Day: January 6, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Sound investments? : AMPS
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

11. Business with monthly memberships : GYM
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed.

14. Neighbor of a Hoosier : OHIOAN
The exact origin of the word “Hoosier” is unknown, but has been around since at least 1830. The term had no direct linkage with Indiana until John Finley of Richmond, Indiana wrote a poem called “The Hoosier’s Nest” in 1833. A few years later, by 1840, “hoosier” was generally accepted as a term for Indiana residents.

16. Winning tic-tac-toe row : OOO
When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

18. Exercise with a cobra pose : YOGA
Yoga’s “Cobra Pose” is also called “Bhujangasana”. The Sanskrit word for snake or serpent is “bhujanga”.

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word literally meaning “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

20. Lab research assistant, maybe : POSTDOC
A “postdoc” is someone carrying out research or study after the receipt of a doctorate.

24. Word on a red-and-white name tag : HELLO
I wonder why name tags tend to be red and white?

26. “Frozen” studio : DISNEY
“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”.

30. Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

32. ___ mode : A LA
In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.

39. Modern cash register device : IPAD
Nowadays, it is relatively easy to come up with a cash register. One can just download a cash register app for an iPad.

42. Where Graceland is: Abbr. : TENN
Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and moved to Memphis, Tennessee with his family when he was 13-years-old. Once he had achieved fame, Elvis purchased Graceland, the famous Memphis home that he used for himself and his family. I visited Graceland some years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

44. Result of a king vs. king endgame : DRAW
In the game of chess, a game which ends with just the two kings remaining is by definition a draw.

48. “The best is the ___ of the good”: Voltaire : ENEMY
Voltaire was the pen name of French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet. He chose the name “Voltaire” as it is an anagram of “Arovet Li”, the Latinized spelling of his family name “Arouet”.

49. Einstein : GENIUS
After Albert Einstein moved to the US in 1933, he became quite a celebrity and his face was readily recognizable. Einstein was frequently stopped in the street by people who would naively ask him if he could explain what “that theory” (i.e. the theory of relativity) was all about. Growing tired of this, he finally learned to tell people that he was sorry, but folks were constantly mistaking him for Albert Einstein!

52. 1945 conference site : YALTA
The Yalta Conference was a wartime meeting between WWII leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Held in February of 1945, the conference is most remembered for decisions made on the post-war organization of Europe. To a large extent, the three leaders made decisions carving up influence around the world that has had implications to this day.

54. House tour giver : REALTOR
Some helpful blog readers have educated me on the term “Realtor” and have pointed out why the word is capitalized. “Real estate agent” is a general, generic term. “Realtor” is the name given to a member of the trade association known as the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR has gone so far as the trademark the term “Realtor” in the US.

65. School attended by Lord Grantham on “Downton Abbey” : ETON
In the incredibly successful period drama “Downton Abbey”, the patriarch of the family living at Downton is Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville.

67. “___ Your Dog, Charlie Brown” (1968 TV special) : HE’S
The characters in the cartoon series “Peanuts” were largely drawn from Charles Schultz’s own life, with shy and withdrawn Charlie Brown representing Schultz himself.

69. Mortise inserts : TENONS
One simple type of joint used in carpentry is a mortise and tenon, basically a projection carved at the end of one piece of wood that fits into a hole cut into the end of another. In a dovetail joint, the projecting tenon is not rectangular but is cut at a bias, so that when the dovetails are joined they resist being pulled apart. You’ll see dovetail joints in drawers around the house.

Down
1. Betty who appeared in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” : BOOP
Betty Boop made her first appearance on the screen in 1930, in a cartoon called “Dizzy Dishes”. Her character was modeled on the the It-girl, the sexy Clara Bow of movie fame. Back then Betty Boop was a sexy poodle and it wasn’t until 1932 that she morphed into completely human form. Betty was quite the risqué figure, but her vampish ways only lasted a few years. When the Production Code of 1934 came into force, Betty started to dress more modestly and toned down her behavior.

“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was released in 1988, a clever film featuring cartoon characters that interact directly with human beings. The film is based on a novel written by Gary K. Wolf, called “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” There is a prequel floating around that has never been produced, and it’s called “Who Discovered Roger Rabbit”.

5. Estée of fragrances : LAUDER
Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, with a reputation as a great salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

7. “Little Women” woman : AMY
“Little Women” is a novel written by American author Louisa May Alcott. The quartet of little women is Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. Jo is a tomboy and the main character in the story, and is based on Alcott herself.

8. Speak Persian? : MEOW
The Persian is that long-haired cat with a squashed muzzle. The breed takes its name from its place of origin, namely Persia (Iran).

13. Hall of fame : MONTY
Monty Hall is the stage name of Canadian-born television personality Monte Halperin. Hall is perhaps best known as the longtime host of the game show “Let’s Make a Deal”.

21. ___ Starling, “The Silence of the Lambs” protagonist : CLARICE
Clarice Starling is the FBI Agent in the Thomas Harris novel “The Silence of the Lambs”. In the movie, Clarice was played by Jodie Foster.

23. Comoros or Barbados : ISLAND NATION
The Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Africa. The Comoros gained independence from France in 1975.

Now that Barbados is an independent country, by all measures it is a very developed country. Using the Human Development Index (HDI), Barbados is the third most developed country in the western hemisphere, coming up right behind the US and Canada.

25. Gap subsidiary : OLD NAVY
Old Navy is a store brand founded and owned by The Gap. The name Old Navy was taken from the Old Navy Cafe in Paris.

The Gap is a San Francisco-based clothing retailer founded in 1969. The name “the Gap” was a homage to the popular sixties term “the generation gap”.

31. Image often accompanying the phrase “Legalize it” : POT LEAF
“Potiguaya” is the Mexican-Spanish word for “marijuana leaves”. The slang name “pot” comes from “potiguaya”.

48. Charles Schwab competitor : E*TRADE
E*Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E*Trade produces those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.

58. Nut job : LOON
The slang term “loon” for a deranged person probably comes from the loud cry of the bird, the loon, but it is also probably influenced by the word “lunatic”.

59. Grandson of 47-Across and 37-Down : ENOS
Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam and Eve.

62. Molecule hidden in 4-, 11-, 23-, 25- and 29-Down : DNA
Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Wine store purchase : BOTTLE
7. Sound investments? : AMPS
11. Business with monthly memberships : GYM
14. Neighbor of a Hoosier : OHIOAN
15. Ham or lamb : MEAT
16. Winning tic-tac-toe row : OOO
17. Traveling, as a band : ON TOUR
18. Exercise with a cobra pose : YOGA
19. Possess : OWN
20. Lab research assistant, maybe : POSTDOC
22. “Hooray for us!” : WE DID IT!
24. Word on a red-and-white name tag : HELLO
26. “Frozen” studio : DISNEY
27. Like a case before the court : AT BAR
30. Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP
32. ___ mode : A LA
33. Place for a hoedown : BARN
34. Passion : ARDOR
36. Somewhat : A TAD
39. Modern cash register device : IPAD
40. Like many mouthwashes : MINTY
41. Beige shade : NUDE
42. Where Graceland is: Abbr. : TENN
43. 1-10, e.g. : SCALE
44. Result of a king vs. king endgame : DRAW
45. Pat : DAB
47. Biblical partner of 37-Down : EVE
48. “The best is the ___ of the good”: Voltaire : ENEMY
49. Einstein : GENIUS
52. 1945 conference site : YALTA
54. House tour giver : REALTOR
56. Like loamy soil : FERTILE
60. Spot for a shot : ARM
61. Walked : TROD
63. Start to catch up to : GAIN ON
64. Thanksgiving dessert : PIE
65. School attended by Lord Grantham on “Downton Abbey” : ETON
66. “Same here” : I DO TOO
67. “___ Your Dog, Charlie Brown” (1968 TV special) : HE’S
68. Spreadsheet contents : DATA
69. Mortise inserts : TENONS

Down
1. Betty who appeared in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” : BOOP
2. “It’s all gone wrong!” : OH NO!
3. Small songbirds : TITS
4. Fierce way to fight : TOOTH AND NAIL
5. Estée of fragrances : LAUDER
6. Sign up, to Brits : ENROL
7. “Little Women” woman : AMY
8. Speak Persian? : MEOW
9. Contacted via beeper : PAGED
10. Sporting arenas : STADIA
11. Cheerful disposition : GOOD NATURE
12. “Ouch!” : YOWIE!
13. Hall of fame : MONTY
21. ___ Starling, “The Silence of the Lambs” protagonist : CLARICE
23. Comoros or Barbados : ISLAND NATION
25. Gap subsidiary : OLD NAVY
27. Somewhat : A BIT
28. “Roll the ___” : TAPE
29. Wilson and Hoover, but not Eisenhower : BRAND NAMES
31. Image often accompanying the phrase “Legalize it” : POT LEAF
34. Pro-___ : AMS
35. Deli loaf : RYE
37. Biblical partner of 47-Across : ADAM
38. Like morning grass : DEWY
46. Rammed like a ram : BUTTED
48. Charles Schwab competitor : E*TRADE
49. It has axes : GRAPH
50. Spine-tingling : EERIE
51. Somewhat, informally : SORTA
53. O.K. : LEGIT
55. What fans do : ROOT
57. Really liking : INTO
58. Nut job : LOON
59. Grandson of 47-Across and 37-Down : ENOS
62. Molecule hidden in 4-, 11-, 23-, 25- and 29-Down : DNA

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