Day: April 21, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Pricey sweaters MOHAIRS
Angora wool comes from the Angora rabbit. On the other hand, the Angora goat produces the wool known as mohair.

15. Vertebral bones SACRA
The sacrum and the two ilia are three bones in the human pelvis.

20. “__ Flame”: Bangles ballad ETERNAL
The Bangles are a band that formed in Los Angeles in 1980, a trio of female musicians. They went through a few names before settling on the Bangles, namely the Colours, the Supersonic Bangs and the Bangs. The Bangles’ biggest hits are “Manic Monday” (1986), “Walk Like an Egyptian” (1986) and “Eternal Flame” (1989).

22. Blood of the gods ICHOR
Ichor is a golden fluid that is the blood of the gods in Greek mythology.

28. Soul-searching events? SEANCES
“Séance” is a French word meaning “a sitting”.

35. __ y Plata: Montana motto ORO
“Oro y Plata” means “gold and silver”, and is the state motto of Montana. The motto was written in Spanish, solely because “it had a nice ring to it”.

51. Chinese tea CHA
“Cha” is a Chinese word for “tea”.

52. “Sideways” co-star Paul GIAMATTI
Paul Giamatti is a very, very capable actor from New Haven, Connecticut. Giamatti has being getting some very high-profile roles in the past ten years, my favorite of which is the title role in the excellent HBO drama series “John Adams”.

“Sideways” is a wonderful comedy-drama movie released in 2004. Starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, the film is based in a novel of the same name that was released not long before the film adaptation. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know that one of the lead characters speaks very passionately of Pinot noir wines. Soon after the film’s release, sales of Pinot noir wines rose 16%.

61. Mythical sea nymphs NEREIDS
In Greek mythology, Nereus and Doris had fifty daughters, and these were called the sea nymphs or nereids. The nereids often hung around with Poseidon and were generally very helpful creatures to sailors in distress. Mainly they were to be found in the Aegean, where they lived with their father in a cave in the deep. Some of the more notable names of the nereids were: Agave, Asia, Calypso, Doris, Erato, Eunice and Ione.

64. 2005 Nobel-winning dramatist PINTER
Harold Pinter was a playwright and screenwriter from London, England. Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.

65. Tears down, in Dover RASES
Dover is a town and port in the county of Kent on the south coast of England. Dover lies just 25 miles from the coast of France, and is a terminus on the much-used Dover-Calais ferry service. The town is also famous its magnificent chalk cliffs that are known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

68. Broadband letters DSL
DSL originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is the technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

69. Hägar creator Browne DIK
“Hagar the Horrible” is a comic strip that was created by the late Dik Browne and is now drawn by his son, Chris Browne. “Hagar the Terrible” (not “Horrible”) was the nickname given to Dik by his sons.

74. “My country, __ …” ‘TIS
The patriotic song “America” is also known by its first line, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”. The song was written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, and was the de facto national anthem of the country until “The Star-Spangled Banner” was declared the official anthem.

76. Every garçon has one CEDILLA
A cedilla is the diacritical mark under the letter C in the word “garçon”.

85. Black-and-tan terrier AIREDALE
The Airedale Terrier breed of dog originated in a geographic area of Yorkshire in the North of England … called Airedale. The breed was developed to hunt otters in and around the River Aire that runs through the area.

87. Center of gravity? VEE
There is a letter V at the center of the word “gravity”.

89. Aladdin’s monkey ABU
Abu is a monkey in the Disney production of “Aladdin”. The character is based on Abu, a thief in the 1940 film “The Thief of Baghdad”.

90. California’s Big __ SUR
Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast, south of Monterrey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

95. Stimpy’s sidekick REN
“The Ren and Stimpy Show” ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. Not my cup of tea …

96. Incense hung in two places? MYRRH MYRRH (mirror mirror) ON THE WALL
Frankincense and myrrh are both tree resins, exuded when certain species of tree are damaged. The harvested resins are used to make essentials oils for perfumes, and are also burned to give off a pleasant fragrance.

103. Sushi tuna AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. Yellowfin tuna is one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

104. Part of MYOB OWN
Mind Your Own Business! (MYOB!)

105. “Nerts!” BAH!
“Nerts” is a slang term, a corruption of “nuts!” and has the same meaning.

106. Poetry Out Loud org. NEA
Poetry Out Loud is an annual recitation contest that was founded in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation.

113. Razzle-dazzle ECLAT
Éclat can mean a brilliant show of success, or the applause or accolade that one receives. The word derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

122. __ acid AMINO
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins.

123. Groundbreaking Reagan appointee O’CONNOR
Sandra Day O’Connor is a former Associate justice on the US Supreme Court. O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the court, and was in office from 1981 after being appointed by President Reagan. As the court became more conservative she was viewed as the swing vote in many decisions. As a result, O’Connor was known as one of the most powerful women in the world. She retired in 2006 (replaced by Samuel Alito), and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009.

Down
1. Cactus League spring training city MESA
The city of Mesa, Arizona is in effect a suburb of Phoenix. The original settlement of non-Native Americans was founded by Daniel Webster Jones who led a Mormon group from St. George, Utah. The settlement was first called Jonesville, then Fort Utah and eventually Lehi. A second group of Mormons arrived and formed a settlement on top of a nearby mesa. It was this use of a mesa that eventually gave the city its current name.

2. Native Oklahoman OTOE
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

4. Biological ring AREOLA
An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.

9. The “R” in Edward R. Murrow ROSCOE
Edward R. Murrow was a true pioneer in broadcast journalism. One of Murrow’s most famous series of broadcasts were the radio reports that he gave from London during the Blitz of WWII. It was during these broadcasts that he started using his famous catchphrase, “Good night, and good luck”. Murrow did now only broadcast from the ground. He actually flew on 25 Allied combat missions, recording his commentary to be aired when he was safely back in England.

10. Eastern nursemaid AMAH
“Amah” is an interesting word in that we associate it so much with Asian culture and yet it actually comes from the Portuguese “ama” meaning “nurse”. Ama was imported into English in the days of the British Raj in India when a wet-nurse became known as an amah.

11. McCartney title SIR
Paul McCartney’s real name, including his knightly title, is Sir James Paul McCartney.

13. “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” band REM
“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth” is a song recorded in 1994 by REM. The song was first released in 1987 by the Band Game Theory, and it was inspired by an incident involving the television journalist Dan Rather. Rather was mugged while walking home along Park Avenue one day in 1986. He was attacked by two men, one of whom kept repeating the question, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” No one seems to know why ..

15. Bollywood strings SITARS
The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. The sitar is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

19. Olympian warrior ARES
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros.

25. Old electronic display source NEON LAMP
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

30. Weatherman’s line ISOBAR
An isobar is a line on a weather map connecting points of equal barometric pressure.

32. They’re history ANNALS
“Annal” is a rarely used word, the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

33. Murphy __ BED
A Murphy bed is a bed that pulls from a wall for use, and is folded up into closet or cabinet when not in use. The bed is named for its inventor William Murphy. The story is that Murphy lived in a one-room apartment in San Francisco, and was interested in dating a local opera singer. Moral standards at the time prevented him for inviting the young lady into a room with a bed, so he created an arrangement where his room became a parlor during the day.

34. Blast furnace refuse 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.

37. “The Wizard of Id” co-creator Johnny HART
“The Wizard of Id” is one of my favorite comic strips. The strip was created by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart back in 1964, and it still runs today. The storyline centers on a wizard in the medieval kingdom of Id. The king of Id refers to his subjects as “Idiots”.

39. Radar’s soda brand NEHI
The brand of Nehi cola has a name that sounds like “knee-high”, a measure of a small stature. Back in the mid-1900’s, the Chero-Cola company that owned the brand went for a slightly different twist on “knee-high” in advertising. The logo for Nehi was an image of a seated woman’s stockinged legs, with her skirt pulled up to her knees, to hint at “knee-high”.

Corporal Radar O’Reilly is a character in the “M*A*S*H” television series and film. The role was played by Gary Burghoff in both the film and on television.

40. Byron’s words before “‘Tis but the truth in masquerade” A LIE
“And, after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but the truth in masquerade.” is a quotation from Lord Byron’s long, yet incomplete poem called “Don Juan”.

43. Flotsam or Jetsam in “The Little Mermaid” EEL
Flotsam and Jetsam are characters in the Disney movie called “The Little Mermaid”, released in 1989. Both are moray eels in the service of Ursula, the sea witch.

Flotsam and jetsam are both terms used to describe “garbage” in the ocean. Flotsam is floating wreckage from a ship or its cargo. Jetsam is similar to flotsam, except that it is part of a ship or cargo that is deliberately cast overboard, perhaps to lighten a vessel.

50. Jefferson, for one DEIST
Deism (from the Latin “deus” meaning god) is the belief that a supreme being created the universe, a belief based on observation and reason and without the need for faith. Further, a deist does not accept divine intervention but rather believes that the supreme being, having created the universe, leaves the world to it own devices.

President Thomas Jefferson was very interested in theology, and was a believer in Deism and lived his life using the moral code of the Christian church. He was also involved in the administration of his local Episcopal church and raised his daughters in that faith.

51. MP3 holders CDS
An audio CD might contain tracks in the MP3 audio format.

58. Wing it AD LIB
“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage the concept of an “ad lib” is very familiar. For example, an actor may substitute his or her own words for forgotten lines using an ad lib, or a director may instruct an actor to use his or her own words at a particular point in a performance to promote a sense of spontaneity.

65. Music for 15-Down RAGAS
Raga isn’t really a type of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners).

66. Lobby brightener ATRIUM
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.

70. Put the __ on: quash KIBOSH
“Kibosh” is something that constrains or checks. “Kibosh” looks like a Yiddish word but it isn’t, and is more likely English slang from the early 1800s.

75. U.K.’s longest river SEVERN
The River Severn is the longest river in the UK (the Thames is second). The Severn rises in the Cambrian Mountains in the center of Wales and empties into the Bristol Channel at the Severn Estuary.

76. Country singer David Allan __ COE
David Allan Coe is a so-called “outlaw” country music singer, a performer who spent much of his life behind bars (the penitentiary type!). One the more famous songs that he wrote is “Take This Job and Shove It”.

77. Polo VIP LAUREN
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer, born Ralph Liftshitz in the Bronx, New York. Lauren started off working as a salesman for Brooks Brothers after spending two years in the US Army. He then opened a necktie store, featuring his own tie designs. The ties were sold under the name “Polo”, which became Lauren’s most famous brand. Other Lauren brands are Purple Label and Black Label.

82. Viscount’s superior EARL
In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquess. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquess and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known simply as a countess.

86. Warrior companion of 19-Down ENYO
Enyo was a Greek goddess of war, a companion to the war god Ares. Enyo was also the sister of Ares, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera.

92. Credit checker Experian, pre-1996 TRW
TRW was a company involved in aerospace, automotive and credit reporting. The credit reporting division was spun off in 1996 to form Experian.

94. Equal-ize? SWEETEN
Equal is an aspartame-based artificial sweetener. Equal was the first aspartame sweetener to hit the market, and did so in the early eighties. Up to that point, the only artificial sweetener available was saccharin.

99. Moon of Uranus OBERON
All of the twenty-seven moons of the planet Uranus are named for characters from literature, characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. The five major moons are so large that they would be considered planets in their own right if they were orbiting the sun directly. The names of these five moons are:

– Miranda (from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”)
– Ariel (from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”)
– Umbriel (from Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”)
– Titania (from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)
– Oberon (from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)

100. Pyle portrayer NABORS
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.”

102. City SW of Essen AACHEN
Aachen is a city in the very west of Germany, right on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. In English, we quite often refer to this city by its French name, Aix-la-Chapelle.

111. Villain on Crab Key DR NO
“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. No and Fu Manchu.

112. Symbol on a staff REST
A rest is a musical symbol found on a staff.

114. Ancient harplike instrument LYRE
A lyre is a stringed instrument most closely associated with Ancient Greece, and with the gods Hermes and Apollo in particular. According to myth, Hermes slaughtered a cow from a sacred herd belonging to Apollo and offered it to the gods but kept the entrails. Hermes used the entrails to create the first lyre. Apollo liked the sound from the lyre and agreed to accept it as a trade for his herd of cattle.

115. AKC part: Abbr. AMER
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the organization that handles registration of purebred dogs The AKC also promotes dog shows around the country including the famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

116. Nugent and Turner TEDS
Ted Nugent was the lead guitarist with the Amboy Dukes, and is now a successful solo artist.

Ted Turner’s big initiative in the world of business was the founding of CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. Turner never graduated from college as he was expelled from Brown University for having a female student in his dormitory room. Years later, in 1989, Brown awarded him an honorary B.A.

118. ATM maker NCR
NCR is an American company that has been in business since 1884, originally called the National Cash Register Company. The company has done well in a market where new technologies seem to be constantly disrupting the status quo.

120. Fort Erie’s prov. ONT
The original Fort Erie was built by the British in 1764. The current structure can be visited today and is located in the province of Ontario, just across the Niagara River from the city of Buffalo, New York.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pricey sweaters MOHAIRS
8. They remove bad marks ERASERS
15. Vertebral bones SACRA
20. “__ Flame”: Bangles ballad ETERNAL
21. One in the running NOMINEE
22. Blood of the gods ICHOR
23. Observation about sprouting aromatic plants? SOME THINGS ARE MINT (meant) TO BE
26. Elementary fivesome AEIOU
27. Roo’s refuge POUCH
28. Soul-searching events? SEANCES
29. XIII x IV LII
31. __-mo replay SLO
32. “Washboard” muscles ABS
35. __ y Plata: Montana motto ORO
36. “Yes, I’m positive this seed is in five-spice powder”? THAT’S MY FENNEL (final) ANSWER
43. Period relative ERA
44. Trifle SOU
45. Ultimate goal END ALL
46. Easy target SAP
48. Where It.’s at EUR
49. Alphabet trio BCD
51. Chinese tea CHA
52. “Sideways” co-star Paul GIAMATTI
55. “We should whip up some pickle flavoring”? LET’S MAKE A DILL (deal)
60. Proceed (from) EMANATE
61. Mythical sea nymphs NEREIDS
62. Yield to gravity SAG
64. 2005 Nobel-winning dramatist PINTER
65. Tears down, in Dover RASES
68. Broadband letters DSL
69. Hägar creator Browne DIK
71. Can’t forgo NEEDS
72. Bear witness ATTEST
74. “My country, __ …” ‘TIS
76. Every garçon has one CEDILLA
78. Pasture critters GRAZERS
80. Like something even better than a pungent herb? BEYOND BAY LEAF (belief)
85. Black-and-tan terrier AIREDALE
87. Center of gravity? VEE
88. “__ rang?” YOU
89. Aladdin’s monkey ABU
90. California’s Big __ SUR
91. Patio-brewed beverage SUN TEA
93. Many IRA payees SRS
95. Stimpy’s sidekick REN
96. Incense hung in two places? MYRRH MYRRH (mirror mirror) ON THE WALL
103. Sushi tuna AHI
104. Part of MYOB OWN
105. “Nerts!” BAH!
106. Poetry Out Loud org. NEA
107. Working like a dog SLAVING
111. Prevent DEBAR
113. Razzle-dazzle ECLAT
117. Getting by with a loaner herb? LIVING ON BORROWED THYME (time)
122. __ acid AMINO
123. Groundbreaking Reagan appointee O’CONNOR
124. Showed disdain SNEERED
125. Forms MODES
126. Positively charged particles PROTONS
127. Leather treaters TANNERS

Down
1. Cactus League spring training city MESA
2. Native Oklahoman OTOE
3. Half up front? HEMI-
4. Biological ring AREOLA
5. Goes with one’s gut INTUITS
6. “Yay, team!” RAH!
7. Maidenform buy SLIP
8. Swamp ENGULF
9. The “R” in Edward R. Murrow ROSCOE
10. Eastern nursemaid AMAH
11. McCartney title SIR
12. San Diego-to-Albuquerque dir. ENE
13. “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” band REM
14. Jorge’s half-dozen SEIS
15. Bollywood strings SITARS
16. Urgent come-on ACT NOW!
17. Prefix with -aholic CHOC-
18. Boxer’s attire ROBE
19. Olympian warrior ARES
24. Always butting in NOSY
25. Old electronic display source NEON LAMP
30. Weatherman’s line ISOBAR
32. They’re history ANNALS
33. Murphy __ BED
34. Blast furnace refuse SLAG
36. Honest TRUE
37. “The Wizard of Id” co-creator Johnny HART
38. Tossed in, as a losing poker hand MUCKED
39. Radar’s soda brand NEHI
40. Byron’s words before “‘Tis but the truth in masquerade” A LIE
41. Probate concern ESTATE
42. Snitched RATTED
43. Flotsam or Jetsam in “The Little Mermaid” EEL
47. Beach resort strolling spots PIERS
50. Jefferson, for one DEIST
51. MP3 holders CDS
53. As a rule MAINLY
54. Temper ANNEAL
56. Earn a blessing? SNEEZE
57. __ around: wasted time MESSED
58. Wing it AD LIB
59. Weighed down LADEN
63. Euphoric GIDDY
65. Music for 15-Down RAGAS
66. Lobby brightener ATRIUM
67. Characterized by twinkling STARRY
70. Put the __ on: quash KIBOSH
73. Criticizing harshly TRASHING
75. U.K.’s longest river SEVERN
76. Country singer David Allan __ COE
77. Polo VIP LAUREN
79. Gentrification target SLUM
81. “You betcha!” YEAH!
82. Viscount’s superior EARL
83. Third man? ABEL
84. Kicks FUN
86. Warrior companion of 19-Down ENYO
92. Credit checker Experian, pre-1996 TRW
94. Equal-ize? SWEETEN
97. Gorge RAVINE
98. Safari sights RHINOS
99. Moon of Uranus OBERON
100. Pyle portrayer NABORS
101. Leave out of the freezer THAW
102. City SW of Essen AACHEN
107. Bridge feat SLAM
108. Chauffeured car LIMO
109. Voracious AVID
110. Gunk GOOP
111. Villain on Crab Key DR NO
112. Symbol on a staff REST
114. Ancient harplike instrument LYRE
115. AKC part: Abbr. AMER
116. Nugent and Turner TEDS
118. ATM maker NCR
119. Heckle BOO
120. Fort Erie’s prov. ONT
121. Letters from your parents? DNA

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