Category: Katherine Baicker

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Constructed by: Katherine Baicker & Laura Dershewitz
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Make It Neat

Themed answers are common phrases with NO ICE, with the suffix “-ICE” removed:

• 61A “Straight up, please,” to match 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across? : MAKE IT NEAT

• 17A Orientation for new senators? : POL ACADEMY (from “police academy”)
• 25A “Margaret won’t be in the comedy showcase!”? : YOU HAVE NO CHO (from “you have no choice”)
• 37A Exclamation when a product lives up to the hype? : THE PR IS RIGHT (from “The Price Is Right”)
• 51A Tables and chairs that wobble? : OFF FURNITURE (from “office furniture”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Singer Del Rey : LANA

“Lana Del Rey” is the stage name of singer/songwriter Elizabeth Grant. Del Rey calls herself a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Nice …

9 Photographer Adams : ANSEL

As an avid amateur photographer, I have been a big fan of the work of Ansel Adams for many years and must have read all of his books. Adams was famous for clarity and depth in his black and white images. Central to his technique was the use of the zone system, his own invention. The zone system is a way of controlling exposure in an image, particularly when there is a high contrast in the subject. Although the technique was developed primarily for black & white film, it can even apply to digital color images. In the digital world, the main technique is to expose an image for the highlights, and one or more images for the shadows. These images can then be combined digitally giving a final photograph with a full and satisfying range of exposures.

14 Nice companion : AMIE

The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera. Something described as “à la niçoise” is “of Nice”.

15 Sister of Castor and Pollux : HELEN

In Greek mythology, Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who was seduced by Zeus when he took the form of a swan. Leda produced two eggs from the union. One egg hatched into Clytemnestra and the beautiful Helen of Troy, over whom was fought the Trojan War. The other egg hatched into the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux had different fathers according to the myth. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of Leda’s earthly husband, and so he was a mortal. In the world of the arts, William Butler Yeats wrote a famous sonnet called “Leda and the Swan” in 1924, and Peter Paul Rubens made a copy of a now-lost painting called “Leda and the Swan” by Michelangelo.

21 “Wabbit” hunter : FUDD

Elmer Fudd is one of the most famous Looney Tunes cartoon characters, and is the hapless nemesis of Bugs Bunny. If you have never seen it, check out Elmer and Bugs in the marvelous “Rabbit of Seville”, a short cartoon that parodies Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. Wonderful stuff …

22 AQI monitor : EPA

The air quality index (AQI) is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

25 “Margaret won’t be in the comedy showcase!”? : YOU HAVE NO CHO (from “you have no choice”)

Margaret Cho is a very successful stand-up comedian, and also a fashion designer with her own line of clothing. Cho acts as well, and you might have seen her in the John Travolta/Nicolas Cage movie “Face/Off” in which she played John Travolta’s FBI colleague.

29 New England state : VERMONT

The state name “Vermont” probably comes from the French “les Verts Monts”, meaning “The Green Mountains”.

The geographical region of New England comprises the six northeastern states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The name “New England” was given to the region by English explorer John Smith in 1616, just a few years before the Mayflower arrived in 1620.

32 __ Lingus : 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.

33 Theme park serviced by the Disney World monorail : EPCOT

EPCOT Center (now just called “Epcot”) is the theme park beside Walt Disney World in Florida. EPCOT is an acronym standing for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a representation of the future as envisioned by Walt Disney. Walt Disney actually wanted to build a living community for 20,000 residents at EPCOT, but he passed away without that vision being realized.

When the monorail system opened in Disneyland in Anaheim in 1959, it was the first daily operating monorail system in the country.

36 IRS IDs : SSNS

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.

37 Exclamation when a product lives up to the hype? : THE PR IS RIGHT (from “The Price Is Right”)

“The Price is Right” game show started airing in its current format in 1972, with Bob Barker hosting. Drew Carey took over as host in 2007. There was an earlier version of the show that had a somewhat different format, and it aired from 1956 to 1965. Apparently, “The Price is Right” is the longest running TV game show in the world.

41 Pupil’s place : IRIS

The iris is the colored part of the eye. It has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

43 Wee bit : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

47 Boxing Day mo. : DEC

Boxing Day is a holiday observed in some parts of the world, for example in the UK, Ireland and Canada. It is the day after Christmas, and historically is when servants and tradespeople would be given gifts known as “Christmas boxes”.

49 Q-Tip and Ice-T : RAPPERS

“Q-Tip” is the stage name of rapper Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. He also goes by the nickname “The Abstract”.

Rapper Ice-T must be tired of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” starting the year 2000.

56 Scull pair : OARS

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

57 Reptiles in the logos of some dojos : COBRAS

“Cobra” is the name given to a group of snakes, some of which are in different families. The term is reserved for those snakes that can expand their neck ribs to create a hood. The name “cobra” is an abbreviated form of “cobra de capello” which translates from Portuguese as “snake with hood”.

The Japanese word “dojo” translates literally as “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

65 Shampoo brand since 1947 : PRELL

Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. Back then it was a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).

66 Correct spelling, say : EMEND

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

70 Nerd (out) : GEEK

Originally, a geek was a sideshow performer, perhaps one at a circus. Sometimes the term “geek” is used today for someone regarded as foolish or clumsy, and also for someone who is technically driven and expert, but often socially inept.

Down

2 “Sez me” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

6 First Hebrew letter : ALEPH

Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and beth is the second.

7 Mythical lion’s home : NEMEA

“The Twelve Labors of Hercules” is actually a Greek myth, although Hercules is the Roman name for the hero that the Greeks called “Heracles”. The first of these labors was to slay the Nemean lion, a monster that lived in a cave near Nemea. Hercules had a tough job as the lion’s golden fur was impenetrable to normal weapons. One version of the story is that Hercules killed the lion by shooting an arrow into its mouth. Another version says that Hercules stunned the monster with a club and then strangled him with his bare hands.

13 Acid initials : LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

18 University of South Dakota athlete : COYOTE

The University of South Dakota in the city of Vermillion actually predates the establishment of the state. It was founded in 1862 by the Dakota Territory legislature.

21 Italian luxury brand : FENDI

Fendi is an Italian fashion house that was founded in 1925 by Adele Casagrande. Fendi started out as a fur and leather shop in Rome, and these days is famous for its line of handbags.

23 Pizzazz : PEP

Pizazz (also “pizzazz”) is energy, vitality. There’s a kind of cool thing about the “pizzazz” spelling, namely that it is the only 7-letter word in English that cannot be played in Scrabble. You can get close by using the Z-tile with the two blank tiles to get to three of the required four Zs, but there’s no way to get to the fourth Z.

24 Permafrost predators : ARCTIC FOXES

The arctic fox is a mammal that is remarkably well adapted to its native environment in the Arctic region of the northern hemisphere. One adaptation is that its thick fur is brown in the summer and white in the winter.

By definition, permafrost is soil that has been below the freezing point of water for two years or more. Usually permafrost is covered by a thin layer of soil that thaws during the warmer months and which can sustain life. Plants can grow in the active layer, but their roots cannot penetrate the permafrost below.

27 __ of the woods mushroom : HEN

“Hen of the woods” is a common name for the mushroom Grifola frondosa, which also goes by the names “maitake” in Japanese and “signora” in Italian.

30 Hardness scale name : MOHS

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

35 Katie Ledecky’s team: Abbr. : USA

Katie Ledecky is a swimmer who won her first Olympic gold medal at just 15 years of age, in the 800-meter freestyle. In 2016, Ledecky also became the youngest person to make “Time” magazine’s “Time 100” annual list of most influential people in the American world. Katie’s uncle is Jon Ledecky, an owner of the New York Islanders hockey team.

39 Reddish horse : ROAN

A roan horse has an even mixture of white and colored hairs on the body with the head, lower legs, mane and tail having a more solid color.

46 Bargain footwear chain : DSW

DSW is a retailer of footwear that was founded in 1969. The initialism “DSW” stands for “Designer Shoe Warehouse”. In some stores, DSW offers Shoevival, a service that repairs and renews shoes.

49 Flemish painter Peter Paul __ : RUBENS

Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter who worked in the city of Antwerp in Belgium. Rubens was knighted by two monarchs: Philip IV of Spain, and Charles I of England. When Rubens was 53-years-old, four years after the death of his first wife, he married a 16-year-old girl. It was his young second wife who inspired many of the voluptuous figures with whom Rubens became associated later in his career.

50 Extra Extra Dry brand : ARRID

Arrid is an antiperspirant deodorant brand introduced in the thirties. Slogans associated with Arrid have been “Don’t be half-safe – use Arrid to be sure”, “Stress stinks! Arrid works!” and “Get a little closer”.

53 Beginning of a famous boast : I CAME …

The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BCE and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

54 Part of NFT : TOKEN

Non-fungible token (NFT). I admit it; I don’t understand NFTs (or the related cryptocurrencies).

60 Rollover subj. : IRA

A rollover IRA is a subtype of traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The funds for a rollover IRA come from another qualified plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b) account.

63 Bitter brew : ALE

What’s known as “bitter ale” in the UK corresponds to “pale ale” in the US. I’m a fan …