Day: November 8, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Act the troubadour STRUM
A troubadour was a composer and musician of the Middle Ages whose works dealt mainly with chivalry and courtly love. Troubadours were usually men, and a female troubadour would have been called a trobairitz.

6. Gp. that includes Venezuela OPEC
The OPEC cartel (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is actually the third largest oil producer in the world (after Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But you probably knew that already …

20. End of eternity? WYE
The end of the word “eternity” is the letter Y (wye).

23. Seafood order SOLE
The group of flatfish known as soles take their name from “solea”, the Latin word for “sandal”.

32. Longtime Mississippi senator LOTT
Trent Lott was raised Democrat in Mississippi, but served in Congress as a Republican. Lott ran into trouble for remarks he made that were interpreted as being racially motivated, and ended up resigning in 2007.

39. Uncle Sam poster word YOU
The Uncle Sam personification of the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The “Uncle Sam” term was so widely accepted that even the Germans used it during WWII, choosing the code word “Samland” for “America” in intelligence communiques.

41. Church alcove APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

48. Barrel-bottom stuff LEES
The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), is also called “lees”.

52. Smelting waste SLAG
The better lead ores are processed in a blast furnace, to extract the metal. The “waste” from this process is called “slag”. Slag does contain some lead and it can be processed further in a “slag furnace” to extract the residual metal. Slag furnaces also accept poorer lead ores as a raw material.

59. Show whose cast holds the record for the most charted songs on the Billboard Hot 100 GLEE
The TV show called “Glee” has proved to be very popular. The storyline focuses on a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio.

60. Protein-rich bean SOYA
What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

61. Soft palate projection UVULA
The uvula is that conical fleshy projection hanging down at the back of the soft palate. The uvula plays an important role in human speech, particularly in the making of “guttural” sounds. The Latin word for “grape” is “uva”, so “uvula” is a “little grape”.

63. It usually loses in war TREY
War is a card game, mainly played by young children.

Down
2. Country singer Keith TOBY
Toby Keith is a country music singer from Clinton, Oklahoma. One of Keith’s number one hits is a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson called “Beer for My Horses”.

5. Red wine choice MERLOT
Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

19. On the qui vive ALERT
“On the qui vive” is a phrase that means “on the alert”. The term “qui vive?” is French for “(long) live who?” and was used as a challenge by a sentry to determine what loyalty a person had.

23. Jambalaya, e.g. STEW
Jambalaya is a Creole dish from Louisiana. The recipe has its origins in the Caribbean, and the recipe we know today also has Spanish and French influences.

24. Mustang contemporaries GTOS
GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato.

26. Skid row types WINOS
The term “skid row” is used to describe a run-down urban neighborhood. “Skid row” appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest where a “skid road” was a wooden pathway used for “skidding” logs through forests and over bogs. The terms “skid road” and “skid row” came to be used for logging camps and mills, and then somehow was applied to run-down areas in cities up and down the west coast of North America.

37. Hippocratic oath no-no HARM
The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of about 70 medical works that were at one time believed to have written by the Ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, although authorship has been called into question. Within the collection is a document known as the Hippocratic Oath (but again, the authorship has been questioned). The oath is still used today as the basis for oaths taken by medical graduates before they enter into medical practice.

38. Spot for a lectern DAIS
Ultimately our word “dais” comes from the Latin “discus” meaning a “disk-shaped object”.

45. Spring-__ cycle: tidal phenomenon NEAP
Tides of course are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

49. Frat party wear TOGA
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

53. Grad ALUM
An “alumnus” (plural … alumni) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural … alumnae). The term comes into English from Latin, in which alumnus means foster-son or pupil.

58. “To All the Girls __ Loved Before”: 1984 #1 country hit I’VE
“To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” was a duet released in 1984 by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson. The song was to become the biggest hit that Iglesias had in North America, and was the biggest hit for Nelson in Europe.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Act the troubadour STRUM
6. Gp. that includes Venezuela OPEC
10. Show disapproval JEER
14. Despicable character LOUSE
15. __ stick POGO
16. Drive train component AXLE
17. Fly OBSERVER ON A WALL
20. End of eternity? WYE
21. Script snippet LINE
22. Like some excuses FLIMSY
23. Seafood order SOLE
24. Rural valley GLEN
25. Fly SWATTER’S TARGET
31. Lo-cal LITE
32. Longtime Mississippi senator LOTT
33. Two-minute warning giver REF
35. From scratch ANEW
36. Opted for CHOSE
38. Twofold DUAL
39. Uncle Sam poster word YOU
40. Give it up, so to speak CLAP
41. Church alcove APSE
42. Fly SPIDER’S INVITEE
47. Stuff CRAM
48. Barrel-bottom stuff LEES
49. Go up against TAKE ON
52. Smelting waste SLAG
53. Sailor’s assent AYE
56. Fly OINTMENT SPOILER
59. Show whose cast holds the record for the most charted songs on the Billboard Hot 100 GLEE
60. Protein-rich bean SOYA
61. Soft palate projection UVULA
62. Between ports ASEA
63. It usually loses in war TREY
64. Holiday hires TEMPS

Down
1. Brake SLOW
2. Country singer Keith TOBY
3. Bit of subterfuge RUSE
4. Manipulate USE
5. Red wine choice MERLOT
6. Warmup act OPENER
7. Epidermal opening PORE
8. It can be bruised EGO
9. Fuse into a single entity CONFLATE
10. Gabfest activity JAWING
11. Entrance requirement, often EXAM
12. Plumbing bends ELLS
13. Bank (on) RELY
18. Beastly VILE
19. On the qui vive ALERT
23. Jambalaya, e.g. STEW
24. Mustang contemporaries GTOS
25. More than amuse SLAY
26. Skid row types WINOS
27. Really enjoyed ATE UP
28. Pours messily SLOPS
29. Blow ERUPT
30. Offer with no intention of giving, say TEASE
34. Beat a hasty retreat FLEE
36. Detergent ad superlative CLEANEST
37. Hippocratic oath no-no HARM
38. Spot for a lectern DAIS
40. Data storage medium CD-ROM
43. Summer beverage ICE TEA
44. “No argument from me!” I’LL SAY
45. Spring-__ cycle: tidal phenomenon NEAP
46. Watch the boob tube, say VEG OUT
49. Frat party wear TOGA
50. Has a bug, or bugs AILS
51. Joint sometimes replaced KNEE
52. Eyelid affliction STYE
53. Grad ALUM
54. Sharp cry YELP
55. Distinctive periods ERAS
57. Hide-hair connection NOR
58. “To All the Girls __ Loved Before”: 1984 #1 country hit I’VE

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