Day: May 7, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Farrier’s tool : RASP
A rasp is a like a coarse version of a file. Files have teeth that run from one side of the tool to the other, and are usually used for metalwork. Rasps have coarser teeth that cover the surface of the tool, like jagged bumps. Rasps are usually used in woodworking.

Traditionally there has been a distinction between a farrier and a blacksmith. A blacksmith is someone who forges and shapes iron, perhaps to make horseshoes. A farrier is someone who fits horseshoes onto the hooves of horses. The term “blacksmith” is sometimes used for one who shoes horses, especially as many blacksmiths make horseshoes and fit them as well.

9. Dry streambed : WASH
“Wadi” is an Arabic term referring to a valley, or perhaps a (mostly) dry riverbed. In English we might call this a “wash”, or in Spanish an “arroyo”.

13. ___ Perelman, prolific Russian science writer : YAKOV
Yakov Perelman was a Russian author of a whole host of particularly approachable science books, such “Physics Can Be Fun” and “Physics for Entertainment”. Perelman died during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII, succumbing to starvation.

14. Precollege, briefly : ELHI
“Elhi” is an informal word used to describe anything related to schooling from grades 1 through 12, i.e. elementary through high school.

15. Lollygag : IDLE
To lollygag (also “lallygag”) is to dawdle, to dally.

18. Animal on the Sri Lankan flag : LION
The name Sri Lanka translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule. The lion on the country’s national flag symbolizes the fight against British colonialism.

21. Workplace antidiscrimination agcy. : EEOC
Equal Opportunity Employment is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act.

22. [hic!] producer : SOT
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning a fool. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

23. 1932 Ford featured in “American Graffiti” : DEUCE COUPE
“Little Deuce Coupe” is one of those hits that was released as B-side. It’s a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian that was released by the Beach Boys in 1963 on the B-side to “Surfer Girl”. The title refers to the Ford Model B automobile. In the 1940s, the 1932 Ford Model B became known as the ideal hot rod. It was given the slang name “deuce coupé”, with “deuce” being a reference to the “two” in the “1932” model year.

28. AA rival : UAL
United Airlines (UAL) has a complicated history, but can trace its roots back to Aviation Enterprises, founded in 1944 and later called Texas International. The first use of the “United” name in the company’s history was when airplane pioneer William Boeing merged his Boeing Air Transport with Pratt & Whitney to form the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. The Air Mail Act of 1934 required that UATC be broken up into United Aircraft (which became United Technologies), the Boeing Aircraft Company and United Air Lines.

American Airlines was founded in 1930 through the acquisition of 82 existing small airlines, and initially operated as American Airways. The company name was changed to “American Air Lines” in 1934. Back then, airlines made their profits by carrying the US mail, and American became the first airline to turn a profit on a route that could solely carry passengers. It did so by working with Donald Douglas to develop the DC-3 passenger plane. At that time, American started calling its aircraft “Flagships” and introduced its more wealthy passengers to the first Admirals Club.

30. Alter : SPAY
Our verb “to spay”, meaning “to surgically remove the ovaries of” (an animal) comes from an old Anglo-French word “espeier” meaning “to cut with a sword”.

31. Hooey : CLAPTRAP
“Claptrap” these days means “nonsense talk”. It was originally a term used on the stage meaning a trick to attract applause, hence the name “clap trap”.

“Hooey” is a American slang of unknown origin that is used to mean “nonsense, foolishness”.

34. Ruy ___ (chess opening) : LOPEZ
The Ruy Lopez is a chess opening that is named for the 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. Lopez didn’t develop this particular opening, but included it in a 1561 book that discusses many different chess openings.

39. Gelid : ICE-COLD
“Gelid” is such a lovely word, with the meaning “icy cold”. “Gelid” derives from the Latin “gelum” meaning “frost, intense cold”.

43. Like some anteaters : SPINY
There are four species of spiny anteater, all of which are egg-laying mammals. Along with the platypus, these four species are the only living mammals that lay eggs. The spiny anteater therefore, a native of New Guinea and Australia, is no relation to the “true” anteaters found in North and South America. But, they do all eat ants!

50. Alabama’s Wilson ___ : DAM
The Wilson Dam spans the Tennessee River in Alabama, creating Wilson Lake. The dam was completed in 1924 and was named for President Woodrow Wilson who passed away that early in that year.

51. ___-Roman : GRECO
Greco-Roman wrestling was contested at the first modern Olympic Games, back in 1896. Back then there was relatively little regulation of the sport and Greco-Roman contests were noted for their brutality. Bouts also took a long time to finish, often lasting hours. In fact, the competitors in the 1912 Olympic final were both awarded silver medals when the bout was ended by the judges after eight hours of wrestling.

52. Miami area, informally : DADE COUNTY
Miami-Dade was created as Dade County in 1836, named for Major Francis L. Dade, a soldier killed the year before in the Second Seminole War. The county took on its present name only in 1997, simply incorporating the more recognizable name of the county’s biggest city, Miami.

58. La Sorbonne and others : ECOLES
French for school is “école”, and French for pupil is “élève”.

“The Sorbonne” is the name usually used for the old University of Paris, and some of the institutions that have succeeded it.

65. Weapon in Clue : ROPE
Clue is another board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), a lead pipe (lead piping in the US) and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

66. Logs : RECORDS
The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.

67. Iris holder : UVEA
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball.

The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

69. Wind-related : EOLIC
Aeolus was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology, and he gave his name to the adjective “aeolian” (also “aeolic, eolic”) meaning “windblown”, something produced or carried by the wind. For example, an aeolian harp is a fascinating instrument; a box with a sounding board and strings that is “played” by the wind as it blows.

70. European blackbird : MERL
A merl (or merle) is often called a blackbird over in Europe. The male merl is completely black, with a yellow beak.

71. Snafu : MESS
SNAFU is an acronym standing for Situation Normal: All Fouled Up (well, that’s the “polite” version!). As you might imagine, the term developed in the US Army, during WWII.

72. “I Wish” rapper ___-Lo : SKEE
Skee-Lo is the stage name of rap artist Antoine Roundtree who is best known for his 1995 song “I Wish”. Skee-Lo now lives in Winnebago, Wisconsin where he owns an auto dealership.

Down
1. Seattle-based insurance giant : SAFECO
Safeco Insurance is a Seattle-based insurance company that currently has the naming rights to Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners’ baseball stadium.

3. ___ Gym : GOLD’S
The chain of fitness centers called Gold’s Gym was founded in 1965 by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California.

9. Toon foil? : WILE E COYOTE
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

10. Bye at the French Open? : ADIEU
“Adieu” is the French for “goodbye” or “farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay.

There are four different surfaces used for playing tennis competitively:

– Clay courts (used for the French Open)
– Hard courts (used for the US Open and the Australian Open)
– Grass courts (used for Wimbledon)
– Carpet courts

11. Knockabout, e.g. : SLOOP
A Knockabout, also known as a Cape Cod Knockabout, is 18-foot sailboat that was popular especially from the forties until the seventies. Knockabouts are usually sloop-rigged.

Sloops and cutters are sailboats, and each has just one mast. One major difference between the two types of vessel is that the mast on a cutter is set much further aft than the mast on a sloop.

12. Ergo : HENCE
“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.

20. Centipede creator : ATARI
Centipede is an arcade game from Atari (it was my favorite!). The game was designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey, with Bailey being one of the few female game designers back then (it was released in 1980). Perhaps due to her influence, Centipede was the first arcade game to garner a significant female following.

24. Berkeley campus nickname : CAL
The University of California, Berkeley (Cal) is the most difficult public university to get into in the world. It opened in 1869 and is named for Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley.

25. Shticks : ACTS
A “shtick” is a routine, a bit, a piece of entertainment. It comes from the Yiddish “shtick”, which has the same meaning and derives from the Middle High German word “stücke”, the word for “piece”.

26. Lie indicator on a polygraph test : BLIP
We are most familiar with the term “polygraph” as the generic name for a lie detector instrument. This usage began in 1921, although the term had been around since the end of the 18th century. Back then, a polygraph was a mechanical device use to make multiple copies as something was written or drawn. Famously, Thomas Jefferson used a polygraph to preserve copies of letters that he wrote to correspondents.

27. “Slumdog Millionaire” costume part : SARI
The brilliant film “Slumdog Millionaire” is a screen adaptation of a 2005 novel by Indian author Vikas Swarup. This low-budget movie won eight Oscars in 2008. I reckon it turned a profit …

29. Insect’s resinous secretion : LAC
Lac is a resin secreted by some insects. The insects leave the resin coating branches of trees. The tree branches can be harvested and processed to make what’s called seedlac which can be used in varnish, especially varnish that is used to finish violins.

33. River to the Rio Grande : PECOS
The Pecos River rises north of the village of Pecos in New Mexico, and flows almost a thousand miles before entering the Rio Grande near Del Rio, Texas.

35. Worrisome engine noise : PING
Pinging is also known as “engine knocking”. It is a metallic sound, created when not all of the fuel-air mixture is detonated by the spark plug, with some of it detonated late in the cycle. The late detonation causes the knocking/pinging sound. Additives (anti-knock agents) in gasoline can help reduce the chances of pinging.

36. Pulitzer-winning critic Richard : EDER
Richard Eder was a foreign correspondent, film reviewer and drama critic for the “New York Times”. More recently, he has been writing book reviews.

37. Some New Orleans music : ZYDECO
Zydeco is a style of folk music that evolved from Creole music in Louisiana. The name “Zydeco” is imitative of the French word for green beans, “les haricots”. The term arose from a popular dance tune called “Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés” (“The Green Beans Ain’t Salty”).

40. Certain readout, for short : LCD
Liquid crystal display (LCD)

41. Sturm und ___ : DRANG
“Sturm und Drang” translates from the German into “Storm and Stress” or perhaps “Storm and Impulse”. “Sturm und Drang” was the name given to a movement in German literature and music in the latter half of the 18th century. The writer Johann Goethe was a major proponent of the movement, which took its name from a play by Maximilian Klinger.

44. Golden rule ender : YOU
The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

48. Memory imprint : ENGRAM
An “engram” is a hypothetical construct, an explanation for the brain’s ability to store memories. The idea is that some biophysical or biochemical changes take place in the brain in response to external stimuli.

49. Slapstick trio member : STOOGE
If you’ve seen a few of the films starring “The Three Stooges” you’ll have noticed that the line up changed over the years. The original trio was made up of Moe and Shemp Howard (two brothers) and Larry Fine (a good friend of the Howards). This line up was usually known as “Moe, Larry and Shemp”. Then Curly Howard replaced his brother when Shemp quit the act, creating the most famous trio, “Moe, Larry And Curly”. Shemp returned when Curly had a debilitating stroke in 1946, and Shemp stayed with the troupe until he died in 1955. Shemp was replaced by Joe Besser, and then “Curly-Joe” DeRita. When Larry Fine had a stroke in 1970, it effectively marked the end of the act.

55. “Holy moly!” : YIPES!
The mild expletive “holy moly!” is a euphemism for “holy Moses!”

60. Actors Beatty and Sparks : NEDS
Ned Beatty is probably best remembered for the rather disturbing “squeal like a pig” scene in the movie “Deliverance”. Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie “Network”.

Ned Sparks was a Hollywood character actor noted for his grumpy deadpan expression as he chewed on a cigar. Sparks became so enamoured with his facial expression that the story is he insured his face for $100,000.

61. ___ Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason’s creator) : ERLE
I must have read all of the Perry Mason books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably, he gave up the law once his novels became successful.

62. Emmy-winning Falco : EDIE
The actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”.

63. Foreign policy advisory grp. : NSC
The National Security Council (NSC) was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1947. The NSC is chaired by the sitting president and meets in the White House Situation Room.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Rishi, in Hinduism : SAGE
5. Farrier’s tool : RASP
9. Dry streambed : WASH
13. ___ Perelman, prolific Russian science writer : YAKOV
14. Precollege, briefly : ELHI
15. Lollygag : IDLE
16. Submit taxes online : E-FILE
17. It may be in a dish by the sink : SOAP
18. Animal on the Sri Lankan flag : LION
19. Swimming or riding a bike, for most people : SECOND NATURE
21. Workplace antidiscrimination agcy. : EEOC
22. [hic!] producer : SOT
23. 1932 Ford featured in “American Graffiti” : DEUCE COUPE
25. Contents of some six-packs : ABS
28. AA rival : UAL
30. Alter : SPAY
31. Hooey : CLAPTRAP
34. Ruy ___ (chess opening) : LOPEZ
38. One going bald over time? : TIRE
39. Gelid : ICE-COLD
42. Well-kept : TIDY
43. Like some anteaters : SPINY
45. Shown at a theater : SCREENED
47. Last inch or so of a foot : TOES
50. Alabama’s Wilson ___ : DAM
51. ___-Roman : GRECO
52. Miami area, informally : DADE COUNTY
56. Beat by a hair : NIP
58. La Sorbonne and others : ECOLES
59. Reducing one’s carbon footprint … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : GOING GREEN
64. It’s the geologist’s fault : RIFT
65. Weapon in Clue : ROPE
66. Logs : RECORDS
67. Iris holder : UVEA
68. Venerable : AGED
69. Wind-related : EOLIC
70. European blackbird : MERL
71. Snafu : MESS
72. “I Wish” rapper ___-Lo : SKEE

Down
1. Seattle-based insurance giant : SAFECO
2. Related : AKIN
3. ___ Gym : GOLD’S
4. Level off : EVEN OUT
5. Doctor’s prescription, often : REST
6. Audibly : ALOUD
7. Equities : SHARES
8. Interject : PIPE UP
9. Toon foil? : WILE E COYOTE
10. Bye at the French Open? : ADIEU
11. Knockabout, e.g. : SLOOP
12. Ergo : HENCE
13. Go-ahead : YES
20. Centipede creator : ATARI
24. Berkeley campus nickname : CAL
25. Shticks : ACTS
26. Lie indicator on a polygraph test : BLIP
27. “Slumdog Millionaire” costume part : SARI
29. Insect’s resinous secretion : LAC
32. Fundamentalist Christian : PENTECOSTAL
33. River to the Rio Grande : PECOS
35. Worrisome engine noise : PING
36. Pulitzer-winning critic Richard : EDER
37. Some New Orleans music : ZYDECO
40. Certain readout, for short : LCD
41. Sturm und ___ : DRANG
44. Golden rule ender : YOU
46. Some political fugitives : EMIGRES
48. Memory imprint : ENGRAM
49. Slapstick trio member : STOOGE
52. Gentility : DECORUM
53. Full of energy : ALIVE
54. Put aside : DEFER
55. “Holy moly!” : YIPES!
57. Make beforehand, as a dinner dish : PRECOOK
60. Actors Beatty and Sparks : NEDS
61. ___ Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason’s creator) : ERLE
62. Emmy-winning Falco : EDIE
63. Foreign policy advisory grp. : NSC

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