3/23/25 - Where'd You Go? 🤷

🏁 Solve –> Where'd You Go? by Andrew Colin Kirk

6A | Doomed Ethiopian princess

AIDA

Set in ancient Egypt, Aida's entirely fictional, yet tragic, plot centers around a fictional love triangle involving Aida (an Ethiopian princess/Egyptian slave), Amneris (an Egyptian princess), and Radamès (an Egyptian military officer).

Giuseppe Verdi composed the now classic four-act opera on commission from the viceroy of Egypt, with the debut performance occurring on Christmas Eve, 1871, at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo (a venue that had opened two years prior to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal).

⚠️ FYI: In the context of Aida, "Ethiopia" does not refer to the modern day country of that name, but rather the ancient African region of Nubia (now Sudan), whose inhabitants the Ancient Greeks called "Aethiopians" – translating to "Burnt-Faced Ones" – in reference to their skin color.

56A | Figure on a Wyoming license plate

COWBOY

Since 1936, Wyoming's license plates have featured a silhouette of an individual holding a cowboy hat while atop a bucking horse. The copyrighted image – aptly named "Bucking Horse and Rider" – was initially added to the state's vehicle identifiers in an effort to thwart counterfeiting.

The current design is a variation of other cowboy-on-horse motifs that had previously been used to represent the state, including a similar insignia first adopted by Wyoming's National Guard regiment in WWI, as well as one associated with the University of Wyoming's athletic teams beginning in the 1920s.

👉 BONUS BIT: The first graphic emblem to make an appearance on a state license plate (in 1928) was a potato. The state? Connecticut. (Just kidding – it was Idaho.)

119A | Dartmouth's colorful nickname

BIG GREEN

The athletic teams of Dartmouth – an Ivy League university based in Hanover, New Hampshire – have never had an official nickname.

While "Big Green" has long served as one of its de facto monikers, the name "Indians" was also informally used from the 1920s to the 1970s as a nod to the school's 1769 founding charter, which established its mission as tending to the “education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land..."

8D | Alternative to a citronella candle

DEET

Like the Internet, GPS, and duct tape, the insect repellent known as DEET was first created for use by the U.S. military, which began supplying the chemical (C₁₂H₁₇NO) to its soldiers in the 1940s – about a decade before the product was approved for use by the general public.

While chemists might feel more comfortable calling it di-ethyl-toluamide, for the rest of us, just using the initials D-E-T is good enough.

15D | Org. that awards the "Paw of Courage" for canine heroism

AKC

The American Kennel Club (AKC) was founded in 1884 and remains "dedicated to to the sport and enjoyment of the purebred dog." Its official registry, which initially listed just nine breeds, now includes 201 – with the most recent addition (the Lancashire Heeler) added in 2024.

Also in 2024, the not-for-profit organization bestowed its Paw of Courage award on two police K-9s: Biza (from Auburn, MA) and Vishu (from Kankakee, IL).

43D | Birthplace of Starbucks

SEATTLE

Ubiquitous coffee chain Starbucks opened its first location in 1971, selling coffee beans and brewing equipment (the drinks would come later) from a storefront in downtown Seattle's historic Pike Place Market.

Other companies that list the Emerald City on their birth certificate include:

• Nordstrom (1901)
• UPS (1907)
• Boeing (1916)
• REI (1938)
• Costco (1983)
• Amazon (1994)
• Zillow (2014)

[Although Microsoft was co-founded by two Seattle natives (and is currently headquartered in a suburb of the city), the computing giant was actually established in Albuquerque, New Mexico – the home base of its first customer: Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems.]

50D | Corrective eye surgery

LASIK

A number of vision-related issues – nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), blurriness (astigmatism) – are attributed to defects with the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye responsible for refracting light.

In the early 1950s, Spanish ophthalmologist José Barraquer developed a technique to improve the functioning of the cornea. His process involved the removal, re-shaping, and replacement of the cornea and is known as keratomileusis (from the Greek kéras/kerato [horn] + smíleusis [carving]).

Refinements soon made it possible for the operation to be performed with the cornea left in place ("in situ") and, in 1989, a new version of the procedure that involves the assistance of lasers was patented.

Put it all together and you get Laser-ASsisted In Situ Keratomileusis aka LASIK!

91D | Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks"

ODE

Excerpt from "Ode to My Socks," first published in 1956:

They were
so handsome
for the first time
my feet seemed to me
unacceptable
like two decrepit
firemen, firemen
unworthy
of that woven
fire,
of those glowing
socks.

Some socks! Bombas, perhaps? (Not sponsored, but willing to entertain offers.)

94D | Gummy candy company

HARIBO

Oh boy, another acronym!

The German-based confectionary brand Haribo derives its name from founder HAns RIegel, who, in 1920, started making candies out of his home kitchen in BOnn. (As indicated in bold, simply take the first two letters from each proper noun and voilà – you've spelled Haribo.)

Two years later, Riegel invented his most famous product: the "gummy bear," a sweet treat so-named for its shape and original formulation, which employed gum arabic (a sugary resin exuded by certain trees).

⚠️ FYI: Haribo produces two different versions of its "Goldbears" – one for the American market that contains artificial flavors and another for Europe, which is all natural and, according to most, tastes better. Go figure!

103D | Angela Lansbury was nominated for 18 of them (winning none)

EMMYS

British actress Angela Lansbury (1925-2022) received 18 Primetime Emmy Award nominations across a number of categories, including a record 12 consecutive nods for her portrayal of a retired teacher-turned-mystery writer/amateur detective on the U.S. crime drama Murder, She Wrote.

During a remarkable showbiz career that spanned eight decades, Lansbury was also nominated for one Grammy, three Oscars, and seven Tonys – winning five of those Tonys + a Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as an Honorary Academy Award for a body of work that includes The Manchurian Candidate, Death on the Nile, and Beauty and the Beast.

⚠️ FYI: In a distant second place behind Lansbury, Don Cheadle and Steve Carell have each been up for 11 Emmys without ever taking home the statuette.

Hmm, that sounds familiar 🤔

81D | Philippine currency

PESO [see The Sunday Glossword - 2/16/2025]