Day: July 10, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Rockefeller Center statue : ATLAS
The iconic bronze statue of Atlas that faces Fifth Avenue is the work of sculptor Lee Mawrie. It is not to be confused with the bronze gilded statue of a reclining Prometheus that looks over Rockefeller Plaza.

9. “Uncle ___ Cabin” : TOM’S
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s first novel ended up being her most famous, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. She followed it up with an 1856 novel, “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp”.

18. “Green Acres” con man Mr. ___ : HANEY
The popular sitcom “Green Acres” originally aired from 1965 to 1971. The magnificent stars of the show were Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, playing a couple who moved from New York City to a farm in the country. “Green Acres” was cancelled as part of CBS’s so called “rural purge”. In a move to attract younger audiences, shows were added to the schedule with more urban and contemporary themes. Classics like “The Beverly Hillbillies”, “Hee Haw” and “Mayberry R.F.D.” were dropped at the same time as “Green Acres”.

19. Grasshopper’s partner in an Aesop title : ANT
“The Ant and the Grasshopper” is one of Aesop’s fables.

Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly Aesop was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. He was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. Aesop was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

20. Basic tenet of democracy : RIGHT TO VOTE
Our word “democracy” is derived from the Greek “demos” meaning “common people”, and “kratos” meaning “rule, strength”.

33. Author Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Like the author, the main character in the novel is an African American woman, a part played by Halle Berry in a television movie adaptation that first aired in 2005.

35. “Explorer” girl : DORA
“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon.

40. Slimming surgery, slangily : LIPO
Liposuction dates back to the 1920s, and was developed by a surgeon in France. However, the procedure quickly lost favor when a French model developed gangrene after surgery. As a result it wasn’t until the mid-seventies that modern liposuction took off, after being popularized by two Italian-American surgeons in Rome.

41. First name in patriotism and furniture : ETHAN
Ethan Allen was one of the founders of the state of Vermont. Allen was also a hero in the American Revolutionary War, famous for leading (along with Benedict Arnold) the small band of men that captured Fort Ticonderoga. And yes, the Ethan Allan store and furniture line is named for Ethan Allen the patriot.

42. Most tacky : CHEESIEST
“Cheesy” can mean “of poor quality”. Its usage dates back to the late 1800s and the word is derived from the Urdu “chiz” meaning “thing”. “Chiz” was used to describe a big thing, something important, and our word “cheesy” is an ironic derivative from that sense.

45. Greek P : RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

47. Ownership histories : PROVENANCES
Something’s “provenance” is its place of origin or derivation. The use of the term can be extended to mean the history of ownership of some object, such a valuable painting or antique.

53. Daffy duo? : EFS
The are a pair of letter Fs in the word “Daffy”.

56. Certain netizen : AOLER
Founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1983 the company changed its name in 1989 to America Online. As America Online went international, the acronym AOL was used in order to shake off the “America-centric” sound to the name. During the heady days of AOL’s success the company could not keep up with the growing number of subscribers, so people trying to connect often encountered busy signals. That’s when users referred to AOL as “Always Off-Line”.

A netizen is an “Internet citizen”, someone with a presence on the Internet.

57. Harmonium : REED ORGAN
A harmonium is an organ-like instrument that makes sounds using air blown over reeds. The air is moved by a bellows that is usually operated by the player using a foot, hand or knees. The harmonium is a keyboard instrument and freestanding, somewhat resembling an upright piano.

62. Winehouse and Sedaris : AMYS
Amy Winehouse was a much ridiculed singer from the UK, whose life was fraught with very public bouts of drug and alcohol abuse. Winehouse’s lifestyle caught up with her in 2011 when she was found dead from alcohol poisoning. The unfortunate singer was only 27 years old when she died, which means she is now viewed as a member of the “27 Club”. This “club” is made up of famous musicians who all died at the age of 27, including Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

Amy Sedaris plays a character called Jerri Blank on the television series “Strangers with Candy”. She is the younger sister of the humorist and author David Sedaris. I heard David Sedaris speak in San Jose a while back. If you ever get the chance to listen to him, I recommend you take the opportunity. The man is very, very entertaining.

63. Mazatlán Mrs. : SRA
Mazatlán is a city in Mexico on the Pacific coast, sitting right opposite the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

64. Dirección that the Santa Maria sailed : OESTE
“Oeste” (west) is a “dirección” (direction), in Spanish.

When Columbus made his famous voyage of discovery, the largest of his three ships was the Santa Maria. The Santa Maria ran aground on the coast of Hispaniola on Christmas Day in 1492, and was lost. 39 of Columbus’s men were left behind with the permission of the locals. These men stripped the timbers from the Santa Maria and used them to build a settlement they called La Navidad (Spanish for “Christmas”). La Navidad is now the modern town of Môle-Saint-Nicolas in the Republic of Haiti.

Down
1. Razor introduced in 1977 : ATRA
Fortunately for crossword setters, the Atra razor was introduced by Gillette in 1977. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.

3. Riga native : LETT
Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics. People from Latvia are called Letts.

Riga is the capital city of Latvia. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, declared as such because of the city’s magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture.

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

6. Surfboard fin : SKEG
A skeg is an extension to the keel of a boat, towards the stern. A skeg is also the name for the fin on the underside of a surfboard, positioned towards the rear.

7. ___ and 14-Across (family) : KITH (and KIN)
The word “kith” describes friends and acquaintances, and is used used in the phrase “kith and kin” meaning “friends and family”. “Kith” comes from an Old English word meaning “native country, home”, as the expression “kith and kin” was used originally to mean “country and kinsmen”.

9. Selections on Expedia.com : TRAVEL DATES
Expedia is one of the largest Internet-based travel companies, and has a site where you can book airline tickets and reserve hotel rooms and rental cars. I use Expedia a lot because I am an AARP member, and the AARP Travel website is powered by the Expedia search engine. In my travels I’ve found by comparison shopping that the AARP Travel site usually has the best prices for hotel rooms.

10. Wine: Prefix : OENO-
In Greek mythology Oeno was the goddess of wine, giving us “oen-” as a prefix meaning “wine”. Oenology, for example, is the study of wine.

15. Halloween figure : GHOUL
Our word “ghoul” comes from the Arabic “ghul”, the name for an evil spirit that feeds on corpses.

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows Eve, better known by the Scottish term, “Halloween”.

17. Play-stopping declaration : GIN
Gin rummy is a variant of the slower game of standard rummy and was introduced in 1909 by Elwood Baker and his son.

21. Yorke of rock’s Radiohead : THOM
Radiohead is an alternative rock band from England, formed in 1985.

22. Electronic data repositories : FILE SERVERS
A file server is a computer, one connected to a network as a place where shared files are stored so that everyone on the network can access them.

24. Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC
In Middle English, in the middle of the 14th century, a mentally deficient man would be called a Thom Foole, sort of a nickname. We retain the name today in our word “tomfoolery” meaning “clowning around”.

25. ___ and 36-Across (two of life’s certainties) : DEATH (and TAXES)
In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy dated 13 Nov 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

26. 1985 Glenn Close title role : MAXIE
“Maxie” is a 1985 film, a fantasy piece with Glenn Close in the title role. Not a great movie, by all accounts …

27. “Sexy” lady in a Beatles song : SADIE
“Sexy Sadie” is a song written by John Lennon and released by the Beatles in 1968. Lennon wrote the song in India, and its original title was “Maharishi”.

40. Coward in a 1939 film : LION
The Cowardly Lion is a character in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”.

43. Unearthed pottery fragment: Var. : SHERD
”Sherd” is a variant of “shard”, a piece of broken pottery.

47. UV blocker : PABA
Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), or now its derivatives, is the “active” ingredient in sunscreens in that it absorbs UV radiation. PABA derivatives are used today as PABA itself fell out of favor due to its tendency to stain clothes and to cause an allergic reaction in some users.

49. Procter & Gamble skin care brand : OLAY
Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1949. When it was introduced internationally, it was given slightly different brand names designed to appeal in the different geographies. In Ireland we know it as Oil of Ulay, for example, and in France it is Oil of Olaz.

52. Michael of “Arrested Development” : CERA
Michael Cera is a Canadian actor, a very talented young man who is riding high right now. Cera played great characters on the TV show “Arrested Development”, and the 2007 comedy-drama film “Juno”.

53. I’s : EGOS
“Ego” is the Latin word for “I”.

55. Old dagger : SNEE
“Snick or snee” is the name given to cut and thrust while fighting with a knife. The phrase is rooted in a pair of Dutch words, and it gave its name to a “snee”, a light sword-like knife.

58. School in the making? : ROE
Roe is the name given to fish eggs or the ovaries of a fish laden with eggs. When the roe develop into fish, the fish may swim around in schools.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Rockefeller Center statue : ATLAS
6. Word with jump or bunny : SKI
9. “Uncle ___ Cabin” : TOM’S
13. See 2-Down : THERE
14. See 7-Down : KIN
15. See 11-Down : GREET
16. Sets a new goal : RETARGETS
18. “Green Acres” con man Mr. ___ : HANEY
19. Grasshopper’s partner in an Aesop title : ANT
20. Basic tenet of democracy : RIGHT TO VOTE
22. Strike out : FAN
23. Tint : HUE
24. Fess up (to) : ADMIT
27. Skips over, as with a mouse : SCROLLS BY
33. Author Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE
34. Throat-clearing : AHEM
35. “Explorer” girl : DORA
36. See 25-Down : TAXES
37. See 28-Down : DIP
38. See 31-Down : WATER
39. “Indeed” : IT IS
40. Slimming surgery, slangily : LIPO
41. First name in patriotism and furniture : ETHAN
42. Most tacky : CHEESIEST
44. Food and shelter, e.g. : NEEDS
45. Greek P : RHO
46. Geog. high points : MTS
47. Ownership histories : PROVENANCES
53. Daffy duo? : EFS
56. Certain netizen : AOLER
57. Harmonium : REED ORGAN
59. See 48-Down : BOARD
60. See 51-Down : FAR
61. See 54-Down : LOOSE
62. Winehouse and Sedaris : AMYS
63. Mazatlán Mrs. : SRA
64. Dirección that the Santa Maria sailed : OESTE

Down
1. Razor introduced in 1977 : ATRA
2. ___ and 13-Across (on the spot) : THEN (and THERE)
3. Riga native : LETT
4. Parseghian of Notre Dame : ARA
5. Puts teeth on, as a knife : SERRATES
6. Surfboard fin : SKEG
7. ___ and 14-Across (family) : KITH (and KIN)
8. Scholarly org. : INST
9. Selections on Expedia.com : TRAVEL DATES
10. Wine: Prefix : OENO-
11. ___ and 15-Across (get-to-know-you gathering) : MEET (and GREET)
12. Eyelid affliction : STYE
15. Halloween figure : GHOUL
17. Play-stopping declaration : GIN
21. Yorke of rock’s Radiohead : THOM
22. Electronic data repositories : FILE SERVERS
24. Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC
25. ___ and 36-Across (two of life’s certainties) : DEATH (and TAXES)
26. 1985 Glenn Close title role : MAXIE
27. “Sexy” lady in a Beatles song : SADIE
28. ___ and 37-Across (snack option) : CHIPS (and DIP)
29. Move, as a plant : REPOT
30. “And ___ story goes” : SO THE
31. ___ and 38-Across (meager meal) : BREAD (and WATER)
32. Tales : YARNS
38. Broke from the band, say : WENT SOLO
40. Coward in a 1939 film : LION
43. Unearthed pottery fragment: Var. : SHERD
46. Kind of school : MED
47. UV blocker : PABA
48. ___ and 59-Across (lodger’s fee) : ROOM (and BOARD)
49. Procter & Gamble skin care brand : OLAY
50. Pound’s sounds : ARFS
51. ___ and 60-Across (all around) : NEAR (and FAR)
52. Michael of “Arrested Development” : CERA
53. I’s : EGOS
54. ___ and 61-Across (one way to play) : FAST (and LOOSE)
55. Old dagger : SNEE
58. School in the making? : ROE

Return to top of page