Day: June 22, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Favoring Mideast unity PAN-ARAB
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second president of Egypt, from 1956 until he died in 1970. He stood alongside Muhammad Naguib, Egypt’s first president, during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 that overthrew the ruling monarchy of Egypt and Sudan. Nasser was an advocate of Pan-Arabism, an ideology promoting unification of Arab peoples and countries. President Nasser went so far as forming the United Arab Republic (UAR), a union between Egypt and Syria that started in 1958 but fell apart in 1961 when Syria withdrew.

8. Jungle chopper MACHETE
A machete is a large knife, usually 13-18 inches long. The term “machete” is the diminutive of “macho” meaning “male, strong”.

15. Creator of a cocky hare AESOP
“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

20. One who stole from thieves ALI BABA
There is some controversy about the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” in that it has been suggested it was not part of the original collection of Arabic tales called “One Thousand and One Nights”. The suggestion is that the Ali Baba tale was added by one of the European translators of the collection.

23. Clancy explaining the spelling of his name? THERE IS NO I IN TOM (from “there is no I in team”)
Tom Clancy was an incredibly successful novelist who was noted for his technically-detailed military and espionage thrillers. Clancy’s first novel was “The Hunt for Red October”, published in 1984. Although “Red October” was to be his most successful work, I personally preferred his second book “Red Storm Rising”, published in 1986. Clancy passed away in 2013.

26. Costa __ RICA
Costa Rica is in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua in the north, and Panama to the South. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1949, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

27. It’s nothing to Hollande RIEN
“Rien” is French for “nothing”.

29. Blue gem, briefly LAPIS
Lapis lazuli is a blue, semi-precious stone mined mainly in Afghanistan. Lapis Lazuli is Latin for “stone of Lazhward”, referring to the Persian name for the location where the stone was mined. Our word “azure”, a shade of blue, has the same root.

30. Provo neighbor OREM
Orem, Utah was originally known as “Sharon” (a Biblical name), then “Provo Bench”, and in 1914 it was given the family name of a local railroad operator called “Orem”. Orem gave itself the nickname “Family City USA” and sure enough in 2010, “Forbes” rated Orem the 5th best place in the country to raise a family.

Provo, Utah is a city located just over 40 miles south of South Lake City. Provo is home to Brigham Young University. The city was originally called Fort Utah, and the name was changed to Provo in 1850 in honor of Étienne Provost. Provost was a French-Canadian fur trader who was perhaps the first man of European descent to see the Great Salt Lake.

32. 1978 film based on a Harold Robbins novel THE BETSY
“The Betsy” is a 1971 novel by Harold Robbins. The novel was adapted into a 1978 movie with an impressive cast led by Laurence Olivier as a Henry Ford lookalike called Loren Hardeman Sr. Hardeman’s automobile company is fading and all hope rests with a new model of car called “the Betsy”, named after his Hardeman’s great-granddaughter. I am not a Harold Robbins fan, but somehow I did enjoy reading “The Betsy”. It was a vacation read by a swimming pool, and just seemed to hit the spot. Jane Austen would roll over in her grave …

36. Square problem? PEG
It’s a problem, getting a square peg into a round hole.

37. Many OCS grads LTS
Many students at an Officer Candidate School (OCS) graduate at lieutenants (lts.).

38. Victoria’s Secret seasonal line? SUMMER BRAS (from “summer breeze”)
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, California. The founder wanted to create an environment where men were comfortable buying lingerie for their wives and girlfriends, an alternative to a department store.

40. Soup with a bento MISO
Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes the soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus (!) to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

A “bento” is a single-person meal that is commonly eaten in Japan. A bento can be purchased as a take-out meal, or it may be packed at home. A bento is usually sold as a “bento box”.

41. Run on GAB
Blarney is a town in County Cork in the south of Ireland. Blarney is home to Blarney Castle, and inside the castle is the legendary Blarney Stone. “Kissing the Blarney Stone” is a ritual engaged in by oh so many tourists (indeed, I’ve done it myself!), but it’s not a simple process. The stone is embedded in the wall of the castle, and in order to kiss it you have to sit on the edge of the parapet and lean way backwards so that your head is some two feet below your body. There is a staff member there to help you and make sure you don’t fall. The Blarney Stone has been labelled as the world’s most unhygienic tourist attraction! But once you’ve kissed it, supposedly you are endowed with the “gift of the gab”, the ability to talk eloquently and perhaps deceptively without offending. Sure, I wouldn’t know …

44. Sonora Mrs. SRA
In Spanish, a lady (dama) might be referred to as Señora (Sra.).

45. Like adobe EARTHEN
The building material known as adobe has been around a long time, and has been used in dry climates all over the world. The original form of the word “adobe” dates back to Middle Egyptian times, about 2000 BC. The original spelling is “dj-b-t”, and translates as mud (sun-dried) brick.

47. One leading a Spartan lifestyle ASCETIC
Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, famous for her military might. Spartan children had a tough upbringing, and newborn babies were bathed in wine to see if the child was strong enough to survive. Every child was presented to a council of elders that decided if the baby was suitable for rearing. Those children deemed too puny were executed by tossing them into a chasm. We’ve been using the term “spartan” to describe something self-disciplined or austere since the 1600s.

59. Bite-size appetizer PU-PU
In Hawaiian, “pu-pu” is a word originally meaning “snail”. Nowadays “pu-pu” denotes many different types of food that are usually served as an hors d’oeuvres. A “pupu platter” then is a selection of such foods served in a Hawaiian restaurant. The term “pupu platter” somehow became absorbed into American Chinese cuisine in the fifties, so one can order the same dish in a Chinese restaurant and get a plate of Chinese morsels.

62. Treasury secretary under Clinton RUBIN
Robert Rubin was Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration.

63. Bear’s cry SELL
The terms “bull” and “bear” markets come from the way in which each animal attacks. A bull thrusts his horns upwards (an “up” market), whereas a bear swipes with his paws downward (a “down” market).

64. Trading Clue, Monopoly, Life and Boggle? FOUR-GAME SWAP (from “four-game sweep”)
Clue is another board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), a lead pipe (lead piping in the US) and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

The commercial game of Monopoly is supposedly a remake of “The Landlord’s Game” created in 1903 by a Quaker woman called Lizzie Phillips. Phillips used her game as a tool to explain the single tax theory of American economist Henry George. The Landlord’s Game was first produced commercially in 1924. The incredibly successful derivative game called Monopoly was introduced in 1933 by Charles Darrow, who became a very rich man when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game just two years later in 1935.

The board game we call “The Game of Life” was created quite a few years ago, in 1869 by Milton Bradley. Back then it was called “The Checkered Game of Life” and was the first parlor game to become a popular hit. The modern version of the game was first released in 1960.

Boggle is a word game in which one uses 16 lettered dice in a 4×4 tray to find words. There was even a “Boggle” game show that ran on the Family Channel for a few months in 1994.

69. Photo lab process: Abbr. ENL
Enlargement (enl.)

70. First album in a Green Day trilogy UNO
Green Day is a punk rock band from just down the road here, from Berkeley, California.

71. Pro Football Hall of Famer Nagurski BRONKO
Bronko Nagurski was an NFL footballer from Rainy River, Ontario who grew up in Minnesota. Nagurski played professional football with the Chicago Bears for most of the 1930s, and made a brief comeback during WWII when the league was short of players. Remarkably, he made a second sporting career for himself as a professional wrestler, even attaining the world wrestling title on more than one occasion.

72. Chances to golf with Mickelson or McIlroy PRO-AMS
Phil Mickelson is the most famous left-handed golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour, but less well know is the fact that outside of golf, he is right-handed.

Rory McIlroy is an incredibly successful golfer from Northern Ireland. McIlroy is a relatively young man and a former world number one on the circuit, so folks can’t help but compare him to Tiger Woods.

73. Salty assent AYE
“Salt” is a slang word for a sailor.

74. La Méditerranée, e.g. MER
In French, the Mediterranean (La Méditerranée) is a sea (mer).

75. Monastery grounds? LAND OF THE FRA (from “land of the free”)
The title “Fra” (brother) is used by Italian monks.

The words “o’er the land of the free” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key. The lyrics were written first as a poem by Key, inspired by witnessing the bombardment by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song penned by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with the Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.

77. I’m-here link OUTA
I’m outta (outa) here …

78. Susan’s “All My Children” role ERICA
Susan Lucci is perhaps the most famous actor associated with daytime soap operas, and was the highest paid actor in daytime television. Lucci was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series an incredible 21 times, for her portrayal of Erica Kane in “All My Children”.

81. Attacker of Athens, per Plato ATLANTIS
The legendary city of Atlantis was first referred to in writing by the Greek philosopher Plato. The story is that a navy from Atlantis attempted to invade Athens but failed, and as a result the city of Atlantis sank into the ocean.

83. Type A, often DYNAMO
The Type A and Type B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labelled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type A personality types are so called “stress junkies”, whereas Type B types are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type A personality and heart problems.

85. Reddish horse ROAN
A roan horse has an even mixture of white and colored hairs on the body with the head, lower legs, mane and tail having a more solid color.

95. Nevada city on US 50 ELY
Ely is a city in eastern Nevada. The city was founded as a Pony Express stagecoach station. One of Ely’s former residents was First Lady Pat Nixon, who was born there in 1912.

96. Melville title starter MOBY
“Moby-Dick; or, The Whale” is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. The title refers to a sperm whale that has been dubbed “Moby Dick” by Captain Ahab. The giant whale bit off Ahab’s leg, and so the captain is obsessed with revenge.

98. Bathrooms decorated in denim? LEVIS JOHNS (from “Levis jeans”)
Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.

The use of “john” as a slang term for a toilet is peculiar to North America. “John” probably comes from the older slang term of “jack” or “jakes” that had been around since the 16th century. In Ireland, in cruder moments, we still refer to a toilet as “the jacks”.

102. Four in a gal. QTS
There are four quarts (qts.) in a gallon (gal.).

105. Rose of rock AXL
Axl Rose is the lead vocalist of the American rock band, Guns N’ Roses.

Guns N’ Roses is a hard rock band founded in 1985 that is still going strong. The group was pulled together by Axl Rose, the lead vocalist. The lead-guitar player back then was Tracii Guns, and it was the combination of Axl and Tracii’s “family” names that led to the band being called Guns N’ Roses.

106. Cabbage side COLESLAW
The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch name “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

110. Rhone tributary SAONE
The Saône is a river in eastern France that joins up with the Rhône in Lyon.

112. Prez, to GIs CIC
The US president (prez) is Commander-in-Chief (CIC).

The initials “G.I.” stand for “Government Issue” and not “General Infantry” as is often believed. GI was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

113. Latin 101 verb ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.

114. Mozart’s “__ kleine Nachtmusik” EINE
Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, is better known as “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, which translates into “a little serenade”, but the more literal English translation of “a little night music” is often used. It is a delightful piece in four, very recognizable movements, although there is much debate about a “lost” fifth movement.

116. Character in “Satanic Star Trek”? SPOCK OF THE DEVIL (from “speak of the devil”)
Leonard Nimoy played the logical Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series. Spock has to be the most popular character on the show, and he keeps popping up in “Star Trek” spin offs to this day. Nimoy first worked alongside William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in an episode of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (I loved that show!), with Nimoy playing a bad guy and Shatner playing an U.N.C.L.E. recruit.

121. Tiny stinger FIRE ANT
Fire ants are stinging ants, many species of which are called red ants. Most stinging ants bite their prey and then spray acid on the wound. The fire ant however, bites to hold on and then injects an alkaloid venom from its abdomen, creating a burning sensation in humans that have been nipped.

123. One of Israel’s 12 tribes ASHER
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

125. “Don’t beat around the bush!” YES OR NO?!
“To beat around the bush” is to prevaricate, to avoid coming to the point. The phrase originated with bird hunting in which locals were employed by the aristocratic hunters to beat the bushes, rousing the birds so that they could be shot as they flew off. So, beating around the bush was a preamble to the slaughter, in a sense a prevarication before getting to the main event.

Down
2. “Sugar Lips” trumpeter AL HIRT
Al Hirt was a trumpeter and bandleader. Hirt’s most famous recordings were the song “Java” and the album “Honey in the Horn”.

4. Garfield’s middle name ABRAM
James Abram Garfield, the 20th President, was assassinated while in office. He was shot twice, and one bullet could not be found (it was lodged in his spine). The inventor Alexander Graham Bell developed a metal detector in an attempt to locate the bullet, but apparently he was unsuccessful because of interference from the metal bed frame on which the president lay. Garfield died two months after being shot.

5. Nunavut’s __ Strait, named for an explorer RAE
The Rae Strait is located between King William Island and the Boothia Peninsula in Nunavut territory of Canada. The strait is named for Arctic explorer John Rae.

John Rae was a Scottish explorer, who took on the task of searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The Franklin Expedition was itself searching for the elusive Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. John Rae stirred up much controversy back in England when he reported evidence of cannibalism among the ill-fated Franklin explorers.

8. Subatomic particle MUON
A muon is a subatomic particle that is similar to an electron but very unstable. A muon has a mean lifetime of only 2.2 microseconds.

9. Singer DiFranco ANI
Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a “feminist icon”, and in 2006 won the “Woman of Courage Award” from National Organization of Women.

10. “Hot enough for ya?,” e.g. CLICHE
“Cliché” is a word that comes from the world of printing. In the days when type was added as individual letters into a printing plate, for efficiency some oft-used phrases and words were created as one single slug of metal. The word “cliché” was used for such a grouping of letters. It’s easy to see how the same word would become a term to describe any overused phrase. Supposedly, “cliché” comes from French, from the verb “clicher” meaning “to click”. The idea is that when a matrix of letters was dropped in molten metal to make a cliché, it made a clicking sound.

12. 1976 airport raid site ENTEBBE
In June 1976 an Air France plane was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and flown to Entebbe, the airport serving Kampala, the capital city of Uganda (this was during the days that Idi Amin was in control of Uganda). One week after the hijacking, Israeli Defense Forces conducted a rescue mission that was largely successful. One of the 100 Israeli commandos was killed, and 103 hostages were rescued. All the hijackers were killed, and three hostages died in the raid. 45 Ugandan soldiers also were killed and 11 Ugandan MiG fighter planes were destroyed. There was a fourth hostage in a Ugandan hospital who was killed by Ugandan army officers as an act of reprisal. The Israeli commando who died was the leader of the mission, Jonathan Netanyahu, the older brother of the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

13. Formula One racer Fabi TEO
Teo Fabi is a retired racing driving from Italy who competed on the Formula One circuit. Teo often raced against his older brother Corrado Fabi.

14. Oilers, on NHL scoreboards EDM
The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers are so called because they are located in Alberta, Canada … oil country.

16. Faulkner vixen Varner EULA
William Faulkner wrote a series of novels often referred to as the “Snopes trilogy”. Consisting of “The Hamlet”, “The Town” and “The Mansion”, the three books follow the Snopes family of the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. One of the characters appearing the books is Eula Varner, who was later played on screen by Lee Remick in the 1958 movie “The Long, Hot Summer”, a loose adaptation of Faulkner’s work.

17. Gorgeous farm gal feeding the pigs? SLOPPING BEAUTY (from “Sleeping Beauty”)
“Sleeping Beauty” is a classic fairy tale appearing the Brothers Grimm collection. The story itself was an original work written by French author Charles Perrault and first published in 1697. However, Perrault’s story does contain elements that preexisted in folklore.

19. Round the Boardwalk corner PASS GO
Boardwalk is a property sitting right beside the GO corner in the game of Monopoly.

The street names in the US version of Monopoly are locations in or around Atlantic City, New Jersey.

24. Connecting point NEXUS
A nexus is a means of connection, or a center where many connections come together. “Nexus” is a Latin word meaning “that which ties or binds together”. The Latin “nexus” is the past participle of the verb “nectere” meaning “to bind”.

32. Still destroyer T-MAN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (the “T” stands for Treasury).

There were concerted efforts to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages in the US from the 1840s right up until the lobbyists achieved success with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919. While there were several factors that influenced legislators at that time, one was the perceived need to take political power away from German-based brewing industry during WWI.

34. Salt TAR
A Jack Tar, or just “tar”, was a seaman in the days of the British Empire. The term probably arose due to a sailor’s various uses of tar back then, including waterproofing his clothes and using tar in his hair to slick down his ponytail.

35. Bygone fliers SSTS
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Concorde was developed and produced under an Anglo-French treaty by France’s Aérospatiale and the UK’s British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Concordes were mainly operated by Air France and British Airways, with both companies buying the planes with substantial subsidies from the French and British governments.

39. It may be done on one foot MRI
A CT (or “CAT”) scan produces (via computer manipulation) a three dimensional image of the inside of an object, usually the human body. It does so by taking a series of two dimensional x-ray images while rotating the camera around the patient. The issue with CT scans is that they use x-rays, and high doses of radiation can be harmful causing damage that is cumulative over time. An MRI on the other hand (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so now it’s just called MRI.

42. The pond, in the U.K. ATL
The Atlantic Ocean has been referred to as “the pond” for quite a long time. The expression dates back to the 1640s.

43. Former Nigerian secessionist state BIAFRA
The Republic of Biafra was a Nigerian state that seceded in 1967 helping to spark a bloody civil war. Biafra agreed to a ceasefire just two-and-a-half years later and was reunited with Nigeria. That was after about a million civilians had died directly from the war and from terrible famine.

48. Attraction for shutterbugs SCENERY
A “shutterbug” is an enthusiastic amateur photographer, someone who likes to hear the click of that shutter, like me …

50. Sing like Bing CROON
The singer Bing Crosby was a great lover of the game of golf. Crosby had just finished up 18 holes on a course in Spain in 1977 when he suffered a massive heart attack on the final green. Crosby’s last words were “That was a great game of golf, fellas.”

52. One for whom Apr. is the cruelest month? CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

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.

55. Father of Tulip Victoria TINY TIM
Tiny Tim was the stage name of American singer and ukulele player Herbert Khaury. Tiny Tim’s most famous recording by far was his novelty version of the 1926 song “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips”. Tiny Tim married Miss Vicki (Victoria Budinger) live on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” in 1969. Although that marriage was fraught with difficulty, the couple did have a daughter together in 1971 who they called Tulip Victoria.

58. __ Islands: Malay Archipelago group SUNDA
The Sunda Islands in the Malay Archipelago are divided in terms of ownership by four countries: Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia and Malaysia. Included in the Greater Sunda Islands are Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Included in the Lesser Sunda Islands are Bali and Timor.

60. Mari de la mère PERE
In French, a father (père) is the husband (mari) of a mother (mère).

61. Lady Liberty’s land, proudly US OF A
“Lady Liberty” is a familiar name given to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and was dedicated in 1886. If you take a boat ride down the Seine in Paris you will probably see a one-third replica of Lady Liberty standing on a small island in the river, looking quite magnificent. The copy was given to the people of Paris by the city’s American community in 1889.

65. Bygone theaters RKOS
The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO acronym then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

68. Charlotte __ AMALIE
Charlotte Amalie is the capital and largest city in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The city was named after the queen consort of King Christian V of Denmark, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.

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

84. Scandinavian capital OSLO
Oslo is an ancient city, founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV and renamed Christiania. In 1877 there was an official change of the name’s spelling to “Kristiania”, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have gone full circle as the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has recently been named Christiania again.

87. Biomedical research agcy. NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is made up of 27 different institutes that coordinate their research and services. Examples of member institutes are the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging.

90. __ Aviv TEL
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.

91. Apple consumer EVE
In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, against the bidding of God. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

96. Israeli desert fortification MASADA
The name Masada comes from the Hebrew word for fortress, and is a plateau in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is home to the ruins of ancient palaces and fortifications that date back to the days of Herod the Great, father of Herod who figured in the lives of Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist. After the Romans invaded Jerusalem, Jewish extremists settled on the mountaintop using it as a base to harass the invaders. Eventually Romans mounted an attack on the elevated fortress, building an elaborate wall and rampart to get to the encampment with some cover. After months of preparation, the Romans breached the walls only to discover the inner buildings all ablaze, and the 1,000 rebels and their families dead after a mass suicide.

97. Wood sorrel genus OXALIS
The wood-sorrel species Oxalis triangularis is commonly called False Shamrock. There is a subspecies that is known colloquially as Love Plant and Purple Shamrock. I remember (just about) a very “happy time” in the Purple Shamrock pub in Beacon Hill in Boston many, many moons ago …

101. Walk casually SASHAY
To “sashay” is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

103. Strategic WWII island in the Northern Marianas TINIAN
Tinian is one of the three main islands that make up the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The two other islands are Saipan and Rota. Tinian was taken from the Japanese by American forces in the Battle of Tinian in 1944. The US then built a huge airbase on the island, from which it was possible to launch bombing raids on the Japanese homeland. It was from Tinian that the Enola Gay and Bockscar too off, carrying the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

104. High seas patron ST ELMO
St. Elmo is the patron saint of sailors. He lends his name to the electrostatic weather phenomenon (often seen at sea) known as St. Elmo’s fire. The “fire” is actually a plasma discharge caused by air ionizing at the end of a pointed object (like the mast of a ship), something often observed during electrical storms.

106. Activist Chavez CESAR
César Chávez was a Mexican American farm worker, and co-founder of the union today known as the United Farm Workers. Chávez was born in Yuma, Arizona, but moved to California as a child with his family. He never attended high school, dropping out to become a full-time migrant farm worker. In 1944, at 17 years of age, he joined the US Navy and served for two years. 5-6 years after returning from the military, back working as a farm laborer, Chávez became politically active and rose to national attention as an articulate union leader during some high profile strikes. He is remembered annually here in California on his birthday, March 31, which is a state holiday.

113. Young 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.

116. Army E-7: Abbr. SFC
Sergeant First Class (SFC)

117. More, on a score PIU
“Più” is the Italian word for “more” and is often seen on musical scores, as in “più allegro” (more quickly) and “più mosso” (with more movement).

119. German article DAS
“Der”, “die” and “das” are German words meaning “the”. “Der” is used with a masculine noun, “die” with a feminine noun and “das” with a neuter noun.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Favoring Mideast unity PAN-ARAB
8. Jungle chopper MACHETE
15. Creator of a cocky hare AESOP
20. One who stole from thieves ALI BABA
21. Like spring jackets UNLINED
22. __ fast one PULL A
23. Clancy explaining the spelling of his name? THERE IS NO I IN TOM (from “there is no I in team”)
25. Walks heavily PLODS
26. Costa __ RICA
27. It’s nothing to Hollande RIEN
28. B followers CDE
29. Blue gem, briefly LAPIS
30. Provo neighbor OREM
31. CXXII x V DCX
32. 1978 film based on a Harold Robbins novel THE BETSY
36. Square problem? PEG
37. Many OCS grads LTS
38. Victoria’s Secret seasonal line? SUMMER BRAS (from “summer breeze”)
40. Soup with a bento MISO
41. Run on GAB
44. Sonora Mrs. SRA
45. Like adobe EARTHEN
47. One leading a Spartan lifestyle ASCETIC
51. Barely move INCH
54. Serenaded SANG TO
57. Distinguished types SCHOLARS
59. Bite-size appetizer PU-PU
62. Treasury secretary under Clinton RUBIN
63. Bear’s cry SELL
64. Trading Clue, Monopoly, Life and Boggle? FOUR-GAME SWAP (from “four-game sweep”)
69. Photo lab process: Abbr. ENL
70. First album in a Green Day trilogy UNO
71. Pro Football Hall of Famer Nagurski BRONKO
72. Chances to golf with Mickelson or McIlroy PRO-AMS
73. Salty assent AYE
74. La Méditerranée, e.g. MER
75. Monastery grounds? LAND OF THE FRA (from “land of the free”)
77. I’m-here link OUTA
78. Susan’s “All My Children” role ERICA
80. Sailing, perhaps ASEA
81. Attacker of Athens, per Plato ATLANTIS
83. Type A, often DYNAMO
85. Reddish horse ROAN
88. [Headslap] SILLY ME!
89. Spewed out EGESTED
93. Itinerary word VIA
95. Nevada city on US 50 ELY
96. Melville title starter MOBY
98. Bathrooms decorated in denim? LEVIS JOHNS (from “Levis jeans”)
102. Four in a gal. QTS
105. Rose of rock AXL
106. Cabbage side COLESLAW
107. Word with order or reel GAG
109. Exec SUIT
110. Rhone tributary SAONE
112. Prez, to GIs CIC
113. Latin 101 verb ESSE
114. Mozart’s “__ kleine Nachtmusik” EINE
115. Choir voices ALTOS
116. Character in “Satanic Star Trek”? SPOCK OF THE DEVIL (from “speak of the devil”)
120. Legal decrees DICTA
121. Tiny stinger FIRE ANT
122. How many a management group is trained AS A TEAM
123. One of Israel’s 12 tribes ASHER
124. Spoons CUDDLES
125. “Don’t beat around the bush!” YES OR NO?!

Down
1. Keep the beat? PATROL
2. “Sugar Lips” trumpeter AL HIRT
3. Holiday visitors, perhaps NIECES
4. Garfield’s middle name ABRAM
5. Nunavut’s __ Strait, named for an explorer RAE
6. “__ in the hand …” A BIRD
7. ABCs BASICS
8. Subatomic particle MUON
9. Singer DiFranco ANI
10. “Hot enough for ya?,” e.g. CLICHE
11. Block HINDER
12. 1976 airport raid site ENTEBBE
13. Formula One racer Fabi TEO
14. Oilers, on NHL scoreboards EDM
15. Be relevant APPLY
16. Faulkner vixen Varner EULA
17. Gorgeous farm gal feeding the pigs? SLOPPING BEAUTY (from “Sleeping Beauty”)
18. Many playlist entries OLDIES
19. Round the Broadway corner PASS GO
24. Connecting point NEXUS
32. Still destroyer T-MAN
33. Many a presidential term, historically ERA
34. Salt TAR
35. Bygone fliers SSTS
39. It may be done on one foot MRI
40. File __ MENU
41. Natural sci. GEOL
42. The pond, in the U.K. ATL
43. Former Nigerian secessionist state BIAFRA
46. Strings with pedals HARPS
47. Fictitious ASSUMED
48. Attraction for shutterbugs SCENERY
49. Stain left by a pool disinfectant? CHLORINE BLOTCH (from “chlorine bleach”)
50. Sing like Bing CROON
52. One for whom Apr. is the cruelest month? CPA
53. Disgruntled word HUMPH!
55. Father of Tulip Victoria TINY TIM
56. Like most fleet cars ON LEASE
58. __ Islands: Malay Archipelago group SUNDA
60. Mari de la mère PERE
61. Lady Liberty’s land, proudly US OF A
65. Bygone theaters RKOS
66. Menial helper GOFER
67. __ and all WARTS
68. Charlotte __ AMALIE
71. Find fault with BLAME
76. Eastern ideal TAO
77. No more than ONLY
79. Sly CAGY
82. Every one ALL
84. Scandinavian capital OSLO
86. Declare frankly AVOW
87. Biomedical research agcy. NIH
90. __ Aviv TEL
91. Apple consumer EVE
92. Strife DISCORD
94. Teen phase, often ANGST
96. Israeli desert fortification MASADA
97. Wood sorrel genus OXALIS
99. Cut through SLICED
100. Canine predator JACKAL
101. Walk casually SASHAY
102. Shake QUIVER
103. Strategic WWII island in the Northern Marianas TINIAN
104. High seas patron ST ELMO
106. Activist Chavez CESAR
108. Monogamous waterfowl GEESE
109. Take care of SEE TO
111. Take heed NOTE
113. Young newts EFTS
116. Army E-7: Abbr. SFC
117. More, on a score PIU
118. 1300 hours ONE
119. German article DAS

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