Constructed by: Patti Varol
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Hush
Each of today’s themed answers has the same clue, namely “Hush”.
- 20A. “Hush” : PLEASE BE QUIET
- 32A. “Hush” : DON’T SAY A WORD
- 41A. “Hush” : PUT A SOCK IN IT
- 57A. “Hush” : BUTTON YOUR LIP
Bill’s time: 5m 07s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Nebraska city on the Missouri : OMAHA
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. It is located on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.
16. Bear whose bed was too hard : PAPA
The story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” was first recorded in 1837, in England, although the narrative was around before it was actually written down. The original fairy tale was rather gruesome, but successive versions became more family-oriented. The character that eventually became Goldilocks was originally an elderly woman, and the three “nameless” bears became Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.
17. Like granola bars : OATEN
The name “Granola” (and “Granula”) were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.
18. Arabian sultanate : OMAN
Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.
19. “College GameDay” airer : ESPN
There are several sports shows on ESPN called “College GameDay”, the oldest of which is the one covering college football.
23. Funnyman Caesar : SID
Sid Caesar achieved fame in the fifties on TV’s “Your Show of Shows”. To be honest, I know Sid Caesar mainly from the very entertaining film version of the musical “Grease”, in which he played Coach Calhoun.
25. Table salt additive : IODINE
Back in 1924, a professor of pediatrics in Michigan led a campaign in the US to have producers of salt add a small amount of sodium iodide to table salt so that the population would have a readily available source of the iodine micronutrient. His goal was to reduce the incidence of goiter in the population.
30. FYI relative : BTW
By the way (BTW)
31. Cincinnati ballplayer : RED
The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.
36. Cathedral area : APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.
39. Ocean west of Eur. : ATL
The earliest known mention of the name “Atlantic” for the world’s second-largest ocean was in Ancient Greece. The Greeks called the ocean “the Sea of Atlas” or “Atlantis thalassa”.
40. Murray or Roddick of tennis fame : ANDY
Andy Murray is a tennis player from Scotland who became British number in 2006, rising to world number one in 2016. Much to the delight of the locals, Murray won the Wimbledon Championship in 2013, making him the first British male player to win in 77 years. Murray also won Olympic gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and again in the Rio Games in 2016.
Andy Roddick is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the US. Roddick retired in 2012, although he has been playing in what’s referred to as World Team Tennis.
46. Big bird Down Under : EMU
The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …
47. Pizza __ restaurant : HUT
Pizza Hut started out as a single location in Wichita, Kansas in 1958 and is now the world’s largest pizza franchise. Pizza Hut claims to be the world’s largest user of cheese, consuming 300 million pounds every year. The chain buys 3% of the cheese produced in the US, which means that 170,000 American cows are producing milk for Pizza Hut alone.
51. Forbidden actions : TABOOS
The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.
53. Payroll IDs : SSNS
Social Security number (SSN)
55. Lav of London : LOO
It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo”, in which the pot was called the loo!
62. Pakistan neighbor : IRAN
There has been a lot of talk about a particular border wall in recent times, but one such that doesn’t get a lot of news coverage in the US is the one being built by the Iranians along the Iran-Pakistan border. The so-called Iran-Pakistan Barrier will extend across 700 kilometers of the desert, and is ten-foot high and three-foot thick concrete wall.
64. Painter Chagall : MARC
Marc Chagall was a Russian-French artist, one of the most successful of the 20th century. Unlike so many painters, Chagall was able to achieve wealth and notoriety for his work during his own lifetime. It did help that Chagall lived to a ripe old age though. He passed away in 1985, when he was 97 years young. One of Chagall’s most famous works is the ceiling of the Paris Opera. The new ceiling for the beautiful 19th-century building was commissioned in 1963, and took Chagall a year to complete. Chagall was 77 years old when he worked on the Paris Opera project.
65. Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.
67. Hathaway of “Interstellar” : ANNE
The actress Anne Hathaway is a favorite of mine, I must say. She starred in “The Devil Wears Prada” in 2006 and in 2007’s “Becoming Jane”, a film I particularly enjoyed.
“Interstellar” is a sci-fi film released in 2014 with a “stellar” cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. I found “Interstellar” to be a really engaging movie, one that grabbed my attention the whole way through. That said, the ending was a little bit disappointing. I’m not one for walking out of theaters with unanswered questions …
68. Olympian’s goal : GOLD
In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.
Down
2. Charlotte __: U.S. Virgin Islands capital : AMALIE
Charlotte Amalie is the capital and largest city in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The city was named after the queen consort of King Christian V of Denmark, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.
4. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer : SHEA
“Shea butter” is a common moisturizer or lotion used as a cosmetic. It is a fat that is extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. There is evidence that shea butter was used back in Cleopatra’s Egypt.
5. Space pilot who insists, “I take orders from just one person: me” : HAN SOLO
Han Solo is the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.
6. Photoshop software developer : ADOBE
Adobe Systems is a San Jose-based enterprise that is best known for developing Photoshop image editing software and the Portable Document Format (PDF). The company was founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, in Warnock’s garage. The Adobe Creek ran behind that garage, and the founders borrowed the name of the waterway for the company’s moniker.
Photoshop is a wonderful piece of software used for editing graphics. When I first bought a copy of Photoshop, it was really expensive (about $300, ten years ago), but now there are cost-effective, stripped-down versions available. Also, the full version of Photoshop is now only available as a monthly subscription service.
7. Budget noodle dish : RAMEN
Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is a also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.
8. Baghdad’s land : IRAQ
According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BC (yes, BC!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh) and “beloved” (dad).
9. Retirement income source : ANNUITY
Annuities are regular payments made at fixed intervals of time. That interval of time used to be yearly (annual), but the term is used now for any regular payment, regardless of the interval of time.
10. Radar gun reading : SPEED
Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called Radio Detection And Ranging, which was shortened to the acronym RADAR.
11. Like some durable skillets : CAST IRON
Cast iron is an alloy of iron and carbon, with a carbon content that is greater than 1.8%. Iron-carbon alloys containing less carbon are known as steel.
22. Where Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” house is : IOWA
The iconic Grant Wood work called “American Gothic” was painted in 1930. It depicts a farmer holding a pitchfork standing beside his spinster daughter. Grant used his sister as a model for the daughter, and his dentist as a model for the farmer. You can see “American Gothic” on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can also visit the house depicted in the painting, in the city of Eldon, Iowa. Perhaps predictably, the house is located on what is now called American Gothic Street.
27. Jacuzzi effect : EDDY
Jacuzzi is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925 when one the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.
30. “__ Ha’i”: “South Pacific” song : BALI
The song “Bali Ha’i” is from the musical “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In the musical, Bali Ha’i is the name of a volcanic island that neighbors the island on which the story takes place.
34. E*TRADE purchase: Abbr. : STK
E*Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E*Trade used to produce those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.
35. Light bulb unit : WATT
James Watt was a Scottish inventor, a man who figured prominently in the Industrial Revolution in Britain largely due to the improvements he made to the fledgling steam engine. The SI unit of power is called the watt, named in his honor.
37. Mountain cat : PUMA
The mountain lion is found in much of the Americas from the Yukon in Canada right down to the southern Andes in South America. Because the mountain lion is found over such a vast area, it has many different names applied by local peoples, such as cougar and puma. In fact, the mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animal with the most number of different names, with over 40 in English alone.
52. Postal scale unit : OUNCE
Our term “ounce” comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a “libra”, the Roman “pound”.
54. Church council : SYNOD
The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for assembly, or meeting. A synod is a church council, usually in the Christian faith.
56. Pages for opinions : OP-EDS
“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.
60. Nashville awards gp. : CMA
Country Music Association (CMA)
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Like a rough winter : HARSH
6. Opera number : ARIA
10. “Beat it!” : SCAT
14. Nebraska city on the Missouri : OMAHA
15. “Shoot!” : DARN!
16. Bear whose bed was too hard : PAPA
17. Like granola bars : OATEN
18. Arabian sultanate : OMAN
19. “College GameDay” airer : ESPN
20. “Hush” : PLEASE BE QUIET
23. Funnyman Caesar : SID
24. It’s often heated up for dinner : OVEN
25. Table salt additive : IODINE
28. Banishment : EXILE
30. FYI relative : BTW
31. Cincinnati ballplayer : RED
32. “Hush” : DON’T SAY A WORD
36. Cathedral area : APSE
39. Ocean west of Eur. : ATL
40. Murray or Roddick of tennis fame : ANDY
41. “Hush” : PUT A SOCK IN IT
46. Big bird Down Under : EMU
47. Pizza __ restaurant : HUT
48. Ready to pour : ON TAP
51. Forbidden actions : TABOOS
53. Payroll IDs : SSNS
55. Lav of London : LOO
57. “Hush” : BUTTON YOUR LIP
60. “Shake a leg!” : C’MON!
62. Pakistan neighbor : IRAN
63. Despicable character : LOUSE
64. Painter Chagall : MARC
65. Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO
66. Tacked on : ADDED
67. Hathaway of “Interstellar” : ANNE
68. Olympian’s goal : GOLD
69. Marsh stalks : REEDS
Down
1. Basketball targets : HOOPS
2. Charlotte __: U.S. Virgin Islands capital : AMALIE
3. Like adult movies : RATED X
4. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer : SHEA
5. Space pilot who insists, “I take orders from just one person: me” : HAN SOLO
6. Photoshop software developer : ADOBE
7. Budget noodle dish : RAMEN
8. Baghdad’s land : IRAQ
9. Retirement income source : ANNUITY
10. Radar gun reading : SPEED
11. Like some durable skillets : CAST IRON
12. Smartphone download : APP
13. Almond-colored : TAN
21. Fairly matched : EVEN
22. Where Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” house is : IOWA
26. Geeky type : NERD
27. Jacuzzi effect : EDDY
29. Inventor’s spark : IDEA
30. “__ Ha’i”: “South Pacific” song : BALI
33. Ambassador’s asset : TACT
34. E*TRADE purchase: Abbr. : STK
35. Light bulb unit : WATT
36. In __: moody : A PET
37. Mountain cat : PUMA
38. Tough to budge : STUBBORN
42. Small liquor amount : SHOT
43. Giving the boot : OUSTING
44. Forbidden action : NO-NO
45. Completely cut off : INSULAR
49. Refer (to) : ALLUDE
50. Self-assured : POISED
52. Postal scale unit : OUNCE
53. Hairbrush target : SNARL
54. Church council : SYNOD
56. Pages for opinions : OP-EDS
58. Cookie shaped like two of its letters : OREO
59. Biked, e.g. : RODE
60. Nashville awards gp. : CMA
61. Guy : MAN