Day: June 1, 2024

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Constructed by: Lance Enfinger & Bob Weisz
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 18m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Donnybrook : BRAWL

A donnybrook is a free-for-all, a melee. It is named for a famous historic fair in Donnybrook, a district in Dublin, Ireland. Donnybrook Fair had the reputation as a place where there was lots of drinking and fighting. I used to hang out a lot in Donnybrook in my student days and didn’t see any fighting. Lots of drinking, but no fighting …

16 Harris of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” : AISHA

Writer and podcaster Aisha Harris started co-hosting NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” in 2020. Prior to joining NPR, Harris hosted the “Represent” podcast for “Slate”.

17 Target of some orthodontic work : UNDERBITE

Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry dealing with the straightening of teeth. The name comes from the Greek “orthos” meaning “straight” and “dontia” meaning “teeth”.

22 Louganis who is the only man to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympics : GREG

Greg Louganis is an American Olympic diver. Louganis won gold medals at the 1984 and the 1988 Summer Games. He wrote an autobiography in 1996 called “Breaking the Surface”.

23 Deux et trois : CINQ

In French, “deux et trois” (two and three) make “cinq” (five).

28 Ones on a roll : SNAKE EYES

“Snake eyes” is a slang term describing a roll of two dice in which one pip turns up on each die.

30 Part of Reno’s nickname : BIGGEST

Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

31 Brew made with warm fermentation : ALE

The many, many different styles of beer can generally be sorted into two groups: ales and lagers. Ales are fermented at relatively warm temperatures for relatively short periods of time, and use top-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that float on top of the beer as it ferments. Lagers ferment at relatively low temperatures and for relatively long periods of time. Lagers use bottom-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that fall to the bottom of the beer as it ferments.

33 Letters with a link, maybe : FYI

For your information (FYI)

36 Some banners : HEADERS

The header of a website resides at the top of the page. It often includes the website name, a logo and the main navigation. Also, the header is usually displayed throughout a website, at the top of every page.

37 Satyr kin : FAUN

Fauns are regarded as the Roman mythological equivalent of the Greek satyrs, but fauns were half-man and half-goat and much more “carefree” in personality than their Hellenic cousins. In the modern age we are quite familiar with Mr. Tumnus, the faun-like character encountered by the children entering the world of Narnia in C. S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”.

The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

41 Prepares for a break : RACKS

That might be billiards or snooker.

52 Flag : DROOP

Our verb “to flag” meaning “to tire” was originally used in the sense of something flapping about lazily in the wind. From this it came to mean “to go limp, droop”, and then “to tire”.

54 Weldon of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” : GLEN

Writer and podcaster Glen Weldon has a couple of publications that caught my eye. His 2013 book “Superman: The Unauthorized Biography” and his 2016 book “The Caped Crusader” explore the history and relevance of Superman and Batman in American pop culture. Weldon writes for the NPR Arts Desk, and he serves as a panelist on the NPR podcast “Pop Culture Happy Hour”.

57 2021 US Open winner Raducanu : EMMA

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.

Down

1 Important element in lath and plaster construction : STUD

The words “lath” and “lattice” have the same root in Old French. Laths are thin strips of wood that are nailed across a frame forming a backing to which plaster can be applied to finish a wall. The term is also used for the main elements in a trellis, or the lengths of wood in a roof to which shingles are nailed.

2 “RuPaul’s Drag Race” guest judge Love : LONI

Loni Love is a comedian and TV personality from Detroit. She was the runner-up in 2003 on the relaunched “Star Search” show. In 2013, Love became one of the hosts of the daytime talk show “The Real”.

RuPaul is a famous drag queen who has developed a diverse career beyond performing on stage. He works as an actor, model, author and a recording artist. Famously, RuPaul doesn’t mind whether one addresses him as “he” or as “she” …

You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.

He currently hosts his own reality TV show called “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, which is billed as a search for “America’s next drag superstar”.

3 Finish line? : AND … SCENE!

I read that it is a common misconception that a director says “And … scene!” meaning “ cut, end of scene”. Apparently, the correct phrasing is “end scene”.

4 Leaf __ : PEEPING

“Leaf-peeping” is the name given to the activity of viewing and photographing the change in the colors of foliage during the fall. Leaf-peepers usually head for New England and the American Midwest in order to enjoy the rich colors exhibited by deciduous trees and shrubs in the autumn months.

5 Letters of orientation : LGBTQ

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ)

6 NHL great Lindros : ERIC

Eric Lindros is a retired Canadian hockey player. During his NHL career he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars. Early in his career, Lindros was nicknamed “The Next One”, a reference to the moniker “The Great One” that was used for the great Wayne Gretzky.

8 Elementary school grads, typically : TWEENAGERS

A young person between the ages of eight and twelve, or thereabouts, is sometimes referred to as a tweenager.

9 PDA participant, possibly : BAE

“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”, although I’ve also read that it is an acronym standing for “before anyone else”.

Public display of affection (PDA)

18 Fulminate : RANT

To fulminate is to explode or detonate, perhaps in rage. It’s a lovely word derived from the Latin “fulminare” meaning “to hurl lightning”.

27 Actress Gadot : GAL

Gal Gadot is an actress and former Miss Israel. She played Gisele Yashar in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise, and then began portraying Wonder Woman in superhero movies.

28 Parlor game that produces a Bacon number : SIX DEGREES

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.

32 Casual meeting : SESH

Session (abbreviated to “sess.” formally, and “sesh” informally)

33 “What were they thinking” gesture : FACEPALM

A facepalm is the gesture made by lowering one’s face into the palm of one’s hand or hands. It can be an expression of surprise, frustration or embarrassment. A related gesture with a similar meaning is the headdesk, the gentle striking of the forehead against a desk or a wall perhaps.

34 Guffaw : YUK

“Guffaw”, meaning “boisterous laugh”, is an imitative word that is Scottish in origin.

36 Harlem Renaissance figure : HURSTON

Zora Neale Hurston was an American author who was most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.

“Harlem Renaissance” is the term used to describe a cultural movement in the 1920s that was known at the time as the “New Negro Movement”. The movement involved new cultural expression by African Americans that was centered mainly in urban areas in the northeast and midwest, and that was especially vibrant in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.

37 Creator of Imperial Easter eggs : FABERGE

Fabergé eggs are beautiful jeweled eggs made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 to 1917. The tradition of fabricating the eggs started when Tsar Alexander III commissioned Fabergé to create a jeweled egg for his wife in 1885. After this, the House of Fabergé produced more and more elaborate designs, year after year.

38 Classic Fords : T-BIRDS

Ford manufactured the Thunderbird (T-Bird) from 1955 to 2005. Originally a two-seater sporty convertible, the T-Bird was introduced as a competitor to Chevrolet’s new sports car, the Corvette. The “Thunderbird” name is a reference to a legendary creature from the culture of several Native-American peoples. There’s also a story that the name is a direct reference to the Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California of which the then chairman of Ford’s board was a member.

39 Straight : HETERO

“Heterosexuality” is sexual attraction between persons of the opposite gender. The prefix “hetero-” comes from the Greek “heteros” meaning “different, other”.

46 Circuit component : FUSE

Fuses include a metal component that melts when too much current passes through it, hence breaking the circuit.

48 “Peacemaker” star John : CENA

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

“Peacemaker” is a TV show based on the DC Comics superhero Peacemaker. It is a spinoff from the 2021 movie “The Suicide Squad”. John Cena plays the title character, both in the series and in the film.