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Constructed by: Yijing Chen

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Generation X

Themed answers are common phrases in which a word ending with a hard k-sound is replaced by a word ending with a letter X:

• 23A Cowboy boots, saddles, etc.? : TEX SUPPORT (from “tech support”)
• 25A Linen-lined outerwear? : FLAX JACKET (from “flak jacket”)
• 35A Child’s complaint to Father Time? : YOU MAKE ME SIX (from “you make me sick”)
• 57A “I need to install brighter lights later”? : BETTER LUX NEXT TIME (from “better luck next time”)
• 80A Common finds in a salmon smokehouse? : LOX, STOCK AND BARREL (from “lock, stock and barrel”)
• 97A Country known for its devotion to a General Mills cereal? : CHEX REPUBLIC (from “Czech Republic”)
• 114A Charon? : STYX FIGURE (from “stick figure”)
• 116A High-strung Latin ruler? : NERVOUS REX (from “nervous wreck”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 18m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Purple or green herb : BASIL

Basil is an aromatic herb in the mint family. The name “basil” comes from the ancient Greek “basileus” meaning “king”, supporting its nickname: “king of herbs”. There are over 60 distinct varieties of the herb, ranging from the classic sweet green Genovese to the clove-scented, purple dark opal basil.

6A Discovery org. : NASA

Space Shuttle Discovery, first launched in 1984, was the third of five shuttles to go into full service, and the first to be retired (in 2011). It takes its name from four British vessels including HMS Discovery, one of the ships in the third expedition led by Captain James Cook during which he discovered the Hawaiian Islands in 1778. One of Space Shuttle Discovery’s missions involved a return to space for astronaut John Glenn at age 77, making him the oldest human to have left the Earth’s atmosphere at that time. The retired Discovery is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum annex at Washington Dulles Airport.

15A Electronic music duo __ Punk : DAFT

Daft Punk was an electronic music duo from Paris, France that formed in 1993, with members Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The pair split up in 2021.

20A North __ Sea: Kazakh lake : ARAL

The former Soviet Union decided to divert the two rivers feeding the Aral Sea in order to irrigate food and cotton crops. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea began to shrink dramatically in the 1960s due to the loss of water. Today, the Aral Sea is no more. Instead, there are two relatively small bodies of water labeled as the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea.

The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the world’s largest landlocked country. It was also the last of the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) to declare itself independent from the Soviet Union.

21A Finnish tech giant : NOKIA

Many of us probably think of the Finnish company Nokia as a mobile phone manufacturer, one that was the largest vendor for a decade starting in the late 1990s. Bad decisions by management led to Microsoft buying Nokia’s declining phone business in 2014. It is a very old company, established way back in 1865 as a wood pulp mill, believe it or not.

25A Linen-lined outerwear? : FLAX JACKET (from “flak jacket”)

“Flak” was originally an acronym standing for the German term for an aircraft defense cannon (FLiegerAbwehrKanone). “Flak” then became used in English as a general term for antiaircraft fire and ultimately a term for verbal criticism, as in “to take flak”.

28A Drama produced in a recording studio : RADIO PLAY

Oh, I really love a good radio play. Why aren’t there more of them made today …?

30A Birds associated with the Egyptian god Thoth : IBISES

Thoth was an ancient Egyptian god who was depicted as a man with the head of either a baboon or an ibis. He was the god of many things, including wisdom, writing, magic and the dead.

31A Part of BTW : THE

By the way (BTW)

34A Broccoli part : STEM

The Italian term “broccolo” is used to describe the flowering crest of a cabbage. We use the plural form of the same word “broccoli” as the name of the edible green plant in the cabbage family.

35A Child’s complaint to Father Time? : YOU MAKE ME SIX (from “you make me sick”)

“Chronos” is the Greek word for time, with the name applying in ancient Greece to a personification of time. He was not a Greek god, although Chronos has often been confused with the Titan Cronus of Greek mythology. The Titan Cronus was often depicted with a scythe, as this was the tool he used to castrate his father Uranus. The confusion of Chronos and Cronus led to the traditional depiction of “Old Father Time” with a scythe.

47A Backless slippers : MULES

A mule is a shoe without a back and usually with a closed toe. The original mule was a shoe worn by the highest magistrates in ancient Rome.

49A Roman moon goddess : LUNA

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

51A Entourage : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

52A Transparent layer in the eye : CORNEA

The cornea is the transparent part of the eye in the front, and the part that covers the iris and the pupil. Even though the cornea is not part of the eye’s lens, it acts as a lens. In fact, the cornea does most of the work focusing light coming in through the eye. It is, in effect, a fixed-focus lens passing on light to the variable-focus lens that is inside the eye.

57A “I need to install brighter lights later”? : BETTER LUX NEXT TIME (from “better luck next time”)

The “lux” is the SI unit of illuminance, and is equal to one lumen per square meter.

64A D-backs, in box scores : ARI

The Arizona Diamondbacks (also “D-backs”) joined Major League Baseball’s National League in 1998. By winning the World Series in 2001, they became the fastest expansion team to do so in Major League history.

70A West Indies country also known as the “Island of Spice” : GRENADA

Grenada is an island nation in the British Commonwealth (or “Commonwealth of Nations”, as it is now called). When President Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983, after a pro-communist coup, the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II and her government were not amused …

80A Common finds in a salmon smokehouse? : LOX, STOCK AND BARREL (from “lock, stock and barrel”)

Lox is a brine-cured salmon filet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

85A Furisode sash : OBI

A furisode is the most formal style of kimono worn by unmarried women in Japan. It is the design with dramatic, flowing sleeves that can stretch nearly to the floor. The word “furisode” translates literally to “swinging sleeves”. It is the customary attire for Coming of Age Day ceremonies, which are held annually in January. Young women celebrate reaching the age of majority by wearing a furisode.

86A Field with a trolley problem : ETHICS

The “Trolley Problem” is a famous thought experiment first posed in 1967, asking whether it’s more moral to sacrifice one person to save five. The scenario described is a runaway trolley careening down a track towards five bystanders who will be killed if it reaches them. Another person has control of a lever that can divert the trolley to a second track on which only one person would be killed.

93A Start of a religious title : DALAI

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

97A Country known for its devotion to a General Mills cereal? : CHEX REPUBLIC (from “Czech Republic”)

The original Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina, although it is now produced by General Mills. Ralston Purina had a logo with a checkerboard square on it, which gave the pattern to the cereal as well as its name. Chex used characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip in its advertising for many years.

Czechoslovakia existed as a sovereign state in Europe from 1918, at which time it declared itself independent from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The country went through much turmoil through the days of Nazi and Soviet occupation, but democracy was restored in 1989 after the nonviolent Velvet Revolution that overthrew the communist government. Nationalist tendencies did develop over time, leading to a peaceful dissolution of the country in 1993, and the creation of the two independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (aka “Slovakia”).

99A Currency of Vietnam : DONG

The currency of Vietnam is known as the dong. One dong is divided into ten hao, and one hao is divided into ten xu.

100A Kung __ tofu : PAO

Kung Pao chicken (or sometimes shrimp or tofu) is a Sichuan stir-fry dish that includes peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers. The name “Kung Pao” is thought to come from a governor of the Sichuan province whose title was “Gongbao”, meaning “Palace Guardian”.

101A Sargasso Sea fish : EEL

The Sargasso Sea is an area within the Atlantic Ocean that is famous as the home to many species of Sargassum, the algae floating on the surface that gives the area its name. The Sargasso Sea is also where both European and American species of eel lay their eggs and hatch their young. The young eels (or “elvers”) then head east or west, depending on the species.

102A Bert’s favorite bird, on “Sesame Street” : PIGEON

The “Sesame Street” character named Bert has an obsession with pigeons that centers on his pet, Bernice. He teaches Bernice to play checkers, serenades her, and honors her with his signature 1973 musical number, “Doin’ the Pigeon”.

105A Doozy : HUMDINGER

A humdinger or pip is someone or something outstanding. “Humdinger” is American slang dating back to the early 1900s, and was originally used to describe a particularly attractive woman.

A doozy is something extraordinary or bizarre. The exact origins of the word “doozy” aren’t clear, but it might be a derivative of the name Eleanora Duse, an Italian actress popular early in the 20th century. Some say that the term comes from the Duesenberg brand of automobile, which was indeed referred to as a “duesy”. However, the use of “doozy” in print occurs before the Duesenberg hit the market.

110A Icelandic saga : EDDA

“Poetic Edda” and “Prose Edda” are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in 13th-century Iceland.

114A Charon? : STYX FIGURE (from “stick figure”)

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

116A High-strung Latin ruler? : NERVOUS REX (from “nervous wreck”)

“Rex” is Latin for “king”.

121A Comic-Con event : PANEL

San Diego’s Comic-Con was founded in 1970 as the Golden State Comic Book Convention. Held over four days each summer, it used to be the largest show in North America. Venue constraints in San Diego have allowed New York Comic Con (NYCC) to top the table in recent years.

122A Name in a Chinese American dish : TSO’S

“The Search for General Tso” is a 2014 documentary about the history of Chinese food in the US. Much of the film explores the life of Zuo Zongtang, the Chinese military leader who gave his name to the very American dish known as General Tso’s chicken.

123A Superhero who says, “For the honor of Grayskull!” : SHE-RA

“Masters of the Universe” is a sword-and-sorcery multimedia franchise that was introduced by Mattel in the 1980s. The main characters in the storyline are superhero He-Man, who battles against Skeletor on the planet Eternia, and He-Man’s sister She-Ra, who rebels against the Horde on the planet Etheria.

Down

3D Exchange heated words? : SEXT

Sexting (a portmanteau of “sex” and “texting”) is the sending of explicit dialog and images between cell phones. The term “sexting” was coined by the UK’s “Sunday Telegraph Magazine” in a 2005 article.

5D Cantopop star Andy : LAU

Andy Lau (born Lau Fook-wing) is an actor and singer from Hong Kong. He has been honored for his singing many, many times, and entered the Guinness World Records in 2000 for the “Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist”, having already amassed an unprecedented 292 music honors by that April. His acting career is also going well, earning Hong Kong’s “No. 1 Box office Actor 1985–2005” after generating over 1.7 billion HKD across 108 films over 20 years.

Cantopop is a pop music genre, with the name short for “Cantonese pop music”. An alternative name for the genre is “HK-pop”, short for “Hong Kong pop music”.

6D Cabbage variety called “big white vegetable” in Chinese : NAPA

Napa cabbage is a Chinese cabbage that turns up a lot in the cuisine of East Asia. The “napa” name comes from the Japanese “nappa”, which describes the leaves of any vegetable when used as food.

7D Three-time AL MVP in the 2000s : A-ROD

Baseball player Alex Rodriguez, nicknamed “A-Rod”, broke a lot of records in his career, albeit under a shroud of controversy due to his use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. When he signed a 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers for $252 million in 2000, it was the most lucrative contract in sports history. In 2007, Rodriguez signed an even more lucrative 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, worth $275 million. Rodriguez retired in 2016.

8D South Asian wrap : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that it is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

9D Palo __, California : ALTO

The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.

11D Grinding tooth : MOLAR

Molars are grinding teeth. The term “molar” comes from the Latin “mola” meaning “millstone”.

14D Dish served in a sizzling skillet : FAJITA

“Fajita” is a Tex-Mex term that refers to grilled meat served on a tortilla. The original Mexican-Spanish term “fajita” is used to describe a small strip of chicken or beef. Nowadays, fajitas are often served on a sizzling platter with the tortillas and condiments on the side.

15D __ point : DECIMAL

The decimal separator in a number written in decimal form is the symbol that separates the integer part of the number from the fractional part. Here in the US, we tend to use a decimal point for that separation. In Central Europe, a decimal comma is the norm.

16D Arctic seabirds : AUKS

Auks are penguin-like sea birds that live in colder northern waters including the Arctic. Like penguins, auks are great swimmers, but unlike penguins, auks can fly.

24D Grade before grades, for short : PRE-K

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K)

26D Lie for, say : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (literally “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

36D Marine Corps cry : OORAH!

“Oorah!” serves as the official battle cry of the US Marine Corps. According to lore, the term originated with the 1st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, while in the Pacific theater in 1953. After conducting recon missions aboard the submarine USS Perch off the coast of Korea, the unit reportedly adopted the “Aarugha” sound of the vessel’s dive klaxon, which evolved into the familiar “Oorah!”

37D Ultrasound targets : UTERI

A sonogram is an image made using ultrasound. “Ultrasound” is the name given to sound energy that has frequencies above the audible range.

41D Oracle : SEER

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

42D Like favorite jeans : WORN

Denim fabric originated in Nîmes in France. The French phrase “de Nîmes” (meaning “from Nîmes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

44D “One Piece” medium : ANIME

“One Piece” is a manga series from Japan about a young boy whose goal it is to become the next King of the Pirates. To achieve this, the boy and his crew search for “One Piece”, a legendary treasure. The manga series has legs, and has been published weekly since July 1997 and spun off into an anime TV show and theatrical films. “One Piece” holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author: Eiichiro Oda.

45D Pilsner, for one : LAGER

Pilsener (also “pilsner” or “pils”) is a pale lager. The name “pilsener” comes from the city of Pilsen, now in the Czech Republic. It was in Pilsen, in 1842, that the first bottom-fermented lager was produced. A bottom-fermented beer is much clearer than a top-fermented beer, and has a crisper taste. The “top” and “bottom” refers to where the yeast gathers during the brewing process.

48D Pluck : MOXIE

Back as far as 1876, Moxie was a brand name of a “medicine” peddled with the claim that it “built up your nerve”. In 1924, “Moxie” was registered as a trademark for a bitter, non-alcoholic beverage (no more claims of nerve-building). We’ve used the term “moxie” to mean “nerve” ever since …

51D Green gem : PERIDOT

Olivine is a relatively common mineral, but is rarely found with purity that is sufficient for use as a gemstone. When the olivine is pure enough to be used as a gem, it is called “peridot”. Peridot is always olive green in color, with its color intensity a function of how much iron is in the stone.

54D Discordant, musically : ATONAL

Atonal music is not written in any particular key, and therefore does not have a key signature. I’m not a fan, not at all …

57D Badger : BERATE

To badger is to harass. The verb “to badger” comes from the cruel practice of badger-baiting, which dates back to medieval times. Badger-baiting is a blood sport in which dogs are set upon a captive badger in its den to draw it out into the open. The den is an artificial structure built to resemble a natural badger’s den, complete with a tunnel entrance. The dog is sent down the tunnel, causing the badger and dog to lock their jaws on each other. The badger and dog are then removed from the den by pulling on the dog’s tail. Horrible …

58D Fallingwater architect Frank __ Wright : LLOYD

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright embraced the philosophy of designing structures that were in harmony with the environment. One of his most famous works is an elaborate home in rural Pennsylvania known as Fallingwater, which is partially built over a waterfall.

59D Polynesian carving : TIKI

A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form that is found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries surrounding sites that are sacred to the locals.

61D Converse rival : VANS

Vans is a manufacturer of mainly skateboarding shoes. The company was founded as a shoe manufacturer in 1966 called the Van Doren Rubber Company. The business turned towards skateboarders in the seventies, and then adopted the “Vans” name in the nineties.

The Converse shoe company was founded in Malden, Massachusetts in 1908 by one Marquis Mills Converse. The company grew steadily, and introduced its first athletic shoe in 1915, a shoe designed for playing tennis. The Converse brand really took off in 1917 with the launch of a shoe designed especially for basketball, which was called the “All Star”. Basketball player Chuck Taylor really liked the new design and was hired by Converse as a salesman and a spokesman. Taylor suggested a refinement to the design, including a patch on the side to protect the ankle. A star logo (representing the “All Star” brand) was added to the patch, with Chuck Taylor’s signature being added to the logo as an endorsement in 1923. The Chuck Taylor All Star became the best selling basketball shoe of all time, and the star became the logo for the Converse company.

68D Speedy fish : DARTER

The snail darter is a three-inch-long freshwater fish native to East Tennessee that single-handedly brought the US government to a grinding halt in the 1970s. It was discovered in the Little Tennessee River in 1973, and designated an endangered species. It then became the center of the landmark 1978 Supreme Court case: TVA v. Hill. The legal battle temporarily froze construction on the multi-million-dollar Tellico Dam, until the fish could be introduced into a new habitat.

71D K9 of “Doctor Who,” for one : ROBOT

K9 is a robotic canine companion who joined Doctor Who on his adventures in 1977. He was intended to appear in one series of the show, but his popularity, particularly with younger viewers, led to him making appearances in the show for decades.

78D Exodus mount : SINAI

According to the Book of Exodus, God inscribed the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to Moses on Mount Sinai.

82D Fillet’s lack : BONE

A fillet is a boneless cut of meat or fish. The term “fillet” comes from the Old French “filet” meaning “small thread, filament”. Apparently, we applied the term to food because the piece of fish or meat was tied up with string after it was deboned. Here in the US, we tend to use the French spelling “filet”.

90D Ships overnight, in a way : FEDEXES

FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under its more catchy, abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.

97D GoPro product : CAMERA

GoPro is a company that makes high-definition video cameras that have a rugged design. Famously, GoPro cameras are used in extreme conditions. For example, they are often mounted on moving vehicles or used by people playing sports. Two astronauts on the International Space Station inserted a GoPro camera inside a floating ball of water, and then showed the view from inside the ball of water. Amazing footage …

104D Greek wrap : GYRO

A gyro is a traditional Greek dish of meat roasted on a tall vertical spit that is sliced from the spit as required. Gyros are usually served inside a lightly grilled piece of pita bread, along with tomato, onion and tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber sauce).

107D Roman emperor after Claudius : NERO

Nero was Emperor of Rome from 54 to 68 CE, and he had quite the family life. When he was just 16 years old, Nero married his step-sister Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.

I find Claudius to be the most fascinating of all the Roman Emperors. He had a lot going against him, as he walked with a limp and was slightly deaf. Claudius was put in office by the Praetorian Guard (the emperor’s bodyguards) after Caligula was assassinated. Claudius had very little political experience and yet proved to be very forward-thinking and capable.

108D Wormlike larva : GRUB

The larvae of stag beetles are commonly known as grubs. “Grub” is also slang for “food”. The word “grub” has been used in this sense since way back in the 1600s, and is possibly derived from birds eating grubs.

111D James Bond’s first movie foe : DR NO

“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. Julius No and Fu Manchu. By the way, the author Ian Fleming tells us that Julius No attended medical school in Milwaukee.

113D Soap Box Derby rod : AXLE

The Soap Box Derby is a soapbox car racing competition. The first All-American race was held in Dayton, Ohio in 1934. The annual race was moved to Akron, Ohio the following year. Soon after, a purpose-built track was built called Derby Downs, as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program of the late thirties.