Day: August 4, 2025

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Ate for Two

Themed answers each include TWO instances of the word “ATE” hidden within:

• 64A Dined with a bun in the oven, or what can be found in 17-, 26-, 40-, and 51-Across : ATE FOR TWO

• 17A Future time : LATER DATE
• 26A Tank often found near a furnace : WATER HEATER
• 40A Like some raisins and truffles : CHOCOLATE-COATED
• 51A Chamber that sends laws to the governor : STATE SENATE

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

Bill’s time:6m 01s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A Worshipper of Tláloc and Xolotl : AZTEC

Tláloc was the supreme god of rain, lightning and earthquakes in the Aztec religion. He was the equivalent of the Mayan god Chaac.

The Aztec god Xolotl was often depicted as a dog-headed man, a skeleton, or a deformed monster with reversed feet. He was the god of fire, lightning, twins, monsters, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. He was also a “soul-guide” for the dead, accompanying them on their journey to Mictlan, the underworld.

14A Norwegian saint : OLAV

Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated, as he was canonized and made the patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or “Olaf the Fat”) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of “Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae”, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

15A Cardinal’s home : NEST

Cardinals are a family of birds that inhabit the Americas. The northern cardinal is the species from which the family gets the cardinal name. It was named by early settlers from Europe for the red crest on the male, the color of which resembled the color of a Roman Catholic cardinal’s biretta (a square cap).

16A Grand Canyon donkey : BURRO

The wild donkey that we know as a burro was introduced into the Grand Canyon in the late 1800s, where they used the animal to help pack out mined copper, asbestos and lead. When the miners moved on, they left the burros to roam free. Feral burros essentially overran the Grand Canyon in subsequent years, leading to the forced removal of 500 of them in the early eighties by the National Park Service. Burros wreak havoc on the canyon’s ecosystem, and in particular compete with native bighorn sheep. The bighorn sheep population has rebounded since the number of wild donkeys has dropped.

23A High-pH substance : BASE

As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

24A Suffix for Gator or hater : -ADE

Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida by a team of researchers at the request of the school’s football team. And so, Gatorade is named after the Gators football team.

An extremely negative person might be described as having drunk the “haterade”, a play on the beverage name “Gatorade”.

29A One of three in a triangle : VERTEX

The word “vertex” comes from the Latin “vertere” meaning “to turn”. The idea of a turning point, or a peak, aligns with how we use “vertex” to describe the corner of a geometric shape, where lines “turn” or meet.

32A Disney queen born on the winter solstice : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

33A Biblical paradise : EDEN

According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.

40A Like some raisins and truffles : CHOCOLATE-COATED

“Raisin” is the French word for “grape”. The French for “raisin” is “raisin sec”, which translates literally as “dried grape”.

A chocolate truffle is a (delicious) confectionery comprising a chocolate coating surrounded by chocolate that may be coated in cocoa powder or chopped nuts. The confection is named for the edible fungus called a truffle, which has a similar shape.

47A Bill Nye’s subj. : SCI

That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. In addition to his career as a science educator, Nye is also a comedian. He performed stand-up comedy during his early years as an engineer.

58A Wild feline also called a catamount : PUMA

The mountain lion is found in much of the Americas from the Yukon in Canada right down to the southern Andes in South America. Because the mountain lion is found over such a vast area, it has many different names applied by local peoples, such as “cougar” and “puma”. In fact, the mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animal with the most number of different names, with over 40 in English alone.

60A Most Grindr users : MEN

Grindr is a social networking app aimed at gay and bisexual men. Subscribers locate potential partners using the geolocation capabilities of smartphones. A user in a particular location can view a grid showing pictures of fellow subscribers arranged by proximity.

62A Flared dress shape : A-LINE

An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares towards the hem. The term “A-line” was first used in fashion by French designer Christian Dior in his 1955 spring collection.

64A Dined with a bun in the oven, or what can be found in 17-, 26-, 40-, and 51-Across : ATE FOR TWO

There might be a bun in the oven, a baby in the womb.

68A Comedian Kaling : MINDY

Mindy Kaling, known for her work on “The Office” and “The Mindy Project” started her career in comedy as a playwright. Her breakthrough came with the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play “Matt & Ben” that she co-wrote and co-starred in. The play is a satirical take on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck writing “Good Will Hunting”, and its success ultimately led to her opportunity to join the writing staff of “The Office”.

69A Mah-jongg piece : TILE

Mahjong (also “mahjongg” and “mah-jongg”) is the Chinese word for “sparrow”. Mahjong is a game that originated in China, and is usually played by four players. There is a myth that the game was developed by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. The myth also suggests that Confucius was fond of birds, and hence chose the name “sparrow”.

72A Slowest form of fencing : EPEE

Among the three Olympic fencing disciplines, épée is generally considered the slowest. This is primarily because it lacks “right-of-way” rules, meaning both fencers can score if they hit simultaneously, which encourages a more cautious and defensive style. Additionally, the entire body is a valid target area in épée, requiring fencers to be more strategic and wait for clear openings rather than engaging in rapid, aggressive exchanges.

Down

2D Boeuf __ mode: French dish of wine-braised beef : A LA

Boeuf à la mode is a classic French dish, a pot roast of beef braised in red wine with vegetables.

In French cuisine, “à la mode” (literally “in the manner of” or “according to the custom”) is a term that indicates a dish is prepared in a particular or traditional way, often referring to the specific cut of meat or method of preparation.

6D Ingredient in challah : YEAST

Challah is a special braided bread that is eaten by Ashkenazi Jews on the Sabbath. The bread is served to commemorate the manna that fell from the heavens as the Israelites wandered around the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

7D Cosmetics icon Lauder : ESTEE

Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales “volume” …

10D Dance-based fitness session : ZUMBA CLASS

The Zumba exercise program was developed in the mid-nineties in Cali, Colombia by dancer and choreographer Beto Perez. Along with two partners, Perez introduced a series of fitness videos that they sold using infomercials. The name “Zumba” is just an arbitrary brand name.

18D “Dirty Jobs” host Mike : ROWE

Mike Rowe is host of the successful reality show called “Dirty Jobs” that is broadcast by “Discovery Channel”. Rowe is also a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company in a series of television commercials. He is quite the singer too, and he sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera for a while.

25D New __, India : DELHI

New Delhi is the capital city of India. The city resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

27D Figure skating leap : AXEL

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

28D Petro-Canada rival : ESSO

Petro-Canada started out as a government-owned corporation in 1976. “Petro-Canada” is now a brand name of Suncor Energy.

30D Places to go for al pastor : TACO STANDS

A taco al pastor is a popular street food from Mexico that can also be found in parts of the US. The key ingredient in al pastor is sliced, spit-grilled pork. The cooking method, using a vertical spit, is one introduced into Mexico by Lebanese immigrants in the 1800s. The term “al pastor” translates from Spanish as “shepherd style”).

48D AOL or MSN : ISP

AOL (America Online) began as an online service and later became a major ISP, especially popular for its dial-up access in the 1990s, offering its own network and content in addition to Internet access. I remember it oh so well when I used to travel for work. AOL was great, having dialup access numbers all over the world …

The MSN (The Microsoft Network) web portal was launched in 1995 as a subscription-based dial-up online service offered alongside Windows 95. It evolved into an standalone Internet service provider known as MSN Dial-up Internet Access.

50D Lost fish found by Dory : NEMO

“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

52D Flower from a bulb : TULIP

We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” that means “muslin, gauze”.

53D __ acid : AMINO

There are 20 different types of amino acids that make up proteins. However, only 11 of them can be synthesized by the human body, while the remaining nine essential amino acids must be obtained from food sources.

56D “Someone Like You” singer : ADELE

“Someone Like You” is a 2001 Adele song that was the artist’s first number-one hit in her home country, the UK. It’s about a boyfriend who broke up with her.

63D Calm center of a cyclone : EYE

A cyclone is a weather system, something like a tropical storm. It is composed of air circulating rapidly around a low pressure center. In the northern hemisphere, cyclones circulate in a counterclockwise direction, whereas in the southern hemisphere they circulate clockwise.