Category: Rebecca Goldstein

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Safe Spaces

Themed answers are all SAFE SPACES:

• 29D Bias-free environments, or what 20-Across and 27- and 35-Down are : SAFE SPACES

• 20A Mindset that may hinder growth : COMFORT ZONE
• 27D Mental image during meditation : HAPPY PLACE
• 35D Tabletop decor piece with raked sand : ZEN GARDEN

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

Bill’s time: 6m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Mouth piece? : JAW

The human skull is made up of two parts: the cranium (which encloses the brain) and the mandible (or “jawbone”).

9 Slalom markers : GATES

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

14 Diet that precludes grains and dairy : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

15 Charlottesville sch. : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who then sat on the original Board of Visitors alongside former US Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. In fact, the original UVA campus was built on land near Charlottesville that was once a farm belonging to President Monroe.

The city of Charlottesville, Virginia was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III. George’s queen consort also lent her name to the city of Charlotte, North Carolina.

16 Animal wearing red pajamas in Anna Dewdney kids books : LLAMA

“Llama Llama” is a series of children’s books penned by author and illustrator Anna Dewdney. The series is remarkably successful, and has been adapted into plays, musicals and an animated Netflix series.

17 Hybrid wheat species : SPELT

Spelt (also “dinkel wheat”) is a wheat species that has been around for thousands of years. Once a staple in the human diet, it was largely replaced by bread wheat. Spelt is seeing a revival in recent years, as its growth is less dependent on artificial fertilizers.

18 “A Life Outdoors Is a Life Well Lived” co. : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

25 Deep rift : SCHISM

A schism is a split or division, especially in a religion.

28 Plant used as an herbal medicine : HYSSOP

Hyssop is a shrub used in traditional medicine that is in the mint family. It is also a key ingredient in Chartreuse and some absinthe formulations, imparting a green color.

32 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.

40 “Jeopardy!” host Jennings : KEN

Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s “Jeopardy!”. He has also won more game show money than any other person. He was defeated after 75 appearances on the show, after racking up over $2.5 million in the prior episodes. In 2020, Jennings was named as the first interim host of “Jeopardy!” following the passing of Alex Trebek.

50 European range : ALPS

There are eight Alpine countries:

• Austria
• Slovenia
• France
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein
• Germany
• Monaco
• Italy

51 “August: __ County”: Streep film : OSAGE

“August: Osage County” is a dark comedy play by Tracy Letts that won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I saw the 2013 movie adaptation that has a great cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, and Benedict Cumberbatch. I really enjoyed it …

54 Actress Gadot : GAL

Gal Gadot is an actress and former Miss Israel. She played Gisele Yashar in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise, and then began portraying Wonder Woman in superhero movies.

64 “Say Yes to Heaven” singer Lana Del __ : REY

“Say Yes to Heaven” is a song that Lana Del Ray recorded in 2013, but did not release. It was originally recorded for her 2014 studio album “Ultraviolence”, but did not make the final cut. However, the song was leaked onto the Internet, and became somewhat of a sensation starting in 2016. Finally, it was released officially in 2023.

65 Goddess of peace : IRENE

Eirene (also “Irene”) was the Greek goddess of peace, with “eirene” being the Greek word for “peace”. The Roman equivalent to Eirene was the goddess Pax.

67 Chemistry suffix indicating a double bond : -ENE

An alkene is an organic compound made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It differs from an alkane in that it has at least one C=C double bond. The simplest alkene is the gas ethylene, a major raw material used in the manufacture of plastics (like polyethylene).

Down

1 Waze tech : GPS

Waze is a navigation app that is similar to Google Maps and Apple Maps. Waze was developed in Israel, and was acquired by Google in 2013.

2 Future genre : RAP

“Future” is the stage name of rapper Nayvadius DeMun Cash from Atlanta.

3 Smart __ : ALEC

Apparently, the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was one Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

4 Speaker emerita Nancy : PELOSI

Nancy Pelosi first became Speaker of the House in 2007, and was the 60th person to hold that position. Ms. Pelosi represents a district not far from here, which covers most of San Francisco. She was the first Californian, the first Italian-American and the first woman to be Speaker of the House. As Speaker is second-in-line to the presidency, after the Vice President, Nancy Pelosi was for many years the highest-ranking female politician in US history. That was until Kamala Harris became Vice President in 2021.

“Emeritus” (female form “emerita”, and plural “emeriti”) is a term in the title of some retired professionals, particularly those from academia. Originally an emeritus was a veteran soldier who had served his time. The term comes from the Latin verb “emerere” meaning to complete one’s service.

9 Member of the blue man group? : GLOOMY GUS

The original Gloomy Gus was a pessimistic character in newspaper comics in the early 1900s, who was introduced to the public by illustrator Frederick Burr.

10 Dresses that twirl : A-LINES

An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares towards the hem. The term “A-line” was first used in fashion by French designer Christian Dior in his 1955 spring collection.

12 Outback bird : EMU

In Australia, the land outside of urban areas is referred to as the outback or the bush. That said, I think that the term “outback” is sometimes reserved for the more remote parts of the bush.

13 Softy : SAP

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

22 Investigative journalist Paula : ZAHN

Paula Zahn has worked as a journalist and news anchor with ABC, NBC, Fox News and CNN. In 2009, she first appeared as the host of the long-running true crime show on the Discovery Channel called “On the Case with Paula Zahn”. Outside of her work on television, Zahn is an accomplished cellist and has even played at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra.

25 Delta deposit : SILT

Today, we mostly think of silt as a deposit of sediment in a river. Back in the mid-1400s, silt was sediment deposited by seawater. It is thought that the word “silt” is related to “salt”, as found in seawater.

A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …

26 Container that may have a built-in sharpener : CRAYOLA BOX

Crayola has made the decision to rename colors of crayons a few times, often with a nod to changing attitudes in society. Some examples are:

• “Flesh” to “Peach” (1962 … not all flesh is peach-colored)
• “Prussian Blue” to “Midnight Blue” (1958 … as the Cold War was raging)
• “Indian Red” to “Chestnut” (1999 … even though the name wasn’t a reference to “American Indian”)

30 Latte order specification : ONE PERCENT

The fatty component of milk is known as butterfat (sometimes “milkfat”). To be labeled whole milk, the butterfat content must be at least 3.25%. Low-fat milk is defined as milk containing 0.5-2% fat, with levels of 1% and 2% commonly found on grocery store shelves. Skim milk must contain less than 0.5% fat, and typically contains 0.1%.

31 Dishwasher detergent units : PODS

The dark side of social media struck again in late 2017 when “The Tide Pod Challenge” became an Internet sensation. Participants were eating Tide detergent pods on camera, and getting very sick and dangerously injured.

34 Retail outlet whose products often come with Allen wrenches : IKEA STORE

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.

35 Tabletop decor piece with raked sand : ZEN GARDEN

Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

36 Need for some denim jeans : INDIGO DYE

The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

42 Loch with a legend : NESS

The Surgeon’s Photograph is an image that was taken in 1934, supposedly of the Loch Ness Monster. It is perhaps the most famous picture of Nessie to this day, the one with a “head” and “neck” sticking up out of the water. The picture’s renown doesn’t seem to have abated, even though in the mid-nineties the photograph was shown to be a hoax. The picture is called the Surgeon’s Photograph because it was taken by a Dr. Wilson.

50 Tequila plant : AGAVE

Tequila is a city in Mexico that is located about 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. The city is the birthplace of the drink called “tequila”. Local people made a variety of a drink called mezcal by fermenting the heart of the blue agave plant that is native to the area surrounding Tequila. It was the Spanish who introduced the distillation process to the mescal, giving us what we now know as “tequila”.

55 Suspenders alternative : BELT

“Suspenders” is another one of those words that has morphed in crossing the Atlantic. Back in Ireland we hold up our pants (trousers) with “braces”. Suspenders hold up ladies stockings (i.e. our word for a garter belt). It can be confusing …