Day: July 15, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. European spa site : BADEN
The Swiss spa town of Baden is not to be confused with the more famous spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany. “Baden” is the German word for “bathe”.

14. French pronoun : LUI
In French, “lui” is the word for “him” and “elle” is the word for “her”.

17. Historic mission, with “the” : ALAMO
The famous Alamo in San Antonio, Texas was originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero. The mission was founded in 1718, and was the first mission established in the city. The Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836, a thirteen-day siege by the Mexican Army led by President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Only two people defending the Alamo Mission survived the onslaught. One month later, the Texian army got its revenge by attacking and defeating the Mexican Army in the Battle of San Jacinto. During the surprise attack on Santa Anna’s camp, many of the Texian soldiers were heard to cry “Remember the Alamo!”.

18. Borg rival : ASHE
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

Bjorn Borg reacted very calmly under pressure on the court, earning him the nicknames “Ice Man” and the my personal favorite “Ice Borg”.

19. Words before may and might : WISH I
There’s a nursery rhyme that deals with the superstition of “wishing on a star”. The words are:

Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

22. Four stops on “A” trip around the world : AFRICASIARGENTINARUBA (Africa Asia Argentina Aruba)
The name “Africa” comes from the Latin “Afri”, which was the name given by the Romans to the Carthaginians who dwelt in modern-day Tunisia.

Most of the world’s population lives in Asia (60%), and Asia is the largest continent in terms of landmass (30% of the world). Asia also has the highest population density (246 people per square mile), and the most populous city on the continent is Shanghai, China.

Argentina is the second largest country in South America (after Brazil), and geographically is the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation. The name “Argentina” of course comes from the Latin “argentum”, the word for “silver”. It is thought that the name was given by the early Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who also named the Rio de la Plata (the “Silver River”). Those early explorers got hold of lots of silver objects that they found among the native population.

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 Curaçao. All three of the ABC Islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

26. Three more stops : ATLANTALMAATANDORRA (Atlanta Alma-Ata Andorra)
The city of Atlanta, Georgia had its beginnings in the late 1830s when the location was chosen as the terminus for a new railroad to be built connecting Georgia with the Midwestern United States. The city’s name was chosen by the Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, apparently after the middle name of the daughter of Governor Wilson Lumpkin: “Atalanta”.

Almaty (also “Alma-Aty”) is the largest city in the Kazakhstan. Almaty was the capital of the country, but that honor was moved to Astana in 1997, a few years after Kazakhstan gained became independent on the fall of the Soviet Union.

Andorra is a small principality nestled in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Andorra is a very prosperous country, mainly due to its status as a tax haven and thriving tourist industry. We used help out the tourist industry there in the winters, enjoying a couple of skiing holidays there. Happy memories …

31. Three Stooges specialty : IDIOCY
If you’ve seen a few of the films starring “The Three Stooges” you’ll have noticed that the line up changed over the years. The original trio was made up of Moe and Shemp Howard (two brothers) and Larry Fine (a good friend of the Howards). This line up was usually known as “Moe, Larry and Shemp”. Then Curly Howard replaced his brother when Shemp quit the act, creating the most famous trio, “Moe, Larry And Curly”. Shemp returned when Curly had a debilitating stroke in 1946, and Shemp stayed with the troupe until he died in 1955. Shemp was replaced by Joe Besser, and then “Curly-Joe” DeRita. When Larry Fine had a stroke in 1970, it effectively marked the end of the act.

34. John who is half of a popular singing duo : OATES
Daryl Hall & John Oates are a pop music duo, most successful in the late seventies and early eighties. They had six number one hits, including the 1982 release “Maneater”.

35. McIntosh alternatives : WINESAPS
A winesap is a small and tart apple, often used for making cider.

Every McIntosh apple grown today can trace its roots back (pun!) to a tree on a farm near Morrisburg in Ontario, Canada. John McIntosh owned the tree, and he started to cultivate seedlings in 1796.

36. Bert, to Ernie : PAL
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.

39. Mag mogul with a mansion : HEF
Hugh Hefner is from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own publication that he called “Playboy”, which first hit the newsstands in 1953. “Playboy” has been around ever since.

41. Bikini part : TOP
The origin of the name “bikini”, a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. My favorite story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment!

42. Like many an out-of-towner in Times Square : AGOG
Times Square in New York City of course isn’t a square at all, but rather a triangle. When the New York Times newspaper opened new headquarters in the area in 1904, the city agreed to the name “Times Square”, changing it from Longacre Square.

44. Sci-fi drug : TEK
The “Tekwar” series of science-fiction novels was co-authored by Ron Goulart and the actor William Shatner, although it’s only Shatner’s name who appears on the covers. The stories center around the microchip “drug” called “tek” which dominates the Tekwar universe.

49. ___ Observatory : NAVAL
The official residence of the VP of the United States is at Number One Observatory Circle, in the grounds of the Naval Observatory. The house was built in 1893 for the use of the superintendent of the observatory. In 1974 it was taken over by Act of Congress for use as the VP’s official residence. The move was partly a matter of economics as the cost of providing security for the Vice President at his own residence was becoming prohibitive. Reportedly, there was an underground bunker build below the house after the 9/11 attacks.

54. Long-running PBS documentary film series : POV
“POV” is a PBS television series that showcases independent documentary films. “POV” has been on the air since 1988.

55. Three more stops : AMERICARIZONALBANIA (America Arizona Albania)
The name “America” of course comes from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci made several voyages to the Americas, and he was the first man to show that Brazil and the West Indies were not part of Asia, but were in fact part of landmasses unknown up to that point.

Arizona was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted into the Union (on Valentine’s Day 1912, in fact), making it state number 48.

The Republic of Albania is a country in the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Albania was made a communist state after WWII but became independent again with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.

61. Three more stops : ALGERIALABAMARCADIA (Algeria Alabama Arcadia)
Algeria is a huge country, the second largest in Africa (only Sudan is larger), and the largest country on the Mediterranean. The capital of Algeria is Algiers, and the country takes its name from the city.

Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State, in honor of the state bird. Alabama is also known as the “Heart of Dixie”.

The great explorer Verrazzano gave the name “Arcadia” to the coastal land that stretched from north of present day Virginia right up the North American continent to Nova Scotia. The name Arcadia was chosen as it was also the name for a part of Greece that had been viewed as “idyllic” from the days of classical antiquity. The “Arcadia” name quickly evolved into the word “Acadia” that was used locally here in North America. Much of Acadia was settled by the French in the 1600s, and then in 1710 Acadia was conquered by the British. There followed the French and Indian War after which there was a mass migration of French Acadians, often via the French colony of Saint-Dominique (present-day Haiti) to the French colony of Louisiana. The local dialectic pronunciation of the word “Acadian” was “Cajun”, giving the name to the ethnic group for which Louisiana has been home for about 300 years.

63. Three more stops : ALBERTALAMEDASTORIA (Alberta Alameda Astoria)
Alberta is one of Canada’s largest provinces, and is about the size of Texas. Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Louise also donated her name to Lake Louise, the large glacial lake in the province that lies within the bounds of today’s Banff National Park.

“Alameda” is Spanish for “a place full of poplars”. There are number of locations in the US and elsewhere with the name “Alameda”, including the city of Alameda, California which is just down the road here.

There are a number of places around the world named “Astoria”, including a neighborhood in New York City. Astoria is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York. The area sits on the East River, and was originally called Hallet’s Cove after the first landowner, William Hallet, who settled there in 1659. The area was renamed Astoria in a deal to get John Jacob Astor, then the wealthiest man in the country, to invest $2,000 in the neighborhood. Astor only put up $500 in the end, but the name stuck.

66. Former senator Stevens : TED
Ted Stevens was a US Senator from Alaska. He first became a senator on Christmas Eve in 1968, and served continuously in that office until he was killed in a plane crash in 2009. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican US Senator in history.

68. 11-time N.B.A. All-Star Iverson : ALLEN
Allen Iverson is a professional basketball player who played in the NBA for several years. Iverson currently plays for a team in Turkey, would you believe?

69. Bake, as an egg : SHIRR
Shirred eggs are eggs that have been baked without their shells in a flat-bottomed dish. The term “shirred” comes from the name of the dish that was traditionally used for the baking.

74. Tostitos bowl? : DIP
Tostitos are a brand of tortilla chips. If you’re a vegetarian though you might want to leave them on the supermarket shelf as Frito-Lay uses pork enzymes to “enhance” flavor.

77. Solo in the movies : HAN
Han Solo was the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.

79. S.A. tin exporter : BOL
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordered by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The land now occupied by Bolivia was originally part of the Inca Empire. The country declared independence from Spain in 1809, which led to 16 years of war. When the Republic was finally named, “Bolivia” was chosen in honor of the Venezuelan-born revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

82. Sealing wax ingredient : LAC
Lac is a resin secreted by some insects. The insects leave the resin coating branches of trees. The tree branches can be harvested and processed to make what’s called seedlac which can be used in varnish, especially varnish that is used to finish violins.

84. Woman in Progressive Insurance commercials : FLO
Flo is a perky character featured in ads for Progressive Insurance. Flo is played by comedienne and actress Stephanie Courtney.

88. Punjabi princesses : RANIS
A ranee (also spelled rani) is the female equivalent of a raja in India.

90. Camel group? : CARTON
The advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes was officially known as “Old Joe”, but was popularly known as “Joe Camel”. Joe originated in the seventies, in an advertising campaign that ran only in Europe where sometimes he was depicted wearing a French Foreign Legion cap. He was imported to the US in 1988 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Camel brand. The big controversy surrounding the use of the camel character was that a 1991 study found that 5-6 year old children could recognize Joe Camel more readily than either Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone. Also, soon after Old Joe was introduced in the US, the Camel brand’s share of the illegal market to underage smokers went up from 1% to just under 33%.

93. Sight from Mount Olympus : AEGEAN
The Aegean Sea is that part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and Turkey. Within the Aegean Sea are found the Aegean Islands, a group that includes Crete and Rhodes.

Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Greece. In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was home to the gods, and in particular home to the principal gods known as the Twelve Olympians.

94. Field fare, for short : MRE
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package, easier to tote around. It replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

95. Three more stops : ALTOONARMENIARALSEA (Altoona Armenia ‘Aral Sea’)
Altoona is in central Pennsylvania, and is home to the Ivyside Park Campus of Pennsylvania State University.

Armenia is a landlocked country found east of Turkey, and is a former Soviet Republic. Back in the year 301, the ancient Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as its national religion.

The Aral Sea is 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 Union 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 lake now completely dry. Sad …


100. Three more stops : ANTARCTICALASKANTIGUA (Antarctica Alaska Antigua)
The continent of Antarctica is about twice the size of Australia, and is almost completely covered in ice all year round. Having said that, Antarctica is technically a desert, receiving less than 8 inches of rain annually.

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867, for a price back then of $7.2 million, which is about 120 million in today’s dollars. The name “Alaska” was used during the period in which the territory was under Russian control. “Alaska” is derived from an Aleut word meaning “the mainland”.

Antigua is an island in the West Indies and is the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. These twin islands take their names from the Spanish for “ancient” and “bearded”.

102. River through Wroclaw : ODER
The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and forms just over a hundred miles of the border between Germany and Poland, before eventually emptying into the Baltic Sea.

Wroclaw is a city in southwestern Poland.

104. Bubbly choice : MOET
Moët & Chandon is a French winery, one of the world’s largest producers of champagne. The company was founded by wine trader Claude Moët in 1743. The name was changed to Moët & Chandon in the 1830s when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, an in-law to the Moët family, was given co-ownership. Moët & Chandon owns the famous Dom Pérignon brand name, honoring the Benedictine monk who did so much to improve the quality of champagne.

105. O-O-O : OZONE
Ozone gets its name from the Greek word ozein, meaning “to smell”. It was given this name as ozone’s formation during lightning storms was detected by the gas’s distinctive smell.

106. Acid : LSD
LSD (also known as “acid”) is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a development project aimed at finding medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn’t until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man …

107. Grammy winner born in Nigeria : SADE
Sade’s real name is Helen Folasade Adu. Although she was born in Nigeria, she grew up and lives in the UK. She was the lead vocalist for the English group Sade, and adopted the name of the band.

Down
2. Introduction for Romeo? : ALFA
The Alfa in Alfa Romeo is actually an acronym, standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”), an enterprise founded in 1909. The company was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915, and in 1920 the name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

4. Designer Pucci : EMILIO
Emilio Pucci was an Italian fashion designer from Florence.

7. Cheese choice : ASIAGO
Asiago is a crumbly cheese, named after the region in northeastern Italy from where it originates.

8. Braided bread : CHALLAH
Challah is a special braided bread that is eaten by Ashkenazi Jews on the Sabbath. The bread is served to commemorate the manna that fell from the heavens as the Israelites wandered around the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

12. Singles grp.? : USTA
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national organization governing the sport of tennis in the US.

15. Some city sounds : URBAN POP
Urban pop is apparently a fusion of hip hop, soul, R&B, pop and funk. I just read that, and I have no idea what it means …

20. Tab : INDENT
Like most features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious as it involved lots of tapping on the space bar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.

21. Root in perfumery : ORRIS
Orris root is a base ingredient in many perfumes, providing a so-called “base note”. It is also an ingredient in some brands of gin.

24. Thief, slangily : GANEF
A ganef is a thief or a scoundrel, from the Hebrew word “gannab” meaning “to steal”.

31. Classic toothpaste brand : IPANA
Ipana toothpaste was introduced in 1915, and was at the height of its popularity in the forties and fifties. Sales declined in the sixties and the product was withdrawn from the US market in the seventies. Bucky the Beaver was the “spokesman” for Ipana. Bucky Beaver’s slogan was “Brusha… Brusha… Brusha. Get the New Ipana – it’s dandy for your teeth!”

32. Early European visitor of India : DA GAMA
Vasco da Gama left on his first voyage of discovery in 1497, leaving Lisbon with four ships. He journeyed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, and across the Indian Ocean making landfall in India. Landing in India, his fleet became the first expedition to sail directly from Europe to the sub-continent. Vasco da Gama was well known for acts of cruelty, especially on local inhabitants. One of his milder atrocities was inflicted on a priest that he labelled as a spy. He had the priest’s lips and ears cut off, and sent him on his way after having a pair of dog’s ears sewn onto his head.

33. Satirical Randy Newman song : I LOVE LA
Randy Newman is a singer/songwriter, most famous for his movie scores in the past three decades. Film scores included on his resume include “The Natural”, “Meet the Parents” and all the “Toy Story” movies from Pixar. Also on his resume are songs that he wrote, but were made hits by others. Included in this list are “You Can Leave Your Hat On” (Joe Cocker & Tom Jones) and “Mama Told Me Not to Come” (Three Dog Night).

45. Piece of gold? : KARAT
A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-carat representing pure gold.

46. Name formerly on New York’s MetLife Building : PAN AM
The Pan Am building opened for business in 1963 in Midtown Manhattan, and at that time it was the largest commercial office space in the world. The building was noted for its helicopter service from its roof to the Pan Am terminal at JFK Airport. The service didn’t run without its troubles though. In 1977 a Sikorsky helicopter toppled on its side on the roof so the one of the helicopter blades broke off and flew into a crowd of passengers killing four men. The blade then fell off the roof and killed a pedestrian in the street below.

47. Handel bars? : SONATA
The name “sonata” comes from the Latin and Italian word “sonare” meaning “to sound”. A sonata is a piece of music that is played, as opposed to a cantata (from Latin and Italian “cantare” meaning “to sing”), a piece of music that is sung.

George Frideric Handel was the King of the oratorio. His most famous oratorio, “Messiah” was actually performed first in Dublin, Ireland, back in 1742.

48. The Fonz and Hannah Montana : TV IDOLS
Fonzie is a character in the sitcom “Happy Days” that was originally aired from 1974 to 1874. The Fonz was written as a secondary character, but eventually took over the show. Fonzie is of course played by Henry Winkler.

Miley Cyrus became famous playing the Disney Channel character “Hannah Montana”. She is of course the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. When she was born, Billy Ray and his wife named Miley “Destiny Hope”, but soon they themselves calling her “Smiley” as she was always smiling as a baby, and this got shortened to Miley over time. Cute …

50. “Ach du ___!” : LIEBER
The German exclamation “Ach du lieber” translates as “Oh dear”.

54. Campaign coffer fillers : PACS
A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election.

57. Kay Jewelers competitor : ZALES
The first Zales jewelry store was opened by Morris and William Zale and Ben Lipshy in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1924. Zales became successful largely by offering credit to their customers, a revolutionary concept at the time.

59. Kind of nut : BRAZIL
The Brazil nut tree is native to South America, however, the largest exporter of Brazil nuts isn’t Brazil but is in fact Bolivia. And, the Brazil nut isn’t actually a nut in the strict sense of the word and instead is a seed (as opposed a hard-shelled fruit).

60. European event of 1948 : AIRLIFT
The Berlin Blockade started in 1948 when the Soviet Union used its power to cut off the British, French and American sectors of the city i.e. West Berlin, The Soviets took this action as the result of a currency crisis that was crippling the East German economy. There was no formal agreement in place with the Soviet Union to allow access to Berlin using ground transportation, but there was an agreement allowing an air corridor. The decision was made to airlift supplies, including coal, into the city in a joint airlift. Transport planes started flying on 24 June 1948, with extra transports being flown in from all over the world. The blockade was lifted on 12 May 1949, but flights continued until 30 September 1949. 101 people died as a result of airlift operations, mainly in plane crashes.

62. Danny of “Do the Right Thing” : AIELLO
Danny Aiello is an actor from New York City, famous for playing Italian American roles on the big and small screens. His most successful part was Sal Frangione, the pizza parlor owner in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”. His performance in that film earned him a nomination for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

64. Olympian Apolo ___ Ohno : ANTON
Apolo Ohno has won more Winter Olympics medals than any other American. He also did a great job winning the 2007 season of television’s “Dancing with the Stars”.

69. Branch of Islam : SHIA
The largest denomination within the Muslim faith is Sunni Islam, with the second largest being Shia Islam.

70. Fedora features : HAT BANDS
A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to the modern-day fedora. The play led to the introduction of a women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the idea …

72. Warming periods : DETENTES
Détente is a French word meaning “loosening” and in general it’s used to describe the easing of strained relations in a political situation. In particular, the policy of détente came to be associated with the improved relations between the US and the Soviet Union in the seventies.

75. Maze navigator : 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.

80. What Madonna and Cher are each known by : ONE NAME
Madonna’s full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone. Born in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna became the top-selling female recording artist of all time.

Cher’s real name is Cherilyn Sarkasian, born in 1946. In her acting career she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar of 1984 for her performance in “Silkwood”. She went further in 1998 and won the Best Actress Oscar for playing Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”.

83. 11-time M.L.B. All-Star Fisk : CARLTON
Carlton “Pudge” Fisk is a retired professional baseball player. Fisk played for both the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox.

86. “___ Is Born” : A STAR
“A Star Is Born” is a 1937 film starring Janet Gaynor as an upcoming Hollywood actress. “A Star Is Born” was remade twice, in 1954 with Judy Garland playing the lead, and in 1976 with Barbra Streisand.

87. Christian in France : DIOR
Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. As WWII approached, Dior was called up by the French military, drawing a temporary halt to his career in fashion. He left the army in 1942 and for the duration of the war designed clothes for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. After the war his designs became so popular that he helped reestablish Paris as the fashion center of the world.

96. Electronics company bought by Sony : AIWA
Aiwa was a Japanese company that produced consumer electronics, mainly audio and video equipment.

99. P. G. Wodehouse’s ___ Agatha : AUNT
Aunt Agatha is a character in the Jeeves stories created by novelist P. G. Wodehouse. Wodehouse’s full name was Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. Bertie Wooster’s celebrated valet’s full name is Reginald Jeeves.

100. E-mail inits. : AOL
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”.

101. Loser to D.D.E. : AES
Adlai Stevenson ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Some years later he served under President Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations. He was always noted for his eloquence and had a famous exchange in a Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. He bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba, saying. “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” and then followed up with, “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. European spa site : BADEN
6. Non-fiction : FACT
10. Clam (up) : SHUT
14. French pronoun : LUI
17. Historic mission, with “the” : ALAMO
18. Borg rival : ASHE
19. Words before may and might : WISH I
21. They’re often seen in banks : OARS
22. Four stops on “A” trip around the world : AFRICASIARGENTINARUBA (Africa Asia Argentina Aruba)
26. Three more stops : ATLANTALMAATANDORRA (Atlanta Alma-Ata Andorra)
27. “___ be an honor” : IT’D
28. Flashes quickly : GLINTS
29. Soft : LENIENT
31. Three Stooges specialty : IDIOCY
34. John who is half of a popular singing duo : OATES
35. McIntosh alternatives : WINESAPS
36. Bert, to Ernie : PAL
37. Lang. from which 8- and 24-Down come : HEB
39. Mag mogul with a mansion : HEF
40. Moneymaking concern : MINT
41. Bikini part : TOP
42. Like many an out-of-towner in Times Square : AGOG
44. Sci-fi drug : TEK
46. Window-shopping purchase? : PANE
47. Manual contents : STEPS
49. ___ Observatory : NAVAL
51. It comes and goes : FAD
53. Wander : GAD
54. Long-running PBS documentary film series : POV
55. Three more stops : AMERICARIZONALBANIA (America Arizona Albania)
61. Three more stops : ALGERIALABAMARCADIA (Algeria Alabama Arcadia)
63. Three more stops : ALBERTALAMEDASTORIA (Alberta Alameda Astoria)
65. “That’s yucky!” : EEW
66. Former senator Stevens : TED
67. Speaks, informally : SEZ
68. 11-time N.B.A. All-Star Iverson : ALLEN
69. Bake, as an egg : SHIRR
72. Works on : DOES
74. Tostitos bowl? : DIP
76. Channel choker : SILT
77. Solo in the movies : HAN
78. Hacks : HEWS
79. S.A. tin exporter : BOL
82. Sealing wax ingredient : LAC
84. Woman in Progressive Insurance commercials : FLO
85. “You’re on!” : IT’S A DATE
88. Punjabi princesses : RANIS
90. Camel group? : CARTON
92. Like a heckling crowd : ABUSIVE
93. Sight from Mount Olympus : AEGEAN
94. Field fare, for short : MRE
95. Three more stops : ALTOONARMENIARALSEA (Altoona Armenia ‘Aral Sea’)
100. Three more stops : ANTARCTICALASKANTIGUA (Antarctica Alaska Antigua)
102. River through Wroclaw : ODER
103. Wrapped (up) : SEWED
104. Bubbly choice : MOET
105. O-O-O : OZONE
106. Acid : LSD
107. Grammy winner born in Nigeria : SADE
108. Extrema, e.g. : ENDS
109. Takeoff points for many test flights : NESTS

Down
1. Meadow sound : BAA
2. Introduction for Romeo? : ALFA
3. Flit : DART
4. Designer Pucci : EMILIO
5. Ruling against a receiver : NO CATCH
6. Eschew one’s food? : FAST
7. Cheese choice : ASIAGO
8. Braided bread : CHALLAH
9. Home wrecker? : TERMITE
10. Gym wear : SWEATS
11. Traces : HINTS
12. Singles grp.? : USTA
13. Love/hate separator, they say : THIN LINE
14. Honoree in the arts : LAUREATE
15. Some city sounds : URBAN POP
16. “Patience ___ virtue” : IS A
20. Tab : INDENT
21. Root in perfumery : ORRIS
23. “But despite it all …” : AND YET
24. Thief, slangily : GANEF
25. Highly rated : A-ONE
30. Six make a fl. oz. : TSPS
31. Classic toothpaste brand : IPANA
32. Early European visitor of India : DA GAMA
33. Satirical Randy Newman song : I LOVE LA
35. Gain, as consent : WIN
38. “Don’t play favorites” : BE FAIR
40. French ladies : MADAMES
43. One clearing one’s throat? : GARGLER
45. Piece of gold? : KARAT
46. Name formerly on New York’s MetLife Building : PAN AM
47. Handel bars? : SONATA
48. The Fonz and Hannah Montana : TV IDOLS
50. “Ach du ___!” : LIEBER
52. Widens : DILATES
53. Spoil : GO BAD
54. Campaign coffer fillers : PACS
56. Staff : CREW
57. Kay Jewelers competitor : ZALES
58. Stored on board : LADED
59. Kind of nut : BRAZIL
60. European event of 1948 : AIRLIFT
62. Danny of “Do the Right Thing” : AIELLO
64. Olympian Apolo ___ Ohno : ANTON
69. Branch of Islam : SHIA
70. Fedora features : HAT BANDS
71. Put down : INSULTED
72. Warming periods : DETENTES
73. “I ___ you one” : OWE
75. Maze navigator : PAC-MAN
78. Ruinations : HAVOCS
79. Score of zippo : BAGEL
80. What Madonna and Cher are each known by : ONE NAME
81. Go-between : LIAISON
83. 11-time M.L.B. All-Star Fisk : CARLTON
86. “___ Is Born” : A STAR
87. Christian in France : DIOR
88. Done over : REMADE
89. Twisted and turned : SNAKED
91. Blow up, maybe : RESIZE
93. Like pop-ups : ARCED
96. Electronics company bought by Sony : AIWA
97. “Darn!” : RATS
98. Hollywood clashers : EGOS
99. P. G. Wodehouse’s ___ Agatha : AUNT
100. E-mail inits. : AOL
101. Loser to D.D.E. : AES

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