Category: Peter Gordon

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Green condiment served with sushi : WASABI
Sometimes called Japanese horseradish, wasabi is a root used as a condiment in Japanese cooking. The taste of wasabi is more like mustard than a hot pepper in that the vapors that create the “hotness” stimulate the nasal passages rather than the tongue. Personally, I love the stuff …

7. Hyphen’s longer cousin : EN DASH
In typography, there are em dashes and en dashes. The em dash is about the width of an “m” character, and an en dash about half that, the width of an “n’ character. An en dash is used, for example, to separate numbers designating a range, as in 5-10 years. The em dash seems to be going out of style, and indeed the application I am using to write this paragraph won’t let me show you one!

13. Boxer George who lost the Rumble in the Jungle : FOREMAN
The Rumble in the Jungle was the celebrated 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The fight was set in Zaire because of financial arrangements between promoter Don King and Zaire’s President Mobutu Seko. Ali coined the term “Rope-a-dope” to describe his incredibly successful strategy in the contest. From the second round onwards, Ali adopted a protected stance on the ropes letting Foreman pound him with blows to the body and head, with Ali using his arms to dissipate the power of the punches. He kept this up until the eighth round and then opened up and downed the exhausted Foreman with a left-right combination. I hate boxing but I have to say, that was an fascinating fight …

21. “Exodus” hero : ARI
“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris that was first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

25. “TiK ___” (Ke$ha hit) : TOK
Kesha (formerly “Ke$ha”) is the stage name used by singer Kesha Rose Sebert.

28. Ramen product : OODLES OF NOODLES
Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is a also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

36. Ouzo flavoring : ANISEED
Ouzo is an aperitif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to pastis from France and also has a flavor like sambuca from Italy.

38. “Thar ___ blows!” : SHE
“Thar she blows!” is a phrase that originated on whaling ships. A lookout spotting a whale surfacing to breathe might see the spray from the blowhole caused by the expulsion of carbon dioxide. Thar (there) she blows!

41. Churchgoers, collectively : LAITY
Anything described as laic (or “laical, lay”) is related to the laity, those members of the church who are not clergy. The term “laic” ultimately comes from the Greek “laikos” meaning “of the people”.

43. Mo. when daylight saving time ends : NOV
November is the eleventh month in our calendar. The name comes from the Latin “novem” meaning “nine”, as November was the ninth month in the ancient Roman calendar.

44. Milo of “The Verdict” : O’SHEA
Milo O’Shea was a great Irish character actor from Dublin who has appeared in everything from “Romeo and Juliet” to “The West Wing”. O’Shea passed away in 2013, in New York City.

1982’s “The Verdict” is an entertaining courtroom drama movie that stars Paul Newman as a struggling alcoholic lawyer. The storyline involves a medical malpractice case involving a woman in persistent vegetative state. As a bonus, if you keep a careful eye out, you’ll see Bruce Willis as an extra in one of his first on-screen appearances.

46. Taj Mahal city : AGRA
The most famous mausoleum in the world has to be the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal was built after the death of the fourth wife of Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal (hence the name of the mausoleum). The poor woman died in childbirth delivering the couple’s 14th child. When Shah Jahan himself passed away 35 years later, he was buried beside his wife Mumtaz, in the Taj Mahal.

52. Former full-size Buick : LESABRE
The Buick Special was a car produced by General Motors in various forms from 1936, making a final brief appearance in 1975. The Buick Special was given the name “LeSabre” in 1959, and a “Skylark” option was introduced in 1961. The engine was changed from a V8 in 1962, making the Buick Special the first American production car to use a V6.

55. N’awlins sandwiches : PO’ BOYS
A po’ boy is a submarine sandwich from Louisiana. There are a lot of theories about where the name came from, and none sound too convincing to me. A po’ boy differs from a regular submarine sandwich in that it uses Louisiana French bread, which is soft in the middle and crusty on the outside.

Apparently the “N’awlins” pronunciation of “New Orleans” is common, but is usually uttered by tourists. Locals are more likely to say “New Awlins”.

63. Punk rock’s ___ Pop : IGGY
Iggy Pop is a punk rock performer from Muskegon, Michigan. When he was in high school, he was a drummer for a local band called the Iguanas, and so was given the nickname “Iggy”. He was vocalist for a band called the Stooges.

66. Figure skating jump : AXEL
An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

71. Annoying insect : GNAT
Gnats are attracted to the smell of rotting food, and to vinegar. Simple homemade traps that use vinegar are often constructed to attract and kill gnats.

Down
2. ___ Palmer (drink made with lemonade and iced tea) : ARNOLD
The drink named for golfer Arnold Palmer is made from lemonade and ice tea. The drink named for fellow golfer John Daly is also made from lemonade and ice tea, but with vodka added …

7. Daredevil in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame : EVEL KNIEVEL
Daredevil Evel Knievel contracted hepatitis C from the many blood transfusions that he needed after injuries incurred during stunts. He had to have a liver transplant as a result, but his health declined after that. Knievel eventually passed away in 2007.

8. Church area : NAVE
In large Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar, and is where most of the congregation are seated.

10. Clothing retailer ___ Taylor : ANN
There was no actual person called Ann Taylor associated with the Ann Taylor line of clothes. The name was chosen by the marketing professionals because “Ann” was considered to be “very New England” back in 1954 when the stores first opened, and “Taylor” suggested that clothes were carefully “tailored”.

11. Capital of Minnesota : ST PAUL
Saint Paul that is the state capital of Minnesota, and is one half of the “Twin Cities” , also known as Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Saint Paul used to be called Pig’s Eye, named after a popular tavern in the original settlement in the area. In 1841, Father Lucien Galtier established a log chapel nearby that he dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle, giving the city it’s current name. The magnificent Cathedral of St. Paul now sits on the site where the log chapel was built.

12. Opposite of a life coach? : HEARSE
We use the term “hearse” for a vehicle used to transport a dead body to the place of burial. The original meaning, still used sometimes today, is for a framework hanging over a coffin that holds candles.

13. Hobbit played by Elijah Wood : FRODO
Frodo Baggins is a principal character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. Frodo is a Hobbit, and is charged with the quest of destroying Sauron’s Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.

26. Alternative to a co-op : CONDO
The terms “condominium” and “apartment” tend to describe the same type of residential property, a private living space with facilities shared with others residing in the same building or complex. The difference is that a condominium is usually owned, and an apartment is rented. At least that’s how it is in the US. The word “condominium” comes from the Latin “com-” (together) and “dominum” (right of ownership).

30. Pi’s first digit after the decimal : ONE
The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is a mathematical constant, which we denote with the Greek letter pi (π). The ratio pi can be used to calculate the area of a disk, by multiplying the constant by the square of the radius (πr2).

35. Business for Delta or Southwest : AIR TRAVEL
Delta was the world’s largest airline for a while (after merging with Northwest Airlines in 2008) and is also the oldest airline still operating in the US. Delta’s roots go back to 1924 before it started carrying passengers and was called Huff Daland Dusters, a crop dusting company based in Macon, Georgia. The name Delta Air Service was introduced in 1928.

Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest low-cost passenger airline. I’ve always admired the Southwest operation and found that the company knows to keep costs under control while maintaining a high level of customer service. One strategy the company used for decades was only to operate Boeing 737 aircraft, which kept maintenance and operating costs to a minimum.

39. Fonda or Ford : HENRY
Actor Henry Fonda had already started his Hollywood career when along came WWII. Fonda enlisted in the Navy, and served for three years on the destroyer USS Satterlee. Then he served as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in Air Combat Intelligence in the Pacific, earning the Bronze Star.

The industrialist Henry Ford was born in Michigan, and was the son of an Irish immigrant from County Cork. Ford’s most famous vehicle was the one that revolutionized the industry: the Model T. Ford’s goal with the Model T was to build a car that was simple to drive and and easy and cheap to purchase and repair. The Model T cost $825 in 1908, which isn’t much over $20,000 in today’s money.

42. Fast-food chain with the slogan “Live más” : TACO BELL
Taco Bell was founded by a former US Marine, 25-year-old Glen Bell. His first restaurant was Bell’s Drive-In, located in Southern California. After opening that first establishment, Bell bought up some more restaurants including four named El Taco. He sold off the El Taco restaurants but used the name in part when he opened his first Taco Bell in 1962. Bell sold then sold franchises, with the 100th Taco Bell opening in 1967. The ex-Marine sold off the whole chain to PepsiCo in 1978, and I am guessing he made a pretty penny. Taco Bell has been using the “Live Más” slogan since 2012, with “más” being the Spanish word for “more”.

47. Ancient kingdom whose capital was Nineveh : ASSYRIA
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in modern-day Iraq. The ruins of the city are located just on the other side of the river from the Iraqi city of Mosul. At one time, Nineveh was the largest city in the world.

57. Playbill listing : CAST
I get quite a kick out of reading the bios in “Playbill” as some of them can be really goofy and entertaining. “Playbill” started off in 1884 in New York as an in-house publication for just one theater on 21st St. You can’t see any decent-sized production these days anywhere in the United States without being handed a copy of “Playbill”.

58. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.

60. The “G” of L.G.B.T. : GAY
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)

64. High no. for a valedictorian : GPA
Grade point average (GPA)

A valediction is an act of taking one’s leave, from the Latin “vale dicere”, to say farewell. An example of a valediction would be the words “yours truly” at the end of a letter. And, the valedictorian (here in the US anyway) is the student in a graduating class that is chosen to say the final words at the graduation ceremony, a farewell to the classmates.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Green condiment served with sushi : WASABI
7. Hyphen’s longer cousin : EN DASH
13. Boxer George who lost the Rumble in the Jungle : FOREMAN
14. Excessively praised : VAUNTED
16. Brand of pasta : RONZONI
17. What golfers with equal numbers of squares and circles on their scorecards shoot : EVEN PAR
18. “So that’s your trick!” : OHO!
19. Took the wrong way? : STOLE
21. “Exodus” hero : ARI
22. Parceled (out) : DOLED
25. “TiK ___” (Ke$ha hit) : TOK
26. Effect’s counterpart : CAUSE
28. Ramen product : OODLES OF NOODLES
31. Stream : FLOW
32. Overnight lodges : INNS
33. Split-___ soup : PEA
36. Ouzo flavoring : ANISEED
38. “Thar ___ blows!” : SHE
41. Churchgoers, collectively : LAITY
43. Mo. when daylight saving time ends : NOV
44. Milo of “The Verdict” : O’SHEA
46. Taj Mahal city : AGRA
47. Helped : AIDED
49. Fisheye or zoom : LENS
50. Buyer’s bottom line : NET COST
52. Former full-size Buick : LESABRE
54. Mistakes : ERRORS
55. N’awlins sandwiches : PO’ BOYS
56. “Sesame Street” Muppet with wings and a magic wand : ABBY CADABBY
60. Donated : GAVE
62. Less common : RARER
63. Punk rock’s ___ Pop : IGGY
66. Figure skating jump : AXEL
67. Small bit of land in the ocean : ISLET
68. Back of the neck : NAPE
69. Shout : YELL
70. Molecule components : ATOMS
71. Annoying insect : GNAT

Down
1. Celebratory shout : WOO-HOO!
2. ___ Palmer (drink made with lemonade and iced tea) : ARNOLD
3. “Oh, yeah? ___ who?” : SEZ
4. I love, in Latin : AMO
5. Prohibits : BANS
6. Competing with the goal of victory : IN IT TO WIN IT
7. Daredevil in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame : EVEL KNIEVEL
8. Church area : NAVE
9. “With all ___ respect …” : DUE
10. Clothing retailer ___ Taylor : ANN
11. Capital of Minnesota : ST PAUL
12. Opposite of a life coach? : HEARSE
13. Hobbit played by Elijah Wood : FRODO
15. Helps with the dishes : DRIES
20. Sound that a punch in the gut elicits : OOF!
23. North Pole worker : ELF
24. Postpone : DELAY
26. Alternative to a co-op : CONDO
27. Commercials : ADS
29. Male delivery : SON
30. Pi’s first digit after the decimal : ONE
33. Carpentry tool : PLANE
34. Rarin’ to go : EAGER
35. Business for Delta or Southwest : AIR TRAVEL
37. Lawn section : SOD
38. Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan : SHEBOYGAN
39. Fonda or Ford : HENRY
40. Facilitates : EASES
42. Fast-food chain with the slogan “Live más” : TACO BELL
45. Applying thickly, with “on” : SLABBING
47. Ancient kingdom whose capital was Nineveh : ASSYRIA
48. Leaves : DEPARTS
51. Sphere : ORB
53. Have a bawl : SOB
57. Playbill listing : CAST
58. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO
59. Regard : DEEM
60. The “G” of L.G.B.T. : GAY
61. Firefighter’s tool : AXE
64. High no. for a valedictorian : GPA
65. Nevertheless : YET

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