Day: January 10, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. “My old lady” : THE MRS
Mr. is the abbreviation for “master”, and Mrs. is the abbreviation for “mistress”.

13. Many a Bedouin : ARABIAN
Bedouin tribes are Arab ethnic groups that predominantly live in the Middle East, in desert areas. Bedouin tribes tend to be nomadic, not settling permanently in one location.

15. Cigar with both ends open : CHEROOT
A cheroot cigar is cylindrical in shape, untapered and with both ends clipped. This simple shape allows them to be rolled mechanically instead of by hand, making cheroots relatively cheap to produce and to purchase.

16. Wraps around an island? : 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!

17. City across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Tex. : REYNOSA
Reynosa is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas that sits on the border with the US, across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas.

19. Lover of Mattie in an Edith Wharton novel : ETHAN
“Ethan Frome” is a novel by New York and Massachusetts author Edith Wharton, first published in 1911. Wharton started “Ethan Frome” as a composition in French that she wrote while studying the language in Paris.

22. Flue flake : ASH
The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that it is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition. When the fire is burning, flow through the flue should be more restricted. The flue needs to be open sufficiently to allow smoke and exhaust gases exit, but not too wide so that too much hot air escapes, dragging cold air into the house from elsewhere.

23. Mocha alternative : CHAI TEA
Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

Mocha is a port city in Yemen on the Red Sea and was once the principal port for the capital city of Sana’a. Mocha was the major marketplace in the world for coffee until the 1600s, and gave its name to the Mocha coffee bean.

25. Souvenir sometimes made with shells : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

28. L.A. law notable, once : ITO
Judge Lance Ito came in for a lot of criticism for his handling of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The lead prosecutor in that trial was Marcia Clark, you might recall. I read the book that’s Clark wrote about the trial called “Without a Doubt”, and she pointed out one trait of Judge Ito that I think is quite telling. Ito would almost always refer to the prosecutor as “Marcia”, while addressing the men on both sides of the case as “Mister”.

29. Scorer of the first double eagle in U.S. Open history, 1985 : TC CHEN
The golfer that we usually refer to in the US as T.C. Chen goes by the name of Chen Tze-chung in his native Taiwan. Chen holds a number of records, most notably being the first golfer to score a double eagle in the history of the US Open. He did so in the 1985 US Open. Chen was also the first Taiwanese golfer to earn a PGA Tour card.

31. “The Internship” co-star, 2013 : VAUGHN
Just like me and my brothers, Vince Vaughn was born to parents that had a thing about giving names to their kids all starting with the same letter. Vince has two siblings, older sisters called Victoria and Valeri.

“The Internship” is a 2013 comedy film starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two “older” interns at Google. Haven’t seen it yet, but it sounds like a clever premise for a movie.

34. Celsius, for one : SWEDE
Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. The temperature scale that Celsius created was the reverse of that used today, with “zero” representing the boiling point of water and “100” representing water’s freezing point. This scale was “upended” (in 1744) just after Celsius died, by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The resulting temperature scale then became known as the centigrade scale for over 200 years, until in 1948 it was decided to adopt the “degree Celsius”. So, anyone still using “degrees centigrade” is actually way behind the times …

39. Noted preschool sequence? : E-I-E-I-O
There was an American version of the English children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (E-I-E-I-O), that was around in the days of WWI. The first line of the US version goes “Old MacDougal had a farm, in Ohio-i-o”.

43. Dolphin facility : SONAR
Dolphins do have “ears”, small openings on the side of their heads. However, it is believed that dolphins hear sounds underwater mainly with their lower jaws, conducting the sound to the middle ear. In addition, dolphin teeth are thought to aid in pinpointing an object underwater using sound waves.

46. It’s west of James Bay: Abbr. : ONT
James Bay is the southernmost part of the Arctic Ocean, located at the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. The first European to explore James Bay was Henry Hudson, although the bay is named for Thomas James, a Welsh captain who explored the area more thoroughly some twenty years after Hudson.

47. Adrenaline, informally : EPI
The naturally occurring hormone adrenaline is also known as epinephrine. Adrenaline takes its name from the adrenal glands that produce the hormone. The glands themselves take their name from their location in the body, right on the kidneys (“ad-renes” meaning near or at the kidneys in Latin). The alternative name of epinephrine has a similar root (“epi-nephros” meaning upon the kidney, in Greek).

49. Drug delivery options, briefly : IVS
One might need an intravenous drip (IV) in an Emergency Room (ER).

52. Guarantor of financial accounts, for short : FDIC
During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Banking Act of 1933. The legislation established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), intended to be a temporary government corporation that provided insurance on deposits made by customers of qualified financial institutions. The first accounts to be covered, in 1934, had an insurance limit of $2,500. Since the financial crisis of 2008, that limit is $250,000.

56. Natural thing to feel : ONE G
The force of gravity that we all feel is referred to as “one G”. As gravity is a actually an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero-G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, outside the influence of the earth’s gravity.

57. Locale of five major U.S. volcanoes : WASHINGTON STATE
Five volcanoes located in Washington State are classed as “active”:

– Mount Saint Helens
– Mount Adams
– Mount Rainier
– Glacier Peak
– Mount Baker

Down
4. “Pink-___” (1966 Pink Panther short) : A-BOO
The Pink Panther is a character who appears in the main title of most of “The Pink Panther” series of films. The character became so popular that he was featured in a whole series of short films, and even merited his own “The Pink Panther Show”, a cartoon series that was shown on NBC in Saturday mornings.

6. Nevadans : SAGEHENS
Nevada is known as “the Sage State”, named for the wild sagebrush found all over the state. Nevada is also called “the Sage-Hen State”, for sage hen or sage grouse that once was plentiful there.

9. Shoreline avifauna : ERNS
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle, and the sea-eagle.

Avifauna is the collective name for birds of a specific region. An older term for the same thing is “ornis”, which has the same root as “ornithology”.

10. Masterpiece designated “quasi una fantasia” : MOONLIGHT SONATA
Beethoven subtitled his Piano Sonata No. 14 as “Quasi una fantasia”, or “sonata in the manner of a fantasy” in English. Five years after Beethoven died a music critic wrote that the (superb!) first movement of the piece had an effect like that of moonlight shining on Lake Lucerne. Since then, the work has been known as the Moonlight Sonata.

11. Per a 1942 song, “She’s making history, working for victory” : ROSIE THE RIVETER
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon that represented women working in factories across the country during WWII as part of the war effort. The term “Rosie the Riveter” first appeared as the title of a 1942 song that was a national hit.

14. Many an old red giant : N STAR
An N star is also called a carbon star. An N star’s atmosphere is rich in carbon at the expense of oxygen, leading to a striking red color.

23. Revolutionary figure : CHE
Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

24. Thick plank insert? : AS A
Thick as a plank …

30. Early Chinese dynasty : HSIA
The Xia (also “Hsia”) Dynasty was the first Chinese Dynasty, lasting from about 2070 to 1600 BCE.

32. Trojans’ foes : UTES
The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin'” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.

The athletic teams of the University of Southern California are called the USC Trojans. The women’s teams are also called the Trojans, but are sometimes referred to as Women of Troy.

36. Dingo dodger : EMU
The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

The dingo is a wild dog of Australia. The dingo is thought to have originated from domesticated dogs that were brought to Australia with humans that settled the land centuries ago.
37. Frenchy portrayer in “Grease” : DIDI CONN
Didi Conn, born Edith Bernstein, played a great character in the “Grease” films called “Frenchy”. Conn also played Stacy Jones in the children’s television show “Shining Time Station” in the late eighties-early nineties.

42. Profs’ backups : TAS
Teaching Assistants (TAs)

48. One with patches : PINTO
A “pinto” is a horse with patchy markings of white mixed with another color. “Pinto” means “painted” in American Spanish.

53. Lemon who played for the 1984 World Series-winning Tigers : CHET
Chet Lemon is a retired baseball player, who mainly played center field for the Chicago White Sox (1975-1981) and the Detroit Tigers (1982-1990). In his retirement, Chet lives in Florida and coaches two youth teams, both called “Chet’s Lemon Juice”. Cute …

55. Langston Hughes poem with the lines “Nobody’ll dare / Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen,’ / Then” : I, TOO
Langston Hughes was a poet active in the Harlem Renaissance, and someone who helped develop the literary form known as “jazz poetry”. His poem “I, Too, Sing America” was published in 1925.
I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–

I, too, am America.

56. Good name for a chauffeur? : OTTO
“Otto” sounds like “auto”, so might be a good name for your chauffeur, if you have one …

59. French possessive : SES
“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”, when referring to a group of items.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Subs’ subs : C-TEAMS
7. “My old lady” : THE MRS
13. Many a Bedouin : ARABIAN
15. Cigar with both ends open : CHEROOT
16. Wraps around an island? : SARONGS
17. City across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Tex. : REYNOSA
18. What may precede itself : UNTO
19. Lover of Mattie in an Edith Wharton novel : ETHAN
21. Sulk : SNIT
22. Flue flake : ASH
23. Mocha alternative : CHAI TEA
25. Souvenir sometimes made with shells : LEI
26. Vocalist’s warm-up run : LAS
27. Gathering of stockholders? : HERDERS
28. L.A. law notable, once : ITO
29. Scorer of the first double eagle in U.S. Open history, 1985 : TC CHEN
31. “The Internship” co-star, 2013 : VAUGHN
33. “Really?” : IT IS?
34. Celsius, for one : SWEDE
38. The other side : THEM
39. Noted preschool sequence? : E-I-E-I-O
41. Question of introspection : AM I?
42. Four at the fore? : TETRA-
43. Dolphin facility : SONAR
44. Fizzler : DUD
45. Ugly ___ : AS SIN
46. It’s west of James Bay: Abbr. : ONT
47. Adrenaline, informally : EPI
49. Drug delivery options, briefly : IVS
51. Important union members? : OVA
52. Guarantor of financial accounts, for short : FDIC
54. How a champagne bottle may arrive : IN ICE
56. Natural thing to feel : ONE G
57. Locale of five major U.S. volcanoes : WASHINGTON STATE
60. Big wave, e.g. : ATTENTION-GETTER
61. Takes a breather : RESTS ON ONE’S OARS

Down
1. Fighting losses : CASUALTIES OF WAR
2. Invoice information : TRANSACTION DATE
3. Water cycle studiers, e.g. : EARTH SCIENTISTS
4. “Pink-___” (1966 Pink Panther short) : A-BOO
5. One of two extremes: Abbr. : MIN
6. Nevadans : SAGEHENS
7. “Such gall!” : THE NERVE!
8. Common 60-Across : HEY!
9. Shoreline avifauna : ERNS
10. Masterpiece designated “quasi una fantasia” : MOONLIGHT SONATA
11. Per a 1942 song, “She’s making history, working for victory” : ROSIE THE RIVETER
12. Radio heads : STATION MANAGERS
14. Many an old red giant : N STAR
15. Packing option : CRATE
20. Tucked away : HID
23. Revolutionary figure : CHE
24. Thick plank insert? : AS A
30. Early Chinese dynasty : HSIA
32. Trojans’ foes : UTES
35. Joining the fray : WADING IN
36. Dingo dodger : EMU
37. Frenchy portrayer in “Grease” : DIDI CONN
40. What might be grabbed in a rush : ORE
42. Profs’ backups : TAS
48. One with patches : PINTO
50. Settle a score, old-style : VENGE
53. Lemon who played for the 1984 World Series-winning Tigers : CHET
55. Langston Hughes poem with the lines “Nobody’ll dare / Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen,’ / Then” : I, TOO
56. Good name for a chauffeur? : OTTO
58. Lead-___ : INS
59. French possessive : SES

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