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CROSSWORD SETTER: Timothy Polin
THEME: Saddle Up!
Today’s themed answers come in pairs, one answer over the other. The bottom answer includes a string of circled letters that spell out the name of a famous horse. Sitting on that horse, the answer above in the grid, is the name of the person who rode that horse:
22A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ZORRO
24A. 1976 blaxploitation film that was a sequel to “Dolemite” : THE HUMAN TORNADO (hiding “Tornado”)35A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : CISCO KID
42A. Made-for-TV western co-starring Travis Tritt : RIO DIABLO (hiding “Diablo”)50A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : LONE RANGER
58A. Detroit-area stadium that hosted Super Bowl XVI : SILVERDOME (hiding “Silver”)74A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ROY ROGERS
81A. Setting off : TRIGGERING (hiding “Trigger”)93A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : TONTO
96A. Brownie, e.g. : GIRL SCOUT (hiding “Scout”)110A. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : DALE EVANS
119A. Rich breakfast item : BUTTERMILK DONUT (hiding “Buttermilk”)
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 27m 23s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Tripartite commerce pact : NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is between Canada, Mexico and the United States. When NAFTA came into force in 1994 it set up the largest free trade zone in the world.
6. Nickname for Angel Stadium, with “the” : BIG A
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is sometimes called the Big A. The Big A opened for business in 1966, making it the fourth oldest stadium in the major leagues, after Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium.
14. They might pop up in the morning : EGGOS
Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.
19. “Juno” actress Page : ELLEN
Canadian actress Ellen Page came to prominence playing the female lead in the 2007 hit film “Juno”. Page also played the female lead in one of my favorite films of the past few years, 2010’s “Inception”.
20. Visa alternatives : AMEX CARDS
“Amex” is short for American Express, the financial services company that is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler’s check businesses. The company name is indicative of its original business. American Express was founded in 1850 in Buffalo, New York as an express mail service.
22. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ZORRO
24. 1976 blaxploitation film that was a sequel to “Dolemite” : THE HUMAN TORNADO (hiding “Tornado”)
The character Zorro was created by Johnston McCulley in 1919 for a series of stories and pulp fiction, the first title being “The Curse of Capistrano”. The name “Zorro” is the secret identity of a Spanish colonial nobleman called Don Diego de la Vega.
31. Tinder, for one : APP
Tinder is a matchmaking app that uses Facebook profiles. Users “swipe” photos of potential matches, either to the right (“like”) or to the left (“not interested”). Users who “match” each other can then chat within the app.
34. “Poppycock!” : PAH!
It is thought that the relatively gentle term “poppycock”, meaning “nonsense”, comes from a Dutch word for “dung” combined with a Latin word for “excrete”. Not so gentle after all …
35. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : CISCO KID
42. Made-for-TV western co-starring Travis Tritt : RIO DIABLO (hiding “Diablo”)
The Cisco Kid is a character who was first introduced in an O. Henry short story called “The Caballero’s Way”. The original O. Henry character was a cruel outlaw, but the character depicted in subsequent movies and television shows is more heroic.
38. Marquis’s subordinate : EARL
In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.
41. Like flowers’ stamens : MALE
The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament, and carried carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.
44. ___ king : A LA
A dish prepared “a la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is food prepared in a cream sauce, with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.
45. Moriarty, to Holmes : FOE
Professor James Moriarty is the main villain who crosses swords with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s’ “Sherlock Holmes”. Moriarty is always cropping up in Sherlock Holmes television and radio plays and in movies, but if you go back to the original stories he isn’t around very much. He only turns up directly in two of the narratives, and was primarily introduced by Conan Doyle in order to “kill off” Sherlock Holmes in a brawl at the top of the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Both Holmes and Moriarty fell to their deaths. Well … public pressure on the author caused Conan Doyle to resurrect Holmes in “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
48. Vittles : EATS
“Victuals” is a term for food that is fit for consumption. We tend to pronounce “victuals” as “vittles”, and we use the term “vittles” and “victuals” interchangeably.
50. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : LONE RANGER
58. Detroit-area stadium that hosted Super Bowl XVI : SILVERDOME (hiding “Silver”)
“The Lone Ranger” was both a radio and television show, dating back to its first radio performance in 1933 on a Detroit station. The line “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” was a device used in the storyline to signal that a riding sequence was starting, so cue the music!
70. Oz figure, for short : WIZ
“The Wiz”, the 1975 musical, was written by Charlie Smalls and is an African-American adaptation of Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. The film version of the stage show was released in 1978, starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. I haven’t seen it, though. “The Wizard of Oz” scares me, as the flying monkeys creep me out. There, I’ve admitted it in public …
72. Third word of many limericks : WAS
No one knows for sure how the limerick got its name, although there does seem to be agreement the name does indeed come from the city or county of Limerick in Ireland. Try this one for size:
There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.
73. Exam with a reading comprehension sect. : LSAT
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
74. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ROY ROGERS
81. Setting off : TRIGGERING (hiding “Trigger”)
Cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers’ real name was Leonard Franklin Slye, and his nickname was “King of the Cowboys”. Roy Rogers married Dale Evans in 1947. Evans’ nickname was “Queen of the West”.
91. Go postal : SNAP
“Going postal” is a slang term meaning to get uncontrollably angry and perhaps violent, especially in the workplace. The term arose out of a spate of killings that took place at postal facilities in the late eighties and early nineties.
93. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : TONTO
96. Brownie, e.g. : GIRL SCOUT (hiding “Scout”)
Famously, the Lone Ranger’s horse was called Silver and Tonto’s mount was named Scout. In the earlier shows, Tonto rode a horse called White Feller.
98. Emails discreetly : BCCS
A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.
104. Santa Fe summer hrs. : MDT
Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)
Santa Fe is New Mexico’s capital, and the fourth most-populous city in the state (after Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Rio Rancho). Sitting at 7,199 feet above sea level, Santa Fe is the highest state capital in the US. The city’s name translates from Spanish as “Holy Faith”. The full name of the city when it was founded in 1607 was “La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís”, meaning “the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi”. It became the capital of the province Santa Fe de Nuevo México in 1610, making Santa Fe the oldest state capital in the US.
106. Many a Wall St. recruit : MBA
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
New York’s famous “Wall Street” was originally named by the Dutch as “de Waal Straat”.
110. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : DALE EVANS
119. Rich breakfast item : BUTTERMILK DONUT (hiding “Buttermilk”)
Dale Evans was the stage name of actress and singer Lucille Wood Smith, famous as the third wife of Roy Rogers. Evans was from Uvalde, Texas, and had a rough start in life. She eloped with her first husband when she was just 14 years old, and had her first child at 15. That first marriage ended in divorce when she was 17 in 1929, the same year she started on her second marriage. Roy Rogers was Evans’ fourth husband and they married in 1947, a marriage that lasted for 51 years, until Rogers passed away in 1998.
122. Fiat : EDICT
A “fiat” is an arbitrary rule that is imposed, and is the Latin for “let it be done”.
124. 48th vice president : PENCE
Mike Pence served as the 50th Governor of Indiana from 2013 until 2017, when he became the 48th Vice President of the US in the Trump administration. Famously, Vice President Pence has described himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order”, although he grew up in an Irish Catholic Democrat family.
126. Meyers of late-night : SETH
Seth Meyers is an actor and comedian who is perhaps best-known for his appearances on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), for which program he served as head writer. Meyers now hosts his own late night talk show on NBC.
Down
2. Prayer figure : ALLAH
The name “Allah” comes from the Arabic “al-” and “ilah”, meaning “the” and “deity”. So “Allah” translates as “God”.
5. Pharaoh ___ : ANT
The now-ubiquitous pharaoh ant is a tropical species that thrives indoors all over the world. They are especially troublesome in hospitals where they can even access wounds due to their tiny size.
7. “Here’s what I think,” briefly : IMHO
In my humble opinion (IMHO)
8. Poindexter : GEEK
Poindexter is a character in the television show “Felix the Cat”, which originally aired in the late fifties. He is a nerdy type, wearing a lab coat and glasses with thick lenses. The character lends his name to the term “poindexter”, meaning just that, a nerd.
12. “Hairspray” matriarch : EDNA
“Hairspray” is a 1988 musical comedy movie written and directed by the zany John Waters. The film had a lukewarm reception when it opened, but it spawned an extremely successful franchise. A Broadway musical of the same name opened in 2002, which won the Best Musical Tony Award in 2003. The film was remade in 2007.
14. Vox co-founder Klein and others : EZRAS
Vox is a news and opinion website that was founded by former “Washington Post” journalist Ezra Klein in 2014.
21. Point of transition : CUSP
The word “cusp” comes from the Latin “cuspis” meaning “spear, point”. In the world of astrology, a cusp is an imaginary line separating two signs of the zodiac. For example, some whose birthday is between April 16 and April 26 is said to have been born “on the cusp” between the signs Aries and Taurus.
25. Meditation syllables : OMS
“Om” is a sacred mystic word from the Hindu tradition. “Om” is sometimes used as a mantra, a focus for the mind in meditation.
27. South American cash crop : COCA
The coca plant is native to South America and is similar in appearance to a blackthorn bush. Coca leaves have been chewed by humans for centuries, perhaps even as far back as 3,000 years ago. Chewing the leaves apparently produces a pleasurable numb sensation in the mouth and a pleasant taste. The most famous alkaloid in the leaf is cocaine, but this wasn’t extracted in its pure form until the mid-1800s. The extracted cocaine was used in a medicines and tonics and other beverages.
36. Group lampooned in “Django Unchained” : KLAN
“Django Unchained” is a Quentin Tarantino film that was released in 2012, starring Jamie Foxx in the title role of branded black slave just before the outbreak of the Civil War. It is the highest grossing film that Tarantino has made to date. I tend to avoid Tarantino movies as I find them to be unnecessarily violent. Apparently “Django Unchained” is one of his more violent offerings.
37. Is Greek? : IOTAS
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
39. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s middle name : ALOIS
The body-builder, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Graz in Austria, the son of the local police chief. Schwarzenegger’s family name translates into the more prosaic “black plough man”. In his bodybuilding days, he was often referred to as the Austrian Oak. When he was Governor of California he was called “the Governator”, a play on his role in the “The Terminator” series of movies.
41. Pea nut? : MENDEL
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk, and a scientist who achieved fame after his passing when his work in the field of genetics was rediscovered. The conclusions he drew from his studies of garden peas led to him earning the moniker “father of modern genetics”.
42. Phonograph stat : RPM
Revolutions per minute (rpm)
43. Inits. in some portfolios : IRA
Individual retirement account (IRA)
51. Aquafina rival : EVIAN
Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …
Aquafina is a Pepsico brand of bottled water. Aquafina is just plain old municipal water that has been purified.
53. Austen matchmaker : EMMA
Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel!
66. “___ Eyes” (Eagles hit) : LYIN’
The Eagles song “Lyin’ Eyes” was recorded in 1975. Written by band members Don Henley and Glenn Frey, the lyrics were inspired by a meeting between a man and a woman the composers witnessed in Dan Tana’s Bar & Restaurant in Los Angeles. Henley and Frey imagined a scenario of secret love, and “Lyin’ Eyes” was born.
67. Bacchanalia : ORGIES
A bacchanalia is a drunken spree, a term that derives from the ancient Roman festival held in honor of Bacchus, the god of winemaking.
69. Mass leader : PRIEST
The principal act of worship in the Roman Catholic tradition is the Mass. The term “Mass” comes from the Late Latin word “missa” meaning “dismissal”. This word is used at the end of the Latin Mass in “Ite, missa est” which translates literally as “Go, it is the dismissal”.
78. Repeated part of a five-mile hike? : LONG I
There are three long letters I in the phrase “five-mile hike”, one in each word.
82. Either of a pair of brothers in folklore : GRIMM
The Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm) were two German academics noted for collecting and publishing folk tales. Among the tales in their marvelous collection are “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella”.
88. “Rugrats” father : STU
“Rugrats” is a cartoon show that aired on Nickelodeon.
97. Sphinx, in part : LION
In Greek mythology, the creature known as the Sphinx has the body of a lion, the wings of a bird and the face of a woman. The Sphinx threatened to strangle and devour any person who could not answer a famous riddle: “Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?” Oedipus was able to save himself by answering correctly “Man”. The idea is that a man crawls on all fours as a baby, and then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. “Sphinx” is actually a Greek word, meaning “the strangler” …
99. Composer Debussy : CLAUDE
Claude Debussy is one of my favorite composers, one who epitomises the Romantic Era and Impressionist Movement in music. One of my favorite CDs is a collection of some “lighter” Debussy pieces called “Debussy for Daydreaming”, and what an evocative collection it is. Included are “Syrinx”, “Maid with the Flaxen Hair”, “Rêverie” and everyone’s favorite, “Clair de Lune”.
100. Boston athlete : CELTIC
The Boston Celtics NBA basketball team were founded just after WWII in 1946. The Celtics won eight league championships in a row from 1958 to 1966. That’s the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any professional sports team in North America.
101. Philatelist’s collection : STAMPS
“Philately” is the more formal name given to the practice of collecting postage stamps. The term “philately” was coined (in French, as “philatélie) in 1864 by French collector Georges Herpin. He came up with it from the Greek “phil-” meaning “loving” and “ateleia” meaning “exemption from tax”. Apparently “exemption from tax” was the closest thing Herpin could find to “postage stamp”.
102. Vernacular : PATOIS
“Patois” is a word that we imported from French, in which language it also means “native or local speech”.
105. TiVo, for one : DVR
TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
109. Sweetly, on a score : DOLCE
The musical term “dolce” instructs the performer to play “gently and sweetly”.
112. River through ancient Nubia : 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.
Nubia is a region shared by Egypt and Sudan that lies along the Nile river. The name “Nubia” comes from the Nuba people who settled in the area in the 4th century.
115. 365 giorni : ANNO
In Italian, there are “sette” (seven) “giorni” (days) in a week, and 356 in an “anno” (year).
116. Native Rwandan : HUTU
The Hutu are the largest population in Rwanda, with the Tutsi being the second largest. The bloody conflict that has existed between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples dates back to about 1880 when Catholic missionaries arrived in the region. The missionaries found that they had more success converting the Hutus than the Tutsi, and when the Germans occupied the area during WWI they confiscated Tutsi land and gave it to Hutu tribes in order to reward religious conversion. This injustice fuels fighting to this very day.
120. Electric bill unit: Abbr. : KWH
The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy, made up of the product of power (kilowatts – kW) and time (hour – h). We see “kWh” all the time, on our electricity bills.
121. Place for a bachelorette party : SPA
Back where I come from, bachelor parties are called stag parties, and bachelorette parties are hen parties.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Tripartite commerce pact : NAFTA
6. Nickname for Angel Stadium, with “the” : BIG A
10. Inspiration : IDEA
14. They might pop up in the morning : EGGOS
19. “Juno” actress Page : ELLEN
20. Visa alternatives : AMEX CARDS
22. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ZORRO
23. Most wanted : A-LIST
24. 1976 blaxploitation film that was a sequel to “Dolemite” : THE HUMAN TORNADO (hiding “Tornado”)
26. Fascinated : RAPT
27. Is overcome with emotion, with “up” : CHOKES
28. It has two poles : BAR MAGNET
29. Shelter : HARBOR
31. Tinder, for one : APP
33. Boor : ASS
34. “Poppycock!” : PAH!
35. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : CISCO KID
38. Marquis’s subordinate : EARL
41. Like flowers’ stamens : MALE
42. Made-for-TV western co-starring Travis Tritt : RIO DIABLO (hiding “Diablo”)
44. ___ king : A LA
45. Moriarty, to Holmes : FOE
47. Asked a lot of questions, say : PRIED
48. Vittles : EATS
50. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : LONE RANGER
55. Homes by churches : MANSES
57. “I’ll pass” : NAH
58. Detroit-area stadium that hosted Super Bowl XVI : SILVERDOME (hiding “Silver”)
59. Down in front? : SUB-
61. Disseminate : SOW
63. “Evidently” : SO IT SEEMS
64. French greeting : ALLO
68. Part of a set : REP
70. Oz figure, for short : WIZ
72. Third word of many limericks : WAS
73. Exam with a reading comprehension sect. : LSAT
74. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : ROY ROGERS
77. Hoedown partner : GAL
79. Pester : NAG
81. Setting off : TRIGGERING (hiding “Trigger”)
83. [Right in the kisser!] : POW!
85. Lament of the defeated : WE LOST
90. Job search time, maybe : SENIOR YEAR
91. Go postal : SNAP
93. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : TONTO
94. Dreyer’s ice cream partner : EDY
95. Go on a run? : SKI
96. Brownie, e.g. : GIRL SCOUT (hiding “Scout”)
98. Emails discreetly : BCCS
101. Check : STEM
102. Overdo the criticism, say : PILE IT ON
103. It may be brown or blonde : ALE
104. Santa Fe summer hrs. : MDT
106. Many a Wall St. recruit : MBA
108. Like a goner : DOOMED
110. Figure seen on [circled letters below] : DALE EVANS
114. Many a B.Y.U. attendee : UTAHAN
117. “Pick me! Pick me!” : OH OH!
119. Rich breakfast item : BUTTERMILK DONUT (hiding “Buttermilk”)
121. Played out : STALE
122. Fiat : EDICT
123. Collides hard with : PLOWS INTO
124. 48th vice president : PENCE
125. Modern-day problem solvers : TECHS
126. Meyers of late-night : SETH
127. In a foul mood : SOUR
128. Interjected : ADDED
Down
1. Close : NEAR
2. Prayer figure : ALLAH
3. Decide somehow by chance : FLIP A COIN
4. Offers at motorcycle dealerships : TEST RIDES
5. Pharaoh ___ : ANT
6. Luxury hotel amenity : BATHROBE
7. “Here’s what I think,” briefly : IMHO
8. Poindexter : GEEK
9. Something getting stuck in a trunk? : AX HEAD
10. Answer to “Are you …?” : I AM
11. Grayish : DRAB
12. “Hairspray” matriarch : EDNA
13. Kind of plane : ASTRAL
14. Vox co-founder Klein and others : EZRAS
15. Signal for dinner : GONG
16. White-bearded sort : GRANPA
17. Hell week, e.g. : ORDEAL
18. Assuage : SOOTHE
21. Point of transition : CUSP
25. Meditation syllables : OMS
27. South American cash crop : COCA
30. Cuts on the back? : B-SIDES
32. Wedding rings? : PEALS
36. Group lampooned in “Django Unchained” : KLAN
37. Is Greek? : IOTAS
39. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s middle name : ALOIS
40. Needed resupplying : RAN LOW
41. Pea nut? : MENDEL
42. Phonograph stat : RPM
43. Inits. in some portfolios : IRA
45. Woodworking tool : FRET SAW
46. Crew crew : OARS
49. Evince : SHOW
51. Aquafina rival : EVIAN
52. Attends : GOES
53. Austen matchmaker : EMMA
54. Breather : REST
56. It may leave you in stitches : SURGERY
60. Drunk : BEERY
62. Top secret? : WIG
64. Creative field : ARTS
65. It’s passed down : LORE
66. “___ Eyes” (Eagles hit) : LYIN’
67. Bacchanalia : ORGIES
69. Mass leader : PRIEST
71. Electrocutes : ZAPS
75. Hymn starter : O GOD …
76. Wind this way and that : SNAKE
78. Repeated part of a five-mile hike? : LONG I
80. Aggravates : GETS TO
82. Either of a pair of brothers in folklore : GRIMM
84. Act like a baby, maybe : WAIL
86. Moved, jocularly : LOCOMOTED
87. How you can count things up to five : ON ONE HAND
88. “Rugrats” father : STU
89. Rug rat : TOT
92. One looking to grab a bite? : PREDATOR
97. Sphinx, in part : LION
98. Probable money loser : BAD BET
99. Composer Debussy : CLAUDE
100. Boston athlete : CELTIC
101. Philatelist’s collection : STAMPS
102. Vernacular : PATOIS
104. Satisfies : MEETS
105. TiVo, for one : DVR
107. Amigos : BUDS
109. Sweetly, on a score : DOLCE
111. Mark indelibly : ETCH
112. River through ancient Nubia : NILE
113. Casino opening : SLOT
115. 365 giorni : ANNO
116. Native Rwandan : HUTU
118. Mind : HEED
120. Electric bill unit: Abbr. : KWH
121. Place for a bachelorette party : SPA