Day: June 11, 2025

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Constructed by: Dylan Schiff
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Storybook Ending

Themed answers each END with the title of a celebrated STORYBOOK, all of which were written for a younger audience, and adapted into movies:

• 61 Perfect resolution, or a feature of 17-, 23-, 37-, and 52-Across : STORYBOOK ENDING

• 17A Australia’s unofficial national anthem : WALTZING MATILDA (giving “Matilda”)
• 23A Bite-sized treats : DONUT HOLES (giving “Holes”)
• 37A Wide-eyed awe : CHILDLIKE WONDER (giving “Wonder”)
• 52A Cares : GIVES A HOOT (giving “Hoot”)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “31 Days of Oscar” cable network : TCM

Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

“31 Days of Oscar” is an annual event on the TCM channel, and a great opportunity for classic film enthusiasts. Throughout February, the network dedicates its programming to showcasing a wide array of Oscar-nominated and -winning films, often grouped by themes, genres, or specific years. It’s must-see TV for me.

8 Electric current unit : AMPERE

The unit of electric current is the ampere, which is abbreviated correctly to “A” rather than “amp”. It is named after French physicist André-Marie Ampère, one of the main scientists responsible for the discovery of electromagnetism.

14 “The Traitors” host Cumming : ALAN

Alan Cumming is a very versatile Scottish actor. Cumming has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Floop in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

“The Traitors” is a very entertaining international franchise of reality game shows that originated in the Netherlands as”De Verraders”. “The Traitors US” is hosted by the marvelously flamboyant Scottish actor Alan Cummings, and is played in a castle in Scotland. The basic premise of the game is that some contestants are secretly assigned as traitors, and the “faithful” contestants must try to identify them.

15 __ Speedwagon : REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.

17 Australia’s unofficial national anthem : WALTZING MATILDA (giving “Matilda”)

“Waltzing Matilda” is a folk song that is widely considered Australia’s unofficial national anthem. The lyrics tell the tale of a swagman (a wandering worker) who camps by a billabong (waterhole), catches a jumbuck (sheep), and then drowns himself in the billabong to avoid capture by the squatter (landowner) and his troopers.

“Matilda” is a children’s novel by Welsh author Roald Dahl. Hero of the piece is an extraordinary little girl called Matilda Wormwood.

22 Obi-Wan portrayer 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.

23 Bite-sized treats : DONUT HOLES (giving “Holes”)

Louis Sachar’s “Holes” is a young adult novel that cleverly weaves together stories of Stanley Yelnats, a teenager unjustly sent to a juvenile detention camp called Camp Green Lake, and the historical legend of Kissin’ Kate Barlow, a schoolteacher turned outlaw. Stanley and his fellow inmates are forced to dig one five-foot hole every day, supposedly to “build character”. It eventually becomes clear that the true purpose behind their labor is to dig for a buried treasure left behind by Kissin’ Kate.

29 Bout ruling, briefly : TKO

Technical knockout (TKO)

32 Overture follower : ACT I

Overtures can be independent, stand-alone musical works. However, the form was originally introduced as an instrumental introduction to another work, such as an oratorio, ballet or opera. The term “overture” came into English from French, specifically from the word “ouverture” meaning “opening”.

37 Wide-eyed awe : CHILDLIKE WONDER (giving “Wonder”)

R.J. Palacio’s “Wonder” is a bestselling children’s novel that tells the story of August “Auggie” Pullman, a ten-year-old boy with significant facial differences who is entering mainstream school for the first time after years of homeschooling. It was adapted into a 2017 film with the same title starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, with young Canadian actor Jacob Tremblay portraying Auggie.

42 Protein in a Monte Cristo : HAM

The Monte Cristo is a ham and cheese sandwich that has been fried. The cheese used is Swiss, more properly Emmental or Gruyère. The Monte Cristo is a variant of the French open-faced sandwich made with the same ingredients, the croque-monsieur.

50 Onetime Volvo rival : SAAB

“SAAB” stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. Although we usually think of SAAB as an auto manufacturer, it is mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. The assets were acquired in 2012 by NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), a new company that used the SAAB name on its vehicles for several years.

Volvo is a Swedish manufacturer of cars, trucks and construction equipment. The Volvo name was chosen as “volvo” is Latin for “I roll”.

52 Cares : GIVES A HOOT (giving “Hoot”)

Some people don’t “give a hoot, give a darn”.

“Hoot” is a 2002 mystery novel for older children by Carl Hiaasen. The title refers to a colony of burrowing owls that are at risk due to the construction of a pancake house. The novel was adapted into a 2006 movie of the same name starring Luke Wilson. Jimmy Buffett provides the film’s music and also has a small part, playing a science teacher.

57 Highlands family unit : CLAN

The Scottish Highlands are that part of the country not classified as the Lowlands(!). The Highlands make up the north and west of Scotland.

59 “Barbie” director Gerwig : GRETA

Greta Gerwig is an actress, screenwriter and director from Sacramento whose best-known acting role is probably opposite Russell Brand in the remake of the film “Arthur”. Gerwig has turned to directing, and was at the helm for the 2019 movie “Little Women”. And then, she co-wrote and directed the hit 2023 film “Barbie”.

60 Lucy of “Elementary” : LIU

Lucy Liu is an actress from Queens, New York. Liu’s big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked her in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy the movie “Kill Bill”. I do enjoy one of Liu’s more recent projects in which she plays Joan Watson, one of the two lead characters in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.

If you’ve seen the American television show “Elementary”, you will know that it is an adaptation of the classic tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that are set in the present day. “Elementary” is similar in look and feel to the excellent BBC series “Sherlock”, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a modern-day Holmes. We can pick up “Sherlock” in some parts of the country as part of “Masterpiece Mystery” on PBS.

65 “__ the fields we go … ” : O’ER

The traditional Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was first published in 1857, penned by James Lord Pierpont. We associate the song with Christmas, although in fact Pierpont wrote it as a celebration of Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

66 “Diana” singer Paul : ANKA

Canadian-born Paul Anka’s big hit was in 1957, the song entitled “Diana”. Another oft-heard Anka composition started out life as his 1959 composition “Toot Sweet”. He rearranged “Toot Sweet” and renamed it as “Johnny’s Theme”, the jazz instrumental played as the opening theme of “The Tonight Show Starry Johnny Carson”.

67 “Voilà!” : PRESTO!

On a musical score, the instruction “presto” is used to indicate a fast tempo. The term is also used as an interjection, often indicating that something appeared or occurred as if by magic. “Presto” is the Italian word for “quick”.

The French word “voilà” means “there it is”, and “voici” means “here it is”. The terms come from “voi là” meaning “see there” and “voi ici” meaning “see here”.

Down

1 Imitated a crow : CAWED

Ravens and crows are very similar species, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. Ravens are a little larger and often travel in pairs, whereas crows are a little smaller and are usually seen in larger groups. Crows make a cawing sound, while the raven’s call is more like a croak.

2 San Antonio field trip destination : ALAMO

The San Antonio mission known as the Alamo may have been named for a grove of nearby cottonwood trees. “Álamo” is the Spanish name for the cottonwood.

The city of San Antonio, Texas was named by Spanish explorers. They came upon a Native American settlement in the area on 13 June 1631, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua.

4 Red block in Minecraft : TNT

Minecraft is a video game that was released in 2011. Apparently, it is the most popular video game of all time, with well over 200 million units sold.

5 “How Do I Live” singer Yearwood : TRISHA

Trisha Yearwood is an American country music singer. She was discovered by the man who is now her third husband, country music legend Garth Brooks.

“How Do I Live” is a power ballad recorded by LeAnn Rimes in 1997, when she was just 14 years old. Rimes’ version became a massive hit, spending a record-breaking 69 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Interestingly, Trisha Yearwood also recorded a version of the song which was released on the very same day as the Rimes version, creating a brief pop culture rivalry. The Yearwood version was recorded for the movie “Con Air”.

6 One who may remove a curse? : CENSOR

The original “censor” was an officer in ancient Rome who had responsibility for taking the “census”, as well as supervising public morality.

7 Tycoon : MOGUL

A mogul is a person with power. The term “mogul” comes from the Mughal emperors of India and South Asia.

Our term “tycoon” meaning powerful business person was originally used by foreigners to describe the shogun of Japan. “Tycoon” is an anglicization of the Japanese “taikun” meaning “great lord or prince”.

9 Social media parent company : META

Facebook, Inc. changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. in 2021 as part of a rebranding exercise.

11 “Legally Blonde” protagonist : ELLE WOODS

“LEGALLY blonde” is a 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon as a girlish sorority president who heads to Harvard to earn a law degree. “LEGALLY blonde” was successful enough to warrant two sequels as well as a spin-off musical that played most successfully in London’s West End (for 974 performances).

18 Comic strip about a teenager : ZITS

“Zits” is a popular cartoon strip written by Jerry Scott and illustrated by Jim Borgman. The strip debuted in 1997, and features a teenage boy called Jeremy Duncan as the main character.

27 Paris subway : METRO

The Paris Métro is the busiest underground transportation system in western Europe. The network carries about 4.5 million passengers a day, which is about the same ridership as the New York City Subway. The system took its name from the company that originally operated it, namely “La Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris” (The Metropolitan Paris Railroad Company), which was shortened to “Métro”. The term “Metro” was then adopted for similar systems in cities all over the world.

30 Creative mind behind the Imagine Peace Tower : ONO

“Wish Tree” is a series of living art installations by Yoko Ono. The series consists of native trees planted under her direction, Ono invites viewers to tie written wishes to the trees. Ono has been installing “Wish Tree” exhibits in locations around the world since the 1990s. She does not read the wishes, but collects them for burial under the Imagine Peace Tower, a memorial to John Lennon located on an island near Reykjavik, Iceland. There are over a million such wishes under the memorial today.

33 Thespian’s role : CHARACTER

A thespian is an actor. The term “thespian” derives from the name of the Greek poet of the 6th century Thespis, who is known as the father of Greek tragedy.

34 Chance for an introvert to recharge : TIME ALONE

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung popularized the terms “Introvert” and “extrovert”, although he believed that we all have introverted and extroverted sides to us. Nowadays we tend to think of extroversion and introversion as extremes on a continuum. We bloggers, sitting at home glued to our laptops, tend to the introverted end of the scale …

38 Genetic material in Rosalind Franklin’s “Photo 51” : DNA

Rosalind Franklin was a chemist who specialized in X-ray crystallography. It was work by Franklin and her student that produced the famous “Photo 51” that was key to the determination of the structure of DNA. James Watson and Francis Crick used the photo as they constructed their model of the double-helix structures of DNA. The photo had been shared with Watson and Crick by Maurice Wilkins, who worked with Franklin, without Franklin’s consent. A few years after Franklin died (at the age of 37), Watcon, Crick and Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on DNA. As Franklin received very little recognition for her contribution, she is sometimes referred to as the “dark lady of DNA” and the “wronged heroine”.

39 Source of inspiration? : LUNG

The lungs are the two main organs in the human respiratory system. It is in the lungs that oxygen is extracted from the air and transferred into the bloodstream. At the same time, carbon dioxide is removed from the bloodstream and released into the atmosphere.

40 Rainbow band : INDIGO

The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

48 Daisylike blooms : ASTERS

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

49 Side with tandoori chicken : NAAN

A tandoor is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cuisines from several Asian locales, including India.

51 Medieval poets : BARDS

European history is often divided in three major periods: classical antiquity and the modern period, with the Middle Ages in between. Specifically, the Middle Ages are said to have begun in 476 CE, when the last Roman Emperor was deposed by a Germanic chieftain. The end date for the Middle Ages is less specific, but is about 1500 CE. The list of events signaling the end of the Middle Ages includes Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the New World (1492) and the Protestant Reformation (1517). The term “medieval” is used to describe something belonging to the Middle Ages.

54 QB protectors, in football lingo : O-LINE

Offensive line (O-line)

58 Opposite of da : NYET

“Nyet” is Russian for “no”, and “da” is Russian for “yes”.

61 Valvoline rival : STP

Valvoline is the oldest brand of motor oil marketed here in the US. The formulation was trademarked in 1873.