Category: Lonnie Burton

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Killer whales : ORCAS
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

17. *1962-67, 1971 : SEAN CONNERY
Sean Connery is most famous for playing the original James Bond in the successful series of movies. Back in his native Scotland, Connery is very active in politics and is a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party. He actively campaigns for Scottish independence from Britain and has stated that he believes Scotland will achieve that goal within his own lifetime. Whether that happens or not is the subject of much speculation …

19. Hawaiian neckwear : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

21. The Washington Post, CNN, etc. : MEDIA
“The Washington Post” is the oldest paper still being published in the DC area, having been founded in 1877. Famously, “The Post” reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the media’s investigation into what we now called the Watergate scandal. “The Washington Post” was purchased in 2013 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com.

Ted Turner’s big initiative in the world of business was the founding of CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. Turner never graduated from college as he was expelled from Brown University for having a female student in his dormitory room. Years later, in 1989, Brown awarded him an honorary B.A.

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

25. Gossiping : DISHING
“To dish the dirt” is talk about someone or something without regard to veracity. The phrase comes from “dish” (in the sense of dishing out food) and “dirt” (in the sense of negative information).

27. *1987-89 : TIMOTHY DALTON
Timothy Dalton is a British actor who is perhaps best known for playing James Bond in “The Living Daylights” (1987) and “Licence to Kill” (1989). Pierce Brosnan was the first choice to take over the Bond role after Roger Moore, but Brosnan could not get out of his contractual commitment to the show “Remington Steele”. For many years, Dalton was in a relationship with English actress Vanessa Redgrave.

35. With 39-Across, *1973-85 : ROGER …
39. See 35-Across : … MOORE
Roger Moore is best known in the US for taking on the role of 007 in seven James Bond movies from 1973 to 1985. In my part of the world we remember him playing a very debonair hero called Simon Templar in a TV series called “The Saint” from 1962 to 1969. Moore’s Templar character could very easily have morphed into a great James Bond, but by the time he was offered the part I personally think that he was just a tad too long in the tooth to pull off a credible 007.

43. Single-stranded molecule : RNA
The two most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which play crucial roles in genetics. The DNA contains the genetic instructions used to keep living organisms functioning, and RNA is used to transcribe that information from the DNA to protein “generators” called ribosomes.

45. Ill-bred fellows : CADS
Our word “cad”, meaning “a person lacking in finer feelings”, is a shortening of the word “cadet”. “Cad” was first used for a servant, and then students at British universities used “cad” as a term for a boy from the local town. “Cad” took on its current meaning in the 1830s.

48. *1995-2002 : PIERCE BROSNAN
Pierce Brosnan is an Irish actor, from Drogheda, north of Dublin. Brosnan’s big break in the US came when he was given the title role in the eighties television show “Remington Steele”. Of course he also played James Bond on the big screen. Brosnan’s first appearance as Bond was in 1995’s “Golden Eye”.

51. Leaning left : LIBERAL
The concept of left-right politics started in France during the French Revolution. When members of France’s National Assembly convened in 1789, supporters of the King sat to the President’s right, and supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. The political terms “left” and “right” were then coined in the local media and have been used ever since.

54. S.&L. offerings : IRAS
Savings and Loan (S&L)

55. Finish in the top three, in the Olympics : MEDAL
In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

62. Prominent shark feature : FIN
Shark finning is a cruel fishing practice driven by the demand for Chinese shark fin soup. Millions of sharks every year are captured, have their fins sliced off at sea and are then thrown back into the ocean still alive. The mutilated sharks don’t last very long and are usually eaten because they cannot maneuver very easily without their dorsal fins.

63. *2006- : DANIEL CRAIG
English actor Daniel Craig rocketed to fame in 2005 when he was chosen to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the series of films based on Ian Fleming’s character. One of Craig’s most famous appearances as Bond was alongside Queen Elizabeth II in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Craig married actress Rachel Weisz in 2011.

68. British rule in colonial India : RAJ
The period of colonial rule by the British in South Asia from 1858 to 1947 is referred to as the British Raj. Prior to 1858, the area was ruled by a private enterprise, the British East India Company. “Raj” is the Hindi word for “reign”.

69. Joe ___ (ordinary sort) : SCHMO
“Schmo” (also “shmo”) is American slang for a dull or boring person, from the Yiddish word “shmok”.

Down
1. ___ Hashana (Jewish holy day) : ROSH
Rosh Hashanah is loosely referred to as “Jewish New Year”. The literal translation from Hebrew is “head of the year”.

4. Serenaded : SANG TO
A ”serenade” is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

6. Clearasil target : ACNE
Clearasil acne medication was developed in 1940 by Ivan Combe and Kedzie Teller. Combe promoted the product by sponsoring the television show “American Bandstand” for many years.

007. What the answers to the starred clues share, in two ways : BOND
James Bond was the creation of writer Ian Fleming. Fleming “stole” the James Bond name from an American ornithologist. The number 007 was “stolen” from the real-life, 16th century English spy called John Dee. Dee would sign his reports to Queen Elizabeth I with a stylized “007” to indicate that the reports were for “her eyes only”. There’s an entertaining miniseries that aired on BBC America called “Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond” that details Ian Fleming’s military career, and draws some nice parallels between Fleming’s experiences and aspirations and those of his hero James Bond. Recommended …

8. Frozen potato brand : ORE-IDA
Ore-Ida frozen foods are all made using potatoes. The company is located in Oregon, just across the border from Idaho. “Ore-Ida” is a melding of the two state names.

10. Big name in ice cream : EDY
Dreyers’ ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyers in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

18. Largest city in Nebraska : OMAHA
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. It is located on the Missouri River, about 10 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.

22. Instagram upload : PHOTO
Instagram is a photo-sharing application, one that is extremely popular. Instagram was started in San Francisco in 2010. Facebook purchased Instagram two years later, paying $1 billion. The billion-dollar Instagram company had just 13 employees at the time of the sale …

27. La Brea goo : TAR
The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirsts. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

29. Actress Ryan of “Sleepless in Seattle” : MEG
Meg Ryan is the stage name of the actress Margaret Mary Hyra. Ryan’s big break came with the excellent 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally”, from which she went on to star in some of the greatest romantic comedies ever made.

“Sleepless in Seattle” is a lovely romantic comedy directed and co-written by Nora Ephron, released in 1993. The film’s storyline is based on the excellent 1957 movie “An Affair to Remember”, and there are numerous direct references to the Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr classic throughout the “remake”. The lead roles in “Sleepless …” are played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

30. Designer letters on a handbag : YSL
Yves Saint-Laurent (YSL) was a French fashion designer, actually born in Algeria. Saint-Laurent started off working as an assistant to Christian Dior at the age of 17. Dior died just four years later, and as a very young man Saint-Laurent was named head of the House of Dior. However, in 1950 Saint-Laurent was conscripted into the French Army and ended up in a military hospital after suffering a mental breakdown from the hazing inflicted on him by his fellow soldiers. His treatment included electroshock therapy and administration of sedatives and psychoactive drugs. He was released from hospital, managed to pull his life back together and started his own fashion house. A remarkable story …

31. Two, in cards : DEUCE
A “two” playing card might be called a “deuce”, from the Middle French “deus” (or Modern French “deux”) meaning “two”.

36. Iroquoians of New York : ERIES
The Erie people lived on lands south of Lake Erie. The Erie were sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation, a reference to the mountain lions that were ever-present in the area that they lived. The name “Erie” is a shortened form of “Erielhonan” meaning “long tail”, possibly a further reference to the mountain lion or cat, which was possibly used as a totem. The Erie people gave their name to the Great Lake.

41. River inlet : RIA
A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, with both formed as sea level rises. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

42. German “one” : EIN
The definite article in German is der, die or das, for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. The indefinite article is ein, eine or ein, again depending on the gender of the noun. A further complication, relative to English, is that the masculine form (and only the masculine form) of the article changes when used in the accusative case, when used with the object of a sentence. The accusative forms are “den” and “einen”.

44. Jesus’ language : ARAMAIC
The ancient Biblical land of Aram was named after Aram, a grandson of Noah. Aram was located in the center of modern-day Syria. Aramaic became the everyday language of Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine.

48. Popular sandwich, informally : PB AND J
Peanut butter and jelly (PB&J or PBJ).

50. Vail trail : SKI RUN
The Vail Ski Resort in Colorado is the largest single-mountain ski resort in the whole country. The resort was opened in 1962, basically in the middle of nowhere. It was given the name Vail after Vail Pass which runs by the mountain (now also called Vail Mountain). The town of Vail, Colorado was established four years later in 1966, and now has a population of about 5,000.

52. One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” : IRINA
Olga, Masha and Irina were the “Three Sisters” in the play by Anton Chekhov. The three title characters were inspired by the three Brontë sisters, the English authors.

56. Per ___ (daily) : DIEM
“Per diem” is the Latin for “by the day”. We tend to use the term for a daily allowance for expenses when traveling for work.

57. Commercial prefix with postale : AERO-
Aéropostale was a French aviation company founded in 1918 in Toulouse. When Aéropostale was founded, its focus was to be carrying mail, hence the name. The Aéropostale clothing retailer takes its name from the airline.

59. Alliance that keeps a wary eye on Russia : NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

61. Shrek, for one : OGRE
Before “Shrek” was a successful movie franchise and Broadway musical, it was a children’s picture book called “Shrek!” authored and illustrated by William Steig. The title “Shrek!” came from the German/Yiddish word Schreck, meaning “fear” or “terror”.

63. Cavity filler’s deg. : DDS
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)

64. Dosage amts. : CCS
Cubic centimeters (ccs)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pay hike : RAISE
6. “Humble” living quarters : ABODE
11. Inner part of an ear of corn : COB
14. Killer whales : ORCAS
15. Like some processed apples : CORED
16. King topper : ACE
17. *1962-67, 1971 : SEAN CONNERY
19. Hawaiian neckwear : LEI
20. Put up, as a picture : HANG
21. The Washington Post, CNN, etc. : MEDIA
22. Think ahead : PLAN
23. Airport screening grp. : TSA
25. Gossiping : DISHING
27. *1987-89 : TIMOTHY DALTON
32. Had breakfast or lunch : ATE
33. Let (up) : EASE
34. Command before giving a dog a bone : SIT
35. With 39-Across, *1973-85 : ROGER …
37. Carry with effort : LUG
39. See 35-Across : … MOORE
43. Single-stranded molecule : RNA
45. Ill-bred fellows : CADS
47. PlayStation competitor : WII
48. *1995-2002 : PIERCE BROSNAN
51. Leaning left : LIBERAL
53. It’s kept in a pen : INK
54. S.&L. offerings : IRAS
55. Finish in the top three, in the Olympics : MEDAL
58. “What’s gotten ___ you?” : INTO
62. Prominent shark feature : FIN
63. *2006- : DANIEL CRAIG
65. ___ of the line : END
66. Kitchen cutting tool : DICER
67. Likelier to win a baby contest : CUTER
68. British rule in colonial India : RAJ
69. Joe ___ (ordinary sort) : SCHMO
70. Saw logs : SNORE

Down
1. ___ Hashana (Jewish holy day) : ROSH
2. Roughly 3.8 million square miles, for the United States : AREA
3. Words of self-empowerment : I CAN
4. Serenaded : SANG TO
5. Keyboard key : ESC
6. Clearasil target : ACNE
007. What the answers to the starred clues share, in two ways : BOND
8. Frozen potato brand : ORE-IDA
9. Jumps the track : DERAILS
10. Big name in ice cream : EDY
11. Format of some talk radio shows : CALL-IN
12. Most of our planet’s surface : OCEAN
13. Human ___ : BEING
18. Largest city in Nebraska : OMAHA
22. Instagram upload : PHOTO
24. Less forgiving : STERNER
26. Henry L. ___, secretary of war during W.W. II : STIMSON
27. La Brea goo : TAR
28. “What was ___ think?” : I TO
29. Actress Ryan of “Sleepless in Seattle” : MEG
30. Designer letters on a handbag : YSL
31. Two, in cards : DEUCE
36. Iroquoians of New York : ERIES
38. Talk incessantly : GAB
40. Have the title to : OWN
41. River inlet : RIA
42. German “one” : EIN
44. Jesus’ language : ARAMAIC
46. Tool for a carpenter or dentist : DRILL
48. Popular sandwich, informally : PB AND J
49. Tighten, as a fist : CLENCH
50. Vail trail : SKI RUN
51. Long-term inmate : LIFER
52. One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” : IRINA
56. Per ___ (daily) : DIEM
57. Commercial prefix with postale : AERO-
59. Alliance that keeps a wary eye on Russia : NATO
60. Wedding cake layer : TIER
61. Shrek, for one : OGRE
63. Cavity filler’s deg. : DDS
64. Dosage amts. : CCS

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