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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Prized gem in Chinese culture : JADE

“Jade” is actually the name given to two different mineral rocks, both of which are used to make gemstones. The first is nephrite, a mineral with a varying degree of iron content, the more iron the greener the color. The second is jadeite, a sodium and aluminum-rich pyroxene. As well as being used for gemstones, both jade minerals can be carved into decorative pieces.

9A Wise one : SAGE

The herb known as sage takes its name from the Latin “salvere”, meaning “to heal”. Medieval apothecaries relied on it as a primary ingredient in herbal vinegars meant to ward off the bubonic plague. Today, sage is far more likely to cure a bland Thanksgiving stuffing than a deadly infectious disease.

16A Bullet point on an agenda : ITEM

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

17A ___ Scotia : NOVA

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

18A Actress Judi with an Oscar and a Tony : DENCH

Dame Judi Dench is an outstanding English actress who has appeared for decades in her home country on stage and screen. Dench’s film career took off in the nineties with a relatively trivial role as “M” in the James Bond series of films. Since then she has played leading roles in several excellent movies including “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mrs. Brown”, “Notes on a Scandal” and “Philomena”. Sadly, Dench suffers from a condition called macular degeneration, which has caused her to lose most of her central vision.

19A Hawaiian bird with a reduplicative name : NENE

The nene is a bird that is native to Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name “nene” is an imitation of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful.

22A Pest at a comedy club : HECKLER

Originally, the verb “to heckle” meant “to question severely”, and for many years was associated with the public questioning of parliamentary candidates in Scotland. In more recent times, the meaning has evolved into questioning that is less polite and that is directed at stand-up comics.

26A “This American Life” host Glass : IRA

Ira Glass is a well-respected presenter on American Public Radio who is perhaps best known for his show “This American Life”. I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira’s first cousin, once removed.

30A French cosmetics company founded in 1909 : L’OREAL

L’Oréal is a French cosmetics company, the largest cosmetics and beauty company in the world. Here in the US, L’Oréal runs a “Women of Worth” program that honors women who volunteer in their communities. The phrase “Women of Worth” underlines the longstanding L’Oréal slogan “Because I’m worth it”, which evolved into “Because you’re worth it” and eventually “Because we’re worth it”.

32A “For ___ a jolly good fellow …” : HE’S

“For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” is the second-most popular song in the English language according to the “Guinness Book of World Records”. Top of the list is “Happy Birthday to You”, with “Auld Lang Syne” in third place.

36A “A Whole New ___” (“Aladdin” song) : WORLD

The theme song of the 1992 Disney movie “Aladdin” is “A Whole New World”, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. It is performed in the film by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga, who provided the singing voices for Aladdin and Jasmine. In the movie’s storyline, Aladdin and Jasmine sing the song as they ride a magic carpet together.

37A CVS rival … or a phonetic hint to the answers on this puzzle’s perimeter : WALGREENS

Walgreens is one of the largest chain of drugstores in the United States, with over 7,500 retail outlets. The company is named for the owner of the first store and founder of the chain, Charles R. Walgreen. Also, Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, in 1922.

47A Hardest substance in the human body : ENAMEL

Tooth enamel covers the crowns of our teeth, and is the hardest substance in the human body. It is composed of 96% crystalline calcium phosphate.

53A Energy-carrying chemical found in all living things, in brief : ATP

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a chemical used in the body to transfer energy within cells. One of the main uses of ATP is to shorten muscles, so that they can do work.

54A Santa makes one : LIST

Santa checks his list for those who are naughty and those who are nice.

56A Pompadour or pigtails : HAIRDO

In the pompadour style, hair at the front is swept up and worn high over the forehead. The style was originally associated with women, and was named for the mistress of King Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour. Males began to sport a similar style in the late 1940s, popularized by rock and roll stars such as Elvis Presley.

Back in the 1600s, a step in the processing of tobacco was the twisting of leaves together to form a compact braid for curing. That bunch of tobacco resembles the twisted tail of a pig, and earned the nickname “pigtail”. The use of “pigtail” migrated late in the 17th century to describe a similarly braided length of hair.

58A “Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the ___ one of all?” : FAIREST

In the German fairy tale “Snow White” (and the Disney film), the wicked queen owns a magic mirror, which she asks every morning:

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest in the land?

Walt Disney changed the words slightly for his movie version of the tale:

Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?

62A ___ dish (lab item) : PETRI

Julius Richard Petri was a German bacteriologist and was the man after whom the Petri dish is named. The petri dish can have an agar gel on the bottom which acts as a nutrient source for the specimen being grown and studied, in which case the dish plus agar is referred to as an “agar plate”.

65A “___ I a Woman?” (Sojourner Truth speech) : AIN’T

Sojourner Truth (real name “Isabella Baumfree”) was an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth was born a slave in New York State, and freed in 1827. She became famous for her speeches against slavery, including her most famous address “Ain’t I a Woman?” that was delivered at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851.

66A Plastic wrap brand : SARAN

What’s known as plastic wrap in America, we call cling-film in Ireland. The brand name “Saran” is often used generically in the US, while “Glad” wrap is common down under. Plastic wrap was one of those unintended inventions, a byproduct of a development program to create a dry-cleaning product.

68A Stuff growing on a tree trunk : MOSS

There is a traditionally-held belief that in the northern hemisphere there is a heavier growth of moss on the north-facing side of trees. The assumption is that the sun creates a drier environment on the south side of the tree, an environment that is less conducive to the growth of moss.

69A Acidic ingredient in guacamole : LIME

Guacamole is one of my favorite dishes. It is prepared by mashing avocados and perhaps adding the likes of tomato, onion and lime juice. The guacamole recipe dates back as early as the 16th century, to the time of the Aztecs. “Guacamole” translates as “avocado sauce”.

70A Money maker : MINT

Mint marks are inscribed on coins to indicate where the coin was minted. In the US, the current mint marks are:

• “P” for the Philadelphia Mint
• “D” for the Denver Mint
• “S” for the San Francisco Mint
• “W” for the West Point Mint

Down

1D Jaguar’s home : JUNGLE

The four “big cats” are the tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard. The largest of the big cats is the tiger, and the smallest is the leopard.

8D ___ Sketch (classic drawing toy) : ETCH A

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes, who initially named it “L’Écran Magique” (The Magic Screen).

10D Artist’s workshop : ATELIER

An atelier is an artist’s studio, with “atelier” being the French word for “studio, workshop”.

12D May birthstone : EMERALD

Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl that is green in color due to traces of chromium. Beryl containing traces of vanadium are also considered to be emeralds, at least here in the US. “Vanadium emeralds” aren’t recognized as emeralds in Europe.

15D Shape of conchiglie pasta : SHELL

Pasta shells are more correctly known as “conchiglie”, coming from the Italian word for “seashell”.

23D Ronald McDonald, e.g. : CLOWN

“Fast Food Nation” is an expose by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that reveals the inner workings of the US fast food industry. One of Schlosser’s more controversial findings was the deliberate targeting of children by the marketing folks at McDonald’s. McDonald’s copied the marketing plans of Walt Disney to attract not only children, but also their parents and grandparents. That’s how Ronald McDonald was born …

31D “Titanic” heroine : ROSE

When James Cameron made his epic movie “Titanic”, released in 1997, it was the most expensive film ever made and cost about $200 million. It was a good investment for the studio as it became the highest-grossing film of all time, bringing in over $1.8 billion. “Titanic” remained the highest-grossing film until 2010, when Cameron eclipsed the prior record with “Avatar”.

33D Did the backstroke, say : SWAM

In swimming, the backstroke is also known as the “back crawl”. An advantage of swimming the backstroke is that it is relatively easy to breathe. A disadvantage is that the swimmer cannot see where he or she is going.

38D One-named “Hello” singer : ADELE

“Hello” is a 2015 song by English singer Adele that won her three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. It was the first song to sell over one million digital copies in a single week in the US.

39D Induct into a hall of fame, perhaps : ENSHRINE

The first Hall of Fame (HOF) established in the US was the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, an outdoor sculpture gallery located in the grounds of Bronx Community College in New York City. Completed in 1900, it is an open-air colonnade featuring the bronze busts of renowned Americans such as President George Washington, author Henry David Thoreau, musician John Philip Sousa and inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The Hall of Fame of Great Americans was inspired by the Ruhmeshalle (“Hall of Fame” in German) located in Munich, Germany that exhibits busts of important people from Bavaria.

41D Most populous Canadian province : ONTARIO

The province of Ontario borders on four of the Great Lakes: Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario.

42D 2014 nonfiction best seller subtitled “A Brief History of Humankind” : SAPIENS

The literal translation of “Homo sapiens” from Latin is “wise or knowing man”. The Homo genus includes the species Homo sapiens (modern humans), and we’re the only species left in that genus. The last known species related to humans was Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal Man) that died off about 24,000 years ago. However, another species was discovered in Indonesia in 2003 that has been dubbed Homo floresiensis (Flores Man … sometimes called “hobbit”), and it may possibly have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago.

45D “Shaken, not stirred” drink : MARTINI

The term “martini” probably takes its name from the “Martini & Rossi” brand of dry vermouth, although no one seems to be completely sure. What is clear is that despite the Martini name originating in Italy, the martini drink originated in the US. The original martini was made with gin and sweet vermouth, but someone specifying a “dry” martini was given gin and dry vermouth. Nowadays we use dry vermouth for all martinis, and the term “dry” has become a reference to how little vermouth is included in the drink. Famously, Noël Coward liked his drink very dry and said that a perfect martini is made by “filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy”. On the contrary, adding extra vermouth results in a “wet” martini. The German-American journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken referred to the martini as “the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet”.

46D Use DoorDash or Grubhub, e.g. : ORDER 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.

Grubhub is an online food ordering and delivery company that was founded in Chicago in 2004. Users can access restaurant menus online, place an order, and receive home delivery of their meal.

60D British baby carriage : PRAM

Another word used in Britain and Ireland that’s rarely used over here is “pram”, which in my day was the most common term for what is called a baby carriage in the US. “Pram” is short for “perambulator”.

63D The first “T” in TNT : TRI

Trinitrotoluene (TNT)