Day: March 20, 2025

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Constructed by: Ricky J. Sirois
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Mixing Bowl

Themed answers all include the word “BOWL” hidden within, but with the order of the letters MIXED:

• 64A Kitchen prep essential, and what can be found in the answer to each starred clue: MIXING BOWL

• 17A *Noisy yard implement: LEAF BLOWER
• 24A *Like a skier without goggles, perhaps: SNOW-BLIND
• 40A *Path through Oz: YELLOW BRICK ROAD
• 51A *Hobnob (with): RUB ELBOWS

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

Bill’s time: 5m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Carousel riders?: BAGS

Apparently, the baggage carousel was developed by a French company. The first installation was in Paris Orly Airport in the 1950s.

14 Río contents: AGUA

In Spanish, “agua” (water) is found in a “río” (river), and around an “isla” (island).

16 Muscat’s country: OMAN

Muscat is the capital city of Oman. It lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

19 Major Temecula Valley industry: WINE

Temecula Valley is a winegrowing region in Riverside County near Los Angeles, California. The first winery in Temecula was the Callaway Vineyard. It opened for business in 1974 by Ely Callaway Jr., who also founded Callaway Golf, the world’s largest manufacturer of golf clubs.

20 Lot timers: METERS

An early patent for a parking meter, dated 1928, was for a device that required the driver of the parked car to connect the battery of his or her car to the meter in order for it to operate!

22 Subj. for an MBA: ECON

The world’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was offered by Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

23 Pitching stat: ERA

Earned run average (ERA)

28 “You could’ve kept that to yourself”: TMI

Too much information! (TMI!)

31 Jai __: ALAI

Jai alai is a game that derives from Basque pelota, and is known as “cesta-punta” in the Basque language. The name “jai alai” translates from the original Basque as “merry festival”.

36 Inner circle: CADRE

A cadre is most commonly a group of experienced personnel at the core of a larger organization that the small group trains or heavily influences. “Cadre” is a French word meaning “frame”. We use it in the sense that a cadre is a group that provides a “framework” for the larger organization.

40 *Path through Oz: YELLOW BRICK ROAD

According to L. Frank Baum’s series of “Oz” novels, there are two Yellow Brick Roads that lead to the Emerald City from Munchkin Country, and it turns out that Dorothy chose the harder of the two. In addition to the yellow roads, there is also a Red Brick Road, which leads from Munchkin County to the Country of the Quadlings.

44 Rival leader?: ARCH-

We use “arch-” to mean “chief, principal”. Said prefix comes from the combining form of the Greek word “arkhos” meaning “chief, lead, commander”.

46 Steamed bun dipped in hoisin sauce: BAO

A baozi (also “bou, bao”) is a steamed, filled bun in Chinese cuisine.

Hoisin sauce is named after the Chinese word for “seafood”. However, hoisin sauce contains no seafood, and nor is it served with seafood!

50 Nashville-to-Louisville dir.: NNE

The Tennessee city of Nashville was founded in 1779 near a stockade in the Cumberland River valley called Fort Nashborough. Both the settlement and the fort were named for General Francis Nash, a war hero who died in combat during the American Revolution.

The city of Louisville, Kentucky was chartered as a town in 1780 and was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France as French soldiers were aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War that was raging at that time.

51 *Hobnob (with): RUB ELBOWS

“To hobnob with” means “to rub elbows with, associate with”. The phrase dates back to the mid 1700s and is derived from “hob and nob”, an expression meaning to toast each other in turn, or to buy alternate rounds of drinks.

58 Brief “However”: OTOH

On the other hand (OTOH)

59 Banned Books Week org.: ALA

The American Library Association (ALA) promotes libraries not only in the US, but internationally. The organization was founded in 1876, making it the oldest library association in the world.

69 Comic Bargatze: NATE

Nate Bargatze is an stand-up comedian from Nashville who is known for his clean comedy, generally avoiding potentially controversial material. That’s pretty unusual, I’d say …

70 Inkling: SENSE

An inkling is a slight indication or vague notion. The term “inkling” apparently comes from the Middle English word “inclen” meaning “to hint”.

71 Story opening, in journalism lingo: 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.

Down

2 Pulitzer winner James: AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

3 Most populous Central American country: GUATEMALA

Guatemala in Central America became independent from Spain in 1821, first becoming part of the Mexican Empire, and then becoming completely independent two years later.

6 “Price flexible” abbr.: OBO

Or best offer (OBO)

8 With 51-Down, wrestling style: GRECO-
51 See 8-Down: -ROMAN

Greco-Roman wrestling was contested at the first modern Olympic Games, back in 1896. Back then there was relatively little regulation of the sport and Greco-Roman contests were noted for their brutality. Bouts also took a long time to finish, often lasting hours. In fact, two competitors in the final round of the event at the 1912 Olympic Games fought a match that lasted 11 hours and 40 minutes. The victor was so exhausted after the contest that he was unable to compete in the final bout.

11 Pals, in Parma: AMICI

Parma is a city in northern Italy that is famous for its ham (prosciutto) and cheese (parmesan). The adjective “Parmesan” means “of or from Parma”.

12 Officially accepted works: CANON

Back in the 15th century, the word “canon” was used to describe the whole collection of the books of the Bible accepted by the Christian church, the so-called “Scriptures”. In the 1930s, the term was adopted by fans of the “Sherlock Holmes” stories to describe all such works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Since then, the usage of “canon” has extended to cover an accepted body of related works by a particular author.

18 Oktoberfest sausage, informally: BRAT

A bratwurst (sometimes simply “brat” in the US) is a German sausage. The name comes from “brät-” meaning “finely chopped meat”, and “Wurst” meaning “sausage”.

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

24 Mufasa’s son in “The Lion King”: SIMBA

In the 1994 movie “The Lion King”, the protagonist is Simba, a lion cub born to Mufasa and Sarabi. The main antagonist is Scar, Simba’s uncle and Mufasa’s brother. Simba is voiced by Matthew Broderick, and Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons. “Simba” is Swahili for “lion, king, strong”.

25 O’Neil who was the first African American coach in the MLB: BUCK

Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro American League. He was appointed as a coach with the Chicago Cubs in 1962, making him the first African-American coach in the major leagues.

26 Blue birds: JAYS

The blue jay is a perching bird that is native to eastern North America. They can be extremely aggressive to other birds, often raiding their nests. If a fight breaks out, the blue jay has been known to decapitate its opponent.

27 Actor Guinness: ALEC

Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered (sadly, I think) for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”. He won his only Best Actor Oscar for playing Colonel Nicholson in the marvelous 1957 WWII movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai”. Guinness did himself serve during the Second World War, in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He commanded a landing craft during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.

29 Wide opening: MAW

“Maw” is a term used to describe the mouth or stomach of a carnivorous animal. “Maw” is also used as slang for the mouth or stomach of a greedy person.

35 Stevie of Fleetwood Mac: NICKS

Singer Stevie Nicks came to fame as the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac. She has a very distinctive voice, heard at its best (I think) on the famous 1977 album “Rumours”.

The band Fleetwood Mac was founded in 1967 in London by Peter Green. He chose “Fleetwood Mac” from the names of two friends in former groups, i.e. “Fleetwood” and “McVie”. Green did this despite the fact that Fleetwood Mac’s drummer’s name happens to be Mick Fleetwood.

41 October birthstone: 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)

42 T’ai __ ch’uan: CHI

More correctly called “t‘ai chi ch‘uan”, tai chi is a martial art that is mostly practiced to improve overall health and increase longevity.

47 Barack and Michelle: OBAMAS

By tradition, the Secret Service code names used for the US President and family all start with the same letter. For the Obama First Family, that letter is R:

• Barack Obama: Renegade
• Michelle Obama: Renaissance
• Malia Obama: Radiance
• Sasha Obama: Rosebud

52 College city near Syracuse: UTICA

Utica in New York is known as “Second Chance City” these days, due to the relatively recent influx of refugees from war-torn parts of the world and from Bosnia in particular. These immigrants have helped revitalize the area and reverse a trend of population loss.

53 Lisa of “A Different World”: BONET

Lisa Bonet is an actress best known for playing one of the daughters on the “The Cosby Show”. She was married for a few years to the singer Lenny Kravitz, with whom she eloped in 1987. She changed her name to Lilakoi Moon in 1992, but still uses “Lisa Bonet” as her stage name.

“A Different World” is a spin-off sitcom from “The Cosby Show” that centers on the character Denise Huxtable who was played by Lisa Bonet. After the first season of the show, Debbie Allen (of television’s “Fame”) took over creative control. As a result, “A Different World” gained a reputation for dealing with difficult social issues such as date rape and racial discrimination in colleges.

57 Biblical tower spot: BABEL

We use the word “babel” now to describe a scene of confusion, lifting the term from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The Tower was built in the city of Babylon, and the construction was cursed with a confusion of languages due to the varied origins of all the builders.

65 Auditing agcy.: IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.