Day: April 2, 2025

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Constructed by: Stella Zawistowski
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Let’s Unpack That

Themed answers each START with something that can be UNPACKED:

• 54A Therapist’s statement, or what can be said about the first parts of 20-, 28-, and 46-Across? : LET’S UNPACK THAT

• 20A Leg day exercises performed while holding dumbbells : SUITCASE LUNGES
• 28A Rectangle-shaped football formation : BOX DEFENSE
• 46A Stephen King novel about a graveyard curse : BAG OF BONES

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

Bill’s time: 6m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cloth that protects waves : DURAG

Hip-hoppers might wear do-rags (also “durags”) today, but they have been around for centuries. The etymology of “do-rag” is pretty evident, i.e. a piece of cloth (rag) to hold a hairstyle (do) in place.

6 Jazz pattern : RIFF

A riff is a short rhythmic phrase in music, especially one improvised on a guitar.

10 Future atty.’s exam : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

14 Native people of Missouri : OSAGE

The Osage Nation originated in the Ohio River valley in what we now call Kentucky. The Osage were forced to migrate west of the Mississippi by the invading Iroquois tribe. Most of the tribe members now live in Osage County, Oklahoma.

15 Campaign for Smart Justice org. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched its Campaign for Smart Justice in 2018. It has the goal of reducing the numbers incarcerated in US prisons by 50%, while addressing the obvious disparities in the racial makeup of the prison population.

16 Córdoba coin : EURO

Córdoba is a city in Andalusia in southern Spain that is sometimes referred to as “Cordova” in English. Córdoba might be the right destination for anyone seeking out a warm vacation spot in Spain. The city has the highest average summer temperatures in the whole of Europe.

20 Leg day exercises performed while holding dumbbells : SUITCASE LUNGES

Suitcase lunges are a lower-body exercise. To perform them, hold a dumbbell in each hand, letting them hang at your sides like suitcases. Then, step forward with one leg and lower your body until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Push back up to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.

24 “¿__ te llamas?” : COMO

In Spanish, “Como te llamas?” is a relatively informal way of asking “What is your name?”

25 Pipe material, for short : PVC

PVC is polyvinyl chloride, the third most widely produced plastic in the world (after polyethylene and polypropylene). PVC is resistant to corrosion from biological and chemical agents making it a favored choice these days for sewage lines, replacing the traditional metal materials. It is so chemically stable that it will be around a long, long time …

34 Marvel’s God of Mischief : LOKI

Loki is a trickster god in Norse mythology known for continually creating chaos. He is the father of sons with his wife Sigyn. Because Loki is also a shape-shifter, he gave birth to children “himself” by assuming the shape of the opposite sex.

46 Stephen King novel about a graveyard curse : BAG OF BONES

“Bag of Bones” is a 1998 horror novel from the pen of Stephen King. I really don’t do Stephen King, and so haven’t read it. That said, this book has been compared with Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca”, one that I did enjoy, and so maybe one day …

50 Homer’s wholesome neighbor : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned was married to Maude, with whom he had two children Rod and Todd. Maude died in an accident involving a T-shirt cannon. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

52 Not trans : CIS

In Latin, the prefix “cis-” means “this side of”. The prefix “trans-” means “the other side of”.

62 __ bean : FAVA

The fava bean is also known as the broad bean. “Broad bean” is used “broadly” (pun!) in the UK, whereas “fava bean” is common in the US. “Fava” is the Italian name for the broad bean.

65 Santa Monica landmark : PIER

Santa Monica, California lies on Santa Monica Bay and is in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909.

69 Crop-sharing orgs. : CSAS

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Down

1 Passport info, briefly : DOB

Date of birth (DOB)

As a result of a League of Nations conference in 1920, passports are usually written in French and one other language. French was specified back then as it was deemed the language of diplomacy. US passports use French and English, given that English is the nation’s de facto national language. Spanish was added as a language for US passports in the late nineties, in recognition of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico.

3 Rao’s rival : RAGU

The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was introduced in 1937. The name ”Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is a little off in the name of the sauce. In Italian, the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

Rao’s Italian restaurant opened in East Harlem in New York City in 1896. Rao’s also sells a small line of Italian foodstuffs in supermarkets, such as pasta, sauces and olive oil.

6 Nadal’s nickname : RAFA

Rafael “Rafa” Nadal is a Spanish tennis player. He is noted for his expertise on clay courts, which earned him the nickname “The King of Clay”.

10 “When you’re not strong” song : LEAN ON ME

The classic song “Lean on Me” was written and recorded by Bill Withers in 1972. Withers had just relocated to Los Angeles when he wrote the song, and he found that he was homesick for West Virginia. He drew inspiration for the song from his experiences growing up in a small coal mining town, where community and mutual support were essential.

11 Like operas and oratorios : SUNG

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes use the plural “opuses” in English, but that’s just to annoy me …

An oratorio is a large musical work for orchestra, choir and solo singers. Oratorios usually have a religious theme and are similar to operas, but without the action, costume and scenery.

21 Shoe designer Jimmy : CHOO

Jimmy Choo is a designer of handmade women’s shoes who was born in Malaysia but grew up and was educated in London. Choo sold the 50% stake that he had in his shoe manufacturing company in 2001, for 10 million pounds.

22 Japanese plum : UME

The Japanese plum, also known as “ume”, is tart and tangy, even when ripe. They are typically not eaten fresh, but are instead pickled or used to make a plum wine called “umeshu”.

27 R&B singer Khan : CHAKA

Chaka Khan is the stage name of singer Yvette Stevens from Chicago. She was the front woman for the band Rufus before she launched her very successful solo career.

29 Classic Jaguar model : XK-E

We knew them as E-type Jags in my part of the world growing up, but they were marketed over in the US as the Jaguar XK-E line. The XK-E was manufactured from 1961 to 1974.

30 Wild dog of the Australian outback : DINGO

The dingo is a wild dog of Australia. It is thought to have originated from domesticated dogs that were brought to Australia with humans that settled the land centuries ago.

31 Car rental option : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

47 Columbus sch. : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”. The school’s athletic mascot was introduced in 1965, and is an anthropomorphic buckeye nut named Brutus Buckeye.

48 Genre with unofficial sequels, familiarly : FANFIC

Fan fiction (also “fanfic”) is fiction created by fans of an original work that uses characters from that original work.

57 Nike rival : AVIA

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

58 Sphynx and Siamese : CATS

The sphynx is a breed of cat that has no fur. The lack of fur was introduced by selective breeding in the sixties. Although there is no fur, the sphynx does have some fine hair on its body. Selective breeding has led to some health issues, though. The lack of fur leaves kittens susceptible to respiratory infections, and prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause skin cancer.

The exact origins of the Siamese cat aren’t very clear, but it is believed to be from Southeast Asia. The Siamese takes its name from the sacred temple cats of Thailand (a nation once called “Siam”).

60 Sardine containers : TINS

Sardines are oily fish related to herrings. They are also known as pilchards, although in the UK “sardine” is a noun reserved for a young pilchard. Very confusing …

64 Organ with a retina : EYE

The retina is the tissue that lines the inside of the eye, and is the tissue that is light-sensitive. There are (mainly) two types of cells in the retina that are sensitive to light, namely rods and cones. Rods are cells that best function in very dim light and only provide black-and-white vision. Cones on the other hand function in brighter light and can perceive color.