Category: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

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Constructed by: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Split Second

Themed answers are common two-word phrases, turned into three-word phrases by SPLITTING the SECOND word into two:

• 57A Brief moment, or what three long answers in this puzzle have? : SPLIT SECOND

• 19A Dinner and drinks with a preacher? : HOLY MAN DATE (from “holy mandate”)
• 26A Thousands of years, for a megalith? : STONE MASS AGE (from “stone massage”)
• 45A Exam for a certificate in mediation? : PEACE PRO TEST (from “peace protest”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “Checkmate!” : I WON!

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

9 Concert gear : AMPS

Concert amplifiers often use vacuum tubes (also known as valves) instead of modern solid-state transistors. Vacuum tubes were the primary technology used in early amplifiers, and while they have largely been replaced by transistors in many applications, they continue to be popular among musicians and audiophiles for their unique warm and rich sound.

13 “__ upon a midnight dreary … ” : ONCE

The first verse of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

14 Origami bird : CRANE

Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

16 “¡__ mío!” : DIOS

“Dios mio!” translates from Spanish as “My god!”

17 Rabbit kin : HARES

Hares belong to the genus Lepus. Young hares under one-year-old are called leverets.

18 Color of unbleached linen : ECRU

The color ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

19 Dinner and drinks with a preacher? : HOLY MAN DATE (from “holy mandate”)

Outside of religious contexts, the term “holy mandate” may be used to refer to any mission or task that is seen as morally or ethically imperative. For example, a human rights activist might view their work as a holy mandate to fight against injustice and promote equality.

22 Actor Jeong : KEN

Ken Jeong is an actor from Detroit who is perhaps best known for playing the gangster Leslie Chow in the “The Hangover” series of films. Jeong isn’t only an actor; he has an M.D. degree and is a licensed physician in California.

26 Thousands of years, for a megalith? : STONE MASS AGE (from “stone massage”)

A megalith is a large stone that is part of a prehistoric monument. The term was coined to describe elements of the famous Stonehenge monument in England. “Megalith” comes from “mega” meaning “great” and “lithos” meaning “stone”.

31 __ Diego : SAN

The name of the California city of San Diego dates back to 1602, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named the area after the Catholic Saint Didacus. Saint Didacus was more commonly referred to as San Diego de Alcalá.

34 CNN anchor Burnett : ERIN

Erin Burnett is a television journalist and the host of her own show on CNN called “Erin Burnett OutFront”. Apparently Burnett also used to show up occasionally as advisor to Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.

36 Bouillon cube maker : KNORR

When I was growing up in Ireland, we never saw Campbell’s soup on the shelves. It was basically all Knorr products, and dehydrated soup from a packet at that. How times have changed. Knorr is a German brand, now owned by the Anglo-Dutch Company Unilever.

Bouillon is broth made from water in which bones, meat or vegetables have simmered. There’s a lot of money made selling dehydrated bouillon in cubes.

38 “Queen __”: pop music nickname : BEY

Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2002, after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”. Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as “Queen Bey”, a play on the phrase “the queen bee”. Her fan base goes by the name “Beyhive”.

41 Quechua speaker : INCA

Quechua was the Native-American language adopted by the Incan Empire and favored over other dialects. Today, Quechua is one of the official languages in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, alongside Spanish.

42 Nonpayment risk, for short : REPO

Repossession (repo)

60 Gumbo pod : OKRA

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “okingumbo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

62 Miso soup base : DASHI

Dashi is a style of cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine. Most famously, dashi” is the stock that is used as the base for miso soup. Traditional dashi is a fish stock to which is added edible kelp called kombu and shavings of preserved and fermented skipjack tuna called katsuobushi.

69 Ice cream brand with a birthday cake flavor : EDY’S

Dreyer’s ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyer’s in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

Down

1 __ Tree: place of enlightenment in Buddhist tradition : BODHI

The Bodhi Tree is a sacred fig tree in the Indian state of Bihar in the northeast of the country. It is venerated as the tree under which the Buddha was sitting when he attained enlightenment. The name of the tree translates into English as “Tree of Awakening”.

5 Country where Farsi is spoken : IRAN

“Farsi” is one of the local names used for the Persian language.

8 Lipton rival : NESTEA

Nestea is a brand of iced tea made by Nestlé. The name is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “tea”.

9 Royal flush card : ACE

The poker hand called a royal flush is the highest-ranking hand possible. It consists of a run of 10, jack, queen, king and ace, with all in the same suit.

10 Nojito and nada colada, for two : MOCKTAILS

A “nojito” is a “mojito” without alcohol.

A mojito is a Cuban cocktail, although the exact origins appear to be unclear, as does the derivation of the name. Want one? Put 4 mint leaves in a glass, and add the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of powdered sugar. Muddle the ingredients, smashing them together with a muddler or a spoon. Add some crushed ice, two ounces of white rum and stir. Top with a couple of ounces of club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a slice of lime. Cheers!

A “nada colada” is a “pina colada” without alcohol.

“Piña colada” is a Spanish term that translates into “strained pineapple”. The piña colada cocktail was introduced in the Caribe Hilton San Juan in 1954, and since 1978 it has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico. The mocktail version of the drink is known as a nada colada.

14 Garment similar to a hijab : CHADOR

The chador is a garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body except for the face and hands. It is usually made of lightweight fabric and is draped over the head and around the body, with one end usually draped over the shoulder.

Some Muslim women wear a hijab in the presence of males outside of their immediate family. A hijab is a veil covering the head and chest. Some also wear a niqab as part of the hijab, which is a cloth that covers the face. Other Muslim women wear a burqa, which covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground.

20 Parking post : METER

An early patent for a parking meter, dated 1928, was for a device that required the driver of the parked car to connect the battery of his or her car to the meter in order for it to operate!

21 Short music releases : EPS

An extended-play (EP) record, CD or download contains more music than a single, but less than an LP.

25 Job safety org. : OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. It is a direct successor to the Bureau of Labor Standards that dealt with some work safety issues since its founding in 1934. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.

27 Bit of cacao : NIB

The seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree are cacao beans. The beans can be dried, and crushed. The resulting pieces are sold as cacao nibs.

28 Month before febrero : ENERO

In Spanish, the years start off with “enero, febrero, marzo” (January, February, March).

29 Little pest : GNAT

Gnats have a relatively short lifespan of about 7-10 days.

30 Site with handmade crafts : ETSY

Etsy.com was founded in 2005 as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade goods online, and has since grown to include vintage items and crafting supplies as well. The company’s name is derived from the Italian word “etsi,” which means “oh, yes”? This was a nod to founder Rob Kalin’s love of Italy and his appreciation for the country’s history and artistry.

32 Actress Hathaway : ANNE

Actress Anne Hathaway is a trained soprano singer. She put that training on display in the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Misérables,” for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

47 Tegan and Sara, for one : POP DUO

Tegan and Sara are an indie pop duo comprising Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirstan Quin, identical twin sisters from Canada.

48 “Independence Day” director Emmerich : ROLAND

Roland Emmerich is a Hollywood director from Germany. He is best known for directing action-packed disaster movies, such as “Independence Day” (1996), “Godzilla” (1998) and “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004).

53 Diplomat : ENVOY

An envoy works at an embassy and is a representative of a government, and someone ranking below an ambassador. The name comes from the concept of the envoy being a “messenger” from his or her government. “Envoyer” is the French word for “to send”.

56 Store whose packages typically contain Allen keys : IKEA

The Allen wrench (or “Allen key”, as we call it back in Ireland) is a successful brand of hex wrench that was trademarked in 1943 by the Allen Manufacturing Company of Hartford , Connecticut. However, the hex wrench had in fact been around since the mid-to-late 1800s.

58 Archipelago part : ISLE

“Archipelago” is our spelling of the Italian “arcipelago”, a word that has Greek roots. The Aegean Sea was once known as the Archipelago. The usage of “Archipelago” migrated over time, eventually applying only to the Aegean Islands. As a result, we use the term “archipelago” today not for a sea, but for a group or chain of islands.

61 Sedaris of “The Mandalorian” : AMY

The actress, author and comedian Amy Sedaris plays a character called Jerri Blank on the television series “Strangers with Candy”. Amy is the younger sister of the humorist and author David Sedaris.

“The Mandalorian” is a TV series in the “Star Wars” universe that is set five years after the events in the 1983 film “Return of the Jedi”. The show was created by actor and filmmaker Jon Favreau, and has been well received. The title character is Din Djarin (played by Pedro Pascal), a bounty hunter with a ward named Grogu. Grogu is an infant of the same species as Yoda, and so is referred to by viewers as “Baby Yoda”.