Category: Susan Gelfand

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Constructed by: Susan Gelfand
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: End Tables

Themed answers each END with a kind of TABLE:

• 64A Living-room lamp holders, and what the answers to the starred clues all have? : END TABLES

• 17A *Fleet of government vehicles : MOTOR POOL (giving “pool table”)
• 25A *Payment method that may have a chip : CREDIT CARD (giving “card table”)
• 40A *Media briefing : PRESS CONFERENCE (giving “conference table”)
• 50A *Summertime java order : ICED COFFEE (giving “coffee table”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sticky pine product : RESIN

Resinous trees have evolved the ability to secrete resins in response to an injury. The resin serves as a barrier, protecting the tree from insects and pathogens that might otherwise exploit the site of the injury.

6 First word of a rhyming cocktail name : MAI …

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

9 Family name in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” : SAMSA

“The Metamorphosis” is a famous novella by Franz Kafka that is regarded by many as one of the greatest pieces of short fiction written in the 20th century. The story tells of the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa into a gigantic insect. His sister Grete Samsa becomes his caregiver.

14 Scotch-Brite sponge : O-CEL-O

“o-cel-o” is a brand of kitchen sponge introduced in 1947, and is made today by 3M. The “o-cel-o” name comes from chemical components used in the product’s manufacture, i.e. oxygen-cellulose-oxygen.

16 Change, as text : AMEND

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

17 *Fleet of government vehicles : MOTOR POOL (giving “pool table”)

The more correct name for the game of pool is “pocket billiards”. The designation “pool” arose after pocket billiards became a common feature in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.

20 Red Cross supply : PLASMA

Plasma (sometimes “plasm”) is the clear, yellow-colored liquid component of blood and lymph in which cells are suspended.

21 Philosopher Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can be described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

23 Alphabet finale : ZEE

The letter zed has been around since about 1400, and derives from the Greek letter zeta. The spelling and pronunciation “zee”, used in America today, first popped up in the 1670s. The spelling and pronunciation “zed” is still used in Britain and Ireland.

24 Venue : SITE

A venue is a specified locale used for an event. The term “venue” came into English via French from the Latin “venire” meaning “to come”. So, a “venue” is a place to which people “come” for an event.

25 *Payment method that may have a chip : CREDIT CARD (giving “card table”)

Smart payment cards are credit and debit cards that include an integrated circuit chip for security. Smart cards can be categorized into two main types. Here in the US, we use chip and signature cards, meaning that we use a signature to identify the bearer of the card. Most Europeans use chip and PIN cards, which require the bearer to provide a PIN instead of a signature.

29 Blue ink cartridge for a color printer : CYAN

“Cyan” is short for “cyan blue”. The term comes from the Greek word “kyanos” meaning “dark blue, the color of lapis lazuli”.

Four-color printing uses four different color inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The black ink is also known as the “key”. The first letter of the colors (with black being ”key”) give the more common name for four-color printing, namely CMYK.

30 Storm-tracking device : RADAR

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

34 “ER” actor Wyle : NOAH

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.

43 Part of a “Scream” costume : MASK

The first installment of the “Scream” franchise of horror films was released in 1996. Each movie features a murderer who adopts the persona of “Ghostface”, a man wearing a mask that resembles the subject in the Edvard Munch painting “The Scream”. Even though the murderer behind the mask changes in each film, the victim is always Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell.

46 Foot soldier : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

48 Pi follower in the Greek alphabet : RHO

Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R. It is the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet.

50 *Summertime java order : ICED COFFEE (giving “coffee table”)

Back in 1850, the name “java” was given to a type of coffee grown on the island of Java, and the more general usage of the term spread from then.

59 Port or scope prefix : TELE-

Teleportation is a favorite of authors of science fiction. The hypothetical process results in the transfer of matter from one point to another, with actually crossing the intervening space. Beam me up, Scotty!

The first patent application for a telescope was filed in 1608 in the Netherlands, to eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. However, research has shown that there is some evidence that telescopes were built before 1608, perhaps as early as the mid-1500s. But it is clear that reports of Lippershey’s design spread quickly around Europe. By 1609, Galileo had built his own telescope and started to explore the night sky.

66 Like un enfant : PETIT

In French, “un enfant” (a male child) is “petit”, and “une enfant” (a female child) is “petite” (small).

68 “__ are red … ” : ROSES

As little kids we used to taunt each other with:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
God made me beautiful
What happened to you?

We weren’t very nice …

69 Deuce toppers : TREYS

A trey is a three in a deck of cards. The term “trey” can also be used for a domino with three pips, and even for a three-point play in basketball.

A two in a deck of playing cards might be called a “deuce”, from the Middle French “deus” (or Modern French “deux”) meaning “two”.

Down

2 Bacteria in undercooked meat : E COLI

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are usually harmless bacteria found in the human gut, working away quite happily. However, there are some strains that can produce lethal toxins. These strains can make their way into the food chain from animal fecal matter that comes into contact with food designated for human consumption

3 Adjusted to, as a thermostat : SET AT

The suffix “-stat” comes from the Greek “statos” meaning “standing, stationary”. It was first used in the mid-1700s in the term “heliostat”, which described an instrument that made the sun appear stationary. We still use “-stat” in the name of devices that stabilize or regulate. For example, a thermostat controls temperature and a rheostat uses resistance to control current flow in an electrical circuit.

6 __ shu pork : MOO

Moo shu pork (also “mu shu pork”) is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg. In North America, the dish is served with tortilla-like wrappers that are sometimes referred to as “moo shu pancakes”.

8 Sat at a light, say : IDLED

The first traffic lights date back to 1868 when they were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. They resembled the signals already in use for trains, with semaphore arms and red and green gas lamps for nighttime use. That first system was operated manually, by a policeman at the base. Sadly, one police officer was killed just one year after the light’s installation, when the gas system exploded.

9 The “S” of OSHA : SAFETY

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

10 Doc’s gp. : AMA

The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest professional organization of physicians in the United States.The AMA has been involved in several landmark legal cases that have had a significant impact on American healthcare. For example, in the 1950s, the AMA was involved in a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the implementation of Medicare, arguing that it would lead to socialized medicine and harm the quality of medical care. The lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, and Medicare has since become a cornerstone of American healthcare.

11 Theater seating section : MEZZANINE

A mezzanine in a building is a low story between two taller ones. The term came to be used for the lowest balcony in a theater in the 1920s.

27 Sounded like a crow : CAWED

Ravens and crows are very similar species, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. Ravens are a little larger and often travel in pairs, whereas crows are a little smaller and are usually seen in larger groups. Crows make a cawing sound, while the raven’s call is more like a croak.

28 Four-digit DOB nos. : YRS

Date of birth (DOB)

30 Tach stat : RPM

The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer in a car measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

31 Parseghian of Notre Dame football fame : ARA

Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known alliteratively as “The Era of Ara”.

35 Ottawa’s prov. : ONT

Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.

38 Small-screen pioneer : RCA

RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, played a significant role in the history of television as a pioneer in the industry. RCA developed and introduced the first electronic television system in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair. RCA also created the NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcast standard, which was adopted in the United States in 1953 and is still used today for analog television broadcasting. Additionally, RCA produced the first color television sets in 1954.

41 Lakeside boat rental : CANOE

The boat known as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

42 Kia subcompact : RIO

The Kia Rio is a subcompact that has been in production since 1999, and has undergone several updates and redesigns over the years. The Rio was designed by Kia’s chief design officer, Peter Schreyer, who previously worked for Audi and is credited with designing the iconic Audi TT.

49 Miami hoopsters : HEAT

The Miami Heat basketball team debuted in the NBA in the 1988-89 season. The franchise name was chosen in a competitive survey, with “Miami Heat” beating out “Miami Vice”.

50 Likely to err : INEPT

If one is capable, one might jokingly be described as “ept”, the ostensible opposite of “inept”.

52 Pests that may prompt a visit to the vet : FLEAS

Fleas are flightless insects, but they sure can jump. Their very specialized hind legs allow them to jump up to 50 times the length of their bodies.

An endoparasite is one that lives inside the host, an example being a parasitic worm. Parasites living outside the host, such as fleas and lice, are known as ectoparasites.

54 Armrest occupier : ELBOW

Here is an unwritten rule that’s often broken: someone sitting in a middle seat in an airplane gets control of both armrests, either side of him or her.

55 Oklahoma’s second-largest city : TULSA

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.

57 “Siddhartha” novelist Hermann : HESSE

Hermann Hesse was not only a novelist, but also a poet and a painter. His best known work is probably his 1927 novel “Steppenwolf”. Hesse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

The 1922 novel “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse focuses on the spiritual journey of a man called Siddhartha. Even though the Buddha’s name was Siddhartha Gautama before he renounced his former life, Hesse’s Siddhartha is a different character who lived around the time of the Buddha.

61 Croft played by Angelina Jolie : LARA

Lara Croft was introduced to the world in 1996 as the main character in a pretty cool video game (or so I thought, back then) called “Tomb Raider”. Lara Croft moved to the big screen in 2001 and 2003, in two pretty awful movie adaptations of the game’s storyline. Angelina Jolie played Croft, and she did a very energetic job.

63 Craft kit letters : DIY

Do-it-yourself (DIY)