Category: Daniel Landman

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Expressions of frustration abroad : ACHS
The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

5. Key of Mozart’s last piano concerto : B-FLAT
The last piano concerto that Mozart composed was Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major. It was first performed in 1791, which was the year the composer passed away.

14. 2013-’14 N.B.A. All-Star Joakim ___ : NOAH
Professional basketball player Joakim Noah is a citizen of the US, Sweden and France, as he was born in New York City to a French father and Swedish mother. Noah’s parents are celebrities in their own rights. Yannick Noah is a former world no. 3 tennis player, and Cécilia Rodhe was Miss Sweden in 1978.

15. Peanut-butter-and-chocolate innovator H. B. ___ : REESE
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese. Peanut Butter Cups were originally called penny cups, reflecting the price at which they were sold. Then inflation took over, and maybe that’s why they were broken into smaller “pieces” …

16. Record for later viewing, maybe : TIVO
TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful DVR (Digital Video Recorder).

17. Spanish lady : DONA
In Spain, a title of respect for men is “Don”. The equivalent female title is “Dona”.

18. Resident of 123 Sesame Street : ERNIE
Back in 1966, the Carnegie Institute allocated money to study the use of television to help young children prepare for school. The institute gave an $8million grant to set up the Children’s Television Workshop with the task of creating an educational TV program for young people. The program began to come together, especially after Jim Henson (of Muppet fame) got involved. The name “Sesame Street” was chosen simply because it was the “least disliked” of all names proposed just before the program went on the air.

19. Midmonth day : IDES
There were three important days in each month of the old Roman calendar. These days originally depended on the cycles of the moon but were eventually “fixed” by law. “Kalendae” were the first days of each month, originally the days of the new moon. “Nonae” were originally the days of the half moon. And “idus” (the ides) was originally the day of the full moon, eventually fixed at the 15th day of a month. Well, actually the ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October. For all other months, the ides fell on the 13th. Go figure …

20. ELK, geometrically, in the finished puzzle : RIGHT TRIANGLE
A right triangle is one that includes a right angle (i.e. 90 degrees).

27. Limey’s drink : GROG
Edward Vernon was a naval officer with the nickname “Old Grog”. In 1740, Vernon ordered that the daily ration of rum for his sailors should be watered down, in order to reduce discipline problems caused by drunkenness. The diluted rum was sweetened with sugar, and lemon or lime added to help preserve it on long voyages. This recipe, found to reduce scurvy among sailors (because of the citrus) spread throughout the Royal Navy, and “grog” was born.

“Limey” is a slang nickname for someone from Britain, and is a term used in particular by people from North America and Australia. “Limey” is thought to be short for “lime juicer”, an insulting phrase used to describe Royal Navy sailors who were given lime and lemon juice while at sea to help stave off scurvy.

28. EARL, geometrically : TRAPEZOID
A trapezoid is a four-sided shape in which at least one pair of sides are parallel.

32. Quiet : MUM
The phrase “mum’s the word” has been around since the early 1700s. “Mum” has been used to mean “silent” for centuries, the idea being that “mum” is the sound made when the lips are tightly sealed.

34. ___-lacto-vegetarian : OVO
A lacto-ovo vegetarian is someone who does not consume meat or fish, but does eat eggs (ovo) and dairy (lacto) products.

35. Europe’s highest volcano : ETNA
Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius.

39. ELK, EARL, LEAK or GEAR, geometrically : POLYGON
The suffix -gon comes from the Greek word “gonia” meaning “angle” or “knee”. So, a polygon has many “angles”. An octagon has eight angles or sides, for example.

43. Some nest eggs, briefly : IRAS
Individual retirement account (IRA)

46. Like Twizzlers : RED
Twizzlers candy has been produced since 1845, although back then the only flavor available was licorice. My wife is addicted to strawberry Twizzlers. Can’t stand the stuff myself …

54. “Wake Up With Al” co-host : ROKER
Al Roker is best known as the meteorologist on the “Today” show on NBC. He has successfully branched out from that platform though, and even co-wrote a novel called “The Morning Show Murders”, about a celebrity chef and TV host who get entangled in mystery. Topical stuff …

58. GEAR, geometrically : PARALLELOGRAM
A parallelogram is a quadrilateral in which the opposite sides are parallel.

68. “99 Luftballons” singer : NENA
Nena is a German singer (“Nena” became the name of her band as well) who had a big hit with one of my favorite songs of the eighties “99 Luftballons”. The English translation of the German title (“99 Red Balloons”) isn’t literal, with the color “red” added just so that the title had the right number of syllables for the tune. “Luftballon” is the name given to a child’s toy balloon in German.

71. Halves of an old item? : EXES
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

Down
1. Mixing male and female characteristics, slangily : ANDRO
“Andro-” is a prefix meaning male, as in androgen, a steroid hormone that controls the development of masculine characteristics.

3. Jet setting : HANGAR
“Hangar” is a French word for “shed”. The French first started using the term for a “shed for airplanes” in the very early 1900s.

4. Iran, formerly : SHAHDOM
The last Shah of Iran was Mohammed-Reza Shah Pahlavi, as he was overthrown in the revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. The post-revolution government sought the extradition of the Shah back to Iran while he was in the United States seeking medical care (he had cancer). His prolonged stay in the United States, recovering from surgery, caused some unrest back in Iran and resentment towards the United States. Some say that this resentment precipitated the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran and the resulting hostage crisis.

5. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George : BRETT
George Brett played his entire professional baseball career with the Kansas City Royals. Brett made more hits than any other third baseman in Major League history.

7. Director Riefenstahl : LENI
Leni Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer. She was a noted figure moving in Adolf Hitler’s circle, and her most famous film was a propaganda piece called “Triumph of Will”. “Triumph of the Will” documents the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. We’ve all probably seen many excerpts, shots of huge crowds, Nazis marching with flags, and frenzied speeches from Hitler. Riefenstahl was arrested after the war and detained for a number of years but never found guilty of any crime. She lived a long life, a very long life. She was married for the second time in 2003, at the age of 101 years. She died just a few weeks later, as she had been suffering from cancer.

9. First-time voter, often : TEEN
The minimum age of voters was called out in the US Constitution when it was passed in 1787. This was set at 21 years, but applied to only white male property owners. The minimum age of voters was lowered in the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution in 1971 as a response to student activism. Young people at that time were frustrated that they were mature enough to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, yet were not considered mature enough to vote in elections.

12. D-Day minus one : EVE
The most famous D-Day in history was June 6, 1944, the date of the Normandy landings in WWII. The term “D-Day” is used by the military to designate the day on which a combat operations are to be launched, especially when the actual date has yet to be determined. What D stands for seems to have been lost in the mists of time although the tradition is that D just stands for “Day”. In fact, the French have a similar term, “Jour J” (Day J), with a similar meaning. We also use H-Hour to denote the hour the attack is to commence.

22. Verizon forerunner : GTE
GTE was a rival to AT&T, the largest of the independent competitors to the Bell System. GTE merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form the company that we know today as Verizon.

25. Article in Die Zeit : EINE
“Die Zeit” is the most widely read, weekly newspaper in Germany. It was first published soon after after in the end of WWII, in February of 1946. “Zeit” is the German word for “time”.

26. Neb. neighbor : SDAK
The Dakotas were admitted into the union in 1889, along with Montana and Washington. There was a famous rivalry between North and South Dakota, and some jockeying to determine which of the two’s admission papers should be signed first. President Harrison solved the problem by directing that the papers of all four states should be shuffled, and he signed them without recording the order.

29. 5-Down, for his entire career : ROYAL
The Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team was founded in 1969. The team takes its name from the American Royal, a livestock show and rodeo held annually in Kansas City since 1899.

36. Line to Penn Sta. :  LIRR
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the commuter rail service that runs all over Long Island, New York with 124 stations and 700 miles of track. More people use the LIRR than any other commuter railroad in the US. It is also the only commuter railroad in the country that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

38. Lumbago : BACK PAIN
Lumbago is pain in the lower back. The name “lumbago” is a Late Latin term describing a “weakness of the loins and lower back”. The term comes from the Latin “lumbus” meaning “loin”.

41. Dead: Prefix : NECRO-
The prefix “necro-” means “the dead, corpse, dead tissue”, ultimately deriving from the Greek “nekros” meaning “corpse”.

44. Bear’s Wall Street partner : STEARNS
New York investment bank Bear Stearnswas one of the institutions that collapsed in the financial meltdown of 2008, and was then sold off to JPMorgan Chase.

49. Flight board abbr. : ARR
Arrival (arr.)

53. Puppet lady of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” : ELAINE
The “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” TV show starred Fred Rogers. It was the second longest running series on PBS television after that other iconic children’s show “Sesame Street”. Fred Rogers played many puppet characters on the show, including a cranky female called Lady Elaine Fairchild who runs the Museum-Go-Round.

57. Some fitness centers : YMCAS
The YMCA is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

59. Unaccounted for : AWOL
The Military Police (MPs) are concerned with personnel who go AWOL (Absent Without Leave).

60. Put on board : LADE
The verb “lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. Lade also used to mean “to draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

61. “___ Rose” (song from “The Music Man”) : LIDA
“The Music Man” is a musical by Meredith Willson. The show was a big hit on Broadway in 1957. “The Music Man” won the first ever Grammy Award for the “Best Original Cast Album”.

62. ___-Magnon : CRO
Remains of early man, dating back to 35,000 years ago, were found in Abri de Cro-Magnon in southwest France, giving the name to those early humans. Cro-Magnon remains are the oldest human relics that have been discovered in Europe.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Expressions of frustration abroad : ACHS
5. Key of Mozart’s last piano concerto : B-FLAT
10. Accustomed (to) : USED
14. 2013-’14 N.B.A. All-Star Joakim ___ : NOAH
15. Peanut-butter-and-chocolate innovator H. B. ___ : REESE
16. Record for later viewing, maybe : TIVO
17. Spanish lady : DONA
18. Resident of 123 Sesame Street : ERNIE
19. Midmonth day : IDES
20. ELK, geometrically, in the finished puzzle : RIGHT TRIANGLE
23. At dinner for two, say : ON A DATE
24. Trident points : TINES
27. Limey’s drink : GROG
28. EARL, geometrically : TRAPEZOID
32. Quiet : MUM
34. ___-lacto-vegetarian : OVO
35. Europe’s highest volcano : ETNA
36. Easy question : LOB
39. ELK, EARL, LEAK or GEAR, geometrically : POLYGON
42. Cartoon yelp : EEK!
43. Some nest eggs, briefly : IRAS
45. Not quite the majors : AAA
46. Like Twizzlers : RED
48. LEAK, geometrically : RECTANGLE
51. Yacht spot : COVE
54. “Wake Up With Al” co-host : ROKER
55. For the most part : LARGELY
58. GEAR, geometrically : PARALLELOGRAM
62. Give a grilling? : CHAR
64. Dispense with : WAIVE
65. Ear-related : OTIC
66. Symbol of authority : REIN
67. Quirkier : ODDER
68. “99 Luftballons” singer : NENA
69. Excels over, in slang : OWNS
70. Inclined : LEANT
71. Halves of an old item? : EXES

Down
1. Mixing male and female characteristics, slangily : ANDRO
2. Whispering sweet nothings : COOING
3. Jet setting : HANGAR
4. Iran, formerly : SHAHDOM
5. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George : BRETT
6. Find (out) : FERRET
7. Director Riefenstahl : LENI
8. ___-Pacific : ASIA
9. First-time voter, often : TEEN
10. Avail oneself of : UTILIZE
11. Incidental remark : SIDE NOTE
12. D-Day minus one : EVE
13. Commendable activities : DOS
21. Advice to a base runner : TAG UP
22. Verizon forerunner : GTE
25. Article in Die Zeit : EINE
26. Neb. neighbor : SDAK
29. 5-Down, for his entire career : ROYAL
30. Mean: Abbr. : AVG
31. D : POOR
33. Spooky sound : MOAN
36. Line to Penn Sta. : LIRR
37. Non-fruit smoothie flavor : OREO
38. Lumbago : BACK PAIN
40. Jet ___ : LAG
41. Dead: Prefix : NECRO-
44. Bear’s Wall Street partner : STEARNS
47. Darn : DOGGONE
49. Flight board abbr. : ARR
50. Nearing midnight : ELEVEN
52. What each of this puzzle’s circled squares represents : VERTEX
53. Puppet lady of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” : ELAINE
56. Red flag, maybe : ALERT
57. Some fitness centers : YMCAS
59. Unaccounted for : AWOL
60. Put on board : LADE
61. “___ Rose” (song from “The Music Man”) : LIDA
62. ___-Magnon : CRO
63. Chop down : HEW

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