Day: September 12, 2025

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Constructed by: Katherine Simonson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Runaway Bride

Themed answers are all movie titles that include the word “BRIDE”, but that BRIDE has RUN AWAY:

• 54A Rom-com starring Julia Roberts, and a feature of 20-, 32-, and 41-Across? : RUNAWAY BRIDE

• 20A Gurinder Chadha adaptation of a Jane Austen novel : (BRIDE) AND PREJUDICE
• 32A Fantasy adventure starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright : THE PRINCESS (BRIDE)
• 41A Spencer Tracy comedy with a remake starring Steve Martin : FATHER OF THE (BRIDE)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A Grifter’s game : SCAM

Grift is money made dishonestly, especially as the result of a swindle. The term is perhaps an alteration of the word “graft”, which can have a similar meaning.

15A Org. co-founded by Helen Keller : ACLU

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Helen Keller became a noted author, despite being deaf and blind, largely through the work of her teacher Anne Sullivan. Keller was left deaf and blind after an illness (possibly meningitis or scarlet fever) when she was about 18 months old. She was to become the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The relationship between Sullivan and Keller is immortalized in the play and film called “The Miracle Worker”. Keller received an honorary Academy Award in 1955 as she was the inspiration for the movie “Helen Keller in Her Story” a documentary by Nancy Hamilton about her life.

17A Semper __: Space Force motto : SUPRA

The United States Space Force (USSF) was established in 1982 as the Air Force Space Command. The USSF became an independent service branch in 2019, although it still falls under the Department of the Air Force.

The US Space Force chose “Semper Supra” as its motto, which translates into English as “Always Above”. The choice is similar to the mottos of the Marine Corps (“Semper Fidelis”, meaning “Always Faithful”) and the Coast Guard (“Semper Paratus”, meaning “Always Ready”).

20A Gurinder Chadha adaptation of a Jane Austen novel : (BRIDE) AND PREJUDICE

“Bride and Prejudice” is a 2004 musical, Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice”. Although the cast is primarily Indian and of Indian descent, the film was shot with English dialog. That said, the “Will Darcy” character is an American. I’ve just added this one to my list …

British film director Gurinder Chadha is Kenyan-born and of Indian descent. She is known for the movies that center on the life of the Indian diaspora living in the UK, and particularly for the hit 2002 film “Bend it Like Beckham”.

23A Oscar winner Tomei : MARISA

Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in the daytime soap “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spin-off “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

26A Pickleball need : PADDLE

Pickleball is a sport invented in the 1960s that combines elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton. Originally marketed as a game for children to play in backyards, pickleball is now played on purpose-built courts by many, many adults, but mainly in North and South America.

27A Some pyramid-topped monuments : OBELISKS

An obelisk is a rectangular column that tapers to the top and is capped by a pyramid shape. An image of an obelisk was used by the ancient Egyptians as a hieroglyph.

31A Scottish cap : TAM

A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap worn traditionally by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’ Shanter”. A pom-pom adorning a tam is known as a toorie.

32A Fantasy adventure starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright : THE PRINCESS (BRIDE)

“The Princess Bride” is a novel by William Goldman written in 1973. Famously, the book was adapted into a 1987 film of the same name directed by Rob Reiner that has become a cult classic.

Cary Elwes is an English actor who is perhaps most noted for appearing in the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”. He also played the title role in 1993’s “Cary Elwes”. Cary is the son of a celebrated English portrait painter, Dominick Elwes.

Actress Robin Wright is perhaps best known from playing the conniving Claire Underwood in the American version of “House of Cards”. For many years, Wright was married to fellow actor Sean Penn.

37A Long-billed wader : IBIS

The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

39A Mexican kinsman : TIO

In Spanish, a “tio” (uncle) is a “miembro de la familia” (member of the family).

41A Spencer Tracy comedy with a remake starring Steve Martin : FATHER OF THE (BRIDE)

The 1950 film “Father of the Bride”, starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor, was based on a 1949 novel of the same name by Edward Streeter. Tracy plays a father dealing with the runup to the wedding of his daughter (played by Taylor). MGM, the studio behind the film, capitalized on the publicity surrounding Taylor’s real-life marriage to Nicky Hilton, which occurred just 12 days before the film’s premiere.

1991’s “Father of the Bride” is a remake of the 1950 classic film of the same name starring Spencer Tracey and Elizabeth Taylor. In the remake, Steve Martin plays the father, and the bride is portrayed by Kimberly Williams-Paisley, in her big screen debut. Diane Keaton and Martin Short play some fabulous supporting roles, as the mother of the bride and the wedding coordinator respectively.

50A Off-road vehicles? : LEMONS

Long before we associated the term “lemon” with a defective car, it was used to describe defective items in general.

54A Rom-com starring Julia Roberts, and a feature of 20-, 32-, and 41-Across? : RUNAWAY BRIDE

“Runaway Bride” is a 1999 film starring Julia Roberts in the title role, and Richard Gere as the male romantic lead. I regard this one as a very watchable romantic comedy …

57A Teammates who really pull for you? : OXEN

Oxen are herbivorous animals that have been domesticated for thousands of years, often used for pulling carts, plowing fields, and carrying heavy loads. They are usually castrated male cattle, castrated so that they are more docile and easier to train.

63A Pop singer Amos : TORI

Tori Amos is an American pianist and singer. She started playing the piano at two years old, and was composing piano pieces by age five. Amos was playing in piano bars (chaperoned by her father) when she was 14. I’m going to have to find some of her music …

66A Clog decorated with Jibbitz charms : CROC

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I bought a pair of crocs, and then my kids said they would stop talking to me …

Down

1D __-relief : BAS

In bas-relief, an image projects just a little above the background, as in perhaps a head depicted on a coin.

4D Continental train pass : EURAIL

In my days as a student, the way to backpack around Europe was using a Europass. Nowadays that is known as a Eurail pass. The Eurail pass gives you access to most trains (and some shipping lines) right across the continent.

5D Part of BART : TRANSIT

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a commuter rail system serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

6D Queen mother? : WASP

“Yellowjackets” is a name commonly used in North America for what are often referred to simply as “wasps” in other English-speaking parts of the world. Both terms describe several different species.

9D Most prevalent language of Pakistan : PUNJABI

Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan and is home to over half of the country’s citizens. “Punjab” (also “Panjab”) translates as “Five Waters”, a reference to five rivers that form tributaries to the Indus River: Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

10D Pomelo : SHADDOCK

Our largest citrus fruit is the pomelo, also known as the shaddock. While the word “pomelo” has an uncertain etymology, the use of “shaddock” is more traceable. The term was reportedly adopted after a Captain Shaddock of the East India Company introduced the fruit to Barbados in the late 1600s. The name then spread to Jamaica, and beyond.

11D Kvetch : CAVIL

To cavil is to raise a trivial objection, a nit.

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

12D Chez Panisse owner Waters : ALICE

Alice Waters is a chef and author who opened the Bekeley, California restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971. Arguably, Waters and Chez Panisse popularized the farm-to-table movement, which advocates the serving of local foods in restaurants and schools, local foods sourced from the producer (a farm or winery, for example).

21D Vague amount : DASH

In cooking, the terms “dash”, “pinch” and “smidgen” can all be used for a very small measure, one that is often undefined. However, you can in fact buy some measuring spoons that define these amounts as follows:

• a dash is 1/8 teaspoon
• a pinch is 1/16 teaspoon
• a smidgen is 1/32 teaspoon

24D Addis __, Ethiopia : ABABA

Addis Ababa, which means “new flower” in Amharic, is the capital city of Ethiopia and one of the highest capital cities in the world, situated at an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level. It is also home to the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and other international organizations.

28D Low-carb regimen : 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.

29D Polish (up) : SPIFF

A spiff is a well-dressed man.

34D Brand of fine stationery : EATON

Eaton Cards and Stationery is a company that specializes in supplying stationery for weddings.

38D Like some New Agey practices : SHAMANIC

A shaman is a supposed intermediary between the human world and the spirit world.

43D Deferred payment : RAN A TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

44D Mata __ : HARI

“Mata Hari” was the stage name used by Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, born in the Netherlands in 1876. After an unsuccessful and somewhat tragic marriage, Zella moved to Paris in 1903 where she struggled to make a living. By 1905 she was working as an exotic dancer and using the name Mata Hari. She was a successful courtesan, notably moving in various circles of high-ranking military officers. She apparently worked as a double agent, both for the French and the Germans. When Mata Hari was accused by the French of passing information to the enemy, she was tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad at the height of WW1, in 1917.

45D Scholarly : ERUDITE

“Erudite” is a lovely-sounding word meaning “learned, well-educated”. The term comes from the Latin verb “erudire” meaning “to educate”, or more literally “to bring out of the rough”.

49D Jagged-looking range : SIERRA

“Sierra” is Spanish for “mountain range”. The term also translates as “saw”, and so can particularly describe a jagged mountain range.

50D Vegas hotel whose rooms have slanted windows : LUXOR

The Luxor is a hotel and casino in Las Vegas that is shaped like a black pyramid. The hotel is named for the city of Luxor in Egypt, which is the site of the ancient city of Thebes. One of the features of the building is the Luxor Sky Beam, the intense beam of light that projects upwards from the top of the pyramid at night time. The Luxor Sky Beam is the strongest beam of light in the world.

51D Month when it’s not chilly in Chile : ENERO

In Spanish, “enero” (January) is a summer month south of the equator.

The nation of Chile has a very distinctive shape. It is a narrow strip that runs up the west coast of South America. The average width of the country is only a little over 100 miles, and yet its length is about 2,700 miles. Chile is touted as the longest country in the world, although I am not so sure what that means exactly. I mean, Russia extends about 4,800 miles from east-to west, so maybe “longest” implies long in the north-south direction?

52D Ancient Palmyra’s land : SYRIA

Palmyra is an ancient city in Syria that became very wealthy as a center of trade during the days of the Roman Empire. Palmyra was attacked and destroyed twice, by the Romans in 273 and by the Timurids in 1400, although it still is home to spectacular ruins of magnificent structures erected during the city’s heyday. This is despite acts of sabotage by Islamic State soldiers who took control of Palmyra several times during the recent conflict in Syria.

54D Campus mil. group : ROTC

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program for officers based in colleges all around the US. The program was established in 1862 when as a condition of receiving a land-grant to create colleges, the federal government required that military tactics be part of a new school’s curriculum.

55D Blue-footed booby, for one : BIRD

The bird called a blue-footed booby really lives up to its name. The bright blue feet are very distinctive. The coloring is thought to be a result of the bird’s fish diet. Birds with brighter feet tend to be more sexually active, probably because the brighter the blue hue, the healthier the bird.

56D Neither red nor white : ROSE

Rosé wines get their color from the skins of the grapes, although the intensity of the color is not sufficient to make them red wines. Of the varying type of rosé wines available, we are most familiar with sweet white zinfandels. Personally, I am fond of the dry Provençal rosé wines …

60D Coxswain’s lack : OAR

The coxswain of a boat is one in charge of steering and navigation. The word “coxswain” is shortened to “cox”, particularly when used for the person steering and calling out the stroke in a competition rowing boat.