Day: June 14, 2024

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Constructed by: Aidan Deshong
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Get Mixed Up

Themed answers are common two-part phrases. One part is interpreted as an instruction to anagram a synonym of the second part. Doing so, results in the 3-letter word in the corresponding clue. What an awful, clunky explanation by me!

• 63A BAN, and an apt title for this puzzle? : “GET” MIXED UP (GET = NAB; NAB mixed up = BAN)

• 17A TEN? : TANGLED “WEB” (WEB = NET; tangled NET = TEN)
• 27A DIS? : SHUFFLED “CARDS” (CARDS = IDS; shuffled IDS = DIS)
• 48A ORE? : SCRAMBLED “EGGS” (EGGS = ROE; scrambled ROE = ORE)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 __ code : MORSE

6 Birthstone between sapphire and topaz : OPAL

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

• January: Garnet
• February: Amethyst
• March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
• April: Diamond
• May: Emerald
• June: Pearl or Moonstone
• July: Ruby
• August: Sardonyx or Peridot
• September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
• October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
• November: Topaz or Citrine
• December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

10 With 49-Down, creator, writer, and star of HBO’s “Insecure” : ISSA …
49D See 10-Across : RAE

“Insecure” is a comedy-drama TV show that premiered in 2016. It is co-written by and stars Issa Rae, who also created the comedy web series “Awkward Black Girl” on which “Insecure” is based.

14 @ home? : EMAIL

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial world, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

15 “I Love Me” singer Lovato : DEMI

Pop and R&B singer Demi Lovato started her performing career as a child actress, playing Angela on the kids TV show “Barney & Friends” from 2002 to 2004. When she was all grown up, Levato served as a judge on “The X Factor” from 2012 to 2013, and soon after had the recurring role of Dani on “Glee”.

“I ♥ Me”, i.e. “I Love Me”, is a 2020 song co-written and recorded by Demi Lovato. She performed a live version of the song from her home during the COVID-19 panic, on an “At Home” edition of “The Tonight Show” hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

19 Juul, e.g. : E-CIG

Juul is a brand of e-cigarette on sale in the US. Cigarette supplier Altria (formerly Philip Morris) purchased a 35% share in manufacturer Juul Labs in 2018.

20 Country music? : ANTHEM

The word “anthem” used to describe a sacred song, especially one with words taken from the Scriptures. The British national anthem (“God Save the Queen/King”) technically is a hymn, and so it came to be described as “the national hymn” and later “the national anthem”. The use of the word “anthem” extended from there to describe any patriotic song.

23 Former Indian prime minister Gandhi : INDIRA

Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India. Indira herself became prime minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by two of her own bodyguards as she was walking to meet Peter Ustinov, who was about to interview her for Irish television.

26 “All __ is but imitation of nature”: Seneca : ART

Seneca the Elder was a Roman orator and writer who lived through the reigns of Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. Seneca the Elder is perhaps best known as the father of Seneca the Younger, who was tutor to emperor Nero.

33 French mathematician Poincaré : HENRI

French mathematician Henri Poincaré was also a physicist, and is often described as a polymath. Notably, he contributed to the “three-body problem” of classical mechanics. That phrase became familiar to the non-scientific community when Netflix started airing the TV series “3 Body Problem”.

35 “Othello” villain : IAGO

Despite being portrayed as a villain in William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Iago is one of the most complex characters in the play. He is known for his Machiavellian tactics, manipulating the other characters to achieve his selfish goals.

40 Groundhog Day omen : SHADOW

Punxsutawney is a borough in Pennsylvania that is located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney Phil is the famous groundhog that lives in the area. Phil comes out of his hole on February 2 each year and if he sees his shadow he goes back into his hole predicting six more weeks of winter weather. February 2 is known as “Groundhog Day”.

42 Yemen coastal city : 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.

51 NorCal hub : SFO

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) served as the main base of operations for Virgin America (sold to Alaska Airlines), and is also the maintenance hub for United Airlines. Even though SFO is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport is located to the south in San Mateo County.

53 Waikiki welcomes : ALOHAS

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu that is home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

62 PBS science show : NOVA

“Nova” is an excellent science television series on PBS. It was created back in 1974, and was inspired by a very similar BBC show called “Horizon”, a show that I grew up with. Many “Nova” episodes are actually co-productions with the BBC, with an American narrator used for the PBS broadcasts and a British narrator for the BBC broadcasts.

66 “¿De dónde __?” : ERES

“De dónde eres?” is Spanish for “Where are you from?”

70 Network that airs the Slippery Stairs World Championships : ESPN

The initialism “ESPN” stands for Entertainment Sports Programming Network. ESPN is a cable network that broadcasts sports programming 24 hours a day, and was launched back in 1979. ESPN has a lot of ardent fans. Several parents have named their children Espn (usually pronounced “Espen”) in honor of the network.

Down

1 WhatsApp’s parent company : META

WhatsApp is a popular messaging service used on smartphones that sends messages and other files from one mobile phone number to another. Launched in 2011, WhatsApp is incredibly popular, and indeed the most popular messaging service used today. Facebook (now Meta) acquired WhatsApp in 2014, paying over $19 billion.

2 Country on the Strait of Hormuz : OMAN

Given the politics of oil, the Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway in the Middle East. It is the link between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. On one side of the strait sits the UAE and Oman, and on the other Iran. 40% of the world’s oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

5 “The Great” actress Fanning : ELLE

Actress Elle Fanning first appeared on film in the 2001 movie “I Am Sam”, in which she played a younger version of her sister and fellow actor Dakota Fanning (a 2-year-old version of the character). One of her first major roles was Aurora/Sleeping Beauty alongside Angelina Jolie in the 2014 movie “Maleficent”. Fannin reprised the role in the 2019 sequel “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”.

“The Great: An Occasionally True Story” is a very entertaining comedy-drama that takes an outrageous satirical look at the life and times of Russian empress Catherine the Great. Elle Fanning plays the title role, with English actor Nicholas Hoult playing Catherine’s husband Peter III. The show is based on a 2008 play of the same name by Australian playwright Tony McNamara. Lots of fun …

7 Laser tag sound : PEW!

The name “Laser Tag” is really a misnomer as lasers are rarely used in the game. The “guns” actually send out infrared light, and not laser light, that is picked up by infrared detectors worn by the players.

8 The “thee” of “of thee I sing” : AMERICA

The patriotic song “America” is also known by its first line, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”. The song was written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, and was the de facto national anthem of the country until “The Star-Spangled Banner” was declared the official anthem in 1931. The melody of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” is identical with the British national anthem, “God Save the Queen”.

My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

9 Left-leaning voters : LIBERALS

The concept of left-right politics started in France during the French Revolution. When members of France’s National Assembly convened in 1789, supporters of the King sat to the President’s right, and supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. The political terms “left” and “right” were then coined in the local media, and have been used ever since.

10 Maker of Sektion cabinets : IKEA

IKEA introduced the SEKTION line of kitchen cabinets in 2915. The Swedish word “sektion” translates as, wait for it … “section”.

11 Really under the weather : SICK AS A DOG

The idiom “sick as a dog” has been around since the early 18th century. Back then, we treated dogs a lot differently than we do today. They typically lived outdoors, and in poor conditions. As a result, they were often dirty, mangy and “sick” animals.

18 Jannings who won the first Best Actor Oscar : EMIL

Emil Jannings was an actor from Switzerland who also held German and Austrian citizenship. Jannings was the very first person to receive an Oscar, as the star of the 1928 silent movie called “The Last Command”. He also starred opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1930 classic “The Blue Angel”.

24 Actor Beatty : NED

Actor Ned Beatty is possibly best remembered for the rather disturbing “squeal like a pig” scene in the movie “Deliverance”. Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie “Network”.

25 Pres. between HST and JFK : DDE

There’s a lot of talk these days about how much golf is played by US presidents. One of the most enthusiastic golfers to sit in the Oval Office was President Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE). “Ike” loved the game so much that he even played through the winter. He had his golf balls painted black so that he could see them against the snow on the ground.

27 __ butter : SHEA

Shea butter is a common moisturizer and lotion used as a cosmetic. It is a fat that is extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. There is evidence that shea butter was used back in Cleopatra’s Egypt.

30 Swiss cheese? : FRANC

Not only is the Swiss franc legal tender in Switzerland, it is also the money used in Liechtenstein and the Italian exclave of Campione d’Italia.

31 Word at the end of some films : FIN

In French, one might see the word “fin” (end) at the end of “un film” (a movie).

32 Youngest daughter on “Black-ish” : DIANE

“Black-ish” is a sitcom starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered in 2014. The lead actors play Dre and Rainbow Johnson, a married couple leading an upper-middle class black family. The show is noted for tackling tough issues such as racism, police brutality, attitudes toward the LGBT community, and the 2016 US presidential election.

37 Is in the red : OWES

To be in the red is to be in debt, to owe money. The expression “in the red” is a reference to the accounting practice of recording debts and losses in red ink in ledgers. The related phrase “in the black” means “solvent, making a profit”.

45 “Frankly,” in texts : TBH

To be honest (TBH)

50 Actor Morales : ESAI

Esai Morales is not only a successful actor, he is also a trained martial artist, having studied the Korean martial art of taekwondo since he was a teenager.

51 Tendon : SINEW

“Sinew” is another name for “tendon”. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

52 Fauna counterpart : FLORA

The fauna (plural “faunae”) is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora (plural “florae”) is that region’s plant life. The term “fauna” comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.

55 High scorer on a pH test : BASE

As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

57 Annual Austin festival, familiarly : SXSW

South by Southwest, also known as “SXSW”, is an annual festival that has been taking place in Austin, Texas since 1987. SXSW is a melded event, combining a music festival, a film festival and an interactive festival.

59 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.

60 Prog rock band Jethro __ : TULL

Jethro Tull is a rock band from the UK, formed in 1967 and active until 2012. The band used the name of an 18th-century, English agriculturist.

64 Recipe amt. : TSP

The Latin “recipere” means “to take”, and the imperative form “recipe” was written at the top of medical prescriptions as an instruction, i.e. “take (the following)”. This use of “recipe” evolved into the instruction for preparing a dish of food in the mid-1700s.

65 __ cave : MAN

“Man cave” is a slang term for a male sanctuary within a home. That sanctuary is often a spare bedroom (as it is in our house) or a converted garage.