Day: July 12, 2025

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Constructed by: Kyle Dolan

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 12:44

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

19A Purple __ : YAM

Ube is a species of yam that is purple in color. I’m a big fan of ube ice cream. Potato-flavored ice cream; what’s not to like?!

22A Second-largest landlocked country in Africa : NIGER

The Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa that gets its name from the Niger River. Over 80% of the country lies within the bounds of the Sahara Desert.

23A Jay-Z or Cardi B : RAPPER

Jay-Z, as well as being a successful and very rich rap artist, is married to singer Beyoncé. He was born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York. As Carter was growing up, he was nicknamed “Jazzy”, a reference to his interest in music. “Jazzy” evolved into the stage name “Jay-Z”. Jay-Z and Beyoncé have a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter, and twins named Rumi and Sir Carter.

“Cardi B” is the stage name of rap artist Belcalis Almánzar from the Bronx in New York City. The name “Cardi B” comes from the brand name “Bacardi”.

24A Glossy fabric : SATEEN

Sateen is a cotton fabric. It has a weave that is “four over, one under”, meaning that most of the threads come to the surface to give it a softer feel.

27A German car, informally : BEEMER

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

29A Hybrid since 1997 : PRIUS

The Toyota Prius is still one of the most fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered cars sold in the US, according to the EPA. The name “Prius” is a Latin word meaning “ahead, leading”. In the US we pronounce the name “pree-us”, but across the Atlantic it’s pronounced “pry-us”. According to Toyota, the plural of “Prius” is “Prii”. My 2012 Prius is still going, going, going …

34A Dockers fabric : KHAKI

“Khaki” is an Urdu word that translates literally as “dusty”. The word was adopted for its current use as the name of a fabric by the British cavalry in India in the mid-1800s.

36A Weak six-packs? : NEAR BEERS

“Near beer” is a term describing malt beverages with very low alcohol content (typically 0.5% ABV or less). It gained significant popularity during Prohibition (1920-1933) as a legal alternative for those who missed the taste of beer. Major breweries at the time, like Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Pabst, produced near beers to stay in business.
elks

38A Forum garb : TOGAS

In ancient Rome, the toga was a highly symbolic garment, typically a semi-circular woolen cloth draped over the body. Different types of togas indicated a citizen’s status or role: the pure white “toga virilis” was worn by adult male citizens, the “toga praetexta” with a purple border was for magistrates and freeborn boys, and the “toga pulla” (dark-colored) was for mourning.

45A Ancient seafaring people : NORSE

Norse explorers, often referred to as Vikings, were remarkable for their long-distance voyages. Around 1000 CE, they established a settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, making them the first Europeans known to have reached North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

46A Zest : GUSTO

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in English in the phrase “with gusto” meaning “with great enjoyment”.

51A Thimmamma Marrimanu in Anantapur, notably : BANYAN TREE

The Thimmamma Marrimanu, a banyan tree in Anantapur, India, is truly remarkable. It holds the Guinness World Record for the largest canopy created by a single tree, sprawling over nearly 5 acres. According to local legend, the tree originated from the place where a widow named Thimmamma immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre in 1434. A small temple dedicated to her memory stands beneath the vast tree.

54A Ad hoc groups of specialists : TIGER TEAMS

The term “tiger team” was popularized by NASA during the Apollo program. These were groups of specialists assembled to work on specific goals or to solve particular problems, often under high-pressure situations like the Apollo 13 crisis. The “tiger” connotation suggests an aggressive, energetic approach to tackling challenges.

55A Catherine who outlived Henry VIII : PARR

Catherine Parr was the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. Not only did she outlive him, but she was also the first English queen to publish books under her own name, including “Prayers or Meditations” and “The Lamentation of a Sinner”.

56A Some ranch dressing : STETSON HAT

Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The so-called “cowboy hat” that Stetson pioneered was such a success that the company became the largest hat maker in the world, producing over 3.3 million hats per year.

Down

1D Touch and go : IFFY

The phrase “touch and go” can be used to describe a precarious situation with an uncertain outcome. The idiom has nautical roots, and originally described a ship’s keel briefly “touching” the seabed without getting stuck, allowing it to “go” or continue its journey.

2D Hill of __: historical site associated with the High Kings of Ireland : TARA

Tradition has it the Hill of Tara was the seat of the High King of Ireland. That was back in the 11th century. More recently, Margaret Mitchell referred to the Hill of Tara as being the inspiration for the name of the Tara plantation in her novel “Gone with the Wind”.

5D Pools : KITTIES

The pot in a card game has been referred to as “the kitty” since the 1880s. It’s not certain how the name “kitty” evolved but possibly it comes from “kit”, the necessary equipment for the game.

6D Naval rank : ENSIGN

Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

8D One way to break the ice? : POLAR BEAR PLUNGE

A polar bear plunge is a winter event in which participants plunge into really, really cold bodies of water. Such swims are a New Year’s Day tradition in Canada, and in the US are often used to raise money for charity. The oldest documented group of “plungers” in this country is likely the Coney Island Polar Bear Club in New York, founded in 1903.

9D __ Rachel Wood of “Mildred Pierce” : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is perhaps one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

The HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce” is an adaptation of James M. Cain’s 1941 novel of the same name. Kate Winslet plays the title character, a self-sacrificing and over-protective mother. Both book and show are set in Depression-era Los Angeles, but production of the TV series took place on Long Island and other parts of New York. I guess the producers had to import a few palm trees.

10D Color of diamonds : RED

That would be the diamond suit in a deck of cards.

12D Amish rite of passage : RUMSPRINGA

“Rumspringa”, from Pennsylvania German meaning “running around,” is a period during adolescence for some Amish youth, typically starting around age 16. It’s a time when they experience greater freedom and may explore aspects of the non-Amish world before deciding whether to be baptized into the Amish church or leave the community.

14D Caballero title : SENOR

“Caballero” is Spanish for “knight, gentleman”.

21D Prize in “A Christmas Story” : LAMP

The 1983 film “A Christmas Story” has become a holiday classic. The movie is based on short stories and anecdotes by Jean Shepherd, whose voice appears in the soundtrack as the adult “Ralphie”. All young Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB Gun.

22D Supernova remnant : NEUTRON STAR

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the universe, remnants of massive stars that have exploded as supernovae. A typical neutron star has a mass about 1.4 times that of our sun but is squeezed into a sphere only about 12 miles in diameter. A single teaspoonful of neutron star material would weigh billions of tons on Earth.

25D Racer Luyendyk known as “The Flying Dutchman” : ARIE

Arie Luyendyk is a racing driver from the Netherlands, winner of the Indianapolis 500 on two occasions. Luyendyk’s son, also called Arie, is following in his father’s footsteps and is also an auto racer. Arie Luyendyk Jr. also appeared on the reality shows “The Bachelorette” in 2012, and “The Bachelor” in 2018.

26D Aunty Entity player in “Mad Max 3” : TINA TURNER

“Tina Turner” was the stage name used by Anna Mae Bullock, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Turner always loved Europe and moved there in the eighties, splitting her time between her homes in England, France and Switzerland.

1985’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” is the third in the series of “Mad Max” films starring Mel Gibson as the title character, Max Rockatansky. Rock-and-roll legend Tina Turner co-stars, playing the glamorous Aunty Entity, founder and ruler of the “Bartertown”. Turner performs two songs for the movie, including the rock ballad “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”.

28D Edmonton CFL team :The Edmonton Elks

Canadian football team was founded back in 1949 as the Edmonton Eskimos. The team abandoned the offensive “Eskimos” name in 2020, and adopted the “Elks” name in 2021. ELKS

30D __ butter : SHEA

Shea butter is a common moisturizer and lotion used as a cosmetic. It is a fat that is extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. There is evidence that shea butter was used back in Cleopatra’s Egypt.

31D Primatologist Fossey : DIAN

Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda. She wrote a 1983 autobiographical account of her work titled “Gorillas in the Mist”, which served as a basis for a 1988 film of the same name starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey. Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

34D Atkins variant : KETO

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

Perhaps most notably, the eating of relatively few carbohydrates is central to the diet proposed by Robert Atkins. Atkins first laid out the principles behind the Atkins diet in a research paper published in 1958 in the “Journal of the American Medical Association”. He popularized his diet starting in 1972 with his book “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution”.

37D Nota __ : BENE

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

38D City founded as York in 1793 : TORONTO

The city of Toronto was originally established as York in 1793 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, who named it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. It was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834. The name “Toronto” is believed to be of Indigenous origin, likely from Iroquoian words meaning “place where trees stand in the water” or “meeting place.”

40D Instruments that date to the Mughal Empire : SITARS

The Mughal Empire extended over much of the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1707.

42D Help for a new mother : DOULA

A doula is a person who provides non-medical support for women and their families during childbirth as well as in the period immediately following the arrival. The term “doula” comes from the Ancient Greek word “doule” which means “female slave”. Given such a negative association, “doula” is often dropped in favor of “labor companion” or “birthworker”.

48D Storm recovery org. : FEMA

Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

51D J-Hope’s K-pop band : BTS

J-Hope, a member of K-pop phenomenon BTS, made history in 2022 when he made his first performance, as the headline act at Lollapalooza in Chicago. In doing so, he became the first artist from South Korea to headline the main stage at a major music festival in the US.

52D Carl Lewis’s Olympic medal count : TEN

Legendary track and field athlete Carl Lewis achieved remarkable success in his primary sport, but he was also drafted by both the NFL and the NBA in 1984. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the 12th round of the NFL Draft, and the Chicago Bulls selected him in the 10th round of the NBA Draft, despite him having never played high school or college basketball or football.