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Constructed by: Michael Schlossberg
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Pet Projects

Themed answers have two-part clues. The first part is the figurative sense of the answer, and the second the items used in creating the literal sense, a PROJECT for a PET:

• 38A Labors of love, perhaps, and what the answers to the starred clues are? : PET PROJECTS

• 1A *Messy place [wire mesh, posts, fasteners] : PIGPEN
• 20A *Area with little privacy [candy jar, rocks, aerator, water] : GOLDFISH BOWL
• 57A *Dull and repetitive job [cardboard, dowel, popsicle sticks, glue, scissors] : HAMSTER WHEEL
• 71A *Irresistible thing [seeds, soil, water, sunlight] : CATNIP

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

Bill’s time: 5m 24s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Verdi opera : OTELLO

Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” was first performed in 1887 at La Scala Theater in Milan. The opera is based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello” and is considered by many to be Verdi’s greatest work.

15 Pride or lust : SIN

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Pride
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony

18 Winter sport vehicle : ICE CANOE

An ice canoe is a relatively large, sturdy canoe that can be used in frigid waters, and that can also be slid along frozen parts of a waterway.

26 Fair-hiring letters : EEO

“Equal Employment Opportunity” (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

27 Director Brooks : MEL

Mel Brooks’ birth name is Melvin Kaminsky. He is one of relatively few entertainers to win the “Showbiz Award Grand Slam” i.e. an Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy (EGOT). He is in good company, as the list also includes the likes of Richard Rogers, Sir John Gielgud, Marvin Hamlisch and Audrey Hepburn.

28 Genesis figure : ADAM

According to the Bible, God created Adam from “the dust of the ground”. Eve was created as Adam’s companion, from Adam’s rib.

30 Michael of “Juno” : CERA

Michael Cera is a Canadian actor who played great characters on the TV show “Arrested Development”, and in the 2007 comedy-drama “Juno”. Cera is also quite the musician. He released an indie folk album titled “True That” in 2014.

“Juno” is a great comedy-drama released in 2007 that tells the story of a spunky teenager who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The title character is played by Ellen Page, with Michael Cera playing the father of her child. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The relatively low-budget movie earned back its initial budget on the first day of its full release to the public. Low-budget blockbuster; my kind of movie …

50 Gumbo pod : OKRA

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “okingumbo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

52 Actress de Armas : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

56 Body part examined by an otolaryngologist : EAR

The ear, nose and throat (ENT) branch of medicine is more correctly called “otolaryngology”.

57 *Dull and repetitive job [cardboard, dowel, popsicle sticks, glue, scissors] : HAMSTER WHEEL

The rodents known as hamsters are commonly kept as house pets. Male hamsters are called bucks, females are called does, and baby hamsters are known as pups.

62 Dresser part : DRAWER

The item of bedroom furniture usually known as a dresser (or sometimes “bureau”) here in North America, is generally called a chest of drawers in Britain and Ireland. Whatever the name, the piece consists of a set of parallel drawers, mainly stacked one over the other.

66 Shakespearean king : LEAR

Shakespeare was inspired to write his famous drama “King Lear” by the legend of “Leir of Britain”, the story of a mythological Celtic king.

68 Camden Yards ballplayer : ORIOLE

Oriole Park is home to the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. The full name of the stadium is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The name “Camden Yards” is used because the ballpark is built on land that was once used as the rail yard for B&O Railroad’s Camden Station.

71 *Irresistible thing [seeds, soil, water, sunlight] : CATNIP

About 50% of all cats are affected in some way by the plant catnip. There is a terpenoid in the oil of the plant called nepetalactone that the cat inhales and that can cause anything from drowsiness to anxiety.

Down

1 1990s fad disc : POG

The game of pogs was originally played with bottle caps from POG fruit juice. The juice was named for its constituents, passion fruit, orange and guava.

3 Lead-in to Xer, Yer, and Zer : GEN-

The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

The Millennial Generation are sometimes referred to as “Generation Y” (Gen-Y). Millennials were born after the “Gen-Xers”, from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

Definitions vary, but it seems that the term “Generation Z” is reserved for the children of “Generation X”, and for the generation that follows the “Millennials” (Generation Y). Gen-Zers are also known as “Zoomers”, a portmanteau of “Z” and “boomer” (as in “baby boomer”).

5 “__ World”: “Sesame Street” feature : ELMO’S

In 2002, The Muppet Elmo got to testify before a US House subcommittee. Elmo’s goal was to get an increase in funding for music education. In the transcript of the hearing, his statements are ascribed to “Elmo Monster” and “Mr. Monster”.

8 More fraught : DICIER

Something described as “dicey” is unpredictable or risky, as in rolling the “dice”. The term “dicey” originated in the 1940s as aviator jargon.

9 Many a kayak : ONE-SEATER

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

11 Biological map subject : GENOME

The genome is all the hereditary information needed to reproduce an organism, in other words, all of its chromosomes. When scientists unravel the human genome, it takes up an awful lot of computer storage space, and yet all of this information is in almost every cell in our bodies. Each and every cell “knows” how to make a whole human being.

12 Mortar-spreading tool : TROWEL

The terms “cement”, “mortar” and ”concrete” are related, and tend to get confused at times. Cement is a binder that hardens over time and binds other materials together. Cement mixed with a fine aggregate forms mortar, a workable paste used to bind building blocks together. Cement mixed with sand and gravel forms concrete, a pourable slurry that hardens into an extremely robust building material.

13 Like some compost bins : SMELLY

Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter to make the soil conditioner known as “compost”. The term “compost” ultimately comes from the Latin “com” (together) and “ponere” (to place). Compost is best made by “putting together” green waste that is rich in nitrogen, with brown waste that is rich in carbon, all in the presence of water and air.

19 Comedian Margaret : CHO

Margaret Cho is a Korean-American comedian and actress who was born in San Francisco in 1968. As well as performing as a comedian, Cho has also had a successful acting career, appearing in films such as “Face/Off,” “Bam Bam and Celeste,” and “All About Steve,” as well as TV shows such as “Drop Dead Diva” and “30 Rock.”

22 __ Mahal : TAJ

“Mahal” is the Urdu word for “palace”, as in “Taj Mahal” meaning “crown of palaces”. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum holding the body of Mumtaz Mahal, the third wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The name “Mumtaz Mahal” translates as “the chosen one of the palace”.

24 50+ group : AARP

The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) was founded in 1958 and initially focused on providing health insurance to older Americans.

31 Get hitched in Vegas, perhaps : ELOPE

Las Vegas is known as the Marriage Capital of the World due to the incredibly high number of weddings that take place there. Historically, the marriage “frenzy” started when it became relatively easy to get a marriage license, and when wedding ceremonies could be performed for a nominal fee.

39 “The Wolf of Wall Street” Oscar nominee Hill : JONAH

Aspiring actor Jonah Hill was a friend of the children of Dustin Hoffman. The children introduced Hill to their father and Hoffman asked him to audition for a role in “I Heart Huckabees”. Hill got the part, and his career took off. When I saw Hill in the film “Moneyball”, for my money (pun intended!) I thought he stole the show.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is an entertaining 2013 biographical film about a corrupt New York City stockbroker. The movie is based on a memoir of the same name by Jordan Belfort. Directed by Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street” is his highest-grossing movie to date.

40 Sushi pairing : SAKE

We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

44 Road goo : TAR

The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call “tarmac”.

46 Big name in perfume : CHANEL

The House of Chanel has its origin in a millinery shop in Paris that Gabrielle “CoCo” Chanel opened in 1909. The shop was on the ground floor of the home of socialite Étienne Balsan, of whom Chanel was his mistress. Using her connection to Balsan, Chanel met many women who lived extravagant lifestyles in Paris in those pre-war years, and hence was able to establish her reputation as a hatmaker. Chanel built on that reputation, and within a few years opened her first dress shop in Paris.

54 French red wine : MEDOC

Médoc is an appellation for wine in the Bordeaux region of France. The area produces red wine almost exclusively, and no white wine can be labeled as “Médoc”.

55 __ firma : TERRA

“Terra firma” is Latin for “solid ground”.

64 Yalie : ELI

“Eli” is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, and a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.