Day: October 20, 2026

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Constructed by: Joe Deeney

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Foreshadow

Themed answers each start with (the “FORE” is) a synonym of “SHADOW”:

• 59A Point to future plot developments, or a feature of 17-, 25-, 36-, and 50-Across : FORESHADOW

• 17A Pregame activity in a parking lot : TAILGATING
• 25A Cursor control on some older laptops : TRACKBALL
• 36A Like a place with free treats and a full water dish, presumably : DOG-FRIENDLY
• 50A Wells Fargo rival : CHASE BANK

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

Bill’s time: 6m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15A Country singer Tucker : TANYA

Country singer Tanya Tucker’s first hit was “Delta Dawn”, which she recorded in 1972 at only 13 years of age.

21A “__ the season … ” : ‘TIS
52A “Deck the Halls” plant : HOLLY

The music for the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the “fa-la-la”) are American in origin, and were recorded in the 19th century.

“’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la la!”

23A “The Simpsons” bartender : MOE

Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender and owner of Moe’s Tavern in “The Simpsons” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the Moe character … him I like …

24A Silky semisynthetic fabric : RAYON

Rayon is a little unusual in the textile industry in that it is not truly a synthetic fiber, but nor can it be called a natural fiber. It is produced from naturally occurring cellulose that is dissolved and then reformed into fibers.

25A Cursor control on some older laptops : TRACKBALL

A trackball is a computer pointing device comprising a ball held in a socket that has sensors that detect the rotation of the ball. If we think back to the old ball mouse, a trackball is like an upside-down version of that older device. The trackball actually predates the computer mouse, originating in post-WWII military radar systems, before eventually shrinking down for personal computing.

28A Oral health org. : ADA

The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. Today the ADA is based in Chicago, but the association was founded in Niagara Falls, New York in 1859. The ADA started out as a group of 26 dentists, and it now has more than 152,000 members.

29A Indigenous language with Dakota and Lakota dialects : SIOUX

Sioux is an indigenous language with three main sub-groups: Lakota, Western Dakota and Eastern Dakota. It is spoken by about 13,000 Sioux people in North America, and has been the official indigenous language of South Dakota since 2019.

32A Ulrich of Metallica : LARS

Lars Ulrich is a drummer from Denmark, and one of the founding members of the American heavy metal band Metallica. Lars is the son of former professional tennis player Torben Ulrich, the oldest Davis Cup player in history.

35A London’s __ Gardens : KEW

Kew Gardens is a beautiful location in southwest London that was formerly known as the Royal Botanic Gardens. Kew Gardens has the world’s largest collection of different living plants.

40A Language similar to Thai : LAO

Lao is the official language of Laos. It is also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, but there the language is known as Isan.

45A Senior-year dance : PROM

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

50A Wells Fargo rival : CHASE BANK

The original Chase National Bank was formed in 1877. Although he had no connection with the bank, it was named for the former US Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase.

52A “Deck the Halls” plant : HOLLY

Ilex, commonly known as holly, is a genus of hundreds of species of flowering plants. The holly used for Christmas decoration is Ilex aquifolium. The wood from the holly bush was once a favorite for construction of Scottish bagpipes, until dense tropical woods became readily available.

56A “The Situation Room” co-host Brown : PAMELA

“The Situation Room” is a CNN news show that airs in the afternoons and is hosted by Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown.

57A “Waterloo” pop group : ABBA

“Waterloo” is the song that effectively launched the astounding career of Swedish band ABBA. They performed “Waterloo” in 1974 as the Swedish entry in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, and walked away with the competition (I remember it well!). The contest has been running since 1956, and “Waterloo” was chosen (in 2005) as the best song in the competition’s history.

64A California wine region : NAPA

The history of winemaking in Napa Valley dates back to the mid-19th century, when European settlers first began planting vineyards in the region. However, the industry did not become widely popular until the 1960s and 1970s, when a group of winemakers began producing high-quality wines that gained international recognition.

65A __ Grey tea : EARL

Earl Grey tea is a black tea flavored with oil of bergamot, a citrus fruit. The tea is named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who was British Prime Minister in the 1830s. The popular story is that he received a gift of tea flavored with bergamot from a Chinese mandarin, which he liked and asked for it to be blended specifically for him, though the exact origins are a bit murky.

Down

2D Anthem played at Blue Jays home games : O CANADA

Canada’s national anthem “O Canada” was commissioned in 1880 by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, so the original words are in French. The first English translation was made in 1906. The current English lyrics have been revised a few times, but the French version remains the same as it did back in 1880.

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

7D Singer DiFranco : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a feminist icon, and in 2006 won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

8D Grammar subject : SYNTAX

Syntax is the way linguistic elements are assembled to form phrases and clauses. The term “syntax” comes from Greek via Latin, and ultimately from “syn” meaning “together” and “tassein” meaning “arrange”.

10D Part of LAX : LOS

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer, which is called the Theme Building. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently, the “X” has no significant meaning.

11D Marvel superhero who shrinks to the size of a bug : ANT-MAN

In the Marvel universe, Ant-Man has been the superhero persona of three different fictional characters: Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady. In the 2015 film “Ant-Man”, Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym, and Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang.

13D Spa handout : TOWEL

The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as “Spa” is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.

33D Jam band highlights : SOLOS

The use of “jam”, meaning an improvised passage performed by a whole jazz band, dates back to the late twenties. This gave rise to “jam session”, a term used a few years later. The use of “jam” in this context probably stems from the meaning of “jam” as something sweet, something excellent.

35D Pretzel shape : KNOT

Pretzels originated in Europe and are especially popular in Southern Germany where a pretzel is known as “Brezel”. Pretzels were introduced into the US in the 1800s by immigrants from Germany and Switzerland who came to be known over here as the Pennsylvania Dutch.

37D Fortnite enthusiast, e.g. : GAMER

Fortnite is a very, very popular online game that was released in 2017. There are several versions of the game, including the original Fortnite: Save the World.

38D “Return of the Jedi” creature : EWOK

The main “Star Wars” franchise of films, sometimes referred to as the “Skywalker Saga”, comprises three trilogies:

1. The prequel trilogy:
• Episode I – The Phantom Menace
• Episode II – Attack of the Clones
• Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
2. The original trilogy:
• Episode IV – Star Wars
• Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
• Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
3. The sequel trilogy:
• Episode VII – The Force Awakens
• Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
• Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

46D Venue that sells shellfish : RAW BAR

Almost all of the shellfish consumed at a raw bar is not only uncooked, it is also still alive.

48D Iranian ruler until 1979 : SHAH

The last Shah of Iran was Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. The post-revolution government sought the extradition of the Shah back to Iran while he was in the United States seeking medical care (he had cancer). His prolonged stay in the United States, recovering from surgery, caused some unrest back in Iran and resentment towards the United States. Some say that this resentment precipitated the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran and the resulting hostage crisis.

53D Muscat resident : OMANI

Muscat is the capital city of Oman. It lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, an arm of the Arabian Sea that connects to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.