Day: April 28, 2016

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Detergent with Oxi Booster ERA
Era was the first liquid laundry detergent produced by Procter & Gamble.

4. DVD precursor VHS
The video standard known as VHS is more fully referred to as the Video Home System. VHS was one of many standards touted by various manufacturers in the seventies. The biggest rival to VHS was Betamax, but we all knew which of the two standards won the final round in that fight.

7. Scout, to Tonto HORSE
On the television version of “The Lone Ranger”, Tonto was played by the actor Jay Silverheels. Famously, the Lone Ranger’s horse was called Silver and Tonto’s mount was named Scout. But in the early shows, Tonto rode a horse called White Feller.

12. “Face the Nation” group PANEL
The Sunday morning political interview show “Face the Nation” has been running an awfully long time. It first aired in 1954, over 60 years ago. The guest on that first show, hosted by Ted Koop, was Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy.

17. Uncle relative? I GIVE
To “say uncle” is an American expression meaning to submit or yield. Its usage dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”

18. Golden Globe, e.g. STATUETTE
The first Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held in 1944 to honor the best in filmmaking. The award was created by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which had been formed the year before by a group of writers in Los Angeles. One of the most famous of the Golden Globes is the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

22. Vocal quartet member ALTO
In choral music, an alto is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

23. Use WhatsApp, say CHAT
WhatsApp is a popular messaging service used on smartphones that sends messages and other files from one mobile phone number to another. Launched in 2011, WhatsApp is incredibly popular, and is the second-most popular messaging service after Facebook.

24. Junior nav. officer ENS
Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

32. Popular weekend destination for many Northern Californians RENO
The city of Reno’s economy took off when open gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. Within a short time, a syndicate had built the Bank Club in Reno, which was the largest casino in the whole world at the time.

41. Russian lettuce? RUBLE
The ruble (also “rouble”) is the unit of currency in Russia, as well as several other countries of the former Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into one hundred kopecks (also “kopeks”).

42. Fog machine substance DRY ICE
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. The material’s main use is to preserve food and for cooling in general. It is also used in fog machines in theaters and haunted houses.

47. Prohibit NIX
The use of “nix” as a verb, meaning “to shoot down”, dates back to the early 1900s. Before that “nix” was just a noun meaning “nothing”. “Nix” comes from the German “nichts”, which also means “nothing”.

48. Offensive to some, for short UN-PC
To be “un-PC” is to be politically incorrect, not be politically correct (PC).

49. Rescue squad initials EMS
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

50. ___ Fridays TGI
T.G.I. Fridays is an American restaurant chain, founded in 1965 in New York City. Today there are over a thousand T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants in over 50 countries. I think that Fridays has always been particularly successful overseas. I hear that the most successful Fridays restaurant anywhere in the world is the one in Haymarket Leicester Square in London in the UK.

57. Salon piece ARTICLE
Salon.com is a popular online magazine, one of the first “ezines” ever published. “Salon” focuses on American politics and current affairs, but also has articles about books, music and films. The magazine was launched in 1995, and managed to survive many loss-making years. Most of “Salon’s” content is free, but it does make money by offering a premium service with extra content, and by selling ad space.

59. Swallowed one’s pride ATE CROW
The phrase “eat crow”, an alternative to “eat humble pie”, perhaps refers to the fact that cooked crow may be edible, but is not a great food choice.

66. “Lone Survivor” military group SEALS
SEAL is an acronym used by the US Navy’s SEa, Air and Land teams. The SEALs were born out of the Navy’s special warfare groups from WWII, like the Underwater Demolition Teams and the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons. The Navy SEAL unit was established soon after President Kennedy’s famous speech in which he announced the plan to put a man on the moon, as in the same speech the president allocated $100m of funding to strengthen special operations forces. The Navy used some of this money to set up guerrilla and counterguerrilla units, which soon became the SEALs.

“Lone Survivor” is a 2013 war film starring Mark Wahlberg as a US Navy SEAL who is the only survivor from a 4-man team in a mission in Afghanistan. The film is based on a 2007 book that recounts the real-life experience of Marcus Luttrell and the comrades that he lost on that mission. It’s a powerful movie …

69. One of two in Pompeii DOT
The are two dots in the word “Pompeii”, over the letters I.

The ancient city of Pompeii is situated close to Naples in Italy. Pompeii was destroyed in AD 79 by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The city was completely lost from that time, and was only rediscovered in 1748. Excavations have uncovered the remarkably well-preserved buildings and roads, and Pompeii now attracts over 2 million visitors annually.

Down
1. “Paradise Lost,” e.g. EPIC
“Paradise Lost” is an epic poem written by Englishman John Milton. It is indeed an epic work, published originally in ten volumes with over ten thousand lines of verse. The “paradise” that is “lost” is the Garden of Eden, from which Adam and Eve were expelled by God in the “Fall of Man”.

2. Marinara brand RAGU
The Ragú brand of pasta sauce is owned by Unilever. The name ” Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is off a little. In Italian the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

Italians use the term “marinara” not for a sauce, but in the name of a recipe that includes a tomato-based sauce. For example, “spaghetti alla marinara” would be a spaghetti dish, served “mariner’s style”. The tomato sauce that we call “marinara” is called “salsa di pomodoro” in Italy.

3. Singer whose last name is Pig Latin for a slang word for “money” ANITA O’DAY
Anita O’Day was the stage name of the jazz singer Anita Colton. She chose the name as “O’Day” is Pig Latin for “dough”, a slang term for “money”. O’Day had problems with heroin and alcohol addiction leading to erratic behavior, and earning her the nickname “The Jezebel of Jazz”.

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ix-n-ay” … ixnay, and for “scram” is “am-scr-ay”.

5. Derby or boater HAT
I think a bowler hat is usually called a derby here in the US. The bowler was first produced in 1849 in London by hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, hence the name. The alternative name of “derby” comes from the tradition of wearing bowler hats at the Derby horse race (a major race held annually in England).

A boater is a straw hat often associated with boating, hence the name.

7. Toyota Center team HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Toyota Center indoor arena in Houston, Texas opened for business in 2003. The facility’s main tenant is the Houston Rockets NBA team.

26. “Tootsie” actress GARR
The lovely Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr’s big break came with the role of Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and her supporting role in “Tootsie” earned Garr an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“Tootsie” is a hilarious 1982 comedy starring Dustin Hoffman in the title role, a male actor who adopts a female identity in order to land an acting job. Jessica Lange won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film. “Tootsie” was also provided Geena Davis with her first movie role.

28. Co-producer of the art rock album “High Life” ENO
“High Life” is a 2014 art rock album by Brian Eno and Karl Hyde.

30. Little, in Marseille PEU
Marseille (often written “Marseilles” in English) is the second largest city in France, after Paris. Marseille is also the largest commercial port in the country. I used to live nearby, and it’s a lovely, lovely place.

34. London locale that’s a music industry eponym ABBEY ROAD
The Abbey Road Studios in London was a large Georgian townhouse built in the 1830s. It became a recording studio in 1931, and you can even see some YouTube video showing Sir Edward Elgar back then making recordings with the London symphony Orchestra. The studios passed through various owners and by the time the Beatles started their famous recording it was known as EMI Studios. The Beatles recorded practically all of their albums there, between 1962 and 1970. Famously they named a 1969 album after the studio, “Abbey Road”. That’s the one with the cover showing the Fab Four crossing the “zebra crossing” outside the studio.

35. “America’s Got Talent” judge Heidi KLUM
German-born Heidi Klum was married to the successful English singer, Seal. Klum is a talented lady and has built a multi-faceted career based on her early success as a model. She is the force behind the Bravo reality show called “Project Runway” that has been on the air since 2004. Klum has been nominated 4-5 times for an Emmy for her association with the show. Klum was also signed up as the official ambassador for Barbie in 2009, the 50th anniversary of the Barbie Doll, and for her service that year a Heidi Klum Barbie was produced. She has been adding a touch of class to the judging panel on the show “America’s Got Talent” since 2013.

NBC’s show “America’s Got Talent” is part of a global franchise based in the UK. The original show is called “Britain’s Got Talent”, and the whole franchise is owned by Simon Cowell. The first host of “America’s Got Talent” was Regis Philbin (2006), followed by Jerry Springer (2007-2008). Nick Cannon has been the host since 2009.

36. Deep desires YENS
The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

50. Spanish appetizers TAPAS
“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”, and there is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.

51. Actress Scacchi GRETA
Greta Scacchi is an actress from Italy who now lives in Australia. Scacchi is popular on the European movie circuit as she is fluent in English, German , French and Italian.

54. Peninsular capital SEOUL
Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to over 25 million people and is the second largest metropolitan area in the world, second only to Tokyo, Japan.

56. Icy Hot target ACHE
IcyHot is a topical heat rub that is used to relieve muscular discomfort and pain from arthritis and rheumatism. The active ingredient doesn’t provide any heat or cold, but it does stimulate nerve receptors in the skin causing the user to experience a cool sensation followed by warmth.

58. Supermodel Sastre INES
Inés Sastre is a supermodel and actress from Spain.

59. Longtime teammate of Derek ALEX
Professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez earned more nicknames than just A-Rod. He has been called “the Cooler” by some players as there is a perception that teams go cold when he joins them and hot when he leaves. He has also been called “A-Fraud” by teammates because of another perception, that he is over-demanding. Rodriguez now seems to be in a world of hurt for using illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Derek Jeter played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees, and was the team’s captain. Jeter is the all-time career leader for the Yankees in hits, games played, stolen bases and at bats. He is also the all-time leader in hits by a shortstop in the whole of professional baseball. Jeter’s performances in the postseason earned him the nicknames “Captain Clutch” and “Mr. November”. Jeter retired from the game in 2014.

60. Nobel Peace Center locale OSLO
The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo opened in 2005 and is located in a former railroad station. The center is inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize and features exhibits that tell the story of Alfred Nobel, as well as the stories of many recipients of the prize.

61. From Green Bay to St. Paul WEST
The city of Green Bay is the third-largest in the state of Wisconsin, after Milwaukee and Madison. The city is located on an arm of Lake Michigan called Green Bay. People in the area refer to the city as “Green Bay” and the body of water as “the Bay of Green Bay” in order to avoid confusing one with the other.

Saint Paul that is the state capital of Minnesota, and is one half of the “Twin Cities” , also known as Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Saint Paul used to be called Pig’s Eye, named after a popular tavern in the original settlement in the area. In 1841, Father Lucien Galtier established a log chapel nearby that he dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle, giving the city it’s current name. The magnificent Cathedral of St. Paul now sits on the site where the log chapel was built.

63. Often rolled-over item IRA
A rollover IRA is a subtype of a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The funds for a rollover IRA come from another qualified plan such as a 401(k) or a 403(b) account.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Detergent with Oxi Booster ERA
4. DVD precursor VHS
7. Scout, to Tonto HORSE
12. “Face the Nation” group PANEL
15. “My mom’s gonna kill me!” I AM SO DEAD!
17. Uncle relative? I GIVE
18. Golden Globe, e.g. STATUETTE
19. Nail care target CUTICLE
21. Congressional period SESSION
22. Vocal quartet member ALTO
23. Use WhatsApp, say CHAT
24. Junior nav. officer ENS
25. Long time follower … AGO
27. Manipulator USER
29. Cut LOP
31. Roll of dough WAD
32. Popular weekend destination for many Northern Californians RENO
33. Deceitful SNEAKY
37. Remove ERASE
39. Drop (out) OPT
41. Russian lettuce? RUBLE
42. Fog machine substance DRY ICE
44. Average SO-SO
46. Ballerina’s hairdo BUN
47. Prohibit NIX
48. Offensive to some, for short UN-PC
49. Rescue squad initials EMS
50. ___ Fridays TGI
53. Speak harshly RASP
55. ”Fine by me” OKAY
57. Salon piece ARTICLE
59. Swallowed one’s pride ATE CROW
62. Chinese cooking staple PEANUT OIL
64. “__ were the days” THOSE
65. Not working AT LEISURE
66. “Lone Survivor” military group SEALS
67. Speak, old-style SAYST
68. Not strict LAX
69. One of two in Pompeii DOT

Down
1. “Paradise Lost,” e.g. EPIC
2. Marinara brand RAGU
3. Singer whose last name is Pig Latin for a slang word for “money” ANITA O’DAY
4. Workshop gadget VISE
5. Derby or boater HAT
6. Huge success SMASH
7. Toyota Center team HOUSTON ROCKETS
8. Laudatory verses ODES
9. Tighten, as laces RETIE
10. Kept quiet SAT ON
11. Paradises EDENS
13. Really bad EVIL
14. Activity for some ex-presidents LECTURE CIRCUIT
16. Good buys STEALS
20. Get rid of LOSE
23. Appears unexpectedly, and a hint to this puzzle’s circles CROPS UP
25. Knocked out AWED
26. “Tootsie” actress GARR
28. Co-producer of the art rock album “High Life” ENO
30. Little, in Marseille PEU
34. London locale that’s a music industry eponym ABBEY ROAD
35. “America’s Got Talent” judge Heidi KLUM
36. Deep desires YENS
38. Lust, e.g. SIN
40. Weigh station unit TON
43. Praises EXALTS
45. Pick out of a crowd SPOT
50. Spanish appetizers TAPAS
51. Actress Scacchi GRETA
52. Birthplace of the violin ITALY
54. Peninsular capital SEOUL
56. Icy Hot target ACHE
58. Supermodel Sastre INES
59. Longtime teammate of Derek ALEX
60. Nobel Peace Center locale OSLO
61. From Green Bay to St. Paul WEST
63. Often rolled-over item IRA

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