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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A Primate native to Madagascar : LEMUR

Lemurs are unusual-looking creatures that are native to the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa. With their white fur and dark eyes that are very reflective at night, they have a “ghostly” appearance. Indeed, the animals take their name from Roman mythology in which “lemures” were spirits of the restless dead.

Madagascar is a large island nation lying off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The main island of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo).

14A Land where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet : IRAQ

Iraq is often called the “Cradle of Civilization” as it was home to Sumer, which was the earliest known civilization on the planet. By 5000 BC the Sumerian people were practicing year-round agriculture and had a specialized labor force. For the first time, a whole race was able to settle in one place by storing food, instead of having to migrate in a pattern dictated by crops and grazing land.

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run parallel to each other through Iraq and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran. The fertile land between the rivers was known as Mesopotamia (Greek for “land between two rivers”).

17A Gotham City SOS : BAT-SIGNAL (giving “Signal”)

Batman is an ally of Police Commissioner Gordon of Gotham City. Gordon orders the shining of a searchlight, known as the Bat-Signal, into the sky to summon Batman when he is needed.

Signal is a secure messaging service that competes with the likes of WhatsApp and Telegram. Apparently, many CIA employees have Signal installed by default on their devices, and its usage is covered by standard training when they are hired.

19A Krypton and xenon : GASES

Krypton (Kr) was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They chilled a sample of air, turning it into a liquid. They then warmed that liquid and separated out the gases that boiled off. Along with nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. The first they called “krypton” and the second “neon”. “Krypton” is Greek for “the hidden one” and “neon” is Greek for “new”.

The element xenon was the first of the noble gases to be made into a compound, which was somewhat remarkable in that the noble gases were thought by many to be completely inert, unreactive.

23A The first “T” of TNT : TRI

Trinitrotoluene (TNT)

28A Dissension cause, in Greek myth : APPLE OF DISCORD (giving “Discord”)

According to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris tossed the Golden Apple of Discord into the middle of the table during the feast of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. The Golden Apple bore the words “to the fairest”, and the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite succumbed to their vanity and fought for the title of most fair. This dispute eventually led to the Trojan War.

Discord is a social media platform designed primarily for voice, video, and text communication. Originally popular among gamers, Discord has expanded to encompass a wide range of communities, including artists, musicians, study groups, and general interest groups.

33A Clog or pump : SHOE

Clogs are shoes made from wood, at least in part. The clog originated as a protective item of footwear for use by farm, factory and mine workers.

A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.

34A “Après ___, le déluge” : MOI

“Après moi, le déluge” is a French phrase that was supposedly used by Louis XV. The king was referring to the impending demise of the French monarchy and predicting the French Revolution. The phrase translates as “After me, the deluge”.

35A One of 88 on a piano : KEY

“Eighty-eight” is a slang word for a piano, coming from the fact that a modern piano usually has 88 keys: 36 black and 52 white.

43A Sedan or coupe : CAR

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

45A The “G” in L.G.B.T. : GAY

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)

47A “Take it easy, will you?!” : CUT ME SOME SLACK! (giving “Slack”)

Slack is a messaging app aimed at businesses. At its core, Slack is an instant messaging system. Slack also provides tools designed to increase collaboration within teams.

52A Shipping company with a red-and-yellow logo : DHL

Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn). DHL was acquired by Germany’s Deutsche Post in 2002.

57A “Freddie Mercury” or “Lady Gaga” : ALIAS

Freddie Mercury was a British singer-songwriter who was lead singer for the rock group Queen. He wrote many of Queen’s hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Somebody to Love”, “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “We Are the Champions”. Mercury’s real name was Farrokh Bulsara, and he was born to Parsi parents in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) in East Africa. He grew up mainly in India, and arrived in England at the age of 17 after his family fled from the Zanzibar Revolution.

“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

63A Poker tell, perhaps : EYE TWITCH (giving “Twitch”)

Twitch is a very popular live streaming platform that began as a gaming section of a broader live video streaming site called Justin.tv. The latter was launched in 2007 by Justin Kan (hence the name) and a group of co-founders. Justin.tv’s initial concept was “lifecasting”, with Kan himself broadcasting his life 24/7. Justin.tv evolved into an open network allowing anyone to broadcast, and gained a wide user base. In 2011, the gaming content’s immense popularity led to its spin-off into Twitch.tv. In 2014, Justin.tv was shut down, to focus solely on Twitch.

65A Green ___ (special military headwear) : BERET

The US Army Special Forces are known as the Green Berets because they wear … green berets. The Green Beret is also worn by the Royal Marines of the British Army. When US Army Rangers and OSS operatives were trained by the Royal Marines in Scotland during WWII, graduates of the gruelling training program were awarded green berets by their British instructors. The US soldiers, although proud of their new headgear, were not allowed to wear it as part of their uniform. They had to wait until 1961, when President Kennedy authorized the green beret for exclusive use by US Special Forces.

67A Prerogative of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council : VETO

The United Nations Security Council has 15 members, 5 of whom are permanent and who have veto power over any resolution. The 10 non-permanent members are elected into place, and hold their seats for two years. The UN charter requires that authorized representatives of the member nations are always present at UN headquarters so that the Security Council can meet at any time. The permanent members are:

• China
• France
• Russia
• United Kingdom
• United States

Down

1D Protective wear for lobster eaters : BIBS

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

3D Grp. joined by Finland in 2023 and Sweden in 2024 : NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

4D Men’s fashion magazine : GQ STYLE

The men’s magazine known today as “GQ” used to be titled “Gentlemen’s Quarterly” (hence “GQ”). It was known as “Apparel Arts” when launched in 1931.

8D Politico Nancy : PELOSI

Nancy Pelosi first became Speaker of the House in 2007, and was the 52nd person to hold that position. Ms. Pelosi represents a district not far from here, which covers most of San Francisco. She was the first Californian, the first Italian-American and the first woman to be Speaker of the House. As Speaker is second-in-line to the presidency, after the Vice President, Nancy Pelosi was for many years the highest-ranking female politician in US history. That was until Kamala Harris became Vice President in 2021.

11D Jedi who trained Luke, formally : MASTER YODA

In the “Star Wars” universe, the members of the Jedi Order progress through four ranks:

1. Jedi Youngling
2. Jedi Padawan
3. Jedi Knight
4. Jedi Master

27D Kind of deer : ROE

Roe deer are found mainly in Europe. They would be the deer shown on television and in movies when Robin Hood was out hunting in Sherwood Forest.

29D ___ Beta Kappa : PHI

Phi Beta Kappa was the first collegiate Greek fraternity in the US, founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. The organization served as a model for future collegiate fraternities and sororities, although in the 19th century Phi Beta Kappa distanced itself from the fraternal focus and transformed into the honor society that it is today, recognizing academic excellence. The initials Phi Beta Kappa stand for “philosophia biou kybernētēs”, which translates into “philosophy is the guide of life”. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key.

32D ___ Maradona, Argentine soccer legend : DIEGO

Diego Maradona had to have been the most famous of Argentina’s soccer players. He was also one of the country’s most controversial sportsmen and was noted for his outspoken manner with journalists, as well as his cocaine addiction. He was often referred to by his nickname “El Pibe de Oro” (The Golden Boy).

38D “Platoon” setting, in brief : NAM

“Platoon” is a 1986 movie written and directed by Oliver Stone. The storyline comes out of Stone’s own experiences in Vietnam as an infantryman. It is gritty stuff, and is Stone’s response to the more “glamorous” movie “Green Berets” starring John Wayne. And the famous piece of classical music included on the soundtrack is “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber.

42D Antlered animal : ELK

Wapiti, also known as elk, are one of the largest species of deer found in North America and East Asia. They are social animals and live in herds of up to 400 individuals. The herds are usually led by a dominant male, known as a bull, who defends his harem of females during the mating season.

44D The Falcons, on scoreboards : ATL

The Atlanta Falcons joined the NFL in 1965. The team name was suggested by a schoolteacher called Miss Julia Elliott. Elliot suggested that “the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”

46D “‘Tis but a scratch” : I’LL LIVE

“‘Tis but a scratch” is a line from the cult classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. The “joke” is that the speaker has been gravely wounded.

50D Playwright George Bernard ___ : SHAW

George Bernard Shaw (GBS) was a very successful Irish playwright. Shaw was one of only two people to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature, and an Oscar (the other being Bob Dylan). He won his Oscar for adapting his own play “Pygmalion” for the 1938 film of the same name starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Most people are more likely to have seen the musical adaptation of “Pygmalion” that goes by the title “My Fair Lady”.

55D Jane of Brit Lit : EYRE

“Jane Eyre” is a classic 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë, published under the pseudonym “Currer Bell”. It’s a coming-of-age tale in which the title character endures a harsh childhood and education before becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane falls in love with her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester, but there’s a rocky road to travel before the couple finally get to the altar.

58D Tabloid twosome : ITEM

“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

59D When Macbeth meets the witches : ACT I

The Three Witches in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” are referred to in the text as the “weird sisters”. They cook up an ugly brew in their cauldron:

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravined salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digged i’ th’ dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat and slips of yew
Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-delivered by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab.
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.

62D Stimpy’s canine pal : REN

“The Ren & Stimpy Show” is an animated television serial created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi, and which ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. The title characters are Marland “Ren” Höek, a scrawny Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a rotund Manx cat. Not my cup of tea …

64D “___ Te Ching” : TAO

The “Tao Te Ching” is an ancient Chinese text consisting of 81 brief, poetic chapters that outline the core tenets of Taoism. According to the text, The Tao (translating from Old Chinese as “The Way”) represents the fundamental, underlying principle of the universe that defies precise verbal definition. It emphasizes the importance of “wu wei”, or “effortless action”, where an individual aligns their life with the natural world’s rhythm.