Day: March 25, 2016

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
16. Items with decorative scrolls : CELLOS
The word “cello” is an abbreviation for “violoncello”, an Italian word for “little violone”, referring to a group of stringed instruments that were popular up to the end of the 17th century. The name violoncello persisted for the instrument that we know today, although the abbreviation ‘cello was often used. Nowadays we just drop the apostrophe.

21. French border region : ALSACE
Alsace is a region in the east of France that we sometimes refer to as Alsatia, its Latin name. Alsace is home to Strasbourg, a beautiful city that I had the privilege to visit some years ago. Strasbourg is home to many international organizations, including the European Court of Human Rights.

23. One on the trail, for short : POL
A politician (pol) might head out on the campaign trail.

24. Room in Clue : HALL
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 …

31. There’s one for Best New American Play : OBIE
The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies are presented annually and the recipients are chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper.

32. Extreme : ARRANT
“Arrant” means “out-and-out, complete”, and is a variant of “errant”.

34. 500-pound bird hunted to extinction : MOA
Moas were flightless birds native to New Zealand that are now extinct. The fate of the Moa is a great example of the detrimental effect that humans can have on animal populations. The Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1300 AD, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. The Moa were hunted to extinction within 200 years, which had the knock-on effect of killing off the Haast’s Eagle, the Moa’s only predator prior to the arrival of man. Moas were huge creatures, measuring up to 12 feet tall with their necks stretched upwards.

35. Film character who said “Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess” : HAN SOLO
Han Solo is the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.

37. A, B or C, but not X, Y or Z : VITAMIN
Vitamin A is actually a group of chemicals, including retinol, retinal and beta-carotene.

The B vitamins were originally thought to be just one vitamin, which was labeled vitamin B. It was then discovered vitamin B was in fact made up of eight distinct vitamins, which today are given distinct numbers (B1, B6, B12 etc). Supplements often contain a mixture of all eight, a combination known as vitamin B complex.

The essential nutrient referred to as vitamin C is also called L-ascorbic acid or ascorbate. A lack of vitamin C causes the disease scurvy.

42. Head shop buy : BONG
A “bong” is a smaller and more portable version of a “hookah”, with both being filtration devices for smoking especially tobacco and cannabis. The term “bong” comes from the Thai word “baung” that is used for a wooden pope cut from bamboo.

Paraphernalia used in the consumption of cannabis and tobacco are sold in retail outlets known as “head shops”.

46. “Woe ___ them that call evil good”: Isaiah : UNTO
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

47. “The Lost Tapes” rapper : NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say …

50. Z’s : sleep :: wavy lines : ___ : ODOR
In a cartoon drawing, a string of Z’s indicates sleep, and a set of wavy lines indicates an odor.

52. ___ Préval, twice-elected president of Haiti : RENE
René Préval is a politician who served as President of Haiti from 1996 to 2001, and again from 2006 to 2011.

57. “Drink” for the overly critical : HATERADE
An extremely negative person might be described as having “drunk the haterade”, a play on the beverage Gatorade.

59. Crèche setting : STABLE
In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also “crèche”) is a display of representing the the scene of the birth of Jesus. Nativity scenes might be subjects for paintings, for example, although the term is usually used for seasonal displays associated with the Christmas season.

60. Schiller work set to music by Beethoven : ODE TO JOY
“Ode to Joy” is a poem written in 1785 by German poet Friedrich Schiller. Ludwig van Beethoven gave the poem great notoriety when he used it in his Ninth “Choral” Symphony that was first performed in 1824.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is his wonderful “Choral” symphony. When it was composed in 1824 it was the first time that a major composer had used voices in a symphony. By the time of the Ninth’s premier, Beethoven was essentially deaf. He insisted on sharing the stage with the musical director (who was conducting), and was visibly counting out time but was off by quite a few measures. When the last notes were played there was enthusiastic applause, although Beethoven was still conducting. The lead contralto had to walk over to Beethoven, stop him, and turn him to the audience to receive his adulation.

62. Symbol of modern communication : HASHTAG
A hashtag is word preceded by the symbol #. Hashtags are big these days because of Twitter, a microblogging service that I will never understand …

63. Out of retirement? : ARISEN
One retires to the bedroom in the evening, and rises in the morning.

Down
3. Water source for 11 countries : NILE
Depending on definition, the Nile is generally regarded as the longest river on the planet. The Nile forms from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which join together near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. From Khartoum the Nile flows north, traveling almost entirely through desert making it central to life for the peoples living along its length.

4. Some blonds : PALE ALES
Blonde ales are a loosely-related group of beers that share a very pale color. I’d guess that the most famous of the genre in North America are Belgian blondes.

5. Snorkeling mecca : ATOLL
An atoll is a coral island that is shaped in a ring and enclosing a lagoon. There is still some debate as to how an atoll forms, but a theory proposed by Charles Darwin while on his famous voyage aboard HMS Beagle still holds sway. Basically an atoll was once a volcanic island that had subsided and fallen into the sea. The coastline of the island is home to coral growth which persists even as the island continues to subside internal to the circling coral reef.

6. ___ Echos (French daily) : LES
“Les Échos” is a daily financial newspaper published in Paris. “Les Échos” grew out of a monthly publication with the name “Les Échos de l’Exportation” that was produced from 1880 until the daily ““Les Échos” was introduced in 1908.

7. Pink property : STATES AVENUE
States Avenue is a property in the game of Monopoly. It is one of the pink properties, along with St. Charles Place. The street names in the US version of Monopoly are locations in or around Atlantic City, New Jersey.

9. Light air, on the Beaufort scale : ONE
The Beaufort wind scale is named after Irishman Sir Francis Beaufort, a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy. Beaufort was a hydrographer as well as a career navy man.

11. “Glengarry Glen Ross” co-star, 1992 : JACK LEMMON
The marvelous actor Jack Lemmon was born in 1925 in a suburb of Boston, in a hospital elevator. The long list of Jack Lemmon movies on my list of favorites includes “Some Like It Hot”, “The Apartment”, “Irma La Douce”, “The Odd Couple” and “Grumpy Old Men”.

“Glengarry Glen Ross” is a 1992 film adapted by David Mamet from his own award-winning stage play of the same name. This is a film with a very strong cast, including Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin and Kevin Spacey. The title comes from two real estate developments being pushed by the sales office: Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms.

12. Chill in bed? : AGUE
An ague is a fever, one usually associated with malaria.

13. Pro team with blue-and-orange jerseys : METS
The New York Mets wear blue-and-orange jerseys. The colors were chosen to represent the two departed New York teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers (blue) and the New York Giants (orange). Also, the outer two bands on the flag of New York City are blue and orange.

19. Supposed morning remedy : HAIR OF THE DOG
The “hair of the dog” is an alcoholic drink that is taken to lessen the symptoms of an existing hangover. The expression is written more completely as “the hair of the dog that bit you”. It originated with the belief that if a dog bit someone, placing some hairs of the dog into the wound who fend off the potential of rabies. The more contemporary practise is to treat a hangover with a glass of the same alcoholic drink that caused it in the first place.

23. British P.M. before and after Addington : PITT
William Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister of Britain from 1783 to 1801, and again from 1804 until 1806. When Pitt first took office, he was only 24 years of age, making him the nation’s youngest ever PM. William Pitt is known as “the Younger” as his father, William Pitt the Elder also served as prime minister, from 1766 to 1768.

Henry Addington was Prime Minister of UK from 1801 to 1804. After leading the nation, Addington served as Home Secretary for ten years, making him the the longest-serving Home Secretary in the history of the UK.

26. Statements for the record : LINER NOTES
These days, the term “liner notes” is used for the informational booklet which comes with a music CD. The original liner notes were the informational text printed on the inner sleeve (“liner”) of a 12-inch vinyl record.

30. Steps in a ballroom : TANGO
The dramatic dance called the tango originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay.

33. Puts the kibosh on : NIXES
The use of “nix” as a verb, meaning “to shoot down”, dates back to the early 1900s. Before that “nix” was just a noun meaning “nothing”. “Nix” comes from the German “nichts”, which also means “nothing”.

“Kibosh” is something that constrains or checks. “Kibosh” looks like a Yiddish word but it isn’t, and is more likely English slang from the early 1800s.

38. Where Etihad Airways is headquartered : ABU DHABI
Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

Etihad Airways is the second largest airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after the airline called Emirates. “Etihad” loosely translates from Arabic as “union”, a reference to the union of emirates making up the UAE.

41. ___ Tunes : LOONEY
“Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” are two series of animated short films produced by Warner Bros. from 1930 until 1969. The list of famous “Looney Tunes” characters includes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, and my favorites Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

44. One of the knights of the Round Table : GARETH
Sir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in the legend of King Arthur. Gareth was actually Arthur’s nephew.

49. Acid/alcohol compound : ESTER
An ester is an organic compound created by combing an organic acid and an alcohol. For example, if the acid is salicylic acid and the “alcohol” is acetic anhydride, the resulting ester is acetylsalicylic acid, better known as “aspirin”.

51. Art genre for Man Ray : DADA
Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

Man Ray was an American modernist artist who spent most of his working life in Paris. Man Ray was born in South Philadelphia in 1890, and his real name was Emmanuel Radnitzky. His family adopted the name “Ray” in response to the anti-Semitic feeling that was prevalent at the time. Emmanuel was known as “Manny”, and he decided to assume the name Man Ray and use it for his work.

52. Punjabi chief : RAJA
“Raja” (also “rajah”) is word derived from Sanskrit that is used particularly in India for a monarch or princely ruler. The female form is “rani” (also “ranee”) and is used for a raja’s wife.

Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan and is home to over half of the country’s citizens. “Punjab” (also “Panjab”) translates as “Five Waters”, a reference to five rivers that form tributaries to the Indus River: Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

55. W competitor : ELLE
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.

“W” is a fashion magazine that has been published monthly since 1971. “W” uses the tagline “Who, What, Where, When, and Why in the World of Style”.

56. ___ Vogue magazine : TEEN
“Teen Vogue” is a version of “Vogue” magazine that targets teenage girls.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Far and away one’s favorite writer? : PEN PAL
7. Mellow R&B track : SLOW JAM
14. Fly : AVIATE
15. Primitive and backward : STONE-AGE
16. Items with decorative scrolls : CELLOS
17. Slice from a book? : PAPER CUT
18. Pay homage, in a way : KNEEL
19. “___ off!” (phrase of homage) : HATS
20. Scratches (out) : EKES
21. French border region : ALSACE
23. One on the trail, for short : POL
24. Room in Clue : HALL
27. 20-20 and others : TIES
28. Bungling : INEPT
31. There’s one for Best New American Play : OBIE
32. Extreme : ARRANT
34. 500-pound bird hunted to extinction : MOA
35. Film character who said “Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess” : HAN SOLO
37. A, B or C, but not X, Y or Z : VITAMIN
39. ___ caution : USE
40. Knee jerk, e.g. : REFLEX
42. Head shop buy : BONG
43. Unite : MERGE
45. Hue : TONE
46. “Woe ___ them that call evil good”: Isaiah : UNTO
47. “The Lost Tapes” rapper : NAS
48. Took care of, as guests : HOUSED
50. Z’s : sleep :: wavy lines : ___ : ODOR
52. ___ Préval, twice-elected president of Haiti : RENE
53. Crude Halloween costume : SHEET
57. “Drink” for the overly critical : HATERADE
59. Crèche setting : STABLE
60. Schiller work set to music by Beethoven : ODE TO JOY
61. Little rock : PEBBLE
62. Symbol of modern communication : HASHTAG
63. Out of retirement? : ARISEN

Down
1. Stuff : PACK
2. Flush : EVEN
3. Water source for 11 countries : NILE
4. Some blonds : PALE ALES
5. Snorkeling mecca : ATOLL
6. ___ Echos (French daily) : LES
7. Pink property : STATES AVENUE
8. Cuts (off) : LOPS
9. Light air, on the Beaufort scale : ONE
10. “It’s our time to go!” : WE’RE ON!
11. “Glengarry Glen Ross” co-star, 1992 : JACK LEMMON
12. Chill in bed? : AGUE
13. Pro team with blue-and-orange jerseys : METS
15. Orthodontic device : SPACER
19. Supposed morning remedy : HAIR OF THE DOG
22. Dusty, fusty or musty : STALE
23. British P.M. before and after Addington : PITT
24. Blah : HO-HUM
25. Lower : ABASE
26. Statements for the record : LINER NOTES
29. Aim : POINT
30. Steps in a ballroom : TANGO
33. Puts the kibosh on : NIXES
36. Underground rock bands? : ORES
38. Where Etihad Airways is headquartered : ABU DHABI
41. ___ Tunes : LOONEY
44. One of the knights of the Round Table : GARETH
49. Acid/alcohol compound : ESTER
50. Excited pupil’s shout : OH OH!
51. Art genre for Man Ray : DADA
52. Punjabi chief : RAJA
54. Weakens : EBBS
55. W competitor : ELLE
56. ___ Vogue magazine : TEEN
58. Go to waste : ROT
59. Day ___ : SPA

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