Day: March 28, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. Father of Reuben, in Genesis JACOB
In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob had twelve sons, six with each of his concurrent wives Leah and Rachel. The sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The sons were:

– Reuben
– Simeon
– Levi
– Judah
– Dan
– Naphtali
– Gad
– Asher
– Issachar
– Zebulun
– Joseph
– Benjamin

15. Spider producer ALFA ROMEO
Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

The Spider is a roadster that was manufactured by the Italian auto company, Alfa Romeo. It was in production from 1966 to 1993, and is considered a design classic.

16. __ Bowl: Boston College won the last one in 2000 ALOHA
The Aloha Bowl was a bowl game that was played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu from 1982 to 2000. Earlier bowl games based in Hawaii were the Pineapple Bowl and the Poi Bowl.

17. Certain 54-Down, in modern jargon FAT FINGER
“Fat finger syndrome” causes one to hit two keys on a keyboard when the intention is to hit only one, and that can cause a typo.

18. Samurai without a master RONIN
In feudal Japan, a samurai who lost his master, perhaps through death or loss of favor, was known as a ronin. The term “ronin” is also used in contemporary Japan for a salaried worker between jobs.

20. __ Air BEL
Bel Air is a ritzy neighborhood in Los Angeles, once home to stars of film and television. Famously, the sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” was set in the neighborhood. President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan had a home in Bel Air, and in fact the former president passed away there in 2004.

23. Mtge. application datum SSN
The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an “identity number” to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So, from 1986 onward, it is a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, in 1987 seven million dependents “disappeared”.

24. Hayek of “Frida” SALMA
Salma Hayek is a Mexican actress. Hayek was the first Mexican national to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, for her portrayal of artist Frida Kahlo in the 2002 movie “Frida”.

27. Shafts, so to speak RAW DEALS
To shaft someone is to treat him or her unfairly. It’s one of those terms that I dislike and avoid because it probably derives from slang terms for cruel and tasteless acts.

30. Court pos. CTR
Center (ctr.)

31. Hillshire Brands predecessor SARA LEE
In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

The Hillshire Farm brand of meat products were introduced in 1934 by Austrian immigrant Fritz Bernegger in New London, Wisconsin. The Sara Lee company purchased Hillshire in 1971, and then in 2012 changed the name of the Sara Lee Corporations to Hillshire Brands due to the popularity of the meat products..

35. Skosh TAD
Back in the 1800s “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this morphed into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

36. High-protein grain QUINOA
Quinoa is a grain crop that is more closely related to beetroots and spinach that it is to cereals and grasses. Quinoa is mainly cultivated for its edible seeds, which are high in protein. The seeds are also gluten free, which seems to be a big deal these days. I do like my quinoa …

37. Great Plains tribe LAKOTA
The Lakota people are Native Americans from the Great Plains, occupying lands mainly in North and South Dakota. The list of famous persons from the Lakota people includes Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, who were instrumental in the Lakota victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

39. Sch. whose marching band played on Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” USC
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private school in Los Angeles. Apart from its excellent academic record, USC is known the success of its athletic program. USC athletes have won more Olympic medals than the students of any other university in the world. The USC marching band is very famous as well, and is known as the “Spirit of Troy”. The band has performed with many celebrities, and is the only college band to have two platinum records.

Fleetwood Mac was founded in 1967 in London. The band was started by Peter Green, and he chose the name from two friends in former bands (named Fleetwood and McVie). This is despite the fact the drummer’s name happens to be Mick Fleetwood.

40. Spray-making co. FTD
Back in 1910, fifteen florists from around America agreed to fulfill each other’s orders using the telegraph system, setting up what they called the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery. The concept grew so large that in 1965 the group started to offer international service, and changed its name to Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTD).

42. Golden Globe nominee for “Tommy” DALTREY
Roger Daltrey founded the Who in 1964, and still performs today as the band’s lead singer.

“Tommy” was the name given to the fourth album recorded by the British band, the Who. It was the original “rock opera” and was adapted for both the stage and screen, with both adaptations becoming huge successes. The title character has an uncanny ability to play pinball, giving rise to the hit song “Pinball Wizard”.

43. Second-most populous Afr. country ETH
Ethiopia holds an important position within the nations of Africa, with the capital of Addis Ababa being home to many international organizations that are focused on the continent.

46. God in 56-Across ARES
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

49. K.C. setting CST
Kansas City (K.C) is on Central Standard Time (CST). That would be both Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.

52. Item on a carhop’s tray MALT
Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, in 1922.

Carhops are servers who bring food to customers in their cars at drive-in restaurants. The first carhops were seen at the Pig Stand restaurant in Dallas, Texas in 1921. These male employees would “hop” onto the running board of cars as they entered the restaurant’s parking lot in order to quickly take the customer’s order, hence the name “carhop”.

53. Fox’s leg? GAM
The American slang term “gams” is used for a woman’s legs. The term goes back to the 18th century “gamb” meaning the leg of an animal on a coat of arms.

54. Reno-__ Intl. Airport TAHOE
Reno-Tahoe International Airport is located a few miles from downtown Reno, Nevada. The airport’s IATA code is RNO.

56. It concludes with Hector’s funeral ILIAD
As described in Homer’s “Iliad”, Hector was a Trojan prince and a great fighter. Hector was slain during the Trojan War, as the Greeks lay siege to Troy. If we are to believe the 2004 film “Troy”, Hector actually died at the hands of Achilles, while fighting a duel. Homer’s “Iliad” is less specific about the circumstances of Hector’s death.

58. Little League game ender, perhaps MERCY RULE
A “mercy rule” in a sport is one that brings a game to an early conclusion when it is deemed that the losing team has no chance of making a comeback.

62. Yosemite attraction EL CAPITAN
El Capitan is a stunning vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California. The top of El Capitan has been used as the take-off point for many BASE jumps, parachute jumps made by diving off the top of the rock face. The National Park Service put a stop to the practise in 1999. Soon after, a BASE jumper made an illegal jump to protest the ban. She died …

63. “Blade Runner” actor Rutger __ HAUER
Rutger Hauer is a Dutch actor, famous in the US for his Hollywood roles. Hauer was born in Breukelen in the Netherlands, the town that gave its name to the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.

“Blade Runner” is a cult classic, a sci-fi film made in 1982 loosely based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. It was directed by Ridley Scott who regards “Blade Runner” as his most “complete” film. There is a phenomenon known as the “‘Blade Runner’ Curse”. An inordinate number of companies behind products that were displayed prominently in the movie found themselves in financial trouble soon after the movie’s release. Included in the list of troubled concerns are Atari, Cuisinart, Pan Am and the Bell System.

64. “Days,” for one SOAP OPERA
NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” is the second-longest running soap opera on US television, second only to “General Hospital”. “Days …” has been aired since November 1965.

Down
2. Bucks CLAMS
“Buck” and “clam” are both slang terms for “a dollar”. The term “buck” has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days. It has been suggested that “clam” has a similar derivation, a throwback to the supposed use of clams as units of currency in ancient cultures.

3. River in a Burns poem AFTON
The Afton is a small river in Ayrshire, Scotland. Despite the river’s size, it is quite famous as it is the subject of a 1791 poem by Robert Bruns called “Sweet Afton”. That poem opens and closes with the lines:

Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

4. Great quantity RAFT
A “raft” is a large amount, coming from the Middle English “raf” meaning the same thing.

5. City with a Penn State campus ERIE
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College is one of the 19 commonwealth campus locations of the Pennsylvania State University. Behrend College was established in 1948 on land donated by Mary Behrend, who was the widow of a co-founder of Hammermill Paper.

7. Surprise letters OMG
OMG is text-speak for Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! or any other G words you might think of …

9. Court leader FOREMAN
I think that would be the foreman of the jury.

11. Hard to reach ALOOF
I suppose one might guess from the “feel” of the word “aloof” that is has nautical roots. Originally aloof meant “to windward” and was the opposite to “alee”. A helmsman might be instructed to stay aloof, to steer the boat into the weather to keep a distance from a lee-shore. It is from this sense of maintaining a distance that aloof came to mean “distant” in terms of personality. Interesting, huh …?

12. Copper, notably CONDUCTOR
Copper is a great conductor of electricity because the outer electrons of the copper atom are easily detached. These outer electrons can detach in a chain reactions enabling them to move with very little resistance in a circuit.

13. Jack Nicklaus Museum campus OHIO STATE
The Jack Nicklaus Museum is located in the golfer’s home town of Columbus, on the campus of Ohio State University. It open in 2002, and offers a view of Nicklaus’ life and career, as well as some insights into the history of the game.

21. Dream state? LA-LA LAND
La-la land is a euphemism for a state of unconsciousness.

24. Misfit ’70s sitcom character SWEATHOG
“Welcome Back, Kotter” is a sitcom from the late seventies. The title character is a teacher at Buchanan High, one Gabe Kotter who himself had attended the school as a student. Kotter teachers a remedial class of students who call themselves the Sweathogs. In fact, Lotter had himself been a founder of the Sweathogs, when he was a student in the same class. Kotter was played by Gabe Kaplan. One of the prominent students in his class Vinnie Barbarino played by a young John Travolta, a role that launched his film career. In recent years you might have seen Gabe Kaplan as co-host of the popular show “High Stakes Poker” on GSN.

25. Power chaser? -ADE
Powerade is one of those sports drinks, and the only real competitor to Gatorade. Pepsi makes Gatorade, so in 1988, Coke introduced Powerade. I really do question the value of all of these hyped-up beverages …

32. Where billabongs flow AUSTRALIA
A billabong is a small lake in Australia that has been formed when the path of a river changes leaving a section of the waterway with nowhere to go. Here in North America we call the same geographic feature an oxbow lake.

33. “The Three Musketeers” antagonist RICHELIEU
Cardinal Richelieu was both a clergyman and statesman in 17th-century France. He was made a Cardinal in the Catholic Church in 1622, and two years later was appointed as King Louis XIII’s chief minister. Famously, Richelieu is presented as the main antagonist by Alexandre Dumas in his novel “The Three Musketeers”.

Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” are Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and their young protégé is D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, the three “musketeers” really don’t use their muskets, and are better known for their prowess with their swords.

38. Ring concerns: Abbr. KTS
A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

41. Vilifies DEFAMES
“To vilify” is to defame, speak ill of. Our modern usage of the term evolved from the original meaning “to make vile”.

42. Indian lentil dish DAL
I love dal dishes, which are prepared from various peas or beans (often lentils) that have been stripped of their outer skins and split. I suppose in Indian terms, split pea soup (another of my favorites) would be called a dal.

45. Asian citrus fruit POMELO
A pomelo is a very large, pear-shaped citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia.

49. Drag racing safety feature CHUTE
Back in the 18th century “drag” was slang for a wagon or buggy, as it was “dragged” along by a horse or horses. In the 1930s, the underworld adopted drag as slang for an automobile. This sense of the word was imported into automobile racing in the forties, giving the name to “drag racing”. A drag race is basically a competition between two cars to determine which can accelerate faster from a standstill.

51. “Lovergirl” vocalist __ Marie TEENA
Teena Marie is a very successful R&B singer, born Mary Christine Brockert.

57. Aachen article DER
“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.

Aachen is a city in the very west of Germany, right on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. In English, we quite often refer to this city by its French name, Aix-la-Chapelle.

59. Onetime Hertz owner RCA
Hertz was owned by RCA from 1967. RCA sold Hertz to UAL in 1985.

The Hertz car rental company was started in 1918 by Walter L. Jacobs in Chicago. He began with just twelve model T Ford cars available for rent. In 1923, the car rental operation was bought out by John D. Hertz who incorporated it into his truck and coach manufacturing company.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Discouraged SCARED OFF
10. Father of Reuben, in Genesis JACOB
15. Spider producer ALFA ROMEO
16. __ Bowl: Boston College won the last one in 2000 ALOHA
17. 54-Down cause, in modern jargon FAT FINGER
18. Samurai without a master RONIN
19. Sell the scene EMOTE
20. __ Air BEL
22. Have more than enough OD ON
23. Mtge. application datum SSN
24. Hayek of “Frida” SALMA
26. Meld FUSE
27. Shafts, so to speak RAW DEALS
30. Court pos. CTR
31. Hillshire Brands predecessor SARA LEE
34. “Bad idea” NAH
35. Skosh TAD
36. High-protein grain QUINOA
37. Great Plains tribe LAKOTA
39. Sch. whose marching band played on Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” USC
40. Spray-making co. FTD
42. Golden Globe nominee for “Tommy” DALTREY
43. Second-most populous Afr. country ETH
44. What some authority figures wear? THE PANTS
46. God in 56-Across ARES
48. Past OF OLD
49. K.C. setting CST
52. Item on a carhop’s tray MALT
53. Fox’s leg? GAM
54. Reno-__ Intl. Airport TAHOE
56. It concludes with Hector’s funeral ILIAD
58. Little League game ender, perhaps MERCY RULE
61. __ mentality SIEGE
62. Yosemite attraction EL CAPITAN
63. “Blade Runner” actor Rutger __ HAUER
64. “Days,” for one SOAP OPERA

Down
1. Gun holders SAFES
2. Bucks CLAMS
3. River in a Burns poem AFTON
4. Great quantity RAFT
5. City with a Penn State campus ERIE
6. Get into DON
7. Surprise letters OMG
8. Ineffective FEEBLE
9. Court leader FOREMAN
10. Shake up JAR
11. Hard to reach ALOOF
12. Copper, notably CONDUCTOR
13. Jack Nicklaus Museum campus OHIO STATE
14. Time to celebrate BANNER DAY
21. Dream state? LA-LA LAND
24. Misfit ’70s sitcom character SWEATHOG
25. Power chaser? -ADE
27. Bolted RAN
28. Up ALOFT
29. Old will? SHALT
31. Easily appalled SQUEAMISH
32. Where billabongs flow AUSTRALIA
33. “The Three Musketeers” antagonist RICHELIEU
38. Ring concerns: Abbr. KTS
41. Vilifies DEFAMES
42. Indian lentil dish DAL
45. Asian citrus fruit POMELO
47. Part of a process STAGE
49. Drag racing safety feature CHUTE
50. __ system SOLAR
51. “Lovergirl” vocalist __ Marie TEENA
54. Paper slip TYPO
55. “What __!”: “I’ve been swindled!” A RIP
57. Aachen article DER
59. Onetime Hertz owner RCA
60. Tube top CAP

Return to top of page