Day: September 17, 2023

Bill’s time: 19m 17s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Need for double Dutch : ROPE

Double Dutch is a skipping game that uses two jump ropes that are turned in opposite directions.

5 ___ avis : RARA

A “rara avis” is anything that is very rare. The Latin term translates as “rare bird”.

19 Popular pizza chain, familiarly : UNO’S

The chain of pizza parlors known today as Uno Chicago Grill used to be called Pizzeria Uno, or just “Uno’s”. Apparently, Uno’s created the world’s first deep-dish pizza.

21 Spirit of St. Louis, e.g. : PLANE

The Spirit of St. Louis is the single-engine plane that Charles Lindbergh used to make the first solo non-stop flight from New York to Paris, in 1927. Lindbergh made the journey of 3,600 miles in 33½ hours.

22 Half of a Muppet duo : ERNIE

Bert and Ernie are two of the most beloved Muppet characters on the children’s television program “Sesame Street.” Their characters were originally created by Jim Henson and his team to be different from each other in every way possible. Bert is the more serious, analytical and uptight one, while Ernie is more carefree, spontaneous and playful. The contrast between their personalities was intentional, as it was meant to help children learn about different personalities and how to get along with people who may be different from themselves.

23 URL starter : HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

24 Supplication to Ares (Plastic Ono Band) : GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotel in Amsterdam and then Montreal, when they staged their famous “bed-in” for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words “give peace a chance”. While still in bed, he composed his famous song “Give Peace a Chance” and even made the original recording of the song in the Montreal hotel room, with reporters present, and with a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit. Writing credit was initially given to Lennon-McCartney, as was the agreement between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Later versions of the song were credited just to Lennon, even though Lennon stated that Yoko Ono actually wrote the song with him.

The Plastic Ono Band was a so-called “super-group”, brought together by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969. Members of the group included John and Yoko, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Keith Moon.

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

28 Shows up in the afternoon? : MATINEES

“Matinée” is a French word used to describe a musical entertainment held during the daytime. “Matinée” is derived from the word “matin”, meaning “morning”, although here the term is used in the sense of “daylight”.

29 Figure skating jump : TOE LOOP

A toe loop is a relatively simple jump in figure skating (not that I could do one!). In a toe loop, the skater uses the toe pick on the skate to lift off on a backward outside edge, landing on the same backward outside edge.

32 Tell (on), informally : NARC

Back in the 1800s, “to nark” was “to act as a police informer”. The spelling of the term has started to evolve into “to narc”, due to the influence of the noun “narc”, slang for a narcotics officer. The ”nark” spelling is still used on the other side of the Atlantic.

33 Congregants’ seats : PEWS

A pew is a church bench, usually one with a high back. The original pews were raised and sometimes enclosed seats in the church used by women and important men or families. “Pew” comes from the Old French “puie” meaning “balcony, elevation”.

34 Warning to Icarus (The Beatles) : HERE COMES THE SUN

“Here Comes the Sun” is a song on the Beatles album “Abbey Road”. It is one of the few Beatles recordings that was written by George Harrison.

Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.

43 Iconic TV role for Lucy Lawless : XENA

The Xena character, played by New Zealander Lucy Lawless, was introduced in a made-for-TV movie called “Hercules and the Amazon Women”. Lawless reprised the role in a series called “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. Xena became so popular that a series was built around her character, with Lawless retained for the title role. The fictional Xena supposedly came from the “non-fictional” Greek city of Amphipolis.

44 No ___! : MAS

“No mas!” translates from Spanish as “no more!”.

45 Beef, maybe : FEUD

A beef is a complaint or a grievance. It’s not quite clear how “beef” came to have this meaning, but one suggestion is that it derives from the habit of soldiers at the end of the 1800s complaining about the quality or availability of beef in their rations.

49 The “I” of AIG: Abbr. : INTL

“AIG” is an initialism used by the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation. After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers starting in 2008, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I’d say …

52 Request to Prometheus (The Doors) : LIGHT MY FIRE

“Light My Fire” was released by the Doors in 1966, and recorded by Jose Feliciano as a Grammy-winning cover version in 1969. In one live performance by the Doors on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, the band agreed ahead of time to change the line “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” because of the drug reference. However, they sang the original words anyway, and were never asked back on the show. Ed Sullivan wouldn’t even shake Jim Morrison’s hand as he left the stage.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was one of the Titans. He was said to have created man from clay as well as giving fire to humanity, and hence allowing the human race to prosper.

56 Features of airports in Nevada : SLOTS

Slot machines earned the nickname “one-armed bandits” simply because they had “one arm”, the handle pulled to operate the machine. Well, they also rob your money!

61 Common city street hangouts : STOOPS

A stoop is a raised platform at the door of a house. “Stoop” came into American and Canadian English in the mid-1700s from the Dutch “stoep” meaning “flight of steps”.

63 London-based cosmetics giant : AVON

In 1886, a young man called David McConnell was selling books door-to-door. To enhance his sales numbers he was giving out free perfume to the ladies of the houses that he visited. Seeing as his perfume was more popular than his books, he founded the California Perfume Company in New York City and started manufacturing and selling across the country. The company name was changed to Avon in 1939, and the famous “Avon Calling” marketing campaign was launched in 1954.

64 Dior fragrance : J’ADORE

The fragrance “J’adore” was introduced in 1999 by Dior. The name “J’adore” is a pun on “Dior”.

66 Comment to Aphrodite (Roy Orbison) : OH, PRETTY WOMAN

“Oh, Pretty Woman” is a wonderful song co-written and recorded by Roy Orbison in 1964. The title was inspired by Orbison’s wife Claudette. One day Claudette interrupted her husband as he was talking to co-writer Bill Dees. Orbison asked his wife if she had enough cash, at which point Dees remarked, “A pretty woman never needs any money”.

As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male. The Roman equivalent of Aphrodite was Venus, and the equivalent of Eros was Cupid.

73 Olympic crafts since 1936 : CANOES

Canoe racing has been featured as a competition sport in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin There are two disciplines of canoeing in competition: slalom and sprint. Slalom is an event in which competitors navigate a course of gates that are placed in a river. Sprint is an event in which competitors race over a fixed distance on a calm body of water.

80 Vegetable that looks like a portmanteau of two other vegetables (but isn’t!) : PARSNIPS

The name “parsnip” looks like a portmanteau of “parsley” and “turnip”, but it isn’t.

83 First name in cosmetics : ESTEE

Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales “volume” …

84 Criticism of Narcissus (Carly Simon) : YOU’RE SO VAIN

“You’re So Vain” is a Carly Simon song that was released in 1972. The song is about a self-absorbed man and is supposedly one of Simon’s former lovers. The subject of the song has led to much speculation for decades. Simon agreed to reveal the name of the subject to the highest bidder in a charity auction in 2003. The president of NBC Sports Dick Ebersol won that auction, and he has pledged never to reveal what he was told. Simon did allow him to give one clue to the public, that the name contains the letter E.

Narcissus was a proud and vain hunter in Greek mythology. He earned himself a fatal punishment, falling in love with his own reflection in a pool. So, taken was he by his own image that he could not leave it, and wasted away and died by the pool. Narcissus gives us our term “narcissism” meaning “excessive love of oneself”.

86 Crème ___ crème : DE LA

The crème de la crème are the elite, the best of the best. The term “crème de la crème” is French, and translates as “cream of the cream”.

90 Envy, e.g. : SIN

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Pride
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony

93 Van ___ & Arpels (jeweler) : CLEEF

Van Cleef & Arpels is a jewelry, watch and perfume company that is based in France. The company was founded by Charles Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef, back in 1906 in Paris.

95 Entreaty to Hades (Electric Light Orchestra) : DON’T BRING ME DOWN

“Don’t Bring Me Down” is the biggest hit that the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) had in the US. The song was dedicated to NASA’s Skylab, which reentered the earth’s orbit in 1979, the same year the song was released.

Hades was the god of the underworld to the ancient Greeks. Over time, Hades gave his name to the underworld itself, the place where the dead reside. The term “Hades” was also adopted into the Christian tradition, as an alternative name for hell. But, the concept of hell in Christianity is more akin to the Greek “Tartarus”, which is a dark and gloomy dungeon located in Hades, a place of suffering and torment.

105 Actress Chaplin : OONA

Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

114 Congratulations to Eos (Cat Stevens) : MORNING HAS BROKEN

“Morning Has Broken” is a 1972 recording by English singer Yusuf Islam (then “Cat Stevens”). The song is a Christian hymn that was first published in 1931, with words set to a traditional Scots Gaelic tune “Bunessan”.

In Greek mythology, Eos was the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. The Roman equivalent of Eos was Aurora. Rather delightfully, Homer referred to Eos as “rosy-fingered dawn” in both “Iliad” and “Odyssey”.

121 Lackluster : FLAT

Something described as lackluster is dull, it “lacks luster”. The term “lack-luster” was probably coined by the Bard himself. William Shakespeare used is in his play “As You Like It”, which was probably written in 1599:

And then he drew a dial from his poke
And, looking on it with lackluster eye,
Says very wisely, “It is ten o’clock.

125 ___ Daly, “Cagney & Lacey” co-star : TYNE

Actress Tyne Daly really came into the public eye playing Detective Lacey in “Cagney and Lacey”. From 1999 to 2005, Daly played the mother of the title character in the TV show “Judging Amy”.

“Cagney & Lacey” is a police drama that originally aired in the 1980s. The title characters are two NYPD detectives with very different lives off the force. Christine Cagney, portrayed for six seasons by Sharon Gless, is a career-focused single woman. Mary Beth Lacy, portrayed by Tyne Daly, is a working mother. As an aside, Sharon Gless ended up marrying one of the show’s producers in 1991.

Down

1 Exclamation from Astro on “The Jetsons” : RUH-ROH

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

4 In particular, in shorthand : ESP

Especially (esp.)

5 Ribbed pasta : RIGATONI

Rigatoni is a tubular pasta that is relatively short, and with ridges along its length. The name “rigatoni” comes from the Italian “rigato” meaning “ridged, lined”.

7 Dodger Stadium is built on one : RAVINE

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is the third oldest stadium currently used in Major League Baseball (after Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago). It is also the largest MLB stadium by seating capacity, with a total capacity of 56,000.

11 Fond du ___, Wis. : LAC

“Fond du lac” is French and translates as “bottom of the lake”. It is an apt name for the Wisconsin city of Fond du Lac, located at the foot of Lake Winnebago. If you like to play the lottery, you might want to stop off in Fond du Lac as there is a stretch of South Main Street called “Miracle Mile”. Back in 1993, someone bought a ticket there and won $100 million. Then in 2006, another store sold a ticket that won $209 million. These things always come in threes, so buy your tickets now …

12 Representation of January : ONE

January is the first month of our Gregorian calendar. It is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions.

16 A, as in ancient history? : ANNO

The Latin word for year is “annus” (plural “anni”). We often see it used in Latin phrases, but usually with a different spelling. In “anno Domini”, the “anno” is the ablative case of “annus” as the phrase means “in the year of the Lord”. Another example is “per annum”, in which “annum” is the accusative case as the literal translation of the phrase is “during the year”.

17 Having a lot of dinero : RICO

In Spanish, someone might be “rica” (rich), “como una mujer con mucho dinero” (like a woman with a lot of money).

28 “Optical” accessories : MICE

Thank goodness for the invention of the optical mouse. The old wheeled mouse, although it was a great device in its day, is prone to slipping on the wrong surface and clogs up with dirt. An optical mouse is the next level of technology and uses a light emitting diode and photo-diodes to detect motion.

37 Solomon, for one : SAGE

According to the Bible, Solomon was the son of David and a king of Israel. Notably, Solomon is described as being very wise. In the story known as “the Judgment of Solomon”, Solomon was asked to decide which of two quarreling women was the mother of a baby. He suggested that they cut the baby in two with a sword, forcing one of the women to surrender the child rather than see it die. Solomon gave the child to the woman who showed compassion.

40 Highlight, in a way : REITERATE

The verb “to iterate” means to repeat over again. The verb “reiterate” means the same thing. One might suspect that “reiterate” is one of those words that has crept into the language due to repeated (reiterated?!) misuse. Well, that’s not quite the case, but close. Back in the 1400s, “iterate” meant “repeat”, and “reiterate” meant “repeat again and again”. We lost the distinction between those two definitions over time.

54 Big name in auto parts : MIDAS

The chain of auto service centers called Midas was established in 1956 as the Muffler Installation Dealers’ Associated Service (MIDAS).

55 De Carlo who played Lily Munster : YVONNE

Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-American actress with a string of appearances in Hollywood movies in the forties and fifties. In the sixties, she turned to television, playing Lily Munster on the comedy show “The Munsters”.

62 What a cordwainer makes : SHOES

A cordwainer is a specialist shoemaker, one who makes luxury footwear especially from fine soft leather. Centuries ago, a cordwainer made luxury shoes and boots, whereas the craftsman who repaired said footwear was called a “cobbler”.

64 ___ and the Pussycats (fictional band) : JOSIE

“Josie and the Pussycats” is a comic book aimed at teens, published from 1963 to 1982. The title characters are an all-female rock band.

71 Its first store was in Älmhult, Smaland : IKEA

IKEA provides play areas for children in its stores. Those areas are called “Småland”, which is the name of the historical province in southern Sweden where IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was born and raised.

77 Nuevo Hampshire, por ejemplo : ESTADO

In Spanish, examples of an “estado” (state) are “Nueva York” (New York) and “Nuevo Hampshire” (New Hampshire).

81 “___ Misbehavin'” : AIN’T

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a song written in 1929 by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf. Waller was the first to record the song, quickly followed by six other artists that same year. The song also provided the title for a successful stage musical that premiered in 1978.

85 Letters on a Cognac bottle : VSOP

Cognac is a famous variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac in the very west of France. To be called “Cognac”, the brandy must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in very specific French oak barrels.

Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine. The term “brandy” ultimately comes from the Dutch “gebrande wijn” meaning “burnt wine”. The length of this aging of the spirit defines the various grades of brandy:

• VS: Very Special … at least 2 years storage
• VSOP: Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale … at least 4 years storage
• XO: Extra Old … at least 6 years
• VSO: Very Superior Old … 12-17 years

87 Radii, e.g. : ARM BONES

The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinky-side”.

92 Univ. sessions : SEMS

“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We use the term in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester-system has three parts, and a quarter-system has four.

99 Item in a table setting : NAPKIN

Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.

101 Certain polytheist : WICCAN

Wicca is a relatively new phenomenon. It is a Neopagan religion that developed in the twentieth century. Typically, followers of Wicca worship one goddess and one god, namely the Moon Goddess and the Horned God. A follower of Wicca is called a Wiccan or a Witch.

A polytheist is a person who believes in many deities, with the opposite being a monotheist, someone who believes in one god. The ancient Greeks and Romans were polytheists.

104 Pres. Biden, once : SEN

Future President Joe Biden was a US Senator representing the state of Delaware from 1973 until he joined the Obama administration. While he was a senator, Vice President Biden commuted to Washington from Wilmington, Delaware almost every working day. He was such an active customer and supporter of Amtrak that the Wilmington Station was renamed as the Joseph R. Biden Railroad Station in 2011. Biden has made over 7,000 trips from that station, and the Amtrak crews were known to even hold the last train for a few minutes so that he could catch it. Biden earned himself the nickname “Amtrak Joe”.

108 ___ Linda, Calif. : LOMA

Loma Linda is a city in California located not far from Los Angeles. The name Loma Linda translates from Spanish as “Beautiful Hill”.

110 Condo, e.g. : UNIT

The terms “condominium” and “apartment” tend to describe the same type of residential property, namely a private living space with facilities shared with others residing in the same building or complex. The difference is that a condominium is usually owned, and an apartment is rented. At least that’s how it is in the US. The word “condominium” comes from the Latin “com-” (together) and “dominum” (right of ownership).

115 2001 computer : HAL

In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for “Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer”. Even though Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.