Day: November 29, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Cartoon canary’s bane : PUDDY TAT
Sylvester J, Pussycat was also known as Puddy Tat, and was a character who appeared in “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” cartoons. Sylvester was the cat who was often trying to get the better of Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales and Hippety Hopper.

“I tawt I taw a puddy tat!” is a famous line uttered by Tweety Bird, the yellow canary in the “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” cartoons who is constantly stalked by various cats.

9. Lymph liquid : PLASM
Plasma (sometimes “plasm”) is the clear, yellow-colored liquid component of blood and lymph in which cells are suspended.

Lymph is a fluid that exists “alongside” blood in the body, transported through lymph vessels. One of the functions of the system is to pick up bacteria in the body, transporting them to lymph nodes where they are destroyed by lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Lymph can also carry metastatic cancer cells, which can lodge in lymph nodes making lymph nodes a common site where tumors may be found growing.

15. Many a predictable plot : CLICHE
“Cliché” is a word that comes from the world of printing. In the days when type was added as individual letters into a printing plate, for efficiency some oft-used phrases and words were created as one single slug of metal. The word “cliché” was used for such a grouping of letters. It’s easy to see how the same word would become a term to describe any overused phrase. Supposedly, “cliché” comes from French, from the verb “clicher” meaning “to click”. The idea is that when a matrix of letters was dropped in molten metal to make a cliché, it made a clicking sound.

18. Gate announcement, briefly : ETD
Estimated time of departure (ETD)

19. Longtime model Parkinson of “The Price Is Right” : DIAN
Dian Parkinson was a hostess on the game show “The Price is Right” for 18 years, eventually leaving the show in 1993. Famously, Parkinson filed a lawsuit soon after her departure against Barker for sexual harassment. Barker then admitted to a 3-year relationship with Parkinson but denied the harassment charge, and Parkinson dropped the suit.

20. One with a game collection : ARCADE
Our word “arcade” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “arc”. The first arcades were passages made from a series of arches. This could be an avenue of trees, and eventually any covered avenue. I remember arcades lined with shops and stores when I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Arcades came to be lined with lots of amusements, resulting in amusement arcades and video game arcades.

21. Home to Bar-Ilan Univ. : ISR
Bar-Ilan University (BIU) is a school in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. BIU opened for classes in 1955.

22. Grp. supported by 17-Acrosses : NRA
(17A. One with a game collection, maybe : HUNTER)
The NRA is the National Rifle Association, an organization that has been around since 1871. The NRA has had some celebrity presidents, including US President Ulysses S. Grant. It’s often said that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.

27. Post rival : KELLOGG’S
The Kellogg Company was founded in 1906 by Will Keith Kellogg as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. Will established the enterprise while working with his brother John Harvey Kellogg at his Battle Creek Sanitarium. The brothers created corn flakes as a health food for patients at the sanitarium.

C. W. Post decided to get into the cereal business after visiting the Battle Creek Sanitarium operated by John Harvey Kellogg. Post was interested in the chemistry of digestion and was inspired by the dietary products offered by Kellogg at his sanitarium. The first breakfast cereal Post introduced was Grape Nuts, way back in 1897.

33. What corned beef is often served on : JEWISH RYE
Jewish rye is a variant of rye bread that is seasoned with whole caraway seeds and is glazed with an egg wash. Jewish rye is often served with salted meats such as corned beef and pastrami.

Corned beef is beef that has been cured with salt. “Corn” is an alternative term for a grain of salt, giving the dish its name. Corned beef is also known as “salt beef”, and “bully beef” if stored in cans (from the French “bouilli” meaning “boiled”).

35. Heart-felt thing? : PULSE
One’s “pulse” is the rhythmic throbbing of arteries that is usually detected at the wrist or the neck. The contraction of the heart creates a pressure wave in the blood that moves the arterial walls, which is detected as the pulse.

36. Where to take stock? : BARN
Our word “barn” comes from the Old English “bere aern”, which translates as “barley house”.

37. Lamb accompaniment : MINT JELLY
Mint jelly is the traditional accompaniment for roast lamb in North America. Back in Ireland we serve mint sauce rather than jelly. Mint sauce is made from finely chopped spearmint leaves soaked in vinegar, with a little sugar added. I love mint sauce …

39. Shade similar to bay : COCOA
Bay is a reddish-brown color, usually used to describe the coat of a horse.

41. Least brazen : COYEST
Someone described as “brazen” might also be described as “shameless”. The term “brazen” comes from the Middle English “brasen” meaning “made of brass”. The suggestion is that a shameless person has a hardened, brass-like face.

42. “Eldorado” inits. : EAP
“Eldorado” is an Edgar Allan Poe poem that was first published in 1849. The poem tells of a gallant knight who spends much of his life in search of the legendary “Lost City of Gold” called El Dorado.

The original El Dorado was a Muisca chief who was covered with gold dust in a tribal ritual and then dove into Lake Guatavita in present-day Colombia. Later, “El Dorado” was adopted as the name for a mythical “Lost City of Gold” that became a quest from many Spanish Conquistadors who explored the Americas.

48. Coastal diver : TERN
Terns are seabirds that are found all over the world. The Arctic Tern makes a very long-distance migration. One Arctic Tern that was tagged as a chick in Great Britain in the summer of 1982, was spotted in Melbourne, Australia just three months later. The bird had traveled over 14,000 miles in over those three months, an average of about 150 miles a day. Remarkable …

49. Sun Devil Stadium’s sch. : ASU
Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.

53. Labor leader? : HERCULES
“The Twelve Labors of Hercules” is actually a Greek myth, although Hercules is the Roman name for the hero that the Greeks called Heracles. The first of these labors was to slay the Nemean Lion, a monster that lived in a cave near Nemea. Hercules had a tough job as the lion’s golden fur was impenetrable to normal weapons. One version of the story is that Hercules killed the lion by shooting an arrow into its mouth. Another version says that Hercules stunned the monster with a club and then strangled him with his bare hands.

55. Ray Charles’s Georgia birthplace : ALBANY
Ray Charles came up with his stage name by dropping the family name from his real moniker, Ray Charles Robinson. His life was a wild ride, well represented in the excellent biopic called “Ray” released in 2004 and starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray Charles was married twice and fathered 12 children with nine different women. As I said, a wild ride …

57. Inc. magazine topic : REORG
“Inc.” is a business magazine that specializes in articles about growing companies. “Inc.” publishes a list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country each year, calling it the “Inc. 500”. The “Inc 5000” is an expanded list also published by the magazine.

58. Voice of 1-Across : MEL BLANC
Mel Blanc is known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”. We’ve all heard Mel Blanc at one time or another, I am sure. His was the voice behind such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Woody Woodpecker, Elmer Fudd and Barney Rubble. And the words on Blanc’s tombstone are … “That’s All Folks”.

Down
4. Detoxing woe : DTS
The episodes of delirium that can accompany withdrawal from alcohol are called Delirium Tremens (the DTs). The literal translation of this Latin phrase is “trembling madness”.

5. Bagel source? : YIDDISH
The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City. The term “bagel” comes from the Yiddish “beygl”, which in term comes from the Old High German word for “ring”.

6. Many a Taiwanese : TAOIST
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

8. It has eight neighbors: Abbr. : TENN
Tennessee borders eight other states, a record number that is shared with Missouri. The states bordering Tennessee are Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.

10. Tod’s sidekick on “Route 66” : LINC
“Route 66” is a classic television show from the early sixties about two young men traveling across the US in a Corvette. The original lead characters were Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock, with Murdock being replaced by a character called Lincoln Case in the third season.

The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road gained notoriety because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.

11. Court records : ACTA
Actum (plural “acta”) is the Latin word for “deed”. “Acta” is used in English to describe many official records, including minutes, proceedings etc.

13. Trivial : MERE
Trivia are things of little consequence. “Trivia” is the plural of the Latin word “trivium” which means “a place where three roads meet”. Now that’s what I call a trivial fact …

15. Delta lead-in : CHARLIE
The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta … Zulu.

23. Jungian principle : ANIMA
The concept of anima and animus is found in the Carl Jung school of analytical psychology. The idea is that within each male their resides a feminine inner personality called the anima, and within each female there is a male inner personality known as the animus.

29. With 27-Down, her last film was “High Society” : GRACE
(27A. See 29-Down : KELLY)
The lovely American actress Grace Kelly led the US delegation to the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 and there she met Prince Rainier III, at a photo-op in the Palace of Monaco. Twelve months later the pair were married and Kelly retired from acting at the age of 26. She suffered a stroke while driving her car in 1982, not long before her 53rd birthday. She died in the resulting car crash but her daughter, Princess Stéphanie, survived the accident.

“High Society” is a musical comedy from 1956 that stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. One of the claims to fame of “High Society” is that it was the last film made by Grace Kelly before she retired from the movies to become Princess Consort of Monaco.

30. Some food festival fare : GYROS
A gyro is a traditional Greek dish, a sandwich made with pita bread containing meat, tomato, onion and tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber sauce). The meat for gyros is usually roasted on a tall vertical spit and is sliced from the spit as required. The name “gyro” comes from the modern Greek word “gyros” meaning “circle”, a reference to the meat turning as it is grilled in a rotating circular motion.

31. French body of law? : SENAT
The French Senate (“Sénat”) meets in the beautiful Luxembourg Palace (“Palais du Luxembourg”) in Paris.

33. Derby favorite : JULEP
If you’d like to make yourself a mint julep, one recipe is:

– 3 oz of Bourbon
– 4-6 sprigs of mint
– granulated sugar to taste

The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875, and is a race modelled on the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris (now called the “Prix de l‘Arc de Triomphe”). As such, The Kentucky Derby was run over 1½ miles, although in 1896 this was shortened to 1¼ miles. The winning horse is presented with a very elaborate blanket made of red roses.

35. 10 or 15 yards, say : PENALTY
In football, most penalties result in the loss of 5, 10 or 15 yards.

38. One shot in a cliffhanger : J R EWING
The TV soap “Dallas” revolved around the Ewings family. The series that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby’s brother J. R., became so popular with audiences that the series as extended with J. R. at the center of the story. Who can remember who shot J.R.? (It was Kristin Shepard: J.R.’s mistress, who was also his sister-in-law).

41. Stall near the stacks : CARREL
A “carrel” is a nook located near the stacks in a library. Usually it is partially partitioned off to allow private study.

43. Designer Geoffrey : BEENE
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer. He had an impressive list of clients that included First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Nancy Reagan.

45. John Paul II, e.g. : POLE
Pope John Paul II led the Catholic Church from 1978 until 2005, a period of over 26 years. That made him the second longest serving Pope in history, after Pius IX who reigned for over 31 years in the mid 1800s. Paradoxically, John Paul II’s predecessor was John Paul I who only ruled for 33 days. John Paul II was a native of Poland, and was the first non-Italian Pope to lead the church since 1523.

46. ___-call : ROBO
Political calls, including robocalls, are exempt from regulation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), so we can’t stop them by putting our phone numbers on the “Do Not Call Registry”.

47. Creator of bad apples? : ALAR
The chemical name for Alar, a plant growth regulator and color enhancer, is daminozide. Alar was primarily used on apples but was withdrawn from the market when it was linked to cancer.

48. Hartmann of talk radio : THOM
Thom Hartmann is a radio host and liberal political commentator. “The Thom Hartmann Program” is listened to by almost 3 million listeners every week.

49. Mont. neighbor : ALTA
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.

51. Grp. with national antidoping rules : USOC
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has a federal charter but it doesn’t receive any funds from the US government. As such, it has to engage in fundraising just like any other charitable organization.

54. It might end in “mil” : URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

The .mil domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Cartoon canary’s bane : PUDDY TAT
9. Lymph liquid : PLASM
14. Launch : INITIATE
15. Many a predictable plot : CLICHE
16. Rests : LIES DOWN
17. One with a game collection, maybe : HUNTER
18. Gate announcement, briefly : ETD
19. Longtime model Parkinson of “The Price Is Right” : DIAN
20. One with a game collection : ARCADE
21. Home to Bar-Ilan Univ. : ISR
22. Grp. supported by 17-Acrosses : NRA
23. Something groundbreaking : A FIRST
27. Post rival : KELLOGG’S
32. “That is so obvious!” : NO DUH!
33. What corned beef is often served on : JEWISH RYE
34. Weights, to a weightlifter : IRON
35. Heart-felt thing? : PULSE
36. Where to take stock? : BARN
37. Lamb accompaniment : MINT JELLY
39. Shade similar to bay : COCOA
40. One getting into briefs? : ATTORNEY
41. Least brazen : COYEST
42. “Eldorado” inits. : EAP
43. Forbid : BAR
44. Urban phenomenon : SPRAWL
48. Coastal diver : TERN
49. Sun Devil Stadium’s sch. : ASU
52. Chill : COOL IT
53. Labor leader? : HERCULES
55. Ray Charles’s Georgia birthplace : ALBANY
56. A sprinkling : ONE OR TWO
57. Inc. magazine topic : REORG
58. Voice of 1-Across : MEL BLANC

Down
1. Ton : PILE
2. Ton, e.g. : UNIT
3. Quit running : DIED
4. Detoxing woe : DTS
5. Bagel source? : YIDDISH
6. Many a Taiwanese : TAOIST
7. More than bickering : AT WAR
8. It has eight neighbors: Abbr. : TENN
9. Stars and stripes, say : PLURALS
10. Tod’s sidekick on “Route 66” : LINC
11. Court records : ACTA
12. Hammer and sickle holder, maybe : SHED
13. Trivial : MERE
15. Delta lead-in : CHARLIE
22. Like many holiday letters : NEWSY
23. Jungian principle : ANIMA
24. In favor of the idea : FOR IT
25. Words before know and care : I DON’T
26. Total : RUN TO
27. See 29-Down : KELLY
28. Sarcastic “I can’t wait” : OH BOY!
29. With 27-Down, her last film was “High Society” : GRACE
30. Some food festival fare : GYROS
31. French body of law? : SENAT
33. Derby favorite : JULEP
35. 10 or 15 yards, say : PENALTY
38. One shot in a cliffhanger : J R EWING
39. Inner ear? : CORN COB
41. Stall near the stacks : CARREL
43. Designer Geoffrey : BEENE
44. Evidence of damage : SCAR
45. John Paul II, e.g. : POLE
46. ___-call : ROBO
47. Creator of bad apples? : ALAR
48. Hartmann of talk radio : THOM
49. Mont. neighbor : ALTA
50. Wrapped (up) : SEWN
51. Grp. with national antidoping rules : USOC
54. It might end in “mil” : URL

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