Day: April 9, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. Cameron of “Knight and Day” DIAZ
The Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz started out her professional life as a model. Diaz’s first acting role was in the 1994 film “The Mask”, starring alongside Jim Carrey.

“Knight and Day” is a fairly entertaining action comedy movie starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Believe it or not, before Cruise was offered the leading male role, it was offered to Adam Sandler!

18. Narrow inlets RIAS
A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, both formed as sea level rises. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

19. 1944 invasion city ST-LO
Saint-Lô is a town in Normandy that was occupied by Germany in 1940. Saint-Lo stood at a strategic crossroads and so there was intense fighting there during the Normandy invasion of 1944. After a prolonged bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.

20. Patient’s therapeutic shriek PRIMAL SCREAM
Psychologist Arthur Janov argues that a successful treatment of mental illness is to express repressed childhood pain. It’s a controversial technique he calls “primal therapy”. He describes the whole thing in his first book, published in the seventies, called “The Primal Scream”. A “primal scream” is a scream uttered by someone undergoing primal therapy.

26. Groundbreaking old Fords MODEL TS
The Ford Model T was the first really affordable car that was offered for sale, and it was produced from 1908 to 1927. It was the Model T that ushered in the era of assembly line production, which greatly cut down the cost of manufacture. The Model T’s engine was designed to run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol.

27. Multivolume ref. 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).

39. Cowgirl Dale EVANS
Dale Evans was the stage name of actress and singer Lucille Wood Smith, famous as the third wife of Roy Rogers. Evans was from Uvalde, Texas, and had a rough start in life. She eloped with her first husband when she was just 14 years old, and had her first child at 15. That first marriage ended in divorce when she was 17 in 1929, the same year she started on her second marriage. Roy Rogers was Evans’ fourth husband and they married in 1947, a marriage that lasted for 51 years, until Rogers passed away in 1998.

41. Garlicky spread AIOLI
To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, the “home” of aioli, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.

42. Thinker Descartes RENE
The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito, ergo sum” … “I think, therefore I am”.

43. Uprising at Leavenworth, e.g. PRISON RIOT
Fort Leavenworth in Kansas is actually home to three federal prisons:

– US Disciplinary Barracks … a military prison
– Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility … a military prison
– US Penitentiary, Leavenworth … a civilian prison

45. Old name for Tokyo EDO
Edo is the former name of the Japanese city of Tokyo. Edo was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ruled from 1603 until 1868. The shogun lived in the magnificent Edo castle. Some parts of the original castle remain and today’s Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, was built on its grounds.

49. Open courtyards ATRIUMS
In modern architecture an atrium is a large open space, often in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

53. Warnings from a ticked-off tabby HISSES
Tabbies aren’t a breed of cat, but rather are cats with particular markings regardless of breed. Tabbies have coats with stripes, dots and swirling patterns, and usually an “M” mark on the forehead.

58. New Age pianist John TESH
John Tesh is a pianist and composer, as well as a radio and television presenter.

59. Tavern flier DART
Darts is a wonderful game often played in British and Irish pubs, even over here in America. The scoring in a traditional game of darts is difficult to describe in a sentence or two, but the game of darts called “Round the Clock” is simply hitting the numbers 1 through 20 in sequence.

64. Aid in a caper ABET
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

66. Himalayan land NEPAL
Nepal lies to the northeast of India. Today, the state is known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. In 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal won the country’s general election. Soon after, the Assembly voted to change the form of government, moving away from a monarchy and creating a secular republic.

69. ’50s-’60s TV beatnik Maynard G. __ KREBS
Maynard G. Krebs is a character in the fifties and sixties sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”. Krebs is the beatnik sidekick of the title character, and is played by actor Bob Denver (who later played Gilligan in “Gilligan’s Island”).

Down
1. Jay-Z’s genre RAP
Jay-Z, as well as being a successful and very rich rap artist, is married to singer Beyonce.

2. LAX listing ETA
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

5. Scotty and Jack Russell TERRIERS
Most terrier breeds of dog originated in the British Isles. Terriers were developed as working dogs, with the job of controlling populations of rats, rabbits and foxes by rooting them out above and below the ground. The name “terrier” comes via Middle French from the the Latin “terra” meaning “earth”, a reflection of the breeds habit of burrowing into the earth looking for its prey.

Aberdeen Terrier is another name for the Scottish Terrier, commonly referred to as the Scottie. One of the most famous Scotties in American history was Fala, the much-loved dog belonging to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also, the Scottie is famous as one of the playing pieces in the original game of Monopoly.

The Jack Russell breed of terrier was first bred in 1795, by a parson in England called Reverend John Russell, after whom the breed takes its name.

7. Old Voice of America org. USIA
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established under President Eisenhower in 1953, and continued operating until 1999. It’s mission was “public diplomacy”, another term for propaganda broadcast over radio airwaves. The intent from day one was to avoid having the broadcasts identified as propaganda, and speaking as a former listener to the USIA’s Voice of America (VOA) over in Europe, there were a lot of fun programs that had one coming back to hear more, but we all knew it was propaganda quite frankly …

23. Mayberry’s Pyle GOMER
Jim Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffth and brought onto “The Andy Griffith Show” as Gomer Pyle, the gas station attendant. Of course, Nabors then got his own show, “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”

24. Christopher who played Superman REEVE
The actor Christopher Reeve was most associated with his portrayal of Superman in the late seventies and early eighties. Reeve became paralyzed from the neck down when he fell from a horse in a jumping event in 1995. He passed away in 2004.

29. Melee memento SCAR
“Melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means a “confused fight”.

30. Urban cruisers TAXIS
We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance travelled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.

41. Designed to defeat a Panzer, say ANTI-TANK
“Panzer” is a German word meaning “tank” or “armor”. We use the term in English as a familiar name for models of German tank, in particular the Panzerkampfwagen IV that was used extensively in WWII.

43. Scented hair ointments POMADES
Pomade is perfumed ointment, mainly used for grooming the hair. The word “pomade” is derived from the Latin “pomum” meaning “apple”, as the original ointment recipe used smashed apples.

44. Waikiki’s island OAHU
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

50. Martial arts-based workout TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, and rather was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s. The discipline was introduced by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

54. Passover feast SEDER
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

– Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
– Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

56. “__ la Douce” IRMA
“Irma la Douce” is a wonderful Billy Wilder movie, released in 1963. It stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays a maligned Parisian policeman, and MacLaine is the popular prostitute Irma la Douce (literally “Irma the Sweet”). Don’t let the adult themes throw you as it’s a very entertaining movie …

57. Govt. crash investigator NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is responsible for the investigation of major accidents involving transportation. Included in this broad definition is the transportation of fluids in pipelines. The organization is independent in that it has no ties to other government agencies or departments so that its investigations can be viewed as “impartial”. The NTSB also earns a little money for the US as it hires out its investigation teams to countries who don’t have the necessary resources available on their own soil.

61. “Great” simian APE
“Simian” means “pertaining to monkeys or apes”, from the Latin word “simia” meaning “ape”.

63. Golfer Ernie ELS
Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. He has a child who suffers from autism and so Els has been very effective in raising money for charities that focus on the condition.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Send payment REMIT
6. Utter angrily, as insults HURL
10. Cameron of “Knight and Day” DIAZ
14. Compensate (for) ATONE
15. On the briny ASEA
16. Dope from a booth? INFO
17. Grocery bag option PAPER
18. Narrow inlets RIAS
19. 1944 invasion city ST-LO
20. Patient’s therapeutic shriek PRIMAL SCREAM
23. For free GRATIS
26. Groundbreaking old Fords MODEL TS
27. Multivolume ref. OED
28. It’s right on a map EAST
31. Mentalist’s alleged ability, briefly ESP
32. Tiny data storage device MEMORY CARD
35. Old-timey word of woe ALAS
39. Cowgirl Dale EVANS
40. Forest feller AXE
41. Garlicky spread AIOLI
42. Thinker Descartes RENE
43. Uprising at Leavenworth, e.g. PRISON RIOT
45. Old name for Tokyo EDO
47. Sports pg. number STAT
48. St. Louis-to-Chicago dir. NNE
49. Open courtyards ATRIUMS
53. Warnings from a ticked-off tabby HISSES
55. Comical sort, like the last word of 20-, 32- or 43-Across LAUGH A MINUTE
58. New Age pianist John TESH
59. Tavern flier DART
60. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” for one ADAGE
64. Aid in a caper ABET
65. Trees with split-resistant wood ELMS
66. Himalayan land NEPAL
67. Optimistic ROSY
68. Bacon buy SLAB
69. ’50s-’60s TV beatnik Maynard G. __ KREBS

Down
1. Jay-Z’s genre RAP
2. LAX listing ETA
3. Swiffer product MOP
4. All thumbs INEPT
5. Scotty and Jack Russell TERRIERS
6. Do damage to HARM
7. Old Voice of America org. USIA
8. Kingdom REALM
9. Caught at a rodeo LASSOED
10. Tumbledown condition DISREPAIR
11. What spies gather, for short INTEL
12. G sharp equivalent A-FLAT
13. Close-up lenses ZOOMS
21. Words to an old chap I SAY
22. Music store buys CDS
23. Mayberry’s Pyle GOMER
24. Christopher who played Superman REEVE
25. Slogan writer ADMAN
29. Melee memento SCAR
30. Urban cruisers TAXIS
33. U-turn ONE-EIGHTY
34. Sit for a spell REST
36. Pork cuts LOINS
37. How most writers work ALONE
38. Webmaster’s creations SITES
41. Designed to defeat a Panzer, say ANTI-TANK
43. Scented hair ointments POMADES
44. Waikiki’s island OAHU
46. “Like, no-brainer!” DUH!
49. Hitching post? ALTAR
50. Martial arts-based workout TAE BO
51. Slick tricks RUSES
52. Sweater size SMALL
54. Passover feast SEDER
56. “__ la Douce” IRMA
57. Govt. crash investigator NTSB
61. “Great” simian APE
62. Chatter GAB
63. Golfer Ernie ELS

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