Day: February 9, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. “The Alphabet Song” opening A-B-C-D
“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”.

15. “__ Lisa” MONA
Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece that we know in English as the “Mona Lisa” is called “La Gioconda” in Italian, the language of the artist. It’s also known as “La Joconde” by the Government of France which owns the painting and displays it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title comes from the name of the subject, almost certainly Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Giocondo was a wealthy silk merchant in Florence who commissioned the painting for the couple’s new home to celebrate the birth of their second son.

17. *Handy tool to have when you’re out of loose-leaf paper HOLE PUNCH (giving “black hole”)
A black hole in space is a region that is extremely dense and one that has an enormous gravitational field. The force of gravity is so great that not even light can escape, so all that can be observed is “blackness”, which gives the phenomenon the name of “black hole”. It is believed that black holes form when large stars reach the end of their lives and collapse in upon themselves.

19. Red-suited reindeer driver SANTA
The Santa Claus with whom we are familiar today largely comes from the description in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, and from the caricature created by the political cartoonist Thomas Nast.

20. China’s Zhou __ ENLAI
Zhou Enlai (also Chou En-Lai) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

23. Memory aid, such as “HOMES” for the Great Lakes MNEMONIC
A famous mnemonic for remembering the names of the Great Lakes is HOMES: standing for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

34. Sch. in the smallest state URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, but is the second most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.

35. T-shirt sizes, for short SML
Small (SML)

37. *Prime ballpark accommodation BOX SEAT (giving “black box”)
In the aviation industry, a “black box” is an audio or data recorder installed in an aircraft as an aid in the event that an accident investigation is necessary. The “black” box is actually bright orange, so that it is easier to find after an accident.

39. *Architectural style featuring geometric shapes ART DECO (giving “black art”)
Art deco is the name given to a style of design and architecture of the 1920s that actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of art deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of Rockefeller Center also in New York City, with the address of “30 Rock”.

“Black art” is black magic, witchcraft.

43. “__ Misérables” LES
Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables”, has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”.

48. French father PERE
In French, a father (père) is a member of the family (membre de la famille).

49. Kids’ show host with a “Neighborhood” MR ROGERS
The “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” TV show starred Fred Rogers. It was the second longest running series on PBS television after that other iconic children’s show “Sesame Street”.

60. Ostracize … and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise BLACKLIST
The practice of ostracism, freezing out or exclusion, dates back to Ancient Greece. Back then citizens could write the names of men they thought were sufficiently dangerous on tiles that were publicly posted, resulting in a banishment of ten years. “Ostracize” derives from the Greek “ostrakon”, the word for a “tile”.

64. Actor Lugosi BELA
Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian stage and screen actor, best known for playing the title role in the 1931 film “Dracula” and for playing the same role on Broadway. Lugosi found himself typecast for the rest of his career and almost always played the role of the villain, often in horror movies. When he passed away in 1956, his wife had him buried in the costume he wore playing Count Dracula on Broadway.

66. Small and unimportant DINKY
Here’s a word that has practically the opposite meaning back in Ireland where I come from. In the US something that is dinky is insignificant. In Ireland something dinky is neat and dainty.

67. Cheese from the Netherlands EDAM
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

Down
1. Arthur of tennis ASHE
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

3. Select with care CULL
To cull is to pick out the best, to get rid of the rejects.

5. Church-founded Dallas sch. SMU
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, Texas (part of Dallas), and was founded in 1911. SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

7. Use Liquid-Plumr in UNCLOG
Liquid-Plumr is a chemical drain opener that is produced by Clorox.

8. Hummus paste TAHINI
“Tahini” is the Arabic name for the paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is a major ingredient in hummus, one of my favorite dishes.

10. Vivacity ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours i.e “style” or “flair”.

11. Vampire tooth FANG
“Dracula” is a novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and first published in 1897. Dracula wasn’t the first vampire of literature, but he certainly was the one who spawned the popularity of vampires in theater, film and television, and indeed more novels. Personally, I can’t stand vampire fiction …

12. Caesar’s immortal “And you?” ET TU
It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?), in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life just before he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

18. Bowler’s target PIN
Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

22. Actor Cage, in tabloids NIC
Nic Cage was born Nicolas Coppola. Cage is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, both of whom are his father’s siblings.

24. Austen heroine EMMA
I listened to one of my favorite Jane Austen novels on Audio Book not so long ago. “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel!

25. Milkshake additive MALT
Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, in 1922.

26. Like Rubik’s creation CUBIC
What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as Rubik’s Cube, named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

27. Maine college town ORONO
The town of Orono is home to the University of Maine, founded in 1862. The college is actually located on an island (Marsh island) lying between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The town of Orono is named after Joseph Orono, a chief of the Penobscot Nation.

30. 1963 Paul Newman film HUD
The modern-day, western movie called “Hud” was released in 1963 and has become a classic. “Hud” stars Paul Newman (in the title role) and Patricia Neal and is an adaptation of a novel by Larry McMurtry called “Horseman, Pass By”. Patricia Neal’s role in the film was relatively small, yet her performance was enough to earn her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

31. Dancer Astaire ADELE
Fred Astaire’s real name was Frederick Austerlitz. Fred was from Omaha, Nebraska and before he made it big in movies, he was one half of a celebrated music hall act with his sister Adele. The pair were particularly successful in the UK, and Adele ended up marrying into nobility in England, taking the name Lady Charles Cavendish.

32. Potato cutter RICER
A potato ricer is a kitchen tool used to force potato through small holes that are about the diameter of a grain of rice. It usually looks like a large garlic press.

33. Bullwinkle, for one MOOSE
“The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show” is a cartoon series that originally aired on television in the late fifties and early sixties. The title characters are a moose (Bullwinkle) and a squirrel (Rocky). Rocky the Flying Squirrel is formally known as Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle’s full name is Bullwinkle J. Moose.

38. Nor. neighbor SWE
Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area. However, it has a low population density with only 24 inhabitants per square mile, which is very low for Europe and compares with a US population density of 84 inhabitants per square mile (lucky old Canada has 9 inhabitants per square mile!).

40. Hick RUBE
A “rube” is person lacking sophistication, often described as “a country bumpkin”. The term derives from the masculine name “Reuben”, which was considered back in the early 1800s to be a typical name used in rural areas.

46. Buster who played Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon CRABBE
As an actor, Buster Crabbe was best known for playing Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Before taking up acting, Crabbe was a championship swimmer, the winner of the 1932 Olympic gold medal for the 400 meter freestyle.

48. Biblical songs PSALMS
The Greek word “psalmoi” originally meant “songs sung to a harp”, and gave us the word “psalms”.

50. Bobby’s monogram, in ’60s politics RFK
Robert “Bobby” Francis Kennedy (RFK) was the US Attorney General in the administration of his brother President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1964. He then served as US Senator for the State of New York from 1965 until 1968, when he himself was assassinated. Bobby was killed during his own run for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

52. Lower-interest mtge. REFI
Our word “mortgage” comes from the Old French “mort gaige” which translated as “dead pledge”. The idea was that a pledge to repay a loan dies when the debt is cleared.

53. Norse war god ODIN
In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. Odin’s wife Frigg was the queen of Asgard whose name gave us our English term “Friday” (via Anglo-Saxon). Odin’s son was Thor, and his name gave us the term “Thursday”. Odin himself gave us our word “Wednesday”, from “Wodin”, the English form of his name.

54. President when Texas was annexed POLK
James Knox Polk was the 11th US President. He is known as a president who delivered on promises that he made during his election campaign. One of Polk’s election promises was to annex Texas, which led to the admission of Texas as a state just under a year after the new president took office. He left office after serving only one term, as he had promised the voters, and then contracted cholera on a goodwill tour of the South. He died at only 53 years of age, the youngest age for any president to die in retirement. He also enjoyed the shortest retirement of any president, at only 103 days. I guess that’s why no one keeps their campaign promises these days …

56. Utah national park ZION
To me, the most spectacular feature of Zion National Park, in southwestern Utah, is the magnificent Zion Canyon. The canyon cuts through red Navajo sandstone and is a truly beautiful sight.

57. 1960s-’70s Boston Bruins nickname ESPO
Phil “Espo” Esposito is a former professional hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

61. Pie __ mode A LA
In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “The Alphabet Song” opening A-B-C-D
5. Closed SHUT
9. Postpone DEFER
14. Lemony in taste SOUR
15. “__ Lisa” MONA
16. Overjoy ELATE
17. *Handy tool to have when you’re out of loose-leaf paper HOLE PUNCH (giving “black hole”)
19. Red-suited reindeer driver SANTA
20. China’s Zhou __ ENLAI
21. Forming a queue LINING UP
23. Memory aid, such as “HOMES” for the Great Lakes MNEMONIC
26. Amount paid COST
29. *Amulet MAGIC CHARM (giving “black magic”)
34. Sch. in the smallest state URI
35. T-shirt sizes, for short SML
36. Sound portion of a movie AUDIO
37. *Prime ballpark accommodation BOX SEAT (giving “black box”)
39. *Architectural style featuring geometric shapes ART DECO (giving “black art”)
41. Amazed IN AWE
42. Regret RUE
43. “__ Misérables” LES
44. *Stand-up venue COMEDY CLUB (giving “black comedy”)
48. French father PERE
49. Kids’ show host with a “Neighborhood” MR ROGERS
51. “Will you marry me?” is one PROPOSAL
55. Flusters FAZES
59. Deceived LED ON
60. Ostracize … and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise BLACKLIST
63. Submit tax returns online E-FILE
64. Actor Lugosi BELA
65. Sulk MOPE
66. Small and unimportant DINKY
67. Cheese from the Netherlands EDAM
68. Winter fall SNOW

Down
1. Arthur of tennis ASHE
2. Timely benefit BOON
3. Select with care CULL
4. Imagined while sleeping DREAMT
5. Church-founded Dallas sch. SMU
6. Luv HON
7. Use Liquid-Plumr in UNCLOG
8. Hummus paste TAHINI
9. Dry up DESICCATE
10. Vivacity ELAN
11. Vampire tooth FANG
12. Caesar’s immortal “And you?” ET TU
13. Gather in a field REAP
18. Bowler’s target PIN
22. Actor Cage, in tabloids NIC
24. Austen heroine EMMA
25. Milkshake additive MALT
26. Like Rubik’s creation CUBIC
27. Maine college town ORONO
28. Early riser’s hr. SIX AM
30. 1963 Paul Newman film HUD
31. Dancer Astaire ADELE
32. Potato cutter RICER
33. Bullwinkle, for one MOOSE
35. Start-up cash SEED MONEY
38. Nor. neighbor SWE
39. Cut __: dance, in old slang A RUG
40. Hick RUBE
45. 1520 and 2015, e.g.: Abbr. YRS
46. Buster who played Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon CRABBE
47. Lazed LOLLED
48. Biblical songs PSALMS
50. Bobby’s monogram, in ’60s politics RFK
51. Argued in court PLED
52. Lower-interest mtge. REFI
53. Norse war god ODIN
54. President when Texas was annexed POLK
56. Utah national park ZION
57. 1960s-’70s Boston Bruins nickname ESPO
58. Hearty dish STEW
61. Pie __ mode A LA
62. Pic taker CAM

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