Day: February 20, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. “Invisible Cities” author Calvino ITALO
As well as being an author, Italo Calvino was a famous Italian journalist. He was a supporter of communism and so wasn’t very popular in the US nor in Britain.

6. “I ran away from you once. I can’t do it again” speaker ILSA
Ilsa Lund was played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “she paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

10. Ford Field player LION
The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that plays home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

14. Surgery acronym LASIK
LASIK surgery uses a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye to improve vision. The LASIK acronym stands for “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis”.

15. It’s a gas NEON
Neon is one of the noble gases, those elements over on the extreme right of the Periodic Table. Because of their “full” complement of electrons, noble gases are very unreactive. The noble gases are helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon.

16. “Snow White” character flaw ENVY
“Snow White” is a traditional German fairy tale that was published in 1812 in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. There is also a second, very different Grimms’ Fairy Tale called “Snow White and Red Rose”, not to be confused with its more famous cousin.

21. French pronoun TOI
“Toi” is the French word for “you”, when talking to someone with whom you are familiar.

28. Essen’s valley RUHR
Essen is a large industrial city located on the River Ruhr in western Germany.

37. Trivial blunder? MICKEY MOUSE FLUB (from “Mickey Mouse Club”)
The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney in 1955, and it’s still going strong today. Over the years the show has given some famous names their start in “the business”, especially in recent times. Included in the list are Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.

42. Colorado native UTE
The Ute are a group of Native American tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.

43. “About his head he wears the winner’s __”: The Two Noble Kinsmen. OAK
About his head he wears the winner’s oak” is a line from William Shakespeare’s play “The Two Noble Kinsmen”.

“The Two Noble Kinsman” is a play first published in 1634, co-written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. It is the only play penned by Shakespeare that has never been adapted for film or television.

44. Guanaco cousin LLAMA
The wool from a llama is much softer than that from a sheep, and it is also free from lanolin.

Similar to the llama, the guanaco is a camelid that is native to South America. The wool of the guanaco is valued for its soft feel, and is even more highly prized that the wool of the llama.

45. Beantown athlete CELT
The Boston Celtics NBA basketball team were founded just after WWII in 1946. The Celtics won eight league championships in a row from 1958 to 1966. That’s the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any professional sports team in North America.

In the days of sail, the natural trade routes across the Atlantic involved a lot of ships arriving in Boston directly from West Indies. One of the main cargoes carried by these vessels coming from the West Indies was molasses. An abundance of cheap molasses led to an abundance of baked beans in the port city, and all those baked beans gave rise to Boston’s nickname “Beantown”.

49. Pancake cook in pinstripes? YANKEE FLIPPER (from “Yankee Clipper”)
The phrase “Yankee Clipper” was first used to describe the clipper ships built by New Englanders in the mid-1900s. The term was later applied to Pan Am flying boats, and to baseball legend Joe Dimaggio.

A clipper was a sailing ship, commonly crossing the seas in the 19th century. Clippers were built for speed, so were narrow and had less room for carrying freight than many vessels used in trade. They were developed largely due to the demand for speedy delivery of fresh tea from China to Europe. The name comes from the term “to clip” meaning to move swiftly (as in “at a clip”). Perhaps the most famous clipper ship is the Cutty Sark built in 1869, the last clipper to be built as a merchant vessel. The Cutty Sark owes her fame to the fact that she is on display as a museum ship in a dry dock in Greenwich in London.

54. Some Highlanders GAELS
The Scottish Highlands are that part of the country that is not classified as the Lowlands. The Highlands make up the north and west of Scotland.

56. U.N. workers’ agcy. ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

57. Roasting time in Toulon? ETE
In French, one might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil).

As well as being a town on southern coast of France, Toulon is a military port and home to the French Mediterranean Fleet. In particular it is the home port of the French Navy’s sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.

58. “My fireplace is defective!”? I HAVEN’T GOT A FLUE (from “I haven’t got a clue”)
The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that it is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition. When the fire is burning, flow through the flue should be more restricted. The flue needs to be open sufficiently to allow smoke and exhaust gases exit, but not too wide so that too much hot air escapes, dragging cold air into the house from elsewhere.

63. “Footloose” co-star Singer LORI
Lori Singer is an actress, and also a cellist. Singer’s most famous acting role was the daughter of the Reverend Shaw Moore (played by John Lithgow) in “Footloose”.

The 1984 musical drama “Footloose” tells the story of a Chicago teen (played by Kevin Bacon) who moves to a small town in which dancing and rock music has been banned. The storyline is loosely based on real events in the Oklahoma City of Elmore. Dancing was banned in Elmore for almost 100 years, with the ban eventually being lifted in 1980.

64. Word after “funny” that clarifies its meaning HA-HA
Funny ha-ha, or funny peculiar.

65. 1995 Stallone title role DREDD
The 1995 movie “Judge Dredd” starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role, was loosely based on the comic book character of the same name. Judge Dredd may be an American hero from the future in an American city, but the comic is written and published in the UK.

66. City NNE of Boston LYNN
Lynn is a Massachusetts city located just ten miles north of downtown Boston. The city was named for the port town of King’s Lynn in Norfolk, on the east coast of England.

67. Senate Republican leader before Frist LOTT
Trent Lott was raised Democrat in Mississippi, but served in Congress as a Republican. Lott ran into trouble for remarks he made that were interpreted as being racially motivated, and ended up resigning in 2007.

Bill Frist was Senate Majority Leader for the Republican Party from 2003 to 2007. Prior to becoming a politician, Frist was a heart and lung transplant surgeon. He has also been a pilot since he was 16-years-old, and has run seven marathons.

Down
2. It’s often just inches TAP-IN
For example, in golf a tap-in might be a shot just a few inches from the hole.

3. Syrian leader ASSAD
Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman.

4. Full deck Nero wasn’t playing with? LII
LII is 52 in Roman numerals, and the number of cards in a full deck.

7. Pope before Benedict III LEO IV
Pope Leo IV succeeded Pope Sergius II in the year 847 AD. After his death in 855 AD, Leo IV was succeeded by Benedict III, although there was a medieval tradition that he was followed by Pope Joan, a woman disguising herself as a man.

9. Taylor of fashion ANN
There was no actual person called Ann Taylor associated with the Ann Taylor line of clothes. The name was chosen by the marketing professionals because “Ann” was considered to be “very New England” back in 1954 when the stores first opened, and “Taylor” suggested that clothes were carefully “tailored”.

11. Finish, as a tat INK UP
To “ink up” is to apply ink to. I guess that in the world of tattooing one applies the ink after piercing the outer layer of the skin.

13. Where to see MMM NYSE
MMM is the stock ticker symbol for the company 3M on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The company that is now called 3M was founded as a mining venture in 1902, and used to be known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (hence “3M”).

18. “Toy Story” character who draws ETCH
In the “Toy Story” series of movies, Etch is an Etch A Sketch toy.

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes.

19. County on the Firth of Forth FIFE
The historic county of Fife is in the east of Scotland, located between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. People from Fife are known as Fifers. Fife is home to the historic town of St. Andrews, which in turn is home to the famous Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

24. Composer Satie ERIK
Erik Satie was a French composer most famous for his beautiful composition, the three “Gymnopédies”. I have tried so hard to appreciate other works by Satie but I find them so very different from the minimalist simplicity of the lyrical “Gymnopédies”.

25. Gag __ RULE
In a legislative body, a “gag rule” prohibits the tabling or discussion of a particular topic.

26. Isaac’s eldest ESAU
Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described, “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

27. Team whose logo involves a “wishbone C” REDS
The logo of the Cincinnati Reds baseball teams features a “wishbone C”, a letter C that is stylized to resemble a wishbone.

30. Mustangs’ 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.

33. Pan for Yan WOK
“Wok” is a Cantonese word, the name for the frying pan now used in many Asian cuisines.

34. Recipe words A LA
The phrase “in the style of” can be translated in “alla” in Italian and “à la” in French.

35. Mojito ingredient RUM
A Mojito is a Cuban cocktail, although the exact origins appear to be unclear, as does the derivation of the name. Want one? Put 4 mint leaves in a glass, and add the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of powdered sugar. Muddle the ingredients, smashing them together with a muddler or a spoon. Add some crushed ice, two ounces of white rum and stir. Top with a couple of ounces of club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a slice of lime. Cheers!

36. Not yet determined, in skeds TBA
Something not yet on the schedule (sked) is to be advised (TBA).

39. Game ender MATE
In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

40. Morlock prey ELOI
In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a race of cannibals living underground who use the Eloi as food.

45. He served between Warren and Herbert CALVIN
President Calvin Coolidge, the only US President to have been born on July 4th, was known as a man of few words. It was while he was serving as Vice-President to in the administration of Warren G. Harding, that Coolidge earned the nickname “Silent Cal”. There is a famous story told about Coolidge’s reticence that I would love to think is true, attributed to the poet Dorothy Parker. Sitting beside him at dinner, she remarked to him, “Mr. Coolidge, I’ve made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you.” His famous reply: “You lose.”

46. Bay State motto starter ENSE
The motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is “Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem”, a Latin phrase that can be translated as “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty”. The quotation is from a passage written by English politician Algernon Sidney who was executed for treason by King Charles II.

“The Bay State” is one of the nicknames of Massachusetts. Other nicknames for Massachusetts are “The Old Colony State” and “The Codfish State”.

48. Rorschach image BLOT
The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which a subject is asked to interpret a series of inkblots. The test was created by Swiss Freudian psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach in the 1920s.

50. “__ Men Out”: baseball scandal film EIGHT
In the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, eight Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the World Series for financial gain. The tale is told in “Eight Men Out”, a movie released in 1988 based on the book “8 Men Out” written by Eliot Asinof and published in 1963.

51. Pequod co-owner PELEG
The Pequod is the ship that figures in Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby Dick”. The ship is owned by a consortium of the citizens of Nantucket Island, including Captains Ahab, Bildad and Peleg.

52. Chopin’s “Winter Wind,” e.g. ETUDE
An étude is a small instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

“Winter Wind” is the name commonly applied to Chopin’s Étude Op. 25, No. 11, in A minor.

54. Fish feature GILL
A fish’s gills are the organs equivalent to the lungs of many land animals. The gills can extract oxygen dissolved in water and excrete carbon dioxide.

55. “Hi, sailor!” AHOY!
“Ahoy!” is a nautical term used to signal a vessel. When the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, he suggested that “ahoy” be used as a standard greeting when answering a call. However, Thomas Edison came up with “hello”, and we’ve been using that ever since.

59. Vezina Trophy org. NHL
The Vezina Trophy is awarded each season to the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) most outstanding goaltender. Established in the 1926-27 season, the award is named for Georges Vezina, goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens from 1910 until 1925.

60. Lao Tzu principle TAO
The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

Lao Tse (also Lao-Tzu) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism.

62. Brother FRA
The title “Fra” (brother) is used by Italian monks.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Invisible Cities” author Calvino ITALO
6. “I ran away from you once. I can’t do it again” speaker ILSA
10. Ford Field player LION
14. Surgery acronym LASIK
15. It’s a gas NEON
16. “Snow White” character flaw ENVY
17. Forgeries that are easy to spot? UPSIDE-DOWN FAKES (from “upside-down cakes”)
20. By way of VIA
21. French pronoun TOI
22. Habituate INURE
23. Dude in the CIA? UNDERCOVER FOP (from “undercover cop”)
28. Essen’s valley RUHR
29. Spotted SEEN
30. Slug relative SNAIL
33. Roll WAD
34. Word after clip or pop ART
37. Trivial blunder? MICKEY MOUSE FLUB (from “Mickey Mouse Club”)
42. Colorado native UTE
43. “About his head he wears the winner’s __”: The Two Noble Kinsmen. OAK
44. Guanaco cousin LLAMA
45. Beantown athlete CELT
47. Peek follower -ABOO
49. Pancake cook in pinstripes? YANKEE FLIPPER (from “Yankee Clipper”)
54. Some Highlanders GAELS
56. U.N. workers’ agcy. ILO
57. Roasting time in Toulon? ETE
58. “My fireplace is defective!”? I HAVEN’T GOT A FLUE (from “I haven’t got a clue”)
63. “Footloose” co-star Singer LORI
64. Word after “funny” that clarifies its meaning HA-HA
65. 1995 Stallone title role DREDD
66. City NNE of Boston LYNN
67. Senate Republican leader before Frist LOTT
68. Sources of wisdom SAGES

Down
1. Affectionate text I LUV U
2. It’s often just inches TAP-IN
3. Syrian leader ASSAD
4. Full deck Nero wasn’t playing with? LII
5. Gave a thumbs-up OK’D
6. Like some soccer games INDOOR
7. Pope before Benedict III LEO IV
8. Plant SOW
9. Taylor of fashion ANN
10. Pressure LEAN ON
11. Finish, as a tat INK UP
12. Finished OVER
13. Where to see MMM NYSE
18. “Toy Story” character who draws ETCH
19. County on the Firth of Forth FIFE
24. Composer Satie ERIK
25. Gag __ RULE
26. Isaac’s eldest ESAU
27. Team whose logo involves a “wishbone C” REDS
30. Mustangs’ sch. SMU
31. Trivial objection NIT
32. One-spot ACE
33. Pan for Yan WOK
34. Recipe words A LA
35. Mojito ingredient RUM
36. Not yet determined, in skeds TBA
38. It’s surrounded by white YOLK
39. Game ender MATE
40. Morlock prey ELOI
41. Bomb FLOP
45. He served between Warren and Herbert CALVIN
46. Bay State motto starter ENSE
47. Like most rafts AFLOAT
48. Rorschach image BLOT
49. Ache YEARN
50. “__ Men Out”: baseball scandal film EIGHT
51. Pequod co-owner PELEG
52. Chopin’s “Winter Wind,” e.g. ETUDE
53. Orchestra group REEDS
54. Fish feature GILL
55. “Hi, sailor!” AHOY!
59. Vezina Trophy org. NHL
60. Lao Tzu principle TAO
61. Some pop-ups ADS
62. Brother FRA

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