Day: June 9, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. Cooperstown’s “Hammerin’ Hank” AARON
The great Hank Aaron (Hammerin’ Hank) has many claims to fame. One notable fact is that he is the last major league baseball player to have also played in the Negro League.

Cooperstown is a village in New York that is famous as the home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The village was named for Judge William Cooper, Cooperstown’s founder, and the father of the noted writer James Fenimore Cooper.

16. Mystical old letter RUNE
A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

17. Ductwork sealer TAPE
What we tend to call “duct” tape today was originally known as “duck” tape. In its first form, duck tape was rubber-based adhesive applied to a duck cloth backing, hence the name. Cotton duck cloth is a canvas-like material, a plain woven cotton fabric. The name “duck” comes from the Dutch “doek” meaning “linen canvas”. Duck tape started to known as “duct tape” in the fifties, as it was commonly used to wrap air ducts in the construction industry.

20. Commercial suffix with Motor -OLA
The original Motorola is now two independent companies called Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. Motorola started in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago. The founder created the brand name “Motorola” for a car radio the company developed in 1930. He linked “motor” (meaning “car”) with “-ola” (meaning “sound”), implying “sound in motion”.

21. Barfly SOT
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning a fool. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

22. Gourmand EPICURE
An epicure is someone one who appreciates fine food and drink. The term is derived from the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus.

A gourmand is someone who takes great pleasure in consuming food and drink, often eating and drinking to excess. The related term “gourmet” refers to someone who has a refined palate.

27. Midwest tribe OTOE
The Native American people known as the Otoe were the first tribe encountered by the Lewis and clark Expedition. The meeting took place at a point on the Missouri River that is now known as Council Bluff.

28. Sea eagles ERNES
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle or sea-eagle.

31. Search engine giant YAHOO!
Jerry Yang and David Filo called their company “Yahoo!” for two reasons. Firstly, a Yahoo is a rude unsophisticated brute from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. Secondly, Yahoo stands for “Yet another Hierarchical Officious Oracle”.

34. Omar of “House” EPPS
Omar Epps is the actor who played Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Grant on “ER”. And, in another link to the world of medicine, Epps was born in Savannah, Georgia to single mom, Dr. Bonnie Epps.

I think that “House” is one of the best shows made by Fox television. It is fun for me to see English actor Hugh Laurie in the title role as coming from the other side of the Atlantic I have been watching him in various comedic roles for decades. Famously he played Bertie Wooster opposite Stephen Fry in P.G. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves & Wooster”, as well as one of the bumbling “bad guys” in “101 Dalmatians” (the version starring Glenn Close).

38. Writer Rand AYN
Ayn Rand was the pen name of Russian-American novelist Alisa Rosenbaum. Rand’s two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” in 1957. Back in 1951, Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan.

39. *Preparation using crushed Bartletts, say PEAR JAM
The Bartlett is the most commonly grown pear outside of Asia, a cultivar of the European pear. Back in the UK, where the Bartlett originated, it is called a Williams Pear, or more completely a Williams’ Bon Chretien (Williams’ good Christian). Several Williams trees were imported to the US in 1799 and planted in Massachusetts. The land on which the trees were planted was eventually bought by one Enoch Bartlett, and he started to distribute the pears and basically introduced the variety to the US. He didn’t know that the pears were called Williams, so he named them after himself!

42. Lav, in Bath LOO
It has been suggested that the British term “loo”, meaning “toilet, water-closet) 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!

Our word “lavatory” originally referred to a washbasin, and comes from the Latin “lavatorium”, a place for washing. In the 1600s a “lavatory” came to mean a washroom, and in the 1920s a toilet.

48. Breath mint with Retsyn CERTS
Certs were the first breath mints to be marketed nationally in the US, hitting the shelves in 1956. A Cert is called a mint, but it isn’t really as it contains no mint oil and instead has its famous ingredient named “Retsyn”. Retsyn is a mixture of copper gluconate (giving the green flecks), partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil (not healthy!) and flavoring (maybe mint?).

50. Indian garment SARI
The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

51. Episcopal chapel leader VICAR
The Episcopal Church in the US is a branch of the Anglican Communion, and so is associated with the Church of England. The Episcopal Church is descended from the Church of England’s presence in the American colonies, prior to the American Revolution. The American Anglicans split with mother church, largely because the clergy of the Church of England are required to swear allegiance to the British monarch. Members of the Episcopal Church are known as Episcopalians. “Episcopal” is an adjective and “Episcopalian” is a noun.

54. Emulate Gregory Hines TAP DANCE
Maurice and Gregory Hines are a pair of brothers famous for starting out their show business careers as tap dancers. Maurice made one film appearance, in 1984’s “The Cotton Club”. The younger brother, Gregory, has been more visible in front of the camera. Gregory was one of the leads in “The Cotton Club”, and had his own “The Gregory Hines Show” on television.

58. Kazakh-Uzbek border lake ARAL SEA
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the world’s largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan was the last of the former Soviet Republics to declare itself independent from Russia.

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, and is in fact surrounded by countries which are also landlocked. This means that to reach a coastline from Uzbekistan, you have to cross at least two international borders. There are only two “doubly landlocked” countries in the world: Uzbekistan in Central Asia, and Liechtenstein in Central Europe.

61. Help-wanted notice? SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

63. *Cheese with a bite PEPPER JACK
Pepper jack cheese is made from Monterey Jack cheese and spicy peppers.

What we now call Monterey Jack cheese was originally made by Franciscan friars in Monterey, California in the 19th century. In the 1800s, a powerful landowner called David Jack started to make the same cheese as the friars in his own dairy, and marketed it as “Jack’s Cheese” and later “Monterey Jack”.

67. California/Nevada border 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.

Down
1. “Ditto” ME TOO
“Ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So “ditto” is yet another wonderful import from that lovely land …

2. Pulsonic toothbrush brand ORAL-B
The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

3. *Pizza Hut rival PAPA JOHN’S
Papa John’s is the third largest takeout and delivery pizza chain in the US, with Pizza Hut and Domino’s taking the top spots.

5. “In Cold Blood” writer Truman CAPOTE
The larger than life Truman Capote was a celebrated author and comedian. Capote is perhaps most associated with his novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his true crime novel “In Cold Blood”. Truman Capote grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. There he met, and became lifelong friends with, fellow novelist Harper Lee. Capote was the inspiration for the character “Dill” in Lee’s celebrated work “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In turn, Harper Lee was the inspiration for the character “Idabel” in Capote’s “Other Voices, Other Rooms”.

6. Western writer Bret HARTE
Harte was a storyteller noted for his tales of the American West, even though he himself was from back East, born in Albany, New York.

7. Shipping magnate Onassis ARI
Aristotle Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They had two children, including the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.

11. Served in its natural gravy, as roast beef AU JUS
The French term “au jus” is usually translated as “with it’s own juice”.

12. Viking family dog of comics SNERT
Snert is the clever dog that belongs to Hägar the Horrible in the classic comic strip.

24. DDE’s command ETO
Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) was the 34th US president, but he wanted to be remembered as a soldier. He was a five-star general during WWII in charge of the Allied Forces in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). President Eisenhower died in 1969 at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was buried $80 standard soldier’s casket in his army uniform in a chapel on the grounds of the beautiful Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.

31. Thanksgiving veggie YAM
Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the the world than they are in this country, and are especially found in Africa.

32. Yeoman’s “yes” AYE
In the US Navy, a yeoman is tasked with administrative and clerical work. In fact the position of yeoman is the oldest rating in the navy. You’ll see a lot of yeomen in the background on “Star Trek”.

33. Bratty Simpson kid BART
Bart Simpson is the main character in television’s “The Simpsons”. Bart’s name was chosen by the writers as it is an anagram of “brat”.

36. Hawaiian food staple POI
The corm of some taro plants is used to make poi, the traditional Hawaiian dish (that I think tastes horrible). When a taro plant is grown as an ornamental, it is often called Elephant Ears due to the shape of its large leaves.

37. Note before la SOL
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

41. Fermented honey beverages MEADS
Mead is a lovely drink, made from fermented honey and water.

44. Sold for a big profit, as tickets SCALPED
Scalping of tickets, selling them above retail price for an excessive profit, originated in the mid-1800s with scalpers making money off theater tickets. There was also quite a bit of money made by people scalping railway tickets. Railroads gave discounts on tickets for longer journeys, so someone trying to get from San Francisco to Chicago say, might buy a ticket to New York. Once in Chicago the passenger would scalp the remainder of his/her ticket to someone wanting to get to New York, and make his or her invested money back with a bonus.

49. Celtic language ERSE
There are actually three Erse languages. Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be Gaeilge (in Ireland), Gaelg (on the Isle of Man) and Gaidhlig (in Scotland).

51. Lacking zip VAPID
We use the adjective “vapid” today to describe something that is dull, that lacks liveliness. Back in the 1600s, the term was used to describe drinks that were flat. “Vapid” comes from the Latin “vapidus”, which translates literally as “that has exhaled its vapor”.

52. “Fame” singer Cara IRENE
Irene Cara (as well as acting in “Fame”) sang the theme songs to the hit movies “Fame” and “Flashdance”.

53. “It’s a Wonderful Life” director Frank CAPRA
I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

The Christmas Classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” was released in 1946, and is a Frank Capra movie starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. The film’s screenplay was adapted from a short story called “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Remember the famous swimming pool scene? That was shot in Beverly High School gym, and the pool is still in use today.

55. Broad tie ASCOT
An Ascot tie is that horrible-looking (I think!) wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

56. Work on a totem pole CARVE
Totem poles are large sculptures that have been carved from trees. Totem poles are part of the culture of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

57. Sports awards ESPYS
The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes.

59. One-named Deco master ERTE
Erté was the pseudonym of French artist (Russian born) Romain de Tirtoff. Erté is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.”

60. “Iliad” warrior AJAX
Ajax was a figure in Greek mythology, and was the cousin of Achilles. Ajaz is an important figure in Homer’s “Iliad”. According to Homer, Ajax was chosen by lot to meet Hector in an epic duel that lasted a whole day. The duel ended in a draw.

“Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, which tells the story of the siege of Ilium (also known as Troy) during the Trojan war.

64. Sashimi tuna AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. Yellowfin tuna is one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

“Sashimi” is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

65. Magazine mogul, familiarly, known for dressing in the sleepwear hinted at by the answers to starred clues HEF
Hugh Hefner is from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own publication that he called “Playboy”, which first hit the newsstands in 1953. “Playboy” has been around ever since.

Our word “pajamas” comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is “pyjamas”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Have the blues MOPE
5. Blackens CHARS
10. Time gone by PAST
14. Historical times ERAS
15. Cooperstown’s “Hammerin’ Hank” AARON
16. Mystical old letter RUNE
17. Ductwork sealer TAPE
18. *Wealthy executive’s plane PRIVATE JET
20. Commercial suffix with Motor -OLA
21. Barfly SOT
22. Gourmand EPICURE
23. Took issue OBJECTED
26. Sheets with shopping reminders LISTS
27. Midwest tribe OTOE
28. Sea eagles ERNES
31. Search engine giant YAHOO!
33. Meadow bleats BAAS
34. Omar of “House” EPPS
38. Writer Rand AYN
39. *Preparation using crushed Bartletts, say PEAR JAM
42. Lav, in Bath LOO
43. Slob’s creation MESS
45. Zone AREA
46. Online business ETAIL
48. Breath mint with Retsyn CERTS
50. Indian garment SARI
51. Episcopal chapel leader VICAR
54. Emulate Gregory Hines TAP DANCE
58. Kazakh-Uzbek border lake ARAL SEA
61. Help-wanted notice? SOS
62. __ in Juliet J AS
63. *Cheese with a bite PEPPERJACK
65. Heavenly instrument HARP
66. As to IN RE
67. California/Nevada border lake TAHOE
68. Covetousness ENVY
69. Like a useless battery DEAD
70. Leaves EXITS
71. Lawyer’s charges FEES

Down
1. “Ditto” ME TOO
2. Pulsonic toothbrush brand ORAL-B
3. *Pizza Hut rival PAPA JOHN’S
4. Opposite of WNW ESE
5. “In Cold Blood” writer Truman CAPOTE
6. Western writer Bret HARTE
7. Shipping magnate Onassis ARI
8. Wander ROVE
9. Go ballistic SNAP
10. Accurate PRECISE
11. Served in its natural gravy, as roast beef AU JUS
12. Viking family dog of comics SNERT
13. French heads TETES
19. Roofing material TILE
21. Exclusive story SCOOP
24. DDE’s command ETO
25. Most loved DEAREST
29. Hindu prince RAJA
30. Govt. intel org. NSA
31. Thanksgiving veggie YAM
32. Yeoman’s “yes” AYE
33. Bratty Simpson kid BART
35. *Ordinary-looking gal PLAIN JANE
36. Hawaiian food staple POI
37. Note before la SOL
40. Organ with a canal EAR
41. Fermented honey beverages MEADS
44. Sold for a big profit, as tickets SCALPED
47. Syllable before la TRA
49. Celtic language ERSE
50. Bike wheel radii SPOKES
51. Lacking zip VAPID
52. “Fame” singer Cara IRENE
53. “It’s a Wonderful Life” director Frank CAPRA
55. Broad tie ASCOT
56. Work on a totem pole CARVE
57. Sports awards ESPYS
59. One-named Deco master ERTE
60. “Iliad” warrior AJAX
64. Sashimi tuna AHI
65. Magazine mogul, familiarly, known for dressing in the sleepwear hinted at by the answers to starred clues HEF

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