Day: April 20, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9. Ancient symbols of royalty : ASPS
The venomous snake called an asp was a symbol of royalty in Ancient Egypt.

18. “___ and Louis,” 1956 jazz album : ELLA
“Ella and Louis” was a studio album released in 1956, a collaboration between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong with accompaniment by the Oscar Peterson Quartet. The pair worked together on two more albums: “Ella and Louis Again” and “Porgy and Bess”, both released in 1957.

19. The Sun, The Moon or The Star : TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future.

21. Best-selling novelist whom Time called “Bard of the Litigious Age” : SCOTT TUROW
Scott Turow is an author and lawyer from Chicago. Turow has had several bestselling novels including “Presumed Innocent”, “The Burden of Proof” and “Reversible Errors”, all three of which were made into films. He also wrote the autobiographical book “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School”.

23. Attribute of Elks or Lions Club members : CIVIC PRIDE
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome.

Lions Club International is an organization focused on the promotion of understanding across political and sectarian lines and on the support of charitable entities. Lions Club was founded in 1917 in Chicago by businessman Melvin Jones. Lions Clubs are open to adult male members, but Lioness Clubs are open to adult females and Leo Clubs are open to younger members.

25. Recital piece for a wind player : HORN SONATA
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.

27. Relative of turquoise : TEAL BLUE
The beautiful color of teal takes it name from the duck called a “teal”, which has dark greenish-blue (teal) markings on its head and wings.

32. Anthem preposition : O’ER
The words “o’er the ramparts we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key.

The lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” were written first as a poem by Francis Scott Key, inspired by the bombarding by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry that he witnessed during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song penned by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with the Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.

33. Mobile home seeker? : CALDER
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist. Calder is famous for having invented the mobile sculpture, a work made up of several pieces hanging on a string in equilibrium. In effect they are what we might known as “mobiles”, operating on the same principle as mobiles that sit over cribs in a nursery.

34. 1966 Wilson Pickett R&B hit : MUSTANG SALLY
“Mustang Sally” is a 1965 song written by, and also first recorded by, Mack Rice. The most famous version came a year later, released by Wilson Pickett. My favorite rendition though is in the film 1991 “The Commitments”, which tells the story of working class Dubliners who form a soul band.

40. Abbr. on sale garment tags : IRR
Irregular (irr.)

41. Short open jackets : BOLEROS
A bolero jacket is a very short tailored jacket that probably takes its name from the Spanish dance. Male bolero dancers often wear such a jacket. A less formal version of a bolero jacket is called a “shrug”. A shrug is usually knitted and resembles a cardigan.

50. ’50s political inits. : DDE
President Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas and given the name David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE). Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.

51. Year, to Casals : ANO
Pablo Casals was a wonderful cellist, from Catalonia in Spain. Casals lived at the time of the Franco regime in Spain. As a supporter of the Spanish Republican Government he placed himself in self-imposed exile in 1938, vowing not to return home until democracy had been restored. Casals never again set foot on Spanish soil, and died in Puerto Rico in 1973.

52. Greeting that includes a Spanish greeting in reverse? : ALOHA
The Hawaiian greeting “aloha” contains the letter sequence “alo”, which can be reversed to “ola”, a Spanish greeting.

53. Andean tuber : OCA
The plant called an oca is also known as the New Zealand Yam. The tubers of the oca are used as a root vegetable.

54. Opera based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with “The” : BARBER OF SEVILLE
“The Barber of Seville” is an extremely popular comic opera by Gioachino Rossini that is based on a play of the same name by Pierre Beaumarchais. Beaumarchais wrote a sequel called “The Marriage of Figaro”, on which Mozart based his comic opera of the same name.

58. Complete shutout? : EMBARGO
“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

61. Post letters : VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization (VFW) is the largest association in the country of US combat veterans.

63. Stockholm-bound carrier : SAS
SAS was formerly known as Scandinavian Airlines System and is the flag carrier of three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

65. Yale Bowl fan : ELI
Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

The Yale Bowl is the football stadium that is home to the Yale Bulldogs.

69. These, to Thierry : CES
“Ces” is the French word for “these”.

70. Ruler known as “Big Daddy” : IDI AMIN
Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country’s military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.

72. TV’s Cousin ___ : ITT
In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

76. Qualcomm Stadium athlete : SAN DIEGO CHARGER
The San Diego Chargers were an AFL charter team, so the franchise was founded in 1959. The Chargers played one season in Los Angeles and then moved to San Diego in 1961.

79. Paris’s ___ du Carrousel : ARC
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris is located close to the more famous Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile. The latter is often referred to simply as the Arc de Triomphe, and is twice the size of the Arc du Carrousel. The Arc du Carrousel was the inspiration for the Marble Arch in London.

81. Writer Chekhov : ANTON
Anton Chekhov was a Russian writer of short stories and a playwright, as well as a physician. He wrote four classic plays that are often performed all around the world, namely “The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Three Sisters” and “The Cherry Orchard”. All the time Chekhov was writing, he continued to practice medicine. He is quoted as saying “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.”

82. Pet Shop Boys, e.g. : DUO
Pet Shop Boys are a pop duo from England consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. The duo’s breakthrough single was “West End Girls” released in 1984 and again in 1985.

83. Stella D’___ (cookie brand) : ORO
Stella D’Oro is a brand of cookies and breadsticks, originally manufactured in the Bronx, New York City but now made in New Jersey.

84. Jermaine of the N.B.A. : O’NEAL
Jermaine O’Neal is a professional basketball player from Columbia, South Carolina. O’Neal currently plays for the Golden State Warriors.

93. Walker’s strip : BEETLE BAILEY
Mort Walker is a comic strip artist best known as the creator of “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi and Lois”, both of which first appeared in the fifties.

95. Govt. promissory notes : T-BILLS
A Treasury note (T-Note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-Note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A T-Bill is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-Bond matures in 20-30 years.

99. Former Chevrolet division : GEO
Geos were small vehicles manufactured by General Motors mainly in the nineties. Geos were designed to compete head-to-head with the small imports that were gaining market share at the time in the US. Some Geo models that you might remember are the Metro, the Prizm and the Storm. The cars were actually built as joint-ventures with Japanese manufacturers. The Prizm was a GM/Toyota project, the Metro was GM/Suzuki, and the Storm was GM/Isuzu.

102. Like equinoxes : BIANNUAL
An equinox is a phenomenon dictated by the tilt of the earth’s axis. Twice every year, that tilt “evens out” and the sun is equidistant from points at the same latitude both north and south of the equator. It is as if the earth has no tilt relative to the sun. The name equinox comes from the Latin for “equal night”, inferring that night and day are equally long, as the effect of the earth’s “tilt” is nullified.

105. Fine hosiery material : LISLE
Lisle is a cotton fabric that has been through an extra process at the end of its manufacture that burns off lint and the ends of fibers leaving the fabric very smooth and with a clean edge.

110. Visa alternative : OPTIMA CARD
The Optima Card is an American Express credit card.

112. “The African Queen” novelist : CS FORESTER
The excellent 1951 movie “The African Queen” is a screen adaptation of a novel with the same name by C. S. Forester. The stars of course were Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, and the film won Bogie his only Oscar. Some scenes were shot on location in Uganda and the Congo, where conditions were far from ideal for making a film. Most of the cast fell ill at various times, although Bogart remained hale and hearty. He claimed that was because he stuck to his own supply of whiskey rather than drinking the local water!

115. Classic theater name : ODEON
In Ancient Greece an odeon (also odeum) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning a “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

117. Designer Anne : KLEIN
Anne Klein was a fashion designer from Brooklyn, New York.

118. Leonard ___ a.k.a. Roy Rogers : SLYE
Cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers’ real name was Leonard Franklin Slye, and his nickname was “King of the Cowboys”. Roy Rogers married Dale Evans in 1947. Evans’ nickname was “Queen of the West”.

119. Covenant keepers : ARKS
According to the Book of Exodus, the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed were placed in a chest called the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was built according to instructions given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.

120. All alternative : NONE
“All or none”.

Down
2. Renault model with a mythological name : CLIO
The Renault Clio is a small car first produced in 1990. It is still being manufactured, now in its third generation. It is hugely successful for Renault, helping to restore its reputation after a difficult time in the 1980s.

3. Woody’s “Annie Hall” role : ALVY
I suppose if there is any Woody Allen movie that I enjoy watching, it’s “Annie Hall” from 1977. I think Diane Keaton is a great actress and she is wonderful in this film. You’ll see Paul Simon as well, making a rare movie appearance, and even Truman Capote playing himself. The film is also famous for sparking a movement in the fashion world to adopt the “Annie Hall” look, that very distinctive appearance championed by Diane Keaton as the Annie Hall character.

4. “Joanie Loves Chachi” co-star : BAIO
Scott Baio is the actor who played Chachi Arcola in the great sitcom “Happy Days” and in the not so great spin-off “Joanie Loves Chachi”. Baio also played the title role in a later sitcom called “Charles in Charge”. Earlier in his career, he played another title role, in the 1976 movie “Bugsy Malone”, appearing opposite a young Jodie Foster.

7. Ones who are the talk of the town? : CRIERS
Town criers make public announcements on the streets, usually shouting “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” to attract attention. The term “oyez” derives from the Anglo-Norman word for “listen” and is used in this instance to me “Hear ye!”

8. Baking ___ : SODA
“Bicarb” is a familiar term for sodium bicarbonate. Another name for the same compound is “baking soda”. When sodium carbonate is added to a batter, it reacts with acids and releases carbon dioxide which gives baked goods texture, all those “holes”.

9. Actress Judd : ASHLEY
The lovely actress Ashley Judd if the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd, and is half-sister to singer Wynonna Judd. I remember seeing Judd in a couple of episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” from 1991. Those appearances marked her television debut. Her feature film debut came the following year in a movie called “Kuffs”.

16. ___ Trend : MOTOR
“Motor Trend” is an auto magazine that has been published since 1949. The magazine has been giving its famous Car of the Year award since those early days, with the first award going to the 1949 Cadillac.

20. ___ Aviv : TEL
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.

22. John Irving character : TS GARP
John Irving’s 1978 novel “The World According to Garp” is somewhat biographical. In fact, Irving’s mother found parts of the novel difficult to read, recognizing elements of herself in Garp’s mother, Jenny Fields.

24. QE2’s operator : CUNARD
Cunard’s ocean liner the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) was launched in 1967. The QE2 was taken out of service in 2008 and purchased by investment firm which is converting the vessel into a floating hotel that will be moored in Dubai.

31. Music producer Brian : ENO
Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno’s most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “start-up jingle”, the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:

I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.

33. ___-Magnon man : CRO
Remains of early man, dating back to 35,000 years ago, were found in Abri de Cro-Magnon in southwest France, giving the name to those early humans. Cro-Magnon remains are the oldest human relics that have been discovered in Europe.

34. New corp. hire, often : MBA
The world’s first MBA degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

35. Man, in Milano : UOMO
Milan (“Milano” in Italian) is Italy’s second largest city, second only to Rome. Milan is a European fashion capital, the headquarters for the big Italian fashion houses of Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Armani, Prada and others. Mario Prada was even born in Milan, and helped establish the city’s reputation in the world of fashion.

38. Shakespeare’s “Titus ___” : ANDRONICUS
“Titus Andronicus” is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies, perhaps even the first that he wrote. I’ve never seen the play and apparently it is very gory, perhaps the reason why it was quite popular in Shakespeare’s own lifetime. Over the decades, sensibilities have changed and a result “Titus Andronicus” is performed less often today than his other works.

39. Financial writer Marshall : LOEB
Marshall Loeb is an author and editor who writes about the business world. Loeb was managing editor for “Money” magazine from 1980 to 1986, and managing editor for “Fortune” magazine from 1986 to 1994.

43. Bird whose feathers were once prized by milliners : SNOWY EGRET
The Snowy Egret is a small white heron, native to the Americas. At one time the egret species was in danger of extinction due to hunting driven by the demand for plumes for women’s hats.

A milliner is someone who makes, designs or sells hats. Back in the 1500s, the term described someone who sold hats made in Milan, Italy, hence the name “milliner”.

44. Neil of Fox News : CAVUTO
Neil Cavuto is a news journalist on the Fox Business Network.

45. Ken of “Brothers & Sisters” : OLIN
Ken Olin was one of the stars on the hit television series “Thirtysomething”, playing Michael Steadman. After “Thirtysomething”, Olin moved behind the camera and is now a producer and director.

47. One of the Kardashians : KHLOE
Khloé Kardashian managed to parlay her exposure on the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” into spin-offs called “Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami” and “Khloé & Lamar”. Guess how many episodes of those three shows that I’ve seen …

48. Composer Camille Saint-___ : SAENS
Camille Saint-Saens was one of the great French composers in my opinion. Saint-Saëns composed during the Romantic Era, and it was he who introduced the symphonic poem to France. Even his light and airy “The Carnival of the Animals” is a lovely work.

50. The U.N.’s ___ Hammarskjöld : DAG
Dag Hammarskjold was the second secretary-general of the United Nations, right up until his death in a plane crash in Rhodesia in 1961. The crash was considered suspicious at the time as the bodyguards were found to have bullet wounds when they died, but this was put down to bullets exploding in the fire after the crash.

55. “You Must Love Me” musical : EVITA
“Evita” was the follow up musical to “Jesus Christ Superstar” for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Both of these works were originally released as album musicals, and very successful ones at that (I remember buying them when they first came out). “Evita” was made into a film in 1996, with Madonna playing the title role and Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce playing her husband Juan Perón.

59. Candy heart message : BE MINE
The forerunner to Sweethearts candy was introduced in 1866, with the famous sayings written on the candy tailored for use at weddings. One of the original expressions was, “Married in pink, he will take a drink”. The original candy was a lot bigger, to fit all those words! The smaller, heart-shaped candy hit the shelves in 1901. We’ve been able to buy Sweethearts with the words “Text me” since 2010.

63. Rug fiber : SISAL
I suppose it is telling that whenever I hear mention of agave plants, I think of tequila. The sisal plant is an agave, but as far as I can tell its flesh is not used in making the Mexican liquor. Sisal is grown instead for the fibers that run the length of its leaves. The fiber is used extensively for twine, rope, carpeting, wall coverings etc. My favorite application though, is in the construction of dartboards. Sisal takes its name from the port of Sisal in Yucatan, Mexico, once a major shipping point for sisal plants.

64. Hersey’s Italian town : ADANO
“A Bell for Adano” is a novel written by John Hersey. Hersey’s story is about an Italian-American US Army officer, Major Joppolo, who found a replacement for a town’s bell stolen by fascists. “A Bell for Adano” was made into a film in 1945, the same year the novel won a Pulitzer.

67. Roman emperor : OTHO
Otho was Emperor of Rome for only three months, before he committed suicide.

74. Naval petty officer: Abbr. : YEO
In the US Navy, a yeoman is tasked with administrative and clerical work. In fact the position of yeoman is the oldest rating in the navy. You’ll see a lot of yeomen in the background on “Star Trek”.

75. “Amazing” debunker : RANDI
James Randi is a retired Canadian-American magician who had a stage career using the name “The Amazing Randi”. Now he spends his time investigating the paranormal, or in fact mainly challenging claims of paranormal activity. If you’re interested, the James Randi Educational Foundation is offering one million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate paranormal activity under controlled test conditions.

77. Anita of jazz : O’DAY
Anita O’Day was the stage name of the jazz singer Anita Colton. O’Day had problems with heroin and alcohol addiction leading to erratic behavior and earning her the nickname “The Jezebel of Jazz”.

78. “La Dolce Vita” setting : ROME
The title of the celebrated 1960 Federico Fellini film “La Dolce Vita” translates from Italian as “The Good Life”. There is a character in the film called Paparazzo who is a news photographer. It is this character who gives us our word “Paparazzi”, a term used for photographers who make careers out of taking candid shots of celebrities.

84. Futurist : ORACLE
In Ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of Ancient Greece was the priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

85. ESPN broadcaster Bob : LEY
Bob Ley works as a sportscaster with ESPN. Ley has worked with ESPN longer than any other employee.

87. Certain Sooner : TULSAN
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.

The 1889 Indian Appropriations Act officially opened up the so called Unassigned Lands, land in Oklahoma on which no Native American tribes had settled. Once the Act was signed, those lands became available for settlement. Those people that settled the same lands illegally, prior the date specified, they were termed “Sooners” as their situation was defined in the “sooner clause” of the Act. “Sooner State” is now the nickname for Oklahoma.

88. Some M.I.T. grads: Abbr. : EES
Many graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are electrical engineers (EEs).

91. Fancy tie : OBI
The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.

93. English church official : BEADLE
At one time, a “beadle” was a parish constable in the Anglican Church in England. One of the most famous beadles, albeit a fictional character, is Mr. Bumble from the novel “Oliver Twist” by charles Dickens. Mr. Bumble oversees the parish workhouse in which Oliver resides.

94. Kick-around shoe : LOAFER
The type of slip-on shoe called a “loafer” dates back to 1939. “Loafer” was originally a brand name introduced by the Fortnum and Mason’s store in London.

95. Chaim ___, 1971 Best Actor nominee : TOPOL
Chaim Topol (usually called just “Topol”) is an actor from Tel Aviv in Israel. I well remember Topol for his marvelous 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”.

96. City that sounds like a humdinger? : BUTTE
“Butte” sounds like “beaut”, slang for “beauty”, a humdinger.

A “humdinger” or a “pip” is someone or something outstanding. Humdinger is American slang dating back to the early 1900s, originally used to describe a particularly attractive woman.

97. Query from Judas : IS IT I?
At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him that day. According to the Gospel of Matthew:

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

98. Life Saver flavor : LEMON
Life Savers were introduced in 1912. The candy was created by Clarence Crane who contracted a pill manufacturer to press his formulation for mints into shape. The pill manufacturer found that the pieces of candy were produced more easily if a hole was stamped in the middle. The Life Saver name was chosen as the candy had the same shape as lifebuoys.

101. Product of Yale : LOCK
The Yale brand name comes from the name of the founder of the original company, Linus Yale Jr. Linus Yale was the inventor of the pin tumbler lock.

102. Jezebel’s idol : BAAL
Ahab was a King of Israel, but the power behind his throne was his wife Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. Jezebel’s god was Baal, and she used her influence to get temples of Baal built in Israel. Jezebel’s name is still associated with the worship of false prophets.

103. Many a PX patron : NCO
An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

A PX is a Post Exchange, a retail store operating on a US Army Base. The equivalent store on an Air Force Base is called a Base Exchange (BX). At a Navy installation it’s a Navy Exchange (NEX), at a Marine Corps installation it’s a Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) and at a Coast Guard Installation it’s a CGX.

104. Prime letters? : USDA
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies meat into eight different grades:

– Prime
– Choice
– Select
– Standard
– Commercial
– Utility
– Cutter
– Canner

106. Amazon fig. : ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who is now a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication.

Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …

107. D-Day invasion town : 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 a prolonged bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.

The most famous D-Day in history was June 6, 1944, the date of the Normandy landings in WWII. The term “D-Day” is used by the military to designate the day on which a combat operations are to be launched, especially when the actual date has yet to be determined. What D stands for seems to have been lost in the mists of time although the tradition is that D just stands for “Day”. In fact, the French have a similar term, “Jour J” (Day J), with a similar meaning. We also use H-Hour to denote the hour the attack is to commence.

108. Former C.I.A. chief Panetta : LEON
Leon Panetta was Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and took over as CIA Director in 2009. Panetta has long been interested in protecting the world’s oceans. As an example, he wrote the legislation that created the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

109. Artist’s alias with an accent : ERTE
Erté was the pseudonym of French artist (Russian born) Romain de Tirtoff. Erté is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.”

111. “The Price Is Right” broadcaster : CBS
“The Price is Right” is a television game show that first aired way back in 1956!

113. I.C.U. pros : RNS
A registered nurse (RN) might work in an intensive care unit (ICU).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Healing cover : SCAB
5. Instants : SECS
9. Ancient symbols of royalty : ASPS
13. Checks : STEMS
18. “___ and Louis,” 1956 jazz album : ELLA
19. The Sun, The Moon or The Star : TAROT
21. Best-selling novelist whom Time called “Bard of the Litigious Age” : SCOTT TUROW
23. Attribute of Elks or Lions Club members : CIVIC PRIDE
25. Recital piece for a wind player : HORN SONATA
26. Toast words after “Here’s” : TO YOU
27. Relative of turquoise : TEAL BLUE
29. Proceeds : GOES ON
30. Within earshot : NEAR
32. Anthem preposition : O’ER
33. Mobile home seeker? : CALDER
34. 1966 Wilson Pickett R&B hit : MUSTANG SALLY
40. Abbr. on sale garment tags : IRR
41. Short open jackets : BOLEROS
42. Commandment word : NOT
43. Pipe valves : STOPCOCKS
49. “I’ve got half ___ to …” : A MIND
50. ’50s political inits. : DDE
51. Year, to Casals : ANO
52. Greeting that includes a Spanish greeting in reverse? : ALOHA
53. Andean tuber : OCA
54. Opera based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with “The” : BARBER OF SEVILLE
58. Complete shutout? : EMBARGO
61. Post letters : VFW
62. Hammer : POUND ON
63. Stockholm-bound carrier : SAS
65. Yale Bowl fan : ELI
66. Roisterous : NOISY
68. Bond yield: Abbr. : INT
69. These, to Thierry : CES
70. Ruler known as “Big Daddy” : IDI AMIN
72. TV’s Cousin ___ : ITT
73. Urban renewal target : EYESORE
76. Qualcomm Stadium athlete : SAN DIEGO CHARGER
79. Paris’s ___ du Carrousel : ARC
81. Writer Chekhov : ANTON
82. Pet Shop Boys, e.g. : DUO
83. Stella D’___ (cookie brand) : ORO
84. Jermaine of the N.B.A. : O’NEAL
86. They’re steeped in strainers : LOOSE TEAS
89. Mrs. abroad : MME
90. Vocabulary : WORDAGE
92. Reversal, of sorts : UEY
93. Walker’s strip : BEETLE BAILEY
95. Govt. promissory notes : T-BILLS
99. Former Chevrolet division : GEO
100. Suffix with narc- : -OTIC
101. Dirty rats : LOUSES
102. Like equinoxes : BIANNUAL
105. Fine hosiery material : LISLE
110. Visa alternative : OPTIMA CARD
112. “The African Queen” novelist : CS FORESTER
114. Makeup removal item : COTTON BALL
115. Classic theater name : ODEON
116. Stain : BLOT
117. Designer Anne : KLEIN
118. Leonard ___ a.k.a. Roy Rogers : SLYE
119. Covenant keepers : ARKS
120. All alternative : NONE

Down
1. Breakaway group : SECT
2. Renault model with a mythological name : CLIO
3. Woody’s “Annie Hall” role : ALVY
4. “Joanie Loves Chachi” co-star : BAIO
5. ___ 500, annual race in Ridgeway, Va. : STP
6. Wildlife IDs : EAR TAGS
7. Ones who are the talk of the town? : CRIERS
8. Baking ___ : SODA
9. Actress Judd : ASHLEY
10. Use elbow grease on : SCOUR
11. Opening for a dermatologist : PORE
12. Common newsstand locale: Abbr. : STN
13. Seat at the counter : STOOL
14. Ready to be played, say : TUNED
15. De-file? : ERASE
16. ___ Trend : MOTOR
17. Graceful trumpeter : SWAN
20. ___ Aviv : TEL
22. John Irving character : TS GARP
24. QE2’s operator : CUNARD
28. Leave in a hurry : BOLT
31. Music producer Brian : ENO
33. ___-Magnon man : CRO
34. New corp. hire, often : MBA
35. Man, in Milano : UOMO
36. Cuts, as a cake : SLICES INTO
37. Coffee break time, perhaps : TEN AM
38. Shakespeare’s “Titus ___” : ANDRONICUS
39. Financial writer Marshall : LOEB
40. “What business is ___ yours?” : IT OF
43. Bird whose feathers were once prized by milliners : SNOWY EGRET
44. Neil of Fox News : CAVUTO
45. Ken of “Brothers & Sisters” : OLIN
46. Quaker production : COLD CEREAL
47. One of the Kardashians : KHLOE
48. Composer Camille Saint-___ : SAENS
50. The U.N.’s ___ Hammarskjöld : DAG
51. Pounds’ sounds : ARFS
54. Give rise to : BRING
55. “You Must Love Me” musical : EVITA
56. Nosy one : SPIER
57. Millennia on end : EONS
59. Candy heart message : BE MINE
60. “That’s ___!” (“Not true!”) : A LIE
63. Rug fiber : SISAL
64. Hersey’s Italian town : ADANO
67. Roman emperor : OTHO
71. Flaps : ADOS
74. Naval petty officer: Abbr. : YEO
75. “Amazing” debunker : RANDI
77. Anita of jazz : O’DAY
78. “La Dolce Vita” setting : ROME
80. Slugger’s practice area : CAGE
84. Futurist : ORACLE
85. ESPN broadcaster Bob : LEY
87. Certain Sooner : TULSAN
88. Some M.I.T. grads: Abbr. : EES
89. “Are you putting ___?” : ME ON
90. Slick hairstyle : WET LOOK
91. Fancy tie : OBI
93. English church official : BEADLE
94. Kick-around shoe : LOAFER
95. Chaim ___, 1971 Best Actor nominee : TOPOL
96. City that sounds like a humdinger? : BUTTE
97. Query from Judas : IS IT I?
98. Life Saver flavor : LEMON
99. Like bachelorette parties, typically : GIRLY
101. Product of Yale : LOCK
102. Jezebel’s idol : BAAL
103. Many a PX patron : NCO
104. Prime letters? : USDA
106. Amazon fig. : ISBN
107. D-Day invasion town : ST LO
108. Former C.I.A. chief Panetta : LEON
109. Artist’s alias with an accent : ERTE
111. “The Price Is Right” broadcaster : CBS
113. I.C.U. pros : RNS

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