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Constructed by: Annemarie Brethauer & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Theme: None
Happy April Fools’ Day, everyone!
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Bill’s time: 9m 10s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
5 Luxury purse trade-in app : REBAG
Rebag was founded in 2014 as a market where customers can buy and sell luxury items, particularly handbags. A handbag’s value is evaluated by CLAIR, an evaluation tool created by Rebag. “CLAIR” stands for Comprehensive Luxury Assessment Index for Resale.
15 19-Down flavor : ANISE
[19D Pastis drink : PERNOD]
The essential oil in the anise plant is anethole. Anethole has a licorice-like flavor, and is used extensively in cooking and to flavor several distilled alcoholic drinks.
21 Congratulatory cry : MAZEL TOV!
“Mazel tov!” is a Yiddish phrase meaning “Good luck!”
22 Wikipedia battle : EDIT WAR
Wikipedia edit wars are conflicts that arise when multiple editors disagree on the content of an article and repeatedly try to change it to reflect their own viewpoint. Disputes can sometimes be resolved through discussion and compromise, they can escalate into full-blown “edit wars” where editors engage in a back-and-forth battle to control the article. Wikipedia imposes the “three-revert rule” (3RR), which is a policy that limits the number of times an editor can revert a page to three times within a 24-hour period. The purpose of this rule is to prevent edit wars from getting out of hand and to encourage editors to engage in civil discussion.
25 Some zoo ballyhoo : ROARS
“Ballyhoo”, meaning “hype, publicity”, was originally circus slang dating back to the early 1900s. No one really knows where the term comes from, but I can tell you there is a village in Co. Cork in Ireland named Ballyhooly!
29 Florida team : RAYS
The Tampa Bay Rays MLB team is a relatively young franchise, having been formed in 1998. The initial name of the franchise was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. While known as the Devil Rays, the team finished last in the league almost every year. The name was changed to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, and I am told the Rays started into a streak of winning seasons soon after.
30 Montgomery of jazz : WES
Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist from Indianapolis. He was known for his unique playing style and innovative use of octaves in his solos. He also played with his thumb rather than a pick, which gave his playing a warmer and more rounded tone.
37 Boater, for one : LID
“Lid” is an informal term meaning “hat”.
39 Private line? : YES, SIR!
The lowest military rank of soldier is often a private (pvt.). The term “private” comes from the Middle Ages when “private soldiers” were hired or conscripted by noblemen to form a “private army”. The more generic usage of “private” started in the 1700s.
42 Degrees from Duke’s Fuqua Sch., e.g. : MBAS
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business opened for students in 1970 as the Graduate School of Business Administration. A few years later, the name was changed to honor philanthropist J.B. Fuqua who made a $10-million-dollar donation to the university’s capital campaign.
46 Petit déjeuner time : MATIN
In French, “le déjeuner” is “lunch”, and “le petit déjeuner” is “breakfast” (literally “the little lunch”).
49 Some cricket dismissals : RUN OUTS
In the sport of cricket, a batsman is run out while attempting to run between the wickets when the fielding team gets the ball to the wicket before the batsman.
50 Impressive structures : EDIFICES
To edify is to provide instruction in order to improve spiritually, morally or intellectually. The intent is to “build up” someone’s faith or morality, and so “edify” comes from the Latin “aedificare” meaning “to build, construct”. This Latin root also gives us our word “edifice”, meaning “massive building”.
59 Pitfall! platform : ATARI
“Pitfall!” Is a video game that Atari released way back in 1982. Star of the game is Pitfall Harry.
61 “The Lion King” voice role for Chiwetel Ejiofor : SCAR
British actor Chiwetel Ejiofo is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for his Oscar-winning performance as the lead in 2013’s “12 Years a Slave”.
The 2019 movie “The Lion King” is a remake of the animated Disney film “The Lion King” released in 1994. Despite being categorized as a live-action movie, the film was entirely created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) and virtual reality technology. The technology used for the film was so advanced that it allowed the filmmakers to make a near-exact replica of the original 1994 animated film, down to the smallest details like the fur on the animals’ backs.
63 “The Orphan Master’s Son” Pulitzer winner Johnson : ADAM
“The Orphan Master’s Son” is a novel by American author Adam Johnson, which was published in 2012 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013. The novel is set in North Korea and follows the life of its main character, Pak Jun Do, who is an orphan and rises through the ranks of the country’s military and government. While working on the book, Johnson conducted extensive research on the country, including traveling to North Korea multiple times.
Down
1 Spanish address : CASA
In Spanish, “la cocina” (the kitchen) and “el baño” (the bathroom) are “salas” (rooms) in a “casa” (house).
2 Middle-earth trilogy, to fans : LOTR
“Lord of the Rings” (LOTR)
3 Lesson in a Japanese art class, say : ANIME EYES
Anime drawings are known for their distinct style, which often features large eyes, colorful hair, and exaggerated expressions.
4 Solves, as a cryptogram : DECODES
In the world of word puzzles, a cryptogram is a short piece of encrypted text that is solved by working out which letters have been substituted for which letters. I think cryptograms are my favorite type of word puzzle, after the crossword of course …
5 __ race : RAT
We use “rat race” figuratively to describe an endless, pointless pursuit. The term comes from the laboratory, where one might imagine rats racing around a maze in search of some cheese.
6 “Ambient 1: Music for Airports” artist : ENO
Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the genre of ambient music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, which was the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks, somewhat inventively, 1/1, 1/2, 2/1 and 2/2.
7 GIF alternatives : BITMAPS
A bitmap is an image file format used to store digital images. Basically, each pixel in a bitmap file is stored as a “bit” of information, hence the name “bitmap”. In 1987, CompuServe introduced a new type of image file called the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). A GIF image takes the same information as a bitmap and then compresses it, resulting in a smaller file size. However, during compression the image may lose some resolution. The GIF format also handles short video clips, usually animations.
10 Stratigraphy discipline : GEOLOGY
Stratigraphy is a discipline in the field of geology. It is the study of rock strata, i.e. the distribution and age of sedimentary rock, which is found in layers.
11 Japanese breed : AKITA
The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.
13 Sharp objects? : HDTVS
Sharp Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic goods, headquartered in Osaka. The company takes its name from one of the first inventions of one of its founders, namely the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil. Sharp was the company that introduced the world to the LCD calculator, paving the way for the small and portable calculators that we all had, way back when …
18 Aquino known as the Philippine “Queen of All Media” : KRIS
Kris Aquino is a well-known actress, TV host, and social media personality in the Philippines. She is a daughter of Corazon Aquino, the 11th President of the Philippines, and the brother of Benigro Aquino III, the 15th President.
19 Pastis drink : PERNOD
The drink usually called just “Pernod” is a French beverage more correctly called “Pernod Anise”. The brand name was created by Henri-Louis Pernod in the late 1700s when he opened an absinthe distillery in Switzerland.
24 Capital of Österreich : WIEN
“Wien” is the German name for “Vienna”. Just like Berlin, Vienna was occupied by the four allied powers after WWII. In 1948, West Berlin was famously blockaded by the Soviet Union, leading to the remarkable Berlin Airlift that kept the city open. If the same thing had happened in Vienna, things would have been more complicated, as there was no airport in the western zone.
The name “Austria” is a Latin variant of the German name for the country, “Österreich”. “Österreich” itself means “Eastern borderlands”, a reference to the country’s history as a prefecture of neighboring Bavaria to the west.
32 Greens dish named for the owner of the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant : COBB SALAD
Ty Cobb’s first cousin, Robert H. Cobb, owned the Brown Derby chain of restaurants. One of his regular customers was the famous Sid Grauman, who ran Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Late one night, Grauman asked for a snack, and Cobb came up with a chopped salad simply made from ingredients he happened to have in the refrigerator. Grauman liked it so much that he continued to request it, and the Cobb salad was born.
33 Quaker captain of literature : AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.
36 Like classic TV’s Jaime Sommers : BIONIC
I so much preferred “The Bionic Woman” than the original show, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, but that was probably because I was “at that age” in the mid-seventies when the star Lindsay Wagner was attracting my attention! Wagner played Jaime Sommers, who was badly injured in a parachute jump. She was treated by implanting robotic devices that gave her speed, strength and exceptional hearing.
37 “Coming Home” singer Bridges : LEON
Leon Bridges is an R&B singer from Fort Worth, Texas who is best known for his 2015 hit single “Coming Home”. Bridges’ debut album, also titled “Coming Home,” was released in 2015 and peaked at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was praised for its authenticity and vintage sound, which Bridges achieved by recording with analog equipment and using techniques from the 1960s.
40 Pear-shaped glass : SNIFTER
A brandy snifter is a glass with a short stem, a wide bowl and a narrow top. The bowl is cupped in the hand so that the brandy, whiskey or other spirit is warmed, to facilitate evaporation. The wide bowl gives a large surface area, further encouraging evaporation, and the narrow top traps the aroma in the glass. So, one can easily “sniff” the spirit’s aroma in the “snifter”.
41 “A Shropshire Lad” poet : HOUSMAN
“A Shropshire Lad” is a collection of poems published in 1896, written by the English poet A. E. Housman. Housman couldn’t find a publisher for his work, so he had to use his own money to get the collection in print. The poems all hark back to the simple life of a young man in rural England. The collection gained in popularity as young men went overseas to fight in the Second Boer War, and then again during WWI. The nostalgic themes struck a chord with the young soldiers.
42 Title role for child star Mara Wilson : MATILDA
Mara Wilson started her acting career as a child actress, appearing in “Mrs. Doubtfire”, the 1994 version of “Miracle on 34th Street”, and the title character in “Matilda”. Despite her success as a child star, Mara Wilson decided to step away from acting (for 12 years) and pursue other interests. She became an accomplished author, publishing a memoir called “Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame” in 2016.
45 Dance style for Moana : HULA
“Moana” is a 2016 animated feature film and the 56th animated Disney movie. The title character is the daughter of a Polynesian chief who heads off in search of the demigod Maui, hoping that he can save her people. Unlike many of the previous Disney Princess films, Moana’s story is not centered around romance. In fact, she is the first Disney Princess who doesn’t have a love interest.
47 Specialized, in a way : AD HOC
The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.
48 “The Princess and the Frog” princess : TIANA
“The Princess and the Frog” is an animated feature released in 2009 by Walt Disney Studios. The film is set in New Orleans in the twenties. A waitress called Tiana kisses a prince who had been turned into a frog, and then she herself turns into a frog.
53 Actress Hayworth : RITA
Rita Hayworth was born in Brooklyn as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her father was a flamenco dancer from Spain and so his daughter fell naturally into dancing. The family moved to Hollywood where Hayworth’s father set up a dance studio, and there worked with the likes of James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The young Hayworth had a slow start in movies, finding herself typecast because of her Mediterranean features. When she underwent extensive electrolysis to change her forehead and dyed her hair red, she started to get more work (how sad is that?). In 1941 she posed for that famous pin-up picture which accompanied GIs all over the world.
54 Focus of the National Girls Collaborative Project : STEM
The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) is an initiative that aims to increase the participation of girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.
56 Story __ : ARC
A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.
57 Gender prefix : CIS-
The term “cisgender” is used as the opposite of “transgender”. Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 In stitches? : CLAD
5 Luxury purse trade-in app : REBAG
10 Cut that may need stitches : GASH
14 Tops : A-ONE
15 19-Down flavor : ANISE
16 Just made : EKED
17 “You’re rambling” : STICK TO THE POINT
20 Hard wear? : ARMOR
21 Congratulatory cry : MAZEL TOV!
22 Wikipedia battle : EDIT WAR
25 Some zoo ballyhoo : ROARS
26 Mail order? : FREE SHIPPING
29 Florida team : RAYS
30 Montgomery of jazz : WES
31 Vehicle for kids : TOY CAR
35 “Hail, Caesar” : AVE
36 Bar : BAN
37 Boater, for one : LID
38 “So that’s your game!” : OHO!
39 Private line? : YES, SIR!
41 Chaps : HES
42 Degrees from Duke’s Fuqua Sch., e.g. : MBAS
43 Halfway decent : NOT TOO SHABBY
46 Petit déjeuner time : MATIN
49 Some cricket dismissals : RUN OUTS
50 Impressive structures : EDIFICES
52 Inventive types? : LIARS
55 Doodad : WHATCHAMACALLIT
58 Only : LONE
59 Pitfall! platform : ATARI
60 See : DATE
61 “The Lion King” voice role for Chiwetel Ejiofor : SCAR
62 Goes together : SYNCS
63 “The Orphan Master’s Son” Pulitzer winner Johnson : ADAM
Down
1 Spanish address : CASA
2 Middle-earth trilogy, to fans : LOTR
3 Lesson in a Japanese art class, say : ANIME EYES
4 Solves, as a cryptogram : DECODES
5 __ race : RAT
6 “Ambient 1: Music for Airports” artist : ENO
7 GIF alternatives : BITMAPS
8 Part of the B major scale : A-SHARP
9 “Sheesh!” : GEEZ!
10 Stratigraphy discipline : GEOLOGY
11 Japanese breed : AKITA
12 Spanish address : SENOR
13 Sharp objects? : HDTVS
18 Aquino known as the Philippine “Queen of All Media” : KRIS
19 Pastis drink : PERNOD
23 Frustrate : THWART
24 Capital of Österreich : WIEN
26 Skirmish : FRAY
27 Wild party : RAVE
28 Overly correct “You are correct” : IT IS SO
32 Greens dish named for the owner of the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant : COBB SALAD
33 Quaker captain of literature : AHAB
34 Flushed : ROSY
36 Like classic TV’s Jaime Sommers : BIONIC
37 “Coming Home” singer Bridges : LEON
40 Pear-shaped glass : SNIFTER
41 “A Shropshire Lad” poet : HOUSMAN
42 Title role for child star Mara Wilson : MATILDA
44 Compact : TREATY
45 Dance style for Moana : HULA
46 Whimpers : MEWLS
47 Specialized, in a way : AD HOC
48 “The Princess and the Frog” princess : TIANA
51 Chuck alternative : CHAS
53 Actress Hayworth : RITA
54 Focus of the National Girls Collaborative Project : STEM
56 Story __ : ARC
57 Gender prefix : CIS-
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