Day: November 28, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Brand with the old slogan “Just the kiss of the hops” : SCHLITZ
The Joseph Schlitz brewery in MIlwaukee was once the largest beer producer in the country. The brewery was founded in 1849, and was acquired by Joseph Schlitz in 1858. Schlitz had worked in the brewery as a bookkeeper and took over management of the company after the founder, August Krug, passed away. A few years later, Schlitz married the founder’s widow and changed the company name to his own.

8. Official cocktail of New Orleans : SAZERAC
The New Orleans cocktail known as a Sazerac is a mixture of rye, absinthe, bitters and sugar. The use of rye is a little incongruous given that the cocktail is named for Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac that was originally the base spirit.

15. Unblinking gazer in Egyptian mythology : EYE OF RA
In Egyptian mythology, the Eye of Ra is a being that serves as the mother, sibling, consort and daughter of the sun god Ra.

18. Juicer : TOSSPOT
A “juicer” or “tosspot” is a drunk.

20. Germane : ON POINT
Something that is “germane” is relevant. “Germane” originally meant “having the same parents”, but it was used more figuratively as “on topic” by William Shakespeare in “Hamlet”. And that’s the way we’ve been using it ever since “Hamlet” was first performed in the 1600s.

23. Bussing requirement : LIPS
“To buss” is “to kiss”.

25. Clinton’s successor : KERRY
(56A. Where 25-Across served in the late ’60s : NAM)
Secretary of State John Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 and went straight into Officer Candidate School. Kerry’s first post was as an ensign on a frigate in the Vietnam theater, mainly working on rescue missions picking up downed pilots. He requested a transfer to Swift boat duty. While serving on Swift boats Kerry was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

When Hillary Rodham Clinton was appointed US Secretary of State, she became the first former First Lady to serve in a president’s cabinet. Hillary met her husband, President Bill Clinton, when the two were studying at Yale law school.

27. Agent 86 player : ADAMS
The satirical comedy series called “Get Smart” was the creation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and starred Don Adams as Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. Agent 86 worked for the spy agency CONTROL, alongside the lovely Agent 99. CONTROL’s sworn enemy was the criminal organization called KAOS. Smart’s shoe phone was a hilarious prop used in almost every episode. When Smart dialed the number 117, the shoe converted into a gun. Cool stuff …

29. One of Aaron’s 86 in ’68 : RBI
Run batted in (RBI)

The great Hank Aaron (“Hammerin’ Hank” or “the Hammer”) has many claims to fame. One notable fact is that he is the last major league baseball player to have also played in the Negro League.

30. Where Alfa Romeo is based : TURIN
Turin (“Torino” in Italian) is a major city in the north of Italy that sits on the Po River. Back in 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was formed, Turin was chosen as the first capital of the country.

The “Alfa” in Alfa Romeo is actually an acronym, standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

33. One of the three on “Three’s Company” : CHRISSY
Suzanne Somers is the actress whose big break came playing the ditzy Chrissy Snow on the sitcom “Three’s Company”. When contracts came up for renewal for the cast in the fifth season, the relationship between Somers and the producers soured rapidly. Somers went on a strike of sorts and for most of the fifth season made only token appearances in the show in scenes that were filmed without other members of the regular cast. The Chrissy Snow character was replaced in the sixth season.

35. Delta hub, briefly : LGA
Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, racking up three full terms in office. The famous airport that bears La Guardia’s name was built at his urging, stemming from an incident that took place while he was in office. He was taking a TWA flight to “New York” and was outraged when the plane landed at Newark Airport, in the state of New Jersey. The Mayor demanded that the flight take off again and land at a small airport in Brooklyn. A gaggle of press reporters joined him on the short hop and he gave them a story, urging New Yorkers to support the construction of a new commercial airport within the city’s limits. The new airport, in Queens, opened in 1939 as New York Municipal, often called “LaGuardia” as a nickname. The airport was officially relabeled as “LaGuardia” (LGA) in 1947.

Delta was the world’s largest airline for a while (after merging with Northwest Airlines in 2008) and is also the oldest airline still operating in the US. Delta’s roots go back to 1924 before it started carrying passengers and was called Huff Daland Dusters, a crop dusting company based in Macon, Georgia. The name Delta Air Service was introduced in 1928.

36. John, abroad : IAN
The name “John” translates into Scottish as “Ian”, and into Irish as “Seán”.

41. Fourth-largest city on Lake Michigan : KENOSHA
Kenosha, Wisconsin is a city on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Given its location, Kenosha has strong ties with both Milwaukee and Chicago. The name Kenosha is an anglicized form of “gnozhé”, the Native American name for an early settlement in the area that translates as “place of the pike”.

46. Porto, par exemple : VIN
In French, “porto, par exemple” (port, for example) is a type of “vin” (wine).

48. Powerful board member : QUEEN
That would be a queen on a chessboard.

49. Feldshuh’s role in “O Jerusalem” : MEIR
Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.

Tovah Feldshuh is an American actress, who first experienced real celebrity after playing Helena Slomova in the miniseries “Holocaust” in 1978. She had the leading role in “Yentl” on Broadway, a role later to be played by Barbra Streisand on the big screen. She also appeared in the 1985 movie version of “Brewster’s Millions” alongside Richard Pryor.

“O Jerusalem” is a 2006 movie based on the documentary novel “O Jerusalem!” by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Both novel and film are set around the end of the British Mandate of Palestine and the Israeli War of Independence.

50. Language created in 1959 : COBOL
COBOL is one of the oldest computer programming languages, with the acronym standing for COmmon Business-Oriented Language. COBOL was developed in 1959 by “the mother of the COBOL language”, programmer Grace Hopper.

53. Brand with a Honey Graham variety : OH’S
There used to be two varieties of Oh’s made by Quaker Oats Company. One was Honey Nut Oh’s, later known as Crunchy Nut Oh’s, but it was phased out. The second type was called Crunchy Graham Oh’s, and it is still available today as Honey Graham Oh’s.

59. It features the silhouette of hoops legend Jerry West : NBA LOGO
Jerry West is a retired basketball player who played for 14 years with the LA Lakers. One of West’s nicknames is “The Logo” as it is his silhouette that is used in the famous NBA logo.

61. In style : A LA MODE
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.

62. Faucet accessory : AERATOR
A faucet aerator is a device screwed onto the tip of a faucet to deliver a mixture of air and water. The main purpose of faucet aerators in these days of dwindling water supplies is to increase the perceived water pressure.

64. Neighbor of an Italian : SLOVENE
The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.

Down
1. Like Labor Day, but not Christmas : SECULAR
Labor Day is a federal holiday observed every year on the first Monday in September. The tradition of honoring workers with a holiday started in Boston in 1878, when a day of observance was organized by the Central Labor Union, the major trade union at the time. There was a bloody dispute in 1894 between labor unions and the railroads called the Pullman Strike, which led to the death of some workers when the US Military and US Marshals were instructed to maintain order. President Grover Cleveland submitted a “Labor Day” bill to Congress which was signed into law just six days after the end of the strike. The introduction of a federal holiday to honor the worker was a move designed to promote reconciliation between management and unions after the bitter conflict.

2. Compound in apricot pits : CYANIDE
Cyanide poisoning is caused by exposure to cyanide (CN) ions. The cyanide ions inhibit respiration at the cellular level, making the organism unable to use oxygen. “Cyanide” comes from the Greek “kyanos” meaning “dark blue”. The name was applied as cyanide was first obtained from the pigment called Prussian Blue.

4. Palindromic bit of textspeak : LOL
Laugh out loud (LOL, in text-speak)

8. Like many segments on “The Daily Show” : SATIRIC
“The Daily Show” is a satirical news program on the Comedy Central that first aired in 1996. The show was presented by Craig Kilborn from 1996 until 1998, and then very successfully by Jon Stewart from 1999 until 2015. Trevor Noah has been hosting the show since Jon Stewart left.

12. Hawks, e.g. : RAPTORS
“Raptor” is a generic term for a bird of prey, one that has talons to grip its victims.

13. Cousins of capybaras : AGOUTIS
The term “agouti” is used for some rodents in Central and south America who have fur with bands of light and dark pigmentation.

The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, a native of South America. This huge animal is related to the tiny little guinea pig, a remarkable relationship given that a fully grown adult capybara can be over four feet long, and weigh up to 140 pounds.

24. Ironman? : SMELTER
Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and of course, a greenhouse gas).

28. “Anyhoo,” e.g. : SEGUE
A “segue” is a transition from one topic to the next. “Segue” is an Italian word that literally means “now follows”. It was first used in musical scores directing the performer to play into the next movement without a break.

30. Downer, for short : TRANQ
A tranquilizer (familiarly “tranq, trank”) is a downer, a drug designed to reduce tension or anxiety.

32. Not bien : MAL
In French, when things are not “bien” (good), they are “mal” (bad).

34. Tear, quaintly : HIE
“To hie” is to move quickly, to bolt.

37. Tea server : SAMOVAR
The samovar originated in Russia, and is often a very elegant water boiler, usually for making tea. As such, there is often an attachment on top of a samovar to keep a teapot warm.

39. Vessel whose name meant “friendship,” ironically : AMISTAD
La Amistad was a slave ship that operated in the 19th-century. On one voyage in 1839, La Amistad was transporting slaves abducted in West Africa from Havana, Cuba to Puerto Principe, Cuba. The newly captured slaves on board escaped and took over the ship. La Amistad was then captured by a US military vessel and the slaves taken into custody. The captives were eventually freed when their case was decided in the US Supreme Court, with John Quincy Adams pleading for the imprisoned Africans.

40. Like pariahs : AVOIDED
“Pariah” is an anglicized version of the Tamil word “Paraiyar”. The Paraiyar are a social group of about 9 million people found in some Indian states and in Sri Lanka. The term “pariah” came to be a general term for members of the lowest caste in society, outcasts.

47. Arabic name part : IBN
In Arabic names, “ibn” is a word meaning “son of”. The words “bin” and “ben” are also used for “son of”. The word “bint” means “daughter of”. Similarly, in Hebrew “ben” is used to mean “son of”, and “bat” is used to mean “daughter of”.

51. Clotheshorse’s concern : LABEL
“Clotheshorse” is an informal term used for a person who is into dressing fashionably. Not a term ever used to describe me, I must say …

54. Large snapper : CROC
Crocodiles and alligators do indeed bear a resemblance to each other, although they belong to distinct biological families. One of the main ways used to distinguish them is by their teeth and jaws. Both the upper and lower sets of teeth of a crocodile are visible when its mouth is closed, whereas only the upper teeth of an alligator are visible with the mouth shut.

55. 1960s-’80s placekicker Yepremian, who helped the Dolphins win consecutive Super Bowls : GARO
Garo Yepremian was a football placekicker who played in the NFL from 1966 until 1981. One of Yepremian’s claims to fame was that he kicked a field goal on Christmas Day in 1971 in double overtime that ended the longest game in the history of the NFL.

58. Source of jumbo eggs : EMU
Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.

60. John : LAV
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.

Sir John Harington was an author and a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. However, Harington is perhaps best remembered as the inventor of the flush toilet. Our slang term “john” meaning “toilet”, is thought to be a reference to John Harington.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Brand with the old slogan “Just the kiss of the hops” : SCHLITZ
8. Official cocktail of New Orleans : SAZERAC
15. Unblinking gazer in Egyptian mythology : EYE OF RA
16. Way in the past : AGES AGO
17. Evokes : CALLS UP
18. Juicer : TOSSPOT
19. Verse starter? : UNI-
20. Germane : ON POINT
22. Bit of a rebuke : TUT
23. Bussing requirement : LIPS
25. Clinton’s successor : KERRY
26. Spinning: Prefix : ROTO-
27. Agent 86 player : ADAMS
29. One of Aaron’s 86 in ’68 : RBI
30. Where Alfa Romeo is based : TURIN
31. Turns in : REDEEMS
33. One of the three on “Three’s Company” : CHRISSY
35. Delta hub, briefly : LGA
36. John, abroad : IAN
37. Flipper? : SPATULA
41. Fourth-largest city on Lake Michigan : KENOSHA
45. Name that means “loved” : AIMEE
46. Porto, par exemple : VIN
48. Powerful board member : QUEEN
49. Feldshuh’s role in “O Jerusalem” : MEIR
50. Language created in 1959 : COBOL
52. 10-ish? : SEXY
53. Brand with a Honey Graham variety : OH’S
54. Yak : CHINWAG
56. Where 25-Across served in the late ’60s : NAM
57. Request from a poll worker : VOTER ID
59. It features the silhouette of hoops legend Jerry West : NBA LOGO
61. In style : A LA MODE
62. Faucet accessory : AERATOR
63. Like some sentences and fat : REDUCED
64. Neighbor of an Italian : SLOVENE

Down
1. Like Labor Day, but not Christmas : SECULAR
2. Compound in apricot pits : CYANIDE
3. Special touchdown point? : HELIPAD
4. Palindromic bit of textspeak : LOL
5. Hypothetical phrase : IF SO …
6. Jack holder : TRUNK
7. Debuggers? : ZAPPERS
8. Like many segments on “The Daily Show” : SATIRIC
9. Hell : AGONY
10. Marmalade ingredient : ZEST
11. Part of a skier’s run : ESS
12. Hawks, e.g. : RAPTORS
13. Cousins of capybaras : AGOUTIS
14. Soft and delicate : COTTONY
21. Bit of regalia : ORB
24. Ironman? : SMELTER
26. Devastating : RUINOUS
28. “Anyhoo,” e.g. : SEGUE
30. Downer, for short : TRANQ
32. Not bien : MAL
34. Tear, quaintly : HIE
37. Tea server : SAMOVAR
38. Big fat mouth : PIE HOLE
39. Vessel whose name meant “friendship,” ironically : AMISTAD
40. Like pariahs : AVOIDED
41. Called : KNOWN AS
42. Often-bracketed direction : SEE NOTE
43. Cross-section of a pencil : HEXAGON
44. These days : ANYMORE
47. Arabic name part : IBN
50. 22-Across-22-Across, say : CHIDE
51. Clotheshorse’s concern : LABEL
54. Large snapper : CROC
55. 1960s-’80s placekicker Yepremian, who helped the Dolphins win consecutive Super Bowls : GARO
58. Source of jumbo eggs : EMU
60. John : LAV

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