Day: February 4, 2024

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Signs of the Time

Themed answers each start with an ANIMAL found in the Vietnamese Zodiac:

• 126A Vietnamese New Year, which is represented by the Zodiac animals at the starts of the answers to the starred clues : TET

• 23A *Canaries : RAT FINKS
• 24A *Bar food served with blue cheese and vegetable sticks : BUFFALO WINGS
• 36A *Orange flowers that represent wealth in some Asian traditions : TIGER LILIES
• 43A *”Peace Train” singer : CAT STEVENS
• 49A *Atlanta event for sci-fi fans : DRAGON CON
• 65A *Sacred Hopi ritual : SNAKE DANCE
• 71A *Western, slangily : HORSE OPERA
• 90A *Absurdly chaotic situation : GOAT RODEO
• 92A *Playground fixture : MONKEY BARS
• 98A *Spray behind a speedboat : ROOSTER TAIL
• 113A *Sheet with a folded corner : DOG-EARED PAGE
• 116A *Ashtray for trash, e.g. : PIG LATIN

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

Bill’s time: 12m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Does, e.g. : SHES

A male deer is usually called a buck, and a female is a doe. However, the male red deer is usually referred to as a stag. The males of even larger species of deer are often called bulls, and the females called cows. In older English, male deer of over 5 years were called harts, and females of over 3 years were called hinds. The young of small species are known as fawns, and of larger species are called calves. All very confusing …

13 Longest reptile in the world : PYTHON

Pythons form a genus of non-venomous, constricting snakes that have flecked skin and a long split tongue. Pythons are native to Africa and Asia, although thousands of pythons live in the Everglades National Park as an invasive species, presumably as the result of pet pythons escaping into the wild.

21 Buck in the Baseball Hall of Fame : O’NEIL

Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro American League. He was appointed as a coach with the Chicago Cubs in 1962, making him the first African-American coach in the major leagues.

23 *Canaries : RAT FINKS

A fink is an informer, someone who rats out his or her cohorts.

Stoolies, also called “canaries”, will “sing” to the cops given the right incentive. “Stoolie” is short for “stool pigeon”. A stool pigeon was a decoy bird tied to a stool so as to lure other pigeons. Originally a stoolie was a decoy for the police, rather than an informer, hence the name.

24 *Bar food served with blue cheese and vegetable sticks : BUFFALO WINGS

There are a few stories about how Buffalo wings were first developed, most of them related to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. If you’re looking for Buffalo wings on a menu in Buffalo, you’ll note that in and around the city they’re just referred to as “wings”.

29 Hush-hush docs : NDAS

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

36 *Orange flowers that represent wealth in some Asian traditions : TIGER LILIES

“Tiger Lily” is a common name applied to several species of lily that have orange flowers with black accents.

40 __ Domani: Italian wine brand : ECCO

Ecco Domani is an Italian wine that is distributed in North America and Northern Europe by E & J Gallo.

43 *”Peace Train” singer : CAT STEVENS

“Peace Train” is a 1971 song written and recorded by British singer Cat Stevens. Apparently, he wrote “Peace Train” while traveling on a train … and thinking about Alfred HItchcock!

49 *Atlanta event for sci-fi fans : DRAGON CON

Dragon Con is a convention held annually in Atlanta that attracts fans of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books. The first Dragon Con, in 1987, attracted about 1400 attendees and was held in the Pierremont Plaza Hotel. More recent Dragon Cons have attracted about 80,000 attendees, with events spread over five hotels in downtown Atlanta.

52 Actress Shawkat : ALIA

Alia Shawkat is an actor who might be best known for playing Maeby Fünke on the sitcom “Arrested Development”. Shawkat is best friends with fellow actor Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page), whom she met while filming the 2009 movie “Whip It”.

53 Museum item : RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

56 Provided at no cost : COMPED

To comp is to give for free, with “comp” coming from “complimentary”.

65 *Sacred Hopi ritual : SNAKE DANCE

The concept of kachina (also “katsina”) comes from the Pueblo people of the southwestern US. The kachina is a spirit, a supernatural being. One of the most famous of the Hopi katsina rites is the annual snake dance, in which performers dance while handling live snakes.

73 “One Mississippi” star Notaro : TIG

Tig Notaro is a stand-up comedian known for her deadpan delivery. More recently, she has turned to acting and has a recurring role as Chief Engineer Jett Reno on “Star Trek: Discovery”.

“One Mississippi” is a comedy series that first aired in 2015. The show was co-created by comedian Tig Nataro, and it is semi-autobiographical. Tig Natoro plays the lead, a woman who returns to her hometown in Mississippi after the death of her mother. In the show, Tig Notaro plays Tig Bavaro.

74 Dulse and nori seaweeds, e.g. : RED ALGAE

Dulse is a rad alga that has been harvested for food for centuries. In Ireland, it is often used as an ingredient in white soda bread.

Nori is an edible seaweed that we used to know as “laver” when we were living in Wales. Nori is usually dried into thin sheets. Here in the US, we are most familiar with nori as the seaweed used as a wrap for sushi.

77 Coup target : ETAT

A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”. We also use the abbreviated “coup” to mean “sudden, brilliant and successful act”.

90 *Absurdly chaotic situation : GOAT RODEO

The phrases “goat rodeo” and “goat rope” are used to describe chaotic situations, especially in a business or in government. New to me …

92 *Playground fixture : MONKEY BARS

The Junglegym was invented in Chicago in 1920, although today we use the generic term “jungle gym”. I hear that monkey bars are a specific type of jungle gym, one consisting primarily of vertical steps and a horizontal ladder from which the “little monkey” can swing from rung to rung.

95 Russian crepes : BLINI

A blintz (also “blintze” and “blin”, plural “blini”) is a thin pancake similar to a crêpe, although unlike a crêpe, a blintz may contain yeast.

97 Vinaigrette acronym : EVOO

Virgin olive oil is oil produced from olives with no chemical treatment involved in the production process at all. To be labeled “virgin”, the oil must have an acidity level of less than 2% and must be judged to have “a good taste”. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production, and is the portion with acidity levels of less than 0.8% acidity that is judged to have “superior taste”.

A vinaigrette is a mixture of oil with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. A traditional mixture of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar forms a stable emulsion that is commonly used as a salad dressing. The term “vinaigrette” is a diminutive form of the French word “vinaigre” (meaning “vinegar”). Back in the 1800s, such a mixture was referred to as “French dressing”, a term that has evolved to describe a creamy dressing in contemporary American cuisine.

104 Burkina __ : FASO

Burkina Faso is an inland country in western Africa. The country used to be called the Republic of Upper Volta and was renamed in 1984 to “Burkina Faso”, meaning “the land of upright people”.

106 Some ballpark figs. : ERAS

Earned run average (ERA)

109 Mogadishu resident : SOMALI

Mogadishu is a major port city on the west coast of Africa, and is the capital of Somalia. The city is known locally as “Xamar”.

113 *Sheet with a folded corner : DOG-EARED PAGE

The folded-down corner of the page of a book, a temporary placeholder, is known as a “dog-ear”. I suppose that’s because it looks like the ear of a dog …

116 *Ashtray for trash, e.g. : PIG LATIN

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).

123 Sandwiches made with bolillos : TORTAS

A bolillo is a savory bread from Mexico and Central America that resembles a short baguette. It is the bread normally used to make tortas and molletes, sandwiches found in Mexican cuisine.

“Torta” is the Italian and Spanish word for “cake”.

124 Secret rendezvous : TRYST

In the most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a pre-arranged meeting between lovers. The term comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting. Further, a tryst taking place at lunchtime is sometimes referred to as a nooner.

125 Black bit inside a papaya : SEED

The papaya (also “papaw”) tropical fruit is native to Mexico and South America. When cultivating papaya trees, only female plants are used. Female plants produce just one, high-quality fruit per tree. Male plants produce several fruit per tree, but they are very poor quality.

126 Vietnamese New Year, which is represented by the Zodiac animals at the starts of the answers to the starred clues : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

Down

2 Graphic designer’s deg. : BFA

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

6 Community group with a deer logo : ELKS

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.

7 SoCal campus with Mission Revival architecture : SDSU

San Diego State University (SDSU) was founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School. Back then, the main purpose of the school was to educate women who wanted to be elementary school teachers. It changed its name to San Diego State Teachers College in 1923. The curriculum expanded beyond teacher education in 1935, and became San Diego State College. In 1960, the college joined what is now known as the California State University.

11 World Cup overseer: Abbr. : FIFA

The International Federation of Association Football (“Fédération Internationale de Football Association” in French) is usually referred to by the acronym “FIFA”. FIFA is the governing body of the game of soccer (association football), and the organizer of the FIFA World Cup held every four years.

14 Tree with flexible wood : YEW

Yew is the wood of choice for the longbow, a valued weapon in the history of England. The longbow is constructed with a core of yew heartwood (as the heartwood resists compression) that has a sheath of yew sapwood (as the sapwood resists stretching). The yew was in such demand for longbows that for centuries yew trees were in short supply in Britain and the wood had to be imported from all over Europe.

18 Legendary loch : NESS

Scotland’s Loch Ness is famous for its fabled “monster”, referred to affectionately as “Nessie”. The loch is the second-largest lake in the country (Loch Lomond is the largest). Loch Ness takes its name from the River Ness that flows from the loch’s northern end.

20 Use TurboTax, perhaps : E-FILE

TurboTax is a software- and online-based income tax preparation service. It’s what I’ve used since I retired, and I have no complaints …

30 “Free your pores” brand : BIORE

Bioré is a skincare brand owned by the Kao Corporation of Tokyo.

31 __ frescas: fruity Mexican drinks : AGUAS

An agua fresca is a blended drink made with sugar and water flavored with fruit, cereal, flowers or seeds. Traditional aguas frescas are sold by street vendors, especially in Mexico and the American Southwest. Common flavorings are hibiscus and tamarind.

37 PC hookup : LAN

You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.

39 Sainted pope called “the Great” : LEO I

The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.

45 Thin candle : TAPER

I used to think that the word “taper” was used for a slender candle because said candle was “tapered” in shape, but it’s exactly the opposite. It turns out that our word “tapered” comes from the candle. “Taper” and “tapur” are Old English words meaning “candle”. From these nouns arose the verb “to taper” meaning “shoot up like flame”. This meaning evolved into “become slender” from the idea that a candle’s flame has such a shape.

48 Phonetic symbol : SCHWA

A schwa is an unstressed and toneless vowel found in a number of languages including English. Examples from our language are the “a” in “about”, the “e” in “taken” and the “i” in pencil.

51 KitchenAid rival : OSTER

The Oster brand of small appliances was introduced in 1924 by John Oster. He started out by making manually-powered hair clippers designed for cutting women’s hair, and followed up with a motorized version in 1928. The clippers kept the company in business until 1946 when Oster diversified, buying a manufacturer of liquefying blenders in 1946. The blender was renamed to “Osterizer” and was a big hit. Oster was bought by Sunbeam, which has owned the brand since 1960.

52 Covered California statute, for short : ACA

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

61 Major Yemen port : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

65 Cook dim sum, say : STEAM

Dim sum is a Chinese cuisine made up of small portions of various dishes. The tradition of serving dim sum is associated with the serving of tea, when small delicacies were offered to travelers and guests along with tea as a refreshment. The name “dim sum” translates as “touch the heart” implying that dim sum is not a main meal, just a snack “that touches the heart”.

66 Part of TNT : NITRO

Trinitrotoluene (TNT)

67 “Encore!” : AGAIN!

“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!”

69 Trade pact from 1994 to 2020 : NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a treaty between Canada, Mexico and the United States. When NAFTA came into force in 1994, it set up the largest free trade zone in the world. It was replaced by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020, an agreement that is often referred to as NAFTA 2.0 because it largely maintains the provisions in the original NAFTA treaty.

70 Debussy’s “__ de lune” : CLAIR

“Clair de lune” is the beautiful third movement from Claude Debussy’s piano work called the “Suite bergamasque”. “Clair de lune” is French for “moonlight”.

72 Casual collared shirt : POLO

René Lacoste was a French tennis player who went into the clothing business, and came up with a more comfortable shirt that players could use. This became known as a “tennis shirt”. When it was adopted for use in the sport of polo, the shirts also became known as “polo shirts”. The “golf shirt” is basically the same thing. The Lacoste line of clothing features a crocodile logo, because René was nicknamed “The Crocodile”.

80 Digs in the snow : IGLOOS

The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar, namely “igdlo”. The walls of igloos are tremendous insulators, due to the air pockets in the blocks of snow.

81 Versailles residents : ROIS

In French, a “roi” (king) might be found in a “palais” (palace).

Versailles is a city located just 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is famous as home to the magnificent Palace of Versailles. The palace started out as a hunting lodge built in the village of Versailles in 1624, built for Louis XIII. Louis XIII extended the lodge into a full-blown château, but it was Louis XIV who expanded it into one of the largest palaces on the planet. Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris to Versailles starting in 1678.

82 Philosopher Immanuel : KANT

Immanuel Kant was an 18th-century German philosopher. Kant published “Perpetual Peace” in 1795, laying out what he believed were conditions for ending all wars and creating a lasting peace. The good news for us is that one of these conditions was to have a world full of constitutional republics, so it seems we are on the right track here in the US!

85 Tractor-trailers : SEMIS

A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

88 Impose, as a tax : LEVY

A levy is a tax. The term “levy” comes from Old French in which “levée” means “raising”. So a levy is a tax that has been “raised” (in the sense of “collected”, not “increased”).

93 Cultured products? : YOGURTS

Yogurt (also “yoghurt”) is produced by fermenting milk using bacteria known as yogurt cultures. The bacteria act on the sugars in the milk, producing lactic acid. The lactic acid acts on the proteins in the milk to give the characteristic texture and acidity of yogurt.

94 Bret with four Gold Gloves : BOONE

Bret Boone is a retired Major League Baseball player, a second baseman. He is also a descendant of the pioneer, Daniel Boone.

The Gold Glove is an annual award given by Major League Baseball to the player judged to be the best in each fielding position in a season. The award was instituted in 1957 by the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings.

100 “Judge Judy” event : TRIAL

Judge Judy of television fame is Judith Sheindlin, a retired family court judge from New York. Sheindlin reportedly earns $47 million per year for “Judge Judy”. That’s a tad more than she was earning on the “real” bench, I think, and it makes her the highest-earning personality on television by a long shot.

102 Light brew : LAGER

Lager is so called because of the tradition of cold-storing the beer during fermentation. “Lager” is the German word for “storage”.

112 Shivering fit : AGUE

An ague is a fever, one usually associated with malaria.

114 “Blonde” star de Armas : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

“Blonde” is a 2022 biographical film about Marilyn Monroe. It is a fictionalized account of the actress’ life, and is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name. Monroe is played by Ana de Armas.

115 Summer hrs. in Philly : EDT

Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, was founded in 1682 by William Penn. He chose the name “Philadelphia” after making a treaty of friendship with the local Lenape people. The name translates from Greek as “brotherly love”.

119 Pickleball need : NET

Pickleball is a sport invented in the 1960s that combines elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton. Originally marketed as a game for children to play in backyards, pickleball is now played on purpose-built courts by many, many adults, but mainly in North and South America.