Day: May 20, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
8. NFL great “Boomer” ESIASON
Boomer Esiason is a retired NFL quarterback, now working as a sports commentator. Esiason has had the nickname “Boomer” since before he was born. His mother called him “Boomer” because he was constantly kicking away in her womb.

15. Dada pioneer JEAN ARP
Hans Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. He was sent home …

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

17. “Hamlet” woman at whose grave Gertrude says “Sweets to the sweet” OPHELIA
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia is courted by Hamlet, the man himself. Ophelia is the daughter of nobleman Polonius. She dies …

In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude stands over the grave of Ophelia, whom she had hoped would marry her son. Gertrude throws flowers (“sweets”) on the grave of Ophelia (“the sweet”) saying:

Sweets to the sweet, farewell!
I hop’d thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife:
I thought thy bride-bed to have deck’d, sweet maid,
And not have strew’d thy grave.

19. Rain-__ Pops: gum-filled candy BLO
Rain-Blo bubble gumballs were introduced in 1940.

20. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” ABCDEFG
28. “How I wonder what you are” HIJKLMNOP
36. “Up above the …” QRS
41. “… world so high” TUV
44. “Like a diamond in the sky” WXY AND Z
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” is an English nursery rhyme. The words for the rhyme are taken from a poem called “The Star” written by Jane Taylor, by far her most famous work (although she rarely gets the credit). The rhyme is sung to a French folk tune called “Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman”, the same tune used by Mozart for a charming and famous set of variations.

22. LAPD rank SGT
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest local law enforcement agency in the country, after New York PD and Chicago PD. Among other things, LAPD is famous for creating the first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the US, in 1965.

26. “Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood” YA-YA
The 2002 film “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” was a screen adaptation of the successful novel of the same name by Rebecca Wells. The Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a secret order created by four little girls from Louisiana, all of whom get together in later life to reassure a potential bride of the wonders of marriage and love.

31. First of 12 popes PIUS I
Pope Saint Pius I was one of the very early Bishops of Rome, governing the Roman Catholic church around 150 AD. One of his decrees was that Easter should only be celebrated on a Sunday.

33. Mark or markka replacements EUROS
One of the currencies replaced by the euro was Germany’s Deutsche Mark (known as the “Deutschmark” in English).

The markka was the currency of Finland that was used until it was replaced by the euro in 2002. The markka was introduced by the Finns in 1860 to replace the Russian ruble.

37. Rock bottom NADIR
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith.

43. Carrier with a hub at DEN UAL
United Airlines (UAL)

Denver International Airport is the largest area airport in the whole country, with 54 square miles of land. Denver is a relatively new facility, replacing Stapleton International Airport in 1995. One of Denver’s runways is 16,000 feet long, making it the longest public runway in the US. The extra length is needed for take-off of jumbo jets in the thin summer air at the mile-high altitude.

47. Very little, in recipes A DASH
In cooking, a “dash” is a very small measure, one that is often undefined. However, you can in fact buy some measuring spoons that define not only a dash, but also a “pinch” and a “smidgen” as follows:

– a dash is 1/8 teaspoon
– a pinch is 1/16 teaspoon
– a smidgen is 1/32 teaspoon

49. Put the kibosh on END
“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.

50. Agenda listings ITEMS
“Agenda”is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

52. “Divine Comedy” poet DANTE
Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” is an epic poem dating back to the 14th century. The first part of that epic is “Inferno”, which is the Italian word for “Hell”. In the poem, Dante is led on a journey by the poet Virgil, starting at the gates of Hell on which are written the famous words “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”.

54. “Gay” capital of song PAREE
“Who Said Gay Paree?” is a song from the Cole Porter musical “Can-Can”.

58. Ditty sharing a melody with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” THE ALPHABET SONG
“The Alphabet Song” was copyrighted in 1835 in the US. The tune that goes with the words is the French folk song “Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman”, used by Mozart for a set of piano variations. The same tune is used for the nursery rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.

66. Gumption MOXIE
Back as far as 1876, Moxie was a brand name of a “medicine” peddled with the claim that it “built up your nerve”. In 1924, Moxie was registered as a trademark for a bitter, non-alcoholic beverage (no more claims of nerve-building). And we’ve used the term “moxie” to mean “nerve” ever since …

67. Fencing sword EPEE
The épée that is used in today’s sport fencing is derived from the old French dueling sword. In fact, the the sport of épée fencing is very similar to the dualing of the 19th century. The word “épée” translates from French as “sword”.

70. Atty.-to-be’s exam LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has been around since 1948.

Down
1. “This looks like __ for Superman!” A JOB
Superman’s comic book creators gave their title character’s alter-ego the name “Clark Kent” by melding the names of Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, two leading men of the cinema at the time Superman was created. However, they modeled Clark’s character more on the silent film actor Harold Lloyd.

3. California/Nevada resort lake TAHOE
Lake Tahoe is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.

5. Deli display SALAMIS
Salame (note the “e” at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.

6. Chicago paper, familiarly TRIB
“The Chicago Tribune” was first published in 1847. The most famous edition of “The Trib” was probably in 1948 when the headline was “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”, on the occasion of that year’s presidential election. When it turned out Truman had actually won, the victor picked up the paper with the erroneous headline and posed for photographs with it … a famous, famous photo, that must have stuck in the craw of the editor at the time.

11. Racing Unsers ALS
The Unser family seems to have racing cars in its blood. Al Unser, Sr. won the Indy 500 on four occasions. Al’s brother Jerry was the first of the Unsers to compete at Indianapolis. Al’s other brother Bobby, won the Indy three times. Al’s son, Al Junior, won the Indy twice. Al Junior’s son is also a racing driver who competes at the Indy Speedway.

12. With 7-Down, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” star SISSY
(7. See 12-Down SPACEK)
The actress Sissy Spacek probably got her big break in movies when she played the title role in the 1976 horror movie “Carrie”, which is based on the Stephen King novel. Her most acclaimed role is the lead in the 1980 biopic about Loretta Lynn called “Coal MIner’s Daughter”, for which she won an Oscar. Spacek’s first cousin is the actor Rip Torn.

“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.

13. Horseshoe-shaped letter OMEGA
Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is the one that looks like a horseshoe. The word “omega” literally means “great O” (O-mega). Compare this with the Greek letter Omicron meaning “little O” (O-micron).

14. Place for a jay NEST
The bird known as a “jay” is sometimes called a “magpie”, although the terms are not completely interchangeable.

21. ISP option DSL
The acronym “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.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs.

24. Moo __ pork SHU
Moo shu pork is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg.

27. Busy mo. for a CPA APR
April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.

Certified public accountant (CPA)

29. Hex JINX
A jinx is a charm or a spell, and the word “jinx” comes from an older word “jyng” from the 17th-century. A “jyng” was another word for the wryneck, a type of bird much used in witchcraft.

“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

30. Many a Pi Day celebrant NERD
The first three digits of the mathematical constant “pi” are 3.14, so “Pi Day” is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) every year since 1988 when it was inaugurated at the San Francisco Exploratorium. In countries where the day is usually written before the month, Pi Day is July 22nd, reflecting the more accurate approximation of pi as 22/7. Interestingly, March 14th is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.

31. Big name in high fashion PRADA
Prada was started in 1913 as a leathergoods shop in Milan, by the two Prada brothers. One of the brothers, Mario Prada, prevented the female members of his family participating in the company as he didn’t believe women should be involved in business (!). When the sexist brother died, his son had no interest in the business so it was his daughter who took over and ran the company for about twenty years, handing it over to her own daughter. I’d say the devil loved that …

32. 1980s four-peat Stanley Cup champs ISLANDERS
The New York Islanders are an NHL team, one of three such franchises in the New York City area (along with the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers). When the team was founded in 1972 it was designated as a “Long Island franchise”, and it was expected to take the name the Long Island Ducks, but New York Islanders it was to be.

34. Frozen fruit-juice treats OTTER POPS
Otter Pops are plastic tubes filled with frozen fruit juice. Well, Otter Pops are usually sold at room temperature and are frozen by the consumer before consumption.

39. Pioneer Boone, folksily DAN’L
Daniel Boone was a pioneer and folk hero. For frontiersman Boone, the frontier was what we now call the state of Kentucky. He led the building of the Wilderness Road through the famous Cumberland Gap in the Appalachians, a route subsequently taken by hundreds of thousands of migrants into Kentucky. Boone fought in the Revolutionary War with distinction, and after the war returned to Kentucky and got himself into land speculation. He became mired in debt, forcing him to emigrate to Missouri to settle down on land that was at that time owned by the French. It was there that he spent the last decades of his life.

40. 200-lap race, briefly INDY
The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly that was the first ever use of a rear view mirror on a motor vehicle.

42. Place for posies VASE
The word “posy”, meaning a bouquet of flowers, comes from the word “poesy”, which was a line of verse engraved on the inner surface of a ring. The jump to “posy” came with the notion that the giving of flowers was a form of language in itself.

44. Ferris __ WHEEL
The first Ferris Wheel was built for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. That wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. who lent his name to wheels built from then on.

51. Loafer adornment TASSEL
The type of slip-on shoe called a “loafer” dates back to 1939. “Loafer” was originally a brand name introduced by the Fortnum and Mason’s store in London.

56. Tach measures: Abbr. RPMS
Revolutions per minute (rpm)

The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

58. Channel for old films TCM
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels, delivering just what its name promises: classic movies.

63. PBS supporter NEA
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch the election results coming in with the NewsHour team.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Gallery exhibitors ARTISTS
8. NFL great “Boomer” ESIASON
15. Dada pioneer JEAN ARP
16. Heavenly SUBLIME
17. “Hamlet” woman at whose grave Gertrude says “Sweets to the sweet” OPHELIA
18. Flowing locks TRESSES
19. Rain-__ Pops: gum-filled candy BLO
20. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” ABCDEFG
22. LAPD rank SGT
23. Polite country assent YES’M
25. Language suffix -ESE
26. “Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood” YA-YA
28. “How I wonder what you are” HIJKLMNOP
31. First of 12 popes PIUS I
33. Mark or markka replacements EUROS
36. “Up above the …” QRS
37. Rock bottom NADIR
41. “… world so high” TUV
43. Carrier with a hub at DEN UAL
44. “Like a diamond in the sky” WXY AND Z
46. Brewed drink TEA
47. Very little, in recipes A DASH
49. Put the kibosh on END
50. Agenda listings ITEMS
52. “Divine Comedy” poet DANTE
53. Cagey SLY
54. “Gay” capital of song PAREE
55. Forest foragers DEER
57. Finger of smoke WISP
58. Ditty sharing a melody with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” THE ALPHABET SONG
65. New Year’s Eve popper CORK
66. Gumption MOXIE
67. Fencing sword EPEE
68. Untidy situation MESS
69. Throw money around SPEND
70. Atty.-to-be’s exam LSAT

Down
1. “This looks like __ for Superman!” A JOB
2. Email option REPLY
3. California/Nevada resort lake TAHOE
4. Suffix with elephant or serpent -INE
5. Deli display SALAMIS
6. Chicago paper, familiarly TRIB
7. See 12-Down SPACEK
8. Hold in high regard ESTEEM
9. Poke around the Web SURF
10. Pleading remark I BEG YOU
11. Racing Unsers ALS
12. With 7-Down, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” star SISSY
13. Horseshoe-shaped letter OMEGA
14. Place for a jay NEST
21. ISP option DSL
24. Moo __ pork SHU
27. Busy mo. for a CPA APR
29. Hex JINX
30. Many a Pi Day celebrant NERD
31. Big name in high fashion PRADA
32. 1980s four-peat Stanley Cup champs ISLANDERS
34. Frozen fruit-juice treats OTTER POPS
35. “I was wrong. So what” SUE ME
36. Campus hangout QUAD
38. Yeses at sea AYES
39. Pioneer Boone, folksily DAN’L
40. 200-lap race, briefly INDY
42. Place for posies VASE
44. Ferris __ WHEEL
45. “Shh!” ZIP IT!
48. Chophouse fare STEAKS
51. Loafer adornment TASSEL
56. Tach measures: Abbr. RPMS
57. Invasive plant WEED
58. Channel for old films TCM
59. 57-Down killer HOE
60. Short flight HOP
61. Lumberjack’s tool AXE
62. Composting receptacle BIN
63. PBS supporter NEA
64. Understand GET

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