CROSSWORD SETTER: Barry C. Silk
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 13m 04s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Sonoma County seat Santa __ ROSA
Santa Rosa is the largest city in California’s Wine Country, and the county seat of Sonoma County. The epicenter of the so-called 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was located near Santa Rosa, so there was actually more damage in Santa Rosa, for the size of the city, than there was in San Francisco.
9. Square PLAZA
“Plaza” is the Spanish word for “square, place”.
14. Late great? LENO
Jay Leno was born James Leno in New Rochelle, New York. Jay’s father was the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother was from Scotland. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and actually dropped out of school on the advice of a high school guidance counsellor. However, years later he went to Emerson college and earned a Bachelor’s degree in speech therapy. Leno also started a comedy club at Emerson in 1973. Today Jay Leno is a car nut and owns about 200 vehicles of various types. You can check them out on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com.
15. Sci. subject ASTR
Astronomy (astr.) is a science (sci.).
16. Eponymous golf promoter Samuel RYDER
The Ryder Cup trophy was donated to the game of golf by Samuel Ryder, an English entrepreneur. Ryder made his money selling garden seeds in small packets. He only took up golf when he was in his fifties but became quite the enthusiast and eventually donated the trophy in 1927, when it was valued at 100 guineas.
17. FYI relative ATTN
You might see FYI (for your information) or Attn. (attention) at the top of a memo.
18. Bonobo, e.g. CHIMPANZEE
The Bonobo used to be called the Pygmy Chimpanzee, and is a cousin of the Common Chimpanzee. The Bonobo is an endangered species, found in the wild only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. Along with the Common Chimpanzee, the Bonobo is the closest species to humans genetically.
20. Brief disclaimer IMHO
In my humble opinion (IMHO)
25. Crayola color since 1949 BRICK RED
In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the “Crayola Color Census 2000” in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.
28. Diving duck SMEW
The smew is a beautiful-looking species of duck found right across northern Europe and Asia.
34. Title imaginary friend in a Neil Diamond hit SHILO
The Neil Diamond song “Shilo” was released in 1970. The title refers not to the Civil War Battle of Shiloh, nor to the Israeli town of Shilo. Instead, Shilo was an imaginary friend that Diamond had as a child.
I saw Neil Diamond in concert about 15 years ago, and I must say he does put on a great show. His voice is cracking a bit, but that didn’t seem to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I’ve also seen Diamond interviewed a few times on television, and I wouldn’t say he has the most scintillating of personalities.
35. Fast ship CLIPPER
A clipper was a sailing ship, commonly crossing the seas in the 19th century. Clippers were built for speed, so were narrow and had less room for carrying freight than many vessels used in trade. They were developed largely due to the demand for speedy delivery of fresh tea from China to Europe. The name comes from the term “to clip” meaning to move swiftly (as in “at a clip”). Perhaps the most famous clipper ship is the Cutty Sark built in 1869, the last clipper to be built as a merchant vessel. The Cutty Sark owes her fame to the fact that she is on display as a museum ship in a dry dock in Greenwich in London.
36. DVD staple TRAILER
The term “trailer” came about in the film industry as advertisements for upcoming features were originally shown at the end of a movie being screened. This practise quickly fell out of favor as movie patrons usually left without paying much attention to the trailers. So, the trailers were moved to the beginning of the show, and the term “trailer” persisted.
38. Silicon Valley college MENLO
Menlo College is a private school located in Atherton, California, one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in the country. Menlo was founded in 1927 as when the existing Menlo School for Boys grew to include a junior college. Today the school specializes in providing four-year business degrees. One of Menlo’s more famous alumni is newspaper heiress and kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
39. Tempo notation ALLA BREVE
The musical term “alla breve”, meaning “at the breve (i.e. the note)”, denotes a meter equivalent to 2/2. This implies quite a fast tempo, often found in military marches.
42. Liver delicacy FOIE GRAS
Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made up of a mixture of ground meat and fat, to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version is pâté de foie gras, made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).
43. “The Wizard of Oz” farmhand ZEKE
Zeke was the farmworker played by Bert Lahr in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”. Zeke is the character who morphed into the Cowardly Lion in Dorothy’s dream.
44. San Diego State athlete AZTEC
The San Diego Aztecs are the athletic teams of San diego State university. The team mascot is the Aztec Warrior.
53. Policy pro WONK
A “wonk” is an overly studious person. It is an American slang term that has been around at least since 1954. More recently, “wonk” has acquired an air of respectability as it has come to mean someone who has studies a topic thoroughly and become somewhat expert.
55. Prefix with Aryan INDO-
The Indo-Aryans are a collection of peoples that speak languages that share the same linguistic roots, traced back to the ancient Indo-Iranian peoples. Included in the Indo-Aryan group of peoples are the Bengali people, the Gurkhas, the Kashmiri people and the Punjabi people.
57. “The Last King of Scotland” tyrant AMIN
“The Last King of Scotland” is a 2006 film adaptation of a 1998 novel of the same name by Giles Foden. The story tells of a Scottish doctor (played by James McAvoy) who was employed by Idi Amin (played by Forest Whitaker). The title of the piece comes from the fact that Idi Amin offered his services as King of Scotland, should he ever be needed.
58. Caution to a German shepherd, say NEIN
“Nein” is the German for “no”.
59. Longtime NFL coach Schottenheimer MARTY
Marty Schottenheimer is a retired football player and coach. Schottenheimer was head coach with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and the San Diego Chargers.
61. Uruguay’s Punta del __ ESTE
Punta del Este is a resort city in southeastern Uruguay, located about 85 miles east of Montevideo.
Down
3. Out of order ON THE BLINK
When something has broken down, it might be described as “on the fritz” here in North America. The phrase “on the blink” has the same meaning, and is more likely to be used in the British Isles and in Australia.
6. Federal inspection org. OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.
9. Jabber PRATE
“Prattle” is idle talk. The term comes via the verb “to prate” from the Swedish “prata” meaning “to talk, chatter”.
10. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” subject LYNN
The singer Loretta Lynn is sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Country Music. Lynn was born in 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner and his wife, and so famously is also referred to as “the Coal Miner’s Daughter”. Her much younger sister (by 19 years) is the singer Crystal Gayle.
“Coal Miner’s Daughter” is a 1980 film that tells the life story of country music star Loretta Lynn. Sissy Spacek plays the title role, and won herself a Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Lynn was indeed a coal miner’s daughter, born into poverty in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.
11. Shop shaper ADZE
An adze (also adz) is similar to an axe, but is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft. An axe’s blade is set in line with the shaft.
12. You might catch a few ZEES
To catch some zees is to have a nap.
13. Father of Deimos 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. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
19. Patchy PIED
A piebald (or pied) horse is one with dark patches on a white background. A skewbald horse on the other hand is dark with white patches.
23. Semiaquatic heavyweight HIPPO
The name “hippopotamus” comes from the Greek for “river horse”. Hippos are the third largest land mammals, after elephants and rhinos. The closest living relatives to hippos don’t even live on land. They are the whales and porpoises of the oceans.
26. Largest OH airport CLE
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was founded in 1925. In 1930, Cleveland was home to the first air traffic control tower in the country, as well as the first airfield lighting system.
27. Place to enjoy a sharp drinker? KARAOKE BAR
“Karate”, means “open hand”, and the related word “karaoke” means “open orchestra”.
28. Australian red formerly called Hermitage SHIRAZ WINE
Shiraz is another name for the grape better known as Syrah. The Shiraz name is most widely used in Australia. To further complicate things, Australians used to refer to the grape as Hermitage, switching to Shiraz in the late 1980s.
32. Ottawa-based law gp. RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the Mounties; RCMP) is an unusual police force in that it provides all policing for the whole country. The RCMP works on the national level, and right down to the municipal level. The force’s distinctive uniform of red serge tunic, blue pants with a yellow stripe, stetson hat etc. is known internally as “Review Order”. The red uniform dates back to the days of the North-West Mounted Police, which was one of the existing forces that were merged in 1920 to form the RCMP.
33. Stick on a fridge door OLEO
Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France announced a competition to develop a substitute for butter, a substitute that would be more accessible to the lower classes and more practical for the armed forces. In 1869, a French chemist called Hippolyte Mege-Mouries came up with something that he called oleomargarine, which was eventually manufactured under the trade name “margarine”. The name “oleomargarine” also gives us our generic term “oleo”.
34. Tel Aviv native SABRA
Jewish people born in the State of Israel, or the historical region of israel, are known as Sabras. “Sabra” is actually the name of the prickly pear, the thorny desert cactus. Apparently the name “Sabra” is used because someone born in the region is said to be tough on the outside and sweet on the inside, just like a prickly pear.
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.
37. Syncopated piece RAG
Ragtime music was at the height of it popularity in the early 1900s. It takes its name from its characteristic “ragged” rhythms. The most famous ragtime composer was Scott Joplin, who had a big hit with his “Maple Leaf Rag” when it was published in 1899. He followed that up with a string of hits, including the “Pine Apple Rag” (sic). Ragtime fell out of favor about 1917 when the public turned to jazz. It had a resurgence in the forties when jazz musicians started to include ragtime tunes in their repertoires. But it was the 1973 movie “The Sting” that brought the true revival, as the hit soundtrack included numerous ragtime tunes by Scott Joplin, including the celebrated “The Entertainer” originally published in 1902.
In the world of music, syncopation is the expected emphasis away from the normally accented beat, producing an “unexpected” rhythm, an “off-beat” rhythm. Syncopation is a characteristic of many genres of music, notably ragtime and jazz.
40. 1962 hit with the lyrics “the truth could mean I’d lose you” LIE TO ME
“Lie to Me” is a song released by Brook Benton in 1962.
Brook Benton was a singer-songwriter who was popular in the late fifties and early sixties. Benton’s biggest hits were “It’s Just a Matter of Time” and “Endlessly”, both released in 1959. Benton made a bit of a comeback in 1970 with the song “Rainy Night in Georgia”.
42. Disaster relief org. FEMA
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.
43. Piquant ZESTY
Something that is “piquant” is pleasantly sharp in taste and zesty. “Piquant” is the French word for “prickly”.
46. Designer fragrance CK ONE
CK one Lifestyle is a brand of fragrance, underwear and jeans that was launched in 2011 by Calvin Klein.
48. Baltic seaport RIGA
Riga is the capital city of Latvia. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, declared as such because of the city’s magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture.
The Baltic is a sea in northern Europe that is much less saline than the oceans. The lower amount of salt in the Baltic partially explains why almost half of the sea freezes during the winter. In fact, the Baltic has been known to completely freeze over several times over the past few centuries.
51. Dollar alternative AVIS
Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.
Dollar Rent A Car was founded in 1965. Chrysler acquired the company in 1990 and merged it with Thrifty Car Rental, which Chrysler had purchased a year earlier.
52. Nearly six-week period LENT
In Latin, the Christian season that is now called Lent was termed “quadragesima” (meaning “fortieth”), a reference to the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. When the church began its move in the Middle Ages towards using the vernacular, the term “Lent” was introduced. “Lent” comes from “lenz”, the German word for “spring”.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Trudge PLOD
5. Sonoma County seat Santa __ ROSA
9. Square PLAZA
14. Late great? LENO
15. Sci. subject ASTR
16. Eponymous golf promoter Samuel RYDER
17. FYI relative ATTN
18. Bonobo, e.g. CHIMPANZEE
20. Brief disclaimer IMHO
21. Provider of sound testimony? EARWITNESS
22. Saw things TEETH
24. Priceless? FREE
25. Crayola color since 1949 BRICK RED
28. Diving duck SMEW
32. Uses a management training technique ROLEPLAYS
34. Title imaginary friend in a Neil Diamond hit SHILO
35. Fast ship CLIPPER
36. DVD staple TRAILER
38. Silicon Valley college MENLO
39. Tempo notation ALLA BREVE
41. Slow POKY
42. Liver delicacy FOIE GRAS
43. “The Wizard of Oz” farmhand ZEKE
44. San Diego State athlete AZTEC
47. It needs to be refined CRUDE METAL
53. Policy pro WONK
54. Transcends RISES ABOVE
55. Prefix with Aryan INDO-
56. Free __ AGENT
57. “The Last King of Scotland” tyrant AMIN
58. Caution to a German shepherd, say NEIN
59. Longtime NFL coach Schottenheimer MARTY
60. Stop REST
61. Uruguay’s Punta del __ ESTE
Down
1. Braid PLAIT
2. “I can do it” LET ME
3. Out of order ON THE BLINK
4. Phrase in much computer-generated mail DO NOT REPLY
5. Speed RACE
6. Federal inspection org. OSHA
7. Cook quickly STIR FRY
8. Compete in a strength contest ARM WRESTLE
9. Jabber PRATE
10. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” subject LYNN
11. Shop shaper ADZE
12. You might catch a few ZEES
13. Father of Deimos ARES
19. Patchy PIED
23. Semiaquatic heavyweight HIPPO
26. Largest OH airport CLE
27. Place to enjoy a sharp drinker? KARAOKE BAR
28. Australian red formerly called Hermitage SHIRAZ WINE
29. Noteworthy events MILESTONES
30. Abbr. on some city limit signs ELEV
31. Had on WORE
32. Ottawa-based law gp. RCMP
33. Stick on a fridge door OLEO
34. Tel Aviv native SABRA
37. Syncopated piece RAG
40. 1962 hit with the lyrics “the truth could mean I’d lose you” LIE TO ME
42. Disaster relief org. FEMA
43. Piquant ZESTY
45. Split up END IT
46. Designer fragrance CK ONE
47. Squeeze CRAM
48. Baltic seaport RIGA
49. End __ USER
50. Noticeable progress DENT
51. Dollar alternative AVIS
52. Nearly six-week period LENT