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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
CROSSWORD SETTER: Cathy Allis
THEME: INCLUDED HEREWIT … all the theme answers are well-known phrases with a “TH” sound replaced with a “T” sound, as in “herewit” replacing “herewith”, reminiscent of the way Joe Pesci speaks in the movie “My Cousin Vinnie”:
24A. Salt Lake City athlete’s dear hawk mascot? : SWEET BIRD OF UTE (“Sweet Bird of Youth”)
27A. Possible result of a costly Italian vacation? : DEBT IN VENICE (“Death in Venice”)
55A. Jokes in a campy 1960s TV locale? : BAT ROOM HUMOR (bathroom humor)
59A. Marisa who played 75-Down’s girlfriend : TOMEI
64A. Akin to milking a cow? : LIKE PULLING TEAT (like pulling teeth)
78A. Bless butter with a gesture? : CROSS ONE’S PAT (cross one’s path)
108A. Vessel for just the two of us? : YOU AND ME BOAT (you and me both)
113A. Role of a boxer’s physician? : WELT MANAGEMENT (wealth management)
4.D What Ernie may wish he had vis-à-vis his roommate? : BERT CONTROL (birth control)
68D. Non-choice for restaurant seating? : TABLE OR BOOT (table or booth)
75D. Film cousin whose accent this puzzle spoofs : VINNY
COMPLETION TIME: 30m 21s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … SHAMAN (SWAMAN), MEH (MEW)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Jewish grandma : BUBBE
“Bubbe” is the Yiddish word for “grandmother”.
6. Crooked : ALOP
I had to go to one of my two huge volumes of the OED to find the definition of “alop”. It means “lop-sided”. A lovely word, I think, but it’s amazing that it seems to have avoided the Internet!
Dan Rowan was the straight man to funny guy Dick Martin on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. “Laugh-In” was originally recorded as a one-off special for NBC in 1967, but it was so successful that it was brought back as a series to replace the waning, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Personally, back then I loved both shows!
13. Barney Gumble of “The Simpsons,” e.g. : SLOB
On “The Simpsons”, Barney Gumble is the town drunk, and Homer Simpson’s best friend. As one might surmise, the name “Barney Gumble” was chosen as reminiscent of Barney Rubble from “The Flintstones”.
17. Woody and Steve : ALLENS
20. Suffix with buck : -AROO
The American English word “buckaroo”, an alternative for “cowboy”, comes from the Spanish for cowboy, “vaquero”.
22. Rain cats and dogs : POUR
It has been “raining cats and dogs” at least since the 1700s, but no one seems to know the origin of the expression.
The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach, from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin'” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.
“Sweet Bird of Youth” is a play by Tennessee Wiliams about a gigolo, Chance Wayne, who returns to his hometown in search of what he lost in his youth, his old girlfriend.
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, whose most famous work is probably his novella “Death in Venice”, originally published in German in 1912 as “Der Tod in Venedig”. The story was famously adapted for the big screen in 1971, starring Dirk Bogarde.
30. First Nations group : CREES
“First Nations” is a term used in Canada describing the ethnicity of Native Americans who are neither Inuit nor Métis people.
The Wii is the biggest selling game console in the world. Two distinguishing features are the impressive wireless remote control and its WiiConnect24 system which allows the console get messages and updates wirelessly in standby mode. I have my kids unplug the darn thing when they aren’t using it, as even in standby mode it sucks up bandwidth on my wireless network here at the house.
Anne Frank has to be one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust. This is largely because the story of this young girl lives on in her widely published diary, and in adaptations of the diary for stage and screen. Anne Frank was a German until she lost her nationality in 1941 when the Nazis came to power. By this time, she was living with her family in Amsterdam, as the Franks chose to flee Germany in 1933. When the Germans occupied the Netherlands, the family went into hiding in the attic of Otto Frank’s office building (Otto was Anne’s father). There the family hid for two whole years, until they were betrayed. The family was split up, and Anne and her sister died from typhus in a concentration camp in 1945.
34. Sierra Nevada lake : TAHOE
Lake Tahoe is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.
The expression “mad as a March hare” predates the appearance of the March Hare character in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is often cited as as the origin of the expression “mad as a March hare”, perhaps because of confusion between the March Hare and the Mad Hatter who appear together at the famous “tea party” in the story. The expression predates the Lewis Carroll tale, and arose as hares were said to behave quite “madly” in the March breeding season.
39. Slowly, on scores : ADAGIO
An adagio is a piece of music with a slow tempo. The “adagio” marking on the score is an instruction to play the piece slowly and in a stately manner. The word adagio is Latin for “at ease”.
Elvis Aron Presley was the younger of two identical twins, although he was raised as an only child. His brother was stillborn, delivered 35 minutes before Elvis, and named Jesse Garon Presley.
42. Hit show with New Directions singers : GLEE
The relatively new TV show called “Glee” is proving to be very popular. The storyline focuses on a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio.
Nadia Comaneci won three golds in the 1976 Summer Olympics and was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of a ten in the gymnastics competition. She published a book “Letters to a Young Gymnast” in 2003, and now lives in the United States.
50. Tribal healer : SHAMAN
A shaman is a supposed intermediary between the human world and the spirit world.
54. Shakespearean fairy king : OBERON
Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the fairies in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
The television show “Batman” aired from 1966-1968. Burt Ward played Robin opposite Adam West’s Batman. Supposedly, Burt Ward was offered the part taken by Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”, but Ward couldn’t get out of his contract for the “Batman” television series.
58. Hazardous household gas : RADON
Radon is a radioactive gas, a byproduct produced when uranium decays naturally in the earth. Radon gas can collect and accumulate in buildings and rooms that are particularly well insulated with very little air exchange. The danger is very real, as radon is listed as the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoke.
(75. Film cousin whose accent this puzzle spoofs : VINNY)
Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spin-off, “A Different World”. She won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.
62. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI
The Trans-Alai Range is in the Pamir Mountains lying between Kyrgystan and Tajikstan. The highest point in the range is called Lenin peak.
Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the twenties, would you believe?
69. Car safety feature, for short : ABS
The first anti-lock braking system (ABS) was developed for use on aircraft in 1929. The system reduced braking distances for aircraft by 30% because pilots were able to apply a full braking force immediately on landing instead of applying gradual pressure to avoid skidding.
72. Singer India.___ : ARIE
India.Arie is an American soul and R&B singer, born India Arie Simpson.
The Baltimore football team’s name, “The Ravens”, has a literary derivation. Baltimore was the home of the writer Edgar Allen Poe, and so the team took its moniker from his most famous poem, “The Raven”. The name was selected in a fan contest.
82. Apt to fluctuate : LABILE
Something that is “labile” is liable to change or is adaptable.
The St. Louis Rams have only won the Super Bowl once, in 1999, against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams were based in Cleveland from 1936-45, Los Angeles from 1946-94 and St. Louis from 1995 to the present day.
88. Damascene’s homeland : SYRIA
Damascus is the second largest city in Syria (after Aleppo), and is the country’s capital. Damascus has the distinction of being the oldest, continuously-inhabited city in the world, having been settled in the 2nd millennium BC.
94. Wordy : PROLIX
Something described as “prolix” is excessively wordy and prolonged.
At one point Atari was the fastest growing company in US history, but the company never really recovered from the video game crash of 1983.
The royal “we” is more correctly called the majestic plural, and is the use of a plural pronoun to describe a single person in a high office. I suppose the most often quoted phrase that uses the majestic plural is, “We are not amused”, uttered by Queen Victoria.
104. “A momentary madness,” per Horace : ANGER
The Ancient Roman poet Horace wrote:
Anger is a momentary madness, so control your passion or it will control you.
106. Misers : SCROOGES
The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to the popular use of “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” meaning a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Scrooge uttered the famous line “Bah! Humbug!”.
115. Tennis’s Goolagong : EVONNE
Evonne Goolagong was an outstanding Australian tennis player who was at the pinnacle of her success in seventies and early eighties. Her colorful family name, Goolagong, came from her Aboriginal father who worked for much of his life as an itinerant sheep shearer. I remember seeing Goolagong play back then, and I always thought that she was so elegant and such a lady on the court …
Newt … what a name! Newt Gingrich was born Newton Leroy Gingrich in 1943, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
By definition, a neoconservative supports the use of American power and military to bring democracy, liberty, equality and human rights to other countries.
The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite towards the end of 1957, a development that shocked the establishment in the US. Within months, President Eisenhower made his move, creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
121. That, in a bodega : ESO
“Bodega” is the Spanish term for a winery, or these days also a grocery store.
122. Saxophonist Getz : STAN
Stan Getz was a jazz saxophonist. His playing style earned him the nickname “The Sound”.
123. Surgical tube : STENT
In the world of medicine and surgery, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say a blood vessel, so that it reduces the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.
Down
“Ulee’s Gold” is a highly respected film from 1997 in which Peter Fonda plays the title role of Ulee. Ulee’s “gold” is the honey that Ulee produced. It is a favorite role for Peter Fonda, and he has shared that the role brought into mind his father, Henry Fonda, who himself kept a couple of hives. So if you see Peter Fonda in “Ulee’s Gold”, you’re witnessing some characteristics that Peter saw in his father.
I’ve always believed that the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie were named after two roles played in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In the movie, the policeman’s name is Bert, and his taxi-driving buddy is named Ernie. However, the “Sesame Street” folks have stated that the use of the same names is just a coincidence.
8. Frozen tater brand : ORE-IDA
Ore-Ida frozen foods are all made with potatoes. The company is located in Oregon, just across the border from Idaho. “Ore-Ida” is a melding of the two state names.
11. Quartermaster’s group : BRIGADE
There are quartermasters in both land armies and navies. The term “quartermaster” comes from “quartier-maître”, a ship’s officer in the French navy who was responsible for stowing cargo and supplies in the hold.
Corona is the top selling imported beer in the United States.
13. UV blockage nos. : SPFS
In theory, the Sun Protection Factor is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it will take 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn if using lotion, than without it. I say, just stay out of the sun …
Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was a Swiss race car driver who co-founded the Cevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. The company logo to this day is a stylized Swiss cross, in honor of Chevrolet’s Swiss roots.
16. Shetland, e.g. : BREED
The Shetland archipelago in Scotland has given its name to a few breeds of animals, including Shetland cattle, Shetland ponies, Shetland sheep, Shetland sheepdogs and Shetland geese.
18. Loudness unit : SONE
In the acoustic world, the sone was introduced as a unit of perceived loudness in 1936.
A tabor is a portable snare drum, played with one hand. It is usually suspended by a strap from one arm, with the other hand free to beat the drum. It is often played as an accompaniment for a fife or other small flutes. The word “tabor” comes from the Welsh name for the drum, “tabwrdd”.
35. One of the Leeward Antilles : ARUBA
Aruba is one of the so-called ABC Islands. The ABC Islands is the nickname given to the three western-most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. The nickname comes from the first letters of the island names: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. All three of the ABC Islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
38. Interjection of disinterest : MEH
“Meh!” is one of those terms unfamiliar to me, a modern colloquialism meaning, “I’m not great, but not bad”.
Ayn Rand (born Alisa Rosenbaum) was a Russian-American novelist born Alisa Rosenbaum. Her two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” in 1957. Back in 1951, Ayn Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan.
40. Home of Punchbowl Crater : OAHU
Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu is home to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Among those interred there is the astronaut Ellison Onizuka, killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and Ernie Pyle, the celebrated war correspondent.
Loni Anderson’s most famous role was that of Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. Anderson has been married four times, most famously to actor Burt Reynolds from 1988 to 1993.
Anton Chekhov was a Russian writer of short stories and a playwright, as well as a physician. He wrote four classic plays that are often performed all around the world, namely “The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Three Sisters” and “The Cherry Orchard”. All the time Chekhov was writing, he continued to practice medicine. He is quoted as saying “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.”
57. Feel one’s ___ (be confident) : OATS
Traditionally, wild oats was a crop that one would regret sowing instead of “good grain”. Young and tempestuous people were rash enough to sow their wild oats, and had yet to comprehend their folly. Over time, to “feel one’s oats” came to mean “be lively and confident”.
Ron Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show”. He has directed some fabulous movies, including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”. And today, Opie is a grandfather …
61. Kellogg’s cereal : MUESLIX
Müeslix is a brand of muesli made by Kellogg’s.
“Meusli” is a Swiss-German term describing a breakfast serving of oats, nuts, fruit and milk. Delicious …
The satirical comedy series called “Get Smart” was the creation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and starred Don Adams as Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. It was on the air from 1965 to 1970. Smart’s shoe phone was a hilarious prop used in almost every episode. When Smart dialed the number 117, the shoe converted into a gun. Cool stuff …
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest letter in the alphabet.
67. Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the original lake’s volume gone. Sad …
69. New Testament book : ACTS
The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament.
“My Cousin Vinny” is a really fun film from 1992 starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. Would you believe that in 2008, the American Bar Association rated “My Cousin Vinny” as the #3 Greatest Legal Movie of all time, after “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “12 Angry Man”.
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States, and not too long ago replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing …
77. Stairway post : NEWEL
A newel is a principal upright post that supports a handrail beside a staircase. Newels are found at the top and bottom of the banister, and sometimes in between. Newels are often adorned with decorative trim to set them apart from the other posts by the staircase.
“The Office” is set in a branch of a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. If you haven’t seen the original UK version
90. They cut wood with the grain : RIP SAWS
In woodworking, a cut across the grain is known as a cross cut. A cut along the grain is called a rip cut. Most saws are designed to perform the best cross cuts, but there is a special rip saw that more easily cuts straight lines along the grain.
Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor, whose most celebrated roles were a metalhead in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989), a cop in “Speed” (1994) and the main antagonist in “The Matrix” series of films. Although Reeves is a Canadian national, he was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Reeves has some Hawaiian descent, and the name “Keanu” is Hawaiian for “the coldness”.
99. City on the Nile : ASWAN
The city of Aswan is one of the driest places on earth, so dry in fact that many locals do not bother putting roofs on all the rooms in their dwellings. Apparently, the last time it rained in Aswan was a thunderstorm on May 13, 2006. The nearby Aswan Dam is very famous, and is actually two dams. The Low Dam was first built in 1902 (and modified later). The High Dam was completed in 1970.
The Acela Express is the fastest train routinely running in the US, getting up to 150 mph at times. The service runs between Boston and Washington D.C. via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. The brand name “Acela” was created to evoke “acceleration” and “excellence”.
“Bedroom in Arles” is actually the name of three paintings by Vincent van Gogh. Each painting is his impression of his bedroom in the Yellow House in Arles, where Van Gogh rented four rooms in 1888.
103. Image on the back of a $1 bill : EYE
If you look at the back of a one-dollar bill there is an eye sitting above a pyramid. This is known as the Eye of Providence, and is similar to the Eye of Horus that we see so often in Ancient Egyptian designs and hieroglyphs. The Eye of Providence is a common Christian emblem from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
105. Feds : G-MEN
The nickname G-men is short for “Government Men”.
109. Architectural pier : ANTA
An anta is a post or pillar on either side of the entrance to a Greek temple.
114. G.M. debut of 1964 : GTO
GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Jewish grandma : BUBBE
6. Crooked : ALOP
10. “Laugh-In” airer : NBC
13. Barney Gumble of “The Simpsons,” e.g. : SLOB
17. Woody and Steve : ALLENS
19. Attire for an Indian bride : SARI
20. Suffix with buck : -AROO
22. Rain cats and dogs : POUR
23. Close by : NEAR TO
24. Salt Lake City athlete’s dear hawk mascot? : SWEET BIRD OF UTE
27. Possible result of a costly Italian vacation? : DEBT IN VENICE
29. Leave the outdoors : GO INSIDE
30. First Nations group : CREES
31. Place for Wii play, say : DEN
32. Frank writing in a diary : ANNE
33. Turf : SOD
34. Sierra Nevada lake : TAHOE
37. Comparable to a March hare : AS MAD
39. Slowly, on scores : ADAGIO
41. Elvis ___ Presley : ARON
42. Hit show with New Directions singers : GLEE
43. Some whiskeys : RYES
44. Gymnastics great Comaneci : NADIA
48. Flurry of activity : BUSTLE
50. Tribal healer : SHAMAN
53. In pain : ACHING
54. Shakespearean fairy king : OBERON
55. Jokes in a campy 1960s TV locale? : BAT ROOM HUMOR
58. Hazardous household gas : RADON
59. Marisa who played 75-Down’s girlfriend : TOMEI
62. Kyrgyzstan range : ALAI
63. ___-Caps : SNO
64. Akin to milking a cow? : LIKE PULLING TEAT
69. Car safety feature, for short : ABS
72. Singer India.___ : ARIE
73. Musical endings : CODAS
74. Baseball : Oriole :: football : ___ : RAVEN
78. Bless butter with a gesture? : CROSS ONE’S PAT
82. Apt to fluctuate : LABILE
83. Bullying words : TAUNTS
84. Former SoCal N.F.L. team : LA RAMS
87. Never-before-seen : ALL NEW
88. Damascene’s homeland : SYRIA
89. Saharan : ARID
91. Gross : ICKY
93. Equivalent of -trix : -ENNE
94. Wordy : PROLIX
96. Video game pioneer : ATARI
98. What we may be? : ROYAL
99. Like some baseball teams : AAA
102. Leak sound : DRIP
103. Slip up : ERR
104. “A momentary madness,” per Horace : ANGER
106. Misers : SCROOGES
108. Vessel for just the two of us? : YOU AND ME BOAT
113. Role of a boxer’s physician? : WELT MANAGEMENT
115. Tennis’s Goolagong : EVONNE
116. Yank or Ray : ALER
117. Politico Gingrich : NEWT
118. Concerning : AS TO
119. Many a Bush military adviser : NEOCON
120. Org. in a big race of years past : NASA
121. That, in a bodega : ESO
122. Saxophonist Getz : STAN
123. Surgical tube : STENT
Down
1. Word after string or rubber : BAND
2. Peter Fonda title role : ULEE
3. Tattle : BLAB
4. What Ernie may wish he had vis-à-vis his roommate? : BERT CONTROL
5. Complete : ENTIRE
6. Evaluates : ASSESSES
7. It may be manicured : LAWN
8. Frozen tater brand : ORE-IDA
9. Like quilts : PIECED
10. Catch : NAB
11. Quartermaster’s group : BRIGADE
12. Alternatives to Dos Equis : CORONAS
13. UV blockage nos. : SPFS
14. Automaker Chevrolet : LOUIS
15. Surpass : OUTDO
16. Shetland, e.g. : BREED
18. Loudness unit : SONE
21. Taking way too many meds : ODING
25. X : TEN
26. Margin size, maybe : ONE INCH
28. Calf product : VEAL
34. Small drum : TABOR
35. One of the Leeward Antilles : ARUBA
36. Scammed : HOSED
38. Interjection of disinterest : MEH
39. “The Fountainhead” author : AYN RAND
40. Home of Punchbowl Crater : OAHU
42. See 51-Down: Abbr. : GEN
43. Teller : RAT
45. Darkens : DIMS
46. Hip to : IN ON
47. Soil: Prefix : AGRO-
49. Actress Anderson : LONI
51. First name alphabetically in 42-Down : ABEL
52. Train part where sorting was once done : MAIL CAR
53. Gallic gal pal : AMIE
56. One of Chekhov’s “three sisters” : OLGA
57. Feel one’s ___ (be confident) : OATS
59. Cousin of a gull : TERN
60. Mayberry boy : OPIE
61. Kellogg’s cereal : MUESLIX
65. Villainous group in “Get Smart” : KAOS
66. Minute bit : IOTA
67. Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL
68. Non-choice for restaurant seating? : TABLE OR BOOT
69. New Testament book : ACTS
70. Donkey’s cry : BRAY
71. Go bad : SOUR
75. Film cousin whose accent this puzzle spoofs : VINNY
76. Justice Kagan : ELENA
77. Stairway post : NEWEL
79. Short cut : SNIP
80. Fame : STARDOM
81. Tablet : PAD
82. Was supine : LAY
85. War stat : MIA
86. Setting for “The Office” : SCRANTON
89. Property recipient, in law : ALIENEE
90. They cut wood with the grain : RIP SAWS
92. Humane : KIND
95. Pipe holder : ORGAN
96. Restaurant lures : AROMAS
97. Most faithful : TRUEST
98. Actor Keanu : REEVES
99. City on the Nile : ASWAN
100. Fleet Amtrak train : ACELA
101. “Bedroom at ___” (classic painting) : ARLES
103. Image on the back of a $1 bill : EYE
105. Feds : G-MEN
107. Other: Sp. : OTRA
109. Architectural pier : ANTA
110. Formerly : ONCE
111. Soon, poetically : ANON
112. Big top, e.g. : TENT
114. G.M. debut of 1964 : GTO
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Although I don't have a reference, I once read that "raining cats and dogs" its origin in the practice of animals sleeping in the warm roof of a thatched house. When it rained, they would all drop down into the house.
Hi there, Don.
Thanks for stopping by.
I haven't heard that tale (pun!) about cats and dogs and rain. It sounds very plausible. I've heard the more mundane explanation that after rainstorms in European cities centuries ago there would be garbage left floating around including dead cats and dogs, so one might assume the cats and dogs came with the rain.
These days we have to worry less about it raining cats and dogs, and worry more about raining radioactive isotopes from stricken Japanese nuclear power plants …