Day: November 11, 2012

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
17. Big score, maybe : OPUS
The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”.

19. Leisure suit fabric : ORLON
Orlon is the brand name used by the DuPont Corporation for their acrylic fibers developed in 1941.

20. Carved Polynesian talisman : TIKI
A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form, found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries of sites sacred to the locals.

21. Shoe brand : PUMA
Puma is a German company that sells athletic shoes worldwide, but is most famous for soccer boots.

29. “Too Late the Phalarope” novelist : PATON
Alan Paton was a South African author and an outspoken opponent of apartheid.

31. He wrote “Words are loaded pistols” : SARTRE
John-Paul Sartre was a leading French philosopher, as well as a writer and political activist. Sartre was one of the few people to have been awarded a Nobel Prize and refused to accept it. He was named winner of the prize for Literature in 1964, for his first novel “Nausea”. Before his win, Sartre knew that his name was on the list of nominees so he wrote to the Nobel Institute and asked to be withdrawn from consideration. The letter somehow went unread, so he found himself having to refuse the award after he had been selected.

34. “___ You” (#1 Rolling Stones album) : TATTOO
“Tattoo” is a 1981 studio album by the Rolling Stones. “Tattoo” was the last Stones album to top the charts in the US.

36. Verdi opera : OTELLO
Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” was first performed in 1887 at La Scala Theater in Milan. The opera is based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello” and is considered by many to be Verdi’s greatest work.

40. ’70s TV production co. : MTM
MTM Enterprises was a television production company founded in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore, originally to produce the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. The company subsequently produced the likes of “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Rhoda”, “WKRP in Cincinnati”, “Hill Street Blues” and “St. Elsewhere”. That’s a lot of great television …

43. “Dirty Jobs” host Mike : ROWE
Mike Rowe is the host of the successful reality show called “Dirty Jobs” that is broadcast by “Discovery Channel”. Rowe is also a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company in a series of television commercials. He is quite the singer too, as he sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera for a while.

44. Candy man Russell : STOVER
Russell Stover and a partner started in business in 1921. Their company’s initial product was the world’s first chocolate-dipped ice cream bar that they called an Eskimo Pie. When competition for the ice cream product became too intense, Russell and his wife formed a new company to make boxed chocolates. That enterprise was formed in 1923, and the chocolates were originally known as Mrs. Stover’s Bungalow Candies. They were renamed to Russell Stover Candies in 1943.

46. Asian holidays : TETS
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning “Feast of the First Morning”. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

47. Actress Garr : TERI
The lovely Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr’s big break came with the role of Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and her supporting role in “Tootsie” earned her an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

49. Periodic function : SINE
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent. Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The inverse to these three functions are arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. The inverse functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent.

50. Villainous “Star Wars” title : DARTH
Anakin Skywalker is the principal character in all six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

– Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training by young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
– Episode II: Anakin is 18-years-old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
– Episode III: Anakin is 21-years-old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
– Episode IV: Anakin, as Darth Vader, comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and the Princess Leia.
– Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
– Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

52. “Quo ___?” : VADIS
“Quo vadis?” is Latin for “Where are you going?”

“Quo Vadis” is an epic drama made in 1951, an adaptation of the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. At the top of the bill were Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr, with Peter Ustinov playing the Emperor Nero. There was also an uncredited extra making her first appearance on the screen, a young lady by the name of Sophia Loren.

56. Sonneteer’s Muse : ERATO
In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of Lyric Poetry.

58. Subject explored in “The Crying Game” : ANDROGYNY
Someone who is androgynous cannot be distinguished as either a male or a female.

“The Crying Game” is a fascinating film that made quite a splash when it was released in 1992. Although it was set in Ireland and the UK, it didn’t do well in cinemas in either country yet made a lot of money over here in the US. I think the politics of the movie were a bit raw for Irish and UK audiences back then. It’s an unusual plot, blending Irish political issues with some raw sexuality questions. I won’t tell you about the “surprise scene”, just in case you haven’t seen it and want to do so.

73. One of Dumas’s Musketeers : ATHOS
The “Three Musketeers” were Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and their young protégé was D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” really didn’t use their muskets, and were better known for their prowess with their swords.

74. 2010 and 2011 L.P.G.A. Tour Player of the Year Yani ___ : TSENG
Yani Tseng is a professional golfer from Taiwan. She is currently ranked number one in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.

76. San ___ (Italian seaport) : REMO
The Italian city of San Remo sits on the Mediterranean, right on the border with France. In Italian the city is named Sanremo, just one word, although the spelling of “San Remo” dates back to ancient times.

80. Neutrogena competitor : OLAY
Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1949. When Oil of Olay 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.

82. Part of AARP: Abbr. : RETD
AARP is now the official name for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

87. Some Chi-town transportation : ELS
The Chicago “L” is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The “L” is also the second oldest, again with the New York City Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the “L” (originally short for “elevated railroad”), although the term “El” is also in common use (especially in crosswords as “ELS”). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

89. Silas of the Continental Congress : DEANE
Silas Deane was a member of the Continental Congress. When Deane was dispatched to Paris by the Congress, he became America’s first foreign diplomat. His amazing story is told in Joel Richard Paul’s book called “Unlikely Allies”.

90. Bearish : URSINE
The Latin word for a bear is “ursus”.

98. “Capeesh?” : YA DIG?
“Capeesh?” is a slang term meaning “do you understand?” It comes from the Italian “capisce” meaning “understand”.

109. Writer Wiesel : ELIE
Elie Wiesel is a holocaust survivor, best known for his book “Night” which tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

110. Title gunfighter of a 1964 #1 hit : RINGO
“Ringo” was a song that topped the Easy Listening charts soon after it was released in 1964. The song was “sung” (actually spoken) by the actor Lorne Greene. Greene tells the story of a gunfighter named Ringo. Interestingly, the B-side of “Ringo” is the theme music from “Bonanza”, the TV show on which Lorne Greene starred. That version of the theme music came complete with lyrics that were never used on television.

112. Battle of ___, 1796 Napoleon victory : LODI
The Battle of Lodi was fought in 1796 between the French and the Austrians at the town of Lodi in northern Italy. The French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte emerged victorious, although most of the Austrian army were able to withdraw and escape. The victory bolstered Napoleon’s reputation and helped propel him to power in France.

Down
2. Pacific capital : APIA
Apia is the capital city, and in fact the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven ships from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of the others. Six of the vessels were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely.

4. Angry slight? : HOT CROSS SNUB (hot cross buns)
Hot cross buns are buns containing currants and raisins and marked with a cross on the top. They are traditionally eaten in Christian countries on Good Friday with the cross being a symbol of the Crucifixion.

7. The fox in Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” : TOD
Disney’s 1981 animated feature “The Fox and the Hound” is based on a novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. Both the novel and movie tell the tale of a young fox and a young hound who are good friends. The fox and hound struggle to maintain their friendship as they grow older and their animal instincts kick in, and social pressures demand that they become adversaries.

9. Battle of Normandy site : ST LO
Saint-Lô is a town in Normandy that was occupied by Germany in 1940. Saint-Lo stood at a strategic crossroads and so there was intense fighting there during the Normandy invasion of 1944. After the bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.

13. Politico Agnew : SPIRO
Spiro Agnew served as Vice-President under Richard Nixon, before becoming the only VP in American history to resign because of criminal charges (there was a bribery scandal). He was also the first Greek-American to serve as VP, the son of a Greek immigrant who shortened his name from Anagnostopoulos.

14. One-of-a-kind Dutch cheese? : CUSTOM EDAM (custom-made)
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps it travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

24. Demon’s weekend plans? : SATURDAY NIGHT EVIL (“Saturday Night Live”)
NBC first aired a form of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) in 1975 under the title “NBC’s Saturday Night”. The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from “The Tonight Show”. Back then “The Tonight Show” had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to put together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he came up with what we now call “Saturday Night Live”.

28. Canaries locale: Abbr. : ATL
The Canary Islands are located off the northwest coast of Africa. The islands aren’t named for the canary bird and in fact the bird is named for the islands. The Canary Islands name comes from the Latin “Canariae Insulae” which translates as “Island of the Dogs”, the original name for the biggest island now called Gran Canaria. In the days of Ancient Rome the island was noted as a home to a large number of very large dogs.

30. Cracker Jack box bonus : TOY
Cracker Jack snack food was introduced to the public at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. It didn’t get the name “Cracker Jack” until a few years later when someone declared to the manufacturers that the candied snack was “crackerjack!”. Prizes were introduced into each box starting in 1912.

35. “___ Ballet” (“A Chorus Line” song) : AT THE
“A Chorus Line” is a phenomenal hit musical first staged in 1975. The original Broadway production ran for well over 6,000 performances, making it the longest running production in Broadway history, a record held for over 20 years (until “Cats” came along).

37. Irish lullaby opener : TOO-RA-
The song from Ireland called “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral” was written in 1914 by one James Royce Shannon. The song became quite a hit after it was sung by Bing Crosby in the 1944 movie “Going My Way”.

42. Sushi bar bowlfuls : MISOS
Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes the soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus (!) to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

46. Ancient siege site : TROY
The story of the Wooden Horse of Troy is told in Virgil’s poem “The Aeneid”. According to the tale, the city of Troy finally fell to the Greeks after a siege that had lasted for ten years. In a ruse, the Greeks sailed away in apparent defeat, leaving behind a large wooden horse. Inside the horse were hidden 30 crack soldiers, and when the horse was dragged into the city as a victory trophy, the soldiers sneaked out and opened the city’s gates. The Greeks returned under cover of night and entered the open city.

47. Gypsy’s aid : TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment in games. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future.

51. United Nations chief from Ghana : ANNAN
Kofi Annan is the diplomat from Ghana who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree.

60. Catherine’s demand of Heathcliff in “Wuthering Heights”? : GO TO YOUR MOOR! (go to your room!)
“Wuthering Heights” is the only novel by Emily Brontë, one that she published using the pen name Ellis Bell. Her sister Charlotte Brontë had just published her famous book “Jane Eyre” under the name Currer Bell.

63. Sleek and graceful : SVELTE
“Svelte” comes into English from Latin, via the Italian “svelto” meaning “stretched out”. As if I would know anything about svelte …

65. Mosaic material : NACRE
Nacre is another name for mother-of-pearl. Nacre is the strong iridescent material laid down by some mollusks on the inside of their shells, and it’s also what makes up pearls. The creature lays down nacre as a defensive mechanism, protecting the soft tissue of its body from the rough surface of the outer shell. Similarly, it uses nacre to encapsulate harmful debris or a parasite that penetrates the shell, and that’s how a pearl is formed.

66. Lucy’s TV pal : ETHEL
In the sitcom “I Love Lucy”, Lucy best friend was Ethel Mertz who was Lucy’s landlady. Ethel was played by actress and singer Vivian Vance.

67. “How’s it going, fish?”? : WHAT’S UP, COD? (“What’s up, Doc?”)
Bugs Bunny first said “What’s up, Doc?” in the 1940 cartoon short “A Wild Hare”, addressing the hunter Elmer Fudd.

70. Dracula’s bar bill? : VAMPIRE TAB (vampire bat)
Vampire bats feed mostly in the blood of mammals, including humans. When they find a suitable “victim”, often one that is asleep, the bat usually lands close by and approaches its “meal” on the ground. It makes a small cut with its razor-sharp teeth and laps up the blood. The blood tends to flow freely as the bat’s saliva contains anti-coagulants. Reports of bats biting the neck of humans are very rare in the real world, but the neck is the preferred location of attack in the fantasy world of vampires.

89. Ward, to Beaver : DAD
Ward Cleaver and his wife June were the parents of Wally Cleaver and his younger brother “The Beaver”, for whom the fifties sitcom “Leave It to Beaver” was named. Ward Cleaver was played by Hugh Beaumont.

93. One of the Judds : NAOMI
The Judds were a country music singing duo made up of Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna.

95. Michael Crichton novel about diamond-hunting : CONGO
“Congo” is a 1980 novel by Michael Crichton. It’s all about searching for diamonds in the dense rain forest of Congo. The novel was turned into a movie in 1995. I hear that the book is a lot better than the film …

97. Peacekeeping grp. : NATO
NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (or OTAN in French, “l’Organisation du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord”). NATO was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

100. ___ Fein (Irish group) : SINN
Sinn Féin is a political party in Ireland, largely representing the Catholic community in Northern Ireland. It is led by Gerry Adams and has the aim of uniting Ireland north and south. Sinn Féin is Irish for “we ourselves”.

104. “Lawrence of Arabia” role : ALI
“Lawrence of Arabia” is a 1962 movie that recounts the real life story of T. E. Lawrence, a British army officer famous for his role in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. The title role in the film is played by Irish actor Peter O’Toole. The role of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish is played by Omar Sharif.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Coll. student’s declaration : MAJ
4. Must : HAS TO
9. Three-stripers: Abbr. : SGTS
13. Cut line : SCAR
17. Big score, maybe : OPUS
19. Leisure suit fabric : ORLON
20. Carved Polynesian talisman : TIKI
21. Shoe brand : PUMA
22. “It ___ right” : AIN’T
23. Pipe-fitting and others : TRADES
25. Lie-abed : LATE RISER
27. Not hoof it, maybe : TAKE ACAB
29. “Too Late the Phalarope” novelist : PATON
31. He wrote “Words are loaded pistols” : SARTRE
32. Subject to double jeopardy, say : RETRY
33. Animal in una casa : GATO
34. “___ You” (#1 Rolling Stones album) : TATTOO
36. Verdi opera : OTELLO
38. Informal greeting : HI, GUY
39. H.S. support groups : PTAS
40. ’70s TV production co. : MTM
43. “Dirty Jobs” host Mike : ROWE
44. Candy man Russell : STOVER
46. Asian holidays : TETS
47. Actress Garr : TERI
48. Tusked animal : BOAR
49. Periodic function : SINE
50. Villainous “Star Wars” title : DARTH
52. “Quo ___?” : VADIS
53. Bargain basement markings : IRRS
54. Casino machine : SLOT
55. Narrowly, after “by” : A NOSE
56. Sonneteer’s Muse : ERATO
57. Tiny amount : TAD
58. Subject explored in “The Crying Game” : ANDROGYNY
60. Little garden guardians : GNOMES
61. Draft raisers : FLUES
62. ___ lark : ON A
63. Jamboree attendee : SCOUT
65. Bored employee’s quest : NEW JOB
68. Target for many a political ad : SWING VOTE
70. Some execs : VPS
73. One of Dumas’s Musketeers : ATHOS
74. 2010 and 2011 L.P.G.A. Tour Player of the Year Yani ___ : TSENG
76. San ___ (Italian seaport) : REMO
77. Auditioner’s hope : PART
78. Burns black : CHARS
79. Abrasive : HARSH
80. Neutrogena competitor : OLAY
81. Cartridges, e.g. : AMMO
82. Part of AARP: Abbr. : RETD
83. Spouse’s sleeping place after a fight, maybe : SOFA
84. “Really?” : THAT SO?
86. Wrangle : SPAR
87. Some Chi-town transportation : ELS
88. Sizable garden : ACRE
89. Silas of the Continental Congress : DEANE
90. Bearish : URSINE
92. Like draft e-mails : UNSENT
94. Stock market figs. : AVGS
95. Announcer of yore : CRIER
96. Doubled over, maybe : IN PAIN
98. “Capeesh?” : YA DIG?
100. Kahlúa and cream over ice : SOMBRERO
103. Place that sells shells? : TACO STAND
105. Like about 7% of the U.S. electorate : LATINO
107. Bingo call : B-TEN
108. Split bit : ATOM
109. Writer Wiesel : ELIE
110. Title gunfighter of a 1964 #1 hit : RINGO
111. Southern pronoun : Y’ALL
112. Battle of ___, 1796 Napoleon victory : LODI
113. Guacamole and salsa : DIPS
114. Name on a college dorm, perhaps : DONOR
115. “Gee!” : BOY

Down
1. Defense against a siege : MOAT
2. Pacific capital : APIA
3. Cash for trash? : JUNK REWARD (junk drawer)
4. Angry slight? : HOT CROSS SNUB (hot cross buns)
5. Assortment : ARRAY
6. Sidewalk square, e.g. : SLAB
7. The fox in Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” : TOD
8. Suggested résumé length : ONE PAGE
9. Battle of Normandy site : ST LO
10. Great Danes, e.g.? : GIANT PETS (giant step)
11. Sta. purchase : TKT
12. Times out in Mexico? : SIESTAS
13. Politico Agnew : SPIRO
14. One-of-a-kind Dutch cheese? : CUSTOM EDAM (custom-made)
15. Part of AARP: Abbr. : AMER
16. Like a four-leaf clover : RARE
18. Super Bowl XLIII champs : STEELERS
24. Demon’s weekend plans? : SATURDAY NIGHT EVIL (“Saturday Night Live”)
26. “Curses!” : RATS
28. Canaries locale: Abbr. : ATL
30. Cracker Jack box bonus : TOY
33. Hand : GIVE TO
35. “___ Ballet” (“A Chorus Line” song) : AT THE
36. Revolutionary path : ORBIT
37. Irish lullaby opener : TOO-RA-
38. Kind of class : HONORS
41. Shopworn : TRITE
42. Sushi bar bowlfuls : MISOS
45. Piñata part : TILDE
46. Ancient siege site : TROY
47. Gypsy’s aid : TAROT
51. United Nations chief from Ghana : ANNAN
52. Concert hall, e.g. : VENUE
58. Throw for ___ : A LOSS
59. Ball coverings? : GOWNS
60. Catherine’s demand of Heathcliff in “Wuthering Heights”? : GO TO YOUR MOOR! (go to your room!)
61. Glacier site, maybe : FJORD
63. Sleek and graceful : SVELTE
64. Head cases? : COMAS
65. Mosaic material : NACRE
66. Lucy’s TV pal : ETHEL
67. “How’s it going, fish?”? : WHAT’S UP, COD? (“What’s up, Doc?”)
68. Vital fluids : SERA
69. Haunted house sounds : GROANS
70. Dracula’s bar bill? : VAMPIRE TAB (vampire bat)
71. Hired spinmeister : PR MAN
72. Stash : STORE
74. Briar part : THORN
75. Celebratory swig after a football two-pointer? : SAFETY NIP (safety pin)
77. Random witness : PASSERBY
83. Odoriferous : SCENTED
85. Drawn : HAGGARD
88. Caveat to a buyer : AS IS
89. Ward, to Beaver : DAD
91. Josh : RIB
93. One of the Judds : NAOMI
95. Michael Crichton novel about diamond-hunting : CONGO
96. Right-leaning type: Abbr. : ITAL
97. Peacekeeping grp. : NATO
99. Fruity drinks : ADES
100. ___ Fein (Irish group) : SINN
101. Move, in Realtor lingo : RELO
102. Just : ONLY
104. “Lawrence of Arabia” role : ALI
106. Spanish uncle : TIO

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