Category: Joseph Gangi

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

21A Rain delay coverings : 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”.

23A Mystical stuff : ARCANA

Arcana are deep secrets or mysteries. “Arcana” is from the Latin adjective “arcanum” meaning “secret, hidden”.

26A “We don’t discriminate in this workplace,” in job ads : EEO

“Equal Employment Opportunity” (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

29A Newfoundland or Labrador retriever : DOG BREED

The Newfoundland is a breed that originated as a working dog for fishermen in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland. They were mainly used to haul heavy fishing nets.

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814, and the chocolate Labrador appeared over a century later in the 1930s. The name “Labrador Retriever” is simply a reference to the breed’s origin and behavior. Labs originally “retrieved” from the “Labrador Sea”.

31A Transcript fig. : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

40A “Priscilla” director Coppola : SOFIA

Sofia Coppola is a filmmaker, following in the footsteps of her father Francis Ford Coppola. She has made some very interesting films, with “Lost in Translation” (2003) and “Marie Antoinette” (2006) being my personal favorites. Before turning to filmmaking, Coppola appeared in front of the camera in several films. She was an infant at a baptism in “The Godfather”, an immigrant child in “The Godfather Part II”, and Michael Corleone’s daughter Mary in “The Godfather Part III”.

41A How a German count might get started : EINS

“Eins, zwei, drei, vier” is German for “one, two, three, four”.

50A Big name in nail polish : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film. Opi also launched a collection of nail lacquers inspired by the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” in celebration of its 10th anniversary on Broadway.

51A One-named singer with the 2017 platinum album “Melodrama” : LORDE

“Lorde” is a stage name of the singer-songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor from New Zealand. Lorde’s cover version of the great Tears for Fears song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was used in the soundtrack for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013). Her song “Yellow Flicker Beat” is included in the soundtrack for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”.

57A 1957 rock ‘n’ roll classic suggested by this puzzle’s circled letters : GREAT BALLS OF FIRE

“Great Balls of Fire” is a song recorded in 1957 by Jerry Lee Lewis. The song was used as the title for “Great Balls of Fire!”, a biographical film about Jerry Lee Lewis released in 1989 with Dennis Quaid in the main role.

62A Crème de la crème : BEST OF ALL

The crème de la crème are the elite, the best of the best. The term “crème de la crème” is French, and translates as “cream of the cream”.

63A Prom, e.g. : FORMAL

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

Down

2D Andy’s partner in an old radio sitcom : AMOS

“Amos ‘n’ Andy” was originally a radio sitcom that was on the air from the twenties right up to the fifties. It was about Amos Jones and Andy Brown, two farm workers from outside Atlanta who head to Chicago to make good for themselves. They eventually start up the Fresh Air Taxi Company. The show was somewhat groundbreaking for the time, as it depicted African Americans for the first time in positions of influence as business owners. There was a TV adaptation that aired from 1951 to 1953 and ran in syndication right up to 1966. I have never seen/heard the show, but it sounds like it is a classic …

3D State bird of Minnesota : LOON

The common loon (also “great northern diver”) is the provincial bird of Ontario, and the state bird of Minnesota. The loon once appeared on Canadian $20 bills and also appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin, giving the coin the nickname “the loonie”.

5D Superfluous : UNNEEDED

A “superfluity” is an excess, coming from the Latin “super” meaning over, and “fluere” meaning “to flow”. So, something “superfluous” is “overflowing”, beyond what is required.

7D Part of GPS: Abbr. : SYST

Global positioning system (GPS)

9D Taylor Swift’s “___ Song” : OUR

“Our Song” is a number recorded by Taylor Swift in 2006. Swift wrote the song during her freshman year, for a high school talent show.

10D She, in São Paulo : ELA

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

25D It’s for “cookie,” to Cookie Monster : CEE

Cookie Monster is a beloved Muppet on the TV show “Sesame Street”. He is a big eater and is especially fond of cookies, which he eats while grunting out “Om nom nom nom”.

27D Inducing goose bumps : EERIE

The terms “goose bumps” and “goose flesh” come from the fact that skin which is cold can look like the flesh of a plucked goose. On the other side of the Atlantic, the term “goose pimples” was used to describe the same phenomenon. The influence of North American TV and movies is showing though, as “goose bumps” is the more common term these days.

37D Online automaton : BOT

A bot is a computer program designed to imitate human behavior. It might crawl around the Web doing searches for example, or it might participate in discussions in chat rooms by giving pre-programmed responses. It might also act as a competitor in a computer game.

49D Matchmaking site with a “synagogue attendance” filter : JDATE

Spark Networks is a company that owns several special-interest dating sites online. The most famous is probably ChristianMingle.com, but there is also BlackSingles.com, LDSSingles.com, JDate.com and CatholicMingle.com.

51D Pride Month letters : LGBT

The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 28th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.

53D Actress Fanning : ELLE

Actress Elle Fanning’s most notable performance to date (probably) was playing Aurora in the 2014 movie “Maleficent”. Elle’s older sister is actress Dakota Fanning.

56D Q.E.D. part : ERAT

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”.

58D Fave pal : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

60D Cousin of Inc. : LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

61D Enrollment center? : ELS

The center of the word “enrollment” is a pair of letters L (els).