Day: April 14, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. GI sought by MPs AWOL
The Military Police (MPs) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).

14. Fallon’s predecessor LENO
Jay Leno was born James Leno in New Rochelle, New York. Jay’s father was the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother was from Scotland. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and actually dropped out of school on the advice of a high school guidance counsellor. However, years later he went to Emerson college and earned a Bachelor’s degree in speech therapy. Leno also started a comedy club at Emerson in 1973. Today Jay Leno is a car nut and owns about 200 vehicles of various types. You can check them out on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com.

Jimmy Fallon was a cast member for a number of years on “Saturday Night Live” before getting his own talk show in 2009, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”. Fallon took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in 2014.

17. Like single-malt scotch AGED
In order to be labelled as “single-malt” scotch, the whisky must come from a single distillery (hence “single”), and from a mash of malted grain (hence “malt”) that has been processed in a pot still.

20. Food from heaven MANNA
According to the Book of Exodus, manna was a food eaten by the Israelites as they traveled out of Egypt. It “fell” to Earth during the night six days a week, and was gathered in the morning before it had time to melt.

22. Long-necked bird EMU
The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

23. Ivy League school YALE
The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

28. Pioneer Carson KIT
Kit Carson was a frontiersman who moved west from Missouri when he was just 16 years old. Kit Carson’s life was immortalized in the novels of John C. Fremont, an explorer who hired Carson as a guide for his travels through California, Oregon and Nevada. Carson later served with the US Army. He is thought to be the only American to have achieved the rank of general without being able to read or write.

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

38. Stable female MARE
There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

– Foal: horse of either sex that is less that one year old
– Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
– Filly: female horse under the age of four
– Colt: male horse under the age of four
– Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
– Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
– Mare: female horse four years or older

39. Summer blouse HALTER TOP
A blouse is a loose-fitting shirt, particularly worn by women or children. The term “blouse” is French, and originally described a peasant’s smock.

44. iPhone voice-activated app SIRI
Siri is software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. You’ve probably seen the ads on television, with folks talking to their iPhones asking for information and responding with a voice. I hear that Google is a little scared by Siri, as Siri is non-visual. There’s no need to touch a screen or a keyboard to work with Siri, no opportunity to click on one of Google’s ads! By the way, voice-over artist Susan Bennett recently revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

62. Capital of Senegal DAKAR
The Republic of Senegal is a country on the far western coast of Africa. For many years Senegal was a French colony, gaining independence in 1960. The capital of Senegal is Dakar, a city located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.

69. Currency symbolized by € EURO
The euro sign (&#8364) looks like a letter C, but with two horizontal lines drawn across the middle. Inspiration for the design comes from the Greek letter epsilon.

71. Fax forerunner TELEX
Telex grew out of the world of the telegraph. What Telex brought to telegraphy was the ability to route messages. Instead of having to talk to an operator to route a particular message to the intended party, the user of a telex could route the message directly to another telex machine by way of a rotary dial, very similar to that on a telephone.

73. Editor’s “Leave it in” STET
“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

Down
5. Sitcom E.T. ALF
“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. ALF is a hand-puppet, supposedly an alien from the planet Melmac that crash-landed in a suburban neighborhood. “ALF” stands for “alien life form”.

6. PlayStation 3 rival WII
The Wii is the biggest-selling game console in the world.

Sony introduced the PlayStation line of video game consoles in 1994.

10. In need of aspirin ACHY
Aspirin was a brand name for the drug acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin was introduced by the German drug company Bayer AG in the late 1800s. As part of the war reparations paid by Germany after WWI, Bayer AG lost the use of the trademark Aspirin (and they also lost use of the trademark “Heroin”!) and it became a generic term.

12. Direct route BEELINE
To make a beeline for somewhere or something, one takes a direct route. The term derives from excellent homing instinct of bees.

21. Abbr. in many an urban address APT
Apartment (apt.)

25. __ of Sandwich EARL
Meats placed between slices of bread was first called a sandwich in the 18th century, named after the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. The Earl was fond of eating “sandwiches” while playing cards at his club.

34. Synagogue SHUL
Shul is another word for a synagogue. “Shul” is the term mostly used in Orthodox Judaism, “synagogue” in Conservative Judaism, and “temple” in Reform Judaism.

36. Polynesian wreath LEI
The term “Polynesia” was coined in 1756 by the author Charles de Brosses, when he used it to describe all the islands in the Pacific. We now use the term to describe a subregion of Oceania containing over a thousand islands in the central and southern portion of the Pacific Ocean.

42. “__ to Watch Over Me” SOMEONE
“Someone to Watch Over Me” is a 1926 song by George and Ira Gershwin that was written for the musical “Oh, Kay!”

49. Proceed without preparation WING IT
“To wing it” is to improvise, to do something with sufficient preparation. There is some debate about the terms etymology, but I like the idea that it came from the theater. An actor would be described as winging it if he or she learned lines while standing in the wings just before going on stage.

50. Smoked salmon NOVA
Nova lox is salmon that has been cured with a mild brine and then cold-smoked. The term originally applied to salmon from Nova Scotia.

56. Hemingway’s “The Sun Also __” RISES
“The Sun Also Rises” was Ernest Hemingway’s first major novel, published in 1926. Hemingway originally titled the work “Fiesta”, and indeed it was originally published under this title outside of America. At the recommendation of the publisher, Scribner’s, the title was changed to “The Sun Also Rises”, taken from Ecclesiastes 1:5 “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.”

64. Bills coach Ryan REX
Rex Ryan was the head coach for the New York Jets NFL team from 2009 until 2014, and then head coach for the Buffalo Bills starting in 2015.

66. Buddy of Wynken and Blynken NOD
“Wynken, Blynken and Nod” is a children’s poem written by Eugene Field, first published in 1889. The original title of the work was “Dutch Lullaby”.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Drain problem CLOG
5. GI sought by MPs AWOL
9. Jewish authority figure RABBI
14. Fallon’s predecessor LENO
15. “Get a __!” LIFE
16. Estate measures ACRES
17. Like single-malt scotch AGED
18. Superfluous individual FIFTH WHEEL
20. Food from heaven MANNA
22. Long-necked bird EMU
23. Ivy League school YALE
24. Compilation of wacky outtakes BLOOPER REEL
28. Pioneer Carson KIT
29. PC key near Z ALT
30. Eastern path TAO
31. Police warnings SIRENS
33. Some deli breads RYES
35. Part on the stage ROLE
38. Stable female MARE
39. Summer blouse HALTER TOP
42. Steer clear of SHUN
44. iPhone voice-activated app SIRI
45. Hunk of bacon SLAB
49. Like many warm sweaters WOOLEN
51. Snaky fish EEL
53. Miner’s discovery ORE
54. Little terror IMP
55. Olympian’s achievement WORLD RECORD
59. Have to have NEED
61. Flight connection word VIA
62. Capital of Senegal DAKAR
63. Ride around … or what the ends of 18-, 24-, 39- and 55-Across can do GO FOR A SPIN
67. Single LONE
68. Occupied IN USE
69. Currency symbolized by € EURO
70. Coffee holders MUGS
71. Fax forerunner TELEX
72. Zipped SPED
73. Editor’s “Leave it in” STET

Down
1. Seaside eatery CLAM BAR
2. Within the law LEGALLY
3. Without variation, musically ONE-NOTE
4. “Please tell me that’s not true” GOD NO
5. Sitcom E.T. ALF
6. PlayStation 3 rival WII
7. Put on the market OFFER
8. “I’ll handle this” LET ME
9. Word before data or deal RAW
10. In need of aspirin ACHY
11. Crashing wave BREAKER
12. Direct route BEELINE
13. Lands in the sea ISLETS
19. Shades HUES
21. Abbr. in many an urban address APT
25. __ of Sandwich EARL
26. Tree anchors ROOTS
27. Airport waiter LIMO
32. Performs hip-hop music RAPS
34. Synagogue SHUL
36. Polynesian wreath LEI
37. Blundered ERRED
40. From square one ANEW
41. Concert ticket info TIER
42. “__ to Watch Over Me” SOMEONE
43. Optimistic HOPEFUL
46. “Watch it!” LOOK OUT!
47. Orchestrate ARRANGE
48. Recuperation advice BED REST
49. Proceed without preparation WING IT
50. Smoked salmon NOVA
52. Showed the way LED
56. Hemingway’s “The Sun Also __” RISES
57. Really enjoy, as praise LAP UP
58. Allays the fears of CALMS
60. Prescription amount DOSE
64. Bills coach Ryan REX
65. Wrath IRE
66. Buddy of Wynken and Blynken NOD

Return to top of page