WORLD RELIGION:
Krishna & Rama are both considered avatars of this Hindu god

CABLE TV PERSONALITIES:
This Scottish-born chef is known for his TV rants at weaker restaurateurs

DYNASTY:
Nicholas II was the last ruling czar of this royal family

WHAT A CHARACTER!:
Topsy & Simon Legree are both characters in this bestselling novel

NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY:
John the Baptist's ministry took place in the region around this river

TOYS:
In 1903, with presidential permission, Morris Michtom began marketing these toys

WORD ORIGINS:
This term for a person who works for various employers comes from knights who sold their skills

TALE TELLERS:
She's the fabled tale teller in "The Thousand & One Nights"

PHYSICS:
Regarding this device, Archimedes said, "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"

ACTRESSES:
In 2008 she played Daisy, the lifelong friend of Benjamin Button

MOUNTAIN HIGH:
This 14,700-foot peak in the Swiss Alps is famous for its shape & the danger of ascending it

U.S. PRESIDENTS:
He was president during the War of 1812

SYMPHONIES:
Mozart's last & perhaps most powerful symphony shares its name with this planet

SPEAKING IN TONGUES:
This language was invented in Warsaw in 1887 by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof

SPORTS STARS:
In the 2007-'08 season, this Cleveland Cavalier turned 23 & averaged 30 points a game

HOMOPHONES:
An arm bone, or an adjective meaning "funny"

SCIENTISTS:
Now named to the Cabinet, Steven Chu won a Nobel for capturing atoms with these light beams

MYTHOLOGY:
He occupied a chair over which the "sword of" him was suspended by a single thread

BOOKS BY REPORTERS:
"Bush at War", "Plan of Attack" & "State of Denial" are books by this famed journalist

VOCAL MUSIC:
Cecilia Bartoli has unearthed & sung several forgotten arias by this "Four Seasons" composer

BODIES OF WATER:
It's the smallest & easternmost of the Great Lakes

MEASURE IT:
9 teaspoons equals this many tablespoons

WORLD LITERATURE:
Logically, it's the middle book of Dante's "Divine Comedy"

TRANSPORTATION:
In 1620 it sailed west from Southampton with Christopher Jones as captain

CHEMICAL ELEMENTS:
Atomic number 98, this radioactive element is the only one named after a U.S. state

POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS:
This Midwest state is the only one whose 2-letter postal abbreviation is a preposition

CROSSWORD CLUES 'P':
Attorney-client benefit (9 letters)

SHAKESPEARE:
It completes the line "Shall I compare thee to…"

THEATER:
In a 2008 revival of this show, the Sharks sing in Spanish

ICE CREAM:
This flavor was invented in 1929 & named in part to reflect the difficult economic times ahead

SCULPTURE:
Sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon are known as these, after a British Lord

LITERARY CHARACTERS:
In "Great Expectations", this aged lady still wears her wedding dress

HISTORIC BRITS:
The "Young Pretender" to the British throne in the 1740s was also known as Bonnie Prince this

PHOTOGRAPHY:
This Frenchman lent his name to an early form of photography

AFRICA:
In Latin, the name of this country means "place of freedom"

RECENT BESTSELLERS:
A no. 1 bestseller in 2008 was this female mystery author's "Scarpetta"

THE MOON:
Latin term for the Moon's "seas"; the largest is about 750 miles wide

AFRICAN AMERICANS:
Born a slave, she helped free others & was the first black woman on a U.S. postage stamp

THEATRICAL TERMS:
As an adjective, it means "timely"; in the theater, it's to supply an actor with a line

RHYME TIME:
Just one radio advertising song

U.S. CITIES:
The Oregon Trail & Pony Express route both passed by Casper in this state

LITERARY FIRSTS:
His "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered by many to be the world's first detective story

ASIA:
During the Sui Dynasty it was repaired 7 times to defend against the Tujue

CONGRESS:
The House of Representatives has this many members

FILL IN THE ___:
Half ___ Alaska

BIOLOGY:
The intestinal tract of these insects, aka white ants, can break down cellulose

ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island

WRITERS:
Karen Blixen wrote "Out of Africa" under this name

RETAIL:
Hit the bull's-eye & name this discount retail store first opened by the Dayton Co. in 1962

SINGERS:
This singer renamed herself "Sasha Fierce" for a 2008 double album

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

S

.
.
.

WORLD RELIGION: Vishnu

CABLE TV PERSONALITIES: (Gordon) Ramsay

DYNASTY: Romanov

WHAT A CHARACTER!: Uncle Tom's Cabin

NEW TESTAMENT GEOGRAPHY: Jordan

TOYS: Teddy bears

WORD ORIGINS: freelance/freelancer

TALE TELLERS: Scheherazade

PHYSICS: lever

ACTRESSES: (Cate) Blanchett

MOUNTAIN HIGH: Matterhorn

U.S. PRESIDENTS: (James) Madison

SYMPHONIES: Jupiter

SPEAKING IN TONGUES: Esperanto

SPORTS STARS: (LeBron) James

HOMOPHONES: humerus/humorous

SCIENTISTS: lasers

MYTHOLOGY: Damocles

BOOKS BY REPORTERS: (Bob) Woodward

VOCAL MUSIC: (Antonio) Vivaldi

BODIES OF WATER: Lake Ontario

MEASURE IT: 3

WORLD LITERATURE: Purgatorio/Purgatory

TRANSPORTATION: Mayflower

CHEMICAL ELEMENTS: californium

POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: Indiana (IN)

CROSSWORD CLUES 'P': privilege

SHAKESPEARE: a summer's day

THEATER: West Side Story

ICE CREAM: rocky road

SCULPTURE: Elgin Marbles

LITERARY CHARACTERS: Miss Havisham

HISTORIC BRITS: Charlie

PHOTOGRAPHY: (Louis) Daguerre

AFRICA: Liberia

RECENT BESTSELLERS: (Patricia) Cornwell

THE MOON: mare/maria

AFRICAN AMERICANS: (Harriet) Tubman

THEATRICAL TERMS: prompt

RHYME TIME: single jingle

U.S. CITIES: Wyoming

LITERARY FIRSTS: (Edgar Allan) Poe

ASIA: Great Wall of China

CONGRESS: 435 (assuming they're not counting the 6 non-voting delegates)

FILL IN THE ___: baked

BIOLOGY: termites

ISLANDS: New Guinea

WRITERS: Isak Dinesen

RETAIL: Target

SINGERS: Beyoncé Knowles

Though I think I did well, I would rather not know.

Valuable Lesson: RTC

To Wit: "single sponsor song.... a single jingle eh.... oh they mean a singlet....

..or... a unijingle?.... a monojingle???"


Read. The. Category

econgator wrote:

TOYS: Teddy bears

HOMOPHONES: humerus/humorous

Drat, I put Lincoln Logs. Do you think they'll count the other one as correct if I only wrote one of the homophones? I didn't know how to answer that in written form. If that one's right, I think that puts me at 39.

I knew I did crappy on the test, but not this crappy. I only got 24 out of 50. And I can't believe I put Jefferson instead of Madison (War of 1812).

I will now light myself on fire (copyright Bill Simmons ESPN Sportsguy).

srah wrote:

Drat, I put Lincoln Logs. Do you think they'll count the other one as correct if I only wrote one of the homophones? I didn't know how to answer that in written form. If that one's right, I think that puts me at 39.

I think they have to. "Or" means "either one". The clue works much better orally.

ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island


It's not Australia?

Guy Incognito wrote:

ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island


It's not Australia?

Even though they are islands, the fact that they are continents supersedes that.

econgator wrote:

Guy Incognito wrote:

ISLANDS:
Smaller than only Greenland, it's the world's second-largest island


It's not Australia?

Even though they are islands, the fact that they are continents supersedes that.

Also, Australia is larger than Greenland.

Granny O'Doul wrote:

Also, Australia is larger than Greenland.

True, but if you were to count continents, then Antarctica would be #1 and Australia #2.

econgator wrote:

Granny O'Doul wrote:

Also, Australia is larger than Greenland.

True, but if you were to count continents, then Antarctica would be #1 and Australia #2.

No, Eurasia would be #1.

bwouns wrote:

econgator wrote:

Granny O'Doul wrote:

Also, Australia is larger than Greenland.

True, but if you were to count continents, then Antarctica would be #1 and Australia #2.

No, Eurasia would be #1.

and the Americas #2?

This raises the question of what makes something a "continent" as opposed to just a very large island. Is there a clearly defined property that continents have but islands lack, or is it just a question of degree? I have no expertise in the area whatsoever, but the first paragraph of Wikipedia's entry on "continent" suggests that what constitutes a continent is largely a matter of convention. (Recall that many of us learned in school to classify Europe and Asia as two different continents, despite that not seeming to make much sense when you look at a map.)

I have a vague memory of being confused as a kid, with some books calling Australia a continent and some not.

skullturfq wrote:

This raises the question of what makes something a "continent" as opposed to just a very large island. Is there a clearly defined property that continents have but islands lack, or is it just a question of degree?

I'm fairly certain it's a Potter Stewart kinda thing.