Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
15 Place to pick up trinkets and tchotchkes : CURIO SHOP
“Tchotchke” is a slang term meaning “cheap, showy trinket”. It came into English from a Slavic source via Yiddish.
17 Action hero with amnesia : BOURNE
“The Bourne Identity” is a great spy novel written by Robert Ludlum, and first published in 1980. It has been ranked as the second best spy novel of all time, just behind the even more enjoyable “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John le Carré. Ludlum wrote two sequels, and all three parts of the Bourne Trilogy have been made into very successful movies now, starring Matt Damon in the title role. Ludlum died before he could write more than three novels featuring Jason Bourne, but five more titles in the series have been published, each written by Eric Van Lustbader. I must check them out …
18 Physician who specializes in perioperative care : ANESTHESIOLOGIST
Perioperative care is administered just before, during and soon after a patient’s surgery. The prefix “peri-” comes from Greek and means “around, surrounding”. The term “perioperative” is relatively new, and was coined in the 1960s.
20 Use one’s gray matter : IDEATE
Gray matter and white matter are the two components of the central nervous system. Gray matter is mainly made up of neurons, and white matter is largely made of axons, the projections of the neurons that form nerve fibers.
24 Pretzel shape : KNOT
Pretzels originated in Europe and are especially popular in Southern Germany where a pretzel is known as “Brezel”. Pretzels were introduced into the US in the 1800s by immigrants from Germany and Switzerland who came to be known over here as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
28 One who never draws a blank? : BINGO CALLER
Our game Bingo is a derivative of an Italian lottery game called “Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia” that became popular in the 16th-century.
31 Fried turnovers : EMPANADAS
An empanada is a dish made by folding pastry around cooked meat and vegetables. To me an empanada looks very similar to a dish I grew up with called a Cornish pasty.
35 Seafood paella option : MUSSELS
Some argue that eating mussels grown in farms may be friendlier to the planet than following a vegan diet. Mussel farms use no land, no freshwater, no fertilizer, and even clean up the surrounding seawater.
Paella is sometimes referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia. The name “paella” means “frying pan” in Valencian, and is a reference to the shallow vessel traditionally used to cook the dish over an open fire.
40 “Sweet!” : YAS!
“Yas” is a slang term used in place of the interjection “yes!”, when it expresses pleasure and excitement. The exclamation often takes the form “Yas, queen!”
41 Genre with retrofuturistic technology : STEAMPUNK
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction genre with stories set in a dystopian future and featuring advanced technologies. The derivative term “steampunk” was coined in the 1980s by author K. W. Jeter. It describes a genre with stories set in the 1800s and featuring futuristic technologies for the times, but based on existing capabilities such as steam power.
48 Toss, slangily : YEET
In contemporary slang, to yeet is to throw away, discard. “To yeet” usually implies the use of force and a general disregard for what is being discarded. As in, “I really want to yeet the word ‘yeet’ …”
52 Convent figure : NUN
A convent is a community devoted to religious life, and especially a community of nuns. The term “convent” ultimately comes from the Latin “com” (with, together) and “venire” (to come).
55 Tricolor cat : CALICO
Domestic cats with a white coat and patches of brown and black are called calico cats in this country. Back in Ireland, and the rest of the world I think, such cats are called tortoiseshell-and-white. “Calico” is not a breed of cat, but rather a coloring.
61 Haitian language : CREOLE
“Creole” is the term used in Haiti to describe all of the native people, as well as the music, food and culture of the country. 80% of the Haitian Creole people are so-called black creoles, descendants of the original Africans brought to the island as slaves during the French colonial days.
65 Speed Wagon maker : REO
The REO Speed Wagon was a light truck introduced in 1915, and a precursor to the modern pickup truck. The rock band REO Speedwagon is named for the truck, but note the difference between the spelling of Speedwagon (the band) and Speed Wagon (the truck).
Down
1 Amazon berry : ACAI
Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.
2 Slush __ : FUND
A slush fund is a sum of money that is held in reserve or, in the case of illicit dealings, a sum that is used for paying bribes.
4 Drawing worth a lot of money? : LOTTO
Originally, lotto was a type of card game, with “lotto” being the Italian for “a lot”. We’ve used “lotto” to mean a gambling game since the late 1700s.
5 Tennis great Arthur : ASHE
The great American tennis player Arthur Ashe spent the last years of his life writing his memoir called “Days of Grace”. He finished the manuscript just a few days before he passed away, dying from AIDS caused by a tainted blood transfusion.
7 Church cry of praise : HOSANNA!
“Hosanna” is derived from Hebrew, probably from the term “hoshi’ah-nna” meaning “save, we pray”.
8 Postscripts : EPILOGS
Our word “epilog” (also “epilogue”) applies to an addition at the end of a play or other literary work. The term ultimately comes from the Greek “epi-” signifying “in addition”, and “logos” meaning “speech”.
10 Classless one : BOOR
Back in the early 1500s, a boor was a rustic person, a peasant farmer, someone associated with the countryside. The term “boor” ultimately comes from the Latin “bos” meaning “cow, ox”. By the mid-1500s, someone described as boorish was considered rude in manner, which is our usage today.
11 Summer mo. : AUG
As the first Emperor of Rome, Octavian was given the name Caesar Augustus. The month of August, originally called “Sextilis” in Latin, was renamed in honor of Augustus.
14 Dog for pheasant hunters : SETTER
The breeds of dog known as setters are all gundogs and are used in hunting game.
The common pheasant is native to Asia and parts of Europe. The same bird is usually referred to as the ring-necked pheasant in North America. The ring-necked pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, even though it is not native to the state, and not native to the whole continent.
19 Director Preminger : OTTO
Otto Preminger was noted for directing films that pushed the envelope in terms of subject matter, at least in the fifties and sixties. Great examples would be 1955’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” that dealt with drug addiction, 1959’s “Anatomy of a Murder” that dealt with rape, and 1962’s “Advise and Consent” that dealt with homosexuality. If you’ve seen these films, you’ll have noticed that the references are somewhat indirect and disguised, in order to get past the censors.
24 Joshes : KIDS
When the verb “to josh”, meaning “to kid”, was coined in the 1840s as an American slang term, it was written with a capital J. It is likely that the term somehow comes from the proper name “Joshua”, but no one seems to remember why.
28 Light wood : BALSA
Balsa is a very fast-growing tree that is native to parts of South America. Even though balsa wood is very soft, it is actually classified as a hardwood, the softest of all the hardwoods (go figure!). Balsa is light and strong, so is commonly used in making model airplanes. In WWII, a full-size British plane, the de Havilland Mosquito, was built largely from balsa and plywood. No wonder they called it “The Wooden Wonder” and “The Timber Terror”.
29 26-Down weight : CARAT
The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 grams). It is used in sizing gemstones.
30 Classless one? : ALUM
An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.
36 Crime novelist Gerritsen : TESS
Tess Gerritsen is a novelist and retired physician. Her most famous novels are the “Rizzoli & Isles” series, featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. The Isles character also appears in the stand-alone crime thriller “The Bone Garden”, first published in 2007.
38 “Music for Airports” composer Brian : ENO
Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the genre of ambient music. He 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.
39 Big __ Country : SKY
Montana goes by the nicknames “Big Sky Country” and “The Treasure State”.
42 Link-shortening service : TINYURL
TinyURL is a URL shortening service that takes lengthy web addresses and transforms them into concise, manageable links. It is a free tool that was launched in 2002, and is still popular today. It’s simple to use: just paste your long URL into TinyURL, and it generates a short, unique link that redirects to your original destination.
43 Critics of good-faith efforts : CYNICS
Antisthenes was a Greek philosopher, and a pupil of Socrates. He was one of the founders of the cynicism school of thought, which holds that the purpose of life is to live in virtuous harmony with nature. The name “cynic” comes from the Greek for “dog”, and that name was originally applied to the cynics as an insult. Over time, the term “cynic” has come to mean “faultfinding critic”.
44 Canon : OEUVRE
The sum of an artist’s work in his or her lifetime is known as his or her “oeuvre”.
Back in the 15th century, the word “canon” was used to describe the whole collection of the books of the Bible accepted by the Christian church, the so-called “Scriptures”. In the 1930s, the term was adopted by fans of the “Sherlock Holmes” stories to describe all such works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Since then, the usage of “canon” has extended to cover an accepted body of related works by a particular author.
50 Heavy hammers : MAULS
A maul is a large, heavy hammer, one often used for driving stakes into the ground. The term comes from the Old French “mail” and ultimately from the Latin “malleus”, with both meaning “hammer”.
51 Red Muppet : ELMO
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”.
55 Tech review site acquired by Ziff Davis in 2024 : CNET
CNET is an excellent technology website. It started out in 1994 as a television network specializing in technology news. The host of “American Idol”, Ryan Seacrest, started off his career as host of a CNET show.
Ziff Davis is a digital media firm that was founded in 1927 as a publishing company by William B. Ziff and Bernard Davis, hence the name. Back in the day, Ziff Davis was known as publisher of hobby magazines, especially “Popular Aviation”.
60 Retailer that sells crampons and chalk bags : REI
Crampons are metallic devices attached to boots that provide traction when climbing on icy surfaces.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 At the stern : AFT
4 Revolutionary tool? : LATHE
9 Ebbs : ABATES
15 Place to pick up trinkets and tchotchkes : CURIO SHOP
17 Action hero with amnesia : BOURNE
18 Physician who specializes in perioperative care : ANESTHESIOLOGIST
20 Use one’s gray matter : IDEATE
21 Change : ALTER
22 Start of a protestor’s cry, perhaps : BUT …!
23 Pair : TWO
24 Pretzel shape : KNOT
25 __ package : CARE
26 Prefix with thermal : GEO-
28 One who never draws a blank? : BINGO CALLER
31 Fried turnovers : EMPANADAS
34 Taking after : A LA
35 Seafood paella option : MUSSELS
36 Supports : TRUSSES
40 “Sweet!” : YAS!
41 Genre with retrofuturistic technology : STEAMPUNK
43 Tribute act : COVER ARTIST
47 __ latte : SOY
48 Toss, slangily : YEET
49 Big stretches : EONS
50 Not awesome : MEH
52 Convent figure : NUN
53 Like some orange juice : PULPY
55 Tricolor cat : CALICO
58 “You’re not fooling me!,” or what 18-, 28-, and 43-Across might say? : I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER!
61 Haitian language : CREOLE
62 Mooches : FREELOADS
63 “__ you right!” : SERVES
64 Darts about : FLITS
65 Speed Wagon maker : REO
Down
1 Amazon berry : ACAI
2 Slush __ : FUND
3 Canopy makeup : TREETOPS
4 Drawing worth a lot of money? : LOTTO
5 Tennis great Arthur : ASHE
6 English article : THE
7 Church cry of praise : HOSANNA!
8 Postscripts : EPILOGS
9 Fit : ABLE
10 Classless one : BOOR
11 Summer mo. : AUG
12 Like some elders : TRIBAL
13 Secure : ENSURE
14 Dog for pheasant hunters : SETTER
16 “That didn’t escape my attention” : I SAW
19 Director Preminger : OTTO
24 Joshes : KIDS
25 Fastener : CLASP
26 Glam rock? : GEM
27 Australian avian : EMU
28 Light wood : BALSA
29 26-Down weight : CARAT
30 Classless one? : ALUM
32 To date : AS YET
33 Approach : NEAR
36 Crime novelist Gerritsen : TESS
37 Place to order rolls : SUSHI BAR
38 “Music for Airports” composer Brian : ENO
39 Big __ Country : SKY
41 Visit on the way : STOP OFF
42 Link-shortening service : TINYURL
43 Critics of good-faith efforts : CYNICS
44 Canon : OEUVRE
45 False front : VENEER
46 Depend (on) : RELY
50 Heavy hammers : MAULS
51 Red Muppet : ELMO
53 Propulsion aid : POLE
54 Versatile vehicles, for short : UTES
55 Tech review site acquired by Ziff Davis in 2024 : CNET
56 Give up : CEDE
57 Ish : OR SO
59 End of a congressional address : GOV
60 Retailer that sells crampons and chalk bags : REI
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