Category: Stella Zawistowski

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Constructed by: Stella Zawistowski

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Type Cast

Themed answers are people, clued as TYPES:

• 17A Raised type? : STILT WALKER
• 24A Against type? : DEBBIE DOWNER
• 38A Movable type? : NOMAD
• 47A Blood type? : COUNT DRACULA
• 57A File type? : OFFICE CLERK

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

Bill’s time: 11m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Sega hedgehog : SONIC

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

14A Cause of some food recalls : E COLI

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are usually harmless bacteria found in the human gut, working away quite happily. However, there are some strains that can produce lethal toxins. These strains can make their way into the food chain from animal fecal matter that comes into contact with food designated for human consumption.

15A Wispy streaks in the sky : CIRRI

Cirrus (plural “cirri”) clouds are those lovely wispy, white strands that are often called “mare’s tails”.

19A Regatta blade : OAR

The word “regatta” is Venetian dialect and was originally used to describe boat races among the gondoliers of Venice on the Grand Canal back in the mid-1600s.

21A Connecticut university founded in 1701 : YALE

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University’s nickname is “Old Eli”, in a nod to the benefactor.

22A One of the four countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands : ARUBA

Aruba is one of the so-called ABC islands located off the northern coast of Venezuela. “ABC Islands” is a name given to the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. The nickname comes from the first letters of the island names: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. All three of the ABC islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a single sovereign state composed of four constituent countries: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. Citizens of all four countries are Dutch nationals, but only the European part of the Netherlands is a member of the European Union.

24A Against type? : DEBBIE DOWNER

“Debbie Downer” is a slang phrase describing someone who knows how to bring down the mood. There was a character on “Saturday Night Live” with the name Debbie Downer played by comic actress Rachel Dratch.

30A Corset components : STAYS

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

38A Movable type? : NOMAD

A nomad is someone who roams about. The term “nomad” comes from the Latin “nomas” meaning “wandering shepherd”. In turn, “nomas” comes from the Greek “nomas” meaning “roaming (especially when looking for pasture)”.

47A Blood type? : COUNT DRACULA

“Dracula” is a novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and first published in 1897. Dracula wasn’t the first vampire of literature, but he certainly was the one who spawned the popularity of vampires in theater, film and television, and indeed more novels. Personally, I can’t stand vampire fiction …

54A Some TVs and fridges : LGS

LG is a very large South Korean manufacturer of electronics, chemicals and telecom products. The company used to be known as Lucky-Goldstar, whence the initialism “LG”.

63A Chabert of “Party of Five” : LACEY

Lacey Chabert is an actress who has become a staple of Hallmark Channel movies. She has earned the title of “Queen of Hallmark Christmas Movies”. I must admit that’s how I know of Chabert, as my wife and I do dip into offerings from the Hallmark channel coming up to Christmas …

“Party of Five” was a 1990s drama series about five siblings who must raise themselves after their parents are killed by a drunk driver. Despite initial low ratings, the show’s surprise 1996 Golden Globe win for Best Drama Series saved it from cancellation. The series launched the careers of its young cast, including Neve Campbell, Lacey Chabert, and Matthew Fox.

Down

8D Vessel in Genesis 7 : ARK

The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

9D Emergency food ration, for short : MRE

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

10D Orinoco biter : PIRANHA

Piranhas are reputed to be able to strip an animal to its bones in seconds, but this is somewhat of a myth. Piranhas are not in fact strict carnivores, and usually are more of a nuisance to fishermen rather than a danger, as they tend to eat bait that has been set to catch other fish. Much of the reputation of the piranha is owed to the description written by President Theodore Roosevelt in his book “Through the Brazilian Wilderness”. President Roosevelt was somewhat hoodwinked though, as local fishermen put on a special “show” for him. They dumped hordes of hungry piranhas into a dammed section of a river and then tossed in a sliced up cow. President Roosevelt was pretty impressed by the orchestrated feeding frenzy.

The Orinoco is a major river in South America that flows over 1,320 miles through Venezuela and Colombia, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

12D Many a Moroccan : ARAB

The country of Morocco is located in North Africa, but lies just 9 miles south of Spain. Spain and Morocco, and hence Europe and Africa, are separated by those 9 miles across the Mediterranean Sea known as the Straits of Gibraltar.

13D Banks with style : TYRA

Tyra Banks is a tremendously successful model and businesswoman. Banks created and hosted the hit show “America’s Next Top Model “, and also had her own talk show. She was also the first African-American woman to make the cover of the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.

23D OpenTable alternative : RESY

Resy is an online restaurant reservation platform that is similar to its main competitor, OpenTable. Resy was acquired by American Express in 2019. Because of this, the platform is often associated with more high-end or popular restaurants.

30D Crimson Tide org. : SEC

Southeastern Conference (SEC)

The nickname “Crimson Tide” for the University of Alabama’s athletic teams originated in 1907. A sportswriter, after a particularly muddy game, described Alabama as a “crimson tide” due to their jerseys being stained red from the red clay in the field. The name stuck.

31D Pan Am rival : TWA

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan Am and TWA’s purchase by Howard Hughes, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the initialism “TWA”) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

33D Invoice fig. : AMT

An invoice is an itemized bill. The term “invoice” comes from the Middle French “envois” meaning “dispatch (of goods)”. The root verb is “envoyer”, which translates as “to send”.

36D Waymo tech : GPS

Waymo is an autonomous driving company owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. It operates Waymo One, a self-driving “robotaxi” service in cities like Phoenix and San Francisco. Apparently, Waymo’s technology has roots in a self-driving Toyota Prius named “Pribot”, which was built in 2008 specifically to deliver pizza for the Discovery Channel show “Prototype This!”. That Prius successfully navigated a trip across the Bay Bridge, albeit with a police escort.

38D Bread served with raita : NAAN

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

41D Volkswagen that shares a name with a New Mexico town : TAOS

The Volkswagen Taos is a subcompact SUV that was introduced to the North American market for the 2022 model year. It is named after the town of Taos, New Mexico. The Taos is actually a restyled version of a vehicle first released for the Chinese market called the Volkswagen Tharu.

42D Faraway dwarf planet : PLUTOID

A plutoid is a specific category of dwarf planet, defined as a celestial body that orbits the Sun at a distance greater than Neptune. The officially recognized plutoids are Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea.

44D __ Simbel, Egypt : ABU

Abu Simbel is a location in southern Egypt, and the site of two temples carved out of a mountainside. The two rock temples had to be relocated to Abu Simbel in 1968 to save them from being submerged in the water above the Aswan High Dam that was being built across the Nile River.

46D Ming collectible : VASE

The Ming dynasty lasted in China from 1368 to 1644. It was a time of tremendous innovation in so many areas, including the manufacture of ceramics. In the late Ming period, a shift towards a market economy in China led to the export of porcelain on an unprecedented scale, perhaps explaining why we tend to hear more about Ming vases than we do about porcelain from any other Chinese dynasty.

48D Clear, as a windshield in winter : DEICE

You may have seen the 2008 movie “Flash of Genius”, which outlined the troubles Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) had in making money from his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Well, Mary Anderson developed the original wiper and received a patent in 1903. She didn’t make any money either …

55D Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt : SKYR

Skyr is a traditional Icelandic cultured dairy product that has a thick, creamy texture. Although it’s consumed like yogurt, skyr is technically classified as a soft cheese.

58D __ diavolo sauce : FRA

Fra diavolo is a spicy sauce used for pasta and seafood that is usually made with chili peppers in a tomato base. The name “Fra diavolo” translates to “Brother devil”. The sauce may be named for the Italian revolutionary Michele Pezza who was also known as Fra Diavolo.

60D “The Wheel of Time” role : LAN

“The Wheel of Time” is an epic fantasy series of 14 novels, originally written by Robert Jordan and completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s death in 2007.