Day: March 12, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Dian Fossey subjects APES
Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda (NB: it was Jane Goodall that worked with chimpanzees). Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

15. Son of Leah and Jacob LEVI
In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob’s twelve sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob’s sons were:

– Reuben
– Simeon
– Levi
– Judah
– Dan
– Naphtali
– Gad
– Asher
– Issachar
– Zebulun
– Joseph
– Benjamin

16. One unlikely to bring home the bacon? VEGAN
A vegan is someone who stays away from animal products. A dietary vegan eats no animal foods, not even eggs and dairy which are usually eaten by vegetarians. Ethical vegans take things one step further by following a vegan diet and also avoiding animal products in other areas of their lives e.g. items made from leather or silk.

17. Work on galleys EDIT
Galleys are the metal trays into which a printer would arrange type to make up a page. The galleys had clamps that could be used to hold the loose type in place. Even in today’s world of electronic publishing, apparently the term “galley proof” is still used as the name for some version of a layout that is not yet final.

18. Works by Raphael and Michelangelo, e.g. ITALIAN ART
Raphael was an artist and architect from Central Italy. Raphael was active during the High Renaissance and is often considered alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci who were active in the same timeframe in Italy.

Michelangelo was very gifted in many areas, including painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry and even engineering. Of all the disciplines in which he worked, he had little regard for painting. Despite this, he created one of the most influential fresco works in the world, namely the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

22. “… kissed thee __ killed thee”: Othello ERE I
“I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.” is a line from Shakespeare’s “Othello”. The words are spoken by Othello as he kisses his murdered wife, and then takes his own life.

23. NYC-based insurance co. AIG
AIG is the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation (or I should say, “was”). After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I’d say …

38. Rescuer of Odysseus INO
Ino was a mortal queen of Orchomenus through her marriage to King Athamas. In Greek mythology, Ino became the goddess Leukothea after her death. As Leukothea she provided divine aid to Odysseus, according to Homer’s “Odyssey”. She provided Odysseus with a magical veil that he used to escape from Poseidon.

39. Irene of “Fame” CARA
Irene Cara (as well as acting in “Fame”) sang the theme songs to the hit movies “Fame” and “Flashdance”.

40. Gainesville is about halfway between it and Jacksonville OCALA
The city of Ocala, Florida was founded near a historic village with the same name. In the local Timucua language “Ocala” means “Big Hammock”. Thoroughbred horse farming in Florida started in Ocala, back in 1943. Some folks today call Ocala the “Horse Capital of the World”, but I bet that’s disputed by others …

45. “Double Fantasy” artist ONO
“Double Fantasy” is an album released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on 17 November 1980. Three weeks later, John Lennon was gunned down by Mark Chapman outside Lennon’s apartment building in New York City.

55. Heathrow postings: Abbr. ETAS
Expected time of arrival (ETA)

London’s Heathrow handles handles more international passengers than any other airport in the world, and is the third busiest airport around the globe in terms of passenger traffic (after Atlanta and Beijing).

57. Dark purple PUCE
The name of the purple shade known as “puce” has a strange derivation. “Puce” came into English from French, in which language “puce” means “flea”. Supposedly, puce is the color of a flea!

58. Charlie Brown cry RATS!
The characters in the cartoon series “Peanuts” were largely drawn from Charles Schultz’s own life, with shy and withdrawn Charlie Brown representing Schultz himself.

59. Title role for Michael or Jude ALFIE
There have been two versions of the movie “Alfie”. The original, and for my money the best, was made in 1966 with Michael Caine. The remake came out in 2004 and stars Jude Law in the title role. The theme song was performed by Cher in the 1966 movie, but it was Dionne Warwick’s cover version from 1967 that was the most successful in the charts.

60. New newts EFTS
Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

Down
5. Runway shapes A-LINES
An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares toward the hem.

In the world of fashion, the runway or catwalk is a platform used by models to show the clothes. The platform usually projects into the audience.

6. Bob __, first NBA player to be named MVP (1956) PETTIT
Bob Pettit is a retired NBA basketball player who played for the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks in the fifties and sixties. In 1956, Pettit became the NBA’s first recipient of the Most Valuable Player Award.

7. FEMA recommendation, maybe EVAC
Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

8. Storage structure SILO
Silo is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English, originally coming from the Greek word “siros” that described a pit in which one kept grain.

10. Go back (on) RENEGE
To renege on something is to back out of it. It’s a word commonly used in card games like bridge and whist. A renege is when a player doesn’t follow suit, even though there may be a card of the suit led in his/her hand.

11. “A Summer Place” co-star Richard EGAN
Richard Egan was an actor from San Francisco. One of Egan’s more famous roles was playing Elvis Presley’s older brother in “Love Me Tender”. Egan was also Rod Serling’s first choice to narrate the iconic “The Twilight Zone” series. It was perhaps lucky that Egan couldn’t do the “The Twilight Zone” gig due to other contractual obligations, as Serling’s own commentary added so much to the show.

“A Summer Place” is a 1959 movie based on a novel of the same name by Sloan Wilson. The film is a romantic drama starring Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire. “Theme from A Summer Place” became a number one hit for Percy Faith in 1960.

12. Dessert conveyance CART
Our word “dessert” comes from the French verb “desservir” meaning “to clear the table”. The idea is that dessert is usually the the last course to be cleared from the table.

13. “Rizzoli & Isles” airer TNT
“Rizzoli & Isles” is a detective drama that is inspired by the series of Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli series of novels by Tess Gerritsen. In the show, Angie Harmon plays detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander plays medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles.

21. Spanish 101 word ERES
“Eres” means “you are” in Spanish.

24. 1986 rock autobiography I, TINA
“I, Tina” is the 1986 autobiography of Tina Turner. The book was so successful it was adapted into a movie called “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” The film version was released in 1993 and starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner.

25. Windbreaker fabric NYLON
The polymer known as “nylon” was developed by Dupont in the 1930s. The first application was as bristles in toothbrushes, in 1938. The second application became more famous, for women’s stockings starting in 1940, stockings that came to be known as “nylons”. The polymer was developed as a replacement for silk, which was to become in short supply during WWII.

27. One may be rolled over IRA
Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

28. Weasel kin STOAT
Ermine is another name for the stoat. The stoat has dark brown fur in the summer, and white fur in the winter. Sometimes the term “ermine” is reserved for the animal during the winter when the fur is white. Ermine skins have long been prized by royalty and are often used for white trim on ceremonial robes.

29. Patterned fabric TOILE
Toile fabric can be used as upholstery, or as a wallpaper, or even us a fabric for clothing.

30. Ward of “CSI: NY” SELA
The actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast …

31. Two percent alternative SKIM
“2% fat” is a low-fat alternative to skim milk.

36. C-ration successor MRE
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

42. Musical scale sequence DO RE MI
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

48. Norwegian saint OLAF
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

51. Bonneville Salt Flats site UTAH
The largest salt pan located near the Great Salt Lake is the famous Bonneville Salt Flats. There is an area in the Flats called the Bonneville Speedway that is devoted to motor sports and is noted as a venue for numerous land speed records.

52. Peacekeeping acronym NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

53. Name on a Canadian pump ESSO
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

54. Mgmt. degree MBA
The world’s first MBA degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Deer guy STAG
5. Dian Fossey subjects APES
9. Walking tall ERECT
14. Snoop (around) POKE
15. Son of Leah and Jacob LEVI
16. One unlikely to bring home the bacon? VEGAN
17. Work on galleys EDIT
18. Works by Raphael and Michelangelo, e.g. ITALIAN ART
20. Signed agreement mailed by someone in prison? CONSENT CON SENT
22. “… kissed thee __ killed thee”: Othello ERE I
23. NYC-based insurance co. AIG
24. Backs a fashion venture? INVESTS IN VESTS
31. Eyelid inflammations STYES
32. Dogwood, e.g. TREE
33. Sock part TOE
34. Pottery oven KILN
35. Drag through the mud SMEAR
37. Gardener’s bagful SOIL
38. Rescuer of Odysseus INO
39. Irene of “Fame” CARA
40. Gainesville is about halfway between it and Jacksonville OCALA
41. Authorize two bros’ get-together? MANDATE MAN DATE
45. “Double Fantasy” artist ONO
46. Measurement named for a body part FOOT
47. Songwriter’s dream? FORTUNE FOR TUNE
54. Rites of passage MILESTONES
55. Heathrow postings: Abbr. ETAS
56. Point a finger at BLAME
57. Dark purple PUCE
58. Charlie Brown cry RATS!
59. Title role for Michael or Jude ALFIE
60. New newts EFTS
61. “Off with you!” SHOO!

Down
1. Job detail SPEC
2. Commotion TO-DO
3. Analogous AKIN
4. Avenges a wrong GETS EVEN
5. Runway shapes A-LINES
6. Bob __, first NBA player to be named MVP (1956) PETTIT
7. FEMA recommendation, maybe EVAC
8. Storage structure SILO
9. Like some press conference answers EVASIVE
10. Go back (on) RENEGE
11. “A Summer Place” co-star Richard EGAN
12. Dessert conveyance CART
13. “Rizzoli & Isles” airer TNT
19. More ridiculous INANER
21. Spanish 101 word ERES
24. 1986 rock autobiography I, TINA
25. Windbreaker fabric NYLON
26. Cook, as dumplings STEAM
27. One may be rolled over IRA
28. Weasel kin STOAT
29. Patterned fabric TOILE
30. Ward of “CSI: NY” SELA
31. Two percent alternative SKIM
35. Skipped SAT OUT
36. C-ration successor MRE
37. Throws here and there SCATTERS
39. Fails to understand CAN’T SEE
40. Funk ODOR
42. Musical scale sequence DO RE MI
43. Produce a change in AFFECT
44. Scary Wild West circles? NOOSES
47. Meet, as needs FILL
48. Norwegian saint OLAF
49. “Won’t do it” NOPE
50. Plenty, in slang ENUF
51. Bonneville Salt Flats site UTAH
52. Peacekeeping acronym NATO
53. Name on a Canadian pump ESSO
54. Mgmt. degree MBA

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