Category: Gary Kennedy

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. With 43- and 76-Across, camping aid : SWISS …
43. See 1-Across : … ARMY …
76. See 1-Across : … KNIFE
Swiss Army knives are multi-tools made by the Swiss company Victorinox. The device was first produced in 1891 when Victorinox’s predecessor company was awarded the contract to supply the knife to the Swiss Army. The name “Swiss Army knife” was actually an American invention as it was the term used by American GIs during and after WWII as an alternative to pronouncing the more difficult German “Schweizer Offiziersmesser” (Swiss Officer Knife).

6. 1950s prez : IKE
When the future president was growing up, the Eisenhowers used the nickname “Ike” for all seven boys in the family, as “Ike” was seen as an abbreviation for the family name. “Big Ike” was Edgar, the second oldest boy. “Little/Young Ike” was Dwight, who was the third son born. Dwight had no sisters.

9. Place to play the slots : CASINO
The “casino” originated in the 1700s, first describing a public room for music or dancing. The name “casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

16. They’re “Red” in Boston and “White” in Chicago : SOX
The Boston Red Sox is one of the most successful Major League Baseball teams and so commands a large attendance, but only when on the road. The relatively small capacity of Boston’s Fenway Park, the team’s home since 1912, has dictated that every game the Red Sox has played there has been a sell out since May of 2003.

The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation “Sox” for “Stockings” was regularly used in newspaper headlines.

17. Third-party account : ESCROW
One type of escrow account is held by a trusted third party for two parties who have some contractual arrangement, an arrangement that is often in dispute. The third party only releases the funds when both parties have fulfilled their contractual obligations.

18. “S.N.L.” alum Cheri : OTERI
Cheri Oteri was the SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

20. Heroin or Vicodin : OPIATE
The commercialization of the drug heroin was led by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in Germany. The drug had been re-discovered in Bayer’s labs, and was named by the company’s head of research “heroin” from the German “heroisch” meaning “heroic, strong”. This was a reference to the perceived “heroic” effects on the user. Bayer lost the trademark rights to heroin (along with their “aspirin”) as part of WWI reparations.

Vicodin is a brand name of pain-reliever. The formulation is a mixture of two ingredients: hydrocodone (an opiate) and paracetamol (a non-opiate analgesic).

24. Mournful bell sounds : KNELLS
The word “knell” is used for a solemn ring from a bell, often associated with death or a funeral. “Knell” comes the Old English “cnell” and is probably imitative in origin, sounding like a peal from a large bell.

29. Greek goddess of victory : NIKE
Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, often referred to as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, which is based on the goddess’s wing.

40. “Purple ___” (Prince hit) : RAIN
“Purple Rain” is a 1984 song by Prince that is the title track from an album of the same name. The album in turn was a soundtrack, of the film “Purple Rain”. The song reached #2 in the charts in 1984, but then made it to #1 soon after Prince’s death in 2016.

41. Medicare drug benefit : PART D
Medicare is divided into four parts:

• A: Hospital Insurance
• B: Medical Insurance
• C: Medicare Advantage Plans
• D: Prescription Drug Plans

45. Band that made Justin Timberlake famous : NSYNC
Justin Timberlake got his break by appearing on TV’s “Star Search” from which he was given a starring role in “The New Mickey Mouse Club”. It was on “The New Mickey Mouse Club” that he met his future girlfriend Britney Spears, as well JC Chasez who would join Timberlake in the lineup of the boy band NSYNC.

46. Cole ___ (side dish) : SLAW
The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch name “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

48. Sign of a sellout : SRO
Standing room only (SRO)

50. Sault ___ Marie, Mich. : STE
Sault Ste. Marie is the name of two cities on either side of the Canada-US border, one in Ontario and the other in Michigan. The two cities were originally one settlement in the 17th century, established by Jesuit Missionaries. The missionaries gave the settlement the name “Sault Sainte Marie”, which can be translated as “Saint Mary’s Falls”. The city was one community until 1817, when a US-UK Joint Boundary Commission set the border along the St. Mary’s River.

52. Org. advocating pet adoption : SPCA
Unlike most developed countries, the US has no “umbrella” organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

69. 12 months, in Tijuana : ANO
Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.

70. Pong game maker : ATARI
Do you remember the arcade video game that was like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looked like a ball, over what looked like a net? Well, that was Pong. The arcade version of Pong was introduced in 1972, with Atari selling a home version through Sears for the Christmas market in 1975.

71. Chef Lagasse : EMERIL
Emeril Lagasse is an American chef, born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved notoriety as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

72. ___ de Janeiro : RIO
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

74. Came clean, with “up” : FESSED
The term “fess” is most often seen as part of the phrasal verb “to fess up” meaning “to admit to something”. “Fess” is simply a shortened form of “confess”.

75. Concorde, for short : SST
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Concorde was developed and produced under an Anglo-French treaty by France’s Aérospatiale and the UK’s British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Concordes were mainly operated by Air France and British Airways, with both companies buying the planes with substantial subsidies from the French and British governments. The final Concorde flight was a British Airways plane that landed in the UK on 26 November 2003.

Down
1. “Mr.” on the Enterprise : SPOCK
Leonard Nimoy played the logical Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series. Spock has to be the most popular character on the show, and he keeps popping up in “Star Trek” spin offs to this day. Nimoy first worked alongside William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in an episode of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (I loved that show!), with Nimoy playing a bad guy and Shatner playing an U.N.C.L.E. recruit.

2. King of the gods in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle : WOTAN
“Wotan” is an alternative (High German) spelling of the name Woden, the Anglo-Saxon version of the Norse god Odin. Wotan is the head god in the pagan tradition, but as paganism was gradually replaced by Christianity in the 7th and 8th centuries, Wotan moved from his place in religion and into the realm of folklore. Indeed, he is a precursor of our modern day Father Christmas. Wotan (Woden) also gave his name to Wednesday, Woden’s Day …

Richard Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” is more properly called “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (The Ring of Nibelung), and comprises four very, very long operas. The individual operas are:

1. “Das Rheingold”
2. “Die Walkure”
3. “Siegfried”
4. “Gotterdammerung”

3. Memorable 2011 hurricane : IRENE
Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding in 2011 as it traveled through the Caribbean, up the East Coast of the United States and into the Atlantic seaboard of Canada. The hurricane was unusual in that it came so far up north. Fifty-five deaths were attributed to Irene.

4. Form of a papyrus document : SCROLL
The papyrus plant was commonly found in the Nile Delta of Europe. The pith of the plant was used to make a thick, paper-like material on which one could write. This writing material, which became known as papyrus (plural “papyri”), became a competitor for the most popular writing surface of the day known as parchment, which was made from animal skins.

6. Library ID : ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who is now a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication.

7. Cuisine with kimchi : KOREAN
Kimchi is a traditional dish from Korea. The original kimchi is made from fermented vegetables, and is pretty strong stuff …

8. Casting out of a demon : EXORCISM
An exorcist is a religious figure who is believed to be able to cast out demons that have possessed a person or perhaps a building.

9. Corp. head : CEO
Chief executive officer (CEO)

10. “Quaking” tree : ASPEN
The “quaking” aspen tree is so called because the structure of the leaves causes them to move easily in the wind, to “tremble, quake”.

12. Nest eggs for later years, in brief : IRAS
Individual retirement account (IRA)

13. Do, re or mi : NOTE
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

34. Altar area : APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

35. Chutzpah : GALL
Our word “chutzpah” meaning “nerve, gall, impudence” is derived from the Yiddish “khutspe”, which has the same meaning.

38. Coverings pulled across infields : TARPS
Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

45. Refuge during the Great Flood : NOAH’S ARK
The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

47. Airport screening org. : TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the agency that employs the good folks that check passengers and baggage at airports.

53. Handsome man : ADONIS
In Greek mythology, Adonis is a beautiful young god loved by Aphrodite. Adonis dies in a hunting accident (gored by a boar), but not before he gives Aphrodite a child. Adonis was originally a Phoenician god “absorbed” into Greek lore (Phoenicia is modern day Lebanon). The child born of Adonis to Aphrodite was called Beroe, after which is named Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. We also use the term “adonis” to mean “beautiful male”.

55. Inverse trig function : ARCTAN
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are secant, cosecant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent. For example, the arctangent can be read as “What angle is equivalent to the following ratio of opposite over adjacent?”

59. Tehran native : IRANI
Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of about 8.5 million. Iran has been around a really long time and Tehran is actually the country’s 31st national capital.

60. Feature lacked by Helvetica type : SERIF
Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

61. Bale binder : TWINE
Our word “twine”, meaning a light string, has the same root as our word “twin”. The original Old English “twin” was a double thread.

62. Word after bass or treble : CLEF
“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on the stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

63. Where all roads lead, it’s said : ROME
The expression “all roads lead to Rome” is used to mean “whatever way we do this, we’ll get the same result”. The phrase has been used since the 1100s and probably even earlier than that. The expression arises because the ancient Roman road system had all major roads radiating from Rome like spokes on a wheel.

66. Word sung three times before “for the home team” in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” : ROOT
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is a 1908 song that is traditionally sung during the seventh inning stretch of a baseball game. Even though the song has is now inextricably linked to baseball, neither of the two composers had ever been to a game before they wrote it.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. With 43- and 76-Across, camping aid : SWISS …
6. 1950s prez : IKE
9. Place to play the slots : CASINO
15. Veranda : PORCH
16. They’re “Red” in Boston and “White” in Chicago : SOX
17. Third-party account : ESCROW
18. “S.N.L.” alum Cheri : OTERI
19. Homie : BRO
20. Heroin or Vicodin : OPIATE
21. One function of 1-/43-/76-Across : CAN OPENER
23. Double curves, as on highways : ESSES
24. Mournful bell sounds : KNELLS
25. Nuts for squirrels : ACORNS
28. Chop (off) : LOP
29. Greek goddess of victory : NIKE
30. Not fooled by : ONTO
34. “___ before beauty” : AGE
37. Insect in a colony : ANT
39. Maple syrup source : SAP
40. “Purple ___” (Prince hit) : RAIN
41. Medicare drug benefit : PART D
43. See 1-Across : … ARMY …
45. Band that made Justin Timberlake famous : NSYNC
46. Cole ___ (side dish) : SLAW
47. “___-la-la” : TRA
48. Sign of a sellout : SRO
50. Sault ___ Marie, Mich. : STE
51. Otherwise : ELSE
52. Org. advocating pet adoption : SPCA
54. Like baseball’s Pacific Coast League : AAA
56. Removed, as chalk : ERASED
58. Resurrection figure : CHRIST
62. Fad : CRAZE
65. One function of 1-/43-/76-Across : CORKSCREW
67. “I’d be delighted” : LOVE TO
69. 12 months, in Tijuana : ANO
70. Pong game maker : ATARI
71. Chef Lagasse : EMERIL
72. ___ de Janeiro : RIO
73. Arrested : RAN IN
74. Came clean, with “up” : FESSED
75. Concorde, for short : SST
76. See 1-Across : … KNIFE

Down
1. “Mr.” on the Enterprise : SPOCK
2. King of the gods in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle : WOTAN
3. Memorable 2011 hurricane : IRENE
4. Form of a papyrus document : SCROLL
5. All a tanker can hold : SHIPLOAD
6. Library ID : ISBN
7. Cuisine with kimchi : KOREAN
8. Casting out of a demon : EXORCISM
9. Corp. head : CEO
10. “Quaking” tree : ASPEN
11. One function of 1-/43-/76-Across : SCISSORS
12. Nest eggs for later years, in brief : IRAS
13. Do, re or mi : NOTE
14. Is in debt : OWES
22. Home of “Monday Night Football” : ESPN
26. Gives the go-ahead : OKAYS
27. Agent, in brief : REP
31. “No” votes : NAYS
32. Windshield feature : TINT
33. Fairy tale’s first word : ONCE
34. Altar area : APSE
35. Chutzpah : GALL
36. Historical periods : ERAS
38. Coverings pulled across infields : TARPS
42. One function of 1-/43-/76-Across : TWEEZERS
44. Indy vehicles : RACE CARS
45. Refuge during the Great Flood : NOAH’S ARK
47. Airport screening org. : TSA
49. Pool table triangle : RACK
53. Handsome man : ADONIS
55. Inverse trig function : ARCTAN
57. Fix, as a knot : RETIE
59. Tehran native : IRANI
60. Feature lacked by Helvetica type : SERIF
61. Bale binder : TWINE
62. Word after bass or treble : CLEF
63. Where all roads lead, it’s said : ROME
64. Madison and Fifth in Manhattan: Abbr. : AVES
66. Word sung three times before “for the home team” in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” : ROOT
68. Not new : OLD

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