Day: January 14, 2026

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Constructed by: Jeff Stillman

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Film Rights

Themed answers each have a FILM title at the end, to the RIGHT in the grid:

• 59A Permission to adapt a novel, say, or what the answers to the starred clues all have : FILM RIGHTS

• 17A *Part of the bus that makes the wheels go round and round, round and round : DRIVE SHAFT (“Shaft”)
• 26A *Part of the Blessed Trinity : HOLY GHOST (“Ghost”)
• 36A *Folded flyer : PAPER AIRPLANE (“Airplane!”)
• 49A *Command aboard the USS Enterprise : WARP SPEED (“Speed”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15A Father of Kartikeya and Ganesha, in Hindu traditions : SHIVA

Shiva (also “Siva”) is one of the major deities of the Hindu tradition, and is known as the destroyer of evil and the transformer. Shiva is also part of the Hindu trinity known as the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

Kartikeya (also “Murugan” or “Skanda”) is the Hindu god of war and the commander of the divine army. He is typically depicted wielding a divine spear called the Vel, while riding a peacock.

Ganesha (also “Ganesh”) is a Hindu deity usually depicted with the head of an elephant. He is widely revered as the “Remover of Obstacles” and the “Lord of Beginnings”. He is worshipped before any major undertaking, symbolizing wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune.

17A *Part of the bus that makes the wheels go round and round, round and round : DRIVE SHAFT (“Shaft”)

1971’s “Shaft” is a landmark film that came to define the blaxploitation genre. It starred Richard Roundtree as the private detective John Shaft, and was a major commercial success. The film is perhaps most famous for its Oscar-winning theme song, “Theme from Shaft”, composed and performed by Isaac Hayes.

19A Frost : RIME

Rime is the beautiful coating of ice that forms on surfaces like roofs, trees and grass, when cold water freezes instantly under the right conditions.

26A *Part of the Blessed Trinity : HOLY GHOST (“Ghost”)

In the Christian tradition, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit/Ghost are three persons in one divine being, the Holy Trinity.

The fabulous film “Ghost” was the highest-grossing movie at the box office in 1990, bringing in over $500 million, despite only costing $21 million to make. Stars of the film are Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. You might get a chance to check out the stage musical adaptation “Ghost The Musical”, which debuted in 2011 and toured the UK and US.

30A Punster : WAG

A very amusing person might be referred to as a card, stitch, wag or riot.

31A One of the Three Stooges : MOE

“Moe Howard” was the stage name of Moses Harry Horwitz. Howard was one of the Three Stooges. In 1925, he married Helen Schonberger, who was a cousin of Harry Houdini.

32A At the original rate, in sheet music : A TEMPO

“A tempo” is Italian for “in time”. The phrase is used on a musical score to instruct a performer to return to the main tempo of the piece, perhaps after slowing down or speeding up.

35A Canasta combination : MELD

The card game canasta originated in Uruguay apparently, with “canasta” being the Spanish word for “basket”. In the rummy-like game, a meld of seven cards or more is called a canasta.

36A *Folded flyer : PAPER AIRPLANE (“Airplane!”)

The 1980 movie “Airplane!” has to be one of the zaniest comedies ever made. The lead roles were Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) and Elaine Dickinson (played by Julie Hagerty). But it was Leslie Nielsen who stole the show, playing Dr. Barry Rumack. That’s my own humble opinion of course …

41A Kolkata resident : INDIAN

Kolkata (formerly “Calcutta”) is the capital of West Bengal, India. Kolkata grew up around a fort that the British built in the area in 1712. Prior to the arrival of the British, there were three villages at the site, one named Kalikata. Kalikata gave its name to the city that eventually developed. This was anglicized to “Calcutta” which became the official name for centuries, until it was changed back to Kolkata in 2001.

49A *Command aboard the USS Enterprise : WARP SPEED (“Speed”)

In the “Star Trek” universe, starships were powered by matter-antimatter reactions. The warp speed achieved by the engines is very much like our real-world Mach number. Just as a plane traveling at Mach 1 is moving at the speed of sound, a starship traveling at warp factor 1 is moving at the speed of light. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound, and warp factor 2 is twice the speed of light. Cool, huh …?

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the “Star Trek” universe (pun!). There have been several generations of starships with the name Enterprise, starting with the vessel numbered NCC-1701, which appeared in the original TV series. My favorite “Star Trek” series is “Next Generation”, which features USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

“Speed” is an entertaining 1994 action film starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, as well as the late Dennis Hopper as the bad guy.

57A Farm-to-table program, briefly : CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

58A Golda of Israel : MEIR

Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kyiv (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.

62A Novelist Tyler : ANNE

Anne Tyler is a novelist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Most of Tyler’s novels are set in Baltimore, Maryland, where she now resides. Tyler’s most famous title has to be “The Accidental Tourist”, which was adapted into a 1988 film starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis. Tyler might be considered somewhat of a recluse in her professional life, as she rarely makes personal appearances to promote her books.

65A Badgers : NAGS

To badger is to harass. The verb “to badger” comes from the cruel practice of badger-baiting, which dates back to medieval times. Badger-baiting is a blood sport in which a dog is used as bait for a badger in its den, to draw it out into the open. The den is an artificial structure built to resemble a natural badgers’ den, complete with a tunnel entrance. The dog is sent down the tunnel causing the badger and dog to lock their jaws on each other. The badger and dog are then removed from the den by pulling on the dog’s tail. Horrible …

66A Witherspoon of “The Morning Show” : REESE

“Reese” is not actually actress Witherspoon’s given name. She started out life as Laura Jeanne Witherspoon. “Reese” is her mother’s maiden name.

“The Morning Show” is a powerful drama TV series that is based on the 2013 book “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV” by CNN’s Brian Stelter. The show stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as two anchors for “The Morning Show”, one very experienced, and one new to the job. Steve Carell plays a former anchor who is ousted due to a sexual misconduct scandal.

Down

1D “Christina’s World” painter Wyeth : ANDREW

Andrew Wyeth was known as a realist painter and “the painter of the people” in recognition of his popularity with the man in the street. His neighbor, Helga Testorf, posed for a total of 247 paintings over a 14 year period, a series known as “The Helga Pictures”. The remarkable thing is that neither Wyeth’s wife nor Testorf’s husband knew anything about the portrait sessions or the paintings.

“Christina’s World” is an Andrew Wyeth painting that dates back to 1948. The subject of the work is Christina Olson, a woman who suffered from polio that paralyzed her lower body. In the picture, Wyeth painted Christina crawling across a field towards a house in the distance.

4D Actor 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”.

5D Sibilant summons : PSST!

“Sibilant” is a lovely word that describes a sound of speech, i.e. the sound of an “s” or “z”, a hissing sound. The word “sissies”, for example, has three sibilant sounds.

7D Grand instrument : PIANO

A grand piano is one with the frame supported horizontally on three legs. An upright piano has the frame and strings running vertically. Grand pianos come in many sizes. For example, the length of a concert grand is about 9 feet, a parlor grand is about 7 feet, and a baby grand is about 5 feet.

8D Assisted reproductive option: Abbr. : IVF

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the process in which egg cells are fertilized by sperm cells outside of the body in vitro. The phrase “in vitro” translates from Latin as “in glass”. The process is usually carried out in a glass culture dish.

9D Singer Jackson : LA TOYA

La Toya Jackson is the fifth child of the Jackson family. Despite her success as a singer and TV personality, it seems that she has led a troubled life and had to overcome many challenges.

10D Capital of Western Australia : PERTH

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. Perth earned itself the nickname of “City of Light” in 1962 as virtually all the town’s lights were turned on at full power when astronaut John Glenn passed overhead in earth orbit in Friendship 7, so that he could see the city below. The city gave a repeat performance for Glenn in 1998 when he passed overhead in the Space Shuttle in 1998.

Western Australia is the largest of the nation’s six states. It is also the second-largest of any of the world’s subnational governing bodies, second only to Russia’s Sakha Republic. Western Australia is over 50% larger than the state of Alaska, and almost 4 times the size of Texas.

12D Top with spaghetti straps : CAMISOLE

A camisole (also “cami”) is a sleeveless undershirt worn by women that extends down to the waist. “Camisole” is a French word that we imported into English that ultimately derives from the Latin “camisia” meaning “shirt, nightgown”.

23D Brand of fleecy slippers : UGG

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

33D Quebec neighbor : MAINE

The Maine-Quebec border is an international boundary extending 611 miles. The border’s route cuts through some “line houses” in the US village of Estcourt Station, meaning residents might sleep in a Canadian bedroom but cook in an American kitchen. The geography is so strictly enforced that a local man was once jailed for illegally entering the US simply by driving 20 feet off a Canadian road to fill up at an American gas station.

34D Brooch : PIN

A brooch is an ornamental accessory held by a pin or clasp, and worn near the neck. The term “brooch” comes from the Old French “broche” meaning “long needle”.

35D National fruit of the Philippines : MANGO

The delicious mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines. Almost half of the world’s supply of mangoes comes from India.

When the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos discovered the islands of Leyte and Samar, he called them “Felipinas”, after King Philip II of Spain. Eventually, the name was used for the whole archipelago, becoming what we now call in English, the Philippines.

36D Caltech locale : PASADENA

Pasadena, California is famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game, as well as the related Tournament of Roses Parade. The name “Pasadena” was chosen somewhat arbitrarily. A missionary in Michigan supplied a list of translations of the names “Crown of the Valley”, “Key of the Valley” etc, in the Chippewa language when the locals were choosing a name. All of the translations ended in “pasadena” meaning “of the valley”. The word was liked, so it was picked.

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

37D Handing an Emmy to, e.g. : AWARDING

The Emmy Awards are the television equivalent of the Oscars from the world of film, the Grammy Awards in music and the Tony Awards for the stage. Emmy Awards are presented throughout the year, depending on the sector of television being honored. The most famous of these ceremonies are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. The distinctive name “Emmy” is a softened version of the word “immy”, the nickname given to the video camera tubes found in old television cameras. The Emmy statuette was designed by television engineer Louis McManus in 1948, and depicts a woman holding up an atom. McManus used his wife as a model for the woman.

39D Royal bride of 1981 : LADY DI

Charles, Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The wedding was a huge television event, with about 750 million people tuning in worldwide. Although the event was billed as the start of a fairytale marriage, the couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Lady Diana died in a car crash in Paris the following year.

40D Doors album whose last track is “Riders on the Storm” : LA WOMAN

“Riders on the Storm” is a 1971 rock song by the Doors that was inspired by the 1948 country/western song “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”. Although “Riders on the Storm” wasn’t the biggest hit for the Doors, it is definitely my favorite of their songs …

51D “Love Me Like You Do” singer Goulding : ELLIE

Ellie Goulding is a singer-songwriter from England. One of Goulding’s claims to fame is that she sang at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Buckingham Palace in 2011.

“Love Me Like You Do” is a 2015 song recorded by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. The song was written specifically for the soundtrack of the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey”.

60D Actor Barinholtz : IKE

Ike Barinholtz is an actor and comedian who appeared on MADtv from 2002 until 2007. More recently, Barinholtz became a writer on the TV show “The Mindy Project”, and was then cast as Nurse Morgan Tookers. In 2023, he appeared on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and beat out 26 other contestants to win a million dollars for his chosen charity (Pacific Clinics).

61D Classic sports cars : GTS

In the automotive world, “GT” stands for “Grand Touring” or “Gran Turismo”.