Day: April 25, 2025

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Constructed by: Dylan Schiff
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Incidental Music

Themed answers look like genres of MUSIC, but each has been reinterpreted. The corresponding clues are three examples of each of the reinterpretations:

• 38A Score that sets the mood, and an apt description of 17-, 25-, 50-, and 62-Across? : INCIDENTAL MUSIC

• 17A Homeland, nation, or state? : ALT-COUNTRY
• 25A Soapstone, shale, or mudstone? : SOFT ROCK
• 50A Cheerwine, Maine Root, or Jones Soda? : INDIE POP
• 62A Mercury, bismuth, or lead? : HEAVY METAL

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

Bill’s time: 8m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Food in red paraffin wax : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

5 Luxuriate in the great outdoors : GLAMP

“Glamping” is “glamorous camping”, camping with comforts and amenities.

10 Bird of prey : HAWK

Hawks are birds of prey known for their sharp talons, keen eyesight, and powerful flight. They represent a remarkably diverse group of raptors, a wide array of species that have adapted to nearly every terrestrial habitat. Several birds commonly referred to as hawks are actually kites, buzzards, or even eagles.

15 Bay Area NFLer : NINER

The 49ers football team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush. These “1849 prospectors” became known as the “49ers”.

16 DOL division : OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. It is a direct successor to the Bureau of Labor Standards that dealt with some work safety issues since its founding in 1934. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.

19 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”.

20 Beatles drummer : STARR

Sir Ringo Starr’s real name is Richard Starkey. Before he joined the Beatles, replacing drummer Pete Best, Starkey played with the Raving Texans. It was with the Raving Texans that he adopted the name “Ringo Starr”, because he wore a lot of rings and he thought it sounded “cowboyish”. Back then his drum solos were billed as “Starr Time”.

21 Unagi roll protein : EEL

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

22 Brand sold at Mattress Firm : SERTA

Mattress Firm is a chain of stores mainly selling mattresses (duh!) that was founded in 1986 in Houston, Texas, where the company is still headquartered.

23 Gondola propeller : OAR

The city of Venice (“Venezia” in Italian) in northeast Italy is built in a saltwater lagoon on the Adriatic Coast, on 117 small islands. The classic transportation along the waterways is the gondola, but this is really only used for tourists these days, as well as on ceremonial occasions. The locals rely on motorized water-buses.

25 Soapstone, shale, or mudstone? : SOFT ROCK

The metamorphic rock known as soapstone or steatite has a myriad of uses, largely because it is relatively soft. It feels quite soapy to the touch, hence the name “soapstone”. It can be used for making countertops, or as a medium for artistic and decorative carving. It’s also used by tailors as a marking tool on cloth.

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from the compaction of clay-rich minerals. It has a layered structure and is easily split into thin sheets. Shale often contains fossils, making it valuable to paleontologists.

Mudstone is a fine sedimentary rock. It is similar to shale, but differs in that shale splits into layers and mudstone does not.

42 French military caps : KEPIS

A kepi is a circular cap with a visor, one that’s particularly associated with the French military.

43 Movie SFX : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

The abbreviation “FX” stands for “effects”, as in “special effects”. “Special effects” can also be shortened to “SFX”.

46 Baby hyena : CUB

Hyenas have the reputation of being cowardly scavengers. That said, the spotted hyena that lives in Sub-Saharan Africa actually kills about 95% of its food and a pack of spotted hyenas are capable of driving off leopards or lionesses before they can consume their kill.

50 Cheerwine, Maine Root, or Jones Soda? : INDIE POP

Cheerwine is a cherry-flavored soda that has been very much associated with the southeastern United States. It was introduced in 1917, and the brand’s marketing folks promote it as “the oldest continuing soft drink company still operated by the same family”.

Maine Root is a beverage company known for its sodas sweetened with organic sugar cane rather than high-fructose corn syrup.

Jones Soda is a craft beverage company founded in 1995. It is known for its unconventional flavors, including a cannabis-infused version called Mary Jones. The company also alters its labels continuously, using photos submitted by customers.

53 “Shameless” network, for short : SHO

“Shameless” is a comedy drama TV series about a dysfunctional Chicago family consisting of six children and a single father who spends his days drunk. The US show is a remake of the original British “Shameless” that is based on a similar family who live in Manchester in the North of England.

55 Media center? : DEE

The center of the word “media” is a letter D (dee).

61 “Bob’s Burgers” daughter : TINA

“Bob’s Burgers” is a cartoon sitcom that airs on Fox. Not for me …

62 Mercury, bismuth, or lead? : HEAVY METAL

Mercury is the only metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature. Mercury used to be known as “hydrargyrum”, from the Greek “hydr-” meaning “water” and “argyros” meaning “silver”. As a result, Mercury’s modern chemical symbol is “Hg” (for “Hydrargyrum”).

Bismuth (Bi) is a brittle, silvery-white metal. It’s one of the few metals that expands upon solidification, a trait it shares with water.

67 “Because of You” R&B singer : NE-YO

“Ne-Yo” is the stage name of R&B singer Shaffer Chimere Smith. He began his career as a songwriter, penning hits for artists such as Mario, Rihanna, and Beyoncé. In 2006, he released his debut album “In My Own Words”, which launched Ne-Yo’s career as a solo artist.

68 __ verde : SALSA

“Salsa verde” is simply Spanish for “green sauce”.

Down

3 Flour ground in a chakki : ATTA

Chakki is a hand- or animal-powered stone mill used in Indian cuisine to grind spices and grains. It comprises two grinding stones, one of which is stationary, and the other rotating on a central shaft.

5 Serengeti grazer : GNU

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch word meaning “wild beast”.

The Serengeti is a region in Africa located in northern Tanzania and southwest Kenya. The name “Serengeti” comes from the Maasai language and means “Endless Plains”.

8 Bordeaux grape : MERLOT

Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

10 Canadian lout : HOSER

The derogatory word “hoser”, meaning “foolish or uncultivated person”, is apparently attributed to Canadians. That said, I just read that the term is in fact rarely used north of the border.

13 Whitewater vessels : KAYAKS

There is a type of boat used by Inuit people called a “kayak”. The term “kayak” means “man’s boat”, whereas “umiak” means “woman’s boat”.

27 Steak choice : AHI

Ahi tuna is also known as yellowfin tuna and is a popular fish for sushi and sashimi. However, due to overfishing, ahi tuna populations are at risk.

28 Thomas, for one : TANK ENGINE

My kids really loved Thomas the Tank Engine when they were young. The “Thomas the Tank Engine” television show is based on the series of books by the Reverend W. V. Awdry and his son. The TV series was remarkable in that it attracted some celebrity narrators, the first being ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. I think American audiences might have been more familiar with George Carlin, and then Alec Baldwin. Pierce Brosnan also had a go, narrating a TV special. I remember being on a flight one time with Ringo Starr (we didn’t sit together!). When I told our kids’ babysitter a few days later about my celebrity encounter, she was marginally impressed although I had to explain that he was the drummer for the Beatles. When I added that Ringo was also the narrator for the “Thomas the Tank Engine” show, she nearly fainted with excitement. A generation gap exists …

41 NL Central team : CIN

The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.

45 Baking pan that inspired the Frisbee : PIE TIN

The Frisbee concept started back in 1938 with a couple who had an upturned cake pan that they were tossing between each other on Santa Monica Beach in California. They were offered 25 cents for the pan on the spot, and as pans could be bought for 5 cents, the pair figured there was a living to be earned.

47 Corner store : BODEGA

“Bodega” is a Spanish term describing a winery or, these days, a grocery store.

51 The Gem State : IDAHO

Idaho has the nickname “Gem State”, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State, as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state. I’d go for the potatoes over the gems, but that’s probably just me. Oh, and Idaho license plates have borne the slogan “Famous Potatoes” for decades …

52 Gem from a mollusk : PEARL

Pearls form in oysters because of a reaction that is similar to an immune system response in higher animals. The pearl is formed as the oysters lay down successive layers of calcium carbonate around some microscopic foreign body that has penetrated the shell.

59 __ phonetic alphabet : NATO

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.