Day: July 1, 2023

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Constructed by: Annemarie Brethauer & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Comedian profiled in “Last Man Standing” : SAHL

“Last Man Standing” is a 2017 biography of standup comedian Mort Sahl penned by James Curtis.

Mort Sahl is a Canadian-born actor and comedian who moved to the US with his family when he was a child. Sahl became friends with John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy became president, Sahl wrote a lot of jokes for the President’s speeches, although he also told a lot of Kennedy jokes in his acts. After the President was assassinated in 1963, Sahl was intensely interested in finding out who was behind the crime and even got himself deputized as a member of one of the investigating teams. He was very outspoken against the results of the Warren Commission report on the assassination, and soon found himself out of favor with the public. It took a few years for him to make his comeback, and come back he did.

9 Member-owned shop : CO-OP

Cooperative (co-op)

13 “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself” org. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War. It grew out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB) that was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

14 Abbr. on an ESPN ticker : NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

15 Home country of Olympian Pita Taufatofua : TONGA

The Kingdom of Tonga is made up of 176 islands in the South Pacific, 52 of which are inhabited and scattered over an area of 270,000 square miles. Tonga was given the name Friendly Islands in 1773 when Captain James Cook first landed there, a reference to the warm reception given to the visitors. The nation’s capital is the city of Nukuʻalofa on the island of Tongatapu.

Pita Taufatofua is an Australian-born Tongan athlete. He is a practitioner of taekwondo and was the first to represent his country in that sport in the Olympics, competing in the 2016 summer games. Notably, Taufatofua also represented Tonga in the Winter Olympics, participating in the 15km freestyle skiing event. One of his claims to fame is that he carried the Tongan flag in the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony wearing nothing but a traditional ta-ovala (a Tongan mat) wrapped around his oiled torso. He did the same thing in the 2018 opening ceremony for the winter games, despite the freezing temperatures. Images and videos of Taufatofua went viral after each appearance.

16 Low-alcohol brews : NEAR BEERS

“Near beer” is a slang term describing a malt liquor that doesn’t contain enough alcohol to be labeled as “beer”. An example would be “O’Doul’s”, a beverage that I tend to consume in a glass full of ice when I am the designated driver.

19 Random comments online? : KEYBOARD SMASHES

A keysmash (also “keyboard smash”) is the typing of random letters to express emotion. New to me …

21 TV planet on which people age backward : ORK

The sitcom “Mork & Mindy” was broadcast from 1978 to 1982. We were first introduced to Mork (played by Robin Williams) in a special episode of “Happy Days”. The particular episode in question has a bizarre storyline culminating in Fonzie and Mork having a thumb-to-finger duel. Eventually Richie wakes up in bed, and alien Mork was just part of a dream! Oh, and “Nanu Nanu” means both “hello” and “goodbye” back on the planet Ork. “I am Mork from Ork, Nanu Nanu”. Great stuff …

23 Sydney’s st. : NSW

New South Wales (NSW) is the most populous state in Australia and is home to Sydney, the most populous city in the country. New South Wales was founded in 1788. When the British took over New Zealand in 1840, New Zealand was actually governed for a while as part of New South Wales.

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. People from Sydney are known as “Sydneysiders”.

28 Red choice : MERLOT

Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

35 “We’ll Meet Again” singer Lynn : VERA

Dame Vera Lynn was an English singer who was extremely popular during WWII. She was known as the “Forces’ Sweetheart”, largely because of the outdoor concerts she gave for service members during the war, in Egypt, India and Burma. She made many memorable recordings, including “We’ll Meet Again”, “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” and “There’ll Always Be an England”. When Lynn passed away in 2020, at the age of 103, she was given a military funeral that included a flypast by Battle of Britain spitfires.

38 Burton of “Reading Rainbow” : LEVAR

Actor LeVar Burton is very much associated with two iconic roles on television, i.e. young Kunta Kinte in “Roots” and Geordi La Forge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Burton also hosted the children’s PBS show “Reading Rainbow” for many years. His portrayal of Kunta Kinte in 1977 was Burton’s first acting job. Indeed, Burton’s audition for the part was the first in his professional career!Actor LeVar Burton is very much associated with two iconic roles on television, i.e. young Kunta Kinte in “Roots” and Geordi La Forge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Burton also hosted the children’s PBS show “Reading Rainbow” for many years. His portrayal of Kunta Kinte in 1977 was Burton’s first acting job. Indeed, Burton’s audition for the part was the first in his professional career!

“Reading Rainbow” is an award-winning children’s television series that aired on Public Television from 1983 to 2006. The mission of the show was to encourage children to read. “Reading Rainbow” was hosted by the actor LeVar Burton (from “Roots” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation”).

42 Kind of filler : DERMAL

Injectable fillers are injected into the skin to restore a smoother appearance. Usually, fillers are absorbed by the body, and the effect lasts about six months.

44 Maroon 5’s “__ Will Be Loved” : SHE

“She Will Be Loved” is a 2004 power ballad by rock band Maroon 5. The accompanying music video caused quite a splash, and has been compared to the 1967 film “The Graduate”. In the video, lead singer Adam Levine appears to be infatuated by his girlfriend’s mother (played by actress Kelly Preston).

45 Service call? : LET!

That could be tennis.

46 Blue choice : COBALT

Cobalt blue is a pigment, a pigment with a lighter shade than Prussian blue. Cobalt blue is made from cobalt oxide and alumina, and is used as a coloring agent in ceramics, jewelry and paint. Even “transparent” glass usually contains a little cobalt blue, giving a slight blue tint.

57 Treats, as a winter road : SALTS

Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, and is also known as “rock salt”. Halite is used to melt ice, as salt water has a lower freezing point than pure water. Adding salt to icy sidewalks can therefore cause any ice to melt (as long as the ambient temperature isn’t too low). A mixture of halite and ice can also be used to cool things below the freezing point of water, perhaps to make ice cream.

58 Catering production? : OSCAR BAIT

A movie that is described as “Oscar bait” is one that is released late in the year, just before votes are being cast for the Academy Awards, the “Oscars”. Studios employ this tactic so that a movie is fresh in the mind of Oscar voters, so that it gets an edge over a film released months earlier.

59 Healing plants : ALOES

Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. ancient Egyptians knew it as the plant of immortality, and Native Americans called it the wand of heaven.

60 “Make sense?” : MKAY?

“Mkay” is an informal variant of the word “okay”. The former is typically used at the end of a sentence, inviting agreement or confirmation. Mkay?

61 Some leafcutters : ANTS

The term “leafcutter ant” is used to describe several species of leaf-chewing ants. They get their name from their habit of cutting leaves from plants and carrying them back to their nests. The leaves are used to grow a fungus that is the main food source. Leafcutter colonies comprise a large central mound with smaller mounds radiating out. Such colonies can contain millions of individual ants.

62 Catherine who is one of the six in Broadway’s “Six” : PARR

Henry VIII was the English King with the most wives. Well, something rubbed off on his last wife Catherine Parr. She was to become the English Queen with the most husbands! By the time she married Henry, she had been widowed twice. After Henry died, Parr married once again, racking up four husbands in all.

“Six” is a musical that tells the story of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss when they were both students at Cambridge University. Each of the six wives has her own unique style of music. Anne Boleyn’s songs have a rock and pop feel, while Catherine of Aragon’s songs have a Spanish influence.

63 Fed. IDs : SSNS

Social Security number (SSN)

64 Blue-bottled vodka : SKYY

Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

Down

1 Lean : LANK

The term “lank” can describe something that is straight and flat, particularly hair. The usage was extended in the early 1800s (especially in the form “lanky”) to mean “awkwardly tall and thin”.

2 Brand with Blue Lemonade and Blue Vanilla flavors : ICEE

Slush Puppie and ICEE are brands of frozen, slushy drinks. Ostensibly competing brands, ICEE now owns the Slush Puppie brand.

4 Lead-in for jet or prop : TURBO-

In a turbojet engine, it’s the expanding exhaust gases expelled from the rear of the engine that provide thrust. In a turboprop engine, on the other hand, the energy from the turbine energy is used to drive a propeller via a gearbox.

6 Big name in gaming monitors : ACER

Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

7 “Jude the Obscure” author : HARDY

“Jude the Obscure” was first published in serial form starting 1894, and was to be Thomas Hardy’s last complete novel. The title character is a stonemason who dreams of studying at university. He is tricked into a loveless marriage, is abandoned by his wife, and then falls for his cousin. The cousin marries Jude’s old schoolteacher, resulting in another loveless marriage. After that marriage fails, the two cousins enter into a doomed relationship. Not a happy tale …

8 Role for Sudeikis : LASSO

“Ted Lasso” is a marvelous sports-comedy TV show about an American college football coach who moves to the UK to manage an English soccer team. The title character is played very admirably by Jason Sudeikas. Sudeikas first played Lasso in a series of TV commercials commissioned to promote NBC’s coverage of the British Premier League. The character became so popular that he inspired a whole TV series. Great stuff, and highly recommended …

Actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis’s big break came with a writing job on “Saturday Night Live”, which spawned a nine-season stint as a cast member. His career reached new heights when he co-created and starred in the hit TV show “Ted Lasso”.

10 Bona fide : ON THE LEVEL

“Bona fide(s)” translates from the Latin as “in good faith”, and is used to indicate honest intentions. It can also mean that something is authentic, like a piece of art that is represented in good faith as being genuine.

11 Scary figure : OGRE

An ogre is a monster of mythology and folktales that has the appearance of a man, and which eats human beings. The term “ogre” comes to us via French from the name of the Etruscan god Orcus, who feasted on the flesh of humans.

23 Battery acronym : NICAD

A NiCad rechargeable battery is so called because the electrodes are made of nickel oxide hydroxide (“Ni”) and metallic cadmium (“Cad”).

25 Medium also known as aquarelle : WATERCOLOR

Watercolor painting is also known as “aquarelle”, a term that comes into English via Italian from the Latin “aqua” meaning “water”.

27 Jane Lynch series : GLEE

In the TV show “Glee”, actress Jane Lynch plays the school cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Well, Sylvester is the cheerleading coach for the first four seasons. She gets promoted to high school principal for the last two seasons.

30 Allegorical cards : TAROT

Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

32 Ben or Jerry, notably : VERMONTER

The state name “Vermont” probably comes from the French “les Verts Monts”, meaning “The Green Mountains”.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield did a correspondence course on making ice-cream in 1977 that was given by Pennsylvania State University’s creamery. The following year they opened an ice cream parlor in an old gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Today Ben & Jerry’s has locations in over 20 countries around the world, and theirs was the first brand of ice-cream to go into space.

40 T. Rex rock style : GLAM

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

The English rock band T. Rex started up in 1967, led by guitarist Marc Bolan, using the name Tyrannosaurus Rex. After a few years, Bolan simplified the group’s name, and soon after released the great song “Get It On” (released as “Bang a Gong” in the US.

48 Warthog pair : TUSKS

The warthog is a wild animal from the pig family found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The animal takes its name from four wart-like protrusions on its head that serve as a means of defense, but are also reserves of fat.

50 Low winds : TUBAS

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

52 Character voiced by Moira Kelly and Beyoncé : NALA

In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.

55 Lincoln or Jackson : CITY

The city of Lincoln is the second-largest in Nebraska, and is the state capital. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the capital was the larger city of Omaha. When the territory was being considered for statehood, most of the population (which lived south of the River Platte) was in favor of annexation to Kansas. The pro-statehood legislature voted to move the capital nearer to that population in a move intended to appease those favoring annexation. As this conflict was taking place just after the Civil War, a special interest group in Omaha arranged for the new capital to be named Lincoln, in honor of the recently-assassinated president. The thought was that the populace south of the River Platte had been sympathetic to the Confederate cause and so would not pass the measure to move the capital if the Lincoln name was used. But the measure passed, the capital was moved, and Nebraska became the thirty-seventh State of the Union in 1867.

Jackson is the capital of the state of Mississippi. It was named for President Andrew Jackson, although the name was bestowed before he ran for electoral office. General Jackson was so honored in recognition of his victory at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

56 Crafts site : ETSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.