Day: July 29, 2023

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 15m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 National Humor Mo. : APR

National Humor Month was launched in 1976, and is observed in April of each year. The idea came from author and humorist Larry Wilde. Wilde’s intent was to highlight the therapeutic value of laughter and joy.

15 California roll ingredient : CRAB

A California roll is a kind of sushi roll that is made inside-out, with the seaweed inside and the rice on the outside. A California roll often includes rice, seaweed, cucumber and avocado. The dish originated in Los Angeles where a chef at the Tokyo Kaikan restaurant substituted avocado for fatty tuna (“toro”) in a traditional sushi recipe. The chef also put the seaweed on the inside, as his American customers preferred not to look directly at seaweed while they were eating it!

18 Emerald City visitor : TOTO

Toto is Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz”, and in the original book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Toto was played in the movie by a dog called Terry, but Terry’s name was soon changed to Toto in real life due to the success of the film.

The Emerald City is the capital of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum’s series of “Oz” novels.

19 Scandal sheet : RAG

A low-quality newspaper is often referred to as a “rag”. There are lots of rags out there …

20 Part of a bang-up job : TNT

“TNT” is an abbreviation for “trinitrotoluene”. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.

25 Fish with transparent babies : EELS

A young eel is called an elver.

27 Nancy, to Fritzi Ritz : NIECE

8-year-old Nancy Ritz has been in her own comic strip “Nancy” since 1938. Since 1938, her best friend has been the lazy Sluggo Smith. Nancy is actually a little older than she looks. She first appeared in 1933 when the same strip was called “Fritzi Ritz”. Within a few years, Nancy took over as the main character and so the strip was renamed to “Nancy”.

28 Target area : AISLE

The Target Corporation was originally founded in 1902 as a dry goods store called “Goodfellow’s”, by George Dayton in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It wasn’t until 1962 that the first Target store opened, which was designed to be a discount store with a modern, upscale feel.

33 Ashram sound : CHANT

“Ashram” is a term used in the Hindu tradition to describe a place of spiritual retreat, one that is typically located in a remote location conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation.

36 Org. with an Office of Water : EPA

The main legislation governing water pollution in the US is the Clean Water Act (CWA), which became law in 1972.

37 Starting points for pro golfers : BLACK TEES

There are no official standards for the color of tee-box markers on a golf course. That said, a common scheme is:

1. Red tees: for women
2. White tees: for seniors
3. Blue tees: for mid- to low-handicap golfers
4. Black tees: for the best golfers

Those designations are a tad sexist, I’d say …

43 Jelly in some boba : ALOE

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

54 Exam taken in “Legally Blonde” : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

“LEGALLY blonde” is a 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon as a girlish sorority president who heads to Harvard to earn a law degree. “LEGALLY blonde” was successful enough to warrant two sequels as well as a spin-off musical that played most successfully in London’s West End (for 974 performances).

56 Bourguignon, for one : STEW
57 Ingredient in many a 56-Across : BAY LEAF

Beef bourguignon (also “beef Burgundy”) is a stew made with beef braised in red wine. The dish probably doesn’t have roots in the Burgundy region of France, but instead is named for the traditional use of Burgundy wine as a key ingredient in the recipe.

The seasoning known as bay leaf is the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel tree or shrub. Fresh bay leaves aren’t very flavorful and need to be dried and aged a few weeks before use in the kitchen.

61 Apology starter : MEA …

Many Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase “mea culpa” meaning “my fault”, as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term “mea maxima culpa” translates as “my most grievous fault”.

66 Company with a hedgehog mascot : SEGA

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

68 Shape of orecchiette pasta : EAR

Orecchiette are small dome-shaped pasta from Southern Italy. Each piece resembles a small ear, hence the name. “Orecchietta” (the singular) comes from the Italian “orecchia” meaning “ear” and “-etta” meaning “small”.

Down

1 Law in some Gulf States : SHARIA

Sharia law is the Islamic legal system that governs many things like crime, politics and economics as well as many aspects of personal behavior. Sharia law is based on the Quran as well as the Hadith, the latter being a set of opinions and life examples from the prophet Muhammad.

The Persian Gulf is in effect an inland sea, although it technically is an offshoot of the Indian Ocean. The outlet from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean is one of the most famous maritime “choke points” in the world, and is known as the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s supply of petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

2 Like some Mongols : NOMADIC

The Mongols are an ethnic group found today in modern Mongolia, in China and in Russia.

4 Just out of an onsen, say : WET

“Onsen” are Japanese hot spring baths that are naturally heated by geothermal activity. There are two main types of onsen: “uchiyu” (indoor baths) and “rotenburo” (outdoor baths).

8 “Modern Comfort Food” writer Garten : INA

Ina Garten is an author as well as the host of a cooking show on the Food Network called “Barefoot Contessa”. She is a mentee of Martha Stewart, and indeed was touted as a potential “successor” to the TV celebrity when Stewart was incarcerated in 2004 after an insider trading scandal. Garten has no formal training as a chef, and indeed used to work as a nuclear policy analyst at the White House!

9 Type of value calculated for mutual funds : NET ASSET

A mutual fund is a type of investment vehicle that pools money from many investors and invests it in a variety of securities.

11 When Romeo and Juliet have their balcony scene : ACT II

In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, the lovers discuss the sad fact that they have been born into two feuding families in the famous balcony scene. Juliet says:

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

A little later she utters the famous lines:

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

12 One under a wing : PROTEGE

We use the term “protégé” for someone whose career is helped along and guided by a more experienced person, a mentor. “Protégé” is French for “protected”.

16 “In the Heights” shop : BODEGA

“Bodega” is a Spanish term describing a winery, or these days a grocery store.

“In the Heights” is a musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda that opened on Broadway in 2008, and won the Best Musical Tony that season. John Chu directed a big-screen adaptation released in 2021. The title is a reference to the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City.

34 Spinner’s yarn : TALE

The phrase “to spin a yarn”, meaning “to tell a tall tale”, originated in the early 1800s with seamen. The idea was that sailors would tell stories to each other while engaged in mindless work such as twisting yarn.

40 Takes a deep dive, maybe : SCUBAS

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

41 Land where Puff and Jackie Paper played : HONALEE

“Puff the Magic Dragon” is a song released in 1963 by Peter, Paul and Mary. It was written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow (the “Peter” of the singing trio). The lyrics tell the story of a dragon named Puff, and a little boy named Jackie Paper. There is an urban myth that the lyrics refer to the use of drugs. In fact, the words are based on a poem that Lipton wrote when he was 19-years-old in 1959, and which was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem called “Custard the Dragon”.

42 Practice with sweaters : HOT YOGA

Hot yoga is performed under relatively hot and humid conditions. The actual temperature and humidity levels are often chosen to resemble those found in India, where yoga originated.

45 Customizable avatar app : BITMOJI

Bitmoji is an app that allows users to create personalized avatars. The app was developed by Bitstrips, a company that allows the creation of comic strips using personalized avatars.

49 Spitball need : SALIVA

Ultimately, our contemporary term “saliva” is the Latin word for “spittle”.

51 Target of some recycling drives : E-WASTE

Electronic waste (e-waste)

58 New Zealand’s Southern __ : ALPS

The Southern Alps is a mountain range that extends along the length of the South Island of New Zealand. The “Southern Alps” name was given by English explorer James Cook. The Maori name for the same range is “Kā Tiritiri o te Moana” meaning “The Mirage of the Ocean”.

64 Element with the shortest name : TIN

The Latin word for tin is “stannum”, and so tin’s atomic symbol is “Sn”. One of the ores used as a source of tin is “stannite”.

65 PG Tips, e.g. : TEA

PG Tips is a well-known brand of tea sold primarily in the UK. When I was growing up in that part of the world, PG Tips ran a very famous series of TV advertisements featuring chimpanzees dressed in human clothes. The campaign helped PG Tips become the best-selling tea in the nation,