SPECIAL EFFECTS
Residents of Erie County, N.Y. know when the forecast is lake effects, this is coming, along with freezing air & surface temps
snow
WBC are short for these in your body; your doc may ask for a count of them
white blood cells
A joke
&
a citrus scraping
a jest
&
a zest
In 2 words, it's the shortest distance between 2 points on a flat surface
straight line
Documentaries like "The Yogurt Shop Murders" show that sometimes suspects do this under interrogation even when innocent
confess
Yul Brynner gave his 4,625th & last performance in this musical June 30, 1985, with his 4th wife in the cast as a royal dancer
The King and I
Due to this effect named for a home invader of lore, people seek out options that are not too extreme, i.e., "just right"
the Goldilocks Effect
Similar to a laser is a maser; the "M" stands for radiation formed in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum
microwave
Left at the altar
&
adorned in Scottish garb
kilted
&
jilted
With a score by Elton John & Tim Rice, it reigns as the third longest-running show on Broadway
The Lion King
This actress played Brenda Leigh Johnson, who used Southern charm & other methods to get the truth in TV's "The Closer”
Kyra Sedgwick
Think of the creature associated with a last song & you'll know Gillian Murphy of American Ballet Theatre chose this ballet for her last dance in 2025
Swan Lake
This psychological effect is named for a leader who didn't die in prison in the '80s, though many people wrongly recalled otherwise
The Mandela Effect
Abbreviated A.R., this elongated band of water vapor has 5 categories of strength, just like a hurricane
atmospheric river
DAILY DOUBLE
Minuteman or Tomahawk, for example
&
an official written message
missile
&
missive
The Virginia species of this has one of the shortest gestation periods of any mammal, just 12 to 13 days with as many as 25 babies
a possum
In this movie set in an isolated asylum, Leonardo DiCaprio interrogates one woman who was just axing her husband....
Shutter Island
In January 2026, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves ended her great career in a production of this American work at the Metropolitan Opera
Porgy and Bess
The effect of this effect is that patients sometimes get better even when treated with inactive substances or fake procedures
the placebo effect
found in DNA, BPs are these, nitrogenous molecules joined by hydrogen bonds
base pairs
A prickly plant
&
put your lips together & blow
thistle
&
whistle
At 33 days, he had the shortest papal reign since the 1600s
John Paul I
An interrogation routine perfected by Briscoe & Logan on "Law & Order", or a CW show about siblings in law enforcement
good cop, bad cop
DAILY DOUBLE
This American bandleader played a last U.K. "Hangar Concert" Oct. 3, 1944; his band played on Christmas in Paris without him
Glenn Miller
In "Outliers" he wrote about the Matthew Effect, a sociological phenomenon in which, loosely speaking, the rich get richer
Gladwell
Many groups, including the EPA, are concerned about CCD, this phenomenon in which worker bees abandon the queen
colony collapse disorder
Fitting or suited
&
to push forward
proper
&
propel
The 2023 retirement of his friend Patrick Leahy made this Iowa Republican the longest-serving current senator at over 40 years
Chuck Grassley
In this film written by Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Walken interrogates Dennis Hopper amid dialogue on Sicilians' roots
True Romance
Aged 87, this Italian-born maestro conducted a chaotic final performance with the NBC Symphony April 4, 1954
Toscanini