Category: John Michael Currie

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Constructed by: John Michael Currie
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Postcard

Themed answers each comprise two words, both of which are often seen POST (after) “CARD”:

• 60A Mail that doesn’t need an envelope, and where both words of 12-, 20-, 34-, and 51-Across can be found? : POSTCARD and POST “CARD”

• 12A Place in a house where one might find a cue or Clue : GAME ROOM (card game & card room”)
• 20A Many a corporate decision-maker : BOARD MEMBER (cardboard & card member)
• 34A Investor who has shares in a company : STOCKHOLDER (card stock & cardholder)
• 51A Seating chart designation : TABLE NUMBER (card table & card number)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Yin and __ : YANG

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

12 Place in a house where one might find a cue or Clue : GAME ROOM (card game & card room”)

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

14 Sherlock’s sister, per two Netflix films : ENOLA

“The Enola Holmes Mysteries” is a series of detective novels for young adults by American author Nancy Springer. The title character is the 14-year-old sister of 34-year-old Sherlock Holmes, the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Springer’s novels were adapted into a 2020 film “Enola Holmes” that Netflix picked up at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I saw this one, and the sequel, and enjoyed both …

16 Caffè Americano base : ESPRESSO

Espresso is made by forcing extremely hot water, under pressure, through finely ground coffee beans. The result is a thick and concentrated coffee drink that contains quite a lot of solids and a lot of foam. An espresso machine was first patented in 1884 in Italy, although it was a machine to make the beverage in bulk. The first patent for a machine that made individual measures was applied for in 1901, also in Italy.

22 “Finding Nemo” kid who scares the fish : DARLA

“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.

25 Choir voice below soprano : ALTO

The voice types soprano, alto, tenor and bass can be abbreviated to the initialism “SATB”.

26 Knightley’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” role : SWANN

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” series of films is inspired by the wonderful ride at the Disney theme parks. The first movie in the series is “The Curse of the Black Pearl”, which was released in 2003. The film is remarkable in many ways, including the fact that it was the first Disney movie to be given a PG-13 rating.

English actress Keira Knightley had her big break in the movies when she co-starred in 2002’s “Bend It Like Beckham”. Knightley played one of my favorite movie roles, Elizabeth Bennett in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice”. Knightley won a Golden Globe for that performance, although that 2005 film isn’t the best adaptation of Austen’s novel in my humble opinion …

50 Thigh bone : FEMUR

The thigh bone, the femur, is the longest and strongest bone in the human body.

55 Lagunitas Brewing Co. specialty : IPA

The Lagunitas Brewing Company was founded in 1993 and takes its name from Lagunitas, California where the brewery was originally located. Famously, the brewery has been associated with the use of marijuana. There used to be a tradition of a weekly party at which marijuana was openly smoked. The State of California went so far as to shut down operations in 2005 for twenty days while they investigated alleged cannabis dealing. No charges were filed, and the Lagunitas later brought out a beer called “Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale”.

56 “You’re killing me, __!”: line from “The Sandlot” : SMALLS

The slang phrase “You’re killin’ me, Smalls” is used to express exasperation with someone. The phrase comes from the 1993 baseball film “The Sandlot”. It is used twice, with the same meaning, when addressing a boy named Scotty Smalls.

57 Pet dander, for one : ALLERGEN

Dander is microscopic material shed from an animal’s body. It is small enough to travel through the air, and becomes part of house dust. It is usually when traveling through the air that it can be breathed in by humans, and cause an allergic reaction. Dandruff is similar to dander, except that the skin that is shed comes from the scalp instead of the main body, and the flakes are larger in size.

60 Mail that doesn’t need an envelope, and where both words of 12-, 20-, 34-, and 51-Across can be found? : POSTCARD and POST “CARD”

The studying and collecting of postcards is known as “deltiology”, from the Greek word “deltos” meaning “writing tablet, letter”.

62 Sault __ Marie : STE

“Sault Ste. Marie” is the name of two cities on either side of the Canada-US border, one in Ontario and the other in Michigan. The two cities were originally one settlement in the 17th century, established by Jesuit Missionaries. The missionaries gave the settlement the name “Sault Sainte Marie”, which can be translated as “Saint Mary’s Falls”. The city was one community until 1817, when a US-UK Joint Boundary Commission set the border along the St. Mary’s River.

Down

1 Guide that can become the outline for a meeting’s minutes : AGENDA

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

4 __ Lingus: Irish carrier : AER

Aer Lingus is the flag carrier airline of Ireland. It was founded in 1936 by the Irish government to provide air service between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The airline’s name means “air fleet” in Irish. In the 1950s, Aer Lingus became the first airline in the world to introduce a duty-free shopping service on board its flights.

6 Civil rights icon Parks whose actions inspired a bus boycott : ROSA

Rosa Parks was one of a cadre of brave women in days gone by who refused to give up their seats on a bus to white women. It was the stand taken by Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955 that sparked the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott. President Clinton presented Ms. Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. When she died in 2005, Rosa Parks became the first ever woman to have her body lie in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda.

7 Another name for the Roman god Cupid : AMOR

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

13 Singer McEntire : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007. She is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Country”.

15 Lacking vigor : ANEMIC

The term “anemia” (or “anaemia”, as we write it back in Ireland) comes from a Greek word meaning “lack of blood”. Anemia is a lack of iron in the blood, or a low red blood cell count. Tiredness is a symptom of the condition, and so we use the term “anemic” figuratively to mean “lacking in vitality or substance”.

18 One from Athens : GREEK

Athens is the capital city of Greece and is one of the world’s oldest cities, with a history that goes back around 3,400 years. In its heyday, Classical Athens was a remarkable center for the arts and philosophical debate, and was home to Plato and Aristotle. Athens is often called “the cradle of Western civilization” and “the birthplace of democracy”. The city was named for the Greek goddess Athena.

21 Ruckus : DIN

The word “ruckus” is used to mean “commotion”, and has been around since the late 1800s. “Ruckus” is possibly a melding of the words “ruction” and “rumpus”.

27 Round-bottomed cookware : WOK

“Wok” is a Cantonese word, and is the name for the frying pan now used in many Asian cuisines.

32 Public health agcy. : CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …

34 Jocelyn Alo’s sport : SOFTBALL

Jocelyn Alo is a softball player who started her professional career with the Oklahoma City Sparks. She was born in Hawaii and is of Samoan descent.

35 Good Grips gadget brand : OXO

The OXO line of kitchen utensils and housewares is designed to be ergonomically superior to the average household tools. The intended user of OXO products is someone who doesn’t have the normal range of motion or strength in the hands e.g. someone suffering from arthritis.

44 Compañeras : AMIGAS

In Spanish, one might have an “amiga y compañera” (female friend and companion).

45 Stewie’s teddy bear on “Family Guy” : RUPERT

“Family Guy” is a very successful animated television show. It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the same guy who came up with “American Dad!”. My kids love them both. Me, I can’t stand ‘em …

46 Marlon of “On the Waterfront” : BRANDO

Actor Marlon Brando really hit the big time with his Oscar-winning performance in the 1951 movie “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Brando went on to win another Best Actor Oscar for his performance in 1972’s “The Godfather”, which gave him the platform to establish himself as a political activist. He turned down the award and didn’t attend the ceremony. Instead he sent a Native American rights activist called Sacheen Littlefeather who made a speech protesting the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood movies. Brando wasn’t the first person to refuse an Oscar. George C. Scott did the same thing when he won for playing the title role in 1970’s “Patton”. Scott just didn’t like the whole idea of “competing” with other actors.

The 1954 drama “On the Waterfront”, starring Marlon Brando, told a story of violence and corruption among longshoremen. The movie was based on a series of 24 articles written by investigative journalist Malcolm Johnston and published in “The New York Sun”. The original news stories uncovered mob infiltration on the New York City Waterfront, but the location for the film was chosen as Hoboken, New Jersey.

48 “Kate & __”: 1980s sitcom : ALLIE

The sitcom “Kate & Allie” ran from 1984 to 1989, starring Susan Saint James as Kate, and Jane Curtin as Allie. Jane Curtin won two Emmy awards for her work on the series, while Susan Saint James … did not.

49 Britons and Gaels : CELTS

The Celts are a very broad group of people across Europe who are linked by common languages. The original Celts were largely absorbed by other cultures, although a relatively modern revival of the “Celtic identity” is alive and well in Britain and Ireland. Such Celtic peoples today are mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany in France.

The Celtic Britons were the Celtic people who inhabited the island of Great Britain until the Middle Ages. They were the ancestors of the Welsh, Cornish and Breton peoples.

A Gael is anyone of a race that speaks or spoke one of the Erse tongues. There are actually three Erse languages. Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

58 Early TV brand : RCA

RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, played a significant role in the history of television as a pioneer in the industry. RCA developed and introduced the first electronic television system in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair. RCA also created the NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcast standard, which was adopted in the United States in 1953 and is still used today for analog television broadcasting. Additionally, RCA produced the first color television sets in 1954.

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