Day: April 1, 2016

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Pâtisserie cake GATEAU
In French, “gâteau” is “cake”.

A patisserie is a French bakery that sells pastries, or “tartes”.

16. Taps, essentially HORN SOLO
“Taps” is played nightly by the US military, indicating “lights out”. It’s also known as “Butterfield’s Lullaby” as it is a variation of an older bugle call named the “Scott Tattoo”, arranged during the Civil War by the Union Army’s Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield. The tune is called “taps”, from the notion of drum taps, as it was originally played on a drum, and only later on a bugle. The whole tune comprises just 24 notes, with there only being four different notes within the 24, i.e. “low G”, C, E and “high G”. Minimalism at its best …

19. Pound denizen MUTT
The original use of the term “mutt” was for a foolish person, and was probably short for “muttonhead”. The usage evolved into today’s “mongrel dog”.

20. Biblical birthright seller ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

21. Oldest of the gods, in Plato’s “Symposium” EROS
The Greek philosopher Plato wrote a philosophical treatise on the nature of love called “Symposium”. “Symposium” is the source of the contemporary phrase “Platonic love”.

35. Game winner OOO
When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

39. Minuteman, e.g. LONG-RANGE MISSILE
There are still hundreds Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) in service, with most of them dotted around the landscape of the plain states. I was driving through the area a couple of years ago and counted five missile silos and two launch control centers, just sitting there, at the side of the road.

43. “The Soul of a Butterfly” memoirist ALI
“The Soul of a Butterfly” is a 2004 autobiography of former heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali was presented with a gold medal during those ’96 Games, a replacement for the medal he won at the 1960 Olympics. He had thrown the original into the Ohio River as a gesture of disgust after being refused service at a “whites only” restaurant.

44. Essen article DER
The definite article in German is “der”, “die” or “das”, for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. The indefinite article is “ein”, “eine” or “ein”, again depending on the gender of the noun. A further complication, relative to English, is that the masculine form (and only the masculine form) of the article changes when used in the accusative case, when used with the object of a sentence. The accusative forms are “den” and “einen”.

Essen is a large industrial city located on the River Ruhr in western Germany.

46. First 12 children of Gaia and Uranus TITANS
The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology, the first twelve children of Mother Earth (Gaia) and Father Sky (Uranus). In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, who were twelve younger gods.

58. Chanel No. 1? COCO
Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer. Perhaps because I am a man, clothes design is not my forte. However, if I had to pick a designer whose clothes I really liked, it would be Chanel. She had a way of creating simpler designs that looked so elegant on a woman.

59. Columnist Barrett RONA
Rona Barrett is a gossip columnist originally from New York City but who plies her trade in Southern California. Barrett started out as with a gossip column that was syndicated in newspapers but then made a successful transition to television. She made regular appearances in news broadcasts and on her entertainment shows in the sixties and seventies.

60. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved … and a hint to this puzzle’s circles ENIGMA VARIATIONS
Edward Elgar’s famous “Enigma Variations” are more correctly titled “Variations on an Original Theme for Orchestra (“Enigma”)”. There are fourteen variations in the piece, with each named for one of Elgar’s close friends, a family member, and there is even one named for Elgar himself. Each variation is an affectionate portrayal of the person for which it is named. The “enigma” in the piece is quite a mystery. It is not even clear that the variations are based on a musical theme. Elgar’s notes tell us that the theme is “not played”, but he would never explain during his lifetime just what “the enigma” is.

66. Conventioneer with antennae, perhaps TREKKIE
Fans of “Star Trek” refer to themselves as “trekkies”.

68. “Honor Thy Father” author TALESE
Gay Talese is an American author, famous as a journalist in the sixties at “The New York Times”. His 1981 book “Thy Neighbor’s Wife” is a study of sexuality in America in the early fifties. Apparently, as research for the book, Talese had sexual relations with his own neighbor’s wife for several months at a sexuality resort in Southern California called Sandstone Retreat.

Gay Talese’s 1971 book “Honor Thy Father” is about the Bonanno crime family of New York City in 1960s.

Down
3. Design for some MacDonalds TARTAN
Tartan is sometimes called “plaid” over here in the US, a word not used in the same sense outside of this country. In Scotland a “plaid” is a blanket or a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder.

5. Its slot always pays ATM
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)

6. Winner of all three tug-of-war medals in the 1904 Olympics: Abbr. USA
Tug of war is a strength competition between two teams who pull on opposite ends of a rope, vying to pull the opponents over a marked line. The sport was an event in the Summer Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920. The USA teams won all three medals for the tug of war at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis.

8. Journalist son of Mia Farrow RONAN
Ronan Farrow is a former US government advisor in the Obama administration who now hosts “Ronan Farrow Daily” on MSNBC. Farrow is the son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen. Ronan is estranged from his father, ever since Allen started a relationship with Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, who is now Allen’s wife.

11. Carlisle Cullen’s wife in the “Twilight” series ESME
I don’t do vampires. The reference, is to a character in “The Twilight” series of books by Stephenie Meyer. “The Twilight Saga” is a series of films based on the books.

15. Places to clean and press GYMS
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed.

18. Powder room containers KEGS
Gunpowder is the earliest known explosive chemical. Also called “black powder”, it is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter (i.e. potassium nitrate). The saltpeter is a powerful oxidizing agent, providing the oxygen to burn the sulfur and charcoal, which acts as the fuel in the mixture. Gunpowder was invented by the chinese in 8th century.

24. Online finance company E-LOAN
E-Loan used to be based just down the road from me in the San Francisco Bay Area, but after takeover by a Rosemont, Illinois company it was moved to the parent’s headquarters. E-Loan was founded in 1997 to provide customers access to mortgages over the Internet.

25. Hard-to-miss signs NEONS
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

27. Trig function COSINE
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine (sin), cosine (cos) and tangent (tan). Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The reciprocal of these three functions are cosecant, secant, and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine (cosec = 1/sin), cosine (sec = 1/cos) and tangent (cot = 1/tan).

28. Hosp. personnel RNS
Registered nurses (RNs) are licensed medical (med.) personnel.

30. Noah of “The Librarian” TV films WYLE
Noah Wyle is an actor noted for playing Dr. John Truman Carter III on television’s “ER”. He was highly valued by the show’s producers, earning about $400,000 per episode in 2005, a world record for an actor in a TV drama at that time.

“The Librarian” is a series of fantasy TV movies starring Noah Wyle as “the Librarian”, an employee at the Metropolitan Public Library who is charged with the protection of a collection of exotic and magical objects, including the Ark of the Covenant, Pandora’s Box and Excalibur.

32. Reichenbach Falls setting ALPS
The Aar (also called the “Aare” in German) is the longest river entirely in Switzerland. A famous spot along the Aar is the Reichenbach Falls in the center of the country, actually a series of waterfalls near the city of Meiringen. These falls are renowned in the world of literature as it was here that Sherlock Holmes fell to his supposed doom with his nemesis Professor Moriarty (in “The Adventure of the Final Problem”).

37. Stradivari’s tutor AMATI
The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons, Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, they were succeeded by Girolamo’s son, Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

38. Lombardy’s capital MILAN
There are twenty administrative regions of Italy, one of which is Lombardy. Lombardy is in the very north of the country, and its capital is the city of Milan.

40. Co. merged into Verizon GTE
GTE (formerly “General Telephone & Electric”) was a rival to AT&T, the largest of the independent competitors to the Bell System. GTE merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form the company that we know today as Verizon.

47. Composer Stravinsky IGOR
The composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

49. Caesarean section? I CAME
The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BC and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

50. Mayflower figure MOVER
Mayflower Transit is a moving and storage company that was founded in 1927 in Indianapolis, but is now based in Fenton, Missouri.

51. Errant golf shots HOOKS
In golf, an errant driver might slice or hook the ball.

52. Musical with “jr.” and “KIDS” versions for young performers ANNIE
The Broadway musical “Annie” is produced in more than one version. There is an “Annie Jr.” that has been edited down to a shortened version more suitable for young performers and audiences. An even shorter version that lasts only 30 minutes is called “Annie KIDS”, and is meant for performers still in elementary school.

53. Shock, in a way TASE
Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym TASER stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

54. Church lineups PEWS
A pew is a bench in a church, usually with a high back. The original pews were raised and sometimes enclosed seats in the church used by women and important men or families. “Pew” comes from the Old French “puie” meaning “balcony, elevation”.

55. Gross subj.? ANAT
Anatomy (anat.)

56. Capital of Turkey LIRA
The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş.

57. Like French toast EGGY
The dish made from bread soaked in milk with beaten eggs and then fried is usually called French toast in the US, but it also goes by the names German toast and Spanish toast. In France, the dish is known as “pain perdu”, which translates as “lost bread”. This name is a reference to the fact that “lost” or stale bread can be reclaimed by dipping it in a mixture of milk and eggs and then frying it.

61. __-jongg MAH
“Mahjong” (also “mahjongg” and “mah-jongg”) is the Chinese word for “sparrow”. Mahjong is a game that originated in China, and is usually played by four players. There is a myth that the game was developed by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. The myth also suggests that Confucius was fond of birds, and hence chose the name “sparrow”.

62. Addams family member ITT
In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They’re altogether ooky,
The Addams Family.

63. Altar constellation ARA
The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pâtisserie cake GATEAU
7. Sold for, as a stock TRADED AT
15. Derby racers GO-CARTS
16. Taps, essentially HORN SOLO
17. Reprimand to one not picking up YOU’RE MAKING A MESS
19. Pound denizen MUTT
20. Biblical birthright seller ESAU
21. Oldest of the gods, in Plato’s “Symposium” EROS
22. Rail transport landmark STEAM ENGINE
26. At a minimum NO LESS
27. Swimmer’s option CRAWL
32. Invite ASK
35. Game winner OOO
36. Lunch order HAM ON RYE
39. Minuteman, e.g. LONG-RANGE MISSILE
42. Smoke and mirrors PRETENSE
43. “The Soul of a Butterfly” memoirist ALI
44. Essen article DER
45. Concluded, with “up” SEWED
46. First 12 children of Gaia and Uranus TITANS
49. “How surprising!” IMAGINE THAT!
54. Light, colorwise PALE
58. Chanel No. 1? COCO
59. Columnist Barrett RONA
60. Sir Edward Elgar composition whose title has never been solved … and a hint to this puzzle’s circles ENIGMA VARIATIONS
65. Exercises displaying great strength WAR GAMES
66. Conventioneer with antennae, perhaps TREKKIE
67. “Don’t budge!” STAY HERE!
68. “Honor Thy Father” author TALESE

Down
1. Exit GO OUT
2. Intense ACUTE
3. Design for some MacDonalds TARTAN
4. Poetic “previous to” ERE
5. Its slot always pays ATM
6. Winner of all three tug-of-war medals in the 1904 Olympics: Abbr. USA
7. Formal phone call response THIS IS HE
8. Journalist son of Mia Farrow RONAN
9. Debate ARGUE
10. Some evidence DNA
11. Carlisle Cullen’s wife in the “Twilight” series ESME
12. Evil follower? -DOER
13. And ALSO
14. Word with coin or ring TOSS
15. Places to clean and press GYMS
18. Powder room containers KEGS
23. Tied up MOORED
24. Online finance company E-LOAN
25. Hard-to-miss signs NEONS
27. Trig function COSINE
28. Hosp. personnel RNS
29. Like much of Australia’s interior ARID
30. Noah of “The Librarian” TV films WYLE
31. Look wrong? LEER
32. Reichenbach Falls setting ALPS
33. Teed off SORE
34. “I __ it!” KNEW
37. Stradivari’s tutor AMATI
38. Lombardy’s capital MILAN
40. Co. merged into Verizon GTE
41. Start one’s law practice GET A CASE
47. Composer Stravinsky IGOR
48. Hit STRIKE
49. Caesarean section? I CAME
50. Mayflower figure MOVER
51. Errant golf shots HOOKS
52. Musical with “jr.” and “KIDS” versions for young performers ANNIE
53. Shock, in a way TASE
54. Church lineups PEWS
55. Gross subj.? ANAT
56. Capital of Turkey LIRA
57. Like French toast EGGY
61. __-jongg MAH
62. Addams family member ITT
63. Altar constellation ARA
64. Part of 40-Down: Abbr. TEL

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