Month: April 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. __ Spumante ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

14. 50+ group AARP
AARP is now the official name for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

15. Verdi aria ERI TU
The aria “Eri tu” is from Verdi’s opera “Un ballo in maschera” (A Masked Ball). The opera tells the story of the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden during a masked ball.

16. Trans Am roof option T-TOP
A T-top is a car roof that has removable panels on either side of a rigid bar that runs down the center of the vehicle above the driver.

The Trans Am was a specialty version of the Pontiac Firebird produced from 1969 to 2002.

23. Gift for el 14 de febrero ROSAS
In Spanish, a gift of roses (rosas) might be given on the 14th of February (14 de febrero).

Saint Valentine’s Day was chosen by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saints’ day was dropped by the Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

26. Tree for which New Haven is nicknamed ELM
The city of New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1638 by Puritan immigrants from England. New Haven is of course home to Yale University. The city also initiated the first public tree planting program in the country. The large elms included in the program led to New Haven being called “the Elm City”.

30. Native American weapons TOMAHAWKS
The Native American axe known as a tomahawk takes its name from the Virginia Algonquian term for the tool: “tamahaac”.

37. MSN alternative AOL
Founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1983, the company changed its name in 1989 to America Online. As America Online went international, the acronym AOL was used in order to shake off the “America-centric” sound to the name. During the heady days of AOL’s success the company could not keep up with the growing number of subscribers, so people trying to connect often encountered busy signals. That’s when users referred to AOL as “Always Off-Line”.

MSN was originally called The Microsoft Network, introduced in 1995 as an integral part of Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system. MSN is a whole bundle of services including email, instant messaging, and the MSN.com portal (which is the 9th most visited site on the Internet).

38. Partners’ legal entity: Abbr. LLC
A limited liability company (LLC) is a company structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners.

39. With 40-Across and “Baby,” a 1990’s hip-hop hit that answers the question, “What can precede both parts of the answers to starred clues?” ICE
40. See 39-Across ICE
“Ice Ice Baby” is song released by rap artists Vanilla Ice and DJ Earthquake.

41. Lao Tzu’s “path” TAO
Lao Tse (also Lao-Tzu) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism.

42. July 4th reaction OOH!
On 11 June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of five people to draft a declaration of independence. Included in the five were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams persuaded the other committee members to give Jefferson the task of writing the first draft. A resolution of independence was passed by the Congress on 2 Jul 1776. The final draft of the declaration was approved by the Congress two days later, on July 4th. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife that included an assertion that July 2nd (the date of the resolution of independence) would become a great American holiday. Of course Adams was wrong, and it was actually the date the Declaration of Independence was finalized that came to be celebrated annually.

43. Early Florida explorer DE SOTO
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish conquistador who led expeditions throughout the southeastern US. De Sotos travels were unsuccessful in that he failed to bring gold or silver back to Spain, and nor did he found any colonies. What de Soto did achieve was the exposure of local populations to devastating Eurasian diseases.

46. School term TRIMESTER
“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We of course use “semester” in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester system has three parts, and a quarter system has four.

50. Groupon offerings DEALS
Groupon is a relatively young company, a deal-of-the-day type website that was started in 2008. The concept behind the business is illustrated by the company name, a portmanteau of “group coupon”. Each day a discount coupon is offered to website members who sign up knowing that the coupon requires a minimum number of “takers” in order for it to be valid. If too few buyers sign up, then the coupon is void. When sufficient buyers sign up the coupon is honored, and the retailer benefits from the large volume of business generated. Groupon was very successful for a couple of years and predictions were made that the company would reach $1 billion in sales faster than any other company in history. That forecast has changed dramatically, and the CEO was ousted in February 2013.

52. Rodeo hat STETSON
Stetson is a brand name of hat, manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The so called “cowboy hat” that Stetson pioneered was such a success that the company became the largest hat maker in the world, producing over 3.3 million hats per year.

56. With 48-Down, Felipe’s outfielder son MOISES
Jesus Alou played major league baseball, as did his brothers Matty and Felipe, and as does Felipe’s son, Moises.

60. Keister in a fall? PRAT
“Prat” is a new word for me, a slang term for the buttocks apparently …

Back in the early 1900s a keister was a safe or a strongbox. It has been suggested that this term was then used as slang by pickpockets for the rear trouser pocket in which one might keep a wallet. From this usage, keister appeared as a slang term for the buttocks in the early 1930s.

61. *Tailgater’s brew chiller BEER BUCKET (“ice beer” & “ice bucket”)
Ice beer is a type of lager that has undergone a process called fractional freezing. This means that the beer has been chilled to the point that ice crystals form. The ice is frozen water, and can be filtered off. This lowers the water content in the beer, hence raising the concentration of alcohol.

66. “The Clan of the Cave Bear” heroine AYLA
As Jean Auel prepared her first book in the “Earth’s Children” series, she did a lot of research about the Ice Age, the setting for her stories. She went as far as taking a survival course in cold conditions, learning to build an ice cave and how to make fire, tan leather and knap stone.

Down
1. Broccoli __ RABE
Broccoli Rabe is perhaps better known as rapini, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …

3. Novelist __ Easton Ellis BRET
Bret Easton Ellis wrote a trio of novels that were made into very successful movies: “Less Than Zero” (1987, starring Andrew McCarthy), “American Psycho” (2000, starring Christian Bale) and “The Rules of Attraction” (2002, starring James van der Beek).

5. Marshmallowy Easter treats PEEPS
Peeps are marshmallow candies usually in the shapes of chicks and bunnies, primarily sold around the Easter holiday. Peeps were introduced in 1952 by a Russian immigrant called Sam Born whose company “Just Born” makes the candies to this day. The original candies were yellow and hand-shaped to look like little chicks, hence the name “Peeps”.

8. “Click __ Ticket”: seatbelt safety slogan IT OR
There is only one state in the US that does not require drivers to wear seat belts by law, and that is New Hampshire.

9. Elegance LUXE
Luxe is another word for luxury. The term came into English via French from the Latin “luxus” meaning “luxury”.

10. Hun honcho ATTILA
In his day, Attila the Hun was the most feared enemy of the Roman Empire, until he died in 453 AD. Attila was the leader of the Hunnic Empire of central Europe and was famous for invading much of the continent. However, he never directly attacked Rome.

18. “Get Smart” evil agency KAOS
The satirical comedy series called “Get Smart” was the creation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and starred Don Adams as Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. It was on the air from 1965 to 1970. Smart’s shoe phone was a hilarious prop used in almost every episode. When Smart dialed the number 117, the shoe converted into a gun. Cool stuff …

25. Sevillian sun SOL
The city of Seville is the capital of Andalusia in southern Spain. Seville is a favored setting for many operas including “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini, “Fidelio” by Beethoven and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro”.

31. __ d’hôtel: headwaiter MAITRE
The full name of a maitre d’ is “maitre d’hotel”, which means “master of the hotel”.

32. With the bow, to a cellist ARCO
“Arco” is a musical direction instructing a string player to return to normal bowing technique after a passage played using some other technique (perhaps pizzicato).

33. Cuddly-looking marsupial KOALA
The koala really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope.

34. Casino attractions SLOTS
The “casino” originated in the 1700s, first describing a public room for music or dancing. The name “casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

39. Inventeur’s list IDEES
In French, an inventor (inventeur) might have a list of ideas (idées).

44. U.K. lexicological work OED
The “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) contains over 300,000 “main” entries and 59 million words in total. It is said it would take a single person 120 years to type it out in full. The longest entry for one word in the second edition of the OED is the verb “set”. When the third edition was published in 2007, the longest entry for a single word became the verb “put”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most-quoted author in the OED is William Shakespeare, with his most quoted work being “Hamlet”. The most-quoted female author is George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans).

45. Many a Tony winner MUSICAL
The full name for the Tony Award is the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre. Antoinette Perry was an American actress and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, one of the organizations that selects the award recipients.

51. Jewelry resin AMBER
Amber’s technical name is “resinite”, reflecting its composition and formation. Amber starts out life as soft sticky tree resin but then under high temperature and pressure from overlying layers of soil, it fossilizes. The sticky resin can trap organisms or other plant matter, and this material can sometimes remain virtually intact inside the amber fossil giving us a unique gift from the past.

52. Pet adoption org. SPCA
Unlike in other countries, there is no “umbrella” organization in the US with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

54. Final bio? OBIT
“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

55. Detective Wolfe NERO
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: ” Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.

57. Largest of the Inner Hebrides SKYE
The Isle of Skye is off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. It is the second largest island in the country, and has been linked to the mainland by a road bridge since 1995. I’ve never been there, but I hear the views are spectacular.

63. 66, notably: Abbr. RTE
The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road gained notoriety because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. 1860s Grays REBS
5. Danger PERIL
10. __ Spumante ASTI
14. 50+ group AARP
15. Verdi aria ERI TU
16. Trans Am roof option T-TOP
17. *Protective fuse container BREAKER BOX (“icebreaker” & “icebox”)
19. Mower brand TORO
20. Set up for a fall ENTRAP
21. Part of 14-Across, originally RETIRED
23. Gift for el 14 de febrero ROSAS
26. Tree for which New Haven is nicknamed ELM
27. Summits ACMES
30. Native American weapons TOMAHAWKS
35. “Get a __ of this!” LOAD
36. Loud, like sirens ABLARE
37. MSN alternative AOL
38. Partners’ legal entity: Abbr. LLC
39. With 40-Across and “Baby,” a 1990’s hip-hop hit that answers the question, “What can precede both parts of the answers to starred clues?” ICE
40. See 39-Across ICE
41. Lao Tzu’s “path” TAO
42. July 4th reaction OOH!
43. Early Florida explorer DE SOTO
45. Get gooey MELT
46. School term TRIMESTER
48. Saintly circles AURAS
49. “Uh-uh, lassie!” NAE
50. Groupon offerings DEALS
52. Rodeo hat STETSON
56. With 48-Down, Felipe’s outfielder son MOISES
60. Keister in a fall? PRAT
61. *Tailgater’s brew chiller BEER BUCKET (“ice beer” & “ice bucket”)
64. Bird house CAGE
65. Really miffed IRATE
66. “The Clan of the Cave Bear” heroine AYLA
67. Thumbs-up votes AYES
68. Bellhop, at times TOTER
69. Out of concern that LEST

Down
1. Broccoli __ RABE
2. Be worthy of EARN
3. Novelist __ Easton Ellis BRET
4. Trained with gloves SPARRED
5. Marshmallowy Easter treats PEEPS
6. Miscalculate ERR
7. Curved bone RIB
8. “Click __ Ticket”: seatbelt safety slogan IT OR
9. Elegance LUXE
10. Hun honcho ATTILA
11. *Flood control concern STORM WATER (“ice storm” & “ice water”)
12. Ran fast TORE
13. Apple for a music teacher? IPOD
18. “Get Smart” evil agency KAOS
22. Little chuckle TEHEE
24. In a perfect world AT BEST
25. Sevillian sun SOL
27. Portion out ALLOT
28. Enjoy crayons COLOR
29. *Era of mass production MACHINE AGE (“ice machine” & “ice age”)
31. __ d’hôtel: headwaiter MAITRE
32. With the bow, to a cellist ARCO
33. Cuddly-looking marsupial KOALA
34. Casino attractions SLOTS
36. Unreturned serves ACES
39. Inventeur’s list IDEES
44. U.K. lexicological work OED
45. Many a Tony winner MUSICAL
47. Unglossy finishes MATTES
48. See 56-Across ALOU
51. Jewelry resin AMBER
52. Pet adoption org. SPCA
53. Printer paper holder TRAY
54. Final bio? OBIT
55. Detective Wolfe NERO
57. Largest of the Inner Hebrides SKYE
58. Wiggly swimmers EELS
59. On-base pct., e.g. STAT
62. Have a meal EAT
63. 66, notably: Abbr. RTE

Return to top of page

Posted by Bill Butler
Google