Day: October 6, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Tach site : DASH
Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a “board” placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hoofs of the horses. Quite interesting …

5. “Histoire de ___” (children’s classic) : BABAR
“Babar the Elephant” originated in France, a creation of Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. The first book was “Histoire de Babar”, a book so successful it was translated into English two years later for publication in Britain and the US. Jean de Brunhoff wrote six more Babar stories before he died in 1937, and then his son Laurent continued his father’s work.

19. Tech company in the Fortune 500 : EBAY
The “Fortune 500” is a list that is published every year by “Fortune” magazine that ranks the top 500 US companies in terms of gross revenue. The first Fortune 500 list was compiled in 1955 and had General Motors (GM) at the top with revenues of $10 billion. GM had dropped to 7th position by 2013, with revenues of $152 billion. Top of the 2013 list was Wal-Mart with revenues of $469 billion. Wal-Mart wasn’t around in 1955, having been founded in 1962.

20. Like Lincolns : OVINE
The Lincoln, or Lincoln Longwool, is an English breed of sheep. I think that the breed is named for the English county of Lincolnshire …

22. Holmes of Hollywood : KATIE
Katie Holmes is an actress who first came to prominence in the television drama “Dawson’s Creek”. Off screen, Holmes is famous as the ex-wife of Tom Cruise.

27. Company with a monocled mascot : PLANTERS
Planters is the company with the Mr. Peanut icon. Mr. Peanut was the invention of a first-grader called Antonio Gentile, a young man who won a design contest in 1916. A remarkable achievement, I’d say …

28. 1970s Ford on the move? : ROLLING PINTO (sounds like “rolling pin toe”)
The Pinto is a small car that was made by the Ford company from 1971 to 1980. The Pinto was of course named for the type of horse. The car’s reputation was severely damaged by allegations that the neck of the fuel tank could easily break off in a collision, leading to a deadly fire. However, the allegations were never really shown to be valid.

31. Old trans-Atlantic voyager : PINTA
As we all know, Christopher Columbus used three ships in his first voyage across the Atlantic: the Santa Maria, the Niña and the Pinta. The Pinta was the fastest of the three, and it was from the Pinta that the New World was first spotted, by a sailor called Rodrigo de Triana who was a lookout on the fateful day. Pinta was a nickname for the ship that translated as “the painted one”. The Pinta’s real name has been lost in mists of time.

37. Bezos who founded Amazon : JEFF
As founder of the superb enterprise Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos is an incredibly rich man. Having said that, his salary in 2010 was just a little over $80,000. Compare that with the cost of his personal security detail which was $1.6 million! Bezos made the news in 2013 when he purchased the “The Washington Post” newspaper for $250 million in cash.

41. The Josip Broz Memorial Trophy? : CUP OF TITO (sounds like “cup of tea toe”)
Marshal Josip Broz Tito led the Yugoslav resistance during WWII. After the war, he led the country as Prime Minister and then President.

49. Hindustan capital of old : AGRA
Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India. The city is famous of course, as home to the magnificent Taj Mahal. Agra was also the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658.

“Hindustan” is a historical name for the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The name translates as “land of the Indus”, a reference to the major river that mainly flows through modern-day Pakistan.

50. Common ingredient in Nigerian cuisine : YAM
Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the the world than they are in this country, and are especially found in Africa.

51. Bag End resident : BILBO
Bilbo Baggins is the main character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel “The Hobbit”, and a supporting character his “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

53. “North Dallas Forty” star : NOLTE
“North Dallas Forty” is a 1979 sport drama movie about a professional footballer who plays for a fictional team that resembles the Dallas Cowboys. Nick Nolte has the lead role, portraying an aging player who relies on painkillers to continue his career. The film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent.

58. Stingy snack vendor’s special offer? : BUY ONE GET ONE FRITO (sounds like “buy one, get one free toe”)
The Frito Corporation was started in 1932 by Elmer Doolin, basically in his mother’s kitchen. Doolin paid $100 for a corn chip recipe from a local restaurant and started producing Fritos at the rate of 10 pounds per day.

61. Gussied (up) : DOLLED
“To gussy up” is to dress showily, and is derived from the slang term “gussy” that was used for an overly-dressed person.

65. Say uncle : YIELD
To “say uncle” is an American expression meaning to submit or yield. Its usage dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”

66. Like the word “cwm” : WELSH
“Cwm” is a Welsh word meaning “valley”.

71. Away from the wind : ALEE
“Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.

72. Rock used for flagstones : SHALE
A “flagstone” is a flat stone that is often used for paving walkways and patios. The term may derive from the Old Norse word “flaga” meaning “slab”.

74. Dublin-born musician : BONO
Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner, born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. My wife and I had a drink in his local pub the last time we were in Ireland. Bono had taken First Lady Michelle Obama there for lunch with her daughters the week before …

75. Big Apple cop who’s looking to bust Popeye? : NYPD BLUTO (sounds like “‘NYPD Blue’ toe”)
Bluto is the villain in the Popeye cartoon strip and has been around since 1932. Sometimes you will see Bluto go by the name Brutus, depending on the date of the publication. This “confusion” arose because there was an unfounded concern that the name “Bluto” was owned by someone else. Bluto, Brutus … it’s the same guy.

“NYPD Blue” is a police drama that was originally aired in 1993, and ran until 2005. Stars of the show are Dennis Franz, David Caruso, Jimmy Smits and Rick Schroder. The show created a bit of a fuss back in the nineties as it featured a relatively large amount of nudity for broadcast television.

77. Learn all about the capital of Ecuador? : MASTER QUITO (sounds like “master key toe”)
The full name of the capital city of Ecuador is San Francisco de Quito. Quito is the second highest administrative capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia.

82. Teacher at Alexandria : EUCLID
Euclid of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician who was active around 300 BC, and who is often referred to as the “Father of Geometry”. Euclid wrote a famous book called “Elements” on the subject of mathematics, a book that was so enduring that it was used as the main textbook for the subject right up to the late 19th century.

86. Tootle : MOTOR
“To tootle” along is to walk or drive in a leisurely manner.

88. Portion of Dante’s “Inferno” that was wisely excised? : GARBAGE CANTO (sounds like “garbage can toe”)
A canto is a section of a long poem, and is a term first used by the Italian poet Dante. “Canto” is the Italian for “song”.

Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” is an epic poem dating back to the 14th century. The first part of that epic is “Inferno”, which is the Italian word for “Hell”. In the poem, Dante is led on a journey by the poet Virgil, starting at the gates of Hell on which are written the famous words “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”.

96. Christmas decoration that automatically steers toward lovers? : GUIDED MISTLETOE (sounds like “guided missile toe”)
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on trees or shrubs, absorbing water and other nutrients from the host. Mistletoe is commonly used as a Christmas decoration in Europe and North America. There is a custom that a man and woman meeting under the mistletoe must kiss. The tradition back in the 1800s was that a young man could extract a kiss from a young lady under the mistletoe, and then must pluck a cherry from the plant. Once all the cherries were plucked, there were no more kissing privileges.

98. “Here lies One ___ Name was writ in Water” (words on Keats’s tombstone) : WHOSE
The English poet John Keats died in Rome in 1821, and is buried there in the Protestant Cemetery. His last wish was that his grave be marked with a tombstone bearing just the words “”Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water”, and no name nor date. Keats’ friends honored his request to some extent, as the words were included on the stone and no name is given. The full epitaph reads:

This Grave / contains all that was Mortal / of a / Young English Poet / Who / on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart / at the Malicious Power of his Enemies / Desired / these Words to be / engraven on his Tomb Stone: / Here lies One / Whose Name was writ in Water. 24 February 1821

99. Tiny pasta : ORZO
Orzo is pasta that has been formed into granular shapes, much like barley. And indeed, “orzo” is the Italian word for “barley”.

101. Constellation animal : URSA
The constellation called Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland: the “plough”.

Ursa Minor sits right beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “dragon”). Ursa Minor used to be considered the wing of Draco, and so was once called “Dragon’s Wing”.

104. Goizueta Business School’s university : EMORY
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School is named for Roberto Goizueta, who was CEO of the Coca-Cola Company from 1980 until his death in 1997. The school itself was founded in 1919, and was renamed for Goizueta in 1994.

Down
1. People’s Sexiest Man Alive … twice : DEPP
Johnny Depp had his big break as an actor on television, in the eighties television show “21 Jump Street”. Depp’s first film success came when he played the title role in 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands”. He has twice been named Sexiest Man Alive by “People” magazine. I don’t see it myself …

2. Genesis victim : ABEL
The story of Cain and Abel not only appears in the Christian and Hebrew Bibles, it also features in the Qur’an. In the Muslim account the brothers are named Qabil and Habil.

3. 1979 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA
Fleetwood Mac was founded in 1967 in London. The band was started by Peter Green, and he chose the name from two friends in former bands (named Fleetwood and McVie). This is despite the fact the drummer’s name happens to be Mick Fleetwood.

7. Rubbermaid wares : BINS
The Rubbermaid company was founded in 1933 in a merger between an enterprise making red rubber dustpans and another making toy balloons.

8. Lead bug in “A Bug’s Life” : ANT
“A Bug’s Life” is a 1998 animated feature film from Pixar. The storyline is based on the film “The Seven Samurai” and the fable of “The Ant and the Grasshopper”.

10. Extracts metal from : SMELTS
Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and of course, a greenhouse gas).

11. Car company based in Palo Alto, Calif. : TESLA
Tesla Motors is a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The current base price of a roadster is about $100,000, should you be interested …

12. Seven-foot (or so) cryptid : YETI
A cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

13. English school : ETON
Eton College is named for the town of Eton in which it is located. The name “Eton” comes from the Old English word for “river town”. Eton lies opposite the town of Windsor, on the other side of the River Thames. Windsor is home to Windsor Castle.

15. Southernmost province of Spain : CADIZ
Cádiz is a port city in southwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz is a remarkable city geographically, in that it sits on a thin spit of land that juts out into the sea.

18. Spanish “weight” : PESO
The coin called a “peso” is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

25. Sonata segment : RONDO
A rondo was often chosen by composers in the classical period for the last movement of a sonata (or symphony or concerto, for that matter). In rondo form there is a principal theme that alternates with a contrasting theme(s). So, the original theme anchors the whole piece in between secondary digressions.

The term “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.

31. Genoese delicacy : PESTO
The term “pesto” applies to anything made by pounding. What we tend to know as “pesto” sauce is more properly called “pesto alla genovese”, pesto from Genoa in northern Italy.

36. Model A features : RUMBLE SEATS
A rumble seat is an exterior seat found in pre-WWII cars that opens out from the rear of the vehicle. Back in the 1800s, a “rumble” was a seat in the rear of a carriage that was used by servants. A car’s rumble seat was also called a “mother-in-law seat”.

The Ford Model A was the original car produced by the Ford Motor Company. The first production run lasted from 1903 to 1904, when it was replaced by the Model C. The name “Model A” was brought back in 1927 and used for the successor to the Model T.

37. Fitting punishment : JUST DESERTS
The phrase “just deserts” describes something which is deserved, and in today’s usage that can be something good or bad. The expression has been around a long time, and back in the 14th century it only applied to something bad. I guess the idea is that someone doing something unacceptable got his “just deserts”, the dry and barren expanses fitting to the deed. Over time, the pronunciation of “deserts” changed, with the emphasis on the second syllable, like our word “desserts”. The correct phrase is still spelled “just deserts”, but it is pronounced “just desserts”. As a result, many believe that the phrase is in fact spelled “just desserts”, meaning is one is getting what one deserves, sweet endings to one’s meals, as it were. But no, one is getting a dry and arid expanse that sounds like something sweet to eat. The correct spelling is “just deserts” and the correct pronunciation is “just desserts”.

38. Sport with a French name : EPEE
The French word for sword is “épée”, which is also the name given to the Olympic sport of fencing.

40. Ancient Hellenic healer : GALEN
Galen of Pergamum was a physician of Ancient Rome (of Greek ethnicity). He mainly worked on monkeys, dissecting their bodies to learn about physiology as it was not permitted to dissect human bodies in his day.

41. ___ Kaepernick, Super Bowl XLVII QB for the 49ers : COLIN
Colin Kaepernick is the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. In high school, Kaepernick was known as a baseball pitcher rather than a football player. He was a two-time California all-state baseball player and received several offers of baseball scholarships. Kaepernick finally received an offer of a football scholarship by the University of Nevada, Reno.

43. Round house : IGLOO
The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar: “igdlo”.

48. Submarine : PO’ BOY
A po’ boy is a submarine sandwich from Louisiana. There are a lot of theories about where the name came from, and none sound too convincing to me. A po’ boy differs from a regular submarine sandwich in that it uses Louisiana French bread, which is soft in the middle and crusty on the outside.

53. “But of course!” : NATCH!
“Natch” is a slang term meaning “naturally, of course”. “Natch” is simply a shortening of the word “‘naturally”, first recorded at the end of WWII.

59. Wine Country surname : GALLO
E J Gallo Winery was founded by Ernest and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California in 1933. Gallo is the largest exporter of wine from the State of California.

60. Area in which one shines : FORTE
Our word “forte” meaning “strength, talent” comes to us via French. The French word “fort” meaning “strong” was used as a noun for the “string point of a sword”. We then started using it to mean the “strong point of a person” in the late 1600s.

61. Cannon who married Cary Grant : DYAN
In the 1969 film “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”, Dyan Cannon played Alice, a role which earned her an Oscar nomination. She is also famous for having been on Cary Grant’s long list of wives, from 1965 to 1968 (and he was 33 years her senior).

62. Like sulfuric acid : OILY
Sulfuric acid is extremely corrosive. Sulfuric acid was called “oil of vitriol” by the Medieval alchemists of Europe.

73. Make out : CANOODLE
“To canoodle” is to indulge in caresses and kisses.

79. Small game : QUAIL
“Quail” is a name used for several chicken-like birds. Quail are common prey for hunters.

81. Three-time Olympics host : LONDON
The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, marking the first time that a city hosted the modern games on three occasions (also 1908 and 1948). Other notable “firsts” included achievements for women. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, and women’s boxing was included as an event for the first time. Also, it was the first time we saw Queen Elizabeth II (or someone pretending to be her) parachute out of a helicopter!

83. One of the Obamas : SASHA
Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, born in 2001. She is the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

84. Seinfeld called him “the Picasso of our profession” : PRYOR
Richard Pryor was a stand-up comedian and actor from Peoria, Illinois. Pryor had a rough childhood. He was the daughter of a prostitute and was raised in his grandmother’s brothel after his mother abandoned him at the age of ten years. He was regularly beaten by his grandmother, and was molested as a child. Pryor grew up to become the comedian’s comedian, one who was much respected by his peers. Bill Cosby once said, “Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it”.

86. Mesoamerican crop : MAIZE
Mesoamerica is a region extending from Central Mexico, south to Costa Rica. It is known as an area where societies flourished prior to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.

91. ___ soup : MISO
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.

92. Sensor forerunner : 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.

94. Poseidon ruled them : SEAS
Poseidon was the god of the sea in Greek mythology as well as the “Earth-Shaker”, the god responsible for earthquakes.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Tach site : DASH
5. “Histoire de ___” (children’s classic) : BABAR
10. Ocular ailment : STYE
14. Where roots grow : SCALP
19. Tech company in the Fortune 500 : EBAY
20. Like Lincolns : OVINE
21. Comply with : MEET
22. Holmes of Hollywood : KATIE
23. Magic word that never loses its power? : PERMANENT PRESTO (sounds like “permanent press toe”)
26. Autograph seekers’ targets : IDOLS
27. Company with a monocled mascot : PLANTERS
28. 1970s Ford on the move? : ROLLING PINTO (sounds like “rolling pin toe”)
30. Twins, possibly : BEDS
31. Old trans-Atlantic voyager : PINTA
32. Exudes : OOZES
33. More than a murmur of discontent : UPROAR
36. Ruptures : RENDS
37. Bezos who founded Amazon : JEFF
39. Enthusiastic enjoyment of one’s unhappiness? : GLOOMY GUSTO (sounds like “gloomy Gus toe”)
41. The Josip Broz Memorial Trophy? : CUP OF TITO (sounds like “cup of tea toe”)
46. Lapse in secrecy : LEAK
47. Balance sheet nos. : AMTS
48. Stumper : POSER
49. Hindustan capital of old : AGRA
50. Common ingredient in Nigerian cuisine : YAM
51. Bag End resident : BILBO
53. “North Dallas Forty” star : NOLTE
54. Tenderloin cut : FILET
55. Hands-free microphone’s place : LAPEL
56. More than ardent : RABID
57. Camp rentals : CANOES
58. Stingy snack vendor’s special offer? : BUY ONE GET ONE FRITO (sounds like “buy one, get one free toe”)
61. Gussied (up) : DOLLED
63. Impertinent : SAUCY
64. Rises dramatically : SOARS
65. Say uncle : YIELD
66. Like the word “cwm” : WELSH
67. Settlement stipulations : TERMS
68. Capture : BAG
71. Away from the wind : ALEE
72. Rock used for flagstones : SHALE
73. Country club vehicle : CART
74. Dublin-born musician : BONO
75. Big Apple cop who’s looking to bust Popeye? : NYPD BLUTO (sounds like “‘NYPD Blue’ toe”)
77. Learn all about the capital of Ecuador? : MASTER QUITO (sounds like “master key toe”)
80. Conversation openers? : LIPS
81. Track assignments : LANES
82. Teacher at Alexandria : EUCLID
83. Skimming utensil : SPOON
86. Tootle : MOTOR
87. Unsound, as an argument : WEAK
88. Portion of Dante’s “Inferno” that was wisely excised? : GARBAGE CANTO (sounds like “garbage can toe”)
91. Photo processing centers : MINILABS
95. To date : AS YET
96. Christmas decoration that automatically steers toward lovers? : GUIDED MISTLETOE (sounds like “guided missile toe”)
98. “Here lies One ___ Name was writ in Water” (words on Keats’s tombstone) : WHOSE
99. Tiny pasta : ORZO
100. Sad sack : LOSER
101. Constellation animal : URSA
102. Whittled (down) : PARED
103. Spotted : SEEN
104. Goizueta Business School’s university : EMORY
105. Slip by : PASS

Down
1. People’s Sexiest Man Alive … twice : DEPP
2. Genesis victim : ABEL
3. 1979 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA
4. Service manual? : HYMNBOOK
5. Waterless : BONE-DRY
6. Maintains : AVERS
7. Rubbermaid wares : BINS
8. Lead bug in “A Bug’s Life” : ANT
9. You may have had issues with them in the past : REPRINTS
10. Extracts metal from : SMELTS
11. Car company based in Palo Alto, Calif. : TESLA
12. Seven-foot (or so) cryptid : YETI
13. English school : ETON
14. Leave surreptitiously : SKIP OFF
15. Southernmost province of Spain : CADIZ
16. Compensate (for) : ATONE
17. Pleasant vocal qualities : LILTS
18. Spanish “weight” : PESO
24. Elite squad : A-TEAM
25. Sonata segment : RONDO
29. Take a stab at : GO FOR
31. Genoese delicacy : PESTO
33. Frightful : UGLY
34. Defendant’s declaration : PLEA
35. Incur cellphone charges, maybe : ROAM
36. Model A features : RUMBLE SEATS
37. Fitting punishment : JUST DESERTS
38. Sport with a French name : EPEE
40. Ancient Hellenic healer : GALEN
41. ___ Kaepernick, Super Bowl XLVII QB for the 49ers : COLIN
42. Spoils : TAINTS
43. Round house : IGLOO
44. Golfer’s obstacle : TREE
45. Stable diet? : OATS
48. Submarine : PO’ BOY
51. Sang in the moonlight, maybe : BAYED
52. Player in a pocket : IPOD
53. “But of course!” : NATCH!
54. Some fund-raisers : FAIRS
55. Pacified : LULLED
56. Get more mileage out of : REUSE
57. Learn fast, say : CRAM
58. [unmentionable] : BLEEP
59. Wine Country surname : GALLO
60. Area in which one shines : FORTE
61. Cannon who married Cary Grant : DYAN
62. Like sulfuric acid : OILY
66. Lick : WHUP
67. Dart gun : TASER
68. Seethe : BOIL
69. Prefix with septic or tank : ANTI-
70. “I’m glad!” : GOOD!
72. Rock launcher : SLING
73. Make out : CANOODLE
74. Driver’s recommendation : BUCKLE UP
76. Overlarge : BLOATED
77. Paint option : MATTE
78. Orbital decay result : REENTRY
79. Small game : QUAIL
81. Three-time Olympics host : LONDON
83. One of the Obamas : SASHA
84. Seinfeld called him “the Picasso of our profession” : PRYOR
85. Overlarge : OBESE
86. Mesoamerican crop : MAIZE
87. Tempered by experience : WISER
88. Stare stupidly : GAWP
89. Impediments to teamwork : EGOS
90. Medical breakthrough : CURE
91. ___ soup : MISO
92. Sensor forerunner : ATRA
93. Give orders to : BOSS
94. Poseidon ruled them : SEAS
97. Pop lover : MOM

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