Day: November 4, 2023

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Constructed by: Daniel Okulitch & Doug Peterson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 12m 17s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Magical country introduced in a 1900 children’s novel : LAND OF OZ

The Land of Oz is a fantasy world that was created by L. Frank Baum and introduced in 1900 in his children’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. Such was the success of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, that Baum ended up writing a total of 14 novels in his “Land of Oz” series:

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
2. The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
3. Ozma of Oz (1907)
4. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
5. The Road to Oz (1909)
6. The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
8. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
9. The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
10. Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
11. The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
12. The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
13. The Magic of Oz (1919)
14. Glinda of Oz (1920)

15 Steak source : ALBACORE

Skipjack tuna would be considered a medium-sized tuna, growing to about three feet long. Albacore tuna is a little larger.

16 Adrenaline, e.g. : HORMONE

The naturally occurring hormone adrenaline is also known as epinephrine. It takes its name from the adrenal glands that produce the hormone. The glands themselves take their name from their location in the body, right on the kidneys (“ad-renes” meaning “near or at the kidneys” in Latin). The alternative name of epinephrine has a similar root (“epi-nephros” meaning “upon the kidney” in Greek).

17 Enterprise vehicle? : STAR TREK

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the “Star Trek” universe (pun!). There have been several generations of starships with the name Enterprise, starting with the vessel numbered NCC-1701, which appeared in the original TV series. My favorite “Star Trek” series is “Next Generation”, which features USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

18 Result of an acid test? : ALTERED STATE

Someone taking the drug LSD is often said to be “dropping acid”. The use of the verb “to drop” was popular slang long before LSD came on the scene, and back then applied to the taking of any illegal drug.

21 General from Alderaan : LEIA

The full name of the character played by Carrie Fisher in the “Star Wars” series of films is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and later Leia Organa Solo. Leia is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker (aka “Darth Vader”) and Padmé Amidala. Leia is raised by her adoptive parents Bail and Breha Organa. She eventually marries Han Solo.

23 “Ars longa, __ brevis” : VITA

The famous Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates wrote “Art is long, life is short”, which translates into Latin as “Ars longa, vita brevis”.

25 Tswana for “fly” : TSETSE

Tswana is a Bantu language that is spoken primarily in southern Africa.

30 Vegetable pod in some callaloo recipes : OKRA

Callaloo is a traditional Caribbean dish that has its roots in West African cuisine. The main ingredient of callaloo is a leafy vegetable, which can vary from region to region. Taro tends to be used in Trinidad, and amaranth elsewhere in the West Indies.

36 Elevated for driving : TEED

A tee is a small device on which, say, a golf ball is placed before striking it. The term “tee” comes from the Scottish “teaz”, which described little heaps of sand used to elevate a golf ball for the purpose of getting a clean hit with a club.

41 Check mate? : STUB

Checks and checking accounts caused me some language trouble when I first came to the US. Back in Ireland (and the UK) we write “cheques” using funds from our “current” accounts.

42 Motown trio in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame : SUPREMES

The Supremes were the most successful vocal group in US history based on number-one hits. The group started out in 1959 as a four-member lineup called the Primettes. The name was changed to the Supremes in 1961. One member dropped out in 1962, leaving the Supremes as a trio. Lead singer Diana Ross began to garner much of the attention, which eventually led to a further name change, to Diana Ross & the Supremes.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can be visited on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983 and started inducting artists in 1986. The Foundation didn’t get a home until the museum was dedicated in Cleveland in 1995. I had the great privilege of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some years ago and really enjoyed myself. The magnificent building was designed by famed architect I. M. Pei.

44 Sanskrit honorific : SRI

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language and one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It has a rich tradition and is the language in which many historical and religious texts are written. There aren’t many speakers of the language today although efforts are underway to revive spoken Sanskrit.

45 __ daisy : SHASTA

The Shasta daisy looks just like an oxeye daisy, but is significantly larger. It is named for Mount Shasta in California, due to the snowy color of its petals.

49 Jettison : TOSS

The original use of the verb “to jettison” was “to throw overboard”, and in particular applied to measures taken to lighten a ship that was in danger. “Jettison” is related to “jetsam’, the noun describing items thrown overboard, particularly to save a vessel. Jetsam differs from flotsam in that the latter noun describes goods floating on the ocean that have been lost overboard.

52 Subj. of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine : IVF

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the process in which egg cells are fertilized by sperm cells outside of the body in vitro. The phrase “in vitro” translates from Latin as “in glass”. The process is usually carried out in a glass culture dish.

54 “The Handmaid’s Tale” Emmy winner Ann : DOWD

Actress Ann Dowd is perhaps best known to television audiences for portraying Patricia “Patti” Levin in the supernatural drama series “The Leftovers”, and Aunt Lydia Clements in the dystopian series “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is a remarkably well-received television adaptation of the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The story is set in a future United State after the Second American Civil War. The “Handmaids” are the few remaining fertile women in the world, who are ritually raped and forced to bear children by their masters.

55 Sports __ : BRA

The original sports bra was known as a jockbra. It was co-created in 1977 by Lisa Lindahl, Honda Miller and Polly Smith. For that work, the trio were admitted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.

57 Relatively far? : TWICE-REMOVED

A first cousin who is once removed is one with one generational difference, a child or a parent of a first cousin.

61 Some deli slices : PASTRAMI

In the US, pastrami was originally called “pastrama”, and was a dish brought to America by Jewish immigrants from Romania in the second half of the nineteenth century. The original name may have evolved from the Turkish word “pastirma” meaning “pressed”. “Pastrama” likely morphed into “pastrami” influenced by the name of the Italian sausage called salami.

63 Obsolete piano pieces? : IVORIES

The traditional materials used for the manufacture of piano keys were ebony (black) and ivory (white). Ebony is still used, but now for both white and black keys. The white keys are made by covering ebony with white plastic.

64 “SNL” character who sang in “Italian” : OPERA MAN

Opera Man was a recurring “Saturday Night Live” character played by Adam Sandler. He was a parody of the flamboyant tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

65 Sand dollar habitat : SEABED

A sand dollar is a burrowing sea urchin found just below the low water line of sandy or muddy beaches. They have hard skeletons, which are often found washed up on beaches.

67 Surrealist Max : ERNST

Max Ernst was a painter and sculptor, and a pioneer in the Dada movement and Surrealism. Ernst was born near Cologne in Germany in 1891 and he was called up to fight in WWI, as were most young German men at that time. In his autobiography he writes “Max Ernst died the 1st of August, 1914”, which was a statement about his experiences in the war. In reality, Ernst died in 1976 having lived to the ripe old age of 85.

Down

1 Company outing? : SORTIE

A sortie is an attack by an armed unit, and usually a breakout by forces that are besieged, The term “sortie” comes directly from French and means “a going out”. “Sortie” is also used for a mission by a combat aircraft.

3 Don Juan’s love : AMOR

Don Juan is a flighty character who has been featured by a number of authors, poets and composers, including Molière, Byron, and Mozart. In the underlying legend, Don Juan ends up talking to the statue of the dead father of one of his conquests. Don Juan dines with the ghost of the dead man and when shaking the hand of the ghost he is dragged away to hell. We now use the term “Don Juan” to describe any womanizer or ladies’ man.

4 French comic book writer/editor Goscinny : RENE

René Goscinny was a French comic editor and writer, and the creator of the outstanding comic book series “Astérix”.

5 Middle Corleone brother : FREDO

Fredo Corleone is a middle son in the Corleone family that features in Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”. He was considered the weak son, and was reduced to the role of “gopher”. Fredo was with his father when Don Corleone was shot, and although he tried to retaliate as the shooting took place, he dropped his gun. On the screen, Fredo was played by Italian-American actor John Cazale.

7 Utah ski resort : ALTA

Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont). The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.

10 Fall Classic mo. : OCT

“Fall Classic” is a name often used for the World Series of baseball.

13 Quarterback Bratkowski in the Packers Hall of Fame : ZEKE

Zeke Bratkowski was a professional quarterback who played in the NFL in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played for the Chicago Bears, the LA Rams and the Green Bay Packers.

14 Bacon bits? : ROLES

Kevin Bacon is an actor from Philadelphia who appeared first on the big screen in the 1978 comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House”. That wasn’t to be the big break that Bacon needed though, which came with “Footloose” in 1984. A fun fact about him is that he is the subject of a popular trivia game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” in which players have to show that a particular actor can be related to Kevin Bacon in fewer than six links, with each link being a movie in which two actors appear together.

24 So dang cute : TOTES ADORBS

“Totes adorbs” is a slang term meaning “totally adorable”.

26 Humanities maj. : SOC

The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.

27 Battle of Isengard fighters : ENTS

Ents are tree-like creatures that live in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth in his series of books “The Lord of the Rings”. “Ent” is an Old English word for “giant”.

29 One-named supermodel : EMME

Emme is the highest-paid plus-size model in the world. She was born Melissa Miller in New York City, and was raised in Saudi Arabia.

31 TV remote button that’s usually red : REC

The first television remote control was introduced by Zenith Radio Corporation, in 1950. That remote was hard-wired to the TV, and was marketed as “Lazy Bones”. Personally, my first “remote” was a broomstick that I used by pushing in large mechanical buttons that selected each of the three channels that were available back then on the east coast of Ireland …

32 Stand buy : ADE

That could be a lemonade stand.

37 Buckeye State sch. : OSU

Ohio is sometimes referred to as the Buckeye State, taking the name from the state tree. In turn, the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch, thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

38 “Butter” K-pop band : BTS

“Butter” is a 2021 song released by BTS, the boy band from South Korea. It was the band’s second single recorded in English (after “Dynamite” in 2020).

40 Book before Esth. : NEH

In the Bible, the Book of Nehemiah is preceded by the Book of Ezra, and followed by the Book of Esther.

47 Fabric associated with the Isle of Harris in the Hebrides : TWEED

Tweed is a rough woolen fabric that is very much associated with Scotland in the UK, and with County Donegal in Ireland. The cloth was originally called “tweel”, the Scots word for “twill”. Apparently a London merchant misinterpreted some handwriting in the early 1800s and assumed the fabric was called “tweed”, a reference to the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck …

The Isle of Harris isn’t really an isle, and rather is part of the island of Lewis and Harris in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. The other part of the island is often referred to as the Isle of Lewis.

51 Hindu sage : SWAMI

A swami is a religious teacher in the Hindu tradition. The word “swami” can also mean “husband” in the Bengali and Malay languages.

53 Bichon __ : FRISE

The bichon frisé breed of dog is characteristically small and fluffy. The name of the breed comes from the French phrase “bichon à poil frisé” meaning “small dog with curly hair”.

55 Fraternal org. : BPOE

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome. The list of US presidents that have been members of the BPOE includes Presidents Eisenhower, Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Ford.

56 Many Drake songs : RAPS

Drake is the stage name of rapper Aubrey Graham from Toronto.

58 “The Marvels” star Vellani : IMAN

Iman Vellani is a Pakistani-born Canadian actress who is best known for playing the title character (aka Kamala Khan) in the superhero miniseries “Ms. Marvel”.

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