Day: October 16, 2011

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
13. Well-known maze traveler : PAC-MAN
The Pac-Man arcade game was first released in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points. The name comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, known for his voracious appetite.

22. “Things Fall Apart” author Chinua ___ : ACHEBE
Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe was born in the Ibo region in the south of the country. His first novel was “Things Fall Apart”, a book that has the distinction of being the most widely read in the whole of African literature.

26. Game hunters : SETTERS
The breeds of dog known as setters are all gundogs, and used in hunting game.

29. Friend of Fifi : AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

30. Fleur-de-___ : LIS
“Lys” (also “lis”) is the French word for “lily”, as in fleur-de-lys, the heraldic symbol often associated with the French monarchy.

31. Frozen beverage brand : ICEE
Icee is the brand name of one of those slushy drinks. Ugh …

34. Author ___ Hubbard : L. RON
L. Ron Hubbard wrote a self-improvement book in 1950 called “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health”. A few years later the concepts were used in the founding of the Church of Scientology.

36. Geological feature on a Utah license plate : ARCH
Some Utah licence plates feature an image of Delicate Arch, a natural sandstone arch located in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

44. Tennis’s Berdych : TOMAS
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.

46. Golfer nicknamed “The King” : PALMER
Arnold Palmer is one of the greats of the world of golf. He is very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers are usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”.

47. Year Michelangelo began work on “David” : MDI
When Michelangelo’s famous statue of David was unveiled in 1504, it was at a time when the city state of the Florentine Republic was threatened by rival states (including Rome). The statue depicts David after he has decided to fight Goliath, and the subject is sporting what is described as a “warning glare”. David was originally placed outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of government in Florence, and that warning glare was directed very deliberately in the direction of its enemy, Rome.

61. Priestly garment : ALB
The alb is the white, neck-to-toe vestment worn by priests, usually with a rope cord around the waist. The term alb comes from “albus”, the Latin word for “white”.

64. Folkie Guthrie : ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.

65. Repeated musical phrases : RIFFS
A riff is a short rhythmic phrase in music, especially one improvised on a guitar.

67. Mazda model : MIATA
I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan.

72. Soviet space station : MIR
Mir was a very successful project, with the station still holding the record for the longest continuous manned presence in space, at just under ten years. Towards the end of its life however, the years began to take their toll. There was a dangerous fire, multiple system failures, and a collision with a resupply ship. The Russian commitment to the International Space Station drained funds for repairs, so Mir was allowed to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere in 2001.

74. Home to the Venus de Milo : LOUVRE
The famous “Venus de Milo” is so named as it was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos, on the Aegean island of the same name. I’ve been lucky enough to see it, in the Louvre in Paris, and was surprised at how large it is (6 ft 8 in tall).

80. Majority figure? : EIGHTEEN
The “age of majority” is a legal term, meaning the age at which an individual ceases to be a minor and is treated as an adult. The age of majority is distinct from the “age of license”, the age at which an individual is given permission to do something (like drive perhaps, or purchase alcohol).

82. Texans’ org. : NFL
The NFL had a Dallas Texan team for just one season, back in 1952. The Texans were one of the worst teams in NFL history, finishing that one season with a record of 1-11. The one win was in the Rubber Bowl at the end of the season played against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day. The game was played in front of only 3,000 spectators, with the Bears only fielding their second-string team.

86. Cheney’s successor : BIDEN
Vice President Joe Biden twice ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s nomination for US President (1988 and 2008), before finally joining the 2008 winning ticket alongside then-Senator Barack Obama.

90. Jack or jenny : ASS
A female donkey is known as a jenny, and a male is known as a jack, or sometimes a “jackass”.

91. Beginning of un año : ENERO
In Spanish, a year (año) starts in January (Enero) and ends in December (Diciembre).

98. PC key : ESC
The escape key was originally used to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of other things, especially in gaming programs.

99. 1977 thriller set at sea : ORCA
“Orca” was a 1977 horror movie, starring Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling. It is often compared (unfavorably) with “Jaws”, which was released just two years earlier.

100. Comedy Central’s “___.0” : TOSH
Daniel Tosh is a stand-up comedian and host of “Tosh.0”, a video clip show on Comedy Central.

104. “… ___ saw Elba” : ERE I
The three most famous palindromes in English are:

– Able was I ere I saw Elba
– A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
– Madam, I’m Adam

One of my favorite words is “Aibophobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. It is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”. I would call it a “real” word though in one sense, as it was introduced in the early eighties and has been around ever since.

105. Co. that owns Moviefone : AOL
Moviefone is a movie listing service, available by telephone in many parts of the country.

114. Child’s pet : DOGGY
My first pet dog, his name was … “Doggy”.

115. Phenomenon associated with the Southern Oscillation : EL NINO
When the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean rises or falls more that half a degree centigrade, then there is said to be an El Niño episode. That small temperature change in the Pacific has been associated with climatic changes that can stretch right across the globe. El Niño is Spanish for “the boy” and is a reference to the Christ child. The phenomenon was given this Spanish name because the warming is usually noticed near South America and around Christmas-time.

117. Setting for van Gogh’s “Cafe Terrace at Night” : ARLES
A few years ago I had the privilege of living just a short car ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although it has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. It has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the city center. In more modern times it was a place that Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous “Café Terrace at Night”, as well as “Bedroom in Arles”.

118. Phillies div. : NL EAST
I am proud to say that I made it to Philadelphia’s historic Veteran’s Stadium for a baseball game, on a road trip a few years ago. The Phillies played their first game there in April 1971, and their last game in September 2003.

Down
2. Character in “The Hobbit” : RUNE
A rune is a character in an alphabet (including the Viking alphabet), believed to have mysterious powers.

3. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : ARCTIC CIRCLE
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude marked on most maps of the earth. The Arctic lies north of the Arctic Circle, and is the region where the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year.

Lines of latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are:

– Arctic Circle
– Tropic of Cancer
– Equator
– Tropic of Capricorn
– Antarctic Circle

5. Cosmetician Lauder : ESTEE
Estée Lauder was quite the successful business woman, with a reputation as a great sales person. She introduced her own line of fragrances starting in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bath water. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths, while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

9. Harvey of “Reservoir Dogs” : KEITEL
Harvey Keitel is an actor from New York City, who grew up in Brighton Beach. He is best known for playing “tough guy” roles, as he did in “Reservoir Dogs”, “Pulp Fiction” and “Taxi Driver”.

“Reservoir Dogs” was the first film directed by Quentin Tarantino, and was released in 1992. I really don’t like Tarantino movie as I just cannot take all the violence.

12. Media watchdog org. : FCC
TV broadcasting is monitored by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has been around since 1934, when it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.

13. “Going Rogue” author : PALIN
When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as candidate for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she became the first Alaskan to go on the national ticket for a major party. She also became the first woman nominated for Vice President by the Republicans.

15. 1969 film with an exclamation point in its title : CHE!
“Che!” is a 1969 biopic about the life of Che Guevara. It stars Omar Sharif in the title role, and Jack Palance as Fidel Castro. I haven’t seen the film, and apparently it wasn’t well received. Well, an Egyptian (Sharif) playing an Argentine Marxist, and a Ukrainian American (Palance) playing a Cuban revolutionary … it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen …

25. Book after Joel : AMOS
Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

27. Cousin of an oboe : RECORDER
When I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic, almost everyone had to learn to play the recorder at school.

32. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : OVAL OFFICE
The Oval Office in the West Wing of the White House was first built and occupied by President Taft, in 1909. It had to be rebuilt during President Hoover’s administration after a fire damaged the West Wing in 1929. The current design of the Oval Office dates back to the days of President Franklyn D. Roosevelt, who wanted a room that was more accessible, but one that could also provide more privacy.

34. Site of a key battle in the War of 1812 : LAKE ERIE
The Battle of Erie took place off the coast of Ohio and was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812. At the end of the day, nine US vessels had captured six vessels belonging to the Royal Navy.

35. Flotsam or Jetsam in “The Little Mermaid” : EEL
Flotsam and Jetsam are characters in the Disney movie called “The Little Mermaid”, released in 1989. Both are moray eels in the service of Ursula, the sea witch.

Flotsam and jetsam are both terms used to describe “garbage” in the ocean. Flotsam is floating wreckage from a ship or its cargo. Jetsam is similar to flotsam, except that it is part of a ship or cargo that is deliberately cast overboard, perhaps to lighten a vessel.

36. Fleet : ARMADA
The most famous Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England in order to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I in 1588. It failed in its mission, partly due to bad weather encountered en route. Ironically, the English mounted a similar naval attack against Spain the following year, and it failed as well.

37. He played the candidate in “The Candidate,” 1972 : REDFORD
“The Candidate” is a 1972 film starring Robert Redford as a politician running for a California seat in the US Senate.

39. “___ in the Morning” : IMUS
Don Imus’s syndicated radio show, “Imus in the Morning”, broadcasts from New York City.

40. ’10 or ’11 person, now : ALUM
An “alumnus” (plural … alumni) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural … alumnae). The word comes into English from Latin, in which alumnus means foster-son or pupil.

45. Aviation pioneer Sikorsky : IGOR
Igor Sikorsky was a Russian pioneer in the world of aviation. He designed and indeed piloted the world’s first multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft in 1913. He moved to the US in 1919 and set up his own aircraft manufacturing business. In the thirties he made the magnificent flying boats that were used by Pan Am in their Clipper era. Sikorsky also developed the world’s first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942.

46. Designer of the pyramid at the 74-Across : PEI
(74A. Home to the Venus de Milo : LOUVRE)
I. M. Pei (full name: Ieoh Ming Pei) is an exceptional American architect, born in China. Of his many wonderful works, my favorite is the renovation of the Louvre in Paris, especially the Glass Pyramid in the courtyard.

51. It’s for the birds : SUET
Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called “suet”. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily, so it has to be “rendered” or purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call “lard”. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as “tallow”.

54. Garlicky mayonnaise : AIOLI
To the purist (especially in Provence in the South of France), aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to mix, particularly egg yolks.

55. “___ for Cookie” (“Sesame Street” song) : C IS
Back in 1966, the Carnegie Institute allocated money to study the use of television to help young children prepare for school. The institute gave an $8million grant to set up the Children’s Television Workshop with the task of creating an educational TV program for young people. The program began to come together, especially after Jim Henson (of Muppet fame) got involved. The name “Sesame Street” was chosen simply because it was the “least disliked” of all names proposed just before the program went on the air.

56. Totaled : KAPUT
“Kaput”, meaning completely incapacitated, comes to us from French (via German). The word derives from “capot” a term meaning “not having won a single trick” in the French card game called Piquet.

59. Ashanti wood carvings, e.g. : AFRICANA
The Ashanti people primarily live in Ghana and Ivory Coast on the African continent.

66. Apple debut of 1998 : IMAC
The iMac is a desktop computer platform from Apple, introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated.

67. “I’m less than impressed” : MEH
“Meh!” is one of those terms unfamiliar to me, a modern colloquialism meaning, “I’m not great, but not bad”.

68. Mouse in a classic Daniel Keyes book : ALGERNON
“Flowers for Algernon” was first a short story and then a novel, written by Daniel Keyes. It is a science fiction work about a mentally disabled man who undergoes surgery that briefly gives him the powers of a genius. Also featured in the tale is a laboratory mouse called Algernon, the first test subject to benefit from the experimental surgery.

73. RCA products : VCRS
RCA produced lots of Video Cassette Recorders, but not any more. Have you tried to buy one lately?

78. “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner : SAL
“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie, released in 1989. Much of the action is centered on a local pizzeria owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello), so the restaurant is called “Sal’s”.

79. Thomas who lampooned Boss Tweed : NAST
Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. He was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party’s donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today.

William Magear Tweed was known as “Boss” Tweed. He was a 19th-century, American politician who led the Democratic Party machine in New York, headquartered in Tammany Hall. He was one of the most successful of the corrupt politicians of the day, siphoning from taxpayers (in today’s money) billions of dollars. In 1871 he was arrested, and served time in jail. He was then rearrested on civil charges and served time in debtor’s prison. He managed to escape to Spain, but was arrested once more and extradited to the United States. He died in jail in 1878.

82. “Tell Me More” network : NPR
National Public Radio (now just called NPR) was launched in 1970, after President Johnson signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The intent of the act was to provide funding for radio and television broadcasting that wasn’t simply driven by profit. As a longtime fan of the state-funded BBC in the UK, I’d have to agree with that intent …

“Tell Me More” is a daytime talk show on NPR hosted by journalist Michel Martin.

84. Fictional reporter : LOIS LANE
Lois Lane has been the love interest of Superman/Clark Kent since the comic series was first published in 1938. Lois and Clark both work for the big newspaper in the city of Metropolis called “The Daily Planet”. The couple finally got hitched in the comics (and on television’s “Lois and Clark”) in 1996. But never mind all that … one has to wonder what the crossword is like in “The Daily Planet” …

89. ___ Park, home for the Pittsburgh Pirates : PNC
PNC Park is the home to the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. The park is sponsored by PNC Financial Services, the sixth largest bank in the US, founded and based in Pittsburgh.

94. Cézanne’s “Boy in ___ Vest” : A RED
“The Boy in the Red Vest” is a painting by Paul Cézanne. If you happen to know where it is, you might want to call the police. It was stolen from a private collection in Zurich, Switzerland in 2008.

102. Musical symbols that resemble cross hairs : CODAS
In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

103. Gulf of ___ : ADEN
The Gulf of Aden is the body of water that lies south of the Red Sea, and just north of the Horn of Africa.

105. Top : ACME
The “acme” is the highest point, coming from the Greek word “akme” which has the same meaning.

106. “Show Boat” composer : KERN
“Show Boat” is a musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, first staged in New York in 1927. It is based on a 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.

107. Writer James : AGEE
James Agee was a noted American film critic. He wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously.

108. The “S” of TBS: Abbr. : SYST
Turner Broadcasting System.

112. Prefix with culture : AVI-
Aviculture is the breeding and keeping of birds.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Small amount : TRACE
6. Nab, as a base runner : PICK OFF
13. Well-known maze traveler : PAC-MAN
19. Slings : HURLS
20. “I kid you not!” : TRUE FACT
22. “Things Fall Apart” author Chinua ___ : ACHEBE
23. Full-length : UNCUT
24. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : ARTIFICIAL HEART
26. Game hunters : SETTERS
28. Business card abbr. : TEL
29. Friend of Fifi : AMIE
30. Fleur-de-___ : LIS
31. Frozen beverage brand : ICEE
32. One in debt : OWER
34. Author ___ Hubbard : L. RON
35. Guess on a tarmac: Abbr. : ETD
36. Geological feature on a Utah license plate : ARCH
38. Polite : CIVIL
40. Some batteries : AAAS
41. Speak horsely? : NEIGH
43. ___ hall : REC
44. Tennis’s Berdych : TOMAS
45. Type : ILK
46. Golfer nicknamed “The King” : PALMER
47. Year Michelangelo began work on “David” : MDI
48. As ___ (usually) : A RULE
49. Charades participant, e.g. : GUESSER
52. Newsroom workers, for short : EDS
53. “Unfortunately, that’s the case” : AFRAID SO
55. “Hurry!” : COME QUICK
57. Obedient : DOCILE
58. Umpire’s ruling : FAIR
60. “I ___ the day …” : RUE
61. Priestly garment : ALB
64. Folkie Guthrie : ARLO
65. Repeated musical phrases : RIFFS
67. Mazda model : MIATA
69. Facility often closed in the winter : POOL
71. Home state for 86-Across: Abbr. : DEL
72. Soviet space station : MIR
73. Zig or zag : VEER
74. Home to the Venus de Milo : LOUVRE
76. “Easy as pie” : IT’S A CINCH
80. Majority figure? : EIGHTEEN
82. Texans’ org. : NFL
85. Palindromic vehicle : RACECAR
86. Cheney’s successor : BIDEN
87. 82-Across stats : TDS
88. Launch : PROPEL
90. Jack or jenny : ASS
91. Beginning of un año : ENERO
92. Eggs in a sushi restaurant : ROE
93. Freshen, as a stamp pad : REINK
94. Isn’t wrong? : AIN’T
96. Popular pie flavor : PECAN
97. Ends : AIMS
98. PC key : ESC
99. 1977 thriller set at sea : ORCA
100. Comedy Central’s “___.0” : TOSH
101. Prefix with -gon : OCTA
103. Pointed tool : AWL
104. “… ___ saw Elba” : ERE I
105. Co. that owns Moviefone : AOL
106. Commonly called : KNOWN AS
109. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : DIAMOND NECKLACE
114. Child’s pet : DOGGY
115. Phenomenon associated with the Southern Oscillation : EL NINO
116. Message seen after 13-Across dies : GAME OVER
117. Setting for van Gogh’s “Cafe Terrace at Night” : ARLES
118. Phillies div. : NL EAST
119. Drama has it : TENSION
120. Shooting sport : SKEET

Down
1. So : THUS
2. Character in “The Hobbit” : RUNE
3. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : ARCTIC CIRCLE
4. Critical situation : CLUTCH
5. Cosmetician Lauder : ESTEE
6. They have mtgs. in schools : PTAS
7. Not std. : IRR
8. Share : CUT
9. Harvey of “Reservoir Dogs” : KEITEL
10. Two-for-one, e.g. : OFFER
11. Flunk : FAIL
12. Media watchdog org. : FCC
13. “Going Rogue” author : PALIN
14. Rheumatism symptom : ACHE
15. 1969 film with an exclamation point in its title : CHE!
16. When the table is set : MEALTIME
17. Missing parts : ABRIDGED
18. Realizes : NETS
21. Jewel holder : TIARA
25. Book after Joel : AMOS
27. Cousin of an oboe : RECORDER
32. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : OVAL OFFICE
33. Sassy : WISE
34. Site of a key battle in the War of 1812 : LAKE ERIE
35. Flotsam or Jetsam in “The Little Mermaid” : EEL
36. Fleet : ARMADA
37. He played the candidate in “The Candidate,” 1972 : REDFORD
39. “___ in the Morning” : IMUS
40. ’10 or ’11 person, now : ALUM
41. Buster : NARC
42. Shop posting: Abbr. : HRS
44. Follow : TAIL
45. Aviation pioneer Sikorsky : IGOR
46. Designer of the pyramid at the 74-Across : PEI
50. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : SQUARE INCH
51. It’s for the birds : SUET
54. Garlicky mayonnaise : AIOLI
55. “___ for Cookie” (“Sesame Street” song) : C IS
56. Totaled : KAPUT
59. Ashanti wood carvings, e.g. : AFRICANA
62. See shaded letters intersected by this answer : LOVE TRIANGLE
63. Reason to doodle : BOREDOM
66. Apple debut of 1998 : IMAC
67. “I’m less than impressed” : MEH
68. Mouse in a classic Daniel Keyes book : ALGERNON
70. Contact ___ : LENSES
73. RCA products : VCRS
75. “I didn’t mean to do that!” : OH NO
77. Quite a schlep : TREK
78. “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner : SAL
79. Thomas who lampooned Boss Tweed : NAST
81. “You have no ___” : IDEA
82. “Tell Me More” network : NPR
83. Age-old philosophical topic : FREE WILL
84. Fictional reporter : LOIS LANE
86. Buzzers : BEES
89. ___ Park, home for the Pittsburgh Pirates : PNC
94. Cézanne’s “Boy in ___ Vest” : A RED
95. Bonus to something that’s already good : ICING
96. Spanish chickens : POLLOS
97. Active : AT WORK
99. Doubting words : OR NOT
100. Representative : TOKEN
102. Musical symbols that resemble cross hairs : CODAS
103. Gulf of ___ : ADEN
104. A very long time : EONS
105. Top : ACME
106. “Show Boat” composer : KERN
107. Writer James : AGEE
108. The “S” of TBS: Abbr. : SYST
110. Unaccounted for, briefly : MIA
111. Take sides? : EAT
112. Prefix with culture : AVI-
113. Boss of bosses : CEO
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