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Constructed by: Katherine Simonson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Animal Migration

Themed answers are common, two-word phrases, but with the ANIMAL at the end MIGRATING to the front:

• 56A Annual mass relocation, or a movement that happened four times in this puzzle? : ANIMAL MIGRATION

• 17A Meeting of monarchs? : BUTTERFLY SOCIAL (from “social butterfly”)
• 23A Lingerie for a grizzly? : BEAR TEDDY (from “teddy bear”)
• 34A Shortage of raptors? : HAWK DEFICIT (from “deficit hawk”)
• 51A Protest in support of the loser of a fabled race? : HARE MARCH (from “March Hare”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Raucous field cry : CAW!

A caw is the harsh cry of a crow, and crows might be found in fields of corn …

9 Wounded by a scorpion : STUNG

There are about 1750 different species of scorpion in the world, but only 25 or so have venom sufficiently toxic to kill a human.

16 Break down : PARSE

The verb “to parse” means “to state the parts of speech in a sentence”. “Parse” comes from the Latin word “pars” meaning “part”.

17 Meeting of monarchs? : BUTTERFLY SOCIAL (from “social butterfly”)

The monarch butterfly has very recognizable orange and black wings, and is often seen across North America. The monarch is the state insect of several US states and was even nominated as the national insect in 1990, but that legislation was not enacted.

22 Mocking irreverence : SNARK

“Snark” is a term that was coined by Lewis Carroll in his fabulous 1876 nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark”. Somehow, the term “snarky” came to mean “irritable, short-tempered” in the early 1900s, and from there “snark” became “sarcastic rhetoric” at the beginning of the 21st century.

23 Lingerie for a grizzly? : BEAR TEDDY (from “teddy bear”)

The item of lingerie known as a teddy can also be called “camiknickers”. The alternative name was used when the one-piece garment was introduced in the 1920s, a combination of a camisole and panties (aka “knickers”).

The North American brown bear is usually referred to as the grizzly bear. The name “grizzly” was given to the bear by Lewis and Clark. The term “grizzly” might mean “with gray-tipped hair”, or “fear-inspiring”. Both definitions seem to be apt …

The stuffed toy known as a teddy bear was introduced in the early 1900s and was named for President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. The toy was inspired by a political cartoon that was drawn in 1902 showing President Roosevelt on a bear hunt and refusing to kill a black bear cub. That event is celebrated annually on September 9th as National Teddy Bear Day.

30 Kicks on Route 66? : NISSANS

The Nissan Kicks is a subcompact SUV that debuted in North America for the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Juke. For the 2025 model year, Nissan introduced a fully redesigned, second-generation Kicks, featuring a larger size, more powerful 2.0L engine, and available all-wheel drive. At the same time, Nissan introduced a version of the first-generation Kicks as the 2025 Nissan Kicks Play, positioned as a more budget-friendly option.

The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road’s name really came into the public consciousness because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.

31 Moisturizer brand : OLAY

Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1952. When Oil of Olay was introduced internationally, it was given slightly different brand names designed to appeal in the different geographies. In Ireland we know it as Oil of Ulay, for example, and in France it is Oil of Olaz.

33 Central Asia’s North __ Sea : ARAL

The former Soviet Union decided to divert the two rivers feeding the Aral Sea in order to irrigate food and cotton crops. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea began to shrink dramatically in the 1960s due to the loss of water. Today, the Aral Sea is no more. Instead, there are two relatively small bodies of water labeled as the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea.

34 Shortage of raptors? : HAWK DEFICIT (from “deficit hawk”)

Hawks are birds of prey known for their sharp talons, keen eyesight, and powerful flight. They represent a remarkably diverse group of raptors, a wide array of species that have adapted to nearly every terrestrial habitat. Several birds commonly referred to as hawks are actually kites, buzzards, or even eagles.

“Raptor” is a generic term for a bird of prey, one that has talons to grip its victims.

39 Half-moon tide : NEAP

Tides on Earth are mainly caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and, to a lesser extent, the gravitational pull of the Sun. During the new moon and full moon, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are roughly aligned. Their gravitational forces combine, resulting in stronger tides called spring tides, which have higher high tides and lower low tides. During the first and third quarter moons (when we see a half moon), the Sun and Moon are at right angles relative to the Earth. This means their gravitational forces partially counteract each other, resulting in more moderate tides called neap tides. High tides are not as high, and low tides are not as low.

41 Lad of La Mancha : NINO

La Mancha is a region in Spain, a plateau lying south of Madrid. The area became especially famous after the publication of the novel “Don Quixote de La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes.

46 Slices of American cheese : SINGLES

The term “American cheese” once referred to real cheese, a type of cheddar made in the US and exported to England, where it was given the name “American”. When processed cheese was developed in 1911, the term “American cheese” was applied to that “tasty” product …

51 Protest in support of the loser of a fabled race? : HARE MARCH (from “March 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.

The March Hare is a character in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. It was the March Hare who hosted the tea party near the start of the story, in which we are introduced to another famous character, the Mad Hatter.

54 Pedestrian : BLAH

Something pedestrian is related to walking, from the Latin “pedis” meaning “of the foot”. The word “pedestrian” also developed a secondary meaning, as an adjective to describe something dull or commonplace. This likely arose from the contrast between the ordinary practice of walking compared to “exciting” modes of transportation, like riding horseback.

63 Not gross : NET

In a financial statement, “net sales” are “gross sales” net of customer discounts, customer returns and sales allowances paid if a product proves to be defective.

66 Burro : ASS

Our word “burro”, meaning “donkey”, comes from the Spanish word for the same animal, namely “burrico”.

Down

1 Avant-garde movement pioneered by Georges Braque : CUBISM

In the art movement known as Cubism, objects that are the subject of a painting are broken up and reassembled in an abstract form. The pioneers of the Cubist movement were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Georges Braque was a French artist who is perhaps best known as “the other cubist”, not the more famous cubist Pablo Picasso. Braque and Picasso were friends and colleagues, both working in Paris in the early 1900s.

2 Spelman graduate : ALUMNA

Spelman College is a women’s school in Atlanta, Georgia that was founded as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary in 1881. Spelman is part of the Atlanta University Center, along with the nearby all-male Morehouse College, with which Spelman has a long-standing relationship.

3 Suite amenity : WET BAR

A wet bar is a bar for mixing drinks (as in a home or hotel room) that contains a sink with running water. A dry bar is the same thing, but without the sink and running water.

5 Lawsuit basis : TORT

“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

6 Landon who was governor of Kansas in the 1930s : ALF

Alf Landon was the Governor of Kansas from 1933-37, and was the Republican Party’s nominee against Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 Presidential election. Landon is remembered as the candidate who “disappeared” after winning the nomination. He rarely traveled during the campaign, and made no appearances at all in its first two months. FDR famously won by a landslide, with Landon only winning the states of Maine and Vermont. Landon wasn’t even able to carry his home state of Kansas.

9 Hurling and curling : SPORTS

Hurling is the national sport of my homeland of Ireland. It’s played with a stick called a hurley and a ball called a “sliotar”. It’s thought to be the fastest team sport in the world, and certainly has to be the oldest as it predates Christianity and was brought to Ireland by the Celts.

I think curling is such a cool (pun!) game. It’s somewhat like bowls, but played on a sheet of ice. The sport was supposedly invented in medieval Scotland, and is called curling because of the action of the granite stone as it moves across the ice. A player can make the stone take a curved path (“curl”) by causing it to slowly rotate as it slides.

11 Ocean State sch. : URI

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston, with smaller campuses in Providence, Narragansett and West Greenwich.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, and is the second-most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State (and more informally “Little Rhody”), largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.

12 Cryptography org. : NSA

The National Security Agency (NSA) runs an annual Codebreaker Challenge that is aimed mainly at the student population. As best I can tell, the focus of the challenge is reverse software engineering. Checking out the Codebreaker Challenge website suggests that the NSA runs this program in order to identify and attract potential new employees.

18 Polo of “Good Trouble” : TERI

Teri Polo’s most prominent role on the big screen was Pam Focker in “Meet the Fockers” and its sequels. Pam is the wife of the character played by Ben Stiller. Polo also played the wife of Presidential candidate Matt Santos in “The West Wing”.

“Good Trouble” is a spinoff TV series that picks up where its sister show “The Fosters” left off. It follows sisters Callie and Mariana after they move out of the family home in San Diego and relocate into a communal living apartment in Los Angeles.

19 Dress for a formal puja, perhaps : SARI

Puja is a central devotional ritual in Hinduism, serving as a way to connect with and honor deities. It involves making offerings such as flowers, incense, food, and water, accompanied by the chanting of mantras and prayers.

23 Small nail : BRAD

A brad is a slender wire nail with a relatively small head that is typically used to tack pieces of wood together, i.e. to fasten either temporarily or with minimal damage to the wood. Nowadays, brads are commonly applied using a nail gun.

24 Morales of “Mission: Impossible” films : ESAI

Esai Morales is an American actor, as well as a skilled musician who can play multiple instruments. Morales was originally interested in pursuing a career in music and played in a band called “The Plan” before he turned his attention to acting. He has incorporated his musical talents into some of his acting roles. For example, in the film “La Bamba,” which tells the story of the late musician Ritchie Valens, Morales portrayed Valens’ half-brother Bob, and played the guitar and sang in several scenes.

It was Tom Cruise’s idea to adapt the “Mission: Impossible” television series for the big screen, and it became the first project for Cruise’s own production company. Cruise took on the starring role of Ethan Hunt, the point man for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

26 Forensic sample : DNA

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

27 French fashion monogram : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) was an Algerian-born French fashion designer. Saint Laurent started off working as an assistant to Christian Dior at the age of 17. Dior died just four years later, and as a very young man Saint-Laurent was named head of the House of Dior. However, in 1950 Saint Laurent was conscripted into the French Army and ended up in a military hospital after suffering a mental breakdown from the hazing inflicted on him by his fellow soldiers. His treatment included electroshock therapy and administration of sedatives and psychoactive drugs. He was released from hospital, managed to pull his life back together and started his own fashion house. A remarkable story …

29 Large ruminant in the Rockies : ELK

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”.

32 Japanese dough : YEN

The Japanese yen (JPY) is the third-most traded currency in the world, after the US dollar and the euro.

35 Cathedral feature : APSE

A cathedral is the church at the center of a Christian diocese or episcopate. The name “cathedral” comes from the “cathedra” that it houses, the “seat” of the bishop. That seat is more like a throne.

36 Amy Tan’s “Saving __ From Drowning” : FISH

“Saving Fish From Drowning” is a 2005 novel by Amy Tan about twelve American tourists traveling through China and Burma.

40 Time capsule time : ERA

A time capsule is a container of items chosen to help someone in the future understand society at the time the container is sealed. Although time capsules have been around at least from the 18th century, the term “time capsule” wasn’t coined until 1938.

43 Start : EMBARK

In getting on and off a seagoing vessel, one embarks and disembarks (also “debarks”). The terms “embark” and “disembark” come from the name of the small ship known as a barque.

47 Sandpaper measure : GRIT

Records indicate that sandpaper was actually used in China as far back as the 13th century. Back then, it was made from parchment to which sand was bonded using natural gum. Today, there is no “sand” in “sandpaper”, and instead the abrasives used are usually aluminum oxide or silicon carbide.

48 America Ferrera, for one : LATINA

America Ferrera is an actress best known for playing the title role in the TV comedy “Ugly Betty”. She is a smart lady and earned herself a presidential scholarship to study at the University of Southern California. However, Ferrera dropped out just one semester shy of graduating when she decided to turn her full attention to her role in “Ugly Betty”.

50 Medical tubes : STENTS

In the world of surgical medicine, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, in order to reduce the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

56 Part of LACMA : ART

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

58 NAACP co-founder __ B. Wells : IDA

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.

60 Bagel center? : GEE

The center of the word “bagel” is a letter G (gee).