|  |  |  | 
  | NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES |  |
 |  |  | 
  
    | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Shaping country music in its infancy was this family that included Mother Maybelle &, later, daughters Helen, June & Anita | Carter 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | "What's taters, precious, eh, what's taters?" | Gollum 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | A California national park is named for these trees whose flowers are pollinated by the yucca moth | Joshua (trees) 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Alex Trebek's alma mater, the University of Ottawa claims to be the world's largest that's bilingual in these 2 languages | English & French 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Home to about 16 million, this nation aka the GDR ceased to be in October 1990 | East Germany 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | It's the action Egypt's government took to gain control over the Suez Canal in 1956 | nationalize 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Called "the Mother Church of Country Music" & actually built as a church, this venue was home to the Grand Ole Opry 1943-1974 | Ryman (Auditorium) 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | "If I can fool a bug... I can surely fool a man.  People are not as smart as bugs" | (Matt: What's Samsa?) (Ken: It is not Samsa. ... It is [*], in fact, of [*]'s Web fame.  She's scheming.)
 
 Charlotte
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Sounding like it's made of cloth, this lofty layer of a forest can reach more than 100 feet high in the Amazon | canopy 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | This school that's less than 10 miles from where you're standing changed the "at" in its name to the current comma in the 1950s | (Ken: Correct!  It was "at Los Angeles".) (Yogesh: [Showing the Trojan "V" with his right hand] Fight on.)
 
 the University of California, Los Angeles
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Before Waterloo, an allied army under this commander decisively defeated the French at the Battle of Vitoria in Spain in 1813 | Wellington 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | There are miniature, standard & giant breeds of this blunt-muzzled dog | (Ken: Ah, you saw the category.  Well done.) (Yogesh: Yes.)
 
 a schnauzer
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | In the 1960s, the face of country music was changed when this singer became country music's first Black superstar | (Charley) Pride 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | "She betrayed you, Winston.  Immediately--unreservedly.  I have seldom seen anyone come over to us so promptly" | (Ken: In 1984, you got it.) 
 O'Brien
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Introduced to the U.S. in 1876, this invasive species has been nicknamed the "mile-a-minute vine" | kudzu 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Steph Curry didn't go to Duke University or UNC but to this North Carolina college | (Ken: You were worried you weren't going to get the Warriors clue.) (Amy: Yeah.)
 (Ken: You got there.)
 
 Davidson
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | An indigenous soldier in British India; a rebellion named for them is also called India's first war of independence | sepoy 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Also a bone in the wrist, its a quadrilateral with no parallel sides | [ERRATUM: The clue omitted the apostrophe in "it's" as shown.] 
 trapezoid (or trapezium)
 
 
 |  | 
  
    |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | "For if he is still with the quick un-dead, your death would make you even as he is.  No, you must live!" | (Ken: From Dracula, well done.) 
 Van Helsing
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Also called the scaly anteater, it gets its other name from the Malay for "roller", describing its defense mechanism | pangolin 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Mexico's M.I.T., actually with initials T.d.M., is this Nuevo Leon state capital's institute of technology | (Ken: The "M" is for [*].) 
 Monterrey
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | The first tomb meant for Tut was taken by a guy named Ay who served Tut as this 6-letter chief minister & later became pharaoh, too | vizier 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Reconstructing prehistoric environments & ecosystems is part of this science, the study of fossil animals | paleozoology 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | It's no coin flip!  This classic of '90s country by Jo Dee Messina was the subject of a 2022 song about hearing it in a karaoke bar | "Heads Carolina, Tails California" 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | "I freewheel a lot... I reckon I'll become president of the galaxy, and it just happens, it's easy" | (Matt: What's Dent?) ...
 (Ken: Yeah, you got the right book, Matt, it is Hitchhiker's Guide.)
 
 Beeblebrox
 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | This 11-letter adjective describes insects or bats that do their business during twilight hours | crepuscular 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | Hail SRU, short for for this university meaning "hail holy queen", & its campus of Gilded Age buildings in Newport, Rhode Island | Salve Regina 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | This once thriving indigenous group survives in smallish numbers in South America; those in the Caribbean are called Taíno | the Arawak 
 
 |  | 
  
    | 
        
       |  
    | This region of central Italy includes Mount Corno, the highest peak in the Apennines | Abruzzi 
 
 |  |