Day: October 2, 2022

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Constructed by: Taylor Johnson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Change the World

Themed answers sound like common phrases, but each refers to a city in the country cited in the corresponding clue:

• 22A Data collection in Germany? : COLOGNE SAMPLES (sounds like “cologne samples”)
• 32A Boulder in the Czech Republic? : PRAGUE ROCK (sounds like “prog rock”)
• 43A Census taker in India? : DELHI COUNTER (sounds like “deli counter”)
• 64A Ancestry in Taiwan? : TAIPEI BLOOD (sounds like “type-A blood”)
• 71A Gems in Afghanistan? : KABUL STONES (sounds like “cobblestones”)
• 95A Crooners in South Korea? : SEOUL SINGERS (sounds like “soul singers”)
• 103A Serving dish in France? : BREST PLATE (sounds like “breastplate”)
• 116A Cuisine in Ecuador? : QUITO-BASED DIET (sounds like “keto-based diet”)

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

Bill’s time: 14m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Mont Blanc’s range : ALPS

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

13 Vatican leaders : POPES

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

19 Estrada of “CHiPs” : ERIK

Actor Erik Estrada’s big break came with the movie “Airport 1975”, in which he played the doomed flight engineer of a Boeing 747. A couple of years later, Estrada began a six-year gig, co-starring on the television show “CHiPs” as motorcycle police officer Poncherello.

20 Grand Canyon animal : MULE

The wild donkey that we know as a burro was introduced into the Grand Canyon in the late 1800s, where they used the animal to help pack out mined copper, asbestos and lead. When the miners moved on, they left the burros to roam free. Feral burros essentially overran the Grand Canyon in subsequent years, leading to the forced removal of 500 of them in the early eighties by the National Park Service. Burros wreak havoc on the canyon’s ecosystem, and in particular compete with native bighorn sheep. The bighorn sheep population has rebounded since the number of wild donkeys has dropped.

21 Chests : BOSOMS

“Bosm” is an Old English word for “breast” that came into modern English as “bosom” meaning “breast, chest” without any association with either gender. It was only in the late fifties that the meaning narrowed to mean a woman’s breasts”. Terms like “bosom-friend” have been around since the late 16th century, and “bosom buddy” since the 1920s.

22 Data collection in Germany? : COLOGNE SAMPLES (sounds like “cologne samples”)

Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted town. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany, and is known as “Köln” in German.

25 Third-party account : ESCROW

One type of escrow account is held by a trusted third party for two parties who have some contractual arrangement, an arrangement that is often in dispute. The third party only releases the funds when both parties have fulfilled their contractual obligations.

26 Japanese robe : KIMONO

The lovely Japanese kimono is a garment worn by men, women and children. The word “kimono” translates simply as “thing to wear”, with “ki” meaning “wear” and “mono” meaning “thing”.

27 “Heat of the Moment” band : ASIA

“Heat of the Moment” is a 1982 song released by English rock supergroup Asia. It was co-written by the band’s bass guitarist and singer John Wetton. Wetton has said that the lyrics were meant as an apology for abhorrent behavior exhibited to an ex-girlfriend. He eventually wed the young lady, although they divorced after ten years of marriage.

28 Step to the bar, for short? : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

29 Violin protector : CASE

Our word “violin” is a diminutive of the “viola”, the name given to the larger stringed instrument. The contemporary violin is a modern version of the medieval viola da braccio (meaning “arm viola”).

30 Former White House press secretary Psaki : JEN

The very able Jen Psaki served as the first White House press secretary for the Biden administration. During the Obama administration, she held several positions including White House deputy secretary and spokesperson for the Department of State.

32 Boulder in the Czech Republic? : PRAGUE ROCK (sounds like “prog rock”)

The beautiful city of Prague is today the capital of the Czech Republic. Prague’s prominence in Europe has come and gone over the centuries. For many years, it was the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire.

37 Smart __ : ALECS

Apparently, the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was one Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

39 Biblical peak : HOREB

In the Book of Deuteronomy, it is stated that Moses was given the Ten Commandments on Mount Horeb. In other parts of the Bible the same event is described as taking place on Mount Sinai. So, many think that Horeb is an alternative name for Sinai.

41 Freebies from a party : SWAG

Swag is loot, stolen property, and a term that started out as criminal slang in England in the 1830s. “Swag” is also the name given to the promotional freebies available at some events. That said, there’s an urban myth that the promotional version of “swag” is an acronym standing for “stuff we all get”.

42 “It’s WonderWater” drink brand : BAI

Bai Brands is a beverage company that specializes in low-cal soft drinks that include antioxidants.

43 Census taker in India? : DELHI COUNTER (sounds like “deli counter”)

New Delhi is the capital city of India. New Delhi resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

46 ESPN datum : STAT

The initialism “ESPN” stands for Entertainment Sports Programming Network. ESPN is a cable network that broadcasts sports programming 24 hours a day, and was launched back in 1979. ESPN has a lot of ardent fans. Several parents have named their children Espn (usually pronounced “Espen”) in honor of the network.

49 Egg: Prefix : OVI-

“Ovum” (plural “ova”) is Latin for “egg”.

57 Short diner orders : BLTS

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

59 Eye layer : UVEA

The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball. The outer layer is called the fibrous tunic, and the inner layer is the retina.

60 Farm herder : COLLIE

The collie isn’t actually a breed of dog, but rather the name given to a group of herding dogs that originated in Scotland and Northern England. An obvious (and wonderful) example would be the border collie. Many dogs classed as collies don’t have the word “collie” in the name of the breed, for example the old English sheepdog and the Shetland sheepdog.

61 Start a golf hole : TEE UP

A tee is a small device on which, say, a golf ball is placed before striking it. The term “tee” comes from the Scottish “teaz”, which described little heaps of sand used to elevate a golf ball for the purpose of getting a clean hit with a club.

64 Ancestry in Taiwan? : TAIPEI BLOOD (sounds like “type-A blood”)

Taipei (officially “Taipei City”) is the capital of Taiwan (officially “the Republic of China”). “Taipei” translates from Chinese as “Northern Taiwan City” and indeed, the capital is situated at the northern tip of Taiwan. The city is nicknamed “City of Azaleas” as flowers are said to bloom better in Taipei than in any other city on the island.

Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:

• O-positive: 38 percent
• O-negative: 7 percent
• A-positive: 34 percent
• A-negative: 6 percent
• B-positive: 9 percent
• B-negative: 2 percent
• AB-positive: 3 percent
• AB-negative: 1 percent

66 Heats quickly : ZAPS

The first household microwave oven was introduced to the market in 1955, by the Tappan Stove Company in Ohio.

68 Pastoral poems : IDYLS

An idyll (also “idyl”) is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word “idyl” comes from the Greek “eidyllion”, which literally translates to “little picture” but was a word describing a short poem with a rustic theme.

70 Garage sale caveat : AS IS

A caveat is a warning or a qualification. “Caveat” is the Latin for “let him beware”.

71 Gems in Afghanistan? : KABUL STONES (sounds like “cobblestones”)

Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. The city has been the site of major conflict for much of the 3,500 years that it has been in existence. In the past, this conflict was mainly driven by the city’s strategic location on the major trade routes of south and central Asia.

A cobblestone is a stone of a particular size that is used as a building material, and a material used in paving in particular. There is a scale that defines a “cobble” as a stone that’s larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder, and more precisely measures between 2.5 and 10.1 inches.

75 Driveway surface : TAR

The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call “tarmac”.

77 Pushpins, e.g. : TACKS

What we know as a thumb tack here in North America is called a drawing pin in British English. Thumbtacks made from brass might be referred to as “brass tacks”, giving us the expression “getting down to brass tacks” meaning “getting down to the finer details”.

82 Place with nine circles, per Dante : HELL

In Dante’s “Inferno”, Hell is represented as nine circles of suffering. The nine circles of Hell are:

1. Limbo
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. Greed
5. Anger
6. Heresy
7. Violence
8. Fraud
9. Treachery

83 Bank deposit : SILT

Today, we mostly think of silt as a deposit of sediment in a river. Back in the mid-1400s, silt was sediment deposited by seawater. It is thought that the word “silt” is related to “salt”, as found in seawater.

86 Toyota subcompact discontinued in 2020 : YARIS

The Yaris is a subcompact car made by Toyota since 1999. The Yaris was sold into some markets from 1999 to 2005 as the Toyota Echo. The name “Yaris” was inspired by the Charites (singular “Charis”), the Greek goddesses of charm and beauty.

87 Beer named for a Dutch river : AMSTEL

Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery that was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river that runs through the city.

89 Rig behind a cab : SEMI

A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

91 Power hitter’s 46-Across : RBI
[46A ESPN datum : STAT]

Run batted in (RBI)

92 ProFlowers parent co. : FTD

ProFlowers is an online retailer of flowers and gift baskets that opened for business in 1998. The company was sued by FTD, its main competitor, in 2005 for false advertising, and the case was settled in 2006. FTD ended up buying ProFlowers in 2014.

93 “Barry” rating : TV-MA

TV Parental Guidelines (TV-PG, TV-MA, etc.) were introduced in the US in 1997. Use of the rating system by broadcasters is entirely voluntary.

“Barry” is a dark comedy TV series starring Bill Hader as an Ohio hitman who questions his life of crime. Veteran actor Henry Winkler plays an award-winning supporting role as the teacher of an acting class that the hitman joins.

95 Crooners in South Korea? : SEOUL SINGERS (sounds like “soul singers”)

Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to over 25 million people and is the second largest metropolitan area in the world, second only to Tokyo, Japan.

99 ProActive Health brand : IAMS

Iams dog food was introduced by animal nutritionist Paul Iams. He felt that household pets were suffering somewhat by being fed a diet of table scraps, so he developed dry dog food that he felt was more nutritious and suitable for pet dogs. He founded the Iams company, now part of Procter & Gamble, in 1946.

102 Priests with prayer wheels : LAMAS

Prayer wheels are cylindrical wheels that rotate on a spindle with a mantra written on the outside of the wheel itself. They are most closely associated with the Buddhist tradition.

103 Serving dish in France? : BREST PLATE (sounds like “breastplate”)

Brest is a port city in northwest France, and is the second largest military port in the country. Brest was an important base for German U-boats during WWII when France was occupied by the Nazis. Brest is the most westerly city in the whole country.

107 Sudoku fill: Abbr. : NOS

Number puzzles similar to our modern-day Sudoku first appeared in French newspapers in the late 1800s. The format that we use today was created by Howard Garns, a 74-year-old freelance puzzle constructor from Connersville, Indiana and first published in 1979. The format was introduced in Japan in 1984 and given the title of “Sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, which translates to “the digits are limited to one occurrence”. The rather elaborate Japanese title was eventually shortened to Sudoku. No doubt many of you are fans of Sudoku puzzles. I know I am …

108 Big name in 126-Across : TAZO

The Tazo Tea Company was founded in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. Tazo was purchased in 1999 by Starbucks, and then by Unilever in 2017.

109 Raison d’__ : ETRE

“Raison d’être” is a French phrase meaning “reason for existence”.

116 Cuisine in Ecuador? : QUITO-BASED DIET (sounds like “keto-based diet”)

The full name of the capital city of Ecuador is San Francisco de Quito. Quito is the second highest administrative capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia.

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

121 State whose motto is “Industry” : UTAH

When Mormon pioneers were settling what is today the state of Utah, they referred to the area as Deseret, a word that means “beehive” according to the Book of Mormon. Today Utah is known as the Beehive State and there is a beehive symbol on the Utah state flag. In 1959, “Industry” was even chosen as the state motto, for the term’s association with the beehive.

125 Suffix with fluor- : -ESCE

Fluorescence is radiation emitted in response to exposure to radiation of a different wavelength. A common example is the use of a blacklight. Such a light emits UV light causing some substances to emit visible (usually blue) light. Humans cannot see the UV light, but can observe the resulting blue radiation. Although the phenomenon has been observed for centuries, the name “fluorescence” was not coined until 1852, by Irish-English physicist Sir George Stokes. Stokes observed the mineral fluorspar emitting blue light when exposed to UV radiation. He named the effect “fluorescence”, from the mineral “fluorspar” (aka “fluorite”).

126 Assam, oolong, pekoe, etc. : TEAS

Assam is a state in the far northeast of India, and just south of the Himalayas. Assam is noted for its tea, as well as its silk.

The name for the Chinese tea called “oolong” translates into English as “black dragon” or “dark dragon”.

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.

127 Kitchen qtys. : TSPS

Teaspoon (tsp.)

Down

1 Pop-up path : ARC

That would be baseball.

5 __ alla vodka : PENNE

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish with a sauce made of vodka, cream, tomatoes, onions and sausage or bacon.

6 Sweet sandwich : OREO

Oreo cookies actually come in a few flavors, but it takes some work to find them. For example, Green Tea Oreos are only available in China and Japan. Many flavors are only available for a limited time. For example, Watermelon Oreos were only sold in the summer of 2013, and Cookie Dough Oreos were only available in March 2014.

10 Dutch bulb : TULIP

We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” that means “muslin, gauze”.

12 Chaps : HES

“Chap” is an informal term meaning “lad, fellow” that is used especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

13 Entourage : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”

14 NBA great Robertson nicknamed “The Big O” : OSCAR

Oscar Robertson is a former professional basketball player who had the nickname “The Big O”. Robertson was named Player of the Century by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2000.

15 Meaty mushroom : PORTOBELLO

The common mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) goes by a number of names. When immature and white in color, the names “common mushroom” and “button mushroom” might be used. When immature and brown in color, they are called “cremini mushrooms” and “chestnut mushrooms”. When mature, they are marketed as “portobella/portabella mushrooms”.

16 Motion City Soundtrack genre : EMO

Motion City Soundtrack is a rock band from Minneapolis that formed in 1997. One of the unique aspects of the band’s style is the use of a Moog synthesizer.

21 “Baby __”: Raffi song about a whale : BELUGA

“Raffi” is the stage name used by Canadian singer and author Raffi Cavoukian. He is best known for his music written for children.

23 Scuttlebutt : GOSSIP

Our word “gossip” comes from the Old English “godsibb” meaning “godparent”. Back then, the term was used for female friends who attended a birth, and later for anyone engaging in idle talk.

Just as modern day office workers gather around the water cooler to gossip, on board a ship back in the early 1800s the sailors would gather around the water barrel on the deck to shoot the breeze. That water barrel was called a “scuttlebutt”, from “scuttle” (opening in a ship’s deck) and “butt” (barrel). Quite interesting …

24 Some Musée d’Orsay works : MANETS

Édouard Manet was a French painter whose works are mainly classified as Realist and Impressionist. Manet was friends with Impressionists masters like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and greatly influenced the Impressionist movement. The list of Manet’s marvelous paintings includes “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”, “Le Repose” and “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”.

The Musée d’Orsay is one of the premier museums in Paris, and holds the world’s largest collection of impressionist art. A truly beautiful building, the d’Orsay is a former Beaux-Arts railway station.

30 Uses a lance a lot : JOUSTS

“Jousting” and “tilting” are synonyms describing the medieval competition in which two horsemen yielding blunted lances attempt to unseat each other. Such an event has been referred to as “jousting” since the 1300s. At some point, the path of the two charging horsemen was separated by a cloth barrier known as a tilt (“tilt” meant “cloth covering”). The term “tilting” was applied to the sport in the 1500s, although by then the cloth barrier had been upgraded to a wooden fence.

31 Sea eagle : ERN

The ern (sometimes “erne”) is also known as the white-tailed eagle or the sea eagle.

35 Aerobic regimen, familiarly : CARDIO

Aerobic exercise is moderate activity designed to be at a low enough intensity that very little anaerobic activity takes place. In other words, the exercise is at a level where oxygen is taken in to burn fat and carbohydrate and to create energy. Anaerobic exercise is more intense and uses carbohydrate (glycogen) in the muscle to provide energy, without the need for oxygen. Aerobics are also called “cardio” as the exercises strengthen the cardiovascular system.

38 Flood preventer : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

44 Ursa minor? : CUB

“Ursa” is a Latin word meaning “bear”.

47 Insignificant : TWO-BIT

The American quarter is a little unusual in the world of decimal currency, if you think about it. Most currencies have a “20-cent” coin, which is easier to work with mathematically. The US went for the quarter in deference to the practice of dividing Spanish Milled Dollars into eight wedge-shaped “bits”. That’s also why the quarter is sometimes referred to as “two bits”. We’ve been using the adjective “two-bit” to mean “cheap, tawdry” at least since 1929. State quarters were introduced in 1999.

52 Certain people of faith : DEISTS

Deism (from the Latin “deus” meaning god) is the belief that a supreme being created the universe, a belief based on observation and reason, and without the need for faith. Further, a deist does not accept divine intervention and rather believes that the supreme being, having created the universe, leaves the world to its own devices.

56 Japanese motorcycle brand : SUZUKI

Suzuki is a Japanese manufacturer, mainly of cars, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. The company was founded in 1909 by Michio Suzuki, initially to build weaving looms for the silk industry.

60 Prefix with gender : CIS-

The term “cisgender” is used as the opposite of “transgender”. Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

65 Like certain monitor lizards : EARLESS

Monitor lizards are so called because they tend to stand up on their hind legs and “monitor” their surroundings.

67 Ltr. addenda : PSS

One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply “postscript”) at the end of a letter (ltr.). A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

69 Shoulder muscles, briefly : DELTS

The deltoid “muscle” is actually a group of muscles, the ones that cover the shoulder and create the roundness under the skin. The deltoids (delts) are triangular in shape resembling the Greek letter delta, hence the name.

71 Unlocking device for a car : KEY FOB

A fob is attached to an object to make it easier to access. And so, a key fob is a chain attached to a key so that it can be retrieved easily. There are also watch fobs, and the pocket in a vest in which a watch can be placed is called a fob. In fact, the original use of the term “fob” was for a small pocket in which one could carry valuables.

79 Brazilian muralist Eduardo : KOBRA

Eduardo Kobra is a muralist from Sao Paulo who has painted thousands of murals around the world. He started his career at only 11 years of age, as a street artist. Some of his works are extremely large, with one street mural measuring almost 1½ acres!

80 Sandwich cheese : SWISS

“Swiss cheese” is a relatively generic term for a type of cheese produced in various countries and not necessarily in Switzerland. What they all have in common though, is a resemblance to the original Swiss Emmental cheese.

84 “OMG! Stop talking!” : TMI!

Too much information (TMI)

87 International lawyer Clooney : AMAL

Amal Alamuddin married celebrated Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014. Alamuddin was born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved with her family to London when she was a toddler. She is a lawyer specializing in international law, with one of her more renowned clients being the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.

94 Poisonous reptiles : VIPERS

The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes commonly referred to as vipers.

96 Card player’s call : UNO!

UNO is a card game that was developed in the early seventies and that has been sold by Mattel since 1992. It falls into the shedding family of card games, meaning that the goal is to get rid of all your cards while preventing opponents from doing the same.

100 Strong brews : STOUTS

The term “stout” was first used for a type of beer in the 1600s when it was used to describe a “strong, stout” brew, and not necessarily a dark beer as it is today.

104 Hofbrau mug : STEIN

Outside of Germany, a hofbrau is an informal restaurant or tavern that is German-themed.

105 Prefix with gender : TRANS-

A transgender person is someone with a gender identity that is different from that assigned at birth.

106 Room-sized computer unveiled in 1946 : ENIAC

The acronym ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (although many folks insist that the C was for “Computer”). ENIAC was introduced at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, at which time it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, and dubbed “Giant Brain” by the press. Its original purpose was the calculation of artillery firing tables, but it ended up being used early on to make calculations necessary for the development of the hydrogen bomb. Given its uses, it’s not surprising to hear that development of ENIAC was funded by the US Army during WWII.

112 Workplace safety org. : OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. It is a direct successor to the Bureau of Labor Standards that dealt with some work safety issues since its founding in 1934. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.

113 Maryland athlete, for short : TERP

The sports teams of the University of Maryland are called the Maryland Terrapins, or “Terps” for short. The name dates back to 1932 when it was coined by the university’s president at the time, Curley Byrd. He took the name from the diamondback terrapins that are native to the Chesapeake Bay.

114 Gambling venue letters : 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.

115 Sportage automaker : KIA

Kia’s Sportage is a compact SUV that has been manufactured since 1993.

116 “¿__ pasa?” : QUE

In Spanish, ¿Qué pasa? translates literally as “what’s happening?” It is used to mean “how are things going for you?”.

117 Cricket club : BAT

Cricket is the national game of England. The term “cricket” apparently comes from the Old French word “criquet” meaning “goalpost, stick”.

118 “Helpful hardware folks” company : ACE

The Ace Hardware chain of stores was founded in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. The name “Ace” was chosen after “ace” fighter pilots from World War I.