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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Leaves with a pungent taste in one’s mouth? : CHAW

“Chaw” is a slang term for “chew”, a plug of tobacco.

14A Country that celebrates Stork Day on March 25 to honor the return of its national bird : LITHUANIA

The nation of Lithuania is a former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) sitting on the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, and 16 miles north of Vilnius is a point that is officially recognized as the geographic center of Europe.

20A Saps : SCHMOS

“Schmo” (also “shmo”) is American slang for a dull or boring person that comes from the Yiddish word “shmok”.

“Sap” is slang for “fool, someone easily scammed”. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words are derived from “sapwood”, which is the softwood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.

23A Like some saws and bobsleds : TWO-MAN

Bobsleds are so called because competitors in the sport originally would “bob” back and forth inside the sled to increase forward momentum on straightaways.

26A Light refreshments? : PALE ALES

Pale ale is a beer made using mainly pale malt, which results in a relatively light color for a malted beer.

28A With 30-Across, kind of movement : RAPID …
30A See 28-Across : … EYE

“REM” is an acronym standing for “rapid eye movement”. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

31A First Day observers : QUAKERS

Members of the Religious Society of Friends are known as Friends or Quakers. The Christian sect started in England in the 1640s, led by George Fox. The principal tenet at that point was that Christians could have direct experience of Jesus Christ without the mediation of clergy, a reflection of the increasing dissatisfaction with the established church at that time. The term “Quaker” is thought to have been used earlier in reference to foreign religious sects whose followers were given to fits of shaking during religious fervor. Somehow that term became used for members of the Religious Society of Friends.

33A Intel component, for short : CPU

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main component on the motherboard of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

Intel used to be the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips, but has faced challenges in recent years, apparently “missing” the AI boom. The company was founded in 1968, and the name “Intel” is derived from the term “int(egrated) el(ectronics)”. Recognition of the Intel brand has been greatly helped by the success of the “Intel Inside” campaign that started back in 1991.

38A Alex Honnold’s “How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff — without ropes” and others : TED TALKS

The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the TED Foundation (formerly the “Sapling Foundation”). The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The TED Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”. There are also TEDx events, which are locally-run talks presented under license from TED.

39A Kind of concrete that does not require pre-mixing : DRY-SET

The terms “cement”, “mortar” and ”concrete” are related, and tend to get confused at times. Cement is a binder that hardens over time and binds other materials together. Cement mixed with a fine aggregate forms mortar, a workable paste used to bind building blocks together. Cement mixed with sand and gravel forms concrete, a pourable slurry that hardens into an extremely robust building material.

41A “He clasps the ___ with crooked hands”: Tennyson, “The Eagle” : CRAG

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem called “The Eagle”:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

42A Eponymous Ontario brewer John : LABATT

The Labatt Brewing Company is the largest brewery in Canada. The company was founded by John K. Labatt in London, Ontario in 1847.

43A Kind of catfish or screw : FLATHEAD

Catfish get their common name because they have prominent barbels, slender sensory organs located near the mouth. The barbels are said to resemble a cat’s whiskers.

49A Vape marketing claim : NO TAR

The partially-combusted particulate matter that is produced as a cigarette burns forms a resinous material called “tar”. Cigarette tar is different from the tar used on roads, but it is still very toxic. Marijuana smoke produces a very similar tar to cigarette smoke, and is just as dangerous.

50A Depiction on a 1969 postage stamp honoring the Apollo 8 mission : EARTHRISE

“Earthrise” is the appearance of the Earth above the horizon when viewed from, say, the moon. There is a famous photograph with the title “Earthrise” that was taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The picture shows the Earth rising above the surface of the moon, and is a beautiful image.

52A Cabinets used by cantors : ARKS

The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which the Torah scrolls are stored. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching” or “law”. The Torah ark is referred to as the “Aron Kodesh” in Hebrew, meaning “Holy Ark”.

1D Kind of juice in a bloody Caesar : CLAM

The cocktail known as a Caesar is reminiscent of a Bloody Mary, and so is often referred to as a Bloody Caesar. It’s basically a Bloody Mary with the addition of clam juice. The clam juice comes as part of Clamato, a proprietary blend of tomato juice and clam broth. The Caesar was invented in 1969 by restaurateur Walter Chell in Calgary, Alberta. Although very popular in Canada, the drink isn’t seen very often in the US.

3D Name amusingly hidden in “cutthroat razor” : ATRA

Fortunately for crossword constructors, the Atra was introduced by Gillette in 1977, as the first razor with a pivoting head. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.

4D End of a riddle : WHAT AM I?

Here are a few riddles:

1. Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you get out?
2. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
3. There is a word and six letters it contains. Take one away and twelve is what remains. What word is it?
4. Two girls were born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year and yet they’re not twins. How can this be?
5. What is so delicate that even saying its name will break it?
6. What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?

And the answers:

1. Stop imagining.
2. A stamp
3. Dozens
4. They’re in a set of triplets
5. Silence
6. Incorrectly

5D Biscayne Bay, for example : LAGOON

Biscayne Bay is a lagoon in South Florida on the Atlantic coast.

7D Bad tipper? : FINK

A fink is an informer, someone who rats out his or her cohorts.

8D Word with dog or ear : … TAG

The identification tags worn by soldiers are often called “dog tags”, simply because they do resemble tags worn by dogs. US military personnel are required to wear dog tags when in the field. Each soldier wears two tags. The idea is that if a soldier is killed, then one tag can be removed for notification and the remaining tag stays with the body. Each tag contains basics such as name and ID number, medical information like blood type, and possibly a religious preference.

10D 1988 comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ivan Danko : RED HEAT

“Red Heat” is a 1988 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi as law enforcement officers out to nab a Russian drug lord operating in Chicago. Arnie plays a narcotics agent from Moscow, and Belushi a Chicago detective.

12D Confection named for Yankee legend Phil Rizzuto : SCOOTER PIE

Phil Rizzuto was a shortstop who spent his whole career with the New York Yankees. After retiring from the game, Rizzuto worked as a radio and television announcer for the Yankees for 40 years. He was famous for using the expression “Holy cow!”

13D Finishes a shift? : HEMS

A shift is a dress that is cut above-the-knee and has no clearly-defined waist. This style of dress originated in the 1920s when it was worn by the “flappers”, young women who defied social norms at the time. The shift was comfortable to wear and allowed easy movement, particularly on the dance floor.

15D Country house? : UN HEADQUARTERS

The United Nations (UN) headquarters in Manhattan, New York City was completed in 1952. The organization also has three main offices around the world, in Geneva (opened in 1946), in Nairobi (opened in 1996) and in Vienna (opened in 1980).

24D Noted DC locale since 1939 : WAYNE MANOR

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

26D Toys from China, for short : PEKES

The Pekingese (“peke”) breed originated in China, as one might suspect from the name. Breeding practices have resulted in the dog having many health problems, including breathing issues related to the “desirable” flat face. Standards have been changed in recent years, demanding an “evident muzzle” in an attempt to breed healthier “pekes”.

35D Pontiac and others : OTTAWAS

Chief Pontiac was a leader of the Ottawa people in the 1700s. He is most famously associated with the fight against the British (called Pontiac’s Rebellion) after they emerged victorious from the French and Indian War. The most noted action during the rebellion was the attack led by Pontiac on Fort Detroit, and the subsequent siege. Although the siege was unsuccessful, it served to unite the local Native American peoples in the fight.

37D Ethnic group in China’s Xinjiang region : UYGHURS

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group primarily residing in Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China. In recent years, the Uyghurs have faced severe persecution and human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese government.

43D “In time we hate that which we often ___”: “Antony and Cleopatra” : FEAR

“Antony and Cleopatra” is one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. It tells the story of the relationship between Mark Antony and Cleopatra after the death of Julius Caesar.

44D Fort ___, Ontario : ERIE

The original Fort Erie was built by the British in 1764. The current structure can be visited today and is located in the province of Ontario, just across the Niagara River from the city of Buffalo, New York.

48D Actress/comedian Benaderet : BEA

Actress Bea Benaderet played Kate Bradley on “Petticoat Junction” and Pearl Bodine on “The Beverly Hillbillies”, and voiced Betty Rubble on “The Flintstones”.