Day: June 28, 2025

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

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 14m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Like Oscar winner Troy Kotsur : DEAF

Troy Kotsur is an American actor who achieved widespread recognition and critical acclaim for his role as Frank Rossi in the 2021 film “CODA”, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That made him the first deaf male actor to win an acting Oscar, following in the footsteps of Marlee Matlin, who paved the way by becoming the first deaf actor to win an acting Oscar, for Best Actress in 1986.

5 “Lasers” rapper __ Fiasco : LUPE

“Lasers” is the third studio album by rapper Lupe Fiasco, released in 2011. While it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the album’s release was fraught with controversy. Lupe Fiasco publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the final product, stating that the label, Atlantic Records, heavily interfered with the creative process. This resulted in fan disappointment over what they perceived as a watered-down and pop-leaning album compared to Fiasco’s previous work.

14 Symbol of British divine right : EXCALIBUR

Excalibur is the legendary sword of the legendary King Arthur of Great Britain. In some accounts, Arthur was given the sword by the Lady of the Lake. There is sometimes confusion about the origin of Excalibur, as Arthur famously is said to have pulled a sword from a stone, hence proving him to be a true king. The Sword in the Stone is a different sword, and not Excalibur.

16 Whitlock Jr. of “The Wire” : ISIAH

Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is perhaps best known for playing state senator Clay Davis on the hit TV show “The Wire”. Whitlock picked up a colorful catchphrase from his character on “The Wire”, as the actor used his rich, deep voice to the full pronouncing a mild expletive as “sheeeeeeeee-it”. 🙂

22 French holiday : NOEL

“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, and ultimately comes from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). “Noel” has come to be used as an alternative for “Christmas carol”.

27 “The Man in the Iron Mask” novelist : DUMAS

“The Man in the Iron Mask” is the third part of a novel by Alexandre Dumas called “The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later”. The novel uses characters appearing in the earlier Dumas novel “The Three Musketeers”. In the plot, the musketeers are getting on in years and become involved in the mystery of “the man in the iron mask”, a prisoner locked up in French jails with his identity hidden behind a mask.

29 Disney villain : SCAR

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”.

31 Hamper : STYMIE

The word “stymie” comes from golf, and is a situation in which one’s approach to the hole is blocked by an opponent’s ball. We use the term more broadly as a verb to describe standing in the way of something.

33 Wrestling promoter Maivia whose grandson is Dwayne Johnson : LIA

Lia Maivia was a pioneering figure in professional wrestling promotion, stepping into a male-dominated industry and successfully running Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after the death of her husband, Peter Maivia. She paved the way for future generations, including her grandson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

34 Online “I can relate” : ITME

“It me” is common internet slang meaning “I can relate to this” or “this is me”.

35 Like some steakhouses : BRAZILIAN

Brazilian steakhouses, known as “churrascarias”, offer a dining experience centered around the churrasco style of grilling meat. Typically, diners pay a fixed price and are served a continuous tableside parade of various cuts of meat, often skewered and roasted over open flames.

38 Zenith : ACME

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

41 McElhenney who co-owns Wrexham A.F.C. : ROB

Rob McElhenney is an actor and writer best known for creating and starring in the comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. In a surprising and widely publicized venture, McElhenney and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds, became co-owners of Wrexham AFC, a Welsh professional soccer club. The acquisition and subsequent efforts to revitalize the club have been documented in the docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham”.

42 “Forget it” : NO DICE

One suggestion for the origin of the phrase “no dice”, meaning “nothing doing, no way”, refers back to illegal gambling in the early 1900s. When approached by police, illegal gamblers would hide their dice (some even swallowed them). It was well known that city attorneys wouldn’t prosecute unless the police could produce the dice. Apparently there was an idiom at the time, “no dice, no conviction”.

46 “Paint the Town Red” singer __ Cat : DOJA

“Paint the Town Red” is a hit single by singer and rapper Doja Cat, released in 2023. Aptly enough (to me, anyway) it was released as the lead single from her fourth studio album, “Scarlet”.

49 Food brand with a Westie mascot : CESAR

Cesar is a brand of wet dog food that features a West Highland White Terrier (a “Westie”) as its long-standing mascot.

53 Novelist Jaffe : RONA

Rona Jaffe was an American novelist perhaps most famous for two of her books, “The Best of Everything” and “Mazes and Monsters”. “The Best of Everything” was published in 1958 and has been compared with the HBO television series “Sex and the City” as it depicts women in the working world. “Mazes and Monsters” was published in 1981 and explores a role-playing game similar to Dungeons & Dragons and the impact it has on players.

54 Cast iron, e.g. : ALLOY

Cast iron is an alloy of iron and carbon, with a carbon content that is greater than 1.8%. Iron-carbon alloys containing less carbon are known as steel.

58 Only U.S. vice president born in Maryland : AGNEW

Spiro Agnew served as US vice-president under Richard Nixon, before becoming the only VP in American history to resign because of criminal charges (there was a bribery scandal). Agnew was also the first Greek-American to serve as US vice president as he was the son of a Greek immigrant who had shortened the family name from “Anagnostopoulos”.

59 Hit that’s hardly felt : MICRODOSE

Psychedelic microdosing is the practice of taking extremely low doses of psychedelic drugs in order to promote creativity and well-being. Drugs commonly used are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin (found in “magic mushrooms”). Hmm …

61 May of Queen : BRIAN

Brian May is the lead guitarist of the English rock band Queen. As well as performing with the group, May composed some of Queen’s biggest hits, including “We Will Rock You” and “I Want It All”. May is also a qualified astrophysicist. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics and worked several years towards a PhD at Imperial College London before abandoning his studies to pursue his career in music. May went back to his PhD studies some 32 years later, and graduated in 2008.

62 Royal guard? : BEEKEEPER

A queen bee has a stinger, just like worker bees. When a worker bee stings, it leaves its stinger in its victim. The worker bee dies after losing its stinger as the loss rips out part of its insides. However, a queen bee can sting with impunity as her stinger’s anatomy is different.

63 Grouses : CARPS

The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.

It isn’t really clear where we get our verb “to grouse” from (meaning “to complain”). The term was first used as slang in the British Army in the 1880s.

64 Petrol name : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

65 Signs of victory : VEES

One has to be careful making that V-sign depending where you are in the world. Where I came from, the V-for-victory (or peace) sign has to be made with the palm facing outwards. If the sign is made with the palm facing inwards, it can be interpreted as a very obscene gesture.

Down

3 West Point, e.g. : ACADEMY

West Point is a military reservation in New York State, located north of New York City. West Point was first occupied by the Continental Army way back in 1778, making it the longest, continually-occupied military post in the country. Cadet training has taken place at the garrison since 1794, although Congress funding for a US Military Academy (USMA) didn’t start until 1802. The first female cadets were admitted to West Point in 1976, and as of 2018, about 15% of all new cadets were women.

6 WWII fleet : U-BOATS

The term “U-boat” comes from the German word “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). U-boats were primarily used in WWII to enforce a blockade against enemy commercial shipping, with a main objective being to cut off the supplies being transported to Britain from the British colonies and the US. The epic fight for control of the supply routes became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

7 Institutions “full of sunk treasure,” per Virginia Woolf : PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Virginia Woolf was an English author who was active in the period between the two World Wars. Woolf’s most famous novels were “Mrs. Dalloway”, “To the Lighthouse” and “Orlando”. She also wrote a long essay entitled “A Room of One’s Own” in which she states, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

9 Circumstance, slangily : SITCH

“Sitch” is short for “situation”.

12 Tune that really catches on : EARWORM

“Earworm” is a colloquial term used for a catchy tune that is also somewhat irritating, one that you can’t get out of your head.

15 Close of business, briefly? : LTD

In Britain and Ireland, the most common type of business (my perception anyway) is one that has private shareholders whose liability is limited to the value of their investment. Such a company is known as a private limited company, and has the abbreviation “Ltd.” after the name. If the shares are publicly traded, then the company is a public limited company, and has the letters “plc” after the name.

23 Touchdown celebration in Green Bay : LAMBEAU LEAP

When Curly Lambeau founded his small-town football team in Green Bay in 1919, he was working for the Indian Packing Company. Lambeau went to his employers looking for sponsorship and was given $250 provided that the team was named for the company. And so, the team was originally referred to as the Green Bay Indians, but by the time they took to the field for their first game it had changed to the Packers, and Lambeau was $250 richer. Curly Lambeau passed away in 1965, and two months later the Packers renamed their City Stadium to Lambeau Field in his memory.

26 Shirt tail : TEE

The “tailing” letter in the word “shirt” is a letter T (tee).

28 Dame analog : SIR

The title “Dame” in the British system of honors is the female equivalent to “Sir”, as used to address a knight. In days of old, the wife of a knight was given the title of Dame. Since the 17th century, the wife of a knight has been called “Lady”. So now, anyone with the title of Dame has earned the honor in her own right and not through marriage.

32 Like some reds : EARTHY

Earthy notes in wine are aromas and flavors reminiscent of soil, minerals, or the forest floor, rather than fruit.

36 Circuses : ZOOS

The Circus Maximus was an ancient stadium used for chariot racing in Rome. It was the first such stadium built by the Romans, and was the largest ever to be built in the whole of the Roman Empire. The Circus Maximus was over 2,000 feet long and just under 400 feet wide, and could house about 15,000 spectators. There is very little of the original structure remaining and the site is now used as a major park. It was the Circus Maximus and similar “circa” that gave rise to our contemporary word “circus” describing an arena used by clowns, acrobats, etc.

The world’s first zoo opened in Britain in 1820. Now known as “London Zoo”, the facility was referred to back then as the “Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London”. The term “zoo” is a shortening of “zoological”.

37 NYC rep from the Bronx : AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx, Queens and Rikers Island in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

39 Food processing giant that began as a grain enterprise in Nebraska : CONAGRA

Conagra (fromerly “ConAgra Foods”) is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Even the name of the company defines it as the antithesis of the local “farmers market”. ConAgra is derived from the words “consolidated” and “agriculture”.

40 Thor’s hammer : MJOLNIR

The hammer associated with the Norse god Thor is known as Mjölnir. The name “Mjölnir” translates as “crusher”.

43 Variant in a lab : ISOTOPE

An isotope is a variant of an element. All isotopes of an element have the same number of protons and electrons, but not the same number of neutrons. This means that isotopes of an element have different atomic weights. The term “isotope” was coined in 1913, and translates from Greek “having the same place”. The idea is that isotopes may have different atomic weights, but they occupy the same place in the periodic table.

52 Gyllenhaal title role : DARKO

“Donnie Darko” is a 2001 sci-fi psychological thriller that one has to describe as “mind-bending”. The title character, Donnie Darko, is plagued by disturbing visions of a mysterious figure in a rabbit suit named Frank, who informs him the world will end in 28 days. As a result, Donnie is compelled to carry out increasingly destructive and bizarre acts, and as the deadline approaches, Donnie tries to unravel the meaning of his visions and his role in the impending apocalypse. Not a romcom, I’m guessing …

56 Toast Skagen garnish : ROE

Toast Skagen is a dish from Swedish cuisine, even though it is named for Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark. The dish is also popular in Denmark, but goes under the name “Skagenssalat”. Both recipes call for prawn salad served with toasted bread.

58 Disney channel? : ABC

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) was formed in 1943, created out of the former NBC Blue radio network. Given the initialism “ABC”, it is sometimes referred to as “the Alphabet Network”. ABC was sold to Disney in 1996.

59 U.K. honor : MBE

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

• Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
• Knight Commander (KBE)
• Commander (CBE)
• Officer (OBE)
• Member (MBE)

60 “Monkey Man” actor/director Patel : DEV

Dev Patel is an actor from Harrow in England who is perhaps best known for playing the lead in the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. He also stars in a lovely 2012 film called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” alongside an incredible cast that included Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson. Patel also had a regular role in the marvelous HBO drama series called “The Newsroom”.

“Monkey Man” is a 2024 action thriller film co-written, directed by, and starring English actor Dev Patel. It is set in a fictional Indian city, and follows a man known only as “Kid” who ekes out a meager existence participating in underground fight clubs while haunted by traumatic childhood memories involving a powerful and corrupt figure. As Kid’s past resurfaces, he embarks on a violent quest for revenge against the elite who wronged him and his community. The title is a reference to the monkey mask that kid wears in the fight club.