Day: April 8, 2023

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Constructed by: Rafael Musa & Brooke Husic
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 17m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7 New Orleans cocktails : SAZERACS

The classic New Orleans cocktail known as a Sazerac is a mixture of rye, absinthe, bitters and sugar. The use of rye is a little incongruous, given that the cocktail is named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac that was originally the base spirit.

19 Osso buco accompaniment : RISOTTO

Risotto is an Italian rice dish that is usually served as a first course in Italy, but as a main course here in North America.

Osso buco is a traditional Italian dish that is typically made with veal shanks that are braised with vegetables and herbs. The name “osso buco” means “bone with a hole” in Italian, which refers to the marrow-filled bone in the center of the veal shank. The marrow is considered a delicacy and is often scooped out and served with the dish.

21 “Watch this space” letters : TBA

Something not yet on the schedule (“sked” or “sched.”) is to be advised/announced (TBA).

22 Social reformer Dorothea : DIX

Dorothea Dix was a social activist who lobbied on behalf of the mentally ill, especially those without means. Dix was the driving force behind the construction of the first mental asylums in the US.

23 Academy near the Culinary Institute in New York : WEST POINT

West Point is a military reservation in New York State, located north of New York City. West Point was first occupied by the Continental Army way back in 1778, making it the longest, continually-occupied military post in the country. Cadet training has taken place at the garrison since 1794, although Congress funding for a US Military Academy (USMA) didn’t start until 1802. The first female cadets were admitted to West Point in 1976, and as of 2018, about 15% of all new cadets were women.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York was founded in 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut as the New Haven Restaurant Institute. It was established as a training school for veterans returning from WWII.

26 Winter Palace ruler : TSAR

The Winter Palace is a magnificent building in St. Petersburg in Russia that was home to the Russian tsars (and tsarinas). Today, the Winter Palace houses the famous Hermitage Museum. I was lucky enough to visit the Palace and museum some years ago, and I have to say that I have rarely been more impressed by a historical building.

29 Guys : HES

Even when I was a kid living in England in the 1960s, we would make up an effigy of Guy Fawkes to parade around the streets in the runup to Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th. Guy Fawkes was the man who led the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British king and Parliament on November 5, 1605. We kids would use the effigy to raise money from strangers by approaching them with the phrase “penny for the guy”. The money collected was used to buy fireworks that we’d shoot off on Bonfire Night, the name given to the evening of Guy Fawkes Day. The effigy known as “the guy” gave rise in the UK to the use of “guy” to describe a poorly-dressed man. By the mid-1800s, the term “guy” was adopted into American-English to mean simply “fellow”.

32 24-hour extension period? : LEAP YEAR

I wasn’t sure of the origin of the term “leap year”, and when I checked I found it to be fairly obvious. As a reference, let’s use March 25, 2007, a Sunday. The year before, in 2006, March 25th fell one weekday earlier on a Saturday. That follows the rule that any particular date moves forward in the week by one day, from one year to the next. However, the next year (2008) has an extra day, February 29th. So March 25, 2008 falls on a Tuesday, “leaping” two weekdays forward, not one, as 2008 is a “leap” year. I think I am more confused now than when I started this paragraph …

37 Happy characters : SMILEYS

An emoticon is a glyph created using text characters to represent facial features, and usually oriented sideways. The emoticon is designed to indicate emotion or attitude. The classic example is the smiley face 🙂. “Emoticon” is short for “emotion icon”.

42 __ Club : SAM’S

Sam’s Club is a warehouse club that is owned and operated by Walmart. It is named after the company’s founder Sam Walton. Walton opened the first Sam’s Club in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

45 __ college : ELECTORAL

According to Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the US Constitution, each elector in the electoral college cast two votes for US president, and none for vice president. The candidate receiving the most votes became president, and the candidate receiving the second-most votes became vice president. Since the Twelfth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1804, each elector has cast one vote for president and one vote for vice president.

48 Irrelevant stat for an EV : MPG

Electric vehicle (EV)

51 Bird in the bush : EMU

Even though emu meat is classified as a red meat because of its color, it has a fat content that is comparable to other poultry.

52 Finish with a bang? : MIC DROP

A mic drop takes place when a performer has done particularly well and decides to celebrate by throwing or dropping the microphone to the floor. That doesn’t seem to happen at the performances I tend to frequent …

60 Sports comedy whose sequel stars LeBron James : SPACE JAM

2021’s “Space Jam: A New Legacy” starring LeBron James is a sequel to the 1996 movie “Space Jam” starring Michael Jordan. In the original, there is a scene where Jordan dunks the ball so hard, he shatters the blackboard. James does the same in the sequel, except that the ball bounces back to him and dunks it again, this time shattering the rim as well. One up to LeBron James. 🙂

61 Livorno locale : ITALIA

Livorno is a port city on the west coast of Italy. The city is often called “Leghorn” in English and gave its name to the leghorn breed of chicken, and by extension to the cartoon character known as Foghorn Leghorn.

Down

2 Missouri representative Bush : CORI

Cori Bush became a member of the US House of Representatives in 2021. A Democrat from St. Louis, Missouri, Bush joined the group of progressive lawmakers known as “The Squad”.

3 Small deer : ROES

Roe deer are found mainly in Europe. They would be the deer shown on television and in movies when Robin Hood was out hunting in Sherwood Forest.

7 Singapore Airlines, for short : SIA

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is known for the emphasis it places on customer service, and promoting the quality of its flight crew. This branding seems to be very effective, as SIA frequently ranks at the top of lists of Best Airlines.

9 Like someone glued to a screen for hours, jocularly : ZOMBIFIED

A zombie is a corpse that has been brought back to life by some mystical means. Our modern use of the term largely stems from the undead creatures featured in the 1968 horror movie called “Night of the Living Dead”. Now that film I haven’t seen, and probably never will …

10 “Water the way nature intended” water : EVIAN

Évian-les-Bains (or simply “Évian”) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …

12 “Driven to Distraction” condition: Abbr. : ADHD

“Driven to Distraction” is a 1994 book about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-authored by psychiatrists Edward Hallowel and Dr, John Ratey.

13 Big Four bank name : CITI

Internationally, the Big Four (Central) Banks are:

• The Federal Reserve (US)
• The European Central Bank
• The Bank of Japan
• The Bank of England

In American terms, the Big Four Banks are:

• JPMorgan Chase
• Bank of America
• Citigroup
• Wells Fargo

14 River down under? : STYX

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

24 __ ejemplo : POR

In Spanish, “por ejemplo” means “for example”.

26 Mesa neighbor : TEMPE

Tempe is a city in the metropolitan area of Phoenix. The city is named for the Vale of Tempe in Greece.

The city of Mesa, Arizona is in effect a suburb of Phoenix. The original settlement of non-Native Americans was founded by Daniel Webster Jones who led a Mormon group from St. George, Utah. The settlement was first called Jonesville, then Fort Utah and eventually Lehi. A second group of Mormons arrived and formed a settlement on top of a nearby mesa. It was this use of a mesa that eventually gave the city its current name.

32 Sch. that’s home to the Golden Band from Tigerland : LSU

The marching band of Louisiana State University is known as the Golden Band from Tigerland. It was founded in 1893 as a military band by students Wylie M. Barrow and Ruffin G. Pleasant. Pleasant was to become the 36th Governor of Louisiana.

35 Reggaeton megahit whose title means “slowly” : DESPACITO

“Despacito” is a 2017 song released by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee. The song’s accompanying music video was the most-viewed video of all time on YouTube from 2017 to 2020.

Reggaeton is a genre of music that is rooted in Latin and Caribbean music. It originated in Panama and today is very much associated with Puerto Rico.

36 Nav. rank : ENS

Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

40 BBC clock setting : GMT

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich in London.

The marvelous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is mainly funded by the UK government through a television “licence” (British spelling, as opposed to “license”!) fee that is levied annually on all households watching TV transmissions.

43 Legends, e.g. : ACURAS

The Acura Legend was a mid-size luxury car introduced by Honda into the North American market in the 1986 model year. It was the first model produced by Honda with a V6 engine.

47 Chamillionaire song that starts “They see me rollin'” : RIDIN’

“Chamillionaire” is the stage name of rapper Hakeem Temidayo Seriki. Outside of his career as a rap artist, Chamillionaire is a successful entrepreneur and investor.

49 Member of a rap trio with Spinderella : PEPA

Salt-N-Pepa are an all-female hip-hop trio from New York made up of “Salt” (Cheryl James), “Pepa” (Sandra Denton) and “DJ Spinderella” (Deidra Roper). The group’s 1991 song “Let’s Talk Sex” created quite a fuss as the lyrics explored the subject of sex, and safe sex in particular. A later version addressed the dangers of AIDS.

54 Non-opposing remarks? : OUIS

In French, “oui” (yes) or “non” (no) might be responses to “un questionnaire” (a questionnaire).

55 Fundraising orgs. : PTAS

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

58 Texting letters : SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is the name for the text messaging service that many of us still use on our cell phones to contact friends and family.