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CROSSWORD SETTER: John Westwig
THEME: S in a Name … today’s themed answers are the names of famous people, but with a letter S inserted to make the first name a possessive:
20A. How the Great Emancipator got around? : ABRAHAM’S LINCOLN
25A. How the star of the Indiana Jones films got around? : HARRISON’S FORD
42A. How a Seattle Mariner great got around? : ICHIRO’S SUZUKI
48A. How Queen’s former frontman got around? : FREDDIE’S MERCURY
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 26s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Toward a boat’s wake : ABAFT
On a boat the term “abaft” means “towards the stern”.
10. Kindergarten lesson : ABCS
“Kindergarten” is a German term, literally meaning “children’s garden”. The term was coined by the German education authority Friedrich Fröbel in 1837, when he used it as the name for his play and activity institute that he created for young children to use before they headed off to school. His thought was that children should be nourished educationally, like plants in a garden.
14. Big name in denim : LEVI
Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.
16. Lummox : LOUT
The word “lummox” comes from East Anglian slang (northeast of London). The term is probably a contraction of “lumbering ox”.
18. Dough : MOOLA
Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, scratch, simoleons, clams and moola are all slang terms for money.
19. Political columnist Klein : EZRA
Ezra Klein is a journalist and blogger who writes for “The Washington Post”, “Bloomberg” and “MSNBC”. Klein’s contribution at “The Washington Post” is the most-read blog that the paper publishes.
20. How the Great Emancipator got around? : ABRAHAM’S LINCOLN
President Lincoln’s actions that resulted in the freeing of slaves led to him earning the nickname “the Great Emancipator”.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863 during the Civil War. The order freed slaves in Confederate territory, but did not apply to the five slave states that were not in rebellion. Slavery became illegal in the whole of the United States in December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.
25. How the star of the Indiana Jones films got around? : HARRISON’S FORD
The first Indiana Jones film was released in 1981, produced by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. Harrison Ford was Spielberg’s first choice to play the lead, but Lucas resisted as he was concerned that he would be too closely associated with the actor (as Ford played Han Solo in “Star Wars”, and also appeared in Lucas’s “American Graffiti”). Tom Selleck was offered the role but he couldn’t get out of his commitments to “Magnum, P.I.” Eventually Spielberg got his way and Ford was hired, a good thing I say …
36. Embroidery loop : PICOT
A picot is a loop of thread, either for function or for decoration, at the edge of some knitted or tatted material.
40. Mother of Helen : LEDA
In Greek mythology, Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who was seduced by Zeus when he took the form of a swan. Leda produced two eggs from the union. One egg hatched into the beautiful Helen, later to be known as Helen of Troy and over whom was fought the Trojan War. The other egg hatched into the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux had different fathers according to the myth. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of Leda’s earthly husband, and so he was a mortal. William Butler Yeats wrote a famous sonnet called “Leda and the Swan” in 1924. Peter Paul Rubens made a copy of a painting called “Leda and the Swan” by Michelangelo, which is now lost.
41. With 32-Across, place to snorkel : CORAL
(32A. See 41-Across : REEF)
Our word “snorkel” comes from German navy slang “Schnorchel” meaning “nose, snout”. The German slang was applied to an airshaft used for submarines, due to its resemblance to a nose, in that air passed through it and it made a “snoring” sound. “Schnorchel” comes from “Schnarchen”, the German for “snore”.
42. How a Seattle Mariner great got around? : ICHIRO’S SUZUKI
Ichiro Suzuki plays baseball for the New York Yankees. Suzuki holds quite a few batting records including the single-season record for base hits (262), and a record-breaking streak of 10 consecutive 200-hit season. Ichiro Suzuki is a huge celebrity in his native-Japan. His agent says that if you address fan mail to “Ichiro Suzuki, Japan”, he’ll get your letter …
48. How Queen’s former frontman got around? : FREDDIE’S MERCURY
Freddie Mercury was a British singer-songwriter who was lead singer for the rock group Queen. Mercury wrote many of Queen’s hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Somebody to Love”, “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “We Are the Champions”. Mercury’s real name was Farrokh Bulsara, and he was born to Parsi parents in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) in East Africa. He grew up mainly in India, and arrived in England at the age of 17 when his family had flee from the Zanzibar Revolution.
57. Its capital is Oranjestad : ARUBA
Oranjestad is the capital city of the island of Aruba in the Caribbean. Aruba is a constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Oranjestad translates as “Orange Town”, and was named for the first King William of Orange-Nassau.
59. ___ buco : OSSO
“Osso” is the Italian word for bone as in the name of the dish Osso Buco: braised veal shanks.
60. City near Avignon : NIMES
Nîmes is a lovely city in the south of France. One of the claims to fame of the city is the invention of denim fabric. The French phrase “de Nimes” (from Nimes) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (blue of Genoa) gives us our word “jeans”.
Avignon is a city in the southeast of France on the Rhône river. Avignon is sometimes called the “City of Popes” as it was home to seven popes during the Catholic schism from 1309 to 1423.
62. Underworld river : STYX
The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.
Down
1. Actress Jessica : ALBA
Actress Jessica Alba got her big break when she was cast in the Fox science fiction show “Dark Angel”. Alba had a tough life growing up as she spent a lot of time in hospital and so found it difficult to develop friendships. As a youngster she twice had a collapsed lung, frequently caught pneumonia, suffered from asthma, had a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. On top of all that she acknowledges that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. It seems that she has really turned her life around …
2. Channel that airs “Sherlock,” with “the” : BEEB
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”. The BBC was founded in 1922, and was the world’s first national broadcasting organization.
“Sherlock” is a BBC crime drama in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, with Martin Freeman playing the Dr. Watson. The show is produced in Cardiff, Wales by many of the same team involved in the reboot of the “Dr. Who” sci-fi series. Excellent television …
5. Giorgio of fashion : ARMANI
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the company that has borne his name since 1975. Although Armani is famous for his menswear, the company makes everything from jewelry to perfume.
6. Wetlands and tundra, e.g. : BIOMES
I tend to think of “biome” is another word for ecosystem.
7. Kerfuffles : ADOS
“Kerfuffle” comes from the Scottish “curfuffle”, with both words meaning “disruption”.
10. One of the Furies : ALECTO
The Furies of Greek and Roman mythology were the female personification of vengeance. They were also known as the Dirae, “the terrible”. There were at least three Furies:
– Alecto: the “unceasing”
– Megaera: the “grudging”
– Tisiphone: the “avenging murder”
12. Permanent thing? : CURL
“Perm” is the name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls. I don’t worry about such things, as it’s a number-one all over for me …
13. “South Park” boy : STAN
“South Park” is an adult-oriented cartoon series on Comedy Central. I don’t do “South Park” …
25. Where Toussaint L’Ouverture led a revolt : HAITI
Toussaint Breda (later “Louverture”) was a central leader in the Haitian Revolution that lasted from 1791 until 1804. Louverture was a freed slave, and he joined the slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint-Domingue that ultimately led to the founding of the free state of Haiti.
26. Coyolxauhqui worshiper : AZTEC
Coyolxauhqui was the leader of southern star gods of Aztec mythology. Coyolxauhqui (“Face Painted with Bells” in English) ruled over her brothers, who were known as the Four Hundred Southerners.
27. Penguin predators : ORCAS
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
28. Prefix with realism : NEO-
In the art world, “neorealism” was a movement that started in the early twentieth century, led by two English painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman. The neorealists returned to more realistic style after the Romantic Era.
29. Howard ___, “The Fountainhead” protagonist : ROARK
“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand was first published in 1943, her first novel to achieve public success. The story focuses on an idealistic architect, Howard Roark. Roark is uncompromising in his designs, refusing the give the public what it wants, staying doggedly loyal to his own vision.
30. Home of the world’s tallest building, completed in 2009 : DUBAI
Burj Khalifa is a spectacular skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, and has been so since the completion of its exterior in 2009. The space in the building came onto the market at a really bad time, during the global financial crisis. The building was part of a US$20 billion development of downtown Dubai that was backed by the city government which had to go looking for a bailout from the neighboring city of Abu Dhabi. The tower was given the name Burj Khalifa at the last minute, apparently as a nod to the UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan who helped to broker the bailout.
34. ___ Avivian : TEL
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.
36. Xerxes’ people : PERSIANS
Xerxes was the eldest son of Darius I of Persia. He succeeded to the throne in 486 BC as Xerxes I, and was later to be known as Xerxes the Great. It was Xerxes who fought against the Spartans in the famous Battle of Thermopylae.
40. Emulated Pinocchio : LIED
“The Adventures of Pinocchio” is an 1883 children’s novel by Carlo Collodi, which is all about an animated puppet called Pinocchio and Geppetto, his poor woodcarver father. Pinocchio is prone to telling lies, the stress of which causes his short nose to become longer.
41. Peter the Great, for one : CZAR
Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.
43. Longtime Oreo competitor : HYDROX
The Oreo cookie was first introduced in 1912. The Oreo was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …
45. Agita : UNEASE
Agita is another name for acid indigestion, and more generally can mean “agitation, anxiety”.
49. Staff break? : REST
That would be in music.
52. ___ wrestler : SUMO
Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.
53. Salt flats location : UTAH
The largest salt pan located near the Great Salt Lake is the famous Bonneville Salt Flats. There is an area in the Flats called the Bonneville Speedway that is devoted to motor sports and is noted as a venue for numerous land speed records.
54. Music of Mumbai : RAGA
Raga isn’t really a type of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners). Western rock music with a heavy Indian influence might be called raga rock.
Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the second most populous city in the world (after Shanghai). The name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.
55. Proto-matter of the universe : YLEM
Back in the 1940s, cosmologists George Gamow and Ralph Alpher used the term “ylem” to describe the primordial plasma that was presumed to exist right after the Big Bang.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Laid up : ABED
5. Toward a boat’s wake : ABAFT
10. Kindergarten lesson : ABCS
14. Big name in denim : LEVI
15. Equestrian, e.g. : RIDER
16. Lummox : LOUT
17. Wax makers : BEES
18. Dough : MOOLA
19. Political columnist Klein : EZRA
20. How the Great Emancipator got around? : ABRAHAM’S LINCOLN
23. Controversially patented thing : GENE
24. Source of a common allergy : NUT
25. How the star of the Indiana Jones films got around? : HARRISON’S FORD
31. Leveled : RAZED
32. See 41-Across : REEF
33. “Leave!” : OUT!
35. Give proper attribution : CITE
36. Embroidery loop : PICOT
38. “Hey, ___” (casual greeting) : BABE
39. Gobbled up : ATE
40. Mother of Helen : LEDA
41. With 32-Across, place to snorkel : CORAL
42. How a Seattle Mariner great got around? : ICHIRO’S SUZUKI
46. “Sure” : YES
47. ___ empty stomach : ON AN
48. How Queen’s former frontman got around? : FREDDIE’S MERCURY
56. Word before window or end : REAR
57. Its capital is Oranjestad : ARUBA
58. List-ending abbr. : ET AL
59. ___ buco : OSSO
60. City near Avignon : NIMES
61. All the ___ : RAGE
62. Underworld river : STYX
63. Something a composer composes : SCORE
64. Bogus : SHAM
Down
1. Actress Jessica : ALBA
2. Channel that airs “Sherlock,” with “the” : BEEB
3. ___ since : EVER
4. Clash (with) : DISAGREE
5. Giorgio of fashion : ARMANI
6. Wetlands and tundra, e.g. : BIOMES
7. Kerfuffles : ADOS
8. Cut down : FELL
9. Something to keep track of? : TRAIN SET
10. One of the Furies : ALECTO
11. Buffoon : BOZO
12. Permanent thing? : CURL
13. “South Park” boy : STAN
21. What’s rounded up in a roundup : HERD
22. “___ said!” : NUFF
25. Where Toussaint L’Ouverture led a revolt : HAITI
26. Coyolxauhqui worshiper : AZTEC
27. Penguin predators : ORCAS
28. Prefix with realism : NEO-
29. Howard ___, “The Fountainhead” protagonist : ROARK
30. Home of the world’s tallest building, completed in 2009 : DUBAI
31. Panasonic competitor : RCA
34. ___ Avivian : TEL
36. Xerxes’ people : PERSIANS
37. Swear words? : I DO
38. They might bar bargoers : BOUNCERS
40. Emulated Pinocchio : LIED
41. Peter the Great, for one : CZAR
43. Longtime Oreo competitor : HYDROX
44. Like the mood in a losing locker room : SOMBER
45. Agita : UNEASE
48. Big dos : FROS
49. Staff break? : REST
50. Like one-star puzzles : EASY
51. “South Park” boy : ERIC
52. ___ wrestler : SUMO
53. Salt flats location : UTAH
54. Music of Mumbai : RAGA
55. Proto-matter of the universe : YLEM