Day: September 8, 2024

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: NBA Divisions

Themed answers have NBA teams hidden within, DIVIDED between the start and finish:

• 23A Fijians and Hawaiians in Indiana? : PACIFIC ISLANDERS (divided PAC/ERS)
• 39A Small office printers in Los Angeles? : LABEL MAKERS (divided LA/KERS)
• 61A Vehicles serving pale ales and pilsners in Milwaukee? : BEER TRUCKS (divided B/UCKS)
• 81A Taps and reveille in Chicago? : BUGLE CALLS (divided BU/LLS)
• 98A Nutritionist’s plan in Miami? : HEALTHY DIET (dividing HEA/T)
• 120A Attractive objects in Charlotte? : HORSESHOE MAGNETS (divided HOR/NETS)
• 38D “Jeopardy!” host in Sacramento? : KEN JENNINGS (divided K/INGS)
• 45D Kitchen blade holders in New York? : KNIFE BLOCKS (divided KNI/CKS)

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

Bill’s time: 15m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 City with a tilted tower : PISA

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, which is caused by an unstable foundation. The tower was built in the 12th century and began to lean during construction. The lean worsened over time, and by the 1990s, the tower was at risk of collapse with a lean of 5½ degrees. A major stabilization project was undertaken in the 1990s, which reduced the lean to 3.97 degrees.

19 Like a parkour athlete : AGILE

Parkour (also “freerunning”) is a physical discipline that involves moving from one point to another in an urban environment using only the human body. Parkour practitioners (“traceurs”) use a variety of techniques, including running, jumping, climbing, and vaulting, to move quickly and efficiently through their environment. The discipline originated in France, and the name “parkour” comes from the French “parcours du combattant”, which can be translated as “obstacle course”.

20 Weak hit that may drop in for a single : BLOOP

In baseball, a bloop single is more usually called a blooper. It’s a fly ball that drops for a single between an infielder and an outfielder.

22 __ Minor : URSA

Ursa Minor (Latin for “Smaller Bear”) sits right beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “Dragon”). Ursa Minor used to be considered the wing of Draco, and was once called “Dragon’s Wing”. The tail of the “Smaller Bear” might also be considered as the handle of a ladle, and so the constellation is often referred to as the Little Dipper.

23 Fijians and Hawaiians in Indiana? : PACIFIC ISLANDERS (divided PAC/ERS)

The island nation of Fiji is an archipelago in the South Pacific made up of over 330 islands, 110 of which are inhabited. Fiji was occupied by the British for over a century and finally gained its independence in 1970.

The Hawaiian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, located about 2,400 miles southwest of North America. They were first settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE. The first settlers were likely from the Marquesas Islands, about 2,000 miles away. The first Europeans to arrive were members of an expedition led by British explorer James Cook in 1778. In the late 19th century, the Hawaiian Islands became a US territory, and were officially admitted to the Union as the 50th state in 1959.

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, who play in the NBA. The name was chosen when the team was formed in 1967. “Pacers” is a homage to harness racing pacers (famed in Indiana) and the pace car used in the Indianapolis 500.

27 Pi, for one : RATIO

The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is often referred to as Archimedes’ constant, which we denote with the Greek letter pi (π). The ratio pi can be used to calculate the area of a disk, by multiplying the constant by the square of the radius (πr²).

28 Gosling parents : GEESE

A male goose is called a gander, with the female simply being referred to as a goose. Young geese are called goslings.

31 John of pop music : ELTON

“Elton John” is the stage name of English singer and pianist Reginald Dwight. John is an avid football (soccer) supporter, and is especially enthusiastic about Watford Football Club, which was his local team growing up. After he achieved financial success, John was able to purchase Watford FC, and owned the club from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 until 2002.

33 __-Magnon : CRO

Remains of early man, dating back to 35,000 years ago, were found in Abri de Cro-Magnon in southwest France, giving the name to those early humans. Cro-Magnon remains are the oldest human relics that have been discovered in Europe.

36 Prez on the half-dollar : JFK

The Kennedy half-dollar is a 50-cent coin that was first issued in 1964 as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated the year before. Even though a lot of the coins were minted, and still are, they are rarely seen in circulation. The first minting disappeared almost immediately as collectors and regular individuals put the coins away as a memento or an investment.

39 Small office printers in Los Angeles? : LABEL MAKERS (divided LA/KERS)

The Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) basketball team started out in 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team chose the Lakers name in honor of the nickname of Minnesota, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

48 Apple Watch screen, for short : OLED

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are light-emitting diodes that are often used for digital displays. They utilize organic compounds to produce light when an electrical current is applied. Unlike traditional liquid-crystal displays that rely on backlights, each pixel in an OLED emits its own light, enabling deeper blacks, higher contrast ratios, and more vibrant colors.

51 “Oy __!” : VEY

“Oy vey” is a Yiddish expression of dismay that translates literally as “oh, pain”. The more usual translation is “woe is me”.

52 Tablecloth fabric : LINEN

The textile known as linen is made from flax fibers. The name “linen” probably comes from “linum”, which is Latin for both “flax” and “textile made from flax”.

56 Cold, pink drink : FROSE

Frosé is a drink made by freezing rosé wine and grinding it in a blender. The resulting slush is mixed with sugar syrup, strawberry and lemon juice. The name “frosé” is a portmanteau of “frozen” and “frosé”.

60 Selena’s genre : TEJANO

“Tejano” is the Spanish word for “Texan”. Tejano music is strongly influenced by Cajun culture, because of the proximity of Texas to Louisiana. The other strong influence came with immigrants from Poland and what is now the Czech Republic. These immigrants brought with them the waltz, polka … and the accordion.

Singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, known professionally simply as “Selena”, was murdered in 1995 by the president of her own fan club at the height of her career. In a 1997 biopic about Selena’s life, Jennifer Lopez played the title role. Selena had often been referred to as the “Queen of Tejano” during her career.

61 Vehicles serving pale ales and pilsners in Milwaukee? : BEER TRUCKS (divided B/UCKS)

The Bucks are the NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who joined the league as an expansion team in 1968. There was a fan contest held to choose the team’s name, and the winning entry was “Robins”, in honor of Wisconsin’s state bird. However, the judges opted for “Bucks”, the second-most popular choice and a reference to the state’s official wild animal, the white-tailed deer.

66 “All Things Considered” host Chang : AILSA

Broadcast journalist Ailsa Chang was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has several university degrees, including a master’s in media law from Oxford. After working in the field of law for five years, Chang joined the National Public Radio (NPR) organization, in 2008. She started co-chairing NPR’s flagship news program “All Things Considered” in 2018.

67 Stout sleuth Wolfe : NERO

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.

68 Japanese masked drama : NOH

Noh is a form of musical drama in Japan that has been around since the 14th century. Many of the Noh performers are masked, allowing all the roles to be played by men, including the female parts.

72 Opti-Free rival : RENU

“ReNu” is a brand name of contact lens products sold by Bausch & Lomb.

OPTI-FREE is a line of contact lens solutions made by Alcon.

73 Burglarize : ROB

The crime of burglary is the breaking into and entering of a building with the intent to steal. The actual theft itself is a separate crime.

74 Olivia of “The Predator” : 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 Predator” is a 2018 film, an installment in the “Predator” franchise. It’s described as a sci-fi action movie, although it looks more like a horror movie to me, from what little I’ve seen. I don’t do horror …

80 Poke bowl protein : AHI

Poke is a Native-Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

81 Taps and reveille in Chicago? : BUGLE CALLS (divided BU/LLS)

The Chicago Bulls have won six NBA championships in the life of the franchise, all of them in the nineties. They won in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons (a so-called “three-peat”), and then again in 1996, 1997 and 1998 (a second “three-peat”).

“Taps” is played nightly by the US military to indicate “lights out”. It’s also known as “Butterfield’s Lullaby” as it is a variation of an older bugle called the “Scott Tattoo”, arranged during the Civil War by the Union Army’s Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield. The tune is called “Taps”, from the notion of drum taps, as it was originally played on a drum, and only later on a bugle. The whole tune comprises just 24 notes, with there only being four different notes within the 24, i.e. “low G”, C, E and “high G”. Minimalism at its best …

“Reveille” is a trumpet call that is used to wake everyone up at sunrise. The term comes from “réveillé”, the French for “wake up”.

87 City on the Italian Riviera : SAN REMO

The Italian city of San Remo sits on the Mediterranean, right on the border with France. In Italian, the city is named “Sanremo”, just one word. That said, the spelling “San Remo” dates back to ancient times.

89 Home on the prairie : TEPEE

A tepee (also written as “tipi” and “teepee”) is a cone-shaped tent traditionally made from animal hides that is used by the Great Plains Native Americans. A wigwam is a completely different structure and is often a misnomer for a tepee. A wigwam is a domed structure built by Native Americans in the West and Southwest, intended to be a more permanent dwelling. The wigwam can also be covered with hides but more often was covered with grass, reeds, brush or cloth.

92 “i can’t believe u said this” : SMH

Shaking my head (SMH)

94 Covers with asphalt : PAVES

The asphalt surface on roads (or basketball courts) is more properly called asphaltic concrete because asphalt itself (also known as “bitumen”) is just a sticky black liquid that comes from crude petroleum. Asphalt is used as a binder with aggregate to form asphaltic concrete.

97 Beast of Borden : ELSIE

Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

98 Nutritionist’s plan in Miami? : HEALTHY DIET (dividing HEA/T)

The Miami Heat basketball team debuted in the NBA in the 1988-89 season. The franchise name was chosen in a competitive survey, with “Miami Heat” beating out “Miami Vice”.

102 Conniving : SLY

To connive is to conspire with, to cooperate in secret. The term comes from the Latin verb “connivere” meaning “to wink”, the idea being that connivers might give each other a sly wink.

108 Spotify creation : PLAYLIST

Spotify is a popular music-streaming service that was launched in Sweden in 2008.

112 Broth often made with kombu : DASHI

Dashi is a style of cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine. Most notably perhaps, “dashi” is the stock that is used as the base for miso soup. Traditional dashi is a fish stock to which is added edible kelp called kombu and shavings of preserved and fermented skipjack tuna called katsuobushi.

116 “Good job!” : BRAVO!

To express appreciation for a male performer at an operatic performance, traditionally one calls out “bravo!”. Appreciation for a female performer is shown by using “brava!”, and for more than one performer of either sex by using “bravi!”

120 Attractive objects in Charlotte? : HORSESHOE MAGNETS (divided HOR/NETS)

The New Orleans Hornets joined the NBA in 1988 as an expansion team, originally based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team was going to be called the Charlotte Spirit, but the name was changed following a “name the team” contest run in the local area. During the Revolutionary War, Lord General Cornwallis had referred to Charlotte as a “veritable nest of hornets” due the city’s resistance to British occupation, which explains the local fans’ fondness for the name “Hornets”. The franchise was moved to New Orleans for the 2002 season, as attendance wasn’t big enough to sustain the team in Charlotte. The NBA returned to North Carolina in 2004 with the establishment of the Charlotte Bobcats. The New Orleans franchise rebranded itself in 2013, becoming the Pelicans. As a result, the Charlotte Bobcats were able to change their name to the Hornets in 2014.

124 Numbers to crunch : DATA

Our word “data” (singular “datum”) comes from the Latin “datum” meaning “given”. The idea is that data are “things given”.

128 Fix, as a pet : SPAY

Our verb “to spay”, meaning “to surgically remove the ovaries of” (an animal), comes from an old Anglo-French word “espeier” meaning “to cut with a sword”.

131 Romantic 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.

A rendezvous is a meeting. The noun used in English comes from the French phrase “rendez vous” meaning “present yourselves”.

Down

1 Saweetie’s genre : RAP

“Saweetie” is the stage name of rap singer Diamonté Harper. She is from Santa Clara, California. Her grandfather is Willie Harper, who played professional football for the San Francisco 49ers.

2 Gelatin made from red algae : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

3 Costa __ : RICA

Costa Rica is a country in Central America that is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the South. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1949, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

6 “EastEnders” airer : BBC

“EastEnders” is a very, very successful soap opera produced and aired by the BBC since 1985. The title refers to the East of London.

10 Places for dermaplaning : SPAS

Dermaplaning is an exfoliation process in which a sharp blade, a dermatome, is dragged across the skin to remove the top layer of dead skin cells. The procedure is usually carried out on the face. Ouch …

12 Glacier sample for paleoclimatologists : ICE CORE

Paleoclimatology is the study of the Earth’s climate in periods predating the introduction of meteorological instruments. As direct measurements are unavailable to paleoclimatologists, they use proxy methods to determine a historical record of climate. Such a record can be inferred by examining rocks, sediments, boreholes, tree rings, etc.

13 Bareilles of “Girls5eva” : SARA

“Girls5eva” is a musical comedy TV show that debuted in 2021. It is about a one-hit-wonder girl group from the nineties who reunite in an attempt to rediscover past glories.

Sara Bareilles achieved success with her 2007 “Love Song” with the help of the iTunes online store. In one week in June of that year, iTunes offered the song as “free single of the week” and it quickly became the most downloaded song in the store, and from there climbed to the number spot in the charts.

16 97,813 square miles, for Wyoming : AREA

The largest US states by land area are, in order:

1. Alaska
2. Texas
3. California
4. Montana
5. New Mexico

The smallest US states are:

1. Rhode Island
2. Delaware
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. New Hampshire

Wyoming is the least populous state in the Union, and the second-least sparsely populated. The state with the lowest population density is Alaska.

32 Theater honor : OBIE

The Obies are the Off-Broadway (“OB”) Theater Awards. They have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

38 “Jeopardy!” host in Sacramento? : KEN JENNINGS (divided K/INGS)

Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s “Jeopardy!”. He has also won more game show money than any other person. He was defeated after 75 appearances on the show, after racking up over $2.5 million in the prior episodes. In 2020, Jennings was named as the first interim host of “Jeopardy!” following the passing of Alex Trebek.

The Sacramento Kings are one of the oldest basketball franchises still operating, having been founded way back in 1923 as the Rochester Seagrams. The Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985 from Kansas City, Missouri.

41 “Encore!” : MORE

“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!”

42 Omnia vincit __ : AMOR

“Omnia vincit amor” is a line from Eclogue X, one of the major works of the Latin poet Virgil. We know the phrase in English as “love conquers all”.

45 Kitchen blade holders in New York? : KNIFE BLOCKS (divided KNI/CKS)

The New York Knickerbockers (“Knicks”) team is one of only two founding members of the original National Basketball Association that still plays in its original home city. The other is the Boston Celtics.

46 Madagascar primate : LEMUR

Lemurs are unusual-looking creatures that are native to the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa. With their white fur and dark eyes that are very reflective at night, they have a “ghostly” appearance. Indeed, the animals take their name from Roman mythology in which “lemures” were spirits of the restless dead.

Madagascar is a large island nation lying off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The main island of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo).

47 Febrero preceder : ENERO

In Spanish, the month of “febrero” (February) is preceded by “enero” (January).

54 Egyptian cross with a top loop : ANKH

The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world). The ankh is also known as “the key of the Nile” and “crux ansata” (Latin for “cross with a handle”).

55 Shout in La Liga : GOL!

The premier division of Spanish club soccer is the “Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División”, or more usually “La Liga” (The League).

57 Galaxy member : STAR

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, and the Andromeda Galaxy are the two largest galaxies in what’s called the Local Group. Calculations suggest that the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxies are on a collision course and will merge in about 4 billion years. The resulting merged galaxy has already been nicknamed, and referred to as either Milkomeda or Milkdromeda.

61 Female hip-hopper : B-GIRL

B-boys and b-girls are male and female devotees of rap-music and breakdancing. Apparently the use of “b” in such a context comes from either “Bronx” or “break”.

71 Gospel singer Winans : CECE

CeCe Winans (real given name “Priscilla”) is a Gospel music singer. She is part of a duo with her brother, BeBe Winans (real name Benjamin).

73 Go on a tirade : RANT

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

74 En __: together : MASSE

“En masse” is a French term, one that best translates as “as a group”

75 Moving day rental : U-HAUL

The U-Haul company was started by married couple Leonard Shoen and Anna Mary Carty in Ridgefield, Washington in 1945. The Shoens used $5,000 of seed money to build trailers in their garage, and then cleverly recruited gas station owners as franchisees with whom they would split the rental revenue. There are now about 15,000 U-Haul dealers across the country.

79 Garden mollusk : SNAIL

Snails and slugs are referred to collectively as gastropods. There are many, many species of gastropods, found both on land and in the sea. Gastropods with shells are generally described as snails, and those species without shells are referred to as slugs.

83 Actress Remini : LEAH

Leah Remini is an actress and comedian who is best known for playing Carrie Heffernan on the sitcom “The King of Queens”. More recently, in 2013, Remini competed on “Dancing with the Stars”. After that, Remini appeared as a guest co-host on the show several times. Famously, Remini was a member of the Church of Scientology, and left the organization in 2013. Since leaving, Remini has been very vocal in her criticism of the practices and policies of the church.

84 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”, and not “increased”).

86 Award for “Ted Lasso” : EMMY

“Ted Lasso” is a marvelous sports-comedy TV show about an American college football coach who moves to the UK to manage an English soccer team. The title character is played very admirably by Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis first played Lasso in a series of TV commercials commissioned to promote NBC’s coverage of the British Premier League. The character became so popular that he inspired a whole TV series. Great stuff, and highly recommended …

90 __ Minor : ASIA

Asia Minor is also known as Anatolia. It is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe, and is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.

99 News story intro : LEDE

The opening paragraph in any work of literature is often just called “the lead”. In the world of journalism, this is usually referred to as “the lede”. The derivative phrase “bury the lede” means to fail to stress the most important aspect of a story.

100 Idris of “Luther” : ELBA

“Luther” is a British television series starring Idris Elba in the title role as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. There has been talk about developing a US version of “Luther”, and a Russian version was first broadcast in 2016 using the title “Klim”.

101 Place for a bull’s-eye : TARGET

The bull’s eye (also “bullseye”) is the center of a target. The term was coined in the 1830s and comes from the resemblance of the target, in terms of size and color, to the eye of the bull.

104 Part of a drum kit : HI-HAT

In a drum kit, a hi-hat is a pairing of cymbals that sits on a stand and is played by using a foot pedal. The top cymbal is raised and lowered by the foot, hence creating a crashing sound.

107 Less outlandish : SANER

Describing something as outlandish implies that it is bizarre and out of the ordinary. More literally, the term “outlandish” means “foreign, relating to another country”. The figurative usage relates behavior that is out of the ordinary to unfamiliar customs from other lands.

108 Some postgrad degs. : PHDS

“Ph.D.” is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”. Often, candidates for a PhD already hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, so a PhD might be considered a “third degree”.

110 Baja’s opposite : ALTA

In Spanish, “baja” is “low” and “alta” is “high”.

114 “Pygmalion” playwright : SHAW

George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

115 Hindu festival celebrated with water balloons : HOLI

Holi is a Hindu festival, one celebrated in spring, that is also known as the Festival of Colours.

118 Elevator innovator : OTIS

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.