Category: Rich Norris

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Constructed by: Rich Norris
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 16m 34s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Brown group : IVY LEAGUE

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown has been around a long time, founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears, and their mascot is Bruno.

16 “Mad TV” alum Lange : ARTIE

Artie Lange is a comedian who is best known perhaps for his daily radio appearances as a sidekick on “The Howard Stern Show” from 2001 to 2009.

“MADtv” is a television sketch show that ran for fourteen seasons starting in 1995. The show had nothing to do with the famous “Mad” magazine, although it did license the name and logo from the publication.

18 Callas title role : NORMA

“Norma” is an opera written by Vincenzo Bellini that was first performed in 1831. One aria from the work is “Casta diva”, which is one of the most popular arias of the 1800s.

Although Maria Callas was born in New York City, she was educated in music in Greece and launched her career in Italy. Her marvelous performances earned her the nickname “La Davina”, and she was described by Leonard Bernstein as “the Bible of opera …”

22 Occasion to eat bánh chu’ng : TET

Bánh chu’ng is a steamed cake mainly made from glutinous rice, mung bean and pork. The eating of bánh chu’ng is an important part of the Tet holiday in Vietnam.

23 2019 Tyler, the Creator album : IGOR

“Igor” is a 2019 studio album released by Tyler, the Creator. “Tyler, the Creator” is the stage name of rap singer Tyler Okonma.

24 Bridge installer’s deg. : DDS

Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)

25 Feature of an Oscar statuette : SWORD

Legend has it that actor Emilio Fernández was the model for the Oscar statuette. Cedric Gibbons, art director at MGM, created the design and supposedly convinced a reluctant Fernández to pose nude for “Oscar”.

28 Rose __ : PARADE

The first Rose Parade was staged in 1890 on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. The initial parades were organized by the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club, whose members wanted to highlight the mild winter weather in the area. The initial parades did not feature flowers, but these were added to underscore the favorable climate. It was the inclusion of the flowers that gave rise to the name “Tournament of Roses”. The first Rose Bowl football game was played in 1902.

30 Syrup brand since 1902 : KARO

Karo is a brand of corn syrup, an industrially manufactured sweetener derived from corn. The brand was introduced in 1902 by the Corn Products Refining Company.

35 Singing competition, familiarly : IDOL

“American Idol” is a spin-off show that was created after the amazing success of the British television show “Pop Idol”. Aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016, the show “jumped ship” and moved to ABC starting in the 2018 season.

36 Dominated, in gaming : PWNED

“To pwn” is online gamer-speak for “to own, defeat easily”. It’s likely that “pwn” evolved from “own” as it is a common typo caused by the close proximity of the o- and p-keys on a computer keyboard. “Pwn” is pronounced like “pone”.

39 Winery discard : LEES

The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), are also called “lees”.

40 Old ski lift : J-BAR

A T-bar is a ski lift on which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of a T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, which is a similar device but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

46 Pro __ : RATA

“Pro rata” is a Latin phrase meaning “in proportion”.

48 All smiles, in a Carroll poem : BEAMISH

Here is a verse from “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, probably the one poem that we all just loved learning to recite at school:

And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

50 Soap named for a city : DALLAS

The TV soap “Dallas” revolved around the Ewing family. The series that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby’s brother J. R., became so popular with audiences that the series was extended with J. R. at the center of the story. Who can remember who shot J.R.? (It was Kristin Shepard: J.R.’s mistress, who was also his sister-in-law).

53 Yupik craft : UMIAK

There is a type of boat used by Inuit people called an “umiak”. . The term “umiak” means “woman’s boat”, whereas “kayak” means “man’s boat”.

The Yupik are a group of indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Russian Far East.

57 “Their Eyes Were Watching God” protagonist Crawford : JANIE

1937’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is the best-known work penned by American author Zora Neale Hurston. The novel gained popularity in the late 1900s after a mediocre reception when first published. It is now associated with the Harlem Renaissance, and in 2005 was named as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.

58 Keyboard ornament : GRACE NOTE

In musical notation, a grace note calls for an ornament or embellishment, a musical flourish. Grace notes look like regular notes, but are written in a smaller print size.

59 Figure skating leaps : AXELS

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

60 Word from the Greek for “working together” : SYNERGISM

The word “synergy”, meaning “working together”, comes from the Greek “syn-” (together) and “ergon” (work).

Down

1 Solder element : TIN

Solder is a metal alloy that is used to join pieces of work together using the principle that the melting point of the alloy is below the melting point of the workpieces.

2 Zipcar parent : AVIS

Zipcar is a carsharing company. Carsharing differs from car rental in that cars are available only to members, and for 24 hours a day as opposed to office hours. There are other differences, including the fact that members are usually responsible for leaving cars gassed up and clean for the next user.

3 Luke’s nephew : KYLO

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

4 Whirlpool alternative : ELECTROLUX

Electrolux is a Swedish company, the second largest manufacturer of household appliances in the world (after Whirlpool). The company was founded in 1919 mainly to make vacuum cleaners. Electrolux owns dozens of brands including Frigidaire and Westinghouse.

6 “The Goldfinch” Pulitzer winner : TARTT

Novelist Donna Tartt won a Pulitzer for her 2013 novel “The Goldfinch”. That same novel was adapted into a 2019 film, which bombed at the box office.

7 Pointed arch : OGEE

An ogee is a type of S-curve. Specifically, it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S).

9 Contests with numbered balls : KENO GAMES

The name of the game keno has French or Latin roots, with the French “quine” being a term describing five winning numbers, and the Latin “quini” meaning “five each”. The game originated in China and was introduced into the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.

10 “Let’s get toasty” fast-casual chain : PANERA

Panera Bread is a chain of bakery/coffeehouses. A Panera restaurant is a good place to get online while having a cup of coffee. Back in 2006 and 2007, Panera was the largest provider of free Wi-Fi access in the whole of the US.

12 Super Bowl debut of 2008 revived in 2022 : E-TRADE BABY

E-Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E-Trade used to produce those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.

23 Rio region : IPANEMA

Ipanema is a beach community in the south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The name Ipanema is a local word meaning “bad water”, signifying that the shore is bad for fishing. The beach became famous worldwide following the release of the song “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1962.

26 13-time All-Star inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023 : WADE

Dwyane Wade is a basketball player who started his NBA career with the Miami Heat in 2003. “D-Wade” was chosen as the “Sports Illustrated” Sportsman of the Year in 2006.

The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts is more correctly known as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The facility is named for James Naismith, the Canadian-American physical educator who invented the sport. Although the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1959, the first Basketball Hall of Fame building did not open until 1968, on the grounds of Springfield College. The increasing number of visitors resulted in the construction of a new building, which opened in 1985 on the banks of the Connecticut River in Springfield. The current facility is also located on the river, and opened in 2002.

27 University town northeast of Augusta : ORONO, MAINE

The town of Orono is home to the University of Maine that was founded in 1862. The college is actually located on an island (Marsh island) lying between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The town of Orono is named after Joseph Orono, a chief of the Penobscot Nation. The school’s athletic teams are named the Maine Black Bears.

As well as being the easternmost state capital, Augusta, Maine is the third smallest, with a population of under 20,000. The least populous state capitals are Montpelier, Vermont (~7,000) and Pierre, South Dakota (~14,000).

29 Indian district known for a beverage : DARJEELING

Darjeeling is a town in West Bengal in the east of India in the Lesser HImalayas. Today, Darjeeling is perhaps best known outside India for the black tea that bears its name. In the days of the British Raj, the cooler climate of Darjeeling made it a popular destination for British residents seeking respite from the summer heat at the lower elevations.

31 Crew taught by Gabe Kotter : SWEATHOGS

“Welcome Back, Kotter” is a sitcom from the late seventies. The title character is a teacher at Buchanan High, one Gabe Kotter who himself had attended the school as a student. Kotter teaches a remedial class of students who call themselves the Sweathogs. In fact, Kotter had himself been a founder of the Sweathogs, when he was a student in the same class. Kotter was played by Gabe Kaplan. One of the prominent students in his class Vinnie Barbarino played by a young John Travolta, a role that launched his film career. In recent years you might have seen Gabe Kaplan as co-host of the popular show “High Stakes Poker” on GSN.

33 California classical music festival city : OJAI

The city of Ojai, California is located just northwest of Los Angeles. One of the city’s claims to fame is that according to the TV shows “The Bionic Woman” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”, Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin grew up in Ojai and were childhood sweethearts!

34 Story : YARN

The phrase “to spin a yarn”, meaning “to tell a tall tale”, originated in the early 1800s with seamen. The idea was that sailors would tell stories to each other while engaged in mindless work such as twisting yarn.

43 Off-__ : KILTER

To be “off-kilter” is to be off-balance, not aligned. To be “out of kilter” is to be out of order, not in good condition.

44 Nigerian capital : ABUJA

Nigeria is in West Africa, and it takes its name from the Niger River that flows through the country. Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent, with over 180 million inhabitants. It is also the most populous member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

45 Century 21 rival : RE/MAX

RE/MAX is an international real estate company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The name “RE/MAX” stands for “real estate maximum”, and the company’s logo is a hot-air balloon with RE/MAX emblazoned on it.

47 “Lovecraft Country” Emmy winner Courtney B. __ : VANCE

One of Courtney B. Vance’s most famous roles, was portraying Asst. DA Ron Carver on the show “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, which he did from 2001 to 2006. Vance married fellow actor Angela Bassett in 1997.

56 __ sleep : REM

“REM” is an acronym standing for “rapid eye movement”. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

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