Day: November 16, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Restraint at a rodeo RIATA
“Riata” is another name for a lariat or a lasso. “Riata” comes from “reata”, the Spanish word for lasso.

6. Magnum __ OPUS
“Magnum opus” is a Latin term meaning “great work”. The magnum opus of a writer or composer perhaps, is his or her greatest work.

10. Telegraph “T” DAH
A “dah” or “dash” is Morse code for the letter “T”.

Samuel Morse was a very accomplished and reputable painter (he was engaged to paint a portrait of President John Adams, for example). In 1825 Morse was in Washington working on a commissioned painting when he received a one-line letter by horse messenger telling him that his wife was ill. He left immediately for his home in New Haven, Connecticut but by the time that Morse arrived his wife had already died and had been buried. This single event spurred him to move from painting to the development of a rapid means of long distance communication, leading to the single-wire telegraph and Morse code.

16. Headline-making NYSE event IPO
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

20. Second-smallest st. DEL
The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as the First State as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.

24. Greek vowel ETA
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”.

28. State from which the Utah Territory was formed DESERET
When Mormon pioneers were settling what is today the state of Utah, they referred to the area as Deseret, a word that means “beehive” according to the Book of Mormon. Today Utah is known as the Beehive State, and there is a beehive symbol on the Utah state flag.

30. Tarzan, for one ADOPTEE
“Tarzan” is the title character in the series of books created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The line “Me Tarzan, you Jane” never appeared in the books, and indeed doesn’t even figure in the movies. Apparently Johnny Weissmuller (who played Tarzan in the thrities and forties) saw Maureen O’Sullivan (“Jane”, to Weismuller’s “Tarzan”) struggling with a suitcase in the parking lot during filming. He grabbed the bag from her, jokingly saying “Me Tarzan, you Jane”, and people have been quoting those words ever since.

32. Prefix with culture AVI-
The prefix “avi-” means “bird-related”, as in “aviculture”, the breeding of birds.

43. Many a Johann Strauss work POLKA
The composer Johann Strauss II is famous for his operettas, waltzes and polkas in particular.

Of the many classical composers with the Strauss name, “The Waltz King” was Johann Strauss II. Among the many beautiful waltzes Strauss penned are “The Blue Danube” and “Tales from the Vienna Woods”. He also composed the famous operetta “Die Fledermaus”.

47. Muscle Shoals site ALABAMA
Muscle Shoals is a city in Alabama. The city is famous as the site where many pop artists recorded hits in the sixties including Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Rolling Stones.

52. Dogs who inspire artists? CANINE MUSES (“kay sound” + “nine muses”)
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)

54. Marshal at Waterloo NEY
Michel Ney was one of the first 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon. When Bonaparte was eventually defeated for the last time, Ney was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed in Paris by firing squad. Nay refused to wear a blindfold, and demanded that he himself be allowed to give the order to fire.

55. “__ Schoolchildren”: Tracy Kidder book AMONG
Tracy Kidder is a writer from New York City. Kidder was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for his book called “The Soul of a New Machine”, which is a non-fiction work about the creation of a new design of computer.

56. Nancy Drew’s beau NED
I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries as a kid (I know, as a boy I “shouldn’t” have been reading girls’ books!). The Nancy Drew stories were written by a number of ghost writers, although the character was introduced by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930. Nancy Drew’s boyfriend was Ned Nickerson, a college student from Emerson.

57. Econ. measure GDP
A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

58. San Francisco’s __ Hill NOB
Nob Hill is a very elevated and central location in the city of San Francisco. Because of its views of the surrounding city and environs, Nob Hill became a desirable place to live for the wealthy people of the city in the 1800s. The area is still one of San Francisco’s most affluent neighborhoods and is home to upscale hotels as well as the magnificent Grace Cathedral. The name “Nob Hill” comes from the slang term for someone who is well-to-do, a “nob”.

64. Shakespeare title word ADO
“Much Ado About Nothing” is a favorite of mine, a play of course by William Shakespeare. It is a comedic tale of two pairs of lovers with lots of mistaken identities and double meanings. I once saw it performed in the fabulous Globe Theatre in London … by an all-female cast!

65. French income RENTE
“Rente” is the French for “rent” … who’da thunk it?

66. iComfort mattress maker SERTA
Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Interesting …

68. 1967 #1 hit “Somethin’ Stupid,” e.g. DUET
“Something Stupid” was a 1967 hit for Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy.

69. Former “NOVA scienceNOW” host Neil deGrasse __ TYSON
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who is noted for his ability to communicate science to the masses. Tyson is well known for his appearances on the great PBS show “Nova”.

Down
1. Churchill’s “so few”: Abbr. RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918 by combining two existing forces: the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” has to be the Battle of Britain when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to cancel his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter these memorable words:

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

5. Wilson of Heart ANN
Heart is a rock band from Seattle, Washington, founded in the seventies and still going strong. The band has had a changing lineup, except for sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson.

8. Org. managed by Scripps until 1982 UPI
E. W. Scripps was a newspaper publisher. In 1878 Scripps founded the E. W. Scripps Company media conglomerate that is still around today, operating newspapers and TV channels like the Food Network, the DIY Network and the Travel Channel. Famously, Scripps also founded the United Press News Service, now know as United Press International (UPI).

United Press International (UPI) was one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with only a handful of employees.

10. Work with a steno DICTATE
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

15. R&B singer Bryson PEABO
Peabo Bryson is a singer from Greenville, South Carolina. Bryson is noted for singing hits on Disney film soundtracks, often duets. Examples are “Beauty and the Beast” with Céline Dion, and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)” with Regina Belle.

18. Lake __, Australia’s lowest point EYRE
Lake Eyre is located in the deserts of central Australia. At 49 feet below sea level, Lake Wyre is the lowest point in the whole country.

24. Announcer Hall EDD
Edd Hall is most famous as the former announcer for Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”.

25. Language spoken in New Delhi URDU
Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

26. Church section NAVE
In large Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar where most of the faithful are seated.

29. Unadon fillets EEL
Unadon is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. Unadon is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).

32. Taiwanese-born Lee ANG
Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre but not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as “Sense & Sensibility” (my personal favorite), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hulk”, and “Brokeback Mountain”.

35. Apple or pear POME
The Latin word for “fruit” is “pomum”, which gives us the botanical term “pome” used for a group of fleshy fruits e.g. apples and pears.

36. Mosque leader IMAM
An imam is a Muslim leader, often the person in charge of a mosque or perhaps a Muslim community.

39. Tropical birds that run on lily pads JACANAS
Jaçanas are wading birds found in tropical areas. Jaçanas have very large feet which enable them to walk on lily pads and other vegetation floating on lakes. This behavior leads to the birds also being called Jesus birds and lily trotters.

40. Fashionable A LA MODE
In French “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America it has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.

41. Hypothetical high-tech predator in Crichton’s “Prey” NANOBOT
“Prey” is yet another entertaining novel from Michael Crichton. The story is all about a nanorobots, tiny intelligent machines that develop a mind of their own and start attacking humans in swarms.

50. Online discussion venue USENET
Remember the good old days, when you read messages online in “newsgroups”? Well, that system of aggregating public messages is known as Usenet, and it’s still around today. Usenet started operating in 1980, some ten years before the World Wide Web was introduced (which system has displaced Usenet in terms of popularity). Usenet definitely played a significant part in the history of the Internet. For instance, the terms “FAQ” and “spam” were both born on Usenet.

51. Assyrian’s foe MEDE
The Medes were an ancient people that lived in what is now northwestern Iran. The Medes held sway in the region only for about 60 years, until Cyrus the Great came along and defeated Astyages, the king of Media (not to be confused with Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “king of all media”!).

60. Logical abbr. QED
QED is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. The QED acronym stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

61. Onetime Burmese statesman U NU
U Nu was the first Prime Minister of Burma, in office from 1948 until 1956.

63. __ Mateo, California SAN
San Mateo is a city located south of San Francisco, just across the other side of the Bay from where I live. San Mateo is Spanish for Saint Matthew.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Restraint at a rodeo RIATA
6. Magnum __ OPUS
10. Telegraph “T” DAH
13. Respond to ACT ON
14. Receive with relish LAP UP
16. Headline-making NYSE event IPO
17. What makes a cat a cat? FELINE DRIVE (“fee sound” + “line drive”)
19. Pro at balancing: Abbr. CPA
20. Second-smallest st. DEL
21. To date YET
22. Elevated church area ALTAR
24. Greek vowel ETA
25. Bearish directors? URSINE BOARD (“ur sound” + “signboard”)
28. State from which the Utah Territory was formed DESERET
30. Tarzan, for one ADOPTEE
31. No longer in DATED
32. Prefix with culture AVI-
33. Former word for former days ELD
34. Sea dog who’s actually a wolf? LUPINE TAR (“loo sound” + “pine tar”)
39. Calendar pg. JAN
42. Texter’s “Zounds!” OMG
43. Many a Johann Strauss work POLKA
47. Muscle Shoals site ALABAMA
50. Countless UMPTEEN
52. Dogs who inspire artists? CANINE MUSES (“kay sound” + “nine muses”)
54. Marshal at Waterloo NEY
55. “__ Schoolchildren”: Tracy Kidder book AMONG
56. Nancy Drew’s beau NED
57. Econ. measure GDP
58. San Francisco’s __ Hill NOB
59. Deliverers of certain farm news? EQUINE PRESS (“eck sound” + “wine press”)
64. Shakespeare title word ADO
65. French income RENTE
66. iComfort mattress maker SERTA
67. Shooting locale SET
68. 1967 #1 hit “Somethin’ Stupid,” e.g. DUET
69. Former “NOVA scienceNOW” host Neil deGrasse __ TYSON

Down
1. Churchill’s “so few”: Abbr. RAF
2. Summer quencher ICED TEA
3. In any event AT LEAST
4. Slave TOIL
5. Wilson of Heart ANN
6. Least fresh OLDEST
7. Story opener PART I
8. Org. managed by Scripps until 1982 UPI
9. Soccer mom’s ride SUV
10. Work with a steno DICTATE
11. Worn things APPAREL
12. Accumulated to a fault HOARDED
15. R&B singer Bryson PEABO
18. Lake __, Australia’s lowest point EYRE
23. Sever, with “off” LOP
24. Announcer Hall EDD
25. Language spoken in New Delhi URDU
26. Church section NAVE
27. Change, in a way EDIT
29. Unadon fillets EEL
32. Taiwanese-born Lee ANG
35. Apple or pear POME
36. Mosque leader IMAM
37. PDA add-ons APPS
38. Foolish talk ROT
39. Tropical birds that run on lily pads JACANAS
40. Fashionable A LA MODE
41. Hypothetical high-tech predator in Crichton’s “Prey” NANOBOT
44. Banks, e.g. LENDERS
45. Abides by KEEPS TO
46. “__ objections?” ANY
48. Storage unit BIN
49. Steamed state ANGER
50. Online discussion venue USENET
51. Assyrian’s foe MEDE
53. Link UNITE
57. Like rainy London skies GREY
60. Logical abbr. QED
61. Onetime Burmese statesman U NU
62. L.A. setting PST
63. __ Mateo, California SAN

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