Day: May 1, 2025

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Constructed by: Michael B. Berg
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): A Good Old Puzzle

Themed answers are all OLD things:

• 19A Old school? : BOSTON LATIN
• 29A Old story? : GILGAMESH
• 39A Old timer? : SUNDIAL
• 48A Old guard? : BEEFEATER
• 57A Old flame? : BURNING BUSH

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

Bill’s time: 6m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Beehive, for one : COIF

A coif is a hairdo. The term “coif” comes from an old French term “coife” describing a skull-cap that was worn under a helmet back in the late 13th century.

19 Old school? : BOSTON LATIN

Boston Latin School, established in 1635, holds the distinction of being the oldest public school in the United States. In fact, it was founded just five years after the city itself, and was originally intended to prepare boys for Harvard College, established the following year, in 1636. The school had many graduates who went onto great things, including five men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin went to Boston Latin, but ended up dropping out.

22 Intelligence org. founded by Truman : NSA

The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense (DoD) since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … “No Such Agency”.

23 Oldest part of Notre-Dame de Paris : APSE

Notre-Dame de Paris is the spectacular Gothic cathedral that sits on the Île de la Cité, one of the islands in the middle of the River Seine in Paris. Notre-Dame is home to many beautiful and significant artifacts, the most famous of which is the Crown of Thorns supposedly worn by Jesus Christ at his execution, placed in the cathedral in 1239. It’s also home to some magnificent gargoyles on the roof, and you can climb up to the roof and take a very close look at them. Well, you used to be able to, until the tragic fire of 2019. The cathedral re-opened at the end of 2014, but I’m not sure about the tour of the roof …

26 Break down, as a sentence : PARSE

The verb “to parse” means “to state the parts of speech in a sentence”. “Parse” comes from the Latin word “pars” meaning “part”.

29 Old story? : GILGAMESH

The “Epic of Gilgamesh” is an epic poem from Mesopotamia. It is one of the earliest known works of literature that has survived. Fragments of the first version of the epic date back to the 18th century BC.

34 __ of London : LLOYD’S

Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, members of the shipping industry community were in the habit of meeting regularly in Lloyd’s Coffee House in London, an establishment owned by one Edward Lloyd. The coffee house’s owner catered to his clientele by providing regular news about the shipping industry. The shipping merchants discussed deals among themselves, forming syndicates that insured vessels and cargo, for each other and for others in the business. The members of the group eventually relocated to a permanent headquarters, but maintained the name “Society of Lloyd’s”, which exists to this day.

36 Word in some alumna updates : NEE

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

37 __ Domani wine : ECCO

Ecco Domani is an Italian wine that is distributed in North America and Northern Europe by E & J Gallo.

38 Comfy shoe brand : 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.

43 Island home of Kahului Airport : MAUI

Kahului Airport (OGG) is the primary gateway to the island of Maui, Hawaii, handling both inter-island and overseas flights. The air route between Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu and Kahului Airport is one of the more heavily trafficked air corridors within the US.

45 Brand of flavored water : BAI

Bai Brands is a beverage company that specializes in low-cal soft drinks that include antioxidants.

46 High school for the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies : RYDELL

Singer Bobby Rydell was a teen idol back in the sixties. His biggest hits were “Wild One” and “Volare” from 1960, and his last major chart hit was “Forget Him” from 1964. If you’ve seen the musical “Grease”, the high school setting of “Rydell High” was named for Bobby Rydell.

The T-Birds and Pink Ladies are two high school cliques from the musical “Grease”, both representing the rebellious youth culture of the 1950s. The T-Birds are an all-male greaser gang, while the Pink Ladies are known for their sassy attitudes and pink satin jackets.

48 Old guard? : BEEFEATER

In one use of the word, a “yeoman” is a lower level official or attendant in a royal household. A famous group of yeomen are the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London. The role is ceremonial these days, theoretically safeguarding the crown jewels and guarding any prisoners in the Tower. More correctly, the Yeoman Warders are called Beefeaters, and nobody’s really sure why! If you get over to London, the Yeoman Warders might be your tour guides around the Tower of London; it’s a great day out!

51 Wee bits : IOTAS

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

52 Whispery YouTube genre, initially : ASMR

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR ) is a tingling sensation that some people experience in response to certain stimuli, such as soft sounds, gentle whispering, or slow movements. It is often described as a feeling of relaxation and well-being. Although there is no consensus on what causes ASMR, one suggestion is that it may be related to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure. There are a wide variety of ASMR videos available, including videos of people whispering, tapping on objects, or performing other gentle actions.

55 Grab __ : BAG

The term “grab bag” can refer to a container of random items. They are often seen at parties or fairs, with participants reaching in and pulling out a surprise item without knowing what it is. Sounds like a “lucky dip” to me …

57 Old flame? : BURNING BUSH

The burning bush is a biblical event described in the Book of Exodus. Moses encountered a bush that was ablaze, yet not consumed by the flames. He heard God speak from the bush, telling Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

63 “The Godfather” brother : FREDO

Fredo Corleone is a middle son in the Corleone family that features in Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”. He was considered the weak son, and was reduced to the role of “gopher”. Fredo was with his father when Don Corleone was shot, and although he tried to retaliate as the shooting took place, he dropped his gun. On the screen, Fredo was played by Italian-American actor John Cazale.

68 __ gin fizz : SLOE

By definition, a cocktail known as a “fizz” includes lemon or lime juice and carbonated water. The most popular of the genre is the gin fizz, made from 3 parts gin, 2 parts lemon juice, 1 part sugar syrup and 5 parts soda water. There is also a variant known as a sloe gin fizz.

72 Onesie closer : SNAP

A onesie is a baby’s one-piece bodysuit, and is a common gift at a baby shower.

Down

1 Ty who had a .366 career batting average : COBB

Baseball player Ty Cobb was born in Narrows, Georgia and died 74 years later in Atlanta, Georgia. He was nicknamed “The Georgia Peach”. Cobb was one of the richest baseball players of all time. When he retired, Cobb was a major stockholder of the Coca-Cola Corporation. By the time he passed away in 1961, Cobb had an even bigger investment in General Electric. He left an estate after his death worth about $86m (in 2008 dollars). The most common nickname associated with Cobb during his career was “the Georgia Peach”.

2 Treat with a Post Malone limited edition version : OREO

“Post Malone” is the stage name of rap artist and singer Austin Post from Syracuse, New York. His stage name is simply his family name followed by the word “Malone” that he unearthed using a “rap name generator”.

4 Tomi Adeyemi genre : FANTASY

Tomi Adeyemi is a writer perhaps best known for her 2018 young adult fantasy novel “Children of Blood and Bone”.

5 Pirate’s prosthetic, perhaps : PEG LEG

The word “prosthesis” comes from Greek, in which language it means “addition” or “application”. In English, “prosthesis” can signify something that is “placed onto” or “added to” the body.

8 Foodstuff known as “mother of all grains” to the Inca : QUINOA

Quinoa is a grain crop that is more closely related to beetroots and spinach that it is to cereals and grasses. Quinoa is mainly cultivated for its edible seeds, which are high in protein. The seeds are also gluten free, which seems to be a big deal these days. I do like my quinoa …

11 Genmaicha and matcha : TEAS

Genmaicha is a unique Japanese green tea that includes some roasted rice, giving the beverage a warm, nutty flavor.

Matcha is a powder made by grinding dried, green tea leaves. The selected tea bushes are heavily shaded for several weeks prior to harvest, which stimulates the production of chlorophyll resulting in darker green leaves. Matcha is used in East Asian cuisines to prepare tea for drinking, and also as an ingredient in dishes such as ice cream, cakes and sushi rolls.

12 Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA

Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright, and the third woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (in 1923 for “The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver”). Millay was noted not only for her work, but also for the open arrangement that she and her husband had in their marriage. Millay took many lovers, including the poet George Dillon for whom she wrote a number of sonnets.

14 “Die Hard” villain Gruber : HANS

Alan Rickman was a marvelous English actor, one famous for playing bad guy Hans Gruber in the original “Die Hard” film, Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” series and (my personal favorite) Eamon de Valera in “Michael Collins”. Sadly, Rickman passed away in January 2016, after which fans created a memorial under the “Platform 9¾” sign in London’s Kings Cross Railway Station, from where the Hogwarts Express is said to depart in the “Harry Potter” universe.

The 1988 action movie “Die Hard” is such a fun film. We always pull it out at Christmas when we want something “Christmassy”, but different from “The Bishop’s Wife” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The “Nakatomi Plaza” building that features so prominently in the film is actually “Fox Plaza” (headquarters for 20th Century Fox) in Los Angeles, which was built not long before filming started.

20 Slanted columns : OP-EDS

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

25 Cannes Mrs. : MME

Cannes is a city on the French Riviera that is noted as host of the Cannes Film Festival. The decision to host an annual film festival was adopted by the city just before WWII. However, the festival had to wait for the end of the war for its launch in 1946.

26 Perfectly vertical : PLUMB

“Plumbum” is Latin for “lead”, explaining why the symbol of the element in the Periodic Table is “Pb”. It also explains why the original lead weight on the end of a line used to check vertical was called a “plumb line”. And, as pipes were originally made of lead, it also explains why we would call in a “plumber” if one of those pipes were leaking.

30 Like many Sundance entries : INDIE

The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film event in the country, and takes place every year around the Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. The festival has its roots in the Utah/US Film Festival which started in Salt Lake City in 1978. Management of the festival was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in 1985. The festival has become a bit of a media feeding frenzy in recent years, as a lot of A-list celebrities attend. The Festival organizers introduced a “Focus on Film” campaign in 2007 in an attempt to offset some of the madness.

32 Milan’s La __ : SCALA

La Scala Opera House opened in 1778. It was built on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave the theater its Italian name “Teatro alla Scala”. Because of bomb damage in WWII, La Scala had to be rebuilt, and reopened in 1946.

35 Legacy creator : SUBARU

Japanese automaker Subaru has been producing the Legacy midsize car since 1989. It is sold as the Liberty in Australia. The alternative name was chosen as the term “Legacy” is closely associated with Legacy Australia, a charity looking after families of soldiers killed in action. Many of those soldiers died fighting Japanese forces during WWII.

40 Singer __ King Cole : NAT

Nat King Cole’s real name was Nathaniel Adams Coles. Cole made television history in 1956 when his own show debuted on NBC, a first for an African-American. Cole couldn’t pick up a national sponsor, so in order to save money and possibly save the show, many guest artists worked for no fee at all – the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte and Peggy Lee. The show survived for a year, but eventually Nat King Cole had to pull the plug on it himself.

47 Boxers’ mats : DOG BEDS

The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful combination. My wife and I also had a boxer/pug mix, and he was another gorgeous animal.

50 Savanna herbivores : RHINOS

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

A savanna (also “savannah”) is a grassland. If there are any trees in a savanna, by definition they are small and widely spaced so that light can get to the grasses allowing them to grow unhindered.

55 Chums with matching bracelets, perhaps : BFFS

Best friend forever (BFF)

56 Number of divas : ARIA

The term “diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. It is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

61 Actress Ward : SELA

Sela Ward is an American actress who won Emmys for her role on the TV show “Sisters” in 1994 and for her role on “Once and Again” in 2000. She is a published author and released her autobiography “Homesick: A Memoir” in 2012.

62 Release before “Rubber Soul” : HELP!

“Help!” is a 1965 movie, and the second film released by the Beatles. The film’s soundtrack was released under the same title. Personally, I preferred “A Hard Day’s Night”, the Beatles’ first movie …