Day: February 8, 2025

Advertisement

Constructed by: Amie Walker & Matthew Stock
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 12m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Arno city : PISA

The Italian city of Pisa is home to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is actually the bell tower of the city’s cathedral. Pisa is also a university town, and is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe, the University of Pisa, which was founded in 1343. The university has produced many notable alumni, including the physicist Galileo Galilei.

The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, and passes through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

10 Ontario, for one : LAKE

Lake Ontario is the easternmost of the Great Lakes of North America. It borders both Canada and the United States, with the US-Canada border running through the lake itself. The St. Lawrence River flows eastward from the lake, connecting it to the Atlantic Ocean and forming a major waterway for both commercial and recreational vessels.

14 Sticks around at lunch, say : ANTS ON A LOG

Ants on a log is a snack food prepared by spreading something like peanut butter or cream cheese on celery and placing raisins on top. If you leave out the raisins, the snack becomes “ants on vacation”.

17 Awards show extra : SEAT FILLER

Seat filling is a technique that helps ensure events and shows have a full audience. This is especially important for televised events like award ceremonies, such as the Oscars, where empty seats can be distracting and create the impression that the event isn’t fully supported. Seat fillers are essentially volunteers or paid attendees who occupy empty seats.

18 Sushi sometimes served with ponzu : TORO

In a sushi restaurant, the dish called “toro” is the fatty tissue from the belly of the bluefin tuna.

Ponzu is a tart, savory sauce widely used in Japanese cuisine. It is typically made with citrus juice (commonly lemon, yuzu, or sudachi), soy sauce, and mirin (sweet rice wine).

20 Second-worst possible “Wheel of Fortune” spin : LOSE A TURN

Contestants have been spinning the “Wheel of Fortune” since the game show first aired in 1975.

30 Time of self-prioritization and boundary setting, colloquially : VILLAIN ERA

A villain era is a period of time in a person’s life characterized by self-acceptance, prioritizing personal needs, and rejecting societal expectations. The term “villain era” gained popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s, fueled by social media and celebrity endorsements.

37 Anthem officially adopted on Dominion Day in 1980 : O CANADA

Canada’s national anthem “O Canada” was commissioned in 1880 by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, so the original words are in French. The first English translation was made in 1906. The current English lyrics have been revised a few times, but the French version remains the same as it did back in 1880.

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Canada’s national day is known as Canada Day, and has been held on July 1st annually since 1879. The holiday was originally referred to as Dominion Day, and recognizes the date in 1867 when the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were united into one dominion within the British Empire using the name “Canada”. Dominion Day became Canada Day in 1982.

44 “Qismat” actress : TANIA

Tania is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Punjabi cinema. She made her acting debut with a supporting role in the 2018 Punjabi film “Qismat”.

“Qismat” (2018) is a Punjabi-language romantic drama movie. It tells the story of a man who falls in love while at college, despite him being promised to another woman in an arranged marriage.

48 Civil rights law, for short : ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

54 Oatmeal __ : STOUT

Oatmeal stout is a dark, rich beer known for its creamy texture due to the addition of oats during the brewing process. It often has a slightly higher alcohol by volume (ABV) than traditional stouts.

56 Soup noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

59 Sue Sylvester series : GLEE

In the TV show “Glee”, actress Jane Lynch plays the school cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Well, Sylvester is the cheerleading coach for the first four seasons. She gets promoted to high school principal for the last two seasons.

62 Imperfect, e.g. : TENSE

In English, an imperfect tense is one describing an unfinished or continually repeated action. All continuous tenses are classified as imperfect. Some examples are:

• I was solving the crossword while enjoying a pint of Guinness (past continuous)
• Which crossword are you solving? (present continuous)
• I will be solving the crossword tomorrow evening (future continuous)

63 Actress Rae : ISSA

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

Down

4 Skylar of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” : ASTIN

Skylar Astin is an actor and singer, perhaps best known for his breakout role as Jesse Swanson in the “Pitch Perfect” film series. Subsequently, he played the title role in the comedy-drama series “So Help Me Todd”.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is a musical comedy TV series that follows Rebecca Bunch, a successful New York City lawyer. She moves across the country to California on a whim, in pursuit of her high school sweetheart Josh Chan.

5 Singer DiFranco : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a feminist icon, and in 2006 won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

9 Bird in the National Audubon Society logo : EGRET

The National Audubon Society is an environmental organization that was formed in 1905. The society is named for John James Audubon, an ornithologist who compiled his famous book “Birds of America” between 1827 and 1838.

12 Australian soccer star Sam : KERR

Sam Kerr is a professional soccer player who is considered one of the best forwards in the world. She made her debut with the Australian national senior team, the Matildas, in 2009 at the age of 15. In 2019, she was named captain of the Australian team, and in 2022 broke the record for Australian international goals, by a female or male player.

13 Place-name that means “River-Town” in Old English : ETON

The town of Eton in Berkshire, England is home to the world-famous Eton College. The original settlement of Eton was located on an island surrounded by the River Thames, and the name “Eton” means “settlement on an island. A stream on one side of the island silted up almost 200 years ago, but it was cleared in 2019 so that Eton qualifies as an island once again.

23 Porch pirate, e.g. : THIEF

“Porch pirate” is a slang term describing one of those despicable people who steal packages delivered to someone’s home and left outside the door. Porch piracy continues to grow, as online shopping increases in volume. In New York City alone, it is estimated that 90,000 packages were stolen in 2019.

26 When court dates are scheduled : PROM NIGHTS

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

31 Native north of the Arctic timberline : INUK

The Inuit people live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada. A member of the Inuit people is known as an “Inuk”.

32 Dickinson’s “The Heart Asks Pleasure First,” for one : LYRIC POEM

Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems in her lifetime, with less than a dozen published before she died in 1886. Emily’s younger sister discovered the enormous collection, and it was published in batches over the coming decades. Try this one for size:

The Heart asks Pleasure—first—
And then—Excuse from Pain—
And then—those little Anodynes
That deaden suffering—

And then—to go to sleep—
And then—if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor
The privilege to die—

33 Traces of interest in the future : LIFE LINES

In the practice called palmistry, someone might tell your fortune by interpreting the lines and other features seen on the palm of your hand. The lines in the palm have names such as life line, head line, heart line and fate line. The life line is the curve that sweeps around in an arc centered at the base of the thumb.

34 Muscle protein : ACTIN

Actins are a family of proteins that join together to form long chains, or filaments. These chains, called F-actin, are important for all sorts of cell activities, from muscle contractions to cell division.

38 “Eureka!” : AHA!

“Eureka” translates from Greek as “I have found it”. The word is usually associated with Archimedes, uttered as he stepped into his bath one day. His discovery was that the volume of water that was displaced was equal to that of the object (presumably his foot) that had been submerged. He used this fact to determine volume (and density) of a crown, something he needed in order to determine if it was made of pure gold or was a forgery.

41 Like many who celebrate the Guelaguetza : OAXACAN

Oaxaca (officially “Oaxaca de Juárez”) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is located in the south of the country.

The Guelaguetza is an annual celebration held in Oaxaca City, Mexico. The festival’s name, derived from the Zapotec word meaning “offering” or “sharing,” reflects the spirit of community that lies at its heart.

46 Country whose national bird is the endangered steppe eagle : EGYPT

The steppe eagle is a large bird of prey found in open grasslands and steppes across Central Asia. Known for its powerful build and dark brown plumage, the steppe eagle is a scavenger and opportunistic hunter, feeding primarily on small mammals, reptiles, and carrion. It is the national bird of Egypt and Kazakhstan, and features prominently on the Kazakh national flag.

49 Digs for archaeology majors? : DORMS

“Digs” is short for “diggings” meaning “lodgings”. Where “diggings” came from, no one seems to know.

“Archaeology” is a word that looks like it’s British English, and one might be forgiven for using the spelling “archeology” in American English. Even though the latter spelling has been around for a couple of hundred years, the former is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic.

51 “Dune: Part Two” star Florence : PUGH

Florence Pugh is an English actress whom I best know from playing Amy March in the 2019 big-screen adaption of the novel “Little Women”. Younger members of the viewing audience might recognize her for playing Yelena Belova in the film “Black Widow” and the related TV series “Hawkeye”. In 2019, Pugh started a relationship with fellow actor Zach Braff (who played the lead in “Scrubs”).

55 Banks who coined the words “flawsome” and “smize” : TYRA

Tyra Banks is a tremendously successful model and businesswoman. Banks created and hosted the hit show “America’s Next Top Model “, and also had her own talk show. She was also the first African-American woman to make the cover of the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.