Constructed by: Mark Bickham
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: None
Bill’s time: 9m 50s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…”Star Wars” High Council member..JEDI MASTER
In the “Star Wars” universe, the members of the Jedi Order progress through six ranks:
- Jedi Youngling
- Jedi Padawan
- Jedi Knight
- Jedi Master
- Jedi Master of the High Council
- Jedi Grand Master of the Order
11…Co. leaders..MGTS
Management (mgt.)
15…Writing desk..ESCRITOIRE
An escritoire (from the French “écritoire”, meaning “writing case”) is a writing desk, often a portable unit that is a little larger than a “lap desk”.
17…Where the Walking Piano scene in “Big” was filmed..FAO SCHWARZ
FAO Schwarz is perhaps the most famous, and is certainly the oldest, toy store in the United States. The FAO Schwarz outlet on Fifth Avenue in New York City closed in 2015. This store was famously used in several Hollywood movies. For example, it was home to the Walking Piano that Tom Hanks played in the movie “Big”.
18…Toy since ancient times..PEKE
The pekingese breed originated in China, as one might suspect from the name. Breeding practices have resulted in the the dog having many health problems, including breathing issues related to the “desirable” flat face. Standards have been changed in recent years, demanding an “evident muzzle” in an attempt to breed healthier dogs.
21…ZzzQuil competitor..SOMINEX
ZzzQuil, Benadryl, Unisom and Sominex are all brand names for the antihistamine diphenhydramine, which also has sedative properties.
25…Spanish uncle?..NO MAS!
“No mas!” translates from Spanish as “no more!”.
To “say uncle” is an American expression meaning to submit or yield. Its usage dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”
26…Action toys since 1964..GI JOES
G.I. Joe was the original “action figure”, the first toy to carry that description. G.I. Joe first hit the shelves in 1964. There have been a few movies based on the G.I. Joe figure, but, more famous than all of them I would say is the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane” starring Demi Moore in the title role. I thought that “G.I. Jane” had some potential, to be honest, but it really did not deliver in the end.
29…Discombobulated..ASEA
To discombobulate is to faze, disconcert, to confuse.
31…Single dose?..DAT
The New York dialect of English is sometimes called Brooklynese, I believe. In Brooklynese, we might take “dis”, “dat”, “dese” or “dose”.
43…Many a single..LINE DRIVE
In baseball, a line drive is a ball that is hit low, hard and straight.
45…Ds, in the key of C..RES
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.
46…Sum is a form of it..ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.
53…Chemical bases..ALKALIS
The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are the alkalis, the hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.
56…Gambling initials..OTB
Off-Track Betting (OTB) is the legal gambling that takes place on horse races outside of a race track. A betting parlor can be referred to as an OTB.
59…Once-venerated bird..IBIS
The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!
60…Homeric island dweller..LOTUS-EATER
The lotus-eaters were a race of people that featured in Greek mythology. The lotus flowers and fruits that were consumed were supposedly narcotic and addictive, and so the lotus-eaters enjoyed a life largely asleep in peaceful apathy.
65…Kid..TYKE
“Tyke” has been used playfully to describe a young child since at least 1902, but for centuries before that a tyke was a cur or mongrel, or perhaps a lazy or lower-class man.
Down
1…Buckley who covered Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”..JEFF
I’ve never been a big fan of the music of Canadian singer Leonard Cohen (don’t all yell at me at the same time!). That said, his 1984 song “Hallelujah” is superb, particularly the version recorded by Jeff Buckley in 1994.
2…Son of Rebecca..ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
3…Anti-rodent brand..D-CON
“d-Con” is a line of rodent control products that has been around for over 50 years.
4…Return letters..IRS
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
5…Most popular boy’s name in 44 of the last 100 years..MICHAEL
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of the 1,000 most common baby names for the prior year annually, just before Mother’s Day. The list is compiled using applications for Social Security cards. The most popular names for 1915-2014 for males are (in order): James, John, Robert, Michael and William. The most popular female names are: Mary, Patricia, Jennifer, Elizabeth and Linda.
6…Foxhole absentees, so it’s said..ATHEISTS
The phrase “There are no atheists in foxholes” is meant to convey the idea that in times of extreme fear, all people will believe in a higher power, no one is an atheist.
A foxhole, as one might expect, is another name for a fox’s den. Starting in WWI the term was used to describe a shallow pit dug by a soldier to provide quick-and-dirty protection from gunfire.
8…__ Maria..TIA
Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur that was invented just after WWII in Jamaica, using Jamaican coffee beans, Jamaican rum, vanilla and sugar. The drink’s name translates to “Aunt Maria”.
11…Absent-minded A.A. Milne title character..MR PIM
A. A. Milne (of “Winnie-the-Pooh” fame) wrote a play called “Mr. Pim Passes By” in 1919. The play was a big hit and starred Leslie Howard in the original London production.
12…”The Accidental Tourist” Oscar winner..GEENA DAVIS
As well as being a successful Hollywood actress, Geena Davis is an accomplished archer and came close to qualifying for the US archery team for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Davis is also a member of American Mensa. She is quite the lady …
“The Accidental Tourist” is a novel by Anne Tyler, first published in 1985. The book was famously adapted into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance).
22…Extinct birds..MOAS
Moas were flightless birds native to New Zealand that are now extinct. The fate of the Moa is a great example of the detrimental effect that humans can have on animal populations. The Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1300 AD, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. The Moa were hunted to extinction within 200 years, which had the knock-on effect of killing off the Haast’s Eagle, the Moa’s only predator prior to the arrival of man. Moas were huge creatures, measuring up to 12 feet tall with their necks stretched upwards.
23…Seven-time All-Star third baseman Scott __..ROLEN
Scott Rolen is a former Major League Baseball player who won the Gold Glove eight times. Rolen played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds.
26…The sun, for one..G STAR
Stars are usually classified based on the color of the light that they emit. These classifications are, from hottest to coolest, O, B, A, F, G, K and M. One way to remember the order of these letters is to use the mnemonic “Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me”. The colors of these stars range from blue (class O) to red (class M). Our sun is class G, a yellow star, but I think we all know that …
27…Classic film words of self-revelation..I’M A REAL BOY!
In the 1940 movie “Pinocchio”, the title character changes from a puppet into a human and declares “I’m a real boy!”
28…TV hero who famously kissed 52-Down..JAMES T KIRK
(52D…See 28-Down..UHURA)
Lt. Nyota Uhura is the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, played by Nichelle Nichols. The role is significant in that Uhura was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first inter-racial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner says that he deliberately ran long on the first shoot (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second shoot (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.
32…Bygone messager..TELEX
Telex grew out of the world of the telegraph. What Telex brought to telegraphy was the ability to route messages. Instead of having to talk to an operator to route a particular message to the intended party, the user of a telex could route the message directly to another telex machine by way of a rotary dial, very similar to that on a telephone.
36…”__ at End House”: Christie mystery..PERIL
“Peril at End House” is a 1932 detective novel by Agatha Christie that features the Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot.
Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time, having sold about 4 billion copies worldwide in total. The only books to have sold in higher volume are the works of William Shakespeare and the Bible.
42…Color on San Jose Shark uniforms..TEAL
The San Jose Sharks hockey team play their home games at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, a venue that we locals call “the Shark Tank”.
50…Musical count..BASIE
“Count” Basie’s real given name was “William”. Count Basie perhaps picked up his love for the piano from his mother, who played and gave him his first lessons. Basie’s first paying job as a musician was in a movie theater, where he learned to improvise a suitable accompaniment for the silent movies that were being shown. Basie was given the nickname “Count” as he became lauded as one of the so-called “Jazz royalty”. Others so honored are Nat “King” Cole and Duke Ellington.
54…NYC gallery district..SOHO
The Manhattan neighborhood known today as SoHo was very fashionable in the early 1900s, but as the well-heeled started to move uptown the area became very run down and poorly maintained. Noted for the number of fires that erupted in derelict buildings, SoHo earned the nickname “Hell’s Hundred Acres”. The area was then zoned for manufacturing and became home to many sweatshops. In the mid-1900s artists started to move into open loft spaces and renovating old buildings as the lofts were ideal locations in which an artist could both live and work. In 1968, artists and others organized themselves so that they could legalize their residential use of an area zoned for manufacturing. The group they formed took its name from the name given to the area by the city’s Planning Commission i.e “South of Houston”. This was shortened from So-uth of Ho-uston to SoHo as in the SoHo Artists Association, and the name stuck.
56…Plains tribe..OTOE
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.
58…Fictional rabbit’s title..BR’ER
Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox are characters in the Uncle Remus stories, written by Joel Chandler Harris. The Uncle Remus stories are adaptations of African American folktales that Harris collected across the Southern States. “Br’er” is an abbreviated form of “brother”.
62…Pulitzer poet Lowell..AMY
Amy Lowell was an American poet, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926 for the collection of her poems called “What’s O’Clock”.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…”Star Wars” High Council member..JEDI MASTER
11…Co. leaders..MGTS
15…Writing desk..ESCRITOIRE
16…Realize..REAP
17…Where the Walking Piano scene in “Big” was filmed..FAO SCHWARZ
18…Toy since ancient times..PEKE
19…Laughs..FUN
20…Text giggle..HEE
21…ZzzQuil competitor..SOMINEX
23…Military actions..RAIDS
25…Spanish uncle?..NO MAS!
26…Action toys since 1964..GI JOES
29…Discombobulated..ASEA
31…Single dose?..DAT
33…It’s often made at parties..SMALL TALK
35…Part of a suit..SPADE
37…Unlikely to bite..TAME
38…Join for a session..SIT IN
40…Base path?..EVIL
41…Proper 53-Down..AREN’T
43…Many a single..LINE DRIVE
45…Ds, in the key of C..RES
46…Sum is a form of it..ESSE
48…Like many salons..UNISEX
49…Chance to hit..AT-BAT
51…Country..RURAL
53…Chemical bases..ALKALIS
55…Word with wire or water..HOT
56…Gambling initials..OTB
59…Once-venerated bird..IBIS
60…Homeric island dweller..LOTUS-EATER
63…Agreement with a refusal..NOR I
64…Wait follower..THERE’S MORE
65…Kid..TYKE
66…No longer fashionable..SO LAST YEAR
Down
1…Buckley who covered Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”..JEFF
2…Son of Rebecca..ESAU
3…Anti-rodent brand..D-CON
4…Return letters..IRS
5…Most popular boy’s name in 44 of the last 100 years..MICHAEL
6…Foxhole absentees, so it’s said..ATHEISTS
7…Scattered..SOWED
8…__ Maria..TIA
9…Goes thataway instead of thisaway..ERRS
10…Do a city planner’s job..REZONE
11…Absent-minded A.A. Milne title character..MR PIM
12…”The Accidental Tourist” Oscar winner..GEENA DAVIS
13…Goes down as planned..TAKES A DIVE
14…Informal glasses..SPEX
22…Extinct birds..MOAS
23…Seven-time All-Star third baseman Scott __..ROLEN
24…More thirst-inducing..SALTIER
26…The sun, for one..G STAR
27…Classic film words of self-revelation..I’M A REAL BOY!
28…TV hero who famously kissed 52-Down..JAMES T KIRK
30…Bones’ partner..SKIN
32…Bygone messager..TELEX
34…Feels off..AILS
36…”__ at End House”: Christie mystery..PERIL
39…Complex parts..NEUROSES
42…Color on San Jose Shark uniforms..TEAL
44…Evidence provider..DNA TEST
47…Circus equipment..STILTS
50…Musical count..BASIE
52…See 28-Down..UHURA
53…Improper 41-Across..AIN’T
54…NYC gallery district..SOHO
56…Plains tribe..OTOE
57…Trillion: Pref…TERA-
58…Fictional rabbit’s title..BR’ER
61…Address bk. info..TEL
62…Pulitzer poet Lowell..AMY
Saturday LAT: 10 letter (errors and unfilled) DNF mainly centering around due east. Cluing got a little weird on those, including another hair-care related clue (48A) that’s strange to me – aren’t all salon’s UNISEX now that most barber-type places are extinct (I know I always got my hair cut in them since about 16 or so because there weren’t any other options)? Other than that, always the lack of knowledge type stuff. But a fairly good effort, still way too much time on it, but a good effort.
@Jeff
As I predicted, people are fussing big-time about ROLLA.
@Tony
I didn’t necessarily say “easy”, I said “fun” (it was about 75 minutes or so total to both do the grid and come up with the meta answer). It was a decent challenge for me, but an imminently doable challenge. I get a feeling of probably why it was hard for you, but I’ll refrain from asking for the spoiler part of the contest thing. There’s always Monday if you want to talk about it more.
@Carrie
Each way has its own problems. Usually I have to scan the entire grid to see what people are talking about without the grid designation, as a lot of it just comes out of left-field to me on isolation. Then, like you say, you still have to refer back to the grid. But mainly I refer to grid designations to be more specific as to spots on the grid, like on Natick guesses. I’m not sure there is a way to do it without having to refer back to the grid in any way.
Onto the 21x21s: Only had time to look at the WSJ a little, but Sunday LAT awaits too.
Just finished the LAT’s grid without any final errors. I would say from looking at Bill’s solve time he is ready for next years contest! Like so many times on Saturdays (and Fridays too) I started out thinking “I’m never going to solve this thing” but somehow it comes together. Our “Puzzle” constructor for today, Mark Bickham got me with “____ Maria” as I jumped to put down “ave” which was, of course, incorrect. D’oh! Got me…
Hope all my puzzle loving FOB have a great Saturday (and Bill too, of course).
Just finished the LAT’s grid without any final errors. I would say from looking at Bill’s solve time he is ready for next years contest! Like so many times on Saturdays (and Fridays too) I started out thinking “I’m never going to solve this thing” but somehow it comes together. Our “Puzzle” constructor for today, Mark Bickham got me with “____ Maria” as I jumped to put down “ave” which was, of course, incorrect. D’oh! Got me…
Hope all my puzzle loving FOB have a great Saturday (and Bill too, of course).
Finished error free. Interesting that after I finished my first ever Saturday grid, I’ve finished a lot of them since. It was probably a bit of a mental block. I remember discussing my issues with a golf pro regarding my frustrations with hitting a 2-iron on the golf course. He said the best way is to overcome that issue is to take a 2-iron, stamp a 3 on the bottom instead of a 2, and you’ll be able to hit it. Same goes for Saturday puzzles I guess.
I’m not a huge Star Wars guy so (paradoxically) JEFF gave me the hardest time with this one….go figure.
Very enjoyable grid (although people who don’t like sports might have issues with this one) with a lot of cever cluing. A+…mainly because I finished it 🙂 Then again, DAT might be grounds for a criminal case.
@Glenn
Funny. I didn’t get the whole midwest thing at all with Rolla, but you make a valid point.
@Carrie
I did see some things online that were much cheaper than what I was looking at. But buying furniture online is like buying clothes online. You never really know what you’re getting until you have it in hand. I saw some things advertised in the paper that looked like exactly what I wanted. Once I saw it in person, however, it was way too small and uncomfortable. I think I’d rather pay a little more and know what I’m getting.
Best –
…forgot to mention. The song “Hallelujah” was played at the end of a couple of shows I watch (can’t remember which). I was trying to understand the significance of it so I went online and read all the lyrics I still couldn’t figure it out. I read a lot of articles about it…and I still couldn’t figure out for the life of me what that song means. Best I could come up with is that it’s suggesting that you should celebrate everything in life the good, the bad, and the ugly…..I think. Anyone else have a clue about it? I don’t.
Best –
Mgts instead of Mgrs is very misleading. “Co. leaders” implies leaders of one company, so mgts doesn’t fit nearly as well as mgrs. Pluralizing “co” fits better with mgts.
Thank you! That was to have been my only gripe (well, there’s DAT — ugh) about an all-round well-constructed puz with really bright cluing here and there. I finished in about 30 minutes, not too bad for someone who’s not a competition-level player.
The explanation for “DAT” as Brooklynese is rough. I think possibly the single dose clue might refer to the medical abbreviation for “Delayed Action Tablet”. Hard to understand what’s behind the clue otherwise.
DCon, the rat poison has been off the market by agreement with the EPA since 2014. This was done to protect wildlife like owls, hawks, foxes etc. that might eat mice running around with poison in their bodies. 12 DCon products were banned but there may be lesser poisons with that name on shelves.
An enjoyable :20 for me. Lots of sports, so I know some people won’t like it.
“Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley is consistently one of the most popular songs on the SongFacts website. Even moreso than “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s a beautiful song.
And Bill…you know entirely way too much about Stars Wars stuff! 😀
Just finished the WSJ “large” grid. It came together slowly, but without any final errors. Either I was more tired than I thought I was or my brain just wasn’t engaged in the process but as I look back on the finished grid this shouldn’t have been as hard to do as I made it.
Finished the WSJ grid with no errors myself. Not much weirdness outside of the usual. Once my brain got into gear, all of the grids I looked at seemed to go relatively like normal.
That said, I went back and finished last week’s 21x21s (WSJ and LAT). I guess I was just overly tired and frustrated over the language. While the clues on both were much harder than I’m used to, they finished out easily enough (2 letters WSJ, 10 letters LAT) once I knew the right way to handle the LAT theme.
As for this Sunday’s LAT: It’ll be relatively straight forward for most if how I did with it is any indication…but further discussion on that is for tomorrow.
Finished, in ink, in about 20 minutes, tops, taking my time… This Saturday puzzle ,while enjoyable, was as easy as a ‘circle/find-a-word’ on any given weekday… No particular sweat, or ‘brain-strain’necessary… Thank you ,however, as it included two of my favorite answers all at once, the names ‘Michael’ and ‘Joe’, my two beloved sons..:)
Wow, I’m impressed by those of you who finished this! I DID finish, but had three letters wrong, so for me a successful Saturday.
@Richard & Joe, agree re. MGTS. Poor cluing, tho the rest of the grid was well written, I thought. I had CEOS, then AGTS, neither of which works well either.
And, I had YELEX!! I completely blanked on TELEX, and I had DAY instead of DAT, as in one dose a day.
Hey Glenn, I see your point. I tend to think it’s more about the word than the placement, even on a double-crossing Natick. I guess we have different approaches to these things….?
@Jeff I hear U. I’ve been lucky with ordering furniture online, knock wood…
So, apparently Tony has an anonymous doppelgänger!
@jeff again: Now I have to Google “Hallelujah.” I’ll let you know my conclusions, such as they are. You’re probably right as to the meaning tho.
Thanks Bill, and enjoy your Sunday everyone?!!
Sweet dreams~~?
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I disagree. Look at
http://www.brendanemmettquigley.com/2011/03/crossword-314-themeless-monday-interview-with-dan-feyer.html
Sincerely, Alpha