Day: August 17, 2024

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Constructed by: Kyle Dolan
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 21s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Croc or moc : SHOE

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I bought a pair of crocs, and then my kids said they would stop talking to me …

“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, a type of shoe. The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.

9 Bank : MOOLA

Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, bread, scratch, cheddar, simoleons, clams and moola(h) are all slang terms for money.

14 Olivia of “The Newsroom” : MUNN

Olivia Munn is an actress who started her on-screen career as a TV journalist, using the name Lisa Munn. She co-hosted television’s “Attack of the Show!” before becoming a correspondent on “The Daily Show”.

“The Newsroom” is a wonderfully written drama series on HBO from the pen of the great screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. The show stars Jeff Daniels as the news anchor in a cable news channel. After the first season of “The Newsroom”, producers noted a distinct bias towards left of center politics in the storylines. As a result, Sorkin hired conservative media consultants at the end of season one, presumably to help attract more viewers whose politics might be right of center.

15 Vessel for Anne Bonny or Zheng Yi Sao : PIRATE SHIP

Anne Bonny was a somewhat enigmatic female pirate who operated in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. There is really nothing known about her outside of the extensive stories presented in the 1724 book “A General History of the Pyrates” published under the name Captain Charles Johnson.

Zheng Yi Sao was a female Chinese pirate who roamed the South China Sea at the start of the 19th century. Her career started in 1801 after she married a pirate named Zheng Yi, who died in 1807. Zheng Yi Sao took over his extensive piracy operation, and by the time that she surrendered to the authorities in 1819, she was in command of 1,400 pirates and 24 ships.

17 Quakers’ rivals : ELIS

“Eli” is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, and a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

The University of Pennsylvania (also “Penn” and “UPenn”) was founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Penn was the first school in the country to offer both graduate and undergraduate courses. Penn’s sports teams are known as the Quakers, and sometimes the Red & Blue.

21 Acronym to which an “A” is sometimes added : STEM

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology. The acronym STEAM adds (liberal) arts to the STEM curriculum.

33 Language in which “hello” is “sabaidi” : LAO

Lao, the language of Laos, does not use spaces between words (or periods!), although this is apparently changing. Spaces are used between sentences and clauses.

34 Stinger? : NARCO

“Narc” and “narco” are slang terms describing a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. Both words are short for “narcotics officer”. Narcs might work for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

35 Code name : MORSE

The word “Morse” is written as “–/—/.-./…/.” in Morse code.

36 Word in some pasta dish names : ALLA

The phrase “in the style of” can be translated as “alla” in Italian and “à la” in French.

40 Outdoor game, slangily : DISC

Disc golf is also known as Frisbee golf, and sometimes even Frolf. Believe it or not, disc golf predates the introduction of the Frisbee. The first game was played at a school in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1926. The participating schoolkids threw tin lids into circles drawn on a course they created in the school grounds. They named the game “Tin Lid Golf”. By the way, I try to play disc golf at least three times a week. Lots of fun …

43 Provider of outdoor seating : STOOP

A stoop is a raised platform at the door of a house. “Stoop” came into American and Canadian English in the mid-1700s from the Dutch “stoep” meaning “flight of steps”.

45 __ Paulo : SAO

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

46 Historic brew-haha? : BOSTON TEA PARTY

The famous destruction of tea in Boston Harbor to protest against the Tea Act took place on December 16, 1773. The action was referred to as the “destruction of the tea” for decades, and it wasn’t until 1834 that the term “Boston Tea Party” first appeared in print.

49 Important figure in Shia Islam : ALI

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

52 __ bowl : ACAI

Açaí na tigela is a dish made from the frozen, mashed fruit of the açaí palm and served as a smoothie. Often topped with granola, banana, other berries and syrup, the dish is a specialty in much of Brazil. There’s even a savory version of açaí na tigela (“açaí in the bowl”) that includes shrimp or dried fish and tapioca. Açaí bowls are becoming very popular in North America, especially as a health food.

64 Teacher of the Dharma : LAMA

In the context of Buddhism, “dharma” can mean the collection of teachings and doctrines of the faith. The term is also used to describe proper and correct behavior that maintains the natural order of things.

65 Taquería option : ASADO

In much of South America, the event we know as a barbecue is referred to as an “asado”, with “asado” translating from Spanish as “roast”. The “asador” is the “roaster”, the person roasting the meat.

66 Place dear to the Sundance Kid : ETTA

Etta Place is the schoolteacher character played by Katharine Ross in the superb 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

When the great movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was in development, Paul Newman was always the first choice to play one of the leads, although the initial casting had him in the role of Sundance. Steve McQueen actually accepted the co-starring role, but left over a dispute about the billing (the film was entitled “The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy” at that point). The role of Sundance was then offered to Jack Lemmon, but he turned it down. Warren Beatty and Marlon Brando were considered next, before opting for the relatively unknown Robert Redford. What a great choice …

Down

2 Brouhaha : HULLABALOO

Our word “hullabaloo”, meaning “commotion”, is a derivative of an older term “hollo-ballo”. “Hollo-ballo” was a word used for an uproar in the north of England and Scotland.

“Brouhaha”, meaning “ado, stir”, was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow!

5 Slack, e.g. : APP

Slack is a messaging app aimed at businesses. At its core, Slack is an instant messaging system. Slack also provides tools designed to increase collaboration within teams.

7 “In principio __ Verbum”: John 1:1 : ERAT

“In principio erat Verbum” are the opening lines of what’s known as “the Last Gospel”, the prologue of the Gospel according to St. John. The words of the Latin phrase (and those that follow) are used in the Roman Catholic Mass, and translate as “In the beginning was the Word”.

11 Place-name that comes from the Seneca for “good river” : OHIO

The state of Ohio takes its name from the Ohio River. In turn, the river takes its name from the Seneca “ohi-yo”, which translates as “large creek” or “good river”.

12 Claim : LIEN

A lien is a right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.

13 Cathedral area : APSE

A cathedral is the church at the center of a Christian diocese or episcopate. The name “cathedral” comes from the “cathedra” that it houses, the “seat” of the bishop. That seat is more like a throne.

20 Conservationist Fossey : DIAN

Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda. She wrote a 1983 autobiographical account of her work titled “Gorillas in the Mist”, which served as a basis for a 1988 film of the same name starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey. Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

28 80 on a math test, maybe : ACUTE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

• Acute (< 90 degrees) 
• Right (= 90 degrees) 
• Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
• Straight (180 degrees) 
• Reflex (> 180 degrees)

32 Style with a Streamline Moderne offshoot, informally : DECO

Streamline Moderne emerged as a sleek and functional offshoot of Art Deco during the 1930s. It was characterized by smooth, aerodynamic curves, rounded corners, and nautical-inspired elements. It was known as the ocean liner style (“style paquebot”) in France.

42 Estrella del día : SOL

In Spanish, the “sol” (sun) is an “estrella del día” (star of the day).

44 Unit attached to a spine : PAGE

In the US, the convention is to write the title on the spine of a book from top-to-bottom. In most of Europe, the convention is to write the title from bottom-to-top. We have a lot of books in the “library” in our house from both sides of the Atlantic, and so there is much movement of the head from left to right as we glance along our bookshelves.

47 Niamey’s country : NIGER

Niamey is the capital of the Republic of the Niger in West Africa. It is the nation’s largest city, and sits on the Niger River. Niamey was designated as the capital of the Military Territory of Niger in 1905 by the French colonists. That designation shifted to the older city of Zinder from 1912 to 1926, and the Niger government has ruled from Niamey since the country gained independence from France in 1960.

52 “Resurrection” and “Watusi (Hard Edge)” painter Thomas : ALMA

Alma Thomas was an African-American artist from Georgia who became a member of the Washington Color School art movement. She graduated with a BS from Howard University in 1924, the first graduate from the university’s fine arts program. It is very likely that Thomas was the first woman to gain a bachelor’s degree in art from any school in the US.

57 Fat with a high smoke point : SUET

Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called suet. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be rendered, purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call lard. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as tallow.

61 Org. with a “3-1-1” rule : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) loosened the ban on liquids, aerosols and gels in carry-on baggage in 2006, From that date onwards, passengers had to abide by the 3-1-1 rule, i.e. 3.4-ounce or less containers (3), in a one-quart ziploc bag (1), one bag per person (1).