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Constructed by: Wendy L. Brandes

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Back Up the Truck

Themed answers each contain a kind of TRUCK hidden within, but written BACKWARDS:

• 50A “Wait, what did you just say?,” or a hint to the circled letters in this puzzle : BACK UP THE TRUCK

• 20A “Hmm, is it possible for me?” : WONDER IF I COULD (backed up FIRE truck)
• 25A Slow-moving forest-dweller : TWO-TOED SLOTH (backed up TOW truck)
• 42A Tale spun before lights-out : BEDTIME STORY (backed up SEMI-truck)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 56s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Milk choice : SKIM

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%.

5A Bra part : STRAP

The first modern bra was invented by a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob in 1913. Jacob was looking for a more comfortable and fashionable alternative to the corsets that were then commonly worn, and she fashioned a bra using two handkerchiefs and some ribbon. She later patented her invention, which she called the “Backless Brassiere.”

10A Three-person card game : SKAT

Skat is a trick-taking card game for three players that is traditionally played with a 32-card deck. The game is played in rounds, with each player bidding for the right to declare the trump suit. The declarer then tries to win at least 11 tricks, while the other players try to prevent them from doing so. I used to play skat a lot when I was in my teens …

14A Actress Kendrick : ANNA

Anna Kendrick is a marvelous actress whose big break came when she played the sidekick to George Clooney’s character in the very interesting 2009 film “Up in the Air”. Kendrick can sing as well as act, and played a student a cappella singer in the 2012 movie “Pitch Perfect”.

17A Bigfoot kin : YETI

The sasquatch (also “Bigfoot”) is our North American equivalent of the yeti, the ape-like creature said to inhabit the Himalayas. Bigfoot is supposedly hiding out mainly in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

18A “E,” at Fenway : ERROR

The left field wall in Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, is the tallest encountered in Major League ballparks. The wall was built that high to prevent viewing of games from outside of the park for free. The height also prevents home runs that would be possible in other ballparks, and so, given its color and reputation, it is called the Green Monster.

19A Like the NYSE at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on most weekdays : OPEN

The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement. Today, the NYSE is located in a National Historic Landmark building with the address 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

23A Rocker Quatro : SUZI

Suzi Quatro is a rock singer and bass guitar player from Detroit, although she relocated to the UK when she was 21 years old. Quatro had a few great, great hits in the mid-seventies, most famously “Can the Can” (1973) and “Devil Gate Drive” (1974). She also played the character Leather Tuscadero, a female bass player on the American sitcom “Happy Days”.

25A Slow-moving forest-dweller : TWO-TOED SLOTH

All four of the extant species of three-toed sloths are native to South and Central America. Cousins of the three-toed sloths are the two-toed sloths, of which there are two species still living.

36A Online diaries : BLOGS

Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more specifically it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) that then occupy the “front page” of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. “Blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”.

38A Run into a closet, say : HIDE

In Old French a “clos” was an enclosure, with the diminutive form “closet” describing a small enclosure or private room. Over time this evolved into our modern usage of “closet”, describing a cabinet or cupboard.

39A French pronoun : TOI

In French, the pronouns “toi” and “vous” both mean “you”, with the former being used with family and friends, and children. “Vous” is more formal, and is also the plural form of “toi”.

46A Prepares to run a marathon, say : TRAINS

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

56A Speak from a podium : ORATE

“Podium” (plural “podia”) is the Latin word for “raised platform”.

59A Dark film genre : NOIR

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

Down

1D “You __ ‘goodbye,’ and I __ ‘hello'” : SAY

The 1967 Beatles song “Hello, Goodbye” was written by Paul McCartney using duality as a theme. While composing, McCartney basically asked an aide to supply words that were opposites to what he sang while playing a harmonium:

You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go go go, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello hello
I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello
I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello

4D Backbone : MAINSTAY

Figuratively, a mainstay is a person or object that is the principal support or principal part. Literally, the mainstay is the main line supporting a nautical vessel’s main mast, the main line holding the mast erect.

5D React to pepper, perhaps : SNEEZE

The scientific term for sneezing is sternutation. A sneeze can expel air at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour!

7D “Diamonds” singer, to fans : RIRI

Rihanna’s hit song “Diamonds” was co-written by Australian singer-songwriter Sia. Reportedly, Sia wrote the lyrics for “Diamonds” in a remarkably short amount of time – as quickly as 14 or 15 minutes, while waiting for a taxi to arrive!

11D No longer working : KAPUT

“Kaput” is a familiar term meaning “incapacitated, destroyed”, and comes to us from French (via German). The original word “capot” means “not having won a single trick” in the French card game Piquet.

12D “Someone Like You” singer : ADELE

“Someone Like You” is a 2001 Adele song that was the artist’s first number-one hit in her home country, the UK. It’s about a boyfriend who broke up with her.

21D The Bryan brothers of tennis, e.g. : DUO

Bob and Mike Bryan are widely considered the greatest men’s doubles team in tennis history. They hold numerous records, including 119 tour titles together and 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles. They also won an Olympic gold medal at the London 2012 Games, completing a “Career Golden Slam” by winning all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold. The brothers are identical twins, in fact mirror twins. As a result, Mike is right-handed and Bob is left-handed, very useful attributes in doubles tennis.

22D Women’s suffrage leader Carrie Chapman __ : CATT

Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. Catt was also very close to Susan B. Anthony, and succeeded Anthony as head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

26D Texas city between Dallas and Austin : WACO

The Texas city of Waco is named for the Wichita people known as the “Waco”, who occupied the area for thousands of years.

28D Vodka brand whose label features a sketch of a Moscow hotel : STOLI

Stolichnaya vodka originated in Russia, but now it’s made in Latvia. Latvia is of course a completely different country, so you won’t see the word “Russian” on the label anymore. But, the “Stoli” label still bears a drawing of the famous Hotel Moskva, which is located near Red Square in Moscow.

29D Zoom delay : LAG

Zoom is a videoconferencing app that became remarkably popular in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The market deemed Zoom to be the easiest to use of the free videoconferencing apps. I’ve used it, but really prefer Google’s Meet offering …

32D Puerto __ : RICO

Puerto Rico (PR) is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

40D Grubhub link : MENU

Grubhub is an online food ordering and delivery company that was founded in Chicago in 2004. Users can access restaurant menus online, place an order, and receive home delivery of their meal.

42D Hog enthusiasts : BIKERS

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was founded in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, . Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn’t generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson’s house. In 1906, the partners built their first factory, located where the company’s headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Famously, Harley motorcycles are nicknamed “hogs”.

45D Title for London’s mayor : SIR

Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London (Greater London) in 2016. He made history when he was knighted in the 2025 New Year Honours for public service. This made him the first Mayor of London to receive a knighthood while in office.

51D Yoga pose that requires good balance : TREE

The tree pose in yoga is more correctly known as “vrikshasana”. It involves standing on one leg, with the other leg bent and the foot placed on the inner thigh of the straight leg. The hands are placed together and raised directly over the head.

53D Batman’s lair : CAVE

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

54D ACL joint : KNEE

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee. It is located in the center of the knee and connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone).

58D UCL limb : ARM

The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is a crucial ligament on the inside of the elbow joint. While often associated with baseball pitchers, injuries to the UCL can occur in any sport or activity involving repetitive overhead arm motions. The surgery to repair a torn UCL is known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), named after the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who was the first to undergo the procedure in 1974.