Category: Gary J. Whitehead

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Home of the Nobel Peace Center 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.

14. Scandinavian royal name OLAV
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

15. Black, in Bordeaux NOIRE
Bordeaux is perhaps the wine-production capital of the world. Wine has been produced in the area since the eighth century. Bordeaux has an administrative history too. During WWII, the French government relocated from Paris to the port city of Bordeaux when it became clear that Paris was soon to fall to the Germans. After the German’s took France, the capital was famously moved to Vichy.

16. Johnson of “Laugh-In” ARTE
Arte Johnson, as well being a frequent judge on “The Gong Show”, played the German soldier on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. Johnson’s character’s famous catchphrase was, “Very interesting, but …”

17. Lose it HAVE A CONNIPTION
A conniption, or more commonly a conniption fit, is a bout of violent anger or panic.

22. “Oui, oui,” across the Pyrenees SI, SI
“Oui” is French and “si” is Spanish, for “yes”.

The Pyrénées is a mountain range that runs along the border between Spain and France. Nestled between the two countries, high in the mountains, is the lovely country of Andorra, an old haunt of my family during skiing season …

23. 1-Across locale: Abbr. NOR
Norway has been ranked as the country in the world with the highest standard of living almost every year since 2001. Norway is rich in natural resources and has a relatively low population. The people benefit from a comprehensive social security system, subsidized higher education for all citizens and universal health care. And Norway is famous for her success at the Winter Olympic Games, having won more gold medals than any other nation.

30. Kentucky college or its city BEREA
Berea college is located in Berea, Kentucky, just south of Lexington. It is a remarkable university focused on providing a low-cost education to students from low-income families. There are no tuition fees and instead students must work at least ten hours a week on campus and in service jobs. Berea was also the first college in the Southern United States to become coeducational and racially integrated.

31. Cod cousin HAKE
Hake is a commonly eaten fish in Europe, with half of all the hake consumed in Spain.

32. __ gratia artis: MGM motto ARS
It seems that the phrase “art for art’s sake” has its origins in France in the nineteenth century, where the slogan is expressed as “l’art pour l’art”. The Latin version “Ars gratia artis” came much later, in 1924 when MGM’s publicist chose it for the studio’s logo, sitting under Leo the lion. Who’d a thunk it?

38. Brillo competitor SOS
S.O.S is a brand name of scouring pads made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The product was invented as a giveaway by an aluminum pot salesman in San Francisco called Ed Cox. His wife gave it the name “S.O.S” as an abbreviation for “Save Our Saucepans”. Note the punctuation! There is no period after the last S, and that is deliberate. When Cox went to register the trademark, he found that “S.O.S.” could not be a trademark because it was used as an international distress signal. So he dropped the period after the last S, and I hope made a lot of money for himself and his wife.

40. Packers quarterback Rodgers AARON
The Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in the news recently, picked as MVP for the Super Bowl game at the end of the 2010 season after the Packers emerged victorious against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

45. NASA affirmative A-OK
Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose in the sixties during the Space Program.

46. Big name in speakers BOSE
Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Amar G. Bose, and is a company that specializes in manufacture of audio equipment.

47. Prophetess SIBYL
The word and name “Sibyl” comes from the Greek word “sibylla” meaning “prophetess”. There were many sibyls (prophetesses), but most famous is probably the Delphic Sibyl.

55. Lose it FLY OFF THE HANDLE
The phrase “to fly off the handle” means to become suddenly enraged. The visual evocation is of an axehead flying off the handle and causing some damage or injury.

57. Lowly worker PEON
A peon is a lowly worker with no real control over his/her working conditions. The word comes into English from Spanish where it has the same meaning.

58. True-crime author Dominick DUNNE
Dominick Dunne was a writer and investigative journalist. One of his more cathartic works must have been an article he wrote for “Vanity Fair” titled “Justice: A Father’s Account of the Trial of his Daughter’s Killer”. Dunne wrote this after attending the trial of John Sweeney, the one-time boyfriend of his daughter Dominique, whom Sweeney strangled in 1982. Dominique was an actress, and had just finished filming “Poltergeist” when she was murdered.

62. Bout enders, briefly TKOS
In boxing, a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can’t get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly “knocked out”. A referee, fighter or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a physical knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter’s safety. In this case the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).

Down
3. Basalt source LAVA
Basalt is a volcanic rock created when lava cools rapidly at the earth’s surface.

6. Humdinger DOOZIE
A “humdinger” or a “pip” is someone or something outstanding. Humdinger is American slang dating back to the early 1900s, originally used to describe a particularly attractive woman.

8. Coastal raptors ERNS
The ern (also erne) is sometimes called the white-tailed eagle, or the sea-eagle.

“Raptor” is a generic term for a bird of prey, one that has talons to grip its victims.

9. Opus __: “The Da Vinci Code” sect DEI
Opus Dei is Roman Catholic institution that was founded in Spain in 1928, and officially approved by the church in 1950. In 2010, Opus Dei had over 90,000 members, mostly lay people. The institution’s mission is to promote certain aspects of the Roman Catholic doctrine. Opus Dei was portrayed as a sinister organization by Dan Brown in his novel “The Da Vinci Code”.

10. Persian Gulf native QATARI
Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. Qatar has more oil and gas reserves per capita of population than any other country in the world. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry.

11. “Exodus” novelist URIS
“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris, first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in a 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

13. Hankerings 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!

18. Stomach discomfort AGITA
Agita is another name for acid indigestion, and more generally can mean “agitation, anxiety”.

19. Orwellian worker PROLE
George Orwell introduced us to the “proles”, the working class folk in his famous novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Collectively, the proles make up the section of society known as the proletariat.

23. Footwear company named for a goddess NIKE
Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, often referred to as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, which is based on the goddess’s wing.

24. Serf of ancient Sparta HELOT
The helots were a population of poorly-treated slaves who served the citizens of Sparta.

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, famous for her military might. Spartan children had a tough upbringing, and newborn babies were bathed in wine to see if the child was strong enough to survive. Every child was presented to a council of elders that decided if the baby was suitable for rearing. Those children deemed too puny were executed by tossing them into a chasm. We’ve been using the term “spartan” to describe something self-disciplined or austere since the 1600s.

25. __ whiskey IRISH
Don’t forget that we use the spelling “whiskey” for American and Irish versions of the drink, and “whisky” for Scotch, the Scottish version.

27. “The Pit and the Pendulum” monogram EAP
“The Pit and the Pendulum” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1842. It is a macabre tale about a prisoner who is being tortured at the hands of the spanish Inquisition. For part of the tale, the prisoner is bound to a wooden board while a scythe-like pendulum wings above him, getting nearer and nearer with each oscillation.

28. World’s smallest island nation NAURU
Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation, located in the South Pacific 300 km to the east of Kiribati. The island was taken as a colony by Germany in the late 1800s, and came under the administration of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom after WWI. The Japanese invaded during WWII, but Nauru was one of the islands that was bypassed in the US advance across the Pacific towards Japan. Nauru achieved independence in 1968.

30. Air gun pellets BBS
A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.080″ in diameter) to size FF (.23″). 0.180″ diameter birdshot is size BB, which gives the airgun its name.

33. Form 1040EZ info SSN
Here in the US we can choose one of three main forms to file our tax returns. Form 1040 is known as the “long form”. Form 1040A is called the “short form”, and can be used by taxpayers with taxable income below $100,000 who don’t itemize deduction. Form 1040EZ is an even simpler version of the 1040, and can be used by those with taxable income less than $100,000 who take the standard deduction and who also have no dependents. Form 1040 was originally created just for tax returns from 1913, 1914 and 1915, but it’s a form that just keeps on giving …

36. 60 minuti ORA
In Italian, there are sixty (sessanta) minutes (minuti) in an hour (ora).

39. Virginia of the Bloomsbury Group WOOLF
Virginia Woolf was an English author active in the period between the two World Wars. Woolf’s most famous novels were “Mrs. Dalloway”, “To the Lighthouse” and “Orlando”. She also wrote a long essay entitled “A Room of One’s Own” in which she states “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

The Bloomsbury Group was a collective of writers, intellectuals and artists who were friends living in or around the Bloomsbury area in Central London in the first half of the 20th century. Famous members of the group included author Virginia Woolf, economist John Maynard Keynes, and novelist E. M. Forster.

40. On the briny AT SEA
The “briny” is the sea, from “brine” meaning “salty water”. The term “briny” was originally used for “tears”.

42. Synthetic fabrics RAYONS
Rayon is a little unusual in the textile industry in that it is not truly a synthetic fiber, but nor can it be called a natural fiber. Rayon is produced from naturally occurring cellulose that is dissolved and then reformed into fibers.

44. Satisfies the munchies NOSHES
Our word “nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”.

47. Calif. law force SFPD
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is the 11th largest police department in the country. The SFPD dates back to the days of the Gold Rush, being founded in 1849 as a force of 35 officers. SFPD has featured a lot in movies and on television. The most famous films are probably “Bullitt”, the “Dirty Harry” series and “48 Hrs.” On television there was “Ironside”, “The Streets of San Francisco” and now “Monk”.

48. Lower intestinal parts ILEA
The human ileum is the lowest part of the small intestine, found below the jejunum and above the cecum of the large intestine.

49. “We’re not serving liquor,” briefly BYOB
Bring Your Own Beer/Bottle/Booze (BYOB)

52. Minn. neighbor SDAK
The Dakotas were admitted into the union in 1889, along with Montana and Washington. There was a famous rivalry between North and South Dakota, and some jockeying to determine which of the two’s admission papers should be signed first. President Harrison solved the problem by directing that the papers of all four states should be shuffled, and he signed them without recording the order.

53. Northern Nevada city ELKO
The city of Elko, Nevada came into being in 1868 as a settlement built around the eastern end of a railway line that was constructed from California and that was destined for Utah. When that section of the line was completed, the construction crews moved on towards the Nevada/Utah border, and the settlement was left behind to eventually form the city of Elko

54. Meeting of Cong. SESS
A legislative (legis.) meeting of Congress (Cong.) might be called a session (sess.).

56. New Deal pres. FDR
The New Deal was the series of economic programs championed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal was focused on three objectives, the “3 Rs”:

– Relief for the unemployed and poor
– Recovery of the economy to normal levels
– Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Home of the Nobel Peace Center OSLO
5. Loafed IDLED
10. Wharf QUAY
14. Scandinavian royal name OLAV
15. Black, in Bordeaux NOIRE
16. Johnson of “Laugh-In” ARTE
17. Lose it HAVE A CONNIPTION
20. Takes advantage of a cloudless night STARGAZES
21. Grating sounds RASPS
22. “Oui, oui,” across the Pyrenees SI, SI
23. 1-Across locale: Abbr. NOR
24. Lose it HIT THE CEILING
30. Kentucky college or its city BEREA
31. Cod cousin HAKE
32. __ gratia artis: MGM motto ARS
34. Spot in the control tower BLIP
35. Lose it GO APE
37. Twosomes DUOS
38. Brillo competitor SOS
39. Alert WARN
40. Packers quarterback Rodgers AARON
41. Lose it THROW A TANTRUM
45. NASA affirmative A-OK
46. Big name in speakers BOSE
47. Prophetess SIBYL
50. Works like a demon POSSESSES
55. Lose it FLY OFF THE HANDLE
57. Lowly worker PEON
58. True-crime author Dominick DUNNE
59. Wine barrel sources OAKS
60. Applies gently DABS
61. Hilarious types RIOTS
62. Bout enders, briefly TKOS

Down
1. Sounds of amazement OOHS
2. Blind part SLAT
3. Basalt source LAVA
4. Exceed, as one’s authority OVERSTEP
5. One way to pay IN CASH
6. Humdinger DOOZIE
7. Poem piece LINE
8. Coastal raptors ERNS
9. Opus __: “The Da Vinci Code” sect DEI
10. Persian Gulf native QATARI
11. “Exodus” novelist URIS
12. Resting upon ATOP
13. Hankerings YENS
18. Stomach discomfort AGITA
19. Orwellian worker PROLE
23. Footwear company named for a goddess NIKE
24. Serf of ancient Sparta HELOT
25. __ whiskey IRISH
26. Music from monks CHANT
27. “The Pit and the Pendulum” monogram EAP
28. World’s smallest island nation NAURU
29. Clean and brush, as a horse GROOM
30. Air gun pellets BBS
33. Form 1040EZ info SSN
35. Rubberneck GAWK
36. 60 minuti ORA
37. Lacks the courage to DARES NOT
39. Virginia of the Bloomsbury Group WOOLF
40. On the briny AT SEA
42. Synthetic fabrics RAYONS
43. Not answering roll call ABSENT
44. Satisfies the munchies NOSHES
47. Calif. law force SFPD
48. Lower intestinal parts ILEA
49. “We’re not serving liquor,” briefly BYOB
50. Spitting sound PTUI
51. “That isn’t good!” OH NO!
52. Minn. neighbor SDAK
53. Northern Nevada city ELKO
54. Meeting of Cong. SESS
56. New Deal pres. FDR

Return to top of page