Month: August 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Window in many loft conversions DORMER
A dormer window is a window in a dormer! A dormer is a roofed structure that protrudes from the slope of the main roof.

15. Tool for hackers MACHETE
A machete is a large knife, usually 13-18 inches long. The term “machete” is the diminutive of “macho” meaning “male, strong”.

16. Name on “The Name of the Rose” UMBERTO
Umberto Eco is an Italian writer, probably best known for his novel “The Name of the Rose” published in 1980. In 1986, “The Name of the Rose” was adapted into a movie with the same title starring Sean Connery.

18. Smartphone component, for short CPU
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the main component on the “motherboard” of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

21. Mars, for one ORB
The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty!

24. Old language that gives us “berserk” NORSE
Our word “berserk” meaning “deranged” comes from the “Berserkers”, Norse warriors described in Old Norse literature. Berserkers were renowned for going into battle in a fury, and some believe that they consumed drugged food to get themselves worked up for the fighting ahead.

25. Home of the Czech Republic’s Supreme Court BRNO
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic (after Prague).

28. Spot in a casino PIP
A pip is a dot on a die, the gambling device.

29. Crème de __ CACAO
Creme de Cacao is a very sweet, chocolate-flavored liqueur.

34. Indoor football name NERF
Nerf is the name given to the soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

35. London arena that Pelé dubbed “the cathedral of football” WEMBLEY STADIUM
Wembley Stadium is the second largest such structure in Europe, and is the national stadium used by England’s soccer team. The stadium takes its name from Wembley Park, that part of London in which the stadium is located. The current Wembley Stadium was opened in 2007, and was built on the site of the previous Wembley Stadium that opened in 1923.

Pelé is the nickname of Edson de Nascimento, a soccer player who has used the name Pelé for most of his life. Pelé is now retired, and for my money was the world’s greatest ever player of the game. He is the only person to have been part of three World Cup winning squads, and is a national treasure in his native Brazil.

41. Fauvist painter Dufy RAOUL
Raoul Dufy was a French painter active in the first half of the 20th century. He was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts”, who emphasized strong color over realism in their works.

42. 5, spelled out? MAY
May is the fifth month of the year.

45. Tendon attachment? -ITIS
The suffix “-itis” is used to denote inflammation, as in laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).

46. Pamplona runners TOROS
Pamplona, Spain is famous for its San Fermin festival held in July every year, the highlight of which is the Running of the Bulls. Every year, 200-300 people are injured in the bull run, and 15 people have been killed since 1910. If you get to Pamplona two days before the Running of the Bulls, you can see the animal-rights protest event known as the Running of the Nudes. The protesters are as naked as the bulls …

50. Like many consonants LINGUAL
Many consonants are described as “lingual” meaning that they are pronounced using the tongue.

53. Ancient Syrian HITTITE
The Hittites were a people living in Ancient Anatolia (Asia Minor) during the Bronze Age. The Hittite military is noted for the early use of chariots, the design of which can be seen in some Ancient Egyptian drawings.

55. First golfer to win the U.S., British and Canadian Opens in the same year TREVINO
Lee Trevino is an American golfer of Mexican descent, and so has the nicknames “The Merry Mex” and “Supermex”. He is well known for his great sense of humor and for playing pranks on the golf course. For many years when he played he wore a Band-Aid on his arm, covering the tattoo with the name of his ex-wife.

60. Disrespected outwardly SASSED
“Sass”, meaning “impudence”, is a back formation from the word “sassy”. “Sassy” is an alteration of the word “saucy”, with “sassy” first appearing in English in the 1830s.

Down
1. Masonry finish STUCCO
Stucco is a decorative coating that is applied to walls and ceilings. “Stucco” is the Italian name for the material, and a word that we imported into English.

3. Humidor item ROBUSTO
A “robusto” is a short cigar, just under 5 inches in length.

A humido is a box or room that has a controlled environment optimized for the storage of cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco. The main factor to be controlled is humidity, hence the storage area is called a humidor.

4. Island entertainment UKE
The ukulele originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

7. Poet translated by Longfellow DANTE
Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His “Divine Comedy” is widely considered to be the greatest literary work ever written in the Italian language.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was famous for his own work of course, like “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Song of Hiawatha”, but he was also the first American to translate Dante’s epic poem called the “Divine Comedy”.

8. Pi preceder? OCTO-
Octopuses and squid have the ability to release a dark pigment into the water as a means of escape. The dark pigment is called cephalopod ink (the squid and octopus belong to the class cephalopod). The dark color is created by melanin, the same substance that acts as a pigment in human skin.

9. Pi follower RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

10. Mediterranean island, to locals MENORCA
The island of Minorca in the Mediterranean takes its name from the larger neighboring island of Majorca. The names come from the Latin “Insula Minor” meaning “Minor Island” and “Insula Major” meaning “Major Island”. The island is known as “Minorca” in English, and “Menorca” in Spanish and Catalan.

11. Like amaranth flowers, in myth ETERNAL
Amaranth is a genus of about 60 flowering plants, also known as Amaranthus. The term “amaranth” comes from the Greek words for “unfading” and “flower”.

12. Magazine in which “The Thin Man” first appeared REDBOOK
“Redbook” is a monthly magazine aimed at women. It was introduced in 1903 as “The Red Book Illustrated”, and was focused on the publication of short fiction by established authors.

“The Thin Man” is a detective novel written by Dashiell Hammett that was first published in the magazine “Redbook” in 1934. Hammett never wrote a sequel to his story, but it spawned a wonderful, wonderful series of “The Thin Man” films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. “The Thin Man” was the last novel that Hammett wrote.

25. Spade-shaped reef swimmer BATFISH
“Batfish” is another name for the bat ray. The larger bat rays can grow to a wingspan of almost 6 feet.

27. Alberto VO5 rival PRELL
Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947, and was originally a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).

Alberto VO5 is the flagship brand of the Alberto-Culver corporation. Within the brand is a shampoo and a market-leading hairdressing product.

29. Una __: using the soft pedal CORDA
The “una corda pedal” is the soft pedal on a piano, usually the pedal situated to the left. Normally a hammer in a piano strikes three strings tuned to the same note. When the soft pedal is depressed, all of the hammers shift slightly to the left so that only two strings are struck.

31. Brogan classification EEE
A brogan is a heavy boot, with the original brogans being boots worn by soldiers on both sides during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Apparently some British soldiers in the Revolutionary War wore brogans that could be worn on either foot in an attempt to get more even wear.

32. High __ TEA
Over in the UK, high tea is a major meal served in the late afternoon or early evening, and of course it should include a pot of tea!

35. Pair commemorated on North Carolina’s state quarter WRIGHTS
Wilbur was the older of the two Wright brothers, and he was born in 1867 in Millville, Indiana. By the time that Orville was born in 1871, the family was living in Dayton, Ohio. The Wrights spent a few years of their youth back in Richmond, Indiana, before settling in Dayton for the rest of their lives. The brothers both died in Dayton; Wilbur in 1912 and Orville in 1948.

Kitty Hawk is a town in North Carolina. The Wright brothers made the first powered airplane flight four miles south of Kitty Hawk, at the Kill Devil Hills.

36. Humble oneself EAT DIRT
“To eat dirt” is a slang term meaning to accept insults without complaint.

38. ’33 Chicago World’s Fair puppeteer SARG
Tony Sarg was a German-American puppeteer and illustrator. He was hired by Macy’s in 1928 to build helium-filled “puppets” for their Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, a tradition that was to last a long time. In 1935 he designed and built the puppets and displays in Macy’s windows for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

39. Beauty spots? UTOPIAS
The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More for his book “Utopia” published in 1516 describing an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

40. One-named singer/songwriter of the 1970 Woodstock-inspired hit “Lay Down” MELANIE
Melanie Safka is singer-songwriter from the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York. Safka used the stage name of just “Melanie”. Melanie’s most famous release is probably “Brand New Key” from 1971.

47. Author Paretsky and others SARAS
Sara Paretsky is an American author of detective fiction. Paretsky’s most famous character is a female private investigator called V.I. Warshawski. Warshawski was played by Kathleen Turner in a big screen adaptation of one of her stories in 1991.

51. “Why, then, __ soldier drink!”: Iago LET A
Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. He hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. By the end of the play it’s Iago himself who is discredited and Othello (before committing suicide) apologizes to Cassio for having believed Iago’s lies. Heavy stuff …

54. Confucian path TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

56. Old Beta rival VHS
The video standard known as VHS is more fully referred to as the Video Home System. VHS was one of many standards touted by various manufacturers in the seventies. The biggest rival to VHS was of course Betamax, but we all knew which of the two standards won the final round in that fight.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Hits the dirt? SCRUBS
7. Window in many loft conversions DORMER
13. Prepared to fire TOOK AIM
15. Tool for hackers MACHETE
16. Name on “The Name of the Rose” UMBERTO
17. Spoke like an uninspired lecturer INTONED
18. Smartphone component, for short CPU
19. Soothes, in a way SINGS TO
21. Mars, for one ORB
22. Throw CAST
24. Old language that gives us “berserk” NORSE
25. Home of the Czech Republic’s Supreme Court BRNO
26. Second to none ON TOP
28. Spot in a casino PIP
29. Crème de __ CACAO
30. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black!” YOU’RE ONE TO TALK
33. Hose holder REEL
34. Indoor football name NERF
35. London arena that Pelé dubbed “the cathedral of football” WEMBLEY STADIUM
41. Fauvist painter Dufy RAOUL
42. 5, spelled out? MAY
43. Rayed bloom ASTER
45. Tendon attachment? -ITIS
46. Pamplona runners TOROS
48. Green opening HOLE
49. Mdse. GDS
50. Like many consonants LINGUAL
52. Cat’s batter PAW
53. Ancient Syrian HITTITE
55. First golfer to win the U.S., British and Canadian Opens in the same year TREVINO
57. Overly sentimental TREACLY
58. Side effect of a bike helmet HAT HAIR
59. Pet STROKE
60. Disrespected outwardly SASSED

Down
1. Masonry finish STUCCO
2. Firm COMPANY
3. Humidor item ROBUSTO
4. Island entertainment UKE
5. Places to see a lot of spirits BARS
6. March alternative SIT-IN
7. Poet translated by Longfellow DANTE
8. Pi preceder? OCTO-
9. Pi follower RHO
10. Mediterranean island, to locals MENORCA
11. Like amaranth flowers, in myth ETERNAL
12. Magazine in which “The Thin Man” first appeared REDBOOK
14. Currency printed on only one side MONOPOLY MONEY
15. Rued years MISSPENT YOUTH
20. Put on a happy face GRIN
23. Sightseers can be seen on one TOUR BUS
25. Spade-shaped reef swimmer BATFISH
27. Alberto VO5 rival PRELL
29. Una __: using the soft pedal CORDA
31. Brogan classification EEE
32. High __ TEA
35. Pair commemorated on North Carolina’s state quarter WRIGHTS
36. Humble oneself EAT DIRT
37. More likely to win the bakeoff, maybe MOISTER
38. ’33 Chicago World’s Fair puppeteer SARG
39. Beauty spots? UTOPIAS
40. One-named singer/songwriter of the 1970 Woodstock-inspired hit “Lay Down” MELANIE
44. Paraphrase REWORD
46. Safe-deposit box document TITLE
47. Author Paretsky and others SARAS
50. Defeat LICK
51. “Why, then, __ soldier drink!”: Iago LET A
54. Confucian path TAO
56. Old Beta rival VHS

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