Day: June 1, 2024

Bill’s time: 20m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Five-star, as a hotel : POSHEST

No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

16 Title woman in a 1968 Turtles hit : ELENORE

The Turtles were a Californian rock band active in the late sixties. The biggest hit for the Turtles was 1967’s “Happy Together”.

18 Genetic variants : ALLELES

A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.

22 Flighty sorts, in two senses : SPACE CADETS

The expression “space cadet” is used to describe someone who is eccentric and disconnected from reality. It may even imply that the person is a user of hallucinogens. The phrase has been around since the sixties, and may be derived from the science fiction TV show “Tom Corbett, Space Cadet” that aired in the fifties.

24 When doubled, gung-ho : RAH

“Kung ho” is a Chinese expression meaning “work together, cooperate”. The anglicized version “gung-ho” was adopted by Major Evans Carlson as an expression of combined spirit for his 2nd Marine Raider Battalion during WWII. From there the term spread throughout the Marine Corps and back to America where it persists to this day.

26 Opening for a spell : ABRA-

The incantation “abracadabra” has a long history. It was used as far back as the 2nd century AD in ancient Rome when the word was prescribed by a physician to be worn on an amulet to help his emperor recover from disease. “Abracadabra” is Aramaic, and roughly translates as “I will create as I speak”.

27 Pastries popularized during the Hapsburg Empire : STRUDELS

Strudel is a layered pastry that is usually sweet. The word “strudel” means “whirlpool, eddy” in German.

34 Smallest country ever to win the FIFA World Cup : URUGUAY

The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the sport of soccer. The competition has been held every four years (excluding the WWII years) since the inaugural event held in Uruguay in 1930. The men’s World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, even outranking the Olympic Games. And, the women’s World Cup is fast catching up …

39 Small appetizer in Turkish cuisine : MEZE

Meze is a platter of small dishes served as appetizers in several Mediterranean locales.

40 I.C.U. standbys : RNS

A registered nurse (RN) might work in an intensive care unit (ICU).

41 Kitchen concern with an oxymoronic name : FREEZER BURN

The word “oxymoron” is in itself an oxymoron. It is derived from the Greek words “Oxys” and “moros” meaning “sharp” and “stupid” respectively.

50 Coach’s first name on “Cheers” : ERNIE

The wonderful sitcom “Cheers” ran for eleven seasons on NBC, from 1982 to 1993. “Cheers” spawned an equally successful spin-off show called “Frasier”, which also ran for eleven seasons and often featured guest appearances of characters from the original “Cheers”. The Cheers bar was styled on the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston (in which I’ve had a pint of Guinness or two!). The owner of the Bull & Finch cleverly agreed to the initial interior and exterior shots, charging only one dollar. Since then he has made millions from selling “Cheers” memorabilia, and also from increased trade.

51 Crunchy salad bit : CROUTON

A crouton is a small piece of toasted bread. The term “crouton” comes from the French “croûte” meaning “crust”.

52 In a coordinated fashion : EN MASSE

“En masse” is a French term, one that best translates as “as a group”

54 Excavation site since the Bronze Age : TIN MINE

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Compare this with bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Brass and bronze are often mistaken for each other.

Ancient societies can be classified by the “three-age system”, which depends on the prevalence of materials used to make tools. The three ages are:

• The Stone Age
• The Bronze Age
• The Iron Age

The actual dates defined by each age depend on the society, as the timing of the transition from the use of one material to another varied around the globe.

Down

1 Imagoes-to-be : PUPAS

A pupa is a stage in the life of some insects. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. Pupae can look like little dolls, hence the name. “Pupa” is the Latin for “doll”.

3 Company originally founded as Sleeper, Inc. : SERTA

Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:

• #1 The Leader of the Flock
• #½ The Tweener
• #13 Mr. Bad Luck
• #53 The Pessimist
• #86 Benedict Arnold

4 What a bull in a china shop causes : HAVOC

Havoc is great damage or destruction. The term “havoc” comes from the Anglo-French phrase “crier havok”, which was an order given in the late 1500s to soldiers, instructing them to seize plunder.

The idiom “like a bull in a china shop” has been around since the early 1800s.

9 Earmark : ALLOT

Political earmarks are provisions on bills that are inserted by an interested party to funnel funds towards a particular project or district. The earmark takes away from the Executive Branch the ability to manage certain funds associated with the bill that were meant to support the bill’s original intent.

10 Britons and others : CELTS

The Celtic Britons were the Celtic people who inhabited the island of Great Britain until the Middle Ages. They were the ancestors of the Welsh, Cornish and Breton peoples.

12 Animal on Greenland’s coat of arms : POLAR BEAR

Polar bears are close cousins of brown bears, and are thought to have evolved from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation. Most polar bears live north of the Arctic Circle, and live mainly on seals that they capture near the edge of ice floes.

Greenland is the largest island on the planet. Geographically, it is part of the continent of North America, but culturally and politically is considered part of Europe. The island became a Danish colony in 1815, and joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. Greenland withdrew from the EEC after a referendum in 1983. Since 2009, Greenland has been relatively autonomous, with the Danish government retaining control of foreign affairs, defense and the judicial system.

13 Queen’s style : ARENA ROCK

Arena rock (also “stadium rock” and “dad rock”) is rock music played in large arenas. It is a phenomenon that dates back to the British Invasion when successful bands like the Beatles played to large audiences in places such as Shea Stadium in New York.

Queen is an English rock band that formed back in 1970. With the help of lead singer Freddie Mercury (now deceased), Queen has a long list of great hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”. “Bohemian Rhapsody” spent a total of nine weeks at number one in the UK. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is also the title of an outstanding 2018 biographical film about the band.

21 They can be Horatian : ODES

A Horatian ode is one with a specific structure, one designed to resemble the odes of the Roman poet Horace.

One of ancient Rome’s leading lyric poets was Quintus Horatius Flaccus or “Horace”, as we tend to know him. Horace’s most famous work is probably his collection of Latin lyric poems titled “Carmina” (the Latin for “Odes”).

26 Brand for which Garfield was once a “spokescat” : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo dog food in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

29 Inscribed Viking monument : RUNESTONE

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

30 Some fur-lined slippers : UGGS

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

33 Global lending org. : 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., the IMF has 187 member countries.

35 Annual music event in the Big Easy : JAZZ FEST

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

42 River passing through Lake Geneva : RHONE

The Rhône river rises in Switzerland, passes through Lake Geneva, flows through the southeast of France, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Arles.

Lake Geneva straddles the border between France and Switzerland. The lake has a lot of “official” names!

• English: Lake Geneva
• French: Lac Léman or Lac de Genève
• German: Genfersee or Genfer See
• Italian: Lago Lemano or Lago di Ginevra

46 Verb in a Hemingway title : RISES

“The Sun Also Rises” was Ernest Hemingway’s first major novel, published in 1926. Hemingway originally titled the work “Fiesta”, and indeed it was originally published under this title outside of America. At the recommendation of the publisher, Scribner’s, the title was changed to “The Sun Also Rises”, taken from Ecclesiastes 1:5 “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.”

47 Exigencies : NEEDS

Something exigent is urgent, coming from the Latin “exigentia” meaning “urgency”.

49 Philosopher David who wrote “A Treatise of Human Nature” : HUME

David Hume was a philosopher and historian from Scotland. One of his greatest works is the massive “The History of England”, which was published in six volumes from 1754 to 1762. The massive tome covers the nation’s history from the Roman conquest of Britain led by Julius Caesar in 55 BCE, up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 that removed King James II from the throne and replaced him with William III and Mary II.