Day: September 2, 2023

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Constructed by: Jimmy Peniston & Matthew Stock
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Blackberry, e.g. : PDA

The PDA (personal digital assistant) known as a BlackBerry was given its name because the keyboard on the original device resembled the surface on the fruit of a blackberry.

13 Satellite navigation device? : LUNAR ROVER

Three countries have sent lunar rovers to the Moon. Famously, the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle (aka “moon buggy”) carried American astronauts across the Moon’s surface on the last three missions of the Apollo program in the early seventies. Before the landing of the Apollo vehicles, the Soviet Union sent two unmanned, remote-controlled rovers to the Moon called Lunokhod 1 & 2. Years later, in 2013, the Chinese landed a lunar rover called Yutu (or “Jade Rabbit”). They followed up with Yutu-2 in 2019.

19 Mise en __: French culinary term : PLACE

“Mise en place” is a French term that translates literally as “putting in place”. It is used in culinary circles to describe the laying out of all the ingredients needed prior to cooking.

22 Silhouette on some jerseys : NBA LOGO

Jerry West is a retired basketball player who played for 14 years with the LA Lakers. One of West’s nicknames is “The Logo”, as it is his silhouette that is used in the famous NBA logo.

27 Member of a TikTok subculture : E-GIRL

E-girls and e-boys (maybe “e-kids”) may spend a lot of time on social media, especially TikTok, hence the use of the prefix “e-”.

29 Concern in the Premier League : RELEGATION

The best soccer teams in England and Wales play in the Premier League. The league was founded in 1992 as the FA Premier League to take advantage of a generous television deal. Today, the Premier League is the most-watched soccer league in the world.

35 Dahi-based condiment of Indian cuisine : RAITA

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

“Dahi” (also “curd”) is a yogurt that is popular in the Indian subcontinent.

40 African language group : BANTU

There are hundreds of Bantu languages, which are mainly spoken in central, east and southern Africa. The most commonly spoken Bantu language is Swahili, with Zulu coming in second.

41 “Paranormal Activity” creatures : DEMONS

“Paranormal Activity” is a supernatural horror film released in 2007. Its success spawned a whole franchise of movies. Yuk …

43 Spice in taktouka and shakshouka : PAPRIKA

The wonderful spice paprika is made from dried and ground red peppers. The peppers used are usually quite mild in terms of heat, although hotter varieties of paprika are produced. Even though paprika originated in Mexico, today it is very much associated with Hungarian cuisine.

48 Renewable energy option : SOLAR

Solar panels are arrays of solar cells that make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

59 Genesis grandson : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve, and nephew of Cain and Abel. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve, and nephew of Cain and Abel. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

Down

1 Some ankle-length attire : ALBS

An alb is a white, neck-to-toe vestment worn by priests, usually with a rope cord around the waist. The term alb comes from “albus”, the Latin word for “white”.

4 Amigo : PAL

In Spanish, an “amigo” is a male friend, and an “amiga” a female friend.

5 Hot water line? : TROPIC

Lines of latitude are imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:

• Arctic Circle
• Tropic of Cancer
• Equator
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Antarctic Circle

6 “The Age of Pleasure” singer Janelle : MONAE

Janelle Monáe is a singer and actress. I’m not familiar with her as a singer, but did see Monáe play NASA engineer Mary Jackson in the excellent 2016 film “Hidden Figures”.

8 National park that’s home to more than 3,000 lions : SERENGETI

The Serengeti is a region in Africa located in northern Tanzania and southwest Kenya. The name “Serengeti” comes from the Maasai language and means “Endless Plains”.

9 Menopause treatment option: Abbr. : HRT

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

10 Instrument played by Don Shirley in “Green Book” : PIANO

“Green Book” is a 2018 comedy-drama film that is based on the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by Florida-born classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley. Shirley, an African American, hires Italian-American bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga as his driver and bodyguard. I haven’t seen this one, but I hear that audiences and critics loved it …

12 Minute Maid Park athlete : ASTRO

Enron Field, as it was known, is a retractable-roof ballpark that was built next to Houston’s old Union Station. Enron paid $100 million to get its name on the field, and then when the world found out what a scam Enron actually was, the Astros bought back the contract for the name, for a mere $2.1 million. The stadium became Astros Field for a few months, until the Coke people paid $170 million for a 28-year contract to rename the stadium Minute Maid Park. A good deal for the Astros, I’d say.

14 Derby locale : ROLLER RINK

The sport of roller derby has an international footprint, with almost half the world’s teams being located outside of the US. Most of the teams playing the sport are all-female.

20 “Matilda” star Wilson : MARA

Mara Wilson started her acting career as a child actress, appearing in “Mrs. Doubtfire”, the 1994 version of “Miracle on 34th Street”, and the title character in “Matilda”. Despite her success as a child star, Mara Wilson decided to step away from acting (for 12 years) and pursue other interests. She became an accomplished author, publishing a memoir called “Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame” in 2016.

“Matilda” is a 1996 film directed by Danny DeVito that is based on the children’s novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. Mara Wilson plays the title role, and DeVito himself serves as the story’s narrator as well portraying Matilda’s father. DeVito’s wife, Rhea Perlman, plays Matilda’s mother.

25 Print found in the woods : CAMO

Our word “camouflage” (often abbreviated to “camo”) evolved directly from a Parisian slang term “camoufler” meaning “to disguise”. The term was first used in WWI, although the British navy at that time preferred the expression “dazzle-painting” as it applied to the pattern painted on the hulls of ships.

27 Yale founder Yale : ELIHU

Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

30 Japanese or Javanese : EAST ASIAN

The Japanese names for “Japan” are “Nippon” and “Nihon”. These translate literally as “the sun’s origin”, but the more ornate translation of “Land of the Rising Sun” is often cited.

Java is a large island in Indonesia that is home to the country’s capital, Jakarta. With a population of over 130 million, Java is the most populous island in the world, with even more people than Honshu, the main island of Japan.

31 “Aladdin” character who calls Jafar “Your Rottenness” : IAGO

In the 1992 Disney feature “Aladdin”, there is a parrot called Iago. Iago is voiced by the comic Gilbert Gottfried.

32 Brownie point? : OVEN

Apparently, the first brownies were created for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The recipe was developed by a pastry chef at the city’s Palmer House Hotel. The idea was to produce a cake-like dessert that was small enough and dainty enough to be eaten by ladies as part of a boxed lunch.

38 Many a venue visited on “Carnival Eats” : FAIR

“Carnival Eats” is a reality show from Canada in which host Noah Cappe samples food available at carnivals and festivals across North America.

42 Magic man? : EARVIN

Magic Johnson’s real name is Earvin Johnson. Johnson was born and grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Earvin earned the nickname “Magic” when playing basketball in high school, after one particularly great performance on the court.

44 Cornish of CNN : AUDIE

Broadcast journalist Audie Cornish hosted NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” from 2011 to 2012, replacing Liane Hansen who hosted the show for over twenty years. Cornish then co-hosted “All Things Considered” until she resigned from NPR in 2022.

45 Legislative assemblies : PLENA

“Plenum” (plural “plena”) is the name given to a complete legislative assembly under the parliamentary system, with the associated term of “quorum” being the minimum number of members required to be present to conduct business.

50 Barnes of college basketball : ADIA

Adia Barnes is a former WNBA player who was appointed head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team in 2016. Earlier in her career, Barnes played internationally for Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine, and also turned out for several Euroleague teams. She is married to a basketball coach she met in Italy.

51 Small price to pay : CENT

The official name of our smallest denomination coin is “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. In the UK, the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets.

52 Benin neighbor : TOGO

Togo is a country on the West African coast, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. It is located between Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north.

The Republic of Benin is a country in West Africa. Benin used to be a French colony, and was known as Dahomey. Dahomey gained independence in 1975, and took the name Benin after the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies.

54 Vegas opener? : VEE

The first letter of the word “Vegas” is a letter V (vee).