Day: November 3, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Ancient Briton : PICT
The Picts were a Celtic people who lived in ancient Scotland, in the east and north of the country. The Picts gradually disappeared as an identifiable group, merging with the Gaels in the 10th century.

5. Bulgarian or Croat : SLAV
The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

– the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
– the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
– the South Slavic (including Bulgarians and Serbs)

14. One ___ (vitamin brand) : A DAY
One A Day is a line of multivitamins made by Bayer. One A Day was introduced way back in 1940.

17. Next-to-last chemical element alphabetically, before zirconium : ZINC
Zinc is the chemical element with the atomic number 30 and the element symbol “Zn”. Zinc is a metal that can form pointed crystals after smelting. It is probably these crystals that gave the element its name, which comes from the Old High German “zint” meaning “point”.

The metallic element we know as zirconium takes its name from the mineral “zircon” from which it is extracted.

18. Iowa State’s city : AMES
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (ISU) is located in Ames, Iowa. Among many other notable events, ISU created the country’s first school of veterinary medicine, in 1879. The sports teams of ISU are known as the Cyclones.

23. The Bible’s Queen of ___ : SHEBA
Sheba is referenced in the Bible several times. The “Queen of Sheba” is mentioned as someone who traveled to Jerusalem to behold the fame of King Solomon. No one knows for sure where the kingdom of Sheba was located, although there is evidence that it was actually the ancient Semitic civilization of Saba. The Sabeans lived in what today is Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

26. ___ Blanc, the so-called “Man of 1,000 Voices” : MEL
Mel Blanc was 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”.

27. Liberal arts school in Waterville, Me. : COLBY COLLEGE
Colby College in Waterville, Maine was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution. The school was renamed in 1867 for philanthropist Gardner Colby, in recognition of a $50,000 donation that he made a couple of years earlier when the institution was on the verge of closing due to lack of funds.

33. 7 Up or Pepsi : SODA
7UP was introduced to the world as “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda”, and was a patent medicine that contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. Paradoxically, it came on the market in 1929 just two weeks before the Wall Street Crash. The “Uncola” campaign dates back to 1967.

43. Insect in a summer swarm : GNAT
Gnats are attracted to the smell of rotting food, and to vinegar. Simple homemade traps that use vinegar are often constructed to attract and kill gnats.

48. Genetic info carrier : DNA
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.

49. Service at Staples or FedEx Office : COLOR COPYING
Staples is an office supply chain store based in Framingham, Massachusetts. Some of the company’s stores have a Staples EasyTech department which provides computer repair and upgrade services.

FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under it’s more catchy abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.

53. ___ Jima : IWO
Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since.

57. Ancient Roman robes : TOGAS
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

63. Ancient 71-Across land in modern-day Turkey : IONIA
(71A. Like Zeus and Hera : GREEK)
The geographic region called Ionia is located in present day Turkey. Ionia was prominent in the days of Ancient Greece although it wasn’t a unified state, but rather a collection of tribes. The tribal confederacy was more based on religious and cultural similarities than a political or military alliance. Nowadays we often refer to this arrangement as the Ionian League.

65. Taxis : CABS
A hansom cab is a very specific design of horse and buggy that was patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834 in England. The “cab” in the name is short for “cabriolet”, a prior design of carriage on which the hansom was based. It’s from “hansom cab” that we get our modern term “cab”.

71. Like Zeus and Hera : GREEK
In Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus and was noted for her jealous and vengeful nature, particularly against those who vied for the affections of her husband. The equivalent character to Hera in Roman mythology was Juno. Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

Down
1. La ___, Bolivia : PAZ
The administrative capital of Bolivia, La Paz, is officially named Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace). La Paz is the seat of the Bolivian government, even though the legal capital of the country is Sucre.

2. Dictator Amin : IDI
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.

4. Baseball great known as “The Georgia Peach” : TY COBB
Ty Cobb was one of the richest baseball players of all times. When he retired, Cobb was a major stockholder of the Coca-Cola Corporation. By the time he passed away in 1961, Cobb had an even bigger investment in General Electric. He left an estate after his death worth about $86m (in 2008 dollars).

6. Tibetan priest : LAMA
“Lama” is a Tibetan word, meaning “chief” or “high priest”.

7. Birds, scientifically speaking : AVES
In scientific classification, birds belong to the class “Aves”. “Aves” is Latin for “bird”.

9. Polynesian wraps : SARONGS
Sarong is the Malay word for “sheath”, and a sarong was originally the garment worn by Malay men and women around their waists. The Malay sarong is actually a tube of fabric, about a yard wide and two-and-a-half yards “long”. Many variations of the sarong are worn all over South Asia and the Pacific Islands. I had occasion to wear one in Hawaii many years ago, and found it very … freeing!

10. In ___ of (as a replacement for) : LIEU
As one might perhaps imagine, “in lieu” comes into English from the Old French word “lieu” meaning “place”, which in turn is derived from the Latin “locum”, also meaning “place”. So, “in lieu” means “in place of”.

13. ’50s Ford failure : EDSEL
The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel Ford, 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.

21. Baseball great Willie : MAYS
Willie Mays’ nickname was the “Say Hey Kid”, although his friends and teammates were more likely to refer to him as “Buck”. When Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was asked who was the best player he’d ever seen in the game. He replied, “I don’t mean to be bashful, but I was.”

22. Major component of the euro symbol : CEE
The euro sign (&#8364) looks like a letter C, but with two horizontal lines drawn across the middle. Inspiration for the design comes from the Greek letter epsilon.

23. Milan’s La ___ opera house : SCALA
The La Scala Opera House opened in 1778. It was built on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave the theater its name: “Teatro alla Scala” in Italian.

28. How some packages arrive, for short : COD
Cash on delivery (COD)

31. Heart diagnostic, in brief : EKG
An EKG measures electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

36. Food from heaven : MANNA
According to the Book of Exodus, manna was a food eaten by the Israelites as they traveled out of Egypt. It “fell” to Earth during the night six days a week, and was gathered in the morning before it had time to melt.

41. ___ de Triomphe : ARC
L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile in Paris was built to honor those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. It is the second largest triumphal arch in the world, after the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea. If you are visiting Paris, don’t just take a picture of the arch, be sure to go inside and see the marvelous chambers and carvings, and wander around on top of the arch and enjoy the magnificent view.

42. 1920s car that had its inventor’s initials : REO
The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom E. Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan. Among the company’s most famous models were the REO Royale and the REO Flying Cloud.

50. 8 1/2″ x 11″ page size: Abbr. : LTR
Our paper sizes here in North America don’t conform with the standards in the rest of the world. ISO standard sizes used elsewhere were chosen so that the ratio of width to length is usually one to the square root of two. This mathematical relationship means that when you cut a piece of paper in two each half preserves the aspect ratio of the original, which can be useful in making reduced or enlarged copies of documents. Our standard size of “letter” (8.5 x 11 inches) was determined in 1980 by the Reagan administration to be the official paper size for the US government. Prior to this, the “legal” size (8.5 x 14 inches) had been the standard, since 1921.

54. Beau with roses, say : WOOER
A “beau” is the boyfriend of a “belle”, a young lady. “Beau” and “belle” are the masculine and feminine forms of the French word for “handsome, beautiful”.

55. 1/16 of a pound : OUNCE
Our term “ounce” comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a “libra”, the Roman “pound”.

59. Brand with a swoosh : NIKE
I remember seeing Carolyn Davidson on the television show “I’ve Got a Secret”. Davidson created the Nike “swoosh” back in 1971 when she was a design student at Portland State. She came up with the design as freelance work for Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), a local company introducing a new line of athletic footwear. The “swoosh” is taken from the wing of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. Years later, BRS changed its name to Nike, so I suppose the company can be grateful to Carolyn for both the great design, and a great company name.

60. Muse of history : CLIO
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)

61. Ye ___ Antique Shoppe : OLDE
The word “olde” wasn’t actually used much earlier than the 1920s. “Olde” was introduced to give a quaint antique feel to brand names, shop names etc.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Ancient Briton : PICT
5. Bulgarian or Croat : SLAV
9. Writing surface for chalk : SLATE
14. One ___ (vitamin brand) : A DAY
15. Something a surfer catches : WAVE
16. Was sick : AILED
17. Next-to-last chemical element alphabetically, before zirconium : ZINC
18. Iowa State’s city : AMES
19. Raises, as young : REARS
20. Ship heading : COMPASS COURSE
23. The Bible’s Queen of ___ : SHEBA
25. Still, in poetry : E’EN
26. ___ Blanc, the so-called “Man of 1,000 Voices” : MEL
27. Liberal arts school in Waterville, Me. : COLBY COLLEGE
32. Everyone : ALL
33. 7 Up or Pepsi : SODA
34. Reads quickly : SKIMS
38. Unwelcome look : LEER
40. Prevent : DEBAR
43. Insect in a summer swarm : GNAT
44. Did sum work? : ADDED
46. Cookie sometimes dunked in milk : OREO
48. Genetic info carrier : DNA
49. Service at Staples or FedEx Office : COLOR COPYING
53. ___ Jima : IWO
56. To the ___ degree : NTH
57. Ancient Roman robes : TOGAS
58. Person in overalls sucking a piece of straw, stereotypically : COUNTRY COUSIN
63. Ancient 71-Across land in modern-day Turkey : IONIA
64. Pieces with 90-degree bends : ELLS
65. Taxis : CABS
68. Long guitar parts : NECKS
69. Assistant : AIDE
70. It may be slapped after a joke : KNEE
71. Like Zeus and Hera : GREEK
72. Did some weeding : HOED
73. Meat-and-vegetables dish : STEW

Down
1. La ___, Bolivia : PAZ
2. Dictator Amin : IDI
3. No longer on the air : CANCELLED
4. Baseball great known as “The Georgia Peach” : TY COBB
5. Exchange : SWAP
6. Tibetan priest : LAMA
7. Birds, scientifically speaking : AVES
8. Bowl or boat : VESSEL
9. Polynesian wraps : SARONGS
10. In ___ of (as a replacement for) : LIEU
11. Frighten : ALARM
12. Like one-word answers : TERSE
13. ’50s Ford failure : EDSEL
21. Baseball great Willie : MAYS
22. Major component of the euro symbol : CEE
23. Milan’s La ___ opera house : SCALA
24. Sank, as a putt : HOLED
28. How some packages arrive, for short : COD
29. Praiseful poem : ODE
30. Process leading up to childbirth : LABOR
31. Heart diagnostic, in brief : EKG
35. Highly offended : INDIGNANT
36. Food from heaven : MANNA
37. Male-only parties : STAGS
39. Tape machine button abbr. : REC
41. ___ de Triomphe : ARC
42. 1920s car that had its inventor’s initials : REO
45. Exasperated response to “How was your day?” : DON’T ASK
47. Makes a choice : OPTS
50. 8 1/2″ x 11″ page size: Abbr. : LTR
51. “Definitely!” : OH YEAH!
52. Bygone cry of high spirits : YOICKS!
53. Cake topper : ICING
54. Beau with roses, say : WOOER
55. 1/16 of a pound : OUNCE
59. Brand with a swoosh : NIKE
60. Muse of history : CLIO
61. Ye ___ Antique Shoppe : OLDE
62. Secondhand : USED
66. Hive dweller : BEE
67. Do needlework : SEW

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The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections