Day: May 6, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Iranian leader toppled in 1979 : SHAH
The last Shah of Iran was Mohammed-Reza Shah Pahlavi, as he was overthrown in the revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. The post-revolution government sought the extradition of the Shah back to Iran while he was in the United States seeking medical care (he had cancer). His prolonged stay in the United States, recovering from surgery, caused some unrest back in Iran and resentment towards the United States. Some say that this resentment precipitated the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran and the resulting hostage crisis.

11. Chicago transit trains : ELS
The Chicago “L” is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The “L” is also the second oldest, again with the New York City Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the “L” (originally short for “elevated railroad”), although the term “El” is also in common use (especially in crosswords as “ELS”). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

16. Accessory with a muumuu : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

A “muumuu” is a loose dress that originated in Hawaii. Many muumuus are brightly colored and made of the same material as the ubiquitous Hawaiian shirt. The word “mu’umu’u” means “cut off” in Hawaiian.

17. Kind of deli roll : KAISER
The crusty roll known as a Kaiser roll was invented in Vienna, Austria. It is thought that the “Kaiser” name was applied in honor of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

26. Bat mitzvah scroll : TORAH
A Torah scroll (also “Sefer Torah”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

A Jewish girl becomes a Bat Mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become Bar Mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

35. Prim and proper sort : GOODY TWO-SHOES
We use the phrase “goody two-shoes” to mean a virtuous person who does good to excess. It is suggested that the expression comes from a children’s story called “The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes” by an unknown author that was first published in 1765 in England. The story is reminiscent of the “Cinderella” folktale. There’s an orphan girl called who has only one shoe until a rich man gives her a proper pair. Armed with two shoes, the orphan progresses in life and becomes a teacher and marries a rich widower, and they all live happily ever after …

42. Major blood lines : AORTAS
The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

45. Letters on a tinkerer’s kit : DIY
Back in Ireland we don’t have “hardware stores” as such, but rather DIY Centres (and that’s the spelling). DIY is an acronym standing for “Do It Yourself”.

47. Email attachment format : PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

49. Utopia : EDEN
The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More for his book “Utopia” published in 1516 describing an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

52. Protector of the president : SECRET SERVICE
The Secret Service was created by President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, with the mission of fighting currency counterfeiters. The additional task of protecting the US President was added by Congress in 1902 following the assassination of President William McKinley in the prior year. Only one Secret Service agent has given his life in the course of an assassination attempt. That was Private Leslie Coffelt, who was killed when two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate President Harry S. Truman in 1950 while he was residing in Blair House.

57. “__ Fideles”: carol : ADESTE
The lovely hymn “Adeste Fideles” (aka “O Come, All Ye Faithful”) was written by one John Francis Wade in the 13th century. Well, he wrote the original four verses, with four more verses being added over time.

60. Mohawk-sporting muscleman : MR T
Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

Here is another example of a difference in terminology on either side of the Atlantic. What we call the Mohawk hairstyle in the US is known as a “Mohican” in the British Isles. The Mohawk hairstyle is named after the Mohawk nation, who wore their hair in the same fashion. The Mohawk style has been around for a long time elsewhere in the world. There was a well-preserved male body found in a bog near Dublin in Ireland in 2003. The body is about 2,000 years old, and has the Mohawk haircut.

61. “The Wind in the Willows” hero : TOAD
“The Wind in the Willows” is a classic children’s novel first published in 1908. Featured in the story are characters such as Mole, Ratty, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger. The story’s author was Kenneth Grahame, a man who held the exalted position of Secretary of the Bank of England.

Down
3. Heel type named for a dagger : STILETTO
The stiletto knife was developed in Italy, and is a knife intended for thrusting and stabbing as opposed to slashing and cutting. The term “stiletto” comes from the Latin “stilus”, which was a thin pointed writing instrument used in Ancient Rome to engrave wax or clay tablets.

4. Welles of “Citizen Kane” : ORSON
Orson Welles is perhaps best-remembered in the world of film for his role in 1941’s “Citizen Kane”. In the world of radio, Welles is known for 1938’s famous broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”, a broadcast that convinced many listeners that the Earth was indeed being invaded by aliens.

“Citizen Kane” was the first film made by Orson Welles, one considered by many to be the finest film ever made. It’s a remarkable achievement by Wells, as he played the lead, and also produced and directed. Despite all the accolades for “Citizen Kane” over the decades, the movie was far from a commercial success in its early run and actually lost money at the box office.

6. “Big” 23-Down cannon : BERTHA
(23. Conflict that ended Nov. 11, 1918 : WWI)
Big Bertha was a very large-bore howitzer developed for the German military just prior to WWI. The shell that the gun fired weighed over 1800 lbs.

8. Underwear brand : HANES
The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.

11. “Mistress of the Dark” film hostess : ELVIRA
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark was a character originally used to introduce a local Los Angeles weekend horror show back in the early eighties. Elvira was a comic sexy persona played by actress Cassandra Peterson. She wore a tight black gown with a famous low-cut neckline. The weekend horror show is long gone, but the Elvira character is still going strong.

13. Trivial Pursuit wedges, vis-à-vis the whole pie : SIXTHS
Trivial Pursuit was invented in 1979 by two Canadians from Montreal. The pair decided to come up with their own game after they discovered that there were pieces missing from the game of Scrabble that they wanted to play. There was a full blown launch of a commercial version of the game in 1982. In 2008, Hasbro bought the complete rights to Trivial Pursuit, for US$80 million! On a personal note, I met my lovely wife over a game of Trivial Pursuit …

22. Lugosi’s genre : HORROR
Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian stage and screen actor, best known for playing the title role in the 1931 film “Dracula” and for playing the same role on Broadway. Lugosi found himself typecast for the rest of his career and almost always played the role of the villain, often in horror movies. When he passed away in 1956, his wife had him buried in the costume he wore playing Count Dracula on Broadway.

23. Conflict that ended Nov. 11, 1918 : WWI
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, what we now know as World War I was referred to as “the World War” or “the Great War”.

37. Barista’s concoction : ESPRESSO
Espresso is made by forcing extremely hot water, under pressure, through finely ground coffee beans. The result is a thick and concentrated coffee drink, which contains quite a lot of solids and a lot of foam. An espresso machine was first patented in 1884 in Italy, although it was a machine to make the beverage in bulk. The first patent for a machine that made individual measures was applied for in 1901, also in Italy.

The person who serves coffee in a coffee shop is often called a “barista”. “Barista” is the Italian for “bartender”.

38. Jerk’s concoction : SODA
In the halcyon days of yore, a “soda jerk” was usually a young person whose main job was to serve ice cream sodas in a drugstore. The server would “jerk” the handle on the soda fountain to dispense the soda water, giving the job its distinctive name.

41. Niners’ org. : NFL
The very successful National Football League team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush. These 1849-prospectors became known as the “49ers”.

The California gold rush actually started in 1848. The first to exploit the find were those people already in California. By 1849 the word had spread and gold-seekers started to arrive from all over the world. The “out-of-towners” who arrived in 1849 became known as forty-niners.

43. Storywriter known for irony : O. HENRY
O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

49. Test answer in a blue book : ESSAY
“Blue book exam” is a term used for a test given at many colleges in the US. Blue book exams usually involve the writing of essays. The first blue book exams were administered by Butler University in Indianapolis, and the “blue” was chosen because Butler’s school colors are blue and white. The color blue is still commonly used regardless of which school is giving the test, although other colors can be used.

54. SSN, for example : ID NO
A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot, as since 2011 SSn’s are assigned randomly.

59. “The Name of the Rose” author Umberto : ECO
Umberto Eco is an Italian writer, probably best known for his novel “The Name of the Rose” published in 1980. In 1986, “The Name of the Rose” was adapted into a movie with the same title starring Sean Connery.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Soak up like a sponge : ABSORB
7. Iranian leader toppled in 1979 : SHAH
11. Chicago transit trains : ELS
14. “Hear hear!” : SO TRUE!
15. Roll down the runway : TAXI
16. Accessory with a muumuu : LEI
17. Kind of deli roll : KAISER
18. Squadron, e.g. : UNIT
19. Bedevil : VEX
20. Blew a fortune : LOST ONE’S SHIRT
23. Twittering bird : WREN
25. Affectionate squeezes : HUGS
26. Bat mitzvah scroll : TORAH
27. Comedian’s asset : WIT
28. Comedian’s bit : GAG
29. “Consarn it!” : OH, RATS!
30. Emcee’s opening : INTRO
32. User trying to get through a firewall : HACKER
35. Prim and proper sort : GOODY TWO-SHOES
39. Stretch (out), like a dog in the heat : SPRAWL
40. Burning crime : ARSON
42. Major blood lines : AORTAS
45. Letters on a tinkerer’s kit : DIY
47. Email attachment format : PDF
48. See-through : SHEER
49. Utopia : EDEN
51. Face-to-face exam : ORAL
52. Protector of the president : SECRET SERVICE
55. Bi- minus one : UNI-
56. Close margin at the track : NOSE
57. “__ Fideles”: carol : ADESTE
60. Mohawk-sporting muscleman : MR T
61. “The Wind in the Willows” hero : TOAD
62. “Hold your horses, will ya?” : IN A SEC!
63. Watch closely : EYE
64. “The __ the limit!” : SKY’S
65. Emphatic refusal, and words that precede the ends of 20-, 35- and 52-Across in a restaurant warning : NO! NO! NO!

Down
1. Pose, as a question : ASK
2. Poser’s neckwear : BOA
3. Heel type named for a dagger : STILETTO
4. Welles of “Citizen Kane” : ORSON
5. Is sorry about : RUES
6. “Big” 23-Down cannon : BERTHA
7. Hurt, like a barb : STUNG
8. Underwear brand : HANES
9. Revolving point : AXIS
10. Calls it a night : HITS THE HAY
11. “Mistress of the Dark” film hostess : ELVIRA
12. Ogle : LEER AT
13. Trivial Pursuit wedges, vis-à-vis the whole pie : SIXTHS
21. Should, informally : OUGHTA
22. Lugosi’s genre : HORROR
23. Conflict that ended Nov. 11, 1918 : WW I
24. Phone sound : RING
28. Christening VIPs : GODPARENTS
29. Gives a thumbs-up : OKS
31. Roll call listing : ROSTER
33. “How adorable!” : AWW!
34. More chilly : COLDER
36. Age abbr. : YRS
37. Barista’s concoction : ESPRESSO
38. Jerk’s concoction : SODA
41. Niners’ org. : NFL
42. Presuppose : ASSUME
43. Storywriter known for irony : O’HENRY
44. Quote by rote : RECITE
46. To no avail : IN VAIN
49. Test answer in a blue book : ESSAY
50. Scouts do good ones : DEEDS
51. Watery expanse : OCEAN
53. Stole : TOOK
54. SSN, for example : ID NO
58. X on a sundial : TEN
59. “The Name of the Rose” author Umberto : ECO

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Posted by Bill Butler
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