Day: November 23, 2023

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Constructed by: Rena Cohen
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Stir Up Drama

Themed answers each include the letter string “DRAMA”, but the order has be STIRRED UP:

• 61A Create tension in a group, and a direction that was followed when forming the answer to each starred clue? : STIR UP “DRAMA”

• 17A *Naval rank of computer scientist Grace Hopper : REAR ADMIRAL
• 23A *British tennis player who won the 2021 US Open : EMMA RADUCANU
• 38A *Medium that’s mostly talk : AM RADIO
• 51A *Drill command : FORWARD, MARCH!

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

Bill’s time: 6m 22s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Bailiwick : AREA

“Bailiwick” is a word dating back to the mid-1600s. The term originally meant “district of a bailiff”.

17 *Naval rank of computer scientist Grace Hopper : REAR ADMIRAL

The rank of rear admiral is usually the lowest of the admiral ranks. The term originated with the Royal Navy. In days gone by, an admiral would head up the activities of a naval squadron from the central vessel. He (and they were always male back then) would be assisted by a vice admiral who acted from the lead vessel. There would also be a lower-ranking admiral to command the ships at the rear of the squadron, and this was the “rear” admiral.

Back in 1947, famed computer programmer Grace Hopper noticed some colleagues fixing a piece of equipment by removing a dead moth from a relay. She remarked that they were “debugging” the system, and so Hopper has been given credit for popularizing the term “bug” in the context of computing.

19 Diarist Anaïs : NIN

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

20 “The ReidOut” network : MSNBC

Joy Reid is a liberal TV host and political commentator best known for her regular appearances on MSNBC. In 2020, Reid took over the channel’s evening slot following the retirement of Chris Matthews, hosting her show “The ReidOut”.

23 *British tennis player who won the 2021 US Open : EMMA RADUCANU

Canadian-born British tennis player Emma Raducanu won the singles title at the US Open, making her the first British woman to win a Grand Slam tournament since Virginia Wade back in 1977.

27 Bouquet garni element : BAY LEAF

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.

“Bouquet garni” is French for “garnished bouquet”, and is the name given to a bundle of herbs often tied together and added to soups, stocks and stews. The bouquet garni adds flavor, but is removed prior to serving. The list of herbs included in the “bundle” varies, but thyme and bay leaf are often the base ingredients.

30 Alprazolam brand : XANAX

Xanax is a brand name for the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam. It is one of the most commonly misused prescription drugs in the US, with wide acceptance in the illegal recreational drug market.

41 Quilting party : BEE

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

46 Feature of much of inland Canada : TAIGA

The word “taiga” is used for an ecosystem largely covered in coniferous forests that exists in northern regions around the world. “Taiga” is Mongolian in origin, and is sometimes used interchangeably with “boreal forest”.

49 Library patrons, probably : READERS

Our word “library” ultimately derives from the Latin “liber” meaning “book”.

55 “Queen Sugar” creator DuVernay : AVA

“Queen Sugar” is a TV drama created by Ava DuVernay that is based on a 2014 novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile. It’s all about three estranged siblings who reunite to save their family’s failing sugarcane farm in Louisiana.

60 Prefix in many a Scottish surname : MAC –

“Mac” is a Gaelic word meaning “son” and “son of”, and is a common prefix in Irish and Scottish names.

64 Civil rights leader honored in Jan. : MLK

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a US Federal holiday taking place on the third Monday of each year. It celebrates the birthday of Dr. King, and was signed into law by President Reagan in 1983, and first observed in 1986. However, some states resisted naming the holiday MLK Day, and gave it alternative names (like “Civil Rights Day”). It was officially celebrated as MLK Day in all 50 states from the year 2000 onwards.

65 FoodNetwork.com offering : RECIPE

Food Network is a cable television network, first broadcasting in 1993, that launched the careers of many famous celebrity chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, and Ina Garten. Food Network also spawned a number of popular cooking competition shows, such as “Chopped,” “Iron Chef America,” and “Food Network Star.”

Down

6 Fluffy toy, familiarly : POM

The Pomeranian is a small breed of dog named for the Pomerania region of Europe (part of eastern Germany and northern Poland). The breed was much loved by the royalty of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria owned a particularly small Pomeranian. Due to the notoriety of the monarch’s pet, the Pomeranian was bred for small size, so that during the Queen’s admittedly long reign, the size of the average “pom” was reduced by 50% …

8 Canal buildup : EARWAX

“Cerumen” is the medical term for earwax. I’ve just been reading about some of the historical uses for earwax. However, I can’t bring myself to record them here, as each is more disgusting than the next …

9 Poet Gorman : AMANDA

Amanda Gorman is a poet and activist who, in 2017, was the first person named as the National Youth Poet Laureate. Famously, Gorman recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Biden in 2021.

When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.

10 Rapper __ Nas X : LIL

“Lil Nas X” is the stage name of rapper Montero Lamar Hill. He was born and raised just outside of Atlanta. His first hit was “Old Town Road”, which is classified as country rap.

12 For the birds? : AVIAN

An aviary is a large cage that houses birds, and something described as avian is bird-like or bird-related. “Avis” is Latin for “bird”.

13 Language family that includes Swahili : BANTU

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

22 Usurping lion in a Disney franchise : SCAR

In the 1994 movie “The Lion King”, the protagonist is Simba, a lion cub born to Mufasa and Sarabi. The main antagonist is Scar, Simba’s uncle and Mufasa’s brother. Simba is voiced by Matthew Broderick, and Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons. “Simba” is Swahili for “lion, king, strong”.

25 “… we traverse __” : AFAR

The Christmas carol “We Three Kings” is a favorite of mine. The carol was written in 1857 by the rector of an Episcopal church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania called John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Hopkins composed “We Three Kings” for a Christmas pageant in New York City.

We three kings of orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar

27 DealDash offers : BIDS

DealDash is an online auction site, one in which users pay for every bid made, regardless of whether or not they are successful in winning the auction. Sounds like gambling to me …

28 Favorable score for a server : AD IN

In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. The player calling out the score announces “ad in”, or more formally “advantage in”, if he/she has the advantage. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

29 Walk the dog, rock the baby, etc. : YO-YO TRICKS

Would you believe that the first yo-yos date back to 500 BC? There is even an ancient Greek vase painting that shows a young man playing with a yo-yo. Centuries later Filipinos were using yo-yos as hunting tools in the 1500s. “Yo-yo” is a Tagalog (Filipino) word meaning “come-come” or simply “return”.

36 One of Randall and Beth’s daughters on “This Is Us” : TESS

“This Is Us” is a television drama that debuted in 2016. The storyline centers on three siblings Kevin, Kate and Randall Pearson and their parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson. Kevin and Kate are the surviving members of a triplet pregnancy. Jack and Rebecca decide to adopt Randall, a child born on the same day as the surviving siblings. The adopting family is white, and the adopted child is black.

38 China setting : ASIA

Until overtaken recently by India, the world’s most populous country was the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Republic of China (ROC) is the official name of the sovereign state that we usually call Taiwan.

39 Explorer with Boots : DORA

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases. Dora’s constant companion is an anthropomorphic monkey named “Boots”, because he always wears red boots. She also hangs out with Isa, an iguana.

40 Disney exec Bob : IGER

Robert Iger took over from Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005. Iger worked for ABC when it was taken over by Disney in 1996, and in 1999 he was named president of Walt Disney International. Iger is doing okay for himself; he earned more than $29 million in 2009.

47 Prepares for fondue, maybe : GRATES

Fondue is a traditional Swiss dish comprising melted cheese served in a pot over a tabletop stove, into which diners dip bread. The term “fondue”, which is French for “melted”, is now applied more widely to similar dishes served in a communal pot into which a food is dipped. Traditional fondue is delicious, so very delicious …

51 Lyon woman : FEMME

The city of Lyon in France is sometimes known as “Lyons” in English. It is the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, after Paris, and is located just to the north of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers.

53 Organizational consultant Kondo : MARIE

Marie Kondo runs a very successful organizing consulting business that she founded when she was 19 years old, and while a student at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University. She wrote an extremely successful book titled “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” that was first published in 2011. I’ve read it, and acted on at least some of the advice given therein …

61 __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

62 Wire service inits. : UPI

Founded in 1958, United Press International (UPI) used to be one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with just a fraction of that workforce.

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