Day: September 20, 2023

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Green Goblin

Themed answers are common phrases, each starting with a synonym of “GREEN” and ending with a body part. Perhaps the makeup of the GREEN GOBLIN?

• 54A Marvel Comics supervillain, or a creature made up of 16-, 29-, 34-, and 40-Across? : GREEN GOBLIN

• 16A Injury sustained while making guacamole : AVOCADO HAND
• 29A Person aggressively opposed to progress : MOSSBACK
• 34A First track on Fleetwood Mac’s “Mystery to Me” album : EMERALD EYES
• 40A Nitwit : PEA BRAIN

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

Bill’s time: 9m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Poaching targets : EGGS

Our verb “to poach”, meaning “to cook in liquid”, comes from the Old French verb “pochier”, meaning “to put into a pocket”. The idea is that the yolk of a “poached” egg is “pocketed” in the egg white.

5 Afghanistan’s capital : KABUL

Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. The city has been the site of major conflict for much of the 3,500 years that it has been in existence. In the past, this conflict was mainly driven by the city’s strategic location on the major trade routes of south and central Asia.

13 Alpaca product : WOOL

Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

14 One more song! : ENCORE!

“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request perhaps another song. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

16 Injury sustained while making guacamole : AVOCADO HAND

Avocado hand is an injury sustained when using a knife to remove the pit of an avocado. If the avocado is held in the hand, and the knife slips, the result can be a serious injury. The lesson is: don’t cut an avocado while it is held in the hand.

19 John Fetterman’s title, briefly : SEN

John Fetterman was elected to the US Senate in 2022 to represent Pennsylvania. Prior to taking his post on Capitol Hill, Fetterman had served for four years as Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor.

20 Bat mitzvah, e.g. : RITE

A Jewish girl becomes a bat mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become bar mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

21 Here’s the one-sentence version letters : TL;DR

Too long, didn’t read (TL;DR)

23 Makes urgent decisions? : TRIAGES

Triage is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on the battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “sorting”.

28 Perfect is the __ of the good : ENEMY

The aphorism “Perfect is the enemy of good” can be restated as the Pareto principle, i.e. 80% of a task can be completed in 20% of the allotted time. Striving for perfection, completing the remaining 20% of the task, can take 80% of the effort expended.

29 Person aggressively opposed to progress : MOSSBACK

A mossback is someone who is very reactionary, who holds antiquated notions and eschews progress. The term “mossback” arose in the 1870s when it described someone from the Carolinas who went into hiding to avoid signing up with the Confederate Army. The idea is that such a person would hide out until “moss” grew on their “back”.

30 Violets or lilacs : FLOWERS

The common violet is a flowering plant that is native to Europe and Asia. It is a hardy perennial that is often found growing in the wild near the edges of forests and in clearing. The same species is also referred to as the wood violet, sweet violet and garden violet.The color violet is named for the plant, and not the other way round.

33 __ Tomé and Príncipe : SAO

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is an island nation off the west coast of Africa comprising mainly two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe. São Tomé and Príncipe is located in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Gabon. It was colonized by Portugal after POrtuguese explorers discovered the islands in the 15th century. After gaining independence in 1975, São Tomé and Príncipe became the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.

34 First track on Fleetwood Mac’s “Mystery to Me” album : EMERALD EYES

“Mystery to Me” is a 1973 studio album released by Fleetwood Mac. The album’s title is a phrase from the lyrics of the opening track: “Emerald Eyes”.

47 Pico de gallo pepper : SERRANO

The serrano chili pepper is native to the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo. The name “serrano” comes from the Spanish “sierra” meaning “mountain”.

Pico de gallo is a Mexican condiment made from tomato, onion and chili peppers. “Pico de gallo” is Spanish for “beak of rooster”. Apparently this name was given as eating of the condiment with the thumb and forefinger resembled the pecking of a rooster. An alternative name for pico de gallo is “salsa fresca”, which translates literally as “fresh sauce”.

48 Czech Republic region : BOHEMIA

The region known as Bohemia covers most of the Czech Republic. Centuries ago, it was wrongly believed that gypsies came from Bohemia, giving rise to the term “Bohemian” meaning a “gypsy of society”.

50 Urban haze : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

51 Deutschland city on the Rhein : KOLN

Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany, and is known as “Köln” in German.

The country that we know in English as “Germany” is known as “Deutschland” in German. The name “Germany” comes from “Germania”, which is the Latin name that Julius Caesar gave to the peoples located east of the Rhine. The name “Deutschland” comes from an Old High German word meaning “land belonging to the people”.

The river running through Europe that we know in English as the Rhine, is called “Rhein” in German, “Rhin” in French and “Rijn” in Dutch.

53 Steamed bun in Asian cuisine : BAO

A baozi (also “bou, bao”) is a steamed, filled bun in Chinese cuisine.

54 Marvel Comics supervillain, or a creature made up of 16-, 29-, 34-, and 40-Across? : GREEN GOBLIN

The Green Goblin is a supervillain from Marvel Comics who generally is pitted against Spider-Man. He is the antagonist in the 2002 movie “Spider-Man”, and is played by Willem Dafoe.

58 BYOB part : OWN

Bring Your Own Beer/Bottle/Booze (BYOB)

59 Word on the California state seal : EUREKA

Several US states have single-word mottos:

• Eureka (I have found it) — California
• Dirigo (I lead) — Maine
• Excelsior (Ever upward) — New York
• Hope — Rhode Island
• Friendship — Texas
• Industry — Utah
• Forward — Wisconsin

Down

2 Do House work? : GOVERN

A member of the US House of Representatives serves for a two-year term, whereas a member of the US Senate serves for a six-year term.

3 Mouth, Chunk, or Data, in a 1985 film : GOONIE

“The Goonies” is a 1985 movie based on a story written by Steven Spielberg. It is an adventure film, with the title characters being a group of young treasure hunters from the fictional Goon Docks neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon (hence the movie’s title). I haven’t seen this one …

4 2002 Winter Games host, initially : SLC

The last Olympic Games held in the US was in Salt Lake City in 2002, a winter games. That made Utah the fifth US state to host the Olympics.

5 Pretzel shapes : KNOTS

Pretzels originated in Europe and are especially popular in Southern Germany where a pretzel is known as “Brezel”. Pretzels were introduced into the US in the 1800s by immigrants from Germany and Switzerland who came to be known over here as the Pennsylvania Dutch.

7 __ constrictor : BOA

Boa constrictors are members of the Boidae family of snakes, all of which are non-venomous. Interestingly, the female boa is always larger than the male.

9 Some Best Buy buys, briefly : LED TVS

Best Buy is a retailer specializing in the supply of consumer electronics. Best Buy services include the famous “Geek Squad”, a band of technical experts that will help solve your computer and other consumer electronic problems.

11 IN place? : AMERICA

The modern state of Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory defined in 1787. The Northwest Territory was divided into Ohio and Indiana Territory in 1800. The Indiana Territory successively reduced in size with the separation of the Michigan Territory in 1805, followed by the Illinois Territory in 1809. What remained of the Indiana Territory was admitted as the US state of Indiana in 1816.

12 Sunblock letters : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

14 Actress Falco : EDIE

Actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”, an excellent black comedy.

17 Knitting pattern : ARGYLE

The argyle pattern is based on the Campbell tartan. The Campbell clan is based in the Argyll region (note the spelling) in the west of Scotland, giving the Argyle pattern its name.

24 Radio switch letters : AM/FM

In telecommunications, a radio signal is transmitted using a sinusoidal carrier wave. Information is transmitted using this carrier wave in two main ways, by varying (modulating) the instantaneous amplitude (signal strength) of the carrier wave, and by modulating the instantaneous frequency of the carrier wave. The former is referred to as an AM signal (“amplitude modulation”), and the latter as an FM signal (“frequency modulation”).

25 House of __ : LORDS

The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.

27 MMA decision : TKO

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

29 Honeydew, e.g. : MELON

What we call honeydew melons are also known as white antibes, especially in France and Algeria where the cultivar has been grown for many years. Antibes is a commune in southeastern France, located between Nice and Cannes.

31 Instrument with pipes : ORGAN

The organ that we often see in churches, synagogues and concert halls is a pipe organ. Sound is produced by pressurized air driven through particular pipes selected by keys on a keyboard.

32 Nintendo antagonist with a “W” on his cap : WARIO

Wario is a character in the “Mario” video game universe. He is a rival of Mario, and indeed the name “Wario” is a portmanteau of the Japanese word “warui” (meaning “bad”) and “Mario”. Bad Mario …

34 Get Who Gets You dating site : EHARMONY

eHarmony is a high-profile online dating service based in Pasadena, California.

36 Canal with a museum in Syracuse : ERIE

The Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, New York opened in 1962. Although the museum houses many artifacts and displays that celebrate the history of the Erie Canal, perhaps the most interesting “exhibit” is the museum building itself. The museum’s collections are housed in the Syracuse Weighlock Building, which was built about 1850, when tolls were charged to barges using the canal. A weighlock is a specialty canal lock that determines the weight of barges by supporting the vessels on a cradle as water is emptied from the lock.

37 High-level HS courses : APS

Advanced Placement (AP)

38 Vacillates : SEESAWS

To vacillate is to be indecisive, to waver. The verb “to vacillate” comes from the Latin “vacillare” meaning “to sway to and fro”.

49 Gymnast Korbut : OLGA

Olga Korbut is from modern-day Belarus, but was born during the days of the Soviet Union. Korbut competed for the USSR team in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. She was 17 when she appeared in the 1972 Munich Games, and had been training in a sports school since she was 8-years-old. The world fell in love with her as she was a very emotional young lady, readily expressing joy and disappointment, something that we weren’t used to seeing in athletes from behind the Iron Curtain. Korbut immigrated to the US in 1991 and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.