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Constructed by: Alex Rosen & Brad Wilber
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Leavened

Circled letters in the grid spell out different kinds of “bread”. Four are LEAVENED, and have “risen”. The fifth is UNLEAVENED, and has not “risen”. Clever …

• 7D Unlike bread on Passover, and like four of the five sets of circled letters in this puzzle : LEAVENED

The four LEAVENED “breads” are:

• ROLL
• CAKE
• SCONE
• BAGEL

The UNLEAVENED “bread” is

• 61A Passover cracker : MATZO

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

Bill’s time: 7m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Ramsey of “The Last of Us” : BELLA

Bella Ramsey is an actor from England who played the role of Lyanna Mormont in the TV show “Game of Thrones”. They then landed the role of Ellie in the post-apocalyptic drama show “The Last of Us”.

10 Actor Epps : OMAR

Omar Epps is the actor who played Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Gant on “ER”. He is good friends with actor and comedian Marlon Wayans. Epps and Wayns were classmates at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

16 Bahama __ : MAMA

If you’d care to try the drink called a Bahama mama, one recipe is:

• 1 part rum
• 1 part coconut rum
• 1 part grenadine
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts pineapple juice

17 Hoodwink : FOOL

“To hoodwink” has had the meaning “to deceive” since about 1600. Prior to that it meant simply “to blindfold”, and is simply a combination of the words “hood” and “wink”.

18 Shampoo target : SCALP

Back in the 1760s, the verb “to shampoo” was an Anglo-Indian word meaning “to massage”. A century later we started “to shampoo” our hair.

20 Fad toy with unruly hair : TROLL

Troll dolls were quite the fad when I was a young lad at school in the sixties. Everyone seemed to have a little troll doll that was fixed on the end of a pencil. They were created back in 1959 by a Danish fisherman and woodcutter called Thomas Dam. He made the first as a cheap Christmas gift for his young daughter as his family was very poor. Local children all wanted them, and sales of his “Dam Dolls” took off.

22 Actress Mendes : EVA

I am most familiar with actress Eva Mendes as the female lead in the movie “Hitch”, in which she played opposite Will Smith. Mendes started a relationship with fellow actor Ryan Gosling in 2011, and the couple have two children together.

24 Old-Fashioned choice : RYE

An Old Fashioned cocktail is usually made from whiskey or brandy muddled with sugar and bitters, with a twist of citrus rind.

29 Third No. 1 hit for Bruno Mars : GRENADE

“Grenade” is a 2010 song co-written and recorded by Bruno Mars. It’s all about unrequited love, and the fact that the singer would “catch a grenade” for the girl that he loves.

32 “The Gilded Age” airer : HBO

“The Gilded Age” is a period drama created and written by Julian Fellowes, who also created the hit drama “Downton Abbey”. The former show is set in New York City in the 1880s, when the nation was enjoying an economic boom.

37 Olympic sprinter Szewinska : IRENA

Irena Szewińska was a Russian-born sprinter from Poland. She was the only athlete in history to have held the world record in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter events.

39 Gas station station : PUMP

The gas pump was actually around before there were cars on the road. The first gas pump was the invention of one Sylvanus Bowser from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His first pump was designed to pump kerosene for lamps and stoves, and was introduced in 1885. As automobiles became popular, he modified the design to pump gasoline. He introduced the Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump in 1905. He marketed his devices all around the world, and in some parts the name “bowser” is still used sometimes to refer to fuel pumps, and indeed some fuel tankers.

44 David Muir’s field : TV NEWS

Journalist and TV anchor David Muir started hosting the show “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir” in 2014. Apparently, Muir’s reporting received more airtime than any other American journalist in 2012 and 2013. Muir also made it onto “People” magazine’s list of Sexiest Men Alive in 2014.

46 Cassini of fashion : OLEG

French-born American fashion designer Oleg Cassini developed a reputation for designing costumes for films, and dressing numerous film stars. He had two big names particularly associated with his designs. In the sixties he produced the state wardrobe for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. He was also the exclusive designer for Hollywood’s Gene Tierney, who was Cassini’s second wife.

48 Dom Pérignon maker, informally : MOET

Moët & Chandon is a French winery, and one of the world’s largest producers of champagne. The company was founded by wine trader Claude Moët in 1743. The name was changed to Moët & Chandon in the 1830s when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, an in-law to the Moët family, was given co-ownership. Moët & Chandon owns the famous Dom Pérignon brand name, honoring the Benedictine monk who did so much to improve the quality of champagne.

Dom Pérignon is a prestige label of champagne from Moët et Chandon, the French winery. The label’s name honors the Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, who helped to improve the quality and production of champagne in the early 18th century. Although Dom Pérignon made major contributions to champagne production, many of the stories in which he figures are just myths. He did not “invent” champagne, nor sparkling wine in general. Nor did he say the famous words, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!”. That lovely line first appeared in a print advertisement in the late 1800s!

59 Court for King James, briefly : B-BALL

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African-American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

61 Passover cracker : MATZO

Matzo is an unleavened flatbread used in Jewish cuisine, and which plays a central role in the Seder ritual feast that marks the beginning of Passover.

63 “Angeleyes” band : ABBA

“Angeleyes” is a 1978 song recorded by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was a big hit around the world, and particularly in the UK. Coincidentally, ABBA’s “Angeleyes” was in the UK charts at the same time as a Roxy Music hit with the title “Angel Eyes”.

64 __ Saint Laurent : YVES

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) was an Algerian-born French fashion designer. Saint Laurent started off working as an assistant to Christian Dior at the age of 17. Dior died just four years later, and as a very young man Saint-Laurent was named head of the House of Dior. However, in 1950 Saint Laurent was conscripted into the French Army and ended up in a military hospital after suffering a mental breakdown from the hazing inflicted on him by his fellow soldiers. His treatment included electroshock therapy and administration of sedatives and psychoactive drugs. He was released from hospital, managed to pull his life back together and started his own fashion house. A remarkable story …

69 Some evergreen shrubs : YEWS

Yew trees were placed around churches and in graveyards all over Europe. The reason for the practice seems to be unclear, but one suggestion is that fronds from yew trees were used as substitutes for palms on Palm Sunday.

Down

3 Torchiere, for one : FLOOR LAMP

A torchère (also “torchière”) is often referred to as a standard lamp or floor lamp. Essentially, it is a lamp mounted on a tall stand.

4 Sesame Street worrywart : TELLY

Telly Monster is a “Sesame Street” character who was introduced in 1979. He is a very earnest character, and worries about everything.

The term “worrywart”, meaning one who dwells unnecessarily on troubles, comes from a cartoon strip. Worry Wart was a character introduced in 1956 in the strip “Out Our Way” that was drawn by American cartoonist J.R. Williams. Worry Wart the character caused others to do the worrying, which is the opposite of the meaning we give the term “worrywart” today.

5 Humanities degs. : BAS

The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.

7 Unlike bread on Passover, and like four of the five sets of circled letters in this puzzle : LEAVENED

Leaven is a substance that causes bread to rise, perhaps yeast or baking powder. The term “leaven” comes into English via French from the Latin “levare” meaning “to rise”.

8 Film mistakenly announced as Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars : LA LA LAND

There was a celebrated gaffe made at the Oscar ceremony honoring the best films of 2016. Presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, due to no fault of their own, declared “La La Land” as the winner of the Best Picture award. The producers of “La La Land” were over two minutes into their acceptance speeches when it became clear that the actual winner of the award was the movie “Moonlight”.

10 Nebraska city : OMAHA

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. It is located on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River. When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.

23 “Weekend Update” comic Michael : CHE

Michael Che is a standup comedian from New York City. Che had worked as a writer for “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), and then started to appear in front of SNL cameras in September 2014. He became co-anchor for the “Weekend Update” segment of the show, alongside Colin Jost. They make a great team …

“Weekend Update” is the longest-running of any recurring sketch on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). In fact, the segment made its debut on the very first show, back in 1975. The first “anchor” at the “Weekend Update” desk was Chevy Chase.

30 Rodeo cry : RIDE ‘EM!

“Rodeo” is a Spanish word that is usually translated into English as “round up”.

31 Burial city of the Wright brothers : DAYTON

Dayton is a city in the southwest of Ohio that is famously home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The city is also referred to as the “Birthplace of Aviation”, as it was in Dayton that Orville and Wilbur Wright built and improved the Wright Flyer. The Wright Flyer made the first controlled and sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, used knowledge gained from manufacturing and repairing bicycles when designing the world’s first motor-driven airplane. The key to their success was the development of a mechanical system for controlled flight, building on the existing progress made by others in the fields of wing and engine design.

38 Eartha Kitt song with the lyric “Been an angel all year” : SANTA BABY

Eartha Kitt really did have a unique voice and singing style. Her rendition of “Santa Baby” has to be one of the most distinctive and memorable recordings in the popular repertoire. Some of you will no doubt remember Eartha playing Catwoman on the final series of the 1960s TV show “Batman”.

43 Fruit in the liqueur Bargnolino : SLOE

Bargnolino is an Italian version of sloe gin.

47 Use a hula hoop : GYRATE

Hula hoops were a big craze in the 1950s, but they have been around in various forms at least since the year 500 BCE.

48 Tony winner Idina : MENZEL

Actress and singer Idina Menzel came to public attention when she was a member of the original Broadway cast of “Rent”. She is known on the small screen for playing Shelby Corcoran on the musical TV show “Glee”. On the big screen, her most noted performance was as the voice actor behind Queen Elsa in the Disney hit “Frozen”. It is Menzel who sings the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” in “Frozen”.

49 Best Play and Best Game, for two : ESPYS

The ESPY Awards, also known as the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, were first presented in a ceremony in 1993. The ESPYs were created by ESPN as a response to the lack of sports coverage during the summer months. ESPN decided to create an awards show to help fill that gap.

50 Leek kin : CHIVE

Chives are the smallest species of edible onion, and a favorite of mine …

51 Like cognac barrels : OAKEN

Cognac is a famous variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac in the very west of France. To be called “Cognac”, the brandy must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in very specific French oak barrels.

53 Triangular part of a house : GABLE

The gable is the triangular portion of a building’s wall that is defined by the intersection of the two slopes of the roof.

61 Kate Middleton, to Prince George : MUM

Prince George of Wales is the eldest child of William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales. As such, He is the second in line of succession, after his father, to the British throne.

62 Suturing ctrs. : ORS

A suture is used to close an open wound. The term “suture” comes from the Latin word “suere” meaning “to sew”, the past participle of which is “sutus”.