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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Dessert that wiggles : JELL-O

If you like Jell-O, then you might want to stop by Le Roy, New York, where you can visit the only Jell-O museum in the world. While at the museum, you can walk along the Jell-O Brick Road …

10A Obsessive captain of fiction : AHAB

Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.

14A “___, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio” : ALAS

In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, there is a scene when Prince Hamlet holds in his hand the skull of the deceased court jester Yorick. Hamlet starts into a famous monologue at this point:

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is …

The opening line is often misquoted as “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.”

19A Martial art with shoulder throws : JUDO

Judo is a martial art from Japan that developed relatively recently, in 1882. The name “judo” translates as “gentle way”. It was the first martial art to become an Olympic sport. Judo made its debut as an Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in Japan.

23A “Capisce?” : SEE

“Capeesh?” is a slang term meaning “do you understand?” It comes from the Italian “capisce” meaning “understand”.

25A Think pieces, for short : OP-EDS

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in the “New York World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

32A Ancient Brit for whom a language was named : GAEL

A Gael is anyone of a race that speaks or spoke one of the Erse tongues. There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

34A Opening of a news article, in journalism lingo : LEDE

The opening paragraph in any work of literature is often just called “the lead”. In the world of journalism, this is usually referred to as “the lede”. The derivative phrase “bury the lede” means to fail to stress the most important aspect of a story.

36A Hemingway tale about an elderly fisherman, with “The” … or a phonetic hint to four sets of circled letters in this puzzle? : OLD MAN AND THE SEA

If you’ve read Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man And The Sea” (maybe first at school, like me!) you’ll likely remember it as a quick read as it is a novella, although it might be better described as a “long short story”. It was first published in 1952, the last major work that Hemingway had published in his lifetime. That first publication was as a story in “Life Magazine”, and it was such a hit that the magazine sold 5 million copies in the first two days. “The Old Man and the Sea” won a Pulitzer in 1953 and a year later the title was cited when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

41A The Beatles’ “Back in the ___” : USSR

By the time the Beatles recorded “Back in the U.S.S.R”, they were having a lot of problems working with each other. The song was recorded in 1968, with the band formally dissolving in 1970. Tensions were so great during the recording of “Back in the U.S.S.R” that Ringo Starr actually stormed out saying that he had quit, and the remaining three Beatles made the record without Ringo. Drums were played mainly by Paul McCartney, but there are also drum tracks on the final cut by both George Harrison and John Lennon. Interesting, huh?

42A Crustaceans sometimes called “mudbugs” : CRAWDADS

“Crawdad” and “crawfish” are alternative names for crayfish, with “crawdad” being more common in the south of the country.

44A Test for a future Ph.D. : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

45A Monsieur, in Madrid : SENOR

Madrid is the most populous city in Spain, and is the nation’s capital. It is located very close to the geographical center of the country. Madrid is the second-largest city in the European Union by population, after Berlin. People from Madrid call themselves Madrileños.

47A Maple tree harvest : SAP

About 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from the province of Quebec. The US’s biggest producer is the state of Vermont, which produces 5-6% of the world’s supply.

50A Where the rubber meets the road : TREAD

One way to test the depth of tread on a tire is to use “the penny test”. Insert a penny into the tire’s tread, with Lincoln’s head upside down. If you can see all of the president’s head, then it’s time to replace that tire (tread depth is less than 2/32 inch). Of course, we’d need pennies to still be around for the test to work …

59A “Logan” actor Jackman : HUGH

Australian actor Hugh Jackman is most famous perhaps for his recurring role as Wolverine in the “X-Men” series of films, but as I don’t really “do” superhero movies, I like him best from the romantic comedy “Kate & Leopold” and the epic “Australia”. Jackman also garnered praise for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables”.

“Logan” is a 2017 movie that is the tenth (yes, tenth) installment of the “X-Men” series of films. It is also the third movie to center on the character Wolverine (aka “Logan”), who is played by Hugh Jackman. This one was very, very successful at the box office. Anyone interested in a retro-style “Logan” might want to look for the black-and-white version of the film that’s available under the title “Logan Noir”.

60A “The Price Is Right” unveiling : PRIZE

“The Price is Right” game show started airing in its current format in 1972, with Bob Barker hosting. Drew Carey took over as host in 2007. There was an earlier version of the show that had a somewhat different format, and it aired from 1956 to 1965. Apparently, “The Price is Right” is the longest running TV game show in the world.

61A Cleveland’s lake : ERIE

Cleveland, Ohio was named for the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to the founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.

63A Half-goat follower of Dionysus : SATYR

The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

Dionysus was the party animal of Greek mythology. He was the god of wine, ritual madness, insanity and ecstasy! My kind of guy …

Down

1D Patatas bravas and croquetas, e.g. : TAPAS

Patatas bravas is a Spanish dish comprising fried white potatoes served with a spicy sauce. The name “patatas bravas” translates as “spicy potatoes”. The dish is common in tapas restaurants.

Croquetas are a very typical tapas dish served in Spain. They are croquettes (breaded and filled, deep-fried rolls) usually made with a thick béchamel sauce as a binder, with perhaps dry-cured ham (“jamon”), chicken or salt cod.

4D Exam for a future J.D. : LSAT

The law degree that is abbreviated to “J.D.” stands for “Juris Doctor” or “Doctor of Jurisprudence”.

10D College-credit class that says sayonara to H.S.? : AP JAPANESE

“Sayonara” means “farewell” in Japanese.

22D Word with tank or tip : TOP

“Tank top” is another one of those terms that always catches me out, as it has a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic. In the US, a tank top is a sleeveless shirt, something we would call a “vest” back in Ireland (and the US “vest” is what we call a “waistcoat”). A tank top in Ireland is a sleeveless sweater, which further adds to the confusion. The name “tank top” is derived from “tank suit”, an old name for a woman’s one-piece bathing suit. The use of “tank” for the bathing suit came from “swimming tank”, an obsolete term used in the 1920s for a swimming pool.

27D “House” actress Ward : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. She played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

31D Rendezvoused with : MET

A rendezvous is a meeting. The noun used in English comes from the French phrase “rendez vous” meaning “present yourselves”.

36D Green-skinned World of Warcraft characters : ORCS

World of Warcraft (WoW) is an online role-playing game (RPG). My son informs me that the game is not that great. Like I would know …

37D Org. with Bulls and Bucks : NBA

The Chicago Bulls have won six NBA championships in the life of the franchise, all of them in the nineties. They won in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons (a so-called “three-peat”), and then again in 1996, 1997 and 1998 (a second “three-peat”).

The Bucks are the NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who joined the league as an expansion team in 1968. There was a fan contest held to choose the team’s name, and the winning entry was “Robins”, in honor of Wisconsin’s state bird. However, the judges opted for “Bucks”, the second-most popular choice and a reference to the state’s official wild animal, the white-tailed deer.

43D “The Chronic” rapper, informally : DRE

“The Chronic” is a 1992 studio album by hip hop artist Dr. Dre. The title is a slang term for high-grade cannabis.

44D Animal symbol of the University of Minnesota : GOPHER

The University of Minnesota sports teams are known as the Golden Gophers. The team mascot is Goldy Gopher. The team name comes from Minnesota’s nickname, “The Gopher State”, a nickname that dates back to 1857.

49D Game with a World Series held in Las Vegas : POKER

The World Series of Poker is an annual event held in Las Vegas. The winner of each event is given a much-coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.

52D Cartoon explorer who teaches Spanish : 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.

55D Word sung over 100 times in “___ Are You” by the ___ : WHO

The Who were an English rock band formed in 1964, bringing together famed musicians Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. According to “Rolling Stone” magazine, the Who were the third arm of the holy trinity of British rock, alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.