Tag: Zig instead of zag perhaps crossword clue

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Constructed by: Adrian Johnson & Will Nediger
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 9m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Pickle : SCRAPE

To be in a pickle is to be in a fix, in trouble. One of the first uses of “pickle” in such a context was William Shakespeare (who else?), in his play “The Tempest”. Here is part of the conversation between Alonso, King of Naples, and his jester Trinculo:

ALONSO:
And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they
Find this grand liquor that hath gilded ’em?
How camest thou in this pickle?

TRINCULO:
I have been in such a pickle since I
saw you last that, I fear me, will never out of
my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

15 Vaudeville singer Smith : MAMIE

Mamie Smith was a trailblazing vaudeville singer, dancer, and actress who made history in the early 20th century. In 1920, she achieved a groundbreaking milestone by recording “Crazy Blues”, the first blues vocal by a Black artist. The record became a massive hit, selling over a million copies and paving the way for other Black musicians in the recording industry.

20 Car mirror’s view : REAR

The Indianapolis 500 race is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race is run around a 2.5 mile oval, hence requiring 200 laps for completion. The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly, that was the first ever use of a rear-view mirror on a motor vehicle.

23 “__ Masters”: reality show with building contests : LEGO

“Lego Masters” is a reality competition where teams of Lego enthusiasts face off against each other to create amazing builds with seemingly limitless bricks. While the US version, hosted by Will Arnett, has gained popularity, it’s actually based on a British show. The original “Lego Masters” premiered in the UK in 2017, hosted by Melvin Odoom, laid the groundwork for the successful adaptations that followed in countries like the US and Australia.

24 When all’s been said and done, to a Brit : AFTERWARDS

Here in the US, we tend to use the word “afterward” to mean “at a later time”. In British English, the same sentiment is usually expressed as “afterwards”.

30 Gifts that might be made with kukui : LEIS

Kukui, also known as candlenut, is a large tree that is valued, particularly in Hawaii, for its many uses. The nuts were traditionally burned for light, hence the name “candlenut”, and the oil was used for medicine, waterproofing, and even as a varnish. The nuts are often polished and strung together and included in leis.

32 Joplin’s “Treemonisha,” e.g. : OPERA

“Treemonisha” is an opera composed by the renowned ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Completed in 1911, it tells the story of a young African-American woman who becomes the leader of her rural community after receiving an education. Despite Joplin’s hopes for a grand production, “Treemonisha” faced challenges due to its racial themes and wasn’t fully staged until 1972, long after Joplin’s death. It was later recognized with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Joplin in 1976.

34 Newspaper that covers Congress : THE HILL

“The Hill” is a prominent political newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1994, it has a particular focus on the inner workings of the U.S. Congress, the presidency, and election campaigns.

36 __ canto : BEL

“Bel canto” is a term used in Italian opera, the literal translation of which is “beautiful singing”. The term specifically describes a style of singing that emphasizes beauty of tone over dramatic power.

37 “Julia” star Swinton : TILDA

Tilda Swinton is an English actress who is quite famous in her native land. She made a big name for herself outside the UK when she played the “baddie” in the 2007 movie “Michael Clayton”, opposite the “goodie” played by George Clooney. That performance earned Swinton a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

“Julia” is a 2008 French-American drama film inspired by the 1980 Chilean film “Gloria”. “Julia” stars Tilda Swinton as the title character, a troubled and alcoholic woman who becomes entangled in a dangerous kidnapping scheme.

39 TV explorer Márquez : DORA

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases. Her constant companion is an anthropomorphic monkey named “Boots”, because he always wears red boots. Dora, full name “Dora Márquez”, also hangs out with Isa, an iguana.

41 One might be on a roll : SESAME SEED

The sesame is a flowering plant that is cultivated mainly for its edible seeds. The seeds are a source of oil, and indeed, the sesame is the oldest known oilseed crop.

43 Freddie portrayer in “Bohemian Rhapsody” : RAMI

Actor Rami Malek’s big break came with the leading role in the television series “Mr. Robot”. In 2018, Malik gave an Oscar-winning performance playing Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That marked the first time that an actor of Egyptian descent won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is an outstanding 2018 film about the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer with the British rock band Queen. Rami Malek portrayed Mercury, in an Oscar-winning performance. The original choice to play Mercury was Sacha Baron Cohen, the title character in the “Borat” mockumentary films.

45 Basil who designed England’s Coventry Cathedral : SPENCE

The original 14th-century Coventry Cathedral in the West Midlands of England was largely destroyed by German bombing during World War II, leaving just its spire standing as a reminder of the devastation. Rather than simply rebuild, the city chose to construct alongside the ruins a new cathedral, which was consecrated in 1962.

Sir Basil Spence (1907-1976) was a prominent Scottish architect. He gained international recognition for his design of Coventry Cathedral, an innovative structure that incorporated the ruins of the war-torn cathedral with a striking new structure. Spence served during WWII, notably designing a counterfeit oil terminus at Dover, as part of the deception about the location of the D-Day landings. He then landed in Normandy on D-Day, alongside the rest of the Allied troops.

52 Planet-mapping tool : RADAR

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

60 Coarse cloth : TWEED

Tweed is a rough woolen fabric that is very much associated with Scotland in the UK, and with County Donegal in Ireland. The cloth was originally called “tweel”, the Scots word for “twill”. Apparently a London merchant misinterpreted some handwriting in the early 1800s and assumed the fabric was called “tweed”, a reference to the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck …

Down

1 Big name in pizza rolls : TOTINO’S

Totino’s brand of frozen pizza was founded by Rose and Jim Totino, a married couple who had been running a take-out pizzeria in Minneapolis since 1951.

4 Letters with a negotiable price : OBO

Or best offer (OBO)

5 Nautilus captain : NEMO

In the 1954 movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, Captain Nemo goes down with his ship. In the novel by Jules Verne (1869-1870), the fate of Nemo and his crew isn’t quite so cut and dry, although the inference is perhaps that they did indeed head for Davy Jones’ Locker. However, Nemo turns up alive and well in Verne’s 1875 novel “The Mysterious Island”.

7 Margaret of “Fire Island” : 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.”

“Fire Island” is a 2022 romantic comedy about a group of gay friends taking a vacation on Fire Island on the South Shore of Long Island. The film’s storyline was inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice”. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear good things …

8 Zodiac mammal : RAM

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

9 Home of most of Turkey : ASIA

Turkey is a country that straddles the border between the continents of Europe and Asia. Even though most of Turkey lies geographically in Asia, the country has been strengthening its ties with its European neighbors in recent decades. Turkey is a member of NATO, and was well on the way to becoming a member of the European Union until EU members started calling out human rights violations in recent years.

10 Condition that may be treated with EMDR therapy : PTSD

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy treatment originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. 1 During EMDR therapy, the patient focuses on a specific memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements, taps, or tones. This process is believed to help the brain reprocess the traumatic memory, reducing its negative impact. It’s worth noting that EMDR is somewhat controversial, with some debate surrounding the exact mechanisms by which it works and its effectiveness compared to other therapies.

11 Socket sets : EYES

The orbits are the eye sockets in the skull.

12 People who partially identify as female : DEMI-GIRLS

Demi-girls are individuals who partially identify as female, and partially as non-binary. The term “demi-girl” falls under the transgender umbrella, as it describes someone whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

13 Blowout remedy : SPARE TIRE

A spare tire for a vehicle may be identical to the tires on the vehicle. It may also be a “limited use” or “donut” tire. A donut spare tire can only be used for limited distances.

14 Endpoint of the Detroit River : LAKE ERIE

The Detroit River runs just under 30 miles from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie, and so technically might be referred to as a strait. In fact, the waterway’s original name in French was “Rivière du Détroit”, which translates as “River of the Strait”.

15 Marimba strikers : MALLETS

A marimba is a musical instrument that is somewhat like a large xylophone. It originated in Mexico and … it is the instrument that plays the default ringtone on Apple phones.

21 Rotten to the Corps, perhaps : AWOL

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is the smallest of the four branches in the US Department of Defense (DOD).

22 Genre for Flo Milli and Flau’jae : RAP

“Flo Milli” is the stage name of rapper Tamia Carter. Carter started rapping when she was 11 years old, and by the age of 14 had disbanded her first rap group Pink Mafia.

Flau’jae Johnson started playing for the LSU Tigers basketball team in 2022, and in 2023 helped lead LSU to their first national championship title. Beyond basketball, Flau’jae released her debut album as a rap artist in 2024.

26 Sugar Bowl home : TAHOE

Sugar Bowl is a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Established in 1939, it’s one of the oldest ski areas in California, and was the first in the state to install a chairlift.

35 Boyos : LADS

“Boyo” is an informal term used in places like Australia, Wales and Ireland as an alternative for “laddie” or “lad”.

38 Dojo level : DAN

The dan ranking system is used in several Japanese and Korean martial arts. The ranking indicates a level of proficiency, and often only applies to practitioners who have already earned a black belt.

The Japanese word “dojo” translates literally as “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

42 Dig up : EXHUME

Our word “exhume” ultimately comes from the Latin “ex” (out of) “humus” (earth).

46 Europa Clipper, for one : PROBE

The Europa Clipper is an interplanetary mission launched by NASA in 2024 that’s set to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. Europa is a particularly interesting celestial body because it’s believed to harbor a vast subsurface ocean beneath its icy shell, potentially containing more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists hope that the mission will provide insights into Europa’s potential habitability and further the search for signs of life beyond Earth.

47 Capital of Samoa : APIA

Apia is the capital city, and the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven naval vessels from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of others. Six of the ships were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely. Apia is also known as the home of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, for the last four years of his life.

49 Pianist Myra : HESS

Myra Hess was a British pianist who earned the title of Dame due to her efforts to uphold morale in WWII. During the war all concerts were suspended due to blackout restrictions, so Myra Hess organized 1700 concerts that took place at lunchtimes throughout the conflict.

51 Warp counterpart : WEFT

There are many types of loom used to weave cloth, but they all hold parallel threads in tension in one direction, while allowing the interweaving of threads in the perpendicular direction. The threads held under tension are the warp threads, and the “woven” threads are the “weft” threads.

54 Stampede Wrestling co-founder Hart : STU

Retired professional wrestler Bret Hart is the son of wrestler Stu Hart, who founded and handled the Calgarary-based promotion company Stampede Wrestling. Bret was known in the ring as “Hitman Hart”, which led to the name of the Calgary Hitmen junior hockey team.

56 Interrupting animal in a classic knock-knock joke : COW

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Interrupting Cow.
Interrupting co… Moo! ..w who?

57 City-building resource in Catan : ORE

The Settlers of Catan (now just “Catan”) is a board game that was introduced in 1995, in Germany as “Die Siedler von Catan”. The game is very popular in the US and was called “the board game of our time” by the “Washington Post”. My son plays it a lot, and as a lover of board games, I am going to have to check it out …