Day: September 8, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Glasgow natives SCOTS
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and sits on the River Clyde. Back in the Victorian Era, Glasgow earned a reputation for excellence in shipbuilding and was known as “Second City of the British Empire”. Glasgow shipyards were the birthplaces of such famous vessels as the Lusitania, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth.

10. Spill the beans BLAB
“To spill the beans” is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”.

16. Toy construction piece LEGO
Lego is manufactured by Lego Group, a privately held company headquartered in Billund, Denmark. The company was founded by a carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1934 and the now-famous plastic interlocking blocks were introduced in 1949. The blocks were originally sold under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks” but I think “Lego” is easier to remember! The name “Lego” comes from the Danish term “leg godt” meaning “play well”.

17. Ann ___, Mich. ARBOR
Ann Arbor, Michigan was founded in 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey. Supposedly, Allen and Rumsey originally used the name “Annsarbour” in recognition of stands of bur oak that were on the land they had purchased and in recognition of their wives, both of whom were called “Ann” (i.e. Anns’ Arbor)

18. Long-distance callers’ necessities AREA CODES
Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then the “clicks” one heard when dialling a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 313.

20. 2011 Tony-winning religious satire, with “The” BOOK OF MORMON
The satirical Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” was written by Robert Lopez, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are better known as the creators of the animated television show “South Park”. Lopez is better known as the co-writer of the musical “Avenue Q”.

23. Speckled horse ROAN
A roan horse has an even mixture of white and colored hairs on the body with the head, lower legs, mane and tail having a more solid color.

24. “___ Bovary” MADAME
“Madame Bovary” is the most famous novel written by Gustave Flaubert. The title character is a doctor’s wife, Emma Bovary, who lives a luxurious life beyond her means, and has many adulterous affairs. The novel had a rousing reception, first being attacked by public prosecutors as obscenity, which I am sure later helped it to become a bestseller.

30. Hip, in the ’60s MOD
“Mod” is short for “modernist”, and describes a subculture that originated in London in the late fifties. Young men who called themselves mods tended to wear tailored suits, listen to pop music and drive around on Italian motor scooters. Mods came into conflict with another subculture that emerged at the same time in the UK called the rockers. Rockers were into rock and roll music, and drove motorcycles I remember as a young kid in school having to declare myself as either a mod or a rocker. I don’t think our “gangs” back then were quite the same as they are today though …

37. Hall-of-Fame Broncos QB John ELWAY
Former quarterback John Elway played his entire professional football career with the Denver Broncos. Elway now works as the executive vice president for football operations with the Broncos, which means he works for the team president directly, and that head coach John Fox reports to Elway.

39. Skater Sonja who won three Olympic gold medals HENIE
Sonja Henie was a World and Olympic Champion figure skater from Norway from the days when “amateur” sports stars were not paid. Henie made up for her lack of income from competing by developing a career in Hollywood. She was one of highest paid stars at the height of her movie career.

41. Black magic item VOODOO DOLL
Voodoo is a religion that originated the French slave colony of Saint-Domingue on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

43. Mother of Cain and Abel EVE
In the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, Cain murders his brother Abel. Subsequently, God asks Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain replies, “I known now. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

44. ___ Lingus (Irish carrier) AER
Aer Lingus is my favorite airline! Well, the service isn’t that great, but when I get on board an Aer Lingus plane I feel like I am back in Ireland. Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, with “Aer Lingus” being a phonetic spelling of the Irish “aer-loingeas” meaning “air fleet”. These days Aer Lingus can only lay claim to the title of Ireland’s oldest airline as it is no longer the biggest. That honor goes to the controversial budget airline called Ryanair.

45. London lav LOO
When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes and linens in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo” in which the pot was called the loo!

Our word “lavatory” originally referred to a washbasin, and comes from the Latin “lavatorium”, a place for washing. In the 1600s a “lavatory” came to mean a washroom, and in the 1920s a toilet.

50. European peak ALP
There are eight Alpine countries:

– Austria
– Slovenia
– France
– Switzerland
– Liechtenstein
– Germany
– Monaco
– Italy

56. Uncle Ben’s offering WHITE RICE
Uncle Ben’s is the famous brand name of rice introduced in 1943. It was the biggest selling rice in the US from the fifties through the nineties. As one might imagine, the name “Uncle Ben” is pretty offensive, and Mars, who owns the brand now, have tried to distance themselves from the African-American slave/domestic servant image. In 2007 there was a TV campaign showing “Uncle Ben” as Chairman of the Board of the company. But, he is still called Uncle Ben …

59. Actress Greta who famously said “I want to be alone” GARBO
Famously, Greta Garbo lived a life of seclusion in New York City after she retired from the entertainment business. Commentators often associated her need for privacy with a line she uttered in the great 1932 movie “Grand Hotel”. Her character, Grusinskaya the Russian ballerina, said, “I want to be alone (…) I just want to be alone”.

60. Boingo service at airports WI-FI
“Wi-Fi” is nothing more than a trademark, a trademark registered by an association of manufacturers of equipment that use wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology. A device labeled with “Wi-Fi” has to meet certain defined technical standards, basically meaning that the devices can talk to each other. The name “Wi-Fi” suggests “Wireless Fidelity”, although apparently the term was never intended to mean anything at all.

Boingo Wireless is a company that specializes in providing Wi-Fi service at locations such as airports. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Boingo has been going since 2001.

61. Pub potables ALES
Something that is “potable” is fit to drink. The term derives from the Latin verb “potare” meaning “to drink”, which is also the root for our word “potion”.

63. Computer that runs OS X IMAC
The iMac is a desktop computer platform from Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors, that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such strawberry, blueberry and lime.

Apple introduced the Mac OS X Operating System in 2000. Each version of this operating system has had a code name, and that code name until recently has been a type of big cat. The versions and code names are:

– 10.0: Cheetah
– 10.1: Puma
– 10.2: Jaguar
– 10.3: Panther
– 10.4: Tiger
– 10.5: Leopard
– 10.6: Snow Leopard
– 10.7: Lion
– 10.8: Mountain Lion
– 10.9: Mavericks

The last release marked a change in naming pattern, with “Mavericks” being a surfing location in Northern California.

Down
1. Q-tips, e.g. SWABS
Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”, but this was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

2. Christmas song CAROL
The word “carol” came into English via the Old French word “carole”, which was a “dance in a ring”. When “carol” made it into English, about 1300 AD, the term was used to describe a dance as well as a joyful song. Around 1500 AD, carols that were sung came to be associated with Christmas.

6. First president born outside the continental U.S. OBAMA
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am pretty sure that Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the first president to have been born outside of the continental US.

13. 2013 World Series winner, on scoreboards BOS
The Boston Red Sox is one of the most successful Major League Baseball teams and so commands a large attendance, but only when on the road. The relatively small capacity of Boston’s Fenway Park, the team’s home since 1912, has dictated that every game the Red Sox has played there has been a sell out since May of 2003.

25. ___ acid (protein building block) AMINO
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins.

26. Exxon merger partner MOBIL
Mobil was founded as part of the the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. The company was originally called Socony (Standard Oil Company of New York). Socony merged with Magnolia Petroleum Company in the thirties and adopted Magnolia’s Pegasus emblem, and it has been used ever since. Mobil merged with Exxon in 1999 but the Mobil brand and Pegasus are alive and well.

27. Famous auto flop EDSEL
The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel, son of Henry Ford. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced.

29. 007 BOND
James Bond was of course the creation of the writer Ian Fleming. Fleming “stole” the James Bond name from an American ornithologist. The number 007 was “stolen” from the real-life, 16th century English spy called John Dee. Dee would sign his reports to Queen Elizabeth I with a stylized “007” to indicate that the reports were for “her eyes only”.

32. ___ Oyl OLIVE
“Thimble Theater” was the precursor comic strip to the famous “Popeye” drawn by E. C. Segar. Before Popeye came into the story, the brother and sister characters Castor Oyl and Olive Oyl were the main protagonists. And then along comes a sailor …

34. Christian of couture DIOR
Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. As WWII approached, Dior was called up by the French military, imposing a temporary halt to his career in fashion. He left the army in 1942 and for the duration of the war designed clothes for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. After the war his designs became so popular that he helped re-establish Paris as the fashion center of the world.

35. Tic-tac-toe winner OOO
When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

39. Rowdy soccer fan, for one HOOLIGAN
“Hooligan” is a word that arose in England in the late 1800s and describes an aggressive and violent youth. The term is apparently derived from the Irish family name of “Houlihan”. I can’t think why …

41. Purple Heart recipient, e.g. VETERAN
The Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded by the President to members of the US military forces who have been wounded or killed while serving. Today’s Purple Heart was originally called the Badge of Military Merit, an award that was established by George Washington 1782 while he was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal with a gold border bearing a profile of President Washington, and a purple ribbon.

42. Scandinavian saint OLAF
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

56. 1910s conflict: Abbr. WWI
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, what we now know as World War I was referred to as “the World War” or “the Great War”.

58. “… woodchuck chuck, ___ woodchuck could chuck wood?” IF A
The woodchuck is also known as the groundhog, and is one a group of large ground squirrels called marmots.

Repeat after me:

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Glasgow natives SCOTS
6. Horse’s feedbox fill OATS
10. Spill the beans BLAB
14. “Yippee!” WAHOO!
15. Get-out-of-jail money BAIL
16. Toy construction piece LEGO
17. Ann ___, Mich. ARBOR
18. Long-distance callers’ necessities AREA CODES
20. 2011 Tony-winning religious satire, with “The” BOOK OF MORMON
22. Cunning SLY
23. Speckled horse ROAN
24. “___ Bovary” MADAME
28. A toddler might throw one FIT
29. Wager BET
30. Hip, in the ’60s MOD
31. Hyperlocal way to campaign DOOR-TO-DOOR
36. Barbecue fare RIBS
37. Hall-of-Fame Broncos QB John ELWAY
38. Charged particle ION
39. Skater Sonja who won three Olympic gold medals HENIE
40. Slight coloring TINT
41. Black magic item VOODOO DOLL
43. Mother of Cain and Abel EVE
44. ___ Lingus (Irish carrier) AER
45. London lav LOO
46. Edit REDACT
48. Cutlet meat VEAL
50. European peak ALP
53. Milestone birthday, informally … with a hint to 20-, 31- and 41-Across THE BIG FIVE-OH
56. Uncle Ben’s offering WHITE RICE
59. Actress Greta who famously said “I want to be alone” GARBO
60. Boingo service at airports WI-FI
61. Pub potables ALES
62. Flying saucer occupant ALIEN
63. Computer that runs OS X IMAC
64. Where to get eggs NEST
65. Destitute NEEDY

Down
1. Q-tips, e.g. SWABS
2. Christmas song CAROL
3. “Goody!” OH BOY!
4. Conned TOOK
5. Campus sisterhood SORORITY
6. First president born outside the continental U.S. OBAMA
7. Boy’s name that’s almost always first alphabetically AARON
8. Cake layer TIER
9. Jail, slangily SLAMMER
10. Golden-haired BLOND
11. Was ahead LED
12. “Act your ___!” AGE
13. 2013 World Series winner, on scoreboards BOS
19. Paint layer COAT
21. Pic FOTO
25. ___ acid (protein building block) AMINO
26. Exxon merger partner MOBIL
27. Famous auto flop EDSEL
28. Campus brotherhood, briefly FRAT
29. 007 BOND
31. Discourage DETER
32. ___ Oyl OLIVE
33. Had possession of OWNED
34. Christian of couture DIOR
35. Tic-tac-toe winner OOO
36. Start all over REDO
39. Rowdy soccer fan, for one HOOLIGAN
41. Purple Heart recipient, e.g. VETERAN
42. Scandinavian saint OLAF
44. Heartsickness, e.g. ACHE
47. Place for a ghost ATTIC
48. Drinking and gambling VICES
49. Discharge EGEST
50. Eagle’s perch AERIE
51. Like oak leaves and brains LOBED
52. Insincere type PHONY
54. Ill temper BILE
55. Hollow between hills VALE
56. 1910s conflict: Abbr. WWI
57. That guy HIM
58. “… woodchuck chuck, ___ woodchuck could chuck wood?” IF A

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