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Constructed by: Kelly Morenus

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 51s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Prince William, to Eddie Redmayne, at 51-Down : SCHOOLMATE
[51D College founded in 1440 : ETON]

Britain’s Prince William and Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne were both born in 1982 and entered Eton College in the same 1995 class. During their years together, the future monarch and future movie star played on the same rugby team. Redmayne later recalled feeling a bit sorry for his royal classmate on the pitch, as opposing schools were so fixated on tackling the British prince for bragging rights.

16A Quechua-speaking highlander : INCA

Quechua was the Native-American language adopted by the Incan Empire and favored over other dialects. Today, Quechua is one of the official languages in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, alongside Spanish.

18A Some Ivy Leaguers : ELIS

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

21A Winnow : SIFT

We use the verb “to winnow” in a figurative sense to describe the separation of something good from a collection of worthless things. The more literal meaning is the freeing of grain from the lighter chaff by blowing on the mixture, or by throwing it in the air.

22A Skye of “La Brea” : IONE

Ione Skye is an American actress born in London, England. She is best known for portraying the character Diane Court in the 1989 high school romance movie “Say Anything…”, starring opposite John Cusack. Skye is the daughter of the Scottish folk singer Donovan.

The TV show “La Brea” is a sci-fi series that premiered in 2021. It is set in present-day Los Angeles and follows a family who are separated when an earthquake opens a gigantic sinkhole that transports them through a portal to the Ice Age. The sinkhole is located at the La Brea Tar Pits, hence the show’s title.

24A Prince of Moscow from 1325 to 1340 : IVAN I

Ivan I was Prince of Moscow from 1325, succeeding his older brother Yuri III, who in turn succeeded their father Daniil Aleksandrovich. Daniil was the first Prince of Moscow, the first in a long line that culminated in Ivan the Terrible, who became the first Tsar of Russia.

26A “And there it is!” : BOB’S YOUR UNCLE!

“Bob’s your uncle” is an expression meaning “there you have it”. It is mainly used in the UK, and countries influenced by British culture.

32A “Waiting for Godot” role : ESTRAGON

In Samuel Beckett’s 1953 work “Waiting for Godot”, two tramps who spend the entire play loitering by a leafless tree waiting for a mysterious title character who never arrives. One of the tramps is named “Estragon” (nicknamed “Gogo”), which is the French word for “tarragon”. The other is named “Vladimir”, nicknamed “Didi”. A masterpiece, I know, but I’ll never go see it again …

36A San Juan’s __ de la Princesa : PASEO

The Paseo de la Princesa (“Promenade of the Princess”) is a pedestrian walkway in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico that was constructed in the 1850s. It was named by the Spanish colonists for Infanta Isabel, the first-born daughter of Spain’s Queen Isabella II.

41A Many a “Hacks” guest star : COMIC

“Hacks” is a comedy-drama TV series featuring Jean Smart as legendary stand-up Deborah Vance, and Hannah Einbinder as young comedy writer Ava Daniels. The show premiered on HBO Max in 2021.

48A Peter __ Steak House : LUGER

Peter Luger Steak House is a small chain of restaurants, with original location in Brooklyn, New York. It was founded in 1887 as “Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley”.

51A Federal org. with a flower logo : EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) logo is a circular emblem featuring a white flower set against a background representing the environment. This background depicts a blue sky, blue water, and green land, symbolizing the core domains of air, water, and land that the agency is charged with protecting.

54A Dance in “Lilo & Stitch” : HULA

The hula is a native dance of Hawaii that uses arm movements to relate a story. The hula can be performed while sitting (a noho dance) or while standing (a hula kū).

“Lilo & Stitch” was released by Disney in 2002. Compared to other Disney feature-length cartoons, “Lilo & Stitch” was relatively cheaply produced, using the voices of lesser-known actors. One interesting change had to take place in the storyline during production, when Stitch was meant to fly a Jumbo Jet through downtown Honolulu in one sequence. This was replaced with a sequence using a spaceship instead, as the producers were sensitive to public sentiment after the September 11 attacks.

55A Topic for discussion : AGENDA ITEM

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

58A Cartel headquartered in Vienna : OPEC

The OPEC cartel was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is one of the big three oil producers in the world (along with Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC is that, prior to 2019, we imported more oil than we exported. Then, of course, there are US federal antitrust laws …

61A Fatal attractions? : SIREN SONGS

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were seductive bird-women who lured men to their deaths with their song. When Odysseus sailed close to the island home of the Sirens he wanted to hear their voices, but in safety. He had his men plug their ears with beeswax and then ordered them to tie him to the mast and not to free him until they were safe. On hearing their song Odysseus begged to be let loose, but the sailors just tightened his bonds and the whole crew sailed away unharmed. We sometimes use the term “siren” today to describe a seductively charming woman, and “siren song” to describe an utterance that is particularly appealing.

Down

1D “Boomerang” singer JoJo : SIWA

“Boomerang” was the debut single released by “Dance Moms” (a reality TV show) star JoJo Siwa. It was released in 2016, just days before her 13th birthday. The track has been described as an anthem against bullying. Hats off, then …

2D African lake in four countries : CHAD

Lake Chad is a very large and shallow lake in Africa, one that changes size dramatically in a very short space of time. Lake Chad shrunk by a massive 95% from 1963 to 1998, but has been recovering ever since. Parts of the lake lie within the four countries Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.

5D Number of former public defenders who have served on the Supreme Court : ONE

Ketanji Brown Jackson became the 116th Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court in 2022, succeeding retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. She is the first Black woman to serve on the court, and the first former public defender.

7D Environs : MILIEU

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

“Environ” is the French word for “round” or “round about”. We use “environ” as a verb in English, meaning to surround, form a circle around. The related plural noun “environs” is used to mean “surroundings, environment”.

11D Dishes that can be both hot and cold : PIES A LA MODE

In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie. Pie served à la mode includes a dollop of cream or ice cream, or as I recall from my time living in Upstate New York, with a wedge of cheddar cheese.

12D Minecraft, e.g. : ONLINE GAME

Minecraft is a video game that was released in 2011. Apparently, it is the most popular video game of all time, with well over 200 million units sold.

13D “Dune” realm : SCI-FI

“Dune” is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, first published in 1965. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time. The book has a large and dedicated fanbase, who refer to themselves as “Duners” or “Dune fans.”

14D From Armenia to Azerbaijan : EAST

Armenia is a landlocked country located east of Turkey, and is a former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Back in the year 301 CE, the ancient Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as its national religion.

Azerbaijan is a former Soviet Republic lying on the Caspian Sea just northeast of Iran. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established in 1918 and became the Muslim world’s first democratic and secular state. It didn’t last long though, as two years later it was absorbed into the Soviet Union.

23D Kvetching cries : OYS

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

25D Home entertainment staple, once : VCR

The first video tape recorder (VTR) was introduced in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that video cassette recorders (VCRs) became successful.

27D Prominent instrument in “Swan Lake” : OBOE

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

33D Like much of Pindar’s work : ODIC

Pindar was an ancient Greek poet who is best known perhaps for composing a series of “Victory Odes” that celebrated triumph in competition, most notably the Olympian Games of the day.

34D Ukulele part : NECK

The ukulele (uke) originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

37D Synagogue fixture : ARK

The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which the Torah scrolls are stored. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching” or “law”. The Torah ark is referred to as the “Aron Kodesh” in Hebrew, meaning “Holy Ark”.

40D Some med. professionals : PAS

The profession of physician assistant (PA) was created in 1965 at Duke University Medical Center to address a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors. Many of the original PAs were former US Navy corpsmen who had received extensive military medical training. The American Academy of PAs voted to officially change the profession’s title to “physician associate” in 2021, to better reflect their clinical role.

45D Neutral tone : TAUPE

Taupe is a dark, gray-brown color. The word “taupe” comes from the Latin name of the European Mole, which has skin with the same color.

49D Citrus hybrid : UGLI

The ugli fruit is a hybrid of a tangerine and a grapefruit that was first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruit’s unsightly wrinkled rind. Another distributor uses the brand name “Uniq”, which does suggest a more appetizing treat.

51D College founded in 1440 : ETON

Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton beside Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …

52D Simon of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise : PEGG

Simon Pegg is an English actor and comedian who has hit the big time in Hollywood in the past few years. He played “Scotty” in several “Star Trek” movies and tech wizard Benji Dunn in some of the “Mission: Impossible” films.

It was Tom Cruise’s idea to adapt the “Mission: Impossible” television series for the big screen, and it became the first project for Cruise’s own production company. Cruise took on the starring role of Ethan Hunt, the point man for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

53D “The West Wing” actor John : AMOS

John Amos was an actor best known for playing James Evans Sr. on the television show “Good Times”. He also played Admiral Fitzwallace on “The West Wing”, and Special Forces Major Grant in “Die Hard 2”. Also, Amos was a former professional football player.

57D Manga artist Junji : ITO

Junji Ito is a Japanese manga artist who specializes in horror tales. I don’t do horror …