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Constructed by: Pam Amick Klawitter
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Theme: Where R U?
Themed answers are phrases telling us WHERE the letter U appears within a word in the answer:
- 23A U : “PERCUSSION” SECTION
- 43A U : “UNION” LEADER
- 66A U : “COMMUNITY” CENTER
- 92A U : “COUNTER” PART
- 116A U’s : PIECES OF“FURNITURE”
- 16D U : HUNK OF “JUNK”
- 7D1 U : MID-“JANUARY”
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 12m 42s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
6 Sheepherding pig in a Best Picture nominee : BABE
The hit 1995 film “Babe” was produced and filmed in Australia. The movie is an adaptation of a 1983 novel called “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith. “Babe” was a smash hit at the box office and was extremely well received by the critics. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to “Braveheart”. However, it did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects by beating out “Apollo 13”, which was an amazing feat, I’d say…
10 Some bowling feats : SPARES
In bowling, the downing of all ten pins in two balls in the same frame is called a spare, and scores ten points. The player gets a bonus, equal to the number of pins downed with the next ball, which could be up to ten. Hence, a spare can be worth up to 20 points
16 Chef’s toque, e.g. : HAT
A toque was a brimless style of hat that was very fashionable in Europe in the 13th to 16th centuries. Nowadays we associate toques with chefs, as it is the name given to a chef’s hat (called a “toque blanche” in French, a “white hat”). A chef’s toque is quite interesting. Many toques have exactly 100 pleats, often said to signify the number of ways that an egg can be cooked.
19 Maine college town : ORONO
The town of Orono is home to the University of Maine that was founded in 1862. The college is actually located on an island (Marsh island) lying between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The town of Orono is named after Joseph Orono, a chief of the Penobscot Nation. The school’s athletic teams are named the Maine Black Bears.
20 Lena of “The Artist’s Wife” : OLIN
Lena Olin is a Swedish actress, and clearly someone who had acting in her blood. Her mother was the actress Britta Holmberg and her father the actor and director Stig Olin. Olin had a very successful career in Sweden, often working with the great Ingmar Bergman. Olin’s breakthrough international and English-speaking role was playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” released in 1988. Way back in 1974, Miss Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in a beauty pageant for Nordic women held in Helsinki, Finland. Olin’s most famous performance was in “Chocolat” released in 2000, and then she won an Emmy in 2003 for Best Supporting Actress in the TV show “Alias”.
“The Artist’s Wife” is a 2019 drama film starring Lena Olin as the wife of a renowned artist who is showing signs of dementia. Bruce Dern plays the artist, whose wife was also a promising painter, until she faded into the shadow of her husband’s successful career. But, the wife decides to take up painting again. I haven’t seen “The Artist’s Wife”, but the plot summary reminds me of the excellent 2017 film “The Wife” starring Glen Close in the title role. I will have to put “The Artist’s Wife on my list …
21 Some Tuscany natives : PISANS
The city of Pisa sits right on the Italian coast, at the mouth of the River Arno. The city is perhaps most famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …
22 Actress Thurman : UMA
Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in the movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.
29 Sitcom home of Johnny Fever : WKRP
Johnny Fever is a wild and wacky disk jockey in the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. Fever is played by actor Howard Hesseman. The character was actually inspired by a real-life DJ from Atlanta named Skinny Bobby Harper.
32 “I’m with you” : DITTO
The word “ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So, “ditto” is another wonderful import from that lovely land …
37 Pet adoption org. : ASPCA
Unlike most developed countries, the US has no umbrella organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.
46 Eye-related : OPTIC
The linguistic root “-opti-” appears in words such as “optical”, “autopsy” and “myopia”. “-opti-” comes from the Greek for “light, sight”.
48 With 69-Down, MVP of Super Bowl III : JOE
69D See 48-Across : NAMATH
Legendary quarterback Joe Namath played most of his professional football games with the New York Jets. He was dubbed “Broadway Joe” in 1965 by offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett, a reference to Namath’s appearance on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”. Namath had played college football with the University of Alabama but left school without finishing his degree, to play professionally. Many years later he enrolled in Alabama’s External Degree program, and graduated with a BA in December 2007, at 64 years of age. Well done, Joe!
50 Verizon communications service : FIOS
FiOS is a service from Verizon that bundles Internet, telephone and television service. All three services are provided over fiber-optic lines, right to the door. I presume that the name FiOS comes from something like “Fiber-Optic Service” …
51 Beatrix Potter’s real first name : HELEN
Beatrix Potter was an English author famous for the children’s books she wrote and illustrated. The most famous character in her stories was Peter Rabbit, whose sisters were Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. Potter put her talent as an artist to good use in the scientific world as well. She recorded many images of lichens and fungi as seen through her microscope. As a result of her work, she was respected as an expert mycologist.
52 Cougar on a sneaker : PUMA
Puma is a German company that sells athletic shoes worldwide. The company is most famous for its line of soccer boots.
53 Orchestra leader : MAESTRO
“Maestro” is often used to address a musical conductor. “Maestro” (plural “maestri”) is the Italian word for “master, teacher”. The plural in English is usually “maestros”.
56 100 smackers : C-SPOT
“C-note” and “C-spot” are slang terms for “$100 bill”.
“Smacker” is American slang for “money”, with “smackers” often being used to mean ”dollars”. It is suggested that the term might come from “smacking” a banknote into one’s hand.
58 Conference session : SEMINAR
A seminar is a meeting called for the exchange of information, especially in a university. The term comes from the Latin “seminarium” meaning “breeding ground, plant nursery”, which is also the root of our word “seminary”.
60 Low-risk investments: Abbr. : CDS
A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.
61 Glacier breakaway : BERG
An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken away from a glacier or ice shelf. Our use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.
63 College football fans sporting a blue “Y” : ELIS
The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of Yale University. The Yale school mascot is “Handsome Dan”, the Yale bulldog. The Bulldogs’ logo features a bulldog in front of a letter Y.
70 __ acid : AMINO
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins. Nine amino acids are considered “essential” for humans. These nine must be included in the diet as they cannot be synthesized in the body.
74 Waze display : MAP
Waze is a navigation app that is similar to Google Maps and Apple Maps. Waze was developed in Israel, and was acquired by Google in 2013.
79 Employee who works a lot? : VALET
A varlet was an attendant or servant, and perhaps a knight’s page. The term “varlet” comes from the Old French “vaslet” meaning “squire, young man”. “Vaslet” also gave us our contemporary word “valet”. The term “varlet” came to be pejorative, describing an unprincipled person.
And, that would be a parking lot.
87 Greek earth goddess : GAIA
The Greek goddess personifying the earth was Gaea (also “Gaia”, and meaning “land” or “earth” in Greek). The Roman equivalent goddess was Terra Mater, “Mother Earth”.
89 Santa __: dry California winds : ANAS
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
90 “The Big Bang Theory” astrophysicist with a Yorkshire terrier named Cinnamon : RAJ
Raj Koothrappali is a character on the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” who is played by British-Indian actor Kunal Nayyar. Nayyar is married to Neha Kapur, a former Miss India.
97 National Forest northwest of Orlando : OCALA
Ocala National Forest is a large protected area covering over 600 square miles of Central Florida. Included in the bounds of the forest is the US Navy’s Pinecastle Bombing Range. Navy planes drop about 20,000 bombs annually at Pinecastle, although only a few hundred are live munitions.
99 Wrinkly dog : SHAR-PEI
The shar-pei breed of dog is one with a wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.
105 Mai __: cocktail : TAI
The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.
106 “Billions” actor Giamatti : PAUL
Paul Giamatti is a favorite actor of mine, with notable performances in the 2004 movie “Sideways”, the TV series “Billions”, and the excellent historic miniseries “John Adams”. One quirky fact about Giamatti is that he is the subject of the “Wax Paul Now” campaign, a viral movement that is pushing for the actor to get a wax statue in his likeness in Madame Tussauds.
“Billions” is a Showtime drama series starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. It’s about a federal prosecutor going after a hedge fund manager in New York. Excellent show …
108 Home for a pride : LION’S DEN
Here are some colorful collective nouns:
- A pride of lions
- A shrewdness of apes
- A cloud of bats
- A bench of bishops
- A parliament of owls
- A clowder of cats
- A waddling of ducks
- An army of frogs
- A knot of toads
115 Old hoops gp. : ABA
The American Basketball Association (ABA) merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976. The ABA used a ball with the colors red, white and blue. The NBA uses a more traditional orange ball.
118 __ La Table: cookware shop : SUR
Sur La Table is a chain of retail stores selling high-end kitchenware products. The company name translates from French as “on the table”. The first Sur La Table store opened in 1972 in Seattle’s celebrated Pike Place Market. Today, Sur La Table is the main competitor to Williams-Sonoma.
120 Nestlé chocolate bar with a bubbly texture : AERO
I must admit to having a weakness for Aero chocolate bars. Aero was introduced by Rowntree’s in the North of England in 1935. The “aero” name is a reference to the chocolate’s “bubbly” texture.
121 Time being : NONCE
The quaint phrase “for the nonce” means “for the present, for now”.
123 Dr. Scholl’s purchase : INSOLE
William Scholl worked part time as a cobbler and then in a shoe retailer in Chicago. Noting that many people had similar foot problems he went to night school and qualified as a podiatrist in 1904. Soon after he started his own company making footcare products, giving us the brand name Dr. Scholl’s.
Down
2 God of war pursued by Wonder Woman : ARES
Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.
3 Civil wrong : TORT
“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
4 Conspiring : IN CAHOOTS
To be in cahoots with someone is to be in partnership with that person. The exact etymology is unclear, but one suggestion is that it comes from the French “cohorte”, which was used in the US to mean “companion, confederate”.
7 Undefeated boxer Laila : ALI
Laila Ali is the daughter of the great Muhammad Ali and is a very capable boxer in her own right. Laila’s professional record is an impressive 24 wins, including 21 knockouts. Now retired, she never lost a fight, and nor did she ever draw. One of those victories was against Jackie Frazier-Lyde, daughter of her father’s nemesis Joe Frazier. Laila is not a bad dancer either, coming in third place in the fourth season of “Dancing with the Stars”.
8 Flora and fauna : BIOTA
The biota of a region is the total collection of flora and fauna found there.
The fauna is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora is that region’s plant life. The term “fauna” comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.
9 Heath’s “Brokeback Mountain” role : ENNIS
The very successful 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” is an adaptation of a short story written by Annie Proulx. The two romantic lead characters are Ennis del Mar (played by Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).
12 Hub of bubbly : ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy that is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.
14 Ramen mushroom : ENOKI
Enokitake (also known as “enoki”) are long and thin white mushrooms often added to soups or salads.
Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.
15 Govt.-issued ID : SSN
The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.
18 Waterproof cover : TARP
Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.
24 Jason of “How I Met Your Mother” : SEGEL
Actor Jason Segel is best known for playing Marshall on the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother”. Segel is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church and performed a wedding ceremony on “The Tonight Show” in 2010.
29 GATT successor : WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The stated aim of the WTO is to liberalize international trade. The organization was founded in 1995 when an international agreement on trade was reached that effectively replaced the existing General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that was laid down in 1949.
31 Actor Morales : ESAI
Actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.
33 “Waterfalls” pop trio : TLC
“Waterfalls” was a hit in 1995 for girl group TLC. It was to become the band’s signature song, and is notable in that it is the first number-one song to reference AIDS. In fact, “Waterfalls” also mentions the illegal drug trade and promiscuity.
34 Golf legend Sam : SNEAD
Sam Snead was probably the most successful golfer never to win a US Open title, as he won a record 82 PGA Tour events. Snead did win seven majors, but never the US Open. He was also quite the showman. He once hit the scoreboard at Wrigley Field stadium with a golf ball, by teeing off from home plate. Snead’s best-remembered nickname is “Slammin’ Sammy”.
35 Dressed to the __ : NINES
The term “to the nines” means “to perfection”. The first person to use the term in literature was Robbie Burns. Apparently the idea behind the use of “nines” is figurative (pun!), with the number nine considered “ideal” as it is arrived at by multiplying three by three.
39 Certain NCO : CPL
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) might be a sergeant (sgt.) or a corporal (cpl.).
41 2011 Literature Nobelist Tranströmer : TOMAS
Tomas Tranströmer was a poet from Stockholm in Sweden who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a popular choice. He had been nominated for the award every year since 1993, before finally winning in 2011.
42 12 months : YEAR
Understanding months and years might have been a lot easier if we had settled on 13 “months” in a year, with a “month” comprising the four weeks that it takes to go through a complete lunar cycle (full moon to full moon). Then, every month would have been 4 weeks long, and it would be easy to understand why there are 52 weeks in a year (13 months x 4 weeks). But, we “mess” around with 12 “messy” months …
43 Camp Pendleton org. : USMC
Camp Pendleton is a large Marine Corps base located on the Southern California coast in San Diego County. The base was opened during WWII, in 1942, and was named for Marine Corps Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton, who passed away that same year after 40 years of service.
44 “What’s up, __?” : DOC
Tex Avery was a cartoon animator and voice actor in Hollywood. He was the man who created Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and it was Avery who gave Bugs Bunny the line “What’s up, doc?” Apparently it was a phrase that was common in his native Texas and one that became a bit of a catchphrase at North Dallas High School, which Avery attended in the twenties.
47 Subject of Newton’s first law : INERTIA
Newton’s first law of motion states that a body that is moving maintains the same velocity unless it is acted upon by an external force. That resistance to changing velocity is known as inertia. Johann Kepler introduced the Latin word “inertia” to describe the physical phenomenon in the 17th century. The Latin term translates as “apathy, inactiveness”. We started using the Latin “inertia” in English to mean the same thing only in the 19th century, after the term had bopped around in science texts for a couple of centuries.
52 Santa Monica landmark : PIER
Santa Monica, California lies on Santa Monica Bay and is in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909.
54 Govt. security : T-BOND
A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.
57 Part of a flower : PETAL
The petals of a plant are modified leaves that are usually brightly colored or unusually shaped in order to attract pollinators. Collectively, the petals of a flower are known as the corolla.
66 French film : CINE
“Cinéma” is French for “cinema”, and is often shortened to “ciné”.
67 The Silver State : NEVADA
The official nickname of Nevada is the Silver State, a reference to the importance of silver ore in the state’s growth and economy. An unofficial nickname is the Battle Born State. “Battle Born” is a reference to Nevada being awarded statehood during the American Civil War.
68 Some long-term investments, briefly : IRAS
Individual retirement account (IRA)
70 Bee-related : APIAN
Something described as apian is related to bees. “Apis” is Latin for “bee”.
71 U : MID-JANUARY
January is the first month of our Gregorian calendar. It is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions.
74 “Hidden Figures” actress Janelle : MONAE
Janelle Monáe is a singer and actress. I’m not familiar with her as a singer, but did see Monáe play NASA engineer Mary Jackson in the excellent 2016 film “Hidden Figures”.
“Hidden Figures” is an excellent 2016 film based on a book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly. Both book and film tell the story of female African-American mathematicians who worked for NASA during the Mercury and Apollo programs in the 1960s.
75 “Pong” company : ATARI
Do you remember the arcade video game that is like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looks like a ball, over what looks like a net? Well, that is Pong. The arcade version of Pong was introduced in 1972, with Atari selling a home version through Sears for the Christmas market in 1975.
77 Bollywood dress : SARI
“Bollywood” is the informal name given to the huge film industry based in Mumbai in India. The term “Bollywood” is a melding of “Bombay” (the former name of Mumbai), and “Hollywood”.
81 Kind of cross : TAU
Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.
83 Noisy toy gun : CAP PISTOL
Cap guns are toy guns that use as ammunition a small quantity of explosive that is shock-sensitive. The small disks of ammunition come as individual pellets or perhaps in plastic rings. The cap guns that I used as a child came with about 50 pellets of ammunition on a roll of paper. As a kid, I used to think that cap guns were so cool. Now, not so much …
86 Last mo. : DEC
December is the twelfth month in our calendar but was the tenth month in the old Roman calendar, hence the name (“decem” is Latin for “ten”). Back then there were only ten months in the year. “Ianuarius” (January) and “Februarius” (February) were then added as the eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Soon after, the year was reset and January and February became the first and second months.
88 Research org. : INST
Institute (inst.)
91 Netherlands airline : KLM
The initialism “KLM” stands for “Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij”, which translates from Dutch as “Royal Aviation Company”. KLM is the flag carrier for the Netherlands, and is the oldest airline in the world still operating with its original name. It was founded in 1919. KLM merged with Air France in 2004.
93 Use DoorDash, say : EAT IN
DoorDash is the largest food delivery company in the country. Customers can order food from many different restaurants using the DoorDash app, and a DoorDash driver delivers it to a home or office. DoorDash also operates ghost kitchens, facilities that prepare meals for delivery customers of a group of restaurants.
98 One paying a flat fee? : LESSEE
“Flat”, in the sense of an apartment or condominium, is a word more commonly used in Britain and Ireland than on this side of the pond. The term “flat” is Scottish in origin, in which language it used to mean “floor in a house”.
110 Georgia Tech basketball coach Fortner : NELL
Nell Fortner is a former college basketball coach, who most notably led the Auburn team from 2004 until 2012. Fortner also coached the US national team to victory in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
111 Senior moment? : PROM
A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.
113 Keiko in “Free Willy,” for one : ORCA
The orca that starred in the 1993 movie “Free Willy” was actually called Keiko, with Willy being his “stage name”. Keiko had a sad life. He was captured near Iceland in 1979 and sold to a local aquarium. Subsequently he was sold on to Marineland in Ontario, and then Six Flags Mexico in 1985. After starring in the movie, his fans raised money with the intent of returning Keiko to the wild. Keiko had become very ill, partly from being confined in a small tank in Mexico, so a lot of money had to be spent returning him to good health. He was purchased by the Oregon Coast Aquarium who undertook the task of treating him and preparing him for the wild. You might recall the dramatic journey he took from Mexico to Oregon in a US Air Force transport plane in 1996. Having regained his health, he was flown to Iceland and there was gradually reintroduced into the wild. Sadly, Keiko did not fare too well back in the ocean. He was never adopted by a pod, so lived a solitary life. He lost weight, would sometimes follow fishing boats and play with any humans who would give him attention. In 2003, Keiko beached himself in Taken Bay in Norway, where he died.
114 Hammer end : PEEN
The peen of a hammer is on the head, and is the side of the head that is opposite the striking surface. Often the peen is in the shape of a hemisphere (as in a ball-peen hammer), but usually it is shaped like a claw (mainly for removing nails).
116 Inflation fig. : PSI
Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
117 Ocean State sch. : URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston, with smaller campuses in Providence, Narragansett and West Greenwich.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, and is the second-most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State (and more informally “Little Rhody”), largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Language of many a motto : LATIN
6 Sheepherding pig in a Best Picture nominee : BABE
10 Some bowling feats : SPARES
16 Chef’s toque, e.g. : HAT
19 Maine college town : ORONO
20 Lena of “The Artist’s Wife” : OLIN
21 Some Tuscany natives : PISANS
22 Actress Thurman : UMA
23 U : PERCUSSION SECTION
26 Neither here __ there : NOR
27 Grand spreads : ESTATES
28 Unproductive activity : TIME SINK
29 Sitcom home of Johnny Fever : WKRP
30 Embrace : HUG
31 Made less stringent : EASED
32 “I’m with you” : DITTO
34 Sound sleepers? : SNORERS
37 Pet adoption org. : ASPCA
40 On the up and up? : LOFTY
43 U : UNION LEADER
46 Eye-related : OPTIC
48 With 69-Down, MVP of Super Bowl III : JOE
49 Posted : SENT
50 Verizon communications service : FIOS
51 Beatrix Potter’s real first name : HELEN
52 Cougar on a sneaker : PUMA
53 Orchestra leader : MAESTRO
56 100 smackers : C-SPOT
58 Conference session : SEMINAR
60 Low-risk investments: Abbr. : CDS
61 Glacier breakaway : BERG
63 College football fans sporting a blue “Y” : ELIS
65 Smells awful : REEKS
66 U : COMMUNITY CENTER
70 __ acid : AMINO
72 Trillion: Pref. : TERA-
73 Stand in line : WAIT
74 Waze display : MAP
77 Washer cycle : SPIN-DRY
79 Employee who works a lot? : VALET
82 Team symbols : MASCOTS
84 Senate staffer : AIDE
85 Bar mixers : SODAS
87 Greek earth goddess : GAIA
89 Santa __: dry California winds : ANAS
90 “The Big Bang Theory” astrophysicist with a Yorkshire terrier named Cinnamon : RAJ
91 Worked (up) : KEYED
92 U : COUNTER PART
95 Leaving nothing out : IN ALL
97 National Forest northwest of Orlando : OCALA
99 Wrinkly dog : SHAR-PEI
100 Wayfarer : NOMAD
102 Break up : END IT
105 Mai __: cocktail : TAI
106 “Billions” actor Giamatti : PAUL
108 Home for a pride : LION’S DEN
111 Road trip break : PIT STOP
115 Old hoops gp. : ABA
116 U’s : PIECES OF FURNITURE
118 __ La Table: cookware shop : SUR
119 Clear up : SETTLE
120 Nestlé chocolate bar with a bubbly texture : AERO
121 Time being : NONCE
122 Barnyard pen : STY
123 Dr. Scholl’s purchase : INSOLE
124 Prune : TRIM
125 Discover bit by bit : GLEAN
Down
1 Relaxed stride : LOPE
2 God of war pursued by Wonder Woman : ARES
3 Civil wrong : TORT
4 Conspiring : IN CAHOOTS
5 Highway warning : NO U-TURN
6 Order (around) : BOSS
7 Undefeated boxer Laila : ALI
8 Flora and fauna : BIOTA
9 Heath’s “Brokeback Mountain” role : ENNIS
10 Zooms : SPEEDS
11 Snaps : PICS
12 Hub of bubbly : ASTI
13 Backup plans for outdoor events : RAIN DATES
14 Ramen mushroom : ENOKI
15 Govt.-issued ID : SSN
16 U : HUNK OF JUNK
17 Love, in Spain : AMOR
18 Waterproof cover : TARP
24 Jason of “How I Met Your Mother” : SEGEL
25 Lipstick mishap : SMEAR
29 GATT successor : WTO
31 Actor Morales : ESAI
33 “Waterfalls” pop trio : TLC
34 Golf legend Sam : SNEAD
35 Dressed to the __ : NINES
36 Campaign promise : REFORM
38 Written in verse : POETIC
39 Certain NCO : CPL
41 2011 Literature Nobelist Tranströmer : TOMAS
42 12 months : YEAR
43 Camp Pendleton org. : USMC
44 “What’s up, __?” : DOC
45 Last letter of many plural nouns : ESS
47 Subject of Newton’s first law : INERTIA
51 Sanctified : HOLY
52 Santa Monica landmark : PIER
54 Govt. security : T-BOND
55 Contrition : REMORSE
57 Part of a flower : PETAL
59 Track events : MEETS
62 __ reaction : GUT
64 Wrap (up) : SEW
66 French film : CINE
67 The Silver State : NEVADA
68 Some long-term investments, briefly : IRAS
69 See 48-Across : NAMATH
70 Bee-related : APIAN
71 U : MID-JANUARY
74 “Hidden Figures” actress Janelle : MONAE
75 “Pong” company : ATARI
76 Hushed “Hey!” : PSST!
77 Bollywood dress : SARI
78 Inconsistent nutrition plans : YO-YO DIETS
80 Bigheadedness : EGO
81 Kind of cross : TAU
83 Noisy toy gun : CAP PISTOL
86 Last mo. : DEC
88 Research org. : INST
91 Netherlands airline : KLM
92 “On it” : CAN DO
93 Use DoorDash, say : EAT IN
94 Classification for some violent films : R-RATING
96 “2 funny!” : LOL!
98 One paying a flat fee? : LESSEE
101 Extraterrestrial : ALIEN
103 Make more lean : DEFAT
104 Gather : INFER
106 “No thanks” : PASS
107 Share a border : ABUT
109 Quadri- doubled : OCTO-
110 Georgia Tech basketball coach Fortner : NELL
111 Senior moment? : PROM
112 Song : TUNE
113 Keiko in “Free Willy,” for one : ORCA
114 Hammer end : PEEN
116 Inflation fig. : PSI
117 Ocean State sch. : URI
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