Day: February 25, 2023

Advertisement

Constructed by: Lance Enfinger & Richard D. Allen
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 13m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 To boot : ALSO

The noun “boot” was once used to describe something of advantage in trying to accomplish a goal. This obsolete term really only exists in the adverb “to boot” meaning “in addition, over and above”, literally “to advantage”.

10 Hailee’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” voice role : GWEN

Gwen Stacy is one of two romantic interests in the life of Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Gwen was Peter Parker’s first love, until he transferred his affections to Mary Jane Watson.

Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress, singer, and songwriter who gained critical acclaim for her breakout role as Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers’ 2010 western film “True Grit.” She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, making her one of the youngest nominees ever.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is an animated superhero film released in 2018 that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The animation style of the movie is called “comic book come to life.” The filmmakers wanted to create a movie that felt like a living, breathing comic book, and they achieved that by incorporating comic book elements like thought bubbles and sound effects into the animation.

16 Meander : ROVE

To meander is to follow a winding course. Meander was a river god in Greek mythology who was patron of the Meander river in modern-day Turkey. The meandering Meander is now known as the Büyük Menderes River.

21 Mean relatives? : MODES

The three Ms of math are the mean, median and mode.

24 Lab reports? : ARFS

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814, and the chocolate Labrador appeared over a century later in the 1930s. The name “Labrador Retriever” is simply a reference to the breed’s origin and behavior. Labs originally “retrieved” from the “Labrador Sea”.

25 Wharton grad, often : MBA

Wharton is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. The school was established in 1881 largely due to a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton, co-founder of Bethlehem Steel.

27 Blocking stat : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

28 Grande opening? : RIO …

The Rio Grande (Spanish for “big river”) is a waterway that forms part of the border between Mexico and the United States. Although we call the river the Rio Grande on this side of the border, in Mexico it is called the Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte (Spanish for “furious river of the north”).

31 Game whose name comes from the Swahili for “to build” : JENGA

Jenga is a relatively simple but entertaining game, one in which one stacks wooden blocks as high as possible until the resulting tower collapses. “Jenga” is the Swahili word for “to build”

42 Computer language that works with HTML : CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). It was developed as a way to separate the content and structure of a web page from its presentation, making it easier to maintain and update the design of a website.

43 __-relief : BAS

In bas-relief, an image projects just a little above the background, as in perhaps a head depicted on a coin.

45 Film director who shares a last name with 62-Across : ANG
[62A Comic book legend who shares a last name with 45-Across : STAN]

Ang Lee made history at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002 when he won the Best Director award for “Brokeback Mountain.” He became the first Asian person to win the award and the first non-white person to win in the category.

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer, who is best known for co-creating many of Marvel Comics’ most iconic superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Black Panther.

46 Swag bag : TOTE

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”.

47 Some reds : CLARETS

Clairet is a dark rosé wine. Although it is uncommon today, clairet used to be the most common wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. For centuries now, British consumers have used the derivative term “claret” to describe any red wine from Bordeaux.

50 “We’re more than you think!” society : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

54 Company with a Magen David in its logo : EL AL

El Al is the flag carrier airline of Israel. It is the only commercial airline to have installed an anti-missile system on its planes. The system, known as Flight Guard, uses laser technology to detect and deflect incoming missiles.

Magen (also “Mogen”) David is Hebrew for “Shield of David”, and is another name for the Star of David. The use of the distinctive hexagram as a symbol for the Jewish community started in 17th-century Europe, and today the symbol is found at the center of the flag of Israel.

Down

1 Podcast intros, often : ADS

A podcast is basically an audio or video media file that is made available for download. The name comes from the acronym “POD” meaning “playable on demand”, and “cast” from “broadcasting”. So, basically a podcast is a broadcast that one can play on demand, simply by downloading and opening the podcast file.

2 Place to go in England : LOO

It has been suggested that the British term “loo”, meaning “toilet”, 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!

4 Makes use of Speakers’ Corner : ORATES

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London. A famous element in Hyde Park is Speakers’ Corner, which is located in the northeast corner of the park. Speakers’ Corner was the site of the infamous Tyburn gallows that was used for public executions in centuries past. Today, Speakers’ Corner is a site for public speech and debate, and a center for public protest. Some say that the tradition of allowing free speech at the site dates back to the condemned man being allowed to say his final words prior to execution at the Tyburn gallows.

6 Georgetown athlete : HOYA

The athletic teams of Georgetown University are known as the Hoyas. The name is derived from “Hoya Saxa”, a traditional cheer yelled out at Georgetown games as far back as 1893. The term is a mixture of Greek and Latin, with the Greek word “hoya” meaning “such” or “what”, and “saxa” translating from Latin as “rocks” or “small stones”. The cheer is usually rendered in English as “what rocks!”.

11 Less “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, e.g. : WORSE

Rotten Tomatoes is a website that mainly provides reviews and ratings of movies, although it now covers TV shows as well. The site was launched in 1998 and takes its name from the practice of audience members throwing rotten tomatoes at an unappreciated performer on stage.

15 Wave function symbols : PSIS

A wave function in quantum mechanics is usually denoted with the Greek letter psi. It is a mathematical function that describes the quantum state of a particle and how it behaves.

21 “The Simpsons” character who counsels, “You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head” : MARGE

Marge Simpson is the matriarch of the family in “The Simpsons” animated sitcom. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner, who is also well known for playing Brenda Morgenstern in the TV show “Rhoda” in the seventies.

22 Constellation known to the Ojibwa as Kabibona’kan, the Winter Maker : ORION

According to Greek mythology, Orion was a giant hunter who was placed in the night sky by Zeus, the king of the gods. Orion is very recognizable as a constellation, especially with the three bright stars known as “Orion’s Belt”. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is said to be Orion’s hunting dog, and this star sits at Orion’s “foot”.

29 Quit social media, say : GO DARK

I never came out of the dark …

30 Protected area in soccer : SHIN

Soccer players wear shin guards, padding that’s worn inside the socks protecting the shin.

32 Court plea : NO CONTEST

“Nolo contendere” (sometimes shortened to “nolo”) is a legal term that translates from Latin as “I do not wish to contend”. It’s the plea of no contest, and is an alternative to guilty and not guilty, meaning that one doesn’t admit guilt but nor does one dispute the charge.

34 Befuddled : AT SEA

To be befuddled is to be confused. Originally, back in the late 1800s, that confusion was specifically caused by liquor or opium.

36 Epic fails : DEBACLES

“Debacle” means “disaster”, and is a French word with the same meaning as in English. In French, the term originally was used for the breaking up of ice on the surface of a river.

38 Neurologist’s order, briefly : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

46 EV station lineup, maybe : TESLAS

Electric vehicle (EV)

47 “Nomadland” Oscar winner Zhao : CHLOE

Chloé Zhao is a Chinese filmmaker who gained international recognition with the film “Nomadland” (2020), which she wrote, directed, edited, and produced. In addition to her work in film, Zhao is also a trained classical pianist and has played in orchestras in both China and the United States.

“Nomadland” is a 2020 American drama film based on the non-fiction book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century” by Jessica Bruder. Both the movie and book explore the experiences of older Americans who have lost their homes and jobs and now live on the road as “nomads.” The film stars Frances McDormand as Fern, a widow who becomes a nomad after losing her job and home in a Nevada mining town. Great movie …

49 Fish, in a way : TROLL

Trolling for fish is a method of fishing where one or more lines, often equipped with lures or bait, are trailed behind a moving boat. The boat moves slowly and steadily through the water, with the aim of enticing fish to bite and become hooked on the lines.

50 Schoolteacher of old : MARM

“Marm” is short for “schoolmarm”, a quaint term for a female teacher.

53 Leader whose regalia includes a tiara : POPE

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The term “pope” comes from the Latin “papa”, and ultimately from the Greek “pappas”, with both terms being a child’s word for “father”.

56 Music genre of Toots and the Maytals : SKA

Toots and the Maytals are a Jamaican reggae and ska band that have been active since the 1960s. Frontman Toots Hibbert passed away in 2020, at the age of 77.

57 Phishing fig. : SSN

Phishing is the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PINs, etc.”