Day: June 12, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Bank offerings, briefly CDS
A certificate of deposit is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

4. Emmy winner Edie FALCO
Edie Falco won her three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”.

9. Stockholm native SWEDE
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and most populous city in the country. Over one fifth of all Swedish residents live in Stockholm.

14. Pewter with 80% tin LEY
Ley is a relatively low grade of pewter and contains about 15% lead. Because of the high lead content, ley was traditionally used for items that did not come into contact with food or drink.

Pewter is a relatively soft alloy that is made up mostly of tin, with some copper, antimony, bismuth and lead.

15. First husband of Bathsheba URIAH
Uriah the Hittite was a soldier mentioned in the Bible, a soldier in the army of King David. Uriah was married to Bathsheba with whom King David had an affair. David had Uriah killed and then took Bathsheba as his wife. Bathsheba and David became the parents of Solomon who succeeded David as king.

18. “Father of the Bride” co-star STEVE MARTIN
Comedian, actor and writer Steve Martin is from Waco, Texas. Martin’s entertainment career started to take off with success as a writer for the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”. He then turned to stand-up comedy and often appeared on “The Tonight Show”. He was, and still is, a popular guest on “Saturday Night Live”. He is so popular on “SNL” that many mistakenly believe that he was a permanent member of the “Saturday NIght Live” cast.

“Father of the Bride” is an excellent 1950 comedy starring Spencer Tracy as a harassed father trying to cope with the upcoming wedding of his daughter played by Elizabeth Taylor. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Edward Streeter. The film was so popular that it merited a sequel with the same basic cast called “Father’s Little Dividend”, which was released the following year in 1951. There was also a remake starring Steve Martin released in 1991, which in turn resulted in a 1995 sequel.

24. Rite performed by a mohel BRIS
A mohel is a man who has been trained in the practice of Brit milah (circumcision). Brit milah is known as “bris” in Yiddish.

25. USSR successor CIS
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a loose association of countries that were former soviet republics. The CIS was formed in 1991 by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, with six other states joining the alliance later.

26. “Father Dowling Mysteries” star TOM BOSLEY
Tom Bosley is an actor best remembered for playing Howard Cunningham on the sitcom “Happy Days”. Bosley also played the title role in the mystery series called “Father Dowling Mysteries”, which aired from 1989 to 1991.

30. Force DINT
A “dint” is an effort or power, as in “he made it by dint of hard work”. “By dint of” is a new expression to me, but it has been around since the early 1300s. I must have been out that day …

31. Cardinal and carmine REDS
Cardinal red is a vivid shade that takes its name from the cassocks worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. The bird known as a cardinal takes its name from the color.

Carmine is a bright red pigment produced from carminic acid extracted from crushed cochineal insects.

34. “Father Knows Best” star ROBERT YOUNG
“Father Knows Best” is a radio and television sitcom that ran in the 1940s and 1950s. The title character was played by Robert Young, the actor who later played the title role on “Marcus Welby, M.D.”

37. Belief in one god THEISM
Broadly speaking, “theism” is the belief that there is at least one god. The term is also used describe the belief on just one god, what is perhaps more accurately referred to as “monotheism”. As such, followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam would be classified as theists.

41. “Father Goose” co-star CARY GRANT
Cary Grant was an actor from England who made it big, really big in Hollywood. “Cary Grant” is a stage name, chosen by Archibald Leach. There’s a great moment in the film “His Girl Friday” when Grant says the line “I never had so much fun since Archie Leach died”, an inside joke.

“Father Goose” is a wonderful romantic comedy released in 1964 starring Cary Grant and the lovely Leslie Caron. “Father Goose” is set in Papua New Guinea during WWII and features Cary Grant as a coast-watcher for the Allies who is given the codename “Mother Goose”. Leslie Caron turns up as the escort for seven young schoolgirls who are stranded in the area as the Japanese advance. A dangerous situation, but hilarity does ensue …

46. Freud’s “The __ and the Id” EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The super-ego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

49. Out of the wind ALEE
“Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.

50. Brouhaha RHUBARB
“Brouhaha” was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow …

55. “Father Murphy” star MERLIN OLSEN
Merlin Olsen played in the NFL with the LA Rams. Olson was selected to the Pro Bowl 14 a record 14 times (shared with Bruce Matthews). After retiring from the game, his career continued to flourish. He worked as a sports broadcaster for many years, and then landed a major role on television’s “Little House on the Prairie”, playing Jonathan Garvey. In one episode, Garvey was to help coach a boy’s football team, so the writers gave Olsen’s character the tongue-in-cheek line “I don’t know nothin’ about football!” Olsen was also the commercial face of FTD florists for many years. Olson passed away in March 2010, aged 69.

“Father Murphy” is a drama show that originally aired in the early eighties. “Father Murphy” was created, produced and directed by Michael Landon, and starred actor Merlin Olsen in the title role. Olson plays a frontiersman who disguises himself as a priest and gives shelter to a group of orphans. Landon and Olsen had worked together on “Little House on the Prairie”.

57. Keats opus ODE
The poet John Keats is famous for writing a whole series of beautiful odes. The most renowned are the so-called “1819 Odes”, a collection from the year 1819 that includes famous poems such as “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to Psyche”.

58. First name in wieners OSCAR
The Oscar Mayer brand of meats was named for a German immigrant named Oscar F. Mayer who sold German sausages in the Chicago area in the late 1800s. The Oscar Mayer company has a famous vehicle called the Wienermobile that it has used in promotions for over 70 years.

What we call a wiener in this country is known as a Vienna sausage in Germany. It was first produced by a butcher from Frankfurt who was living in Vienna, hence the name “Wiener”, which is German for “of Vienna”. Paradoxically, the same sausage is called a Frankfurter in Vienna, as it was created by someone from Frankfurt. It’s all very confusing …

60. Legal thing RES
“Res” is the Latin for “thing”. “Res” is used in a lot of phrases in the law.

61. Marks on a manuscript STETS
“Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

63. LeShan who wrote “It’s Better to Be Over the Hill Than Under It” EDA
Eda LeShan wrote “When Your Child Drives You Crazy”, and was host of the PBS television show “How Do Your Children Grow?”

Down
2. “GoodFellas” actor DE NIRO
Robert De Niro is noted for his longtime and highly successful collaboration with the director Martin Scorsese. He is also noted for his commitment as a method actor. Famously he gained a full 60 pounds in order to play Jake Lamotta in the 1980 movie “Raging Bull”.

The Martin Scorsese classic “Goodfellas” is a 1990 adaptation of a non-fiction book by Nicholas Pileggi called “Wiseguy”. The film tells the story of a mob family that succumbs to the FBI after one of their own becomes an informant.

3. One may be used to pick Powerball numbers SYSTEM
The Mega Millions lottery game is available in most states of the US, as is its major rival, Powerball.

7. Cleveland NBAer CAV
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

8. Storywriter known for twists O HENRY
O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

11. Like a Greek siren ENTICING
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were seductive bird-women who lured men to their deaths with their song. When Odysseus sailed closed to the island home of the Sirens he wanted to hear their voices, but in safety. He had his men plug their ears with beeswax and then ordered them to tie him to the mast and not to free him until they were safe. On hearing their song Odysseus begged to be let loose, but the sailors just tightened his bonds and and the whole crew sailed away unharmed.

13. Che, at birth ERNESTO
Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

24. Father’s Day “award” BEST DAD
Father’s Day was added as an official holiday in 1972, although bills to create the holiday had been with Congress since 1913. By rights, the holiday should be called “Fathers’ Day” (note the punctuation), but the Bill that was introduced in 1913 used the “Father’s Day” spelling, and that’s the one that has stuck.

29. Pres. or CEO LDR
A president (pres.) or chief executive officer (CEO) is a leader (ldr.).

32. British Conservative’s ancestor TORY
“Tory” comes from the Irish word “tóraí” meaning “outlaw, robber”. The term “tory: was originally used for an Irish outlaw and later became a term of abuse for Irish rebels. At the end of the reign of King Charles II in Britain, there was a political divide with one side being called “Whigs” and the other “Tories”. Historically, the term “Tory” evolved to basically mean a supporter of the British monarchy, and today is used for a member of the British Conservative Party.

35. Grafton’s “__ for Outlaw” O IS
Sue Grafton writes detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and is working her way through the alphabet, most recently publishing “U Is for Undertow” in 2009. What a clever naming system!

38. Like Mount Everest HIGHEST
Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth at 29,029 feet above sea level. However, Everest is only the 5th tallest mountain as measured from the center of the planet. Because of the equatorial bulge, that honor goes to the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador, part of the Andes.

41. Explorers John and Sebastian CABOTS
Giovanni Caboto (known in English as “John Cabot”) was an Italian explorer. Cabot is believed to have been the first European to visit North America since the Vikings landed here in the 11th century. Many say that he landed in Newfoundland in 1497.

Sebastian Cabot was an explorer from the Venetian Republic in Italy. Sebastian was the son of the more famous explorer John Cabot.

43. Dan Quayle’s successor AL GORE
Al Gore was born in Washington DC, the son of Al Gore, Sr., then a US Representative for the state of Tennessee. After deferring his military service in order to attend Harvard, the younger Gore became eligible for the draft on graduation. Many of his classmates found ways of avoiding the draft, but Gore decided to serve and even took the “tougher” option of joining the army as an enlisted man. Actor Tommy Lee Jones shared a house with Gore in college and says that his buddy told him that even if he could find a way around the draft, someone with less options than him would have to go in his place and that was just wrong.

Dan Quayle served as both a US Representative and a US Senator from Indiana before becoming the 44th Vice President, under President George H. W. Bush. Quayle refused to run for office in 1996, going up against the Clinton/Gore ticket, but entered the fray again in 2000 seeking the Republican nomination for president. Ironically, he was defeated by the son of his former Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush.

45. Saintly Mother TERESA
Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in the city that is now called Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. At birth she was given the names Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (“Gonxha” means “little flower” in Albanian). She left home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto, and headed to Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham in Dublin, Ireland in order to learn English. Her goal was to teach in India, and English was the language used there for instruction by the nuns. After Mother Teresa passed away in 1997 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II, a step on the road to canonization. In order for her to be beatified there had to be documented evidence of a miracle that was performed due to her intercession. The miracle in question was the healing of a tumor in the abdomen of a woman due to the application of a locket containing a picture of Mother Teresa. Documentation of a second miracle is required for her to be declared a saint.

48. Sea eagle ERN
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle, and the sea-eagle.

51. Sheep’s sound BLAT
“To blat” is to cry, especially like a sheep. In other words, to “blat” is to “bleat”.

52. Hammett hound ASTA
Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb movie “The Thin Man” starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

56. Head of Hastings? LOO
When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes and linens in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo” in which the pot was called the loo!

Hastings, a town on the Sussex coast of England, was the site of the first battle of the Norman Conquest of England, the Battle of Hastings of 1066.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Bank offerings, briefly CDS
4. Emmy winner Edie FALCO
9. Stockholm native SWEDE
14. Pewter with 80% tin LEY
15. First husband of Bathsheba URIAH
16. Hermit LONER
17. Ques. response ANS
18. “Father of the Bride” co-star STEVE MARTIN
20. Star on the stand WITNESS
22. Mean NOT NICE
23. It’s uncertain when it’s gray AREA
24. Rite performed by a mohel BRIS
25. USSR successor CIS
26. “Father Dowling Mysteries” star TOM BOSLEY
30. Force DINT
31. Cardinal and carmine REDS
32. “In that case, scram!” THEN GO!
34. “Father Knows Best” star ROBERT YOUNG
37. Belief in one god THEISM
39. Put in stitches DARN
40. Disapproving sound HISS
41. “Father Goose” co-star CARY GRANT
46. Freud’s “The __ and the Id” EGO
47. Cattle unit HEAD
49. Out of the wind ALEE
50. Brouhaha RHUBARB
52. One settling a score AVENGER
55. “Father Murphy” star MERLIN OLSEN
57. Keats opus ODE
58. First name in wieners OSCAR
59. Carried TOTED
60. Legal thing RES
61. Marks on a manuscript STETS
62. Reaches great heights SOARS
63. LeShan who wrote “It’s Better to Be Over the Hill Than Under It” EDA

Down
1. Use for scratching CLAW AT
2. “GoodFellas” actor DE NIRO
3. One may be used to pick Powerball numbers SYSTEM
4. Oft-blown circuit component FUSE
5. Crafts partner ARTS
6. Alibis, sometimes LIES
7. Cleveland NBAer CAV
8. Storywriter known for twists O’HENRY
9. Mattress supports SLATS
10. Tattered WORN
11. Like a Greek siren ENTICING
12. Cold weather wing maintenance DEICING
13. Che, at birth ERNESTO
19. “Who, me?” MOI?
21. Arrest NAB
24. Father’s Day “award” BEST DAD
27. Globes ORBS
28. Appear SEEM
29. Pres. or CEO LDR
30. __ of iniquity DEN
32. British Conservative’s ancestor TORY
33. Unable to reach a verdict HUNG
34. Natural or renewable supply RESOURCE
35. Grafton’s “__ for Outlaw” O IS
36. Pirate’s cry YAR!
37. Insulated container THERMOS
38. Like Mount Everest HIGHEST
41. Explorers John and Sebastian CABOTS
42. Sought a seat RAN
43. Dan Quayle’s successor AL GORE
44. Had to have NEEDED
45. Saintly Mother TERESA
47. What hagglers split HAIRS
48. Sea eagle ERN
51. Sheep’s sound BLAT
52. Hammett hound ASTA
53. Swerve VEER
54. Extremes ENDS
56. Head of Hastings? LOO

Return to top of page