Day: November 9, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. He said “I don’t want my album coming out with a G rating. Nobody would buy it” : OSMOND
The former teen idol Donny Osmond was of course a member of the Osmond Brothers singing group that appeared for years on the “The Andy Williams Show”. At the height of his solo career, Donny teamed up with his younger sister Marie Osmond in their own variety show called “Donny & Marie”. The pair have been working together ever since and have been appearing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas since 2008.

15. It typically has a ribbon around its crown : BOATER
A boater is a straw hat often associated with boating, hence the name. It’s as simple as that …

16. Fudge ingredient in “The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook” : HASHEESH
Alice B. Toklas was Gertrude Stein’s life partner. Stein wrote an inventively-named book called “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”, the story of Alice’s life, using Alice as the narrator of the story. Toklas came under some pressure to write her own memoirs, and eventually agreed to write “The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book”. Her book is indeed based on her recipes, but it also contains numerous recollections from her life. First published in 1954, Alice’s cookbook’s most famous recipe is Hashish Fudge, a concoction that is viewed by many as the origin of the more common marijuana brownie.

22. Places for stumpers : PODIA
“To stump” can mean to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign. This peculiarly American term dates back to the 19th century. Back then a “stump speech” was an address given by someone standing on a large tree stump that provided a convenient perch to help the speaker get his or her message across to the crowd.

23. Fox Sports reporter Oliver and others : PAMS
Pam Oliver is a sportscaster from Dallas, Texas. Oliver is known in particular for reporting from the sidelines in NBA and NFL games.

25. They have flat tops : MESAS
“Mesa” is the Spanish for “table” and is of course is how we get the term “mesa” that describes a geographic feature. “What’s the difference between a butte and a mesa?” I hear you cry! Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, taller than it is wide.

27. Radio host Boortz : NEAL
Neal Boortz is a radio commentator and author. Boortz is a very vocal libertarian who advocates a complete overhaul of the tax system in the US, as well as the release on non-violent drug offenders.

28. Pribilof Islands resident : ALEUT
If you’re looking for an isolated place to live in the US, you might want to try the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, north of Aleutian island chain. The islands are a group of four volcanic “rocks” 200 miles off the coast of Alaska, and 500 miles from the Siberian coast. There are two towns, St. Paul and St. George and a total island population of just under 700.

30. Aid in planning a 35-Across : ATLAS
We call a book of maps an “atlas” after a collection of maps published by the famous Flemish geographer Gerhardus Mercator. Mercator’s collection contained a frontispiece with an image of Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology holding up the world on his shoulders. That image gave us our term “atlas”.

32. ___ Express (intl. shipper) : DHL
Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn).

37. Where chromosomes gather between poles during mitosis : EQUATORIAL PLANE
Mitosis is the process by which the complement of chromosomes in a cell nucleus replicates and then divides into two identical sets of new chromosomes. Mitosis is followed by division of the cell itself, resulting in two identical cells.

44. French vineyard : CRU
“Cru” is a term used in the French wine industry that means “growth place”. So, it is the name of the location where the grapes were grown, as opposed to the name of a specific vineyard. The terms “premier cru” and “grand cru” are also used, but the usage depends on the specific wine region. Generally it is a classification awarded to specific vineyards denoting their potential for producing great wines. “Grand cru” is reserved for the very best vineyards, with “premier cru” the level just below.

49. One-named actor from Tel Aviv : TOPOL
Chaim Topol (usually called just “Topol”) is an actor from Tel Aviv in Israel. I well remember Topol for his hit portrayal of Tevye in the original West End performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” in the sixties. He later reprised the role in the 1971 movie of the show, and then again in a 1990 Broadway revival. Famously, Topol also played good guy Milos Columbo in the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only”.

54. Title French orphan of film : LILI
“Lili” is 1953 musical film starring Leslie Caron in the title role, a naive French orphan girl. A famous song from the movie is “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo”.

57. Conspiracy : CABAL
A cabal is a small group of secret plotters, perhaps scheming against a government or an individual.

59. Copy from CD to PC : RIP
“Ripping” is the process of copying audio or video onto a hard disk. Ripping isn’t the same as direct copying as the process involves changing the format of the audio or video content.

62. Wordsmith’s resource : ROGET’S
Peter Mark Roget was an English lexicographer. Roget was an avid maker of lists, apparently using the routine of list-making to combat depression, a condition he endured for most of his life. He published his famous thesaurus in 1852, with revisions and expansions being made years later by his son, and then in turn by his grandson.

64. Einstein : BRAINIAC
After Albert Einstein moved to the US in 1933, he became quite a celebrity and his face was readily recognizable. Einstein was frequently stopped in the street by people who would naively ask him if he could explain what “that theory” (i.e. the theory of relativity) was all about. Growing tired of this, he finally learned to tell people that he was sorry, but folks were constantly mistaking him for Albert Einstein!

66. Dentist’s #6 and #11 : EYE TEETH
The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eye teeth. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The name “eye” is used because in humans the eye teeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.

Down
1. Where to find departure info? : OBIT PAGE
“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the word for the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

4. Like many drugs, briefly : OTC
Over the counter (OTC).

5. Dudley’s love, in cartoons : NELL
Dudley Do-Right appeared on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, a cartoon that appeared on television in a couple of different versions from 1959-1964. Dudley was a bungling Mountie who struggled with his nemesis, the evil Snidely Whiplash, Dudley also spent a lot of time wooing Nell Fenwick (who always seemed to prefer Dudley’s horse!).

7. Fielder’s dramatic play : SHOESTRING CATCH
In baseball, a “shoestring catch” is one made just before the ball hits the ground while the catcher is still running. He catches the ball right at the level of his shoestrings, as it were …

8. Hawaiian smoker : MAUNA LOA
Mauna Loa on the “big island” of Hawaii is the largest volcano on the planet (in terms of volume). The name “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”.

9. Bermuda setting: Abbr. : AST
Atlantic Standard Time (AST) is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, and one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. The list of locations that use AST includes Puerto Rico and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

10. “Old ___” (country music classic) : SHEP
“Old Shep” is a country music classic co-written by Red Foley in 1933. The song is about a dog that Foley owned as a child, and who was poisoned by a neighbor.

13. “Unto us a son is given” source : ISAIAH
“Unto us a son is given”, are words from Handel’s “Messiah”. They actually come from the book of Isaiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

14. Bondage : THRALL
“Thrall” is servitude or bondage, or a person in servitude. A “thrall” was a serf or servant in slavery in Scandinavia during the days of the Vikings.

21. Weed eliminator, for short? : DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was set up in 1973 while President Nixon was in office.

26. River waterfall : SAULT
“Sault” is an old French word for a waterfall or rapids.

29. Montana or Idaho river : TETON
The Teton River in Idaho runs along the west side of the Teton Range along the border between Idaho and Wyoming. The Teton River in Montana is of course nowhere near the Teton Range. It runs through Teton County, Montana.

31. Green dresser’s honoree, briefly : ST PAT
There is a fair amount known about St. Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as St. Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.

34. Letter after Quebec in a radio alphabet : ROMEO
The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie etc.

40. Stone Age tools : NEOLITHS
A neolith is a stone tool that was produced during the Neolithic Era, the last part of the Stone Age.

41. Some quotation marks : ELLIPSES
“Ellipses” is the plural of “ellipsis”. An ellipsis is a series of dots (usually three) used to indicate an omission in some text. The term comes from the Greek word “élleipsis”, which means “omission”.

44. Athlete-turned-actor Buster : CRABBE
As an actor, Buster Crabbe was best known for playing Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Before taking up acting, Crabbe was a championship swimmer, the winner of the 1932 Olympic gold medal for the 400 meter freestyle.

45. Like old-fashioned phones : ROTARY
The first patent for a rotary dial mechanism for a phone was granted in 1898, and the familiar rotary dial phones (with holes for the finger) were introduced by the Bell System in 1919. This form of dialing was called “pulse dialing”. When you dialed the number 5 say, the dial would rotate back to the start position, opening and closing electrical contacts five times and sending five pulses over the telephone line. I used to love rotary dial phones when I was a kid. My grandfather was a telephone engineer and he showed me how to “tap out” the pulses on the “hook” at the top of a pay phone. I was able to make free calls that way. He definitely contributed to the corruption of a minor …

46. Hangers near tongues : UVULAE
The uvula is that conical fleshy projection hanging down at the back of the soft palate. The uvula plays an important role in human speech, particularly in the making of “guttural” sounds. The Latin word for “grape” is “uva”, and “uvula” is a “little grape”.

53. Combs of Murderers’ Row : EARLE
Earle Combs was a professional baseball player who played for the New York Yankees from 1924 to 1935, his whole playing career. Combs, a native of Kentucky, had the reputation of being a real gentleman and was nicknamed “the Kentucky Colonel”. He was such a gentleman that he was described as the favorite Yankee of the sports writers. That must have been quite an honor given that his teammates included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

56. Bygone laborer : ESNE
“Esne” is an uncommon word, a synonym for serf as best I can tell, a member of the lowest feudal class.

58. Machine worked in “Norma Rae” : LOOM
“Norma Rae” is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called “Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance”.

61. With 19-Across, item for many cobblers : PIE
19A. See 61-Down : TIN
The dessert called “cobbler” originated in colonial America when settlers invented it as a substitute for suet pudding as they didn’t have the necessary ingredients to make the more traditional dish. Instead, they stewed fruit and covered it with a layer of uncooked scones or biscuits, creating a surface that resembled a “cobbled” street, hence the name.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. He said “I don’t want my album coming out with a G rating. Nobody would buy it” : OSMOND
7. Bomb’s opposite : SMASH HIT
15. It typically has a ribbon around its crown : BOATER
16. Fudge ingredient in “The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook” : HASHEESH
17. Temporary spear : ICICLE
18. Wave recipient? : OUTER EAR
19. See 61-Down : TIN
20. Encumbered : LADEN
22. Places for stumpers : PODIA
23. Fox Sports reporter Oliver and others : PAMS
25. They have flat tops : MESAS
27. Radio host Boortz : NEAL
28. Pribilof Islands resident : ALEUT
30. Aid in planning a 35-Across : ATLAS
32. ___ Express (intl. shipper) : DHL
33. India leads the world in its production : GINGER
35. See 30-Across : ROUTE
37. Where chromosomes gather between poles during mitosis : EQUATORIAL PLANE
42. Like X, XX or XXX : ROMAN
43. Hanger at a graduation : TASSEL
44. French vineyard : CRU
47. Greeting to a rider, maybe : NEIGH
49. One-named actor from Tel Aviv : TOPOL
50. Be a drifter : ROVE
52. How actors come in : ON CUE
54. Title French orphan of film : LILI
55. Carry ___ : A TUNE
57. Conspiracy : CABAL
59. Copy from CD to PC : RIP
60. Top place to get sunburned? : BALD SPOT
62. Wordsmith’s resource : ROGET’S
64. Einstein : BRAINIAC
65. Can’t take : LOATHE
66. Dentist’s #6 and #11 : EYE TEETH
67. Give some relief : EMBOSS

Down
1. Where to find departure info? : OBIT PAGE
2. Low figure for a nerd : SOCIAL IQ
3. Starting point of a phone tree : MAIN MENU
4. Like many drugs, briefly : OTC
5. Dudley’s love, in cartoons : NELL
6. What an alarm may interrupt : DREAM
7. Fielder’s dramatic play : SHOESTRING CATCH
8. Hawaiian smoker : MAUNA LOA
9. Bermuda setting: Abbr. : AST
10. “Old ___” (country music classic) : SHEP
11. Wading fisher : HERON
12. Like many warnings : HEEDED
13. “Unto us a son is given” source : ISAIAH
14. Bondage : THRALL
21. Weed eliminator, for short? : DEA
24. Toots : SUGAR
26. River waterfall : SAULT
29. Montana or Idaho river : TETON
31. Green dresser’s honoree, briefly : ST PAT
34. Letter after Quebec in a radio alphabet : ROMEO
36. ___ de México (Mexico City daily) : EL SOL
38. It may be worn in the shower : RAINCOAT
39. Seek : ASPIRE TO
40. Stone Age tools : NEOLITHS
41. Some quotation marks : ELLIPSES
44. Athlete-turned-actor Buster : CRABBE
45. Like old-fashioned phones : ROTARY
46. Hangers near tongues : UVULAE
48. Many a layover locale : HUB
51. Split : END IT
53. Combs of Murderers’ Row : EARLE
56. Bygone laborer : ESNE
58. Machine worked in “Norma Rae” : LOOM
61. With 19-Across, item for many cobblers : PIE
63. Rap : GAB

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