Day: July 20, 2016

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Markka spender, once : FINN
The markka was the currency of Finland that was used until it was replaced by the euro in 2002. The markka was introduced by the Finns in 1860 to replace the Russian ruble.

5. Home to many commuters, for short : BURB
Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …

9. Skewered fare : KEBAB
The name “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

14. Snack sometimes eaten from the inside out : OREO
There’s a smartphone app featuring the Oreo cookie. It’s a game in which one twists Oreo cookies apart, “licks” the cream from the center and then dunks the remainder of the cookie in a glass of milk.

16. Sachet’s quality : AROMA
A sachet is a small packet of perfumed powder left in perhaps a closet or trunk to scent clothes. The word “sachet” is a diminutive of the French word “sac” meaning “bag”.

17. Partners of scepters : ORBS
A scepter is a ceremonial staff often held by a monarch.

An orb and cross (“globus cruciger”) has been used as a Christian symbol of authority since Medieval times. The cross sits atop the globe, indicating Christ’s authority over the world. When the orb is held in the hand of a king or queen, this indicates the authority invested in the earthly ruler.

18. Moon of Saturn : RHEA
Rhea is the second-largest of Saturn’s moons, and the ninth-largest of all the moons in our solar system. The moon is named after the Titan Rhea from Greek mythology. Unlike our moon, Rhea might have an atmosphere of sorts, and even rings.

19. Brightest spot in Orion : RIGEL
Rigel is the sixth brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion. If you can imagine the stars in Orion laid out, Rigel is at his left foot. The name “Rigel” is an abbreviated version of the Arabic term for “Left Foot of the Central One”.

22. 11-Down’s partner in life and in “To Have and Have Not” : BACALL
(11D. See 22-Across : BOGART)
What a bombshell Lauren Bacall was, with that husky voice and her quiet, suggestive manner. Bacall was born in New York City to Jewish immigrant parents from Europe. She was actually a first cousin of Shimon Peres, the former President and Prime Minister of Israel. Famously, Bacall was married to Humphrey Bogart, from 1945 until his passing in 1957.

Humphrey “Bogie” Bogart’s breakthrough movie was “The Petrified Forest” from 1936, but for me, nothing beats “Casablanca”. Although, if you haven’t seen it, check out the original “Sabrina” from 1954. It’s a real delight.

“To Have and Have Not” is a 1944 Howard Hawks film starring 45-year-old Humphrey Bogart and 19-year-old Lauren Bacall. This is the movie that Bogart and Bacall were shooting when romance bloomed, eventually leading to Bogart’s divorce from his third wife and marriage to Bacall in 1945.

23. 5-Down’s partner in life and in “The Taming of the Shrew” : TAYLOR
(5D. See 23-Across : BURTON)
Actress Elizabeth Taylor married eight times, to seven husbands. Those marriages were to:

Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, the young hotel heir
Michael Wilding, the English actor
Mike Todd, the film and stage producer
Eddie Fisher, the singer
Richard Burton (twice), the Welsh actor
John Warner, who went on to become a US Senator for Virginia
Larry Fortensky, a construction worker whom Taylor met at the Betty Ford Clinic

The actor Richard Burton was born in South Wales, as Richard Jenkins. The actor took “Burton” as a stage name in honor of his schoolmaster and mentor Philip Burton. Famously, Burton was married (twice) to actress Liz Taylor.

“The Taming of the Shrew” is a 1967 Franco Zeffirelli film based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Stars of the movie are Elizabeth Taylor, in the title role, and Richard Burton, Taylor’s husband in real life.

25. Ipanema’s locale, for short : RIO
Ipanema is a beach community in the south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The name Ipanema is a local word meaning “bad water”, signifying that the shore is bad for fishing. The beach became famous on release of the song “The Girl from Ipanema” written in 1965.

26. Many a noble element : GAS
The rare gases are better known as the noble gases, but neither term is really very accurate. Noble gas might be a better choice though, as they are all relatively nonreactive. But rare they are not. Argon, for example, is a major constituent (1%) of the air that we breathe.

29. .215 batting avg., e.g. : STAT
That would be in baseball.

32. Two-time opponent of Dwight : ADLAI
Adlai Stevenson (AES) ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) in 1952 and in 1956. Some years after his second defeat, Stevenson served under President Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson was always noted for his eloquence and he had a famous exchange in a UN Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. Stevenson bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba. His words were “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” followed by “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”

34. Relationship doomed from the start … or something found in this puzzle four times? : STAR-CROSSED LOVE
Two lovers who are “star-crossed” are ill-fated, thwarted by the stars. The term was coined by William Shakespeare in the prologue to his play “Romeo and Juliet”.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life

40. Uniform shade : KHAKI
“Khaki” is an Urdu word, translating literally as “dusty”. The word was adopted for its current use as the name of a fabric by the British cavalry in India in the mid-1800s.

41. Youngest dwarf : DOPEY
In the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale called “Snow White”, the seven dwarfs were not given any names. The names were added for the 1937 classic Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The seven dwarfs are:

Doc (the leader of the group)
Grumpy (that would be me, according to my wife …)
Happy
Sleepy
Bashful
Sneezy
Dopey

45. Sushi bar condiment : WASABI
Sometimes called Japanese horseradish, wasabi is a root used as a condiment in Japanese cooking. The taste of wasabi is more like mustard than a hot pepper in that the vapors that create the “hotness” stimulate the nasal passages rather than the tongue. Personally, I love the stuff …

48. Suffix with ethyl : -ENE
Ethylene (also called ethene) has a gazillion uses, including as an anesthetic and an aid to hastening the ripening of fruit. Ethylene’s most common use is as a major raw material in the manufacture of plastics (like polyethylene).

49. Fairness-in-hiring letters : EEO
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

51. 47-Down’s partner in life and in “Bugsy” : BENING
(47D. See 51-Across : BEATTY)
The marvelous actress Annette Bening is from Topeka, Kansas. Bening has been married to actor Warren Beatty since 1992. The pair married about a year after starring together in the 1991 film “Bugsy”.

The actor Warren Beatty spends a lot of time in other roles in the film industry. He is the only person to have been nominated twice for an Academy Award for acting in, directing, writing and producing the same film. He was so honored for 1978’s “Heaven Can Wait” and for 1981’s “Reds”. Beatty has been married to fellow actor Annette Bening since 1992.

“Bugsy” is a 1991 biographical drama about the life of mobster Bugsy Siegel, and his relationship with mob courier Virginia Hill. The roles of Siegel and Hill are played by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. Beatty and Bening became romantically involved soon after filming completed and the couple married the following year.

57. 54-Down’s partner in life and in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” : JOLIE
(54D. See 57-Across : PITT)
Angelina Jolie is a remarkably successful Hollywood actress from Los Angeles, California. Jolie has acting in her blood as her father is actor Jon Voight. Her godparents are actors Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. Jolie’s first marriage was to British actor Jonny Lee Miller, who plays Sherlock Holmes on the TV show “Elementary”. Her second marriage was to actor Billy Bob Thornton, and the third to actor Brad Pitt.

Brad Pitt’s first major role was the cowboy hitchhiker in the 1991’s “Thelma and Louise”. Pitt’s life offscreen garners as much attention as his work onscreen, it seems. The tabloids revel in the series of high-profile relationships in which he has been involved. He was engaged to Gwyneth Paltrow for a while, married to Jennifer Aniston, and he now lives with Angelina Jolie.

“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is a 2005 film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the title roles. It’s a fun film, sort of a melded romantic comedy and action movie. The film is noted as the first time Pitt and Jolie met, after which they fell in love and became the media’s “Brangelina” item.

58. Worth debating – or not : MOOT
“To moot” is to bring up as a subject for discussion or debate. So, something that is moot is open to debate. Something that is no longer moot, is no longer worth debating. We don’t seem to be able get that right …

61. Punt or junk : BOAT
A “punt” is a small boat with a flat bottom and a square-cut bow that is used in shallow water. Punts are propelled by a punter, who uses a pole to push against say a lakebed or the bank of a river. Punts differ from gondolas both structurally and in the method of propulsion, as a gondolier uses an oar.

A junk is a sailing boat often seen in Chinese waters today, and as far back as 200 BC. The English word “junk” is just a phonetic spelling of a Chinese word for “ship”, although it would more correctly be pronounced “joong”.

63. Gender-bending Streisand title role : YENTL
“Yentl” is a play that opened in New York City in 1975. The move to adapt the play for the big screen was led by Barbara Streisand, and indeed she wrote the first outline of a musical version herself as far back as 1968. The film was eventually made and released in 1983, with Streisand performing the lead role.

64. Garcia of “Ocean’s …” movies : ANDY
Andy Garcia is a Hollywood actor from Havana, Cuba. Garcia moved to Miami with his family when he was 5 years old, just after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Andy’s father was an avocado farmer in Cuba, and in Miami built a million-dollar fragrance business. Recently, Garcia is known for playing ruthless casino owner Terry Benedict in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series of movies.

Down
3. Lincoln’s locale : NEBRASKA
The city of Lincoln is the second-largest in Nebraska, and is the state capital. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the capital was the larger city of Omaha. When the territory was being considered for statehood, most of the population (which lived south of the River Platte) was in favor of annexation to Kansas. The pro-statehood legislature voted to move the capital nearer to that population in a move intended to appease those favoring annexation. As this conflict was taking place just after the Civil War, a special interest group in Omaha arranged for the new capital to be named Lincoln, in honor of the recently-assassinated president. The thought was that the populace south of the River Platte had been sympathetic to the Confederate cause and so would not pass the measure to move the capital if the Lincoln name was used. But the measure passed, the capital was moved, and Nebraska became the thirty-seventh State of the Union in 1867.

7. English horn, for one : REED
The English Horn is also known by its French name “Cor Anglais”. It is a double-reed woodwind instrument.

8. Garment with underwires : BRA
The word “brassière” is French in origin, but it isn’t the word the French use for a “bra”. In France, what we call a bra is known as a “soutien-gorge”, translating to “held under the neck”. The word “brassière” is indeed used in France but there it describes a baby’s undershirt, a lifebelt or a harness. “Brassière” comes from the Old French word for an “arm protector” in a military uniform (“bras” is the French for “arm”). Later “brassière” came to mean “breastplate” and from there the word was used for a type of woman’s corset. The word jumped into English around 1900.

9. Jeweler’s unit : KARAT
A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

10. Bana of “Troy” : ERIC
Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “The Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

“Troy” is a 2004 epic movie that is based on Homer’s “Iliad” and tells the story of the Trojan War. “Troy” has quite the cast, including Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector and Diane Kruger as Helen. Most of the filming was done on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean. It was an expensive film to make, with costs running at about $175 million. The film did well at the box office though, with most of the profits being made outside of the US.

12. ___ Bedelia (children’s book character) : AMELIA
The “Amelia Bedelia” series of children’s books was written by Peggy Parish until she passed away in 1988. Her nephew, Herman Parish took over and has been writing them since 1995. The Amelia character is based on a maid in Cameroon where Parish had lived during her formative years.

13. Where “X” may mark the spot : BALLOT
Today a “ballot” is a piece of paper used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

22. Ball girl : BELLE
A “beau” is the boyfriend of a “belle”, a young lady. “Beau” and “belle” are the masculine and feminine forms of the French word for “handsome, beautiful”.

26. U.S.O. show attendees : GIS
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

35. Lou who sang “A Natural Man” : RAWLS
Lou Rawls was an American soul and blues singer known for his smooth vocal style. With his singing career well on the way, Rawls was asked to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1977 at a Muhammad Ali fight in Madison Square Garden. This performance led to him being asked to sing the anthem many, many times in the coming years with his last rendition being at a World Series game in 2005. Rawls passed away in January of the following year.

39. One of 100 for Argus, in myth : EYE
Argus Panoptes is a monster of Greek mythology. “Panoptes” means “all-seeing”, so over time Argus has been described as having many, many eyes. Argus was noted for being alert, always keeping some eyes open when sleeping. This characteristic led to Argus being used for a vigilant person, and has been adopted as the name for many newspapers. After he died, Hera transferred Argus’ eyes to the tail of the peacock.

43. Oxygen-dependent organism : AEROBE
An aerobe is an organism that lives in an environment rich in oxygen. An anaerobe on the other hand does not require oxygen for survival.

44. ___ Rouge (Paris cabaret) : MOULIN
The Moulin Rouge cabaret is located right in the middle of one of the red light districts of Paris, the district of Pigalle. You can’t miss the Moulin Rouge as it has a huge red windmill on its roof (“moulin rouge” is French for “red windmill”). The nightclub opened its doors in 1889 and soon after, the working girls of the cabaret adopted a “respectable” party dance and used it to entice their clients. That was the birth of the can-can. Nowadays, the Moulin Rouge is home to a lavish, Las Vegas-style show that costs millions of euros to stage. It features showgirls, dancers and acrobats, a whole host of entertainers in fact. And I am sure the can-can features as well …

A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labelled as something lighter and shorter.

50. Gird (oneself) : STEEL
The phrase “gird your loins” dates back to Ancient Rome. The expression describes the action of lifting “one’s skirts” and tying them between the legs to allow more freedom of movement before going into battle. Nowadays, “gird your loins” (or sometimes just “gird yourself”) is a metaphor for “prepare yourself for the worst”.

52. Hajji’s religion : ISLAM
A Haji (also “Hajji”) is the term used for someone who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and it is sometimes also used as a form of address for such a person. The journey itself goes by the name “haj” or “hajj”.

58. Deg. from Wharton : MBA
Wharton is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. The school was established in 1881 largely due to a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton, co-founder of Bethlehem Steel.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Markka spender, once : FINN
5. Home to many commuters, for short : BURB
9. Skewered fare : KEBAB
14. Snack sometimes eaten from the inside out : OREO
15. Exploitative sort : USER
16. Sachet’s quality : AROMA
17. Partners of scepters : ORBS
18. Moon of Saturn : RHEA
19. Brightest spot in Orion : RIGEL
20. Ran : DIRECTED
22. 11-Down’s partner in life and in “To Have and Have Not” : BACALL
23. 5-Down’s partner in life and in “The Taming of the Shrew” : TAYLOR
24. Get into the pool? : BET
25. Ipanema’s locale, for short : RIO
26. Many a noble element : GAS
27. Fill with a spirit : ENSOUL
29. .215 batting avg., e.g. : STAT
30. Finish, as a tattoo : INK IN
32. Two-time opponent of Dwight : ADLAI
34. Relationship doomed from the start … or something found in this puzzle four times? : STAR-CROSSED LOVE
40. Uniform shade : KHAKI
41. Youngest dwarf : DOPEY
42. Creators of artificial lakes : DAMS
45. Sushi bar condiment : WASABI
48. Suffix with ethyl : -ENE
49. Fairness-in-hiring letters : EEO
50. Like some winks and grins : SLY
51. 47-Down’s partner in life and in “Bugsy” : BENING
53. Blows one’s stack : ERUPTS
55. Like beef cattle, dietarily : GRASS-FED
57. 54-Down’s partner in life and in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” : JOLIE
58. Worth debating – or not : MOOT
59. Long sentence : LIFE
60. Grab ___ (eat on the run) : A BITE
61. Punt or junk : BOAT
62. Give ___ for one’s money : A RUN
63. Gender-bending Streisand title role : YENTL
64. Garcia of “Ocean’s …” movies : ANDY
65. Go soft : MELT

Down
1. What’s spread in a spread : FOOD
2. Smoke in one’s eyes, say : IRRITANT
3. Lincoln’s locale : NEBRASKA
4. Like a buttinsky : NOSEY
5. See 23-Across : BURTON
6. Theater staff : USHERS
7. English horn, for one : REED
8. Garment with underwires : BRA
9. Jeweler’s unit : KARAT
10. Bana of “Troy” : ERIC
11. See 22-Across : BOGART
12. ___ Bedelia (children’s book character) : AMELIA
13. Where “X” may mark the spot : BALLOT
21. Grip tightly : CLENCH
22. Ball girl : BELLE
24. Springtime arrivals : BUDS
26. U.S.O. show attendees : GIS
28. Spring that’s unusually warm? : OASIS
29. Missile’s home : SILO
31. Vexes : IRKS
33. Functionality-enhancing computer products : ADD-INS
35. Lou who sang “A Natural Man” : RAWLS
36. “Deal!” : OKAY!
37. Order to a gun crew : OPEN FIRE!
38. Looking to get even : VENGEFUL
39. One of 100 for Argus, in myth : EYE
42. Tunes player : DEEJAY
43. Oxygen-dependent organism : AEROBE
44. ___ Rouge (Paris cabaret) : MOULIN
46. Where expats live : ABROAD
47. See 51-Across : BEATTY
50. Gird (oneself) : STEEL
52. Hajji’s religion : ISLAM
54. See 57-Across : PITT
55. “Continue …” : GO ON …
56. Ding : DENT
58. Deg. from Wharton : MBA

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