Category: Lindsey Hobbs

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Constructed by: Lindsey Hobbs
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 12m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

17 Paleolithic innovation : STONE TOOL

Ancient societies can be classified by the “three-age system”, which depends on the prevalence of materials used to make tools. The three ages are:

• The Stone Age
• The Bronze Age
• The Iron Age

The actual dates defined by each age depend on the society, as the timing of the transition from the use of one material to another varied around the globe.

The Paleolithic Age is a period of human history lasting from about 2.6 million to about 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic Age is noted as the time when humans started using stone tools. The word “Paleolithic” comes from the Greek “palaios” meaning “old” and “lithos” meaning “stone”, so the term really translates as “Old Stone Age”.

19 British pound note featuring Jane Austen : TEN

The official name of the currency of the UK is the pound sterling (plural “pounds sterling”). The most plausible suggestion for the etymology of the term “sterling” is that it derives from the Old English “steorra” meaning “star”, with the diminutive “-ling”. The resulting “little star” or “sterling” referred to a silver penny used by the English Normans. The pound sterling is the world’s oldest currency still in use.

English novelist Jane Austen is best known today for her six major novels, only four of which were published before she died in 1817, at the age of 41:

1. “Sense and Sensibility” (1811)
2. “Pride and Prejudice” (1813)
3. “Mansfield Park” (1814)
4. “Emma” (1816)
5. “Northanger Abbey” (1818)
6. “Persuasion” (1818)

20 Horn in : MEDDLE

To horn in is to intrude, to join in without invitation. The verb was coined around 1880 in American English, and was originally slang used by cowboys.

22 Jettison : TOSS

The original use of the verb “to jettison” was “to throw overboard”, and in particular applied to measures taken to lighten a ship that was in danger. “Jettison” is related to “jetsam’, the noun describing items thrown overboard, particularly to save a vessel. Jetsam differs from flotsam in that the latter noun describes goods floating on the ocean that have been lost overboard.

30 Bank security : LIEN

A lien is a right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.

33 Big name in Early American art : PEALE

Artist Charles Willson Peale’s most famous works are portraits of historical figures from the American Revolution, most notably George Washington. Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Peale had a lot of children, sixteen in all with two wives. Many of those children were named for his favorite artists, including Rembrandt Peale who became a celebrated artist in his own right.

34 Emmy winner Helgenberger : MARG

Marg Helgenberger is an actress best known for roles she plays on television. She played investigator Catherine Willows on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Helgenberger also played drug-addicted prostitute K.C. Koloski in the Vietnam War drama “China Beach”.

35 Drunkenness : INEBRIETY

Sobriety is the quality of being sober, not intoxicated. The opposite is insobriety, the quality of not being sober. To be inebriated is to be under the influence of alcohol, and the state of being intoxicated is ebriety. Sort those terms out after a glass or two of wine …

39 Herb used in some Indigenous smudging rituals : SAGE

The burning of sage is known as “smudging”. It is a ritual that originated with many Native-American peoples, although similar practices are found around the world in other cultures. The most common type of sage used in smudge sticks (sage bundles) is white sage, Salvia apiana.

40 Life styles? : BIOTA

The biota of a region is the total collection of flora and fauna found there.

41 Personal matter? : GENE

The set of all genes in a particular population is known as the “gene pool”, a term coined in Russian by geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s. In general, the larger the gene pool, the more diverse and robust the population.

46 Cool amount? : MIL

“Cool mil” is slang for “million dollars”.

49 Sierra __ : LEONE

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa that lies on the Atlantic Coast. The capital city of Freetown was originally set up as a colony to house the “Black Poor” of London, England. These people were mainly freed British slaves of Caribbean descent who were living a miserable life in the run-down parts of London. Perhaps to help the impoverished souls, perhaps to rid the streets of “a problem”, three ships were chartered in 1787 to transport a group of blacks, with some whites, to a piece of land purchased in Sierra Leone. Those who made the voyage were granted British citizenship and protection. The descendants of these immigrants, and others who made the journey over the next 60 years, make up the ethnic group that’s today called the Sierra Leone Creole.

51 Smell-O-Vision rival : AROMARAMA

The idea of introducing appropriate scents into a movie theater in conjunction with a movie’s storyline has been around since 1906. In 1959-1960, the competing approaches of Smell-O-Vision and AromaRama were launched within months of each other. As we now know, the concept did not take off. Over in the UK, the BBC aired an interview with the inventor of “Smellovision”. The man brewed coffee and chopped onions, and many viewers called the BBC to confirm that the aromas had indeed been transmitted via their televisions. The callers were advised to check their calendars, and take note that the date was April 1st …

Down

1 Start of a library conversation, maybe : PSST!

Our word “library” ultimately derives from the Latin “liber” meaning “book”.

2 Gentileschi’s “Self-Portrait as a __ Player” : LUTE

Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian artist active in the Baroque Period. Notably, she was a successful painter at a time when few women had the opportunity to train as professional artists. She was the first woman to join the Academy of the Arts of Drawing in Florence. Gentileschi was raped by fellow artist Agostino Tassi when she was in her late teens. Tassie was convicted of the crime and sentenced to just two years in prison, although the verdict was annulled after just a few months. It is generally accepted that Gentileschi’s subsequent portrayal of suffering and powerful women in her works was largely the result of her horrific ordeal.

5 Troublemaker : GREMLIN

Gremlins are mythical creatures deemed to be responsible for failure of some system or machine. The myth was popularized in the RAF during WWII, with gremlins being accused of sabotaging aircraft.

7 LED component : DIODE

A diode is a component in a circuit, the most notable characteristic of which is that it will conduct electric current in only one direction. Some of those vacuum tubes we used to see in old radios and television were diodes, but nowadays almost all diodes are semiconductor devices.

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a specialized form of semiconductor that when switched on releases photons (light). LEDs were used in early digital watches, and are getting more and more popular even though their use in electronic equipment is fading away. LEDs are used as replacements for the much less-efficient tungsten light bulbs. I replaced all of my tungsten Xmas lights a few years ago and saved a lot on my electricity bill.

8 Hilfiger rival : IZOD

Jack Izod was a tailor of some repute over in England producing shirts for King George V, as well as other members of the Royal Family. As Izod was about to retire, he was approached for the use of his name by an American clothing manufacturer based in New York. The brand Izod of London was introduced to America in 1938.

9 Pen name of journalist Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman : NELLIE BLY

“Nellie Bly” was a pen name used by American journalist Elizabeth Cochran. In 1888, Bly took a trip around the world, emulating the fictional trip of Phileas Fogg in “Around the World in Eighty Days”. She departed from New York and arrived back in San Francisco two days behind schedule, jeopardizing her goal of beating the “eighty days”. The owner of her newspaper chartered a private train for her and she made it back to New York in just over 72 days. Quite a woman …

14 Crossword editor Harper in Hallmark’s “Crossword Mysteries” series : TESS

The Hallmark Channel was a cable channel owned by Hallmark Cards. The channel had Christian roots, and was launched as the Faith and Values Channel in 1992. It was renamed to the Hallmark Channel in 2001, and then to Hallmark Movies and Mysteries in 2014. Crossword fans might want to check it out as the channel features a “Crossword Mysteries” series of films.

21 __ nous : ENTRE

In French, something might perhaps be discussed “entre deux” (between two) or “entre nous” (between us).

23 Hashtag that went viral during a pop star’s legal battle : #FREEBRITNEY

Certainly as far as Britney Spears’ public life was concerned, the singer had a couple of rough years. In 2008, a court placed Spears under a conservatorship against her will. Her father and an attorney were then given control of her estate and also of her person. The conservatorship lasted for many years, and eventually a social movement with the tag #FreeBritney gained momentum. And so, after 13 years, the conservatorship was finally lifted in 2021.

25 Ewe said it : BAA!

An adult male sheep is a ram, although a castrated ram is known as a wether. An adult female is a ewe, and a young sheep is a lamb.

27 Kids on a farm : GOATS

Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.

28 Plant that sparked the Victorian craze “pteridomania” : FERN

Victorian Britain fell subject to a craze for the collection and propagation of varying species of ferns. The phenomenon was described as Fern-Fever and Pteridomania, a word coined by Charles Darwin’s friend and correspondent Charles Kingsley. “Pteridomania” comes from “pteridophyte”, a term describing vascular plants (including ferns) that disperse spores.

29 Indoor rower, for short : ERG

An indoor rowing machine is often referred to as an ergometer (or simply “erg”). However, the term “ergometer” really applies to a device that measures the amount of work performed.

30 “Smallville” role for Durance : LANE

Erica Durance is an actress from Calgary, Alberta. Durance played Lois Lane in the TV show “Smallville” and moved on to play the lead in the medical drama “Saving Hope”.

“Smallville” is a superhero TV show set in the fictional Kansas town of Smallville, where Clark Kent grew up before becoming Superman. The show originally ran from 2001 to 2011, and starred Tom Welling as Clark Kent, and Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang.

32 Cone source : FIR

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees, with several species being popular as Christmas trees. The most commonly used species during the holidays are the Nordmann fir, noble fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir. We also see a lot of Douglas fir trees at Christmas, but they’re not actually true firs.

33 Pub trayful : PINTS

A US pint comprises 16 fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces. The term “pint” comes into English via Old French, ultimately from the Latin “picta” meaning “painted”. The name arose from a line painted on the side of a beer glass that marked a full measure of ale.

36 Classic car : REO

The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom Eli Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan. Among the company’s most famous models were the REO Royale 8 and the REO Flying Cloud.

42 Refinery waste : SLAG

The better ores are processed in a blast furnace, to extract the metal. The waste from this process is called “slag”. Slag does contain some residual metal and it can be processed further in a slag furnace to extract the balance. Slag furnaces also accept lower-quality ores as a raw material.

43 Cuban bar tender : PESO

Cuba is the only country in the world that has two official currencies. The Cuban peso (CUP) is referred to as the “national currency”. Government workers are paid in CUPs, and CUPs can be used to pay for government-provided services and price-controlled items such as fruit and vegetables. There is also the Cuban convertible peso (CUC) that was introduced in 1994, when its value was pegged to the US dollar. Most products available in stores are imported, and have to be purchased with CUCs. Cubans with access to CUCs, like hotel workers interfacing with tourists, tend to have better lifestyles than government workers in general.

45 Little dipper? : OREO

National Oreo Cookie Day is March 6th each year. There is an urban legend that the particular day was chosen as this was the day that the name “Oreo” was registered as a trademark. However, that’s not the case. The application was filed on March 14, 1912 and registration took place on August 12, 1913. The suggestion is that the first Oreos went on sale on March 6, 1912.

46 Nutmeg spice : MACE

The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

47 Supermodel with a cosmetics line for women of color : IMAN

Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid is a supermodel from Somalia who goes simply by the name “Iman” these days. “Iman” is an Arabic word for “faith”. She is a smart cookie. She has a degree in political science and is fluent in five languages: Somali, Arabic, Italian, French and English. Iman was married to English rock star David Bowie from 1992 until his death in 2016.

48 W. Coast force : LAPD

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third-largest local law enforcement agency in the country, after New York PD and Chicago PD. Among other things, LAPD is famous for creating the first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the US, in 1965.

50 “When will u b here?” : ETA?

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

52 Hoops stat : REB

In basketball, a rebound (REB) is retrieval of the ball after it “rebounds” (usually off the backboard) following a missed field goal or free throw. If the offensive side recovers the ball, it’s known as an offensive rebound. If the defensive side recovers it, it is a defensive rebound.