Day: June 4, 2023

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Constructed by: Gary Larson & Amy Ensz
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: “Shh!”

Themed answers all sound like common two-word phrases, with the second word starting with a letter S. But, that S-sound has been changed to a SHH-sound:

• 23A Startling revelation for a couch potato? : TUBE SHOCK (from “tube sock”)
• 25A Menu of family-sized KFC options? : BUCKET SHEET (from “bucket seat”)
• 50A Full-time employee at a corn processing plant? : ALL-DAY SHUCKER (from “all-day sucker”)
• 82A Did too much heavy lifting? : OVER-SCHLEPPED (from “overslept”)
• 107A Really, really cheap liquor? : DOLLAR SHINE (from “dollar sign”)
• 111A Ruse for crashing family reunions? : UNCLE SHAM (from “Uncle Sam”)
• 36D Food Network production featuring a chef’s work surface? : COUNTER SHOOT (from “countersuit”)
• 41D Sweeping segment of a prop comic’s act? : BROOM SCHTICK (from “broomstick”)

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

Bill’s time: 15m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Fairy tale brute : OGRE

An ogre is a hideous monster of legend. There is a suggestion that “ogre” is French in origin and comes from “Orcus”, the name of an Etruscan underworld god who fed on human flesh. Nice guy …

5 Bamako’s country : MALI

Bamako is the capital of the African country of Mali. It is the fastest growing city on the whole continent. Located on the Niger River, the name “Bamako” translates from the local language as “crocodile river”.

15 Bygone Swedish car company : SAAB

“SAAB” stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. Although we usually think of SAAB as an auto manufacturer, it is mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. The assets were acquired in 2012 by NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), a new company that used the SAAB name on its vehicles for several years.

19 Maggie Smith’s “Good Bones,” e.g. : POEM

Maggie Smith is a poet and writer from Ohio. She is known in particular for her 2016 poem “Good Bones”, which became a viral phenomenon that year after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. The poem addresses a daunting feeling about raising kids in a “fifty percent terrible” world.

20 Agenda : PLAN

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

21 Oat Milk Blend shampoo maker : AVEENO

Aveeno is a manufacturer of skincare and haircare products that was founded in 1945. The name Aveeno comes from the Latin name for the common oat, i.e. Avena sativa.

23 Startling revelation for a couch potato? : TUBE SHOCK (from “tube sock”)

Television (TV, teevee, the tube, the boob tube)

25 Menu of family-sized KFC options? : BUCKET SHEET (from “bucket seat”)

The famous “Colonel” of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fame was Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur from Henryville, Indiana. Although not really a “Colonel”, Sanders did indeed serve in the military. He enlisted in the Army as a private in 1906 at the age of 16, lying about his age. He spent the whole of his time in the Army as a soldier in Cuba. It was much later, in the 1930s, that Sanders went into the restaurant business making his specialty deep-fried chicken. By 1935 his reputation as a “character” had grown, so much so that Governor Ruby Laffoon of Kentucky gave Sanders the honorary title of “Kentucky Colonel”. Later in the fifties, Sanders developed his trademark look with the white suit, string tie, mustache and goatee. When Sanders was 65 however, his business failed and in stepped Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s. Thomas simplified the Sanders menu, cutting it back from over a hundred items to just fried chicken and salads. That was enough to launch KFC into the fast food business. Sanders sold the US franchise in 1964 for just $2 million and moved to Canada to grow KFC north of the border. He died in 1980 and is buried in Louisville, Kentucky. The Colonel’s secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices is indeed a trade secret. Apparently there is only one copy of the recipe, a handwritten piece of paper, written in pencil and signed by Colonel Sanders. Since 2009, the piece of paper has been locked in a computerized vault surrounded with motion detectors and security cameras.

28 “Let Me Love You” R&B singer : NE-YO

“Ne-Yo” is the stage name of R&B singer Shaffer Chimere Smith. He began his career as a songwriter, penning hits for artists such as Mario, Rihanna, and Beyoncé. In 2006, he released his debut album “In My Own Words”, which launched Ne-Yo’s career as a solo artist.

30 Like many a safari cat : LEONINE

Something described as “leonine” has the characteristics of a lion, is strong and regal. “Leo” is Latin for “lion”.

“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey” or “expedition”.

35 Apex predators of the ocean : ORCAS

An apex predator is at the top of a food chain, and has no other natural predators. Examples are the orca (“killer whale”) in the oceans, the lion in Africa, and the Tyrannosaurus in the days of the dinosaurs.

39 Rowan Atkinson character : MR BEAN

Rowan Atkinson is an English comedian and actor who is most famous for playing the title role in the comedy shows “Mr. Bean” and “Blackadder”. In the world of movies, Atkinson had memorable supporting performances (in my opinion) in the Bond film “Never Say Never Again”, and in the romcoms “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Love Actually”. A very talented man …

48 Makes jigsaw puzzles, perhaps : DIE-CUTS

Jigsaws are saws designed for the cutting of irregular curves by hand. The original jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a sheet of wood and then cutting the picture into small pieces using a jigsaw, hence the name. Today, almost all jigsaw puzzles are pictures glued onto cardboard. The puzzle pieces are now die-cut, and so there’s no jigsaw involved at all.

49 Brief “If you ask me” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

50 Full-time employee at a corn processing plant? : ALL-DAY SHUCKER (from “all-day sucker”)

To shuck is to remove the husk from (say, an ear of corn) or to remove the shell from (say, an oyster).

An all-day sucker is a lollipop on a stick, apparently.

55 Kanga’s kid : ROO

Kanga is a friend of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, and is a kangaroo. She is the mother of Roo, who appears more frequently in the storyline.

56 Credit __: Zurich bank : SUISSE

Credit Suisse is a financial services company that was founded in 1856 by Alfred Escher. The original purpose of Credit Suisse (then known as the “Swiss Credit Institution”) was to fund the buildout of the Swiss rail network.

57 Director Reitman and tennis great Lendl : IVANS

Ivan Reitman was a film producer and director born in Slovakia, but who lived in Canada from when he was a small boy. Reitman is best known for producing and directing comedy movies. His long list of hits includes “Stripes”, “Ghostbusters”, “Kindergarten Cop” and “Dave”. Ivan’s son Jason Reitman is also a successful director, and was at the helm for the films “Juno”, “Thank You for Smoking” and “Up in the Air”.

Ivan Lendl is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia. Lendl appeared in eight consecutive US Open finals in the eighties, a record that stands to this day.

59 Fred of “Schmigadoon!” : ARMISEN

As an actor, Fred Armisen is perhaps best known for co-creating and co-starring in the sketch comedy series “Portlandia”. As a musician, one of Armisen’s claims to fame is leading the house band for the show “Late Night with Seth Meyers”.

62 Heat unit : THERM

A therm is a unit of heat energy. One therm is equivalent to 100,000 British thermal units (BTUs).

64 Sp. titles : SRAS

In Spanish, a “dama” (lady) might be referred to as “Señora” (Mrs.).

68 Pride sound : ROAR

A group of lions is known as a pride. It’s possible that the term “pride”, in this context, derives from the Latin “praeda” meaning “prey”.

69 Command to a guard dog : SIC ‘EM!

To sic on is to let at or set on. The verb “to sic on” comes from the attack command given to a dog “sic ‘em”.

71 Bits : IOTAS

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

80 Hornswoggled : HAD

To hornswoggle is to cheat, to deceive, to bamboozle.

82 Did too much heavy lifting? : OVER-SCHLEPPED (from “overslept”)

Our word “schlep” (sometimes “schlepp”) means “carry, drag”. “Schlep” comes from Yiddish, with “shlepen” having the same meaning.

84 Med. condition with repetitive behavior : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

85 Bistro VIP : MAITRE D’

The full title of a maître d’ is “maître d’hôtel”, which means “master of the hotel”.

95 Co-star of Nimoy and Shatner : TAKEI

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

96 Type of canoe : DUGOUT

The boat known as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

97 Russian refusal : NYET

The English word “no” translates into Russian as “nyet”, and into German as “nein”.

98 Derek’s ex-wife on “Grey’s Anatomy” : ADDISON

The very successful hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy” has been on television since 2005. The title is a reference to the show’s central character, Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo), as well as a reference to the classic human anatomy textbook commonly called “Gray’s Anatomy”.

100 Sushi bar drink : SAKE

We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

107 Really, really cheap liquor? : DOLLAR SHINE (from “dollar sign”)

The illegal distilled spirits known as moonshine can also be referred to as white lightning, mountain dew and hooch.

The dollar sign ($) was first used for the Spanish-American peso, in the late 18th century. The peso was also called the “Spanish dollar” (and “piece of eight”). The Spanish dollar was to become a model for the US dollar that was adopted in 1785, along with the dollar sign.

111 Ruse for crashing family reunions? : UNCLE SHAM (from “Uncle Sam”)

The Uncle Sam personification of the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The “Uncle Sam” term was so widely accepted that even the Germans used it during WWII, choosing the code word “Samland” for “America” in intelligence communiques.

113 Genre for some Tokyo-based bands : J-POP

“J-pop” is an abbreviation for “Japanese pop”, a genre of music that emerged in the nineties. Although J-pop is rooted in traditional Japanese music, it is heavily influenced by western bands from the sixties such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

115 Costa __ : RICA

Costa Rica is a country in Central America that is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the South. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1949, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

119 Particle accelerator particle : ATOM

In a particle accelerator, the particles that are accelerated have to have a charge, and so are ions. The charged ions are subjected to high magnetic fields that propel them around a circular “racetrack”, before being smashed into something, just to see what happens!

120 Jedi Council leader : YODA

The Jedi are the good guys in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …

Down

3 “For My Broken Heart” singer McEntire : REBA

“For My Broken Heart” is a 1991 studio album recorded by Reba McEntire. Earlier that year, eight members of McEntire’s band were killed in a plane crash. The album is dedicated to those deceased band members.

5 Radar gun reading: Abbr. : MPH

Radar speed guns were first used to monitor traffic by Connecticut State Police in the town of Glastonbury, way back in 1947!

8 Blue Pac-Man ghost : INKY

The Pac-Man arcade game was released first in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points, while being pursued by ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The name of the game comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, who is known for his voracious appetite. The spin-off game called Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981.

9 Can opener : TAB

The oldest method of opening a can with a device included in the can’s design is the pull-tab or ring pull, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to fewer injuries and eliminated all those used pull-tabs that littered the streets.

10 Small eggs : OVULES

As we all remember from botany class (don’t we?), an ovule is a small structure in many plants that develops into the seed after fertilization.

12 Aromatic Sri Lankan exports : PEKOES

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.

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.

14 Naan alternative : ROTI

In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is an unleavened cousin of naan.

18 Exacta or trifecta : BET

To win a bet called an exacta (also “perfecta”), the person betting must name the horses that finish first and second, and in the exact order. The related bet called the trifecta requires naming of the first, second and third-place finishers in the right order.

24 Actress Ward : SELA

Sela Ward is an American actress who won Emmys for her role on the TV show “Sisters” in 1994 and for her role on “Once and Again” in 2000. She is a published author and released her autobiography “Homesick: A Memoir” in 2012.

29 Cyclops feature : ONE EYE

Cyclops was a one-eyed giant in Greek and Roman mythology. Cyclops lived inside Mount Etna, the Sicilian volcano.

34 Mouse hat feature : EARS

The Mickey Mouse Ears hat was introduced in the 1950s on the Mickey Mouse Club. The Mouseketeers would wear them in each episode. Years later, the hats were offered to sale to the public, and today are the most popular item purchased at Disney resorts.

37 More chichi : ARTIER

Someone or something described as chichi is showily trendy and pretentious. “Chichi” is a French noun meaning “airs, fuss”.

38 Modus operandi : SYSTEM

“Modus operandi” (plural “modi operandi”) is the Latin for “mode of operating”, a term we’ve been using since the mid-1600s. It’s often used by the police when referring to the methods typically employed by a particular perpetrator of a crime, and is usually abbreviated to “M.O.”

39 Catherine’s “Schitt’s Creek” role : MOIRA

“Schitt’s Creek” is a very entertaining Canadian sitcom created by two of the four leading actors: Dan Levy and his father Eugene Levy. The other two leads are played by Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy. It is about a very wealthy family who lose their money and relocate to a small town called Schitt’s Creek, which they had once purchased as a joke. Recommended …

Catherine O’Hara is an actress and comedian from Toronto, Ontario. One of O’Hara’s more famous film roles is Kevin’s mother in the Christmas classic “Home Alone”. She also plays a lead character (Moira) in the excellent sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” alongside Eugen Levy.

41 Sweeping segment of a prop comic’s act? : BROOM SCHTICK (from “broomstick”)

A schtick is a routine, a bit, a piece of entertainment. It comes from the Yiddish “shtick” which has the same meaning and derives from the Middle High German word “stücke”, the word for “piece”.

42 Mercury and Mars : GODS

Mercury was a Roman god called “the messenger”, and the god of trade. Mercury’s name comes from the Latin word “merx” meaning merchandise (and therefore has the same roots as “merchant” and “commerce”).

Mars was the god of war in ancient Rome. He was also viewed as the father of the Roman people and the father of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers who founded Rome according to Roman mythology.

47 Actor/director Ken : OLIN

Ken Olin was one of the stars on the hit television series “thirtysomething”, playing Michael Steadman. After “thirtysomething”, Olin moved behind the camera and is now a producer and director.

48 Fashion letters : DKNY

Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the Donna Karan New York (DKNY) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.

50 Aromatic Indian export : ASSAM

Assam, located in northeastern India, is the largest tea-producing state in the country. It is also famous for its silk production, particularly the golden muga silk.

52 Iris 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.

61 Some Spielberg movie collectibles : ETS

1982’s classic science fiction movie “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was directed by Steven Spielberg. The idea behind the film came from Spielberg himself, and the character E.T. was based on an imaginary friend that he conjured up as a child after his parents divorced in 1960.

63 Sombrero, e.g. : HAT

In English we think of a sombrero as a wide-brimmed hat, but in Spanish “sombrero” is the word for any hat. “Sombrero” is derived from “sombra” meaning “shade”.

65 Icy coating : HOAR

The Old English word “har” meant “gray, venerable, old”, and came into English as “hoar” (and later “hoary”) with the same meaning. The term “hoar-frost” dates back to the 13th century, and reflects the similarity of the white feathers of frost to the gray/white of an old man’s beard.

66 Elevator name : OTIS

Otis is a manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. By some accounts, Otis is the world’s most popular transportation company, with the equivalent of the whole world’s population traveling on Otis devices every few days.

67 Soft mineral : TALC

Talc is a mineral, hydrated magnesium silicate. Talcum powder is composed of loose talc, although these days “baby powder” is also made from cornstarch.

70 Large lizard with dewlaps : IGUANA

A dewlap is a flap of skin that hangs below the neck of some creatures. Dewlaps are found on anything from dogs to iguanas.

71 Chatted with online, for short : IM’ED

Instant message (IM)

79 Research on a political rival, briefly : OPPO

In the world of politics, “oppo” is “opposition research”. The idea is to collect information on one’s opponent that can be used against him or her.

82 Frozen fries maker : ORE-IDA

Ore-Ida frozen foods are all made using potatoes. The company is located in Oregon, just across the border from Idaho. “Ore-Ida” is a melding of the two state names.

83 Howard or Alcorn, for short : HBCU

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are a group of higher education institutions that were established, mainly after the Civil War, to primarily serve the African-American community.

86 Tour de France mountains : THE ALPS

Back in the late 1800s, long-distance cycle races were used as promotional events, traditionally to help boost sales of newspapers. These races usually took place around tracks, but in 1902 the backers of the struggling sports publication “L’Auto” decided to stage a race that would take the competitors all around France. That first Tour de France took place in 1903, starting in Paris and passing through Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes and then back to Paris.

90 Iditarod driver : MUSHER

Mushing is the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled. “Mush” is thought to come from the French “marche” meaning “go, run”.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race covers an incredible 1,161 miles, from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska. The race starts every year on the first Saturday in March, with the first race having been held in 1973. Finishing times range from over 8 days to 15 days or more. The first few races only used a northern route, but then a southern route was added to the roster every second year. It’s kind of a good thing, because when the racers take the northern route they don’t even pass through the town of Iditarod!

91 Narcissist’s problem : EGOISM

Narcissus was a proud and vain hunter in Greek mythology. He earned himself a fatal punishment, falling in love with his own reflection in a pool. So, taken was he by his own image that he could not leave it, and wasted away and died by the pool. Narcissus gives us our term “narcissism” meaning “excessive love of oneself”.

92 “Be My Baby” memoirist Spector : RONNIE

The Ronettes were a sixties girl group from New York City who worked with famed record producer Phil Spector. Their most famous hit was probably “Be My Baby” from 1963. The lead singer of the group was Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett, who ended up marrying Spector in 1968.

94 Actress Russo : RENE

The talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to high school (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modeling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting. Her breakout role was in the 1989 film “Major League.”

96 Hustle genre : DISCO

The hustle is a genre of disco dance that was popular in the seventies. The dance form really took off when Van McCoy released a song called “The Hustle”, to which an accompanying line dance became a big craze in 1975.

97 Maker of sweet wafers : NECCO

Necco Wafers were the best-known product line of the candy manufacturer called the New England Confectionery Company. The firm’s name was abbreviated to “NECCO”, an acronym that became synonymous with the wafers.

101 Preternatural glow : AURA

Our term “preternatural” comes from the Latin phrase “praeter naturam (praeterque fatum)” meaning “beyond nature (and beyond fate)”. “Preternatural” differs from “supernatural” in that the former describes something natural that has qualities beyond what is expected from nature alone. The latter describes something uncanny, caused by a force beyond the natural. For example, one might describe Mozart as preternatural, whereas a ghost would be described as supernatural.

104 Jimmy __: fashion brand known for expensive shoes : CHOO

Jimmy Choo is a designer of handmade women’s shoes who was born in Malaysia but grew up and was educated in London. Choo sold the 50% stake that he had in his shoe manufacturing company in 2001, for 10 million pounds.

106 Actress Thompson : EMMA

Emma Thompson is one of my favorite English actresses, and someone who has appeared in many of my favorite films. She probably first came to attention in the US when she won an Oscar for her role in “Howards End”, which she followed up with “Remains of the Day” and “In the Name of the Father”. Perhaps my favorite production of hers is her own adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility”, which won her Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress. Emma Thompson went to Cambridge University and was good friends with a host of successful British actors and entertainers, including her ex-boyfriend Hugh Laurie who is famous in the US for playing the title role in television’s “House”.

107 Pros using mixers, for short : DJS

The world’s first radio disc jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

108 Nail polish brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

110 Takeoff approx. : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

112 Hasty escape : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, scram”.