Day: April 26, 2023

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Constructed by: Susan Gelfand
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Game Changer

Themed answers are all famous people. Each includes the name of a GAME as a hidden word. But, the order of the letters in that name has been CHANGED:

• 60A Cause of a major paradigm shift, and an apt description of 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across as well as their sets of circled letters : GAME CHANGER

• 17A Primatologist who is the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees : JANE GOODALL (hiding “JENGA” changed)
• 25A Postimpressionist painter whose work influenced cubism : PAUL CEZANNE (hiding “CLUE” changed)
• 37A Cartoonist who created Snoopy and Woodstock : CHARLES SCHULZ (hiding “CHESS” changed)
• 51A Radio personality who declared himself “King of All Media” : HOWARD STERN (hiding “DARTS” changed)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Taj __ : MAHAL

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is a magnificent marble mausoleum. It was built in the mid-17th century by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to her 14th child in 1631. When Shah Jahan himself died in 1666, he was buried in the Taj Mahal, alongside his wife.

14 Desert plant used to make tequila : AGAVE

Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave. The drink takes its name from the city of Tequila, located about 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara.

15 City near Dayton with a Greek name : XENIA

Xenia, Ohio is in effect a suburb of Dayton. The name “Xenia” is the Greek word for “hospitality”. In terms of population, Xenia is the largest city in the US with a name beginning with the letter X.

17 Primatologist who is the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees : JANE GOODALL (hiding “JENGA” changed)

Jane Goodall is a British anthropologist famous for studying wild chimpanzees in Africa for 45 years. Working at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Goodall made many discoveries. She was the first to see chimps constructing and using tools, an activity thought to be limited to the human species. She also found out that chimpanzees are vegetarians.

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”

20 Natural Thanksgiving decor : GOURD

A gourd is a plant in the same family as the cucumber. The hollow, dried out shell of the fruit is large and rounded, and used for a number of purposes. Gourds make fine bottles and bowls, and resonating chambers as part of musical instruments … and drums.

21 Tire pattern : TREAD

A retread tire is one that has been recycled, possibly more than once. The tread of the old tire is buffed away, and new rubber tread is applied to the “bare” tire using some special process that seems to work really well (except for truck tires, in my humble opinion!). Retreads are a lot cheaper, and are relatively friendly to the environment.

25 Postimpressionist painter whose work influenced cubism : PAUL CEZANNE (hiding “CLUE” changed)

Paul Cézanne was a post-impressionist artist who was born and worked in the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. Cézanne has the reputation of being the artist who bridged the late 19th century Impressionist movement with the early 20th century Cubist movement. Both Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso are quoted as saying that Cézanne “is the father of us all”.

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

35 Rumor, to a rumor mill : GRIST

When grain has been separated from its chaff, to prepare it for grinding, it is called “grist”. Indeed, the word “grist” is derived from the word “grind”. Grist can be ground into a relatively coarse meal, or into a fine flour. The names can be confusing though. For example, the grist from maize when ground to a coarse consistency is called “grits”, and when ground to a fine consistency is called “corn meal”. There is an idiomatic phrase “grist for one’s mill”, meaning something used to one’s advantage. The grinding mechanism, or the building that holds the mechanism, is known as a “gristmill”.

37 Cartoonist who created Snoopy and Woodstock : CHARLES SCHULZ (hiding “CHESS” changed)

Snoopy is a central and much-loved character in the Charles M. Schulz comic strip “Peanuts”. He is Charlie Brown’s pet beagle, and first appeared in “Peanuts” just two days after the strip’s debut in 1950. He was identified as “Snoopy” a month later, and first “spoke” (in a thought balloon) in 1952. Initially depicted as a more traditionally dog-like figure, Schulz started to anthropomorphize Snoopy in 1952, first drawing him upright on his hind legs in 1952, while ice-skating on a frozen lake.

Woodstock is Snoopy’s best friend in the Charles Schulz comic strip “Peanuts”. He is a little yellow bird, and takes his name from the Woodstock rock festival. The naming is a reference to the festival’s iconic publicity poster that features a dove of peace sitting on the neck of a guitar.

45 Pinochle kin : SKAT

Skat is a trick-taking card game for three players that is traditionally played with a 32-card deck. The game is played in rounds, with each player bidding for the right to declare the trump suit. The declarer then tries to win at least 11 tricks, while the other players try to prevent them from doing so. I used to play a lot of Skat when I was in my teens …

Pinochle is a card game that was developed from the 19th-century French game called bezique.

50 Alt-rock band Better Than __ : EZRA

Better Than Ezra is an alternative rock band from New Orleans. The band apparently keeps the origins of its name a secret. The fans of the group call themselves “Ezralites”.

51 Radio personality who declared himself “King of All Media” : HOWARD STERN (hiding “DARTS” changed)

Howard Stern is one of the original “shock jocks” who seems now to have found his niche on uncensored satellite radio (SiriusXM).

57 Crimson Tide coach Nick : SABAN

Nick Saban is a former NFL coach with the Miami Dolphins, and head football coach at the University of Alabama starting in 2007.

60 Cause of a major paradigm shift, and an apt description of 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across as well as their sets of circled letters : GAME CHANGER

We tend to use “paradigm” to mean the set of assumptions and practices that define some aspect of life. It can also simply mean something that serves as a model, pattern or example. “Paradigm” ultimately comes from the Greek word for “show side by side”.

66 Skosh : TAD

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

67 Farewell that’s bid : ADIEU

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

68 January, in Jalisco : ENERO

Jalisco is a state on the central-west coast of Mexico. The capital city of Jalisco is Guadalajara.

Down

2 Turkish title : AGA

“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

4 Small Chevy rebranded as the Sonic : AVEO

The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.

6 Book after Genesis : EXODUS

The Book of Exodus is the second book in the Bible, and deals with Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. The name “Exodus” comes from the Greek “exodos” meaning “departure”.

7 Connecticut governor Lamont : NED

Ned Lamont became Governor of Connecticut in 2019. Back in 2006, Lamont defeated incumbent US Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary for the senate seat. Lieberman didn’t give up though, and ran in the election as an independent. Despite defeating Lieberman in the primary, Lamont lost to him in the election.

8 Letters from one’s folks? : DNA

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relatives.

9 Fryolator need : OIL

A fryolator is a deep fat fryer, a kitchen appliance.

10 Ballroom dance in 3/4 time : WALTZ

What we tend to think of as a waltz today is danced at about 90 beats per minute. The original waltz was much faster, and danced at about 180 beats per minute. To differentiate, we now call the faster dance a “Viennese Waltz”, and sometimes refer to the other as the “English Waltz” or “slow waltz”.

12 Galápagos lizard : IGUANA

Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.

The Galápagos Islands lie over 500 miles west of Ecuador. The Galápagos owe their celebrity to the voyage of HMS Beagle which landed there in 1835, with Charles Darwin on board. It was Darwin’s study of various species on the islands that inspired him to postulate his Theory of Evolution.

18 Rita featured on Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” : ORA

Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.

“Iggy Azalea” is the stage name of Australian rapper Amethyst Kelly. I haven’t heard of her outside of crosswords, I must admit …

34 __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

36 __ Na Na : SHA

Do you remember the band “Johnny Casino & The Gamblers” in the movie “Grease”? That was actually the real-world group named Sha Na Na. Johnny Casino & the Gamblers sang “Those Magic Changes” at the high school dance, in between “Rock’N Roll Is Here to Stay” and “Hound Dog”. Sha Na Na got together in the sixties, hosted the variety show “Sha Na Na” from 1977 to 1981, and are still performing today.

38 Actress Diane : LADD

Diane Ladd is an American actress who was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the 1990 film “Wild at Heart”. The lead roles in the movie were played by Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. Laura Dern is Diane Ladd’s daughter in real life, as she was once married to actor Bruce Dern.

39 Mireille of “Big Love” : ENOS

Mireille Enos is an actress from Kansas City. She is perhaps best known for her TV work, playing Sarah Linden on “The Killing” and for playing twins Kathy and JoDean Marquart on “Big Love”. Enos is married to actor Alan Ruck, who I mainly remember playing Cameron Frye in the great movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

“Big Love” is an absolutely superb HBO drama series about a polygamous man and his three families trying to live a relatively “normal” life in Utah. The male lead is played by the late Bill Paxton, and his three wives are played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin.

40 Cough drops : LOZENGES

Back in the 14th century, a “lozenge” was a “diamond shape”. The original lozenges were tablets held in the mouth to dissolve. They had this diamond shape, hence the name.

41 Fast fashion clothing chain based in Spain : ZARA

Zara is a clothing chain headquartered in Spain. It specializes in fast fashion, the speedy replication of the latest high-end designs so that cost-effective versions hit the retail stores soon after the original appears on the catwalk.

44 Tattletale : RAT

Something described as tattletale is revealing, it gives away a secret. The term is a combination of “tattle” and “tale”, and is probably patterned on the similar word “telltale”. “To tattle” means “to tell secrets”, and the noun “tattletale” applies to someone who tells secrets and informs.

46 Kimchi cuisine : KOREAN

Kimchi is a traditional dish from Korea. The original kimchi is made from fermented vegetables, and is pretty strong stuff …

49 Coast Guard operation : RESCUE

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has the distinction of being the country’s oldest continuous seagoing service. The USCG was founded as the Revenue Cutter Service by Alexander Hamilton in 1790.

53 Stadium cheer : RAH!

The Greek word “stadion” was a measure of length, about 600 feet. The name “stadion” then came to be used for a running track of that length. That “running track” meaning led to our contemporary term “stadium” (plural “stadia”).

58 Green Gables girl : ANNE

“Anne of Green Gables” is a 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery that she set in the fictional Prince Edward Island community of Avonlea. Montgomery wrote several sequels to “Anne”, with them all being set on Prince Edward Island (PEI), from where the author hailed.

63 Brain waves mapper, 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”.