Day: March 18, 2025

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Constructed by: Caroline Hand
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Gray Scale

Themed answers each start with a tone on the GRAY SCALE:

• 65A Range between white and black, and where the starts of 17-, 23-, 40-, and 53-Across can be found: GRAY SCALE

• 17A Extremely good-looking person, slangily: SMOKE SHOW
• 23A Actress who played Rollergirl in “Boogie Nights”: HEATHER GRAHAM
• 40A Treat that can help a dog with indigestion: CHARCOAL BISCUIT
• 53A Online publication founded in 1996 by Michael Kinsley: SLATE MAGAZINE

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

Bill’s time: 5m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Salad topped with blue cheese and bacon: COBB

Ty Cobb’s first cousin, Robert H. Cobb, owned the Brown Derby chain of restaurants. One of his regular customers was the famous Sid Grauman, who ran Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Late one night, Grauman asked for a snack, and Cobb came up with a chopped salad simply made from ingredients he happened to have in the refrigerator. Grauman liked it so much that he continued to request it, and the Cobb salad was born.

9 __ Sketch: drawing toy: ETCH A …

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes, who initially named it “L’Écran Magique” (The Magic Screen).

14 Spiny succulent: ALOE

Succulent plants are those with thickened stems and/or leaves that have evolved to retain water. As such, succulents are often found where the climate is particularly dry. The term “succulent” comes from the Latin “sucus” meaning “juice, sap”.

15 Major producer of pineapples and bananas: DOLE

James Dole lent his name to today’s Dole Food Company. He was known as the Pineapple King, as he developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii and founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, the forerunner to the Dole Food Company. Dole might have had some help on the way, as he was a cousin of Sanford B, Dole, President of the Republic of Hawaii from 1894 to 1900.

16 Dubbed: NAMED

Kneel, and a monarch might “dub thee a knight” if you’re lucky. “Dub” is a specific term derived from Old English that was used to mean “make a knight”. As the knight was also given a knightly name at the same time, “dub” came to mean “give someone a name”.

19 Peruvian pack animal: LLAMA

The llama is a camelid mammal very much associated with the Andean cultures. Despite the association with South America, it is thought that the ancestors of the modern llama migrated south from the Great Plains of North America about 40 million years ago.

21 Oahu neighbor: KAUAI

Because the Hawaiian island of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, all the rainfall has helped to carve out magnificent canyons and left superb waterfalls. The island is often used as a backdrop for movies. The facilities at the island’s Lihue Airport reflect the pleasant climate enjoyed by the Hawaiian Islands. Check-in takes place completely outdoors!

23 Actress who played Rollergirl in “Boogie Nights”: HEATHER GRAHAM

Heather Graham is an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1990s with her performances in movies like “Drugstore Cowboy”, “Boogie Nights”, and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”.

“Boogie Nights” was released in 1997, and deals with the pornographic movie business. Burt Reynolds plays a director in the industry. It’s not exactly exalted subject matter, but the movie does have an impressive cast (including Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman).

30 Quiche need: EGG

The classic dish called quiche is made with eggs (“oeufs” in French). Even though the quiche is inextricably linked to French cuisine, the name “quiche” comes from “Kuchen”, the German word for “cake”. The variant called “quiche lorraine” includes bits of smoked bacon as an ingredient.

31 __ Jima: IWO

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since. Control of the island was wrested from the Japanese in the five-week Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Said battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater in WWII.

36 April 15 agcy.: IRS

April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.

44 “Access Hollywood” host Lopez: MARIO

Mario Lopez is an actor and television host from San Diego, California. He can dance, and came in second on the third season of “Dancing with the Stars”. Lopez ended up romantically involved with his partner in the show, professional dancer Karina Smirnoff.

“Access Hollywood” is an entertainment news show that first aired in 1996. It was while preparing to appear on “Access Hollywood” that the infamous tape was made recording the disturbing conversation between Donald Trump and Billy Bush, then co-anchor of the show.

45 Hither and __: YON

“Hither and yon” is a phrase meaning “from over here to over there”.

47 Horror movie street: ELM

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a Wes Craven slasher-horror film that was released in 1984. As I don’t do “slasher” or “horror”, I was surprised to learn that Johnny Depp was in the movie, making his feature film debut.

48 Mallon in the World Golf Hall of Fame: MEG

Meg Mallon is a retired professional golfer who had a successful career on the LPGA Tour. She won 18 LPGA Tour events, including four major championships. Mallon also represented the United States in multiple Solheim Cups, a team competition between American and European female golfers. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.

53 Online publication founded in 1996 by Michael Kinsley: SLATE MAGAZINE

“Slate” is an online magazine that was founded in 1996 by Michael Kinsley, former editor of “New Republic”. “Slate” was originally owned by Microsoft and was part of the MSN online offering. The magazine has been available for free since 1999 (it is ad-supported).

58 __ Island: New England state: RHODE

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, and is the second-most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State (and more informally “Little Rhody”), largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.

59 Flatbreads for gyros: PITAS

A gyro is a traditional Greek dish of meat roasted on a tall vertical spit that is sliced from the spit as required. Gyros are usually served inside a lightly grilled piece of pita bread, along with tomato, onion and tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber sauce).

65 Range between white and black, and where the starts of 17-, 23-, 40-, and 53-Across can be found: GRAY SCALE

Grayscale images are the digital equivalent of black-and-white images in the analog world. In a grayscale image, each pixel only has intensity information, and no information about hue. The related binary image is made from pixels that are simply black or white, with no pixels having shades of gray.

68 Monastery member: FRIAR

A friar is a member of a mendicant religious order, an order that combines monastic life with non-ownership of personal property. The term “friar” comes from the Old French “frere”, meaning “brother”.

69 Jane Austen heroine: EMMA

Here is the opening paragraph of the novel “Emma”, by Jane Austen:

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

73 Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL

El Al is the flag carrier airline of Israel. It is the only commercial airline to have installed an anti-missile system on its planes. The system, known as Flight Guard, uses laser technology to detect and deflect incoming missiles.

Down

2 __ mater: ALMA

The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. The phrase was used in ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

4 Tea option: PEKOE

A pekoe (or more commonly “orange pekoe”) is a medium-grade black tea. There is no orange flavor in an orange pekoe tea. The “orange” name most likely derived from the name of the trading company that brought the tea to Europe from Asia.

10 Actress Shire: TALIA

Actress Talia Shire is best-known for playing Rocky’s wife Adrian in the “Rocky” series of movies. She also played Connie, the daughter of Don Corleone, in “The Godfather” films. Shire is the sister of movie director Francis Ford Coppola and the aunt of actor Nicolas Cage. Her son is the actor Jason Schwartzman.

11 Nashville-based awards org.: CMA

Country Music Association (CMA)

13 Tooth care org.: ADA

American Dental Association (ADA)

18 “La Bamba” 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.

“La Bamba” is a 1987 biopic about the life of singer Ritchie Valens. Valens is played by Lou Diamond Phillips, in his breakthrough role. The Ritchie Valens songs shown in the movie were all performed by Los Lobos, a casting that gave the rock band their big break as well. The Los Lobos version of the title song “La Bamba” topped the charts around the world.

22 Brand of fluffy slippers: UGG

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

25 Queen of Mount Olympus: HERA

Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Greece. In Greek mythology, it was home to the gods, and in particular home to the principal gods known as the Twelve Olympians.

28 Apple juice brand: MOTT’S

Samuel R. Mott was a producer of apple cider and vinegar. In 1842 he founded his own company to market and sell his products. The Mott’s company owns brands such as Mr & Mrs T, Hawaiian Punch and ReaLime/ReaLemon.

32 Zeniths: ACMES

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

34 Cosmic payback: KARMA

Karma is a religious concept with its basis in Indian faiths. Karma embraces the notion of cause and effect. Good deeds have good consequences at some later point in one’s life, one’s future life, or one’s afterlife. And, bad deeds have bad consequences.

39 2010 health law, for short: ACA

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

42 Tea option: BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

50 Gizmo: GADGET

The word “gizmo” (also “gismo”), meaning something the name of which is unknown or forgotten, was originally slang used by both the US Navy and the Marine Corps. The exact origin seems unknown.

60 Penne __ vodka: ALLA

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish with a sauce made of vodka, cream, tomatoes, onions and sausage or bacon.

62 Birds __ feather: OF A

The phrase “bird of a feather flock together” has been used at least since the 1500s in some form. The idea is that birds of a particular species tend to fly together, and we use the phrase to mean that people with similar tastes tend to congregate.

64 “__ Tok”: No. 1 hit for Kesha: TIK

“Tik Tok” is a 2009 song co-written and released by Kesha. The song originally included the line “Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy,” but this was later changed as sexual misconduct allegations against Sean Combs (formerly “P. Diddy”) piled up.

67 Basketball star Ming: YAO

Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player from Shanghai who played for the Houston Rockets. At 7’6″, Yao was the tallest man playing in the NBA. He has a cute nickname: “the Ming Dynasty”.