Category: Erik Agard

Bill’s time: 8m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Ruh-___!” (Astro’s “Yikes!”): 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.

14 918 or 539, on the Cherokee Nation: AREA CODE

Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then, the “clicks” one heard when dialing a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 312.

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma are descended from the Old Cherokee Nation that was forced to relocate from the Southeast in the late 1830s on the infamous Trail of Tears. Today’s Cherokee Nation numbers about 300,000 people, with almost two thirds of that population living in Oklahoma.

26 Purveyor of pampering: SPA

Our words “provide” and “purvey” have similar meanings, and both derive from the Latin verb “providere” meaning “to supply”.

43 Currency common to Cyprus and Croatia: EURO

The Cypriot pound was named for the pound sterling, which the British introduced on the island in 1879. The Cypriot pound broke parity with the pound sterling some twelve years after Cyprus gained independence from the UK in 1960. Today’s Republic of Cyprus replaced the Cypriot pound with the euro in 2008. However, the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continues to use the Turkish lira, which was introduced following a unilateral declaration of independence for that part of the island in 1983.

The Republic of Croatia is a Balkan country. The Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia became a member of NATO in 2009, and a member of the European Union in 2013.

48 Damascus is its capital: SYRIA

Damascus is the second largest city in Syria (after Aleppo), and is the country’s capital. Damascus has the distinction of being the oldest, continuously-inhabited city in the world, having been settled in the 2nd millennium BC. Also, it has the nickname “City of Jasmine”.

49 ___ kwon do: TAE

Tae kwon do is the national sport of Korea. “Tae” means “to strike or break with foot”; “kwon” means “to strike or break with fist”; “do” means “way” or “art”. Along with judo, tae kwon do is one of only two martial arts included in the Olympic Games.

54 “not gonna lie lol …”: TBH …

To be honest (TBH)

63 ___ Major (bear constellation): URSA

The constellation Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call it back in Ireland, the “plough”. The words “Ursae Majoris” mean “of Ursa Major”, and are found in the names of several stars in the constellation.

71 Loch monster’s nickname: NESSIE

Scotland’s Loch Ness is famous for its fabled “monster”, referred to affectionately as “Nessie”. The loch is the second-largest lake in the country (Loch Lomond is the largest). Loch Ness takes its name from the River Ness that flows from the loch’s northern end.

Down

2 Oceanic apex predator: ORCA

An apex predator is at the top of a food chain, and has no other natural predators. Examples are the orca (“killer whale”) in the oceans, the lion in Africa, and the Tyrannosaurus in the days of the dinosaurs.

3 Important powwow figure: HEAD DANCER

“Powwow” means “gathering”, and is a word used by Native Americans. The term derives from the Algonquian Narragansett “powwow” which translates as “spiritual leader”. The Narragansett also gave us such words as “moose”, “papoose” and “squash”.

6 Garden with a tempting snake: EDEN

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them from becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

9 Title for M.L.K., for short: REV

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 35 years old when he won the Nobel Peace Prize, making him the youngest person to be so honored. King was given the award for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination using non-violent means. The following year he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Community.

13 ___-chef: SOUS

The “sous-chef de cuisine” (a French term) is the “under-chef of the kitchen”, the second-in-command.

15 “Furiosa” star Taylor-Joy: ANYA

Actress Anya Taylor-Joy had quite the international upbringing. She was born in Miami, and raised in Buenos Aires and then London. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma”, and the lead role in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”.

23 X1, X2, X3, X4, X5 or X6: BMW

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

30 ___ Scotia: NOVA

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

33 Dog-__ pages: EARED

The folded-down corner of the page of a book, a temporary placeholder, is known as a “dog-ear”. I suppose that’s because it looks like the ear of a dog …

37 Fourth after Aug.: DEC

December is the twelfth month in our calendar but was the tenth month in the old Roman calendar, hence the name (“decem” is Latin for “ten”). Back then there were only ten months in the year. “Ianuarius” (January) and “Februarius” (February) were then added as the eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Soon after, the year was reset and January and February became the first and second months.

39 “At Last” singer James: ETTA

The 1942 song “At Last” was written for the 1941 musical film “Sun Valley Serenade” in which it is performed by Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Etta James recorded a version of “At Last” in 1960, after which it became her signature song.

56 Black and/or white water bird: SWAN

An adult male swan is a cob and an adult female is a pen. Young swans are swanlings or cygnets.

67 Dijon-mustered “yes”?: OUI

Dijon is a city in eastern France in the Burgundy region. Dijon is famous for its mustard, a particularly strong variation of the condiment. The European Union doesn’t protect the name “Dijon” so anyone can use it on a label. That seems fair enough to me, given that 90% of the mustard made in and around Dijon is produced using mustard seed imported from Canada!

68 Something Paxil may treat, for short: OCD

The most commonly prescribed antidepressants in the US (in 2010 anyway) are:

• Zoloft (sertraline)
• Celexa (citalopram)
• Prozac (fluoxetine)
• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Desyrel (trazodone)
• Cymbalta (duloxetine)
• Paxil (paroxetine)