Day: October 14, 2016

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
4. Connections to the sternum : RIBS
“Sternum” (plural “sterna”) is the Latin name for the breastbone. “Sternon” is a Greek for “chest, breastbone”.

17. Cream song with the lyric “Dance floor is like the sea, / Ceiling is the sky” : I FEEL FREE
Cream were a “supergroup” from Britain, meaning the band was comprised of musicians from other successful groups. The band’s members were Eric Clapton (from the Yardbirds), and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (both from the Graham Bond Organisation).

19. Excluded category in the Paleo diet : DAIRY
The paleolithic or caveman diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

22. Kind of wave : SINE
A sine wave is a mathematical function that describes a simple, smooth, repetitive oscillation. The sine wave is found right throughout the natural world. Ocean waves, light waves and sound waves all have a sine wave pattern.

23. Wasabi go-with in sushi meals : GARI
Gari is the Japanese name for thinly-sliced ginger that is often served with sushi.

25. People who are in them are out, in brief : ORS
Surgery (surg.) is usually performed in an operating room (OR).

26. Shavit with the 2013 best seller “My Promised Land” : ARI
Ari Shavit is a journalist and writer from israel. His historical nonfiction book “My Promised Land” was a New York Times Best Seller in 2013.

27. Where Spike Lee earned his M.F.A. : NYU
New York University (NYU) is comprised of fifteen schools, one of which it the Tisch School of the Arts. The Tisch is famous for its acting program, with notable alumni such as Debra Messing, Christopher Guest and Josh Radnor.

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Film director Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia but has very much made New York City his home and place of work. Most of Lee’s films are set in New York City, including his first feature film, “She’s Gotta Have It”. That film was shot over two weeks, with a budget of $175,000. “She’s Gotta Have It” grossed over $7 million at the US box office.

34. 1851 Sojourner Truth speech : AIN’T I A WOMAN?
Sojourner Truth (real name Isabella Baumfree) was an African-American abolitionist and woman’s rights activist. Truth was born a slave in New York State, and freed in 1827. She became famous for her speeches against slavery, including her most famous address “Ain’t I a Woman?” that was delivered at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851.

35. Online addresses, in part : DOMAIN NAMES
A domain name is basically the address of a website on the Internet. For example, the addresses of my crossword blogs, the domain names, are LAXCrossword.com and NYTCrossword.com.

36. “Ur hilarious!” : LOL
Laugh out loud (LOL, in text-speak)

39. Two or three sets, say : GIG
Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz.

42. Where the Taj Mahotsav festival is held : AGRA
Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India. Agra was also the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The Taj Mahal: the famous mausoleum built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
• Agra Fort: the site where the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was seized.
• Fatehpur Sikri: a historic city that’s home to well-preserved Mughal

44. Either director of “Inside Llewyn Davis” : COEN
I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the lovely Frances McDormand.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” is a 2013 film from the Coen brothers that stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and John Goodman. The movie is about a week in the life of a folk singer in New York City in the early sixties. “Inside Llewyn Davis” has been well received, but based on the trailers I’ve seen, it looks a little too depressing for my taste. I could be wrong …

46. Part of MSG : MONO-
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

49. Info in a Yelp listing: Abbr. : HRS
Hours (hrs.)

yelp.com is a website that provides a local business directory and reviews of services. The site is sort of like Yellow Pages on steroids, and the term “yelp” is derived from “yel-low p-ages”.

50. Either half of a 1973 “duel” : BANJO
“Dueling Banjos” is a 1955 instrumental that was made famous by the 1972 movie “Deliverance”. “Dueling Banjos” was released as a single in 1973 and spent weeks at the number-two spot in the charts, held back by Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song”. A kind blog reader pointed out the interesting fact that in “Deliverance”, “Dueling Banjos” was played by one banjo and one guitar … dueling guitar and banjo.

54. Tribe whose name means “long tail” : ERIES
The Erie people lived on lands south of Lake Erie. The Erie were sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation, a reference to the mountain lions that were ever-present in the area that they lived. The name “Erie” is a shortened form of “Erielhonan” meaning “long tail”, possibly a further reference to the mountain lion or cat, which was possibly used as a totem. The Erie people gave their name to the Great Lake.

55. Dessert so-called for its portions of flour, butter, eggs and sugar : POUND CAKE
“Pound cake” is so called because the traditional recipe calls for a pound of each of four ingredients:

• a pound of flour
• a pound of butter
• a pound of eggs
• a pound of sugar

I’d say that’s a lot of cake …

56. Purchase at a golf pro shop : SKORT
The garment called a “skort” is a hybrid between shorts and a skirt.

Done
3. Round containers? : STEINS
A stein is a type of beer glass. The term is German in origin, and is short for “Steinkrug” meaning “stone jug”. “Stein” is the German for “stone”.

A round of drinks might be served in steins.

5. Subj. of many antiglobalization protests : IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established at the end of 1945 with 29 major economies supporting and funding an effort to stabilize economies across the globe after WWII. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., today the IMF has 187 member countries.

10. Typical “S.N.L.” start : COLD OPEN
A “cold open” of a TV show or movie is a scene that is shown before the title sequence or opening credits. Cold opens became quite the rage on television starting in the mid-sixties.

11. Something you can control the volume with? : E-READER
One might control say the turning of pages while using an e-reader, while reading a book/volume.

15. Terse and unadorned, as writing : HEMINGWAYESQUE
Ernest Hemingway’s writing style has been described variously as lean, terse, economical, spare and tight. He didn’t waste words, and avoided complicated syntax. His writing is “Hemingwayesque”.

23. Part of MGM’s motto : GRATIA
It seems that the phrase “art for art’s sake” has its origins in France in the nineteenth century, where the slogan is expressed as “l’art pour l’art”. The Latin version “Ars gratia artis” came much later, in 1924, when MGM’s publicist chose it for the studio’s logo, sitting under Leo the lion. Who’d a thunk it?

26. “Babalú” bandleader : ARNAZ
“Babalú” is a popular song from Cuba that was first published in the USA in 1939. It was used as the signature song of the character Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz, on the TV show “I Love Lucy”.

28. Ones ranking above knaves : YEOMEN
In one use of the word, a yeoman is a lower level official or attendant in a royal household. A famous group of yeomen are the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London. The role is ceremonial these days, theoretically safeguarding the crown jewels and guarding any prisoners in the Tower. More correctly, the Yeoman Warders are called Beefeaters, and nobody’s really sure why! If you get over to London, the Yeoman Warders will be your tour guide around the Tower of London … a great day out!

31. Fashion mogul Gunn : TIM
Tim Gunn is a fashion consultant, and these days a television personality as well. He makes regular appearances on the reality TV show “Project Runway”, and is so popular a character that he now has his own show called “Tim Gunn’s Guide in Style”.

32. ___ Marcos, Tex. : SAN
San Marcos is a city in central Texas, located between Austin and San Antonio. It is home to Texas State University.

33. Some “CSI” figs. : DAS
District Attorney (DA)

The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to have finally wound down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, hung in there until 2015 when it ended with a two-hour TV movie. The youngest show in the series was “CSI: Cyber”. It lasted for two season before being canceled in 2016.

34. App with over 200 free stations : AOL RADIO
AOL Radio is an online service offering over 200 free Internet radio stations. The service is available online, and as an app for smartphones.

35. Place to play with toys : DOG PARK
The toy group of dogs is made up of the smallest breeds. The smallest breeds are sometimes called “teacup” breeds.

36. Things that might be batted at a ball : LASHES
At least as far back as the 1800s, the term “batting” was used in falconry to describe the fluttering of a hawk’s wings while on a perch or a fist, as if the bird intended to fly away. The usage of “batting” extended to the fluttering of a human’s eyelids, giving us the expressions “batting an eye” and “batting an eyelid”.

43. Floral symbol of patience : ASTER
Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

46. Comedian Maron : MARC
Stand-up comedian Marc Maron has been hosting the podcast “WTF with Marc Maron” since 2009. The online show features interviews with comedians and celebrities. The list of interviewees is pretty impressive, and includes Conan O’Brien, Robin Williams and even President Barack Obama.

53. Clément Marot poem “A ___ Damoyselle Malade” : UNE
Clément Marot was a Renaissance poet from France.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Connections : INS
4. Connections to the sternum : RIBS
8. Not assured at all : DICEY
13. “You can figure as well as I can” : DO THE MATH
16. Treasure : ADORE
17. Cream song with the lyric “Dance floor is like the sea, / Ceiling is the sky” : I FEEL FREE
18. Things that may be compressed : FILES
19. Excluded category in the Paleo diet : DAIRY
20. Little treasure : GEM
21. Now : TODAY
22. Kind of wave : SINE
23. Wasabi go-with in sushi meals : GARI
24. List heading : TO DO
25. People who are in them are out, in brief : ORS
26. Shavit with the 2013 best seller “My Promised Land” : ARI
27. Where Spike Lee earned his M.F.A. : NYU
30. Little: Fr. : PEU
31. Not identifying with one’s assigned sex : TRANSGENDER
34. 1851 Sojourner Truth speech : AIN’T I A WOMAN?
35. Online addresses, in part : DOMAIN NAMES
36. “Ur hilarious!” : LOL
37. Bit of evasion : ZAG
38. Still : YET
39. Two or three sets, say : GIG
42. Where the Taj Mahotsav festival is held : AGRA
44. Either director of “Inside Llewyn Davis” : COEN
46. Part of MSG : MONO-
47. Fit : SPASM
49. Info in a Yelp listing: Abbr. : HRS
50. Either half of a 1973 “duel” : BANJO
51. Lacked options : HAD TO
52. Ask : INQUIRE OF
54. Tribe whose name means “long tail” : ERIES
55. Dessert so-called for its portions of flour, butter, eggs and sugar : POUND CAKE
56. Purchase at a golf pro shop : SKORT
57. Purchases at a golf pro shop : TEES
58. Flushed : RED

Down
1. “Don’t you doubt me!” : I DID SO!
2. “You cheated!” : NO FAIR!
3. Round containers? : STEINS
4. Bet (on) : RELY
5. Subj. of many antiglobalization protests : IMF
6. Threat of a strike, in labor negotiations : BARGAINING CHIP
7. Lead : STEER
8. Birdbrained : DAFT
9. Birdbrain : IDIOT
10. Typical “S.N.L.” start : COLD OPEN
11. Something you can control the volume with? : E-READER
12. “Me?” follower : YES, YOU!
14. “___, boy!” : HERE
15. Terse and unadorned, as writing : HEMINGWAYESQUE
23. Part of MGM’s motto : GRATIA
26. “Babalú” bandleader : ARNAZ
28. Ones ranking above knaves : YEOMEN
29. Not realized : UNMET
31. Fashion mogul Gunn : TIM
32. ___ Marcos, Tex. : SAN
33. Some “CSI” figs. : DAS
34. App with over 200 free stations : AOL RADIO
35. Place to play with toys : DOG PARK
36. Things that might be batted at a ball : LASHES
39. Approach : GO NEAR
40. Something not many people laugh at : IN-JOKE
41. Blew it : GOOFED
43. Floral symbol of patience : ASTER
45. “… but I could be wrong” : … OR NOT
46. Comedian Maron : MARC
48. Superlatively : MOST
50. Contends (for) : BIDS
53. Clément Marot poem “A ___ Damoyselle Malade” : UNE

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