Category: Alex Vratsanos

Bill’s time: 24m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Enfants terribles : IMPS

An “enfant terrible”, French for “terrible child”, is one who embarrasses his or her parents with untimely candid remarks.

14 Detective in high-grossing films of 1984, 1987 and 1994 : AXEL FOLEY

“Beverly Hills Cop” is a fun, 1984 action comedy movie starring Eddie Murphy as Detroit cop Axel Foley who heads to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of a friend. The film was the biggest hit of 1984 at the box office, and spawned two sequels.

16 Weapon now known as an LGM-118 Peacekeeper : MX MISSILE

The correct name for the MX missile is the LGM-118A Peacekeeper. The MX is a land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. There were 50 deployed in total, and all are deactivated now.

19 “And that’s proof enough” : QED

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

21 Dir. from the Music City to the Motor City : NNE

The Tennessee city of Nashville was founded in 1779 near a stockade in the Cumberland River valley called Fort Nashborough. Both the settlement and the fort were named for General Francis Nash, a war hero who died in combat during the American Revolution.

The city of Detroit was founded in 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French explorer. The original settlement was named for the Detroit River, which in turn takes its name from the French word “détroit” meaning “strait”. Detroit became inextricably linked with the automotive business from the very early 20th century when Henry Ford and others set up manufacturing in the area. This link to transportation led to Detroit’s nicknames “Motor City” and “Motown”. The city’s economic strength declined at the beginning of the 21st century, resulting in a 25% drop in population between 2000 and 2010. Detroit filed for the country’s largest municipal bankruptcy in history in 2013, facing a debt of $18.8 billion. The city exited bankruptcy at the end of 2014.

30 “Toy Story 3” villain, for short : LOTSO

Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (nicknamed “Lotso”) is the main antagonist in the Pixar movie “Toy Story 3”. Voiced by Ned Beatty, Lotso is revealed to be a ruthless prison warden holding the toys captive in the Sunnyside Daycare Center.

32 Club ___ Wan (where “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” opens) : OBI

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is the second in the series of “Indiana Jones” movies, although the story is written as a prequel to the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

39 Blood of the gods : ICHOR

Ichor is a golden fluid that is the blood of the gods in Greek mythology.

41 America’s longest-serving first lady, familiarly : ELEANOR

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the daughter of Elliot, brother to President Theodore Roosevelt. Eleanor met Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was her father’s fifth cousin, in 1902. The two started “walking out together” the following year after they both attended a White House dinner with President Theodore Roosevelt.

42 Fixtures at rodeos : BARRELS

Barrel racing is an event featured in rodeos. Competitors on horses race around barrels in a cloverleaf pattern, each trying to complete the course in the fastest time. The event tends to be confined to male and female youths, and to women riders.

46 2/19/45 invasion site, informally : IWO

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since. Control of the island was wrested from the Japanese in the five-week Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Said battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater in WWII.

47 Neighborhood near Tarzana : ENCINO

Encino is a district in the City of Los Angeles on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains. The area takes its name from a historic parcel of land called Rancho Los Encinos (Ranch of the Oak Trees).

Tarzana is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles. The community was developed on the site of a former ranch that was owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Burroughs wrote the popular “Tarzan” series of novels, and named his property Tarzana Ranch. Sadly, Tarzana’s history includes racial segregation and privilege for the white population. This was instigated by Burroughs himself, who marketed the community he developed back in the 1920s using British imperial themes.

50 Football datum: Abbr. : INT

Interception (INT)

53 Driven, say : TYPE-A

The Type-A and Type-B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labeled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type-A personality types are so-called “stress junkies”, whereas Type Bs are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type-A personality and heart problems.

54 Written in it this clue is : YODA-SPEAK

In the “Star Wars” series of films, the character named Yoda has a unique speech pattern. He often uses the word order object-subject-verb. For example:

• Patience you must have …
• Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
• To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not.

57 Arrived at by ballot : ELECTED TO

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper or equivalent used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

Down

1 Jon of Disney’s “Million Dollar Arm” : HAMM

Jon Hamm lived the life of a struggling actor for quite some time before he hit gold with a starring role in the AMC drama “Mad Men”. He plays the main character, advertising executive and man about town Don Draper.

2 Gas giant : EXXONMOBIL

The Exxon Corporation was a descendant of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Exxon merged with Mobil (yet another descendant of Standard Oil) in 1999 to form ExxonMobil.

5 Puff pieces? : EFS

The last two “pieces” of the word “puff” are letters F (efs).

6 House of worship : MOSQUE

The largest mosque in the world is Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, sometimes referred to in English as the Sacred Mosque or the Grand Mosque. Al-Masjid Al-Haram is home to the Kaaba, the most sacred location in Islam. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba when performing formal worship known as Salat.

7 Weaver’s work? : ALIENS

“Aliens” is a 1986 sequel to the very successful science-fiction movie “Alien” released in 1979. “Aliens” was filmed at Pinewood Studios in England, and at the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in London. The film was directed by James Cameron, and starred Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley from “Alien”.

Actress Sigourney Weaver was born Susan Weaver in New York City. She chose the stage name “Sigourney” from Mrs. Sigourney Howard, a minor character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby”. After playing a few minor roles in major films, Weaver’s big break came with the lead in the 1979 blockbuster “Alien”.

8 Heroine in a legendary franchise : ZELDA

“The Legend of Zelda” is a whole series of video games. First released in 1986, I hear that it is very successful …

10 Unofficial 1984 Olympics anthem : I LOVE LA

The 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles. The event was boycotted by 14 Eastern Bloc countries in retaliation for the US’s boycott of the prior 1980 Summer Olympics hosted by Moscow. The boycotting countries held a competing event around the same time that was dubbed the Friendship Games.

13 Liquor brand in a blue bottle : SKYY

Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

20 A.1., for one : SAUCE

The original A.1. steak sauce comes from a recipe created for King George IV of England by one of his personal chefs in 1824. King George declared it to be “A.1.”, and the rest is history.

25 Get wildly enthusiastic : GO BANANAS

The expression “to go bananas”, meaning “to become excited or angry”, is one that I would have imagined had a clear etymology but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A further surprise is that we’ve only been “going bananas” since the sixties, the days of flower power. One apt theory about the hippy roots of the phrase is that there was an unfounded belief that ingesting roasted banana peels had a similar hallucinogenic effect as magic mushrooms.

28 Sound off on? : ECHOLOCATE

Echolocation, when used by animals, is known as biosonar. The best-known example of an animal using biosonar is probably the bat, although not all species of bat use sounds to locate objects.

34 From conception : AB OVO

“Ab ovo” translates literally from Latin as “from the egg”, and is used in English to mean “from the beginning”.

35 High-sided boat : DORY

A dory is a small boat that’s around 20 feet long with a shallow draft, a flat bottom and a sharp bow. Dories are commonly used for fishing.

38 Like “Duck Soup,” it’s said, among all Marx Brothers films : ZANIEST

Something described as zany is clownish and bizarre. “Zany” can also be a noun, a term used for a clown or buffoon. The original noun was “Zanni”, a Venetian dialect variant of Gianni, short for Giovanni (John). Zanni was a character who appeared in comedy plays of the day, and was someone who aped the principal actors.

“Duck Soup” is a Marx Brothers film that was released in 1933. There were four Marx Brothers in the cast for this film: Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo. It was to be the last film for Zeppo, who then headed off on a second career as an engineer and then a theatrical agent.

42 Pub crawl and then some : BENDER

The terms “jag” and “bender” describe periods of unrestrained activity, particularly those involving alcohol. Both words have been in use since the 1800s.

45 Davis of film : VIOLA

Actress Viola Davis is probably best known on the small screen for playing the lead in the drama “How to Get Away with Murder”. On the big screen, I’d say that her most famous role is the starring role in the 2011 film “The Help”. Davis is one of the few EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) and is the only African-American to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (a competitive Oscar, Emmy and Tony).

48 “Wedding Bell Blues” songwriter Laura : NYRO

“Wedding Bell Blues” is a 1966 song by Laura Nyro. A cover version by the 5th Dimension was a hit in 1969.

49 Figures in an audit, in brief : CPAS

Certified public accountant (CPA)

52 Ring decisions, for short : TKOS

Technical knockout (TKO)

54 Material for Voldemort’s wand and Robin Hood’s bow : YEW

Yew is the wood of choice for the longbow, a valued weapon in the history of England. The longbow is constructed with a core of yew heartwood (as the heartwood resists compression) that has a sheath of yew sapwood (as the sapwood resists stretching). The yew was in such demand for longbows that for centuries yew trees were in short supply in Britain and the wood had to be imported from all over Europe.

Lord Voldemort (born “Tom Marvolo Riddle”) is the main “bad guy” in the “Harry Potter” series of books. I heard the author, J. K. Rowling, on the radio some time back and she tells us that “Voldemort” is supposed to be pronounced with a silent “t” on the end, so it sounds kind of French. But when the movies came out the actors went with the hard “t”, and that’s the pronunciation that seems to prevail now. It seems to be generally accepted that Rowling chose the name from the French “vol de mort” meaning “flight of death”.

Robin Hood is a figure from English folklore, celebrated in story and song. Some stories suggest that Robin Hood the outlaw was actually a real nobleman, the Earl of Huntingdon. Robin Hood’s famous companion was Maid Marian. Interestingly, the legend of Maid Marian (full name Lady Marian of Leaford) had been around for centuries before she became associated with Robin Hood starting in the 1700s.

55 Pou ___ (vantage point) : STO

“Pou sto” is Greek, meaning “where I may stand”. The phrase has its roots in words spoken by Archimedes, who said that he could move the earth if given a place to stand. In contemporary use, it describes a place on which to stand, or a basis of operation.