponding clues:

• 23A Kinda sorta up for it? : FAIRLY GAME
• 29A Like a portrait hung by a professional? : HIGHLY LEVEL
• 35A How beer is served? : COMMONLY COLD
• 49A Geeky without shame? : PUBLICLY SQUARE
• 62A Faking trendiness? : ARTIFICIALLY HIP
• 80A Vague to the max? : MAJORLY GENERAL
• 93A Having the wealth of kings and queens? : ROYALLY FLUSH
• 98A Like a smart recycler? : SAGELY GREEN
• 108A Sad, but composed? : CALMLY DOWN

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

Bill’s time: 23m 55s

Bill’s errors: 2

• TIKI (Titi)
• SIKH (Sith!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Sporty wheels : COUPE

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

14A “Purgatorio” poet : DANTE

Dante’s epic narrative poem “Divina Commedia” (Divine Comedy) is divided into three parts: “Inferno”, “Purgatorio” and “Paradiso” (Hell, Purgatory and Paradise).

20A Four Corners state : UTAH

The Four Corners region of the US surrounds the meeting point of the four states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. It is the only point in the US that is shared by four states.

21A Director Kazan : ELIA

Elia Kazan won Oscars for best director in 1948 for “Gentleman’s Agreement” and in 1955 for “On The Waterfront”. He was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when he was given the 1998 Academy Honorary Award citing his lifetime achievement in the industry. Kazan also directed “East of Eden”, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences, and “Splendor in the Grass” that included Warren Beatty in his debut role.

22A Hilo “Hi” : ALOHA

Hilo is the largest settlement on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

25A First man, in Maori mythology : TIKI

In Māori mythology, Tiki was the first man. He was created by the forest god Tāne, who fashioned him from red clay. The term “tiki” came to describe any humanoid figure carved from wood or stone.

26A Two-thirds of a magnum : LITER

The list of standard sizes for wine bottles is quite long. The main ones encountered would be:

• 187.5 ml: a “split”, often used for a single serving of champagne
• 375 ml: a “half”
• 750 ml: the standard size
• 1.5 L: a “magnum”, double the standard size
• 3.0 L: a “double magnum”, and also a “standard size” for boxes of wine

27A Cable giant acquired by AT&T : TCI

Tele-Communications, Inc (TCI) was the largest provider of cable television service in the US for a while. The company was founded in 1968 and was headquartered in Denver. TCI was bought by AT&T in 1999.

31A Four-footed Jetson : ASTRO

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1962 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

33A City on the Orne : CAEN

Caen, on the River Orne, lies in the Calvados department of France in the northwest of the country. It is famous for the WWII Battle of Caen that left the town practically destroyed. Caen is also the burial place of Norman King William I of England, also known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

35A How beer is served? : COMMONLY COLD

The common cold (also known as a “head cold”) is caused by a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. There are over 200 strains of virus that are known to cause the disease.

40A Promise not to tell, for short : NDA

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

43A “__ of Girls’ Things”: poem by Sharon Olds : ODE

American poet Sharon Olds published a 2016 collection of “Odes”, modeling it after Pablo Neruda’s celebrated “Odes to Common Things”. In “Ode of Girls’ Things”, she catalogs items like barrettes, hair ties, and silver shoes, treating them as a historical record of childhood’s end.

44A “Great Expectations” ward : ESTELLA

The novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is written in the first person through the eyes of the hero of the piece, a young orphan boy named Pip. Pip’s love interest is Estella, an orphan who was raised in the wealthy Havisham family.

45A Actress Spelling : TORI

Tori Spelling is an American actress who made a name for herself playing Donna Martin on television’s “Beverly Hills, 90210”. Tori is the daughter of film and television producer Aaron Spelling.

46A Marshmallow treat : PEEP

Peeps are marshmallow candies, usually in the shapes of chicks and bunnies, primarily sold around the Easter holiday. Peeps were introduced in 1953 by a Russian immigrant called Sam Born whose company “Just Born” makes the candies to this day. The original candies were yellow and hand-shaped to look like little chicks, hence the name “Peeps”.

The mallow family, formally the Malvaceae, is a large group of flowering plants that includes many familiar and economically important plants. Key members of this family are cotton, cacao (the source of chocolate), okra and hibiscus. The confection we call a marshmallow gets its name because it was originally made from the root of the marsh-mallow plant, a member of the same family.

47A Curly dos : PERMS

“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.

52A Son of Rebekah and Isaac : ESAU

Esau was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described with “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother Jacob, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

53A “OutDaughtered” family name : BUSBY

“OutDaughtered” is a reality TV show that aired from 2016 until 2024. It follows the lives of Adam and Danielle Busby, and their five, all-female quintuplets.

56A “¿Cómo está __?” : USTED

“¿Cómo está usted?” is a more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

67A Astrobiology subj. : SETI

“SETI” is the name given to a number of projects searching for extraterrestrial life. The acronym stands for “search for extraterrestrial intelligence”. One of the main SETI activities is the monitoring of electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) reaching the Earth in the hope of finding a transmission from a civilization in another world.

70A Cary Grant film about a gambler : MR LUCKY

“Mr. Lucky” is a 1943 film starring Cary Grant in the title role, a draft-dodging gambler who assumes a dead man’s identity to swindle a war relief charity. Spoiler alert: the con artist eventually becomes reformed, by the high-society women he intended to fleece.

74A OB test : AMNIO

Amniocentesis (“amnio” for short) is the prenatal test which involves the removal of a small amount of the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus using a hypodermic needle. The fluid naturally contains some fetal cells, the DNA of which can then be tested to determine the sex of the child and to check for the presence of genetic abnormalities.

Obstetrics (OB)

84A Early Mexican civilization : OLMEC

The Olmecs were an ancient civilization that lived in the lowlands of south-central Mexico from about 1500 BC to about 400 BC.

87A Layered potluck staple : LASAGNA

“Lasagna” was originally the name of a cooking pot, but the term came to mean a dish that was cooked in it. “Lasagna” also became the name of the flat noodle used in the dish. If you order lasagna on the other side of the Atlantic, you’ll notice the “lasagne” spelling, the plural of “lasagna”. The plural is used as there is more than one layer of pasta in the dish.

90A One of the orgs. merged in the Maastricht Treaty : EEC

The European Economic Community (EEC) was also known as the Common Market. It was a NAFTA-like structure that was eventually absorbed into today’s European Union (EU).

The European Union (EU) was established in 1993 when twelve European nations brought into effect the Treaty on European Union, usually referred to as the Maastricht Treaty. Those original members of the EU were the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Irish Republic, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

91A Rainbow backdrop : SKY

Sunlight reflected by airborne water droplets can produce rainbows. The water droplets act as little prisms, dispersing the white light into its constituent colors. Sometimes we see double rainbows. If we look carefully, we can see that the order of the colors in the first and second arcs is reversed.

93A Having the wealth of kings and queens? : ROYALLY FLUSH

The poker hand called a royal flush is the highest-ranking hand possible. It consists of a run of 10, jack, queen, king and ace, with all in the same suit.

95A Baba ghanoush bread : PITA

Baba ganoush (also “baba ghanouj” and “baba ghanoush”) is an Arab dish with the main ingredient of mashed eggplant. It is sometimes served as a (delicious) dip.

102A Yokozuna’s sport : SUMO

“Yokozuna” is the highest rank in professional sumo, with the name translating to “horizontal rope”. This name refers to the “shimenawa”, a hemp cord weighing up to 45 pounds that only these champions are permitted to wear during their ritual ring-entry ceremonies.

A yokozuna is the apex of the professional sumo hierarchy, a title translating literally to “horizontal rope.” This name derives from the shimenawa, a massive hemp cord weighing up to 45 pounds that only these champions are permitted to wear around their waist when entering the ring.

104A “__ Twist, Scientist”: Netflix series with a magic lab : ADA

“Ada Twist, Scientist’ is a children’s picture book by Andrea Beaty (illustrated by David Roberts) that was first published in 2016. An animated preschool TV series with the same name premiered in 2021.

112A Many a “Survivor” locale : ISLE

The reality show “Survivor” is based on a Swedish television series created in 1997 called “Expedition Robinson”. The American “Survivor” is widely considered as the leading reality TV show. It was the first highly-rated reality TV offering to become very profitable.

113A Magazine founder Eric : UTNE

The “Utne Reader” is known for aggregation and republishing of articles on politics, culture and the environment from other sources in the media. It was founded in 1984 by Eric Utne, with management taken over by Eric’s wife Nina Rothschild Utne in 1990.

116A “Queer Eye” expert Jonathan Van __ : NESS

Hairdresser Jonathan Van Ness is best known as the grooming expert on the TV show “Queer Eye” (the Netflix revival of the original series). He joined the cast in 2018.

118A “Hello” crooner : ADELE

“Hello” is a 2015 song by English singer Adele that won her three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. It was the first song to sell over one million digital copies in a single week in the US.

Down

1D Lunchroom, for short : CAF

“Cafeteria” is a Mexican-Spanish word meaning “coffee store” that we imported into American English around 1840. Somehow, that coffee store became a self-service dining establishment in the 1890s.

3D Like some parliaments : UNICAMERAL

The US Congress is described as “bicameral” in that it is divided into two separate assemblies, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives. The term “bicameral” comes from the prefix “bi-” meaning “two”, and the Latin “camera” meaning “chamber”. A unicameral legislature consists of a single legislative chamber. Nebraska is the only US state to use this one-house system, having abolished its upper house in 1937.

5D Beginning to lose? : ELL

The word “lose” begins with the letter L (ell).

6D Fastener on many European cars : LUG BOLT

A lug nut is a nut on which one side is tapered. Lug nuts are used to secure wheels to a vehicle. The term “lug nut” is very common in American English, while “wheel nut” is more prevalent with English-speakers outside of the US. Some European auto manufacturers use lug bolts (also “wheel bolts”) instead of nuts, which screw into a threaded hole in the wheel’s hub.

9D “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE

No one seems to be very certain of the origin of “that’s all she wrote”, meaning “there’s nothing more to be said”. One popular story is that it stems from the unfortunate “Dear John” letters that some soldiers received during WWII.

12D One resisting the five thieves : SIKH

In the Sikh tradition, there are said to be five core psychological distractions that rob a person of their spiritual peace and common sense. Known as the Five Thieves, they are lust, wrath, greed, attachment and ego.

14D Texas city where German chocolate cake was invented : DALLAS

German chocolate cake is a layered chocolate cake with coconut-pecan frosting. Despite the name, it is an American invention, with the first recipes appearing in Dallas newspapers in the mid-1950s.

15D “In space, no one can hear you scream” film : ALIEN

Here are some of my favorite movie tag lines:

• “Check in, Unpack, Relax, Take a Shower” from “Psycho” (1998)
• “In space no one can hear you scream” from “Alien” (1979)
• “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies” from “The Social Network” (2010)
• “The first casualty of war is innocence” from “Platoon” (1986)
• “This is Benjamin. He’s a little worried about his future” from “The Graduate” (1967)
• “This is the weekend they didn’t play golf” from “Deliverance” (1972)
• “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water” from “Jaws 2” (1978)
• “Be afraid. Be very afraid” from “The Fly” (1986)
• “Yule crack up” from “Christmas Vacation” (1989)
• “For Harry and Lloyd, every day is a no-brainer” from “Dumb and Dumber” (1994)

16D Punishment for a Gen X kid : NO TV

The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

17D “Beautiful Mistakes” rapper Megan __ Stallion : THEE

“Beautiful Mistakes” is a 2021 song released by Maroon 5, and featuring rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Two of the song’s co-writers were Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine and Megan Thee Stallion. The pair also feature in the accompanying music video, Levine flying around in a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado and Megan Thee Stallion flying around in a 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III.

18D Viscount superior : EARL

In Britain, there are five ranks of peers. They are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron, in descending order.

24D Tall tales : YARNS

The phrase “to spin a yarn”, meaning “to tell a tall tale”, originated in the early 1800s with seamen. The idea was that sailors would tell stories to each other while engaged in mindless work such as twisting yarn.

29D Permissible, in some diets : HALAL

“Halal” is a term describing an action or object that is permissible under Islamic Law. In particular “halal” is used to describe food that can be consumed. Anything that is not allowed is described as “haram”.

30D Some meditation practitioners : YOGIS

A yogi is a master practitioner of yoga. A master practitioner who is female might be referred to as a yogini.

33D Cheddar kin : COLBY

Colby is a cheese that is similar to cheddar. It was developed in 1874 in a cheese factory near the Wisconsin village of Colby, hence the name.

36D Ukrainian port south of Kyiv : ODESA

The city of Odessa (also “Odesa”) in Ukraine was founded relatively recently, in 1794 by Catherine the Great. The city was originally meant to be called Odessos after an ancient Greek city believed to have been located nearby. Catherine liked the way the locals pronounced the name as “Odessa” and so went with the less Greek-sounding name.

38D __ soda : CLUB

We call carbonated water “club soda”, because “Club Soda” used to be a brand name. The Club brand of drinks is actually Irish, and is owned by a company now known as C&C. As kids, we grew up on Club Orange and Club Lemon. Club Soda, not so much …

39D Cirque du __ : SOLEIL

Cirque du Soleil is an entertainment company based in Montreal. The company was founded in 1984, by two former street performers, and stages spectacular shows that are a dramatic mix of circus and street entertainment. I’ve seen several Cirque du Soleil shows over the years, and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. Well, “R.U.N” didn’t “run” in Vegas for very long, and it was a big disappointment …

41D Baseball Hall of Famer Jeter : DEREK

Derek Jeter played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees, and was the team’s captain. Jeter is the all-time career leader for the Yankees in hits, games played, stolen bases and at bats. He is also the all-time leader in hits by a shortstop in the whole of professional baseball. Jeter’s performances in the postseason earned him the nicknames “Captain Clutch” and “Mr. November”. Jeter retired from the game in 2014.

45D Immune system component : T CELL

T cells are a group of white blood cells that are essential components of the body’s immune system. T cells are so called because they mature in the thymus, a specialized organ found in the chest.

48D Genetic change : MUTATION

A mutation is simply a change in the sequence of DNA, analogous to a typo in a recipe. These “typos” are the ultimate source of all genetic variation, creating new versions of a gene called alleles. For instance, the original human gene for eye color was likely for brown eyes, but mutations created the new alleles that give us blue, green, and hazel eyes.

51D Covey member : QUAIL

“Quail” is a name used for several chicken-like wild birds. They are common prey for hunters.

59D Hullabaloo : DIN

Our word “hullabaloo”, meaning “commotion”, is a derivative of an older term “hollo-ballo”. “Hollo-ballo” was a word used for an uproar in the north of England and Scotland.

60D Sylvia of jazz : SYMS

Sylvia Syms was a jazz singer from New York. Frank Sinatra called Syms the “world’s greatest saloon singer”, and gave her the nickname “Buddha”. Syms actually died on stage, suffering a heart attack at the age of 74.

65D Last name of filmmakers Ethan and Joel : COEN

Ethan and Joel Coen, often referred to as the Coen Brothers, are a pair of very successful movie directors and producers. For many of their early films, including “Fargo”, the credits listed Joel as director and Ethan as producer, even though they co-directed every aspect; this was a way to bypass certain guild rules at the time. They later began receiving joint directing credits.

74D “The Information” novelist Martin : AMIS

“The Information” is a 1995 satirical novel penned by English author Martin Amis. It is somewhat autobiographical in that both of the two main characters are based on Amis, according to the author himself. They are two novelists who have been friends since their university days. One is very successful, and the other is not. “The Information” caused quite a stir in British literary circles because Amis was given a record-breaking £500,000 as an advance.

76D Says grace, e.g. : PRAYS

A grace is a short prayer recited before or after a meal, especially in the Christian tradition. The term “grace” comes from the Latin “gratiarum actio” meaning “act of thanks”.

77D Tabula __ : RASA

Tabula rasa (plural “tabulae rasae”) is the idea that people are born with a “blank, clean slate”, and that knowledge comes from experience and perception. “Tabula rasa” translates literally from Latin as “scraped tablet”.

78D Airline that doesn’t fly during the Sabbath : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”. The company started operations in 1948, with a flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv. Famously, El Al only operates six days a week, not flying on the Sabbath.

82D “If it isn’t my nemesis!” : YOU AGAIN!

Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant pay a price for their attitudes. In modern parlance, one’s nemesis (plural “nemeses”) is one’s sworn enemy, often someone who is the exact opposite in character but someone who still shares some important characteristics. A nemesis is often someone one cannot seem to beat in competition.

83D Online finance firm : E-LOAN

E-Loan used to be based just down the road from me in the San Francisco Bay Area, but after a takeover by a Rosemont, Illinois company it was moved to the parent’s headquarters. E-Loan was founded in 1997 to provide customers access to mortgages over the Internet.

84D Bozos : OAFS

The unsavory word “bozo” describes a person with a low IQ, and someone who is usually quite muscular. The term has been used since the early 1900s, and possibly comes from the Spanish “bozal” that was used to describe someone who spoke Spanish poorly.

89D Sleep aid brand : NYTOL

“Nytol” is a brand name for the drug diphenhydramine which is primarily used as an antihistamine. The drug also has a strong hypnotic effect and is used by some people as a non-prescription sleep aid.

92D Edmonton NHL team : OILERS

The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers are so called because they are located in Alberta, Canada … oil country.

93D Big Cup candy brand : REESE’S

Hershey’s produces three sizes of Peanut Butter Cups now. Alongside “standard”, we can buy “Mini” and “Big Cup”.

95D Black tea grade : PEKOE

A pekoe (or more commonly “orange pekoe”) is a medium-grade black tea. There is no orange flavor in an orange pekoe tea. The “orange” name most likely derived from the name of the trading company that brought the tea to Europe from Asia.

96D Hawks : SELLS

The verb “to hawk” has a Germanic origin, and comes from the Low German word “hoken” meaning “to peddle”. A hawker is actually slightly different from a peddler by definition, as a hawker is a peddler that uses a horse and cart, or a van nowadays perhaps, to sell their wares.

98D RSVP convenience : SASE

An SAE is a “stamped, addressed envelope”. An SASE is a “self-addressed, stamped envelope”.

103D Funny bone neighbor : ULNA

The ulnar nerve runs alongside the ulna (one of the bones in the lower arm). It is the largest unprotected (not surrounded by muscle or bone) nerve in the human body. The nerve can be touched under the skin at the outside of the elbow. Striking the nerve at this point causes an electric-type shock known as hitting one’s “funny bone” or “crazy bone”.

105D USMC truant : AWOL

United States Marine Corps (USMC)

108D Ruminant’s mouthful : CUD

Ruminants are animals that “chew the cud”. They 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. We also use the verb “to ruminate” in a figurative sense, to mean “to muse, ponder, chew over”.

109D Peruvian legend Sumac : YMA

Yma Sumac was a Peruvian soprano. She had a notable vocal range of five octaves.