Category: Philippe Monfiston

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7A Food brand for Fido : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo dog food in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

16A Avocado dip, informally : GUAC

Guacamole is one of my favorite dishes. It is prepared by mashing avocados and perhaps adding the likes of tomato, onion and lime juice. The guacamole recipe dates back as early as the 16th century, to the time of the Aztecs. “Guacamole” translates as “avocado sauce”.

18A Audience’s reverent response to a symphony finale? : CODA SILENCE (from “code of silence”)

In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

22A That certain je ne sais quoi in Beethoven’s “Moonlight”? : SONATA THING (from “so not a thing”)

A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labeled as something lighter and shorter.

Beethoven subtitled his “Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27, No. 2” as “Quasi una fantasia”, or “sonata in the manner of a fantasy” in English. Five years after Beethoven died, a music critic wrote that the first movement of the piece had an effect like that of moonlight shining on Lake Lucerne. Since then, the work has been known as the “Moonlight Sonata”.

25A Measure of college readiness, for short : PSAT

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)

26A Knuckled rub to the scalp : NOOGIE

A noogie is a childish move in which someone rubs his (and it’s always a guy!) knuckles into a person’s head to create a little soreness.

31A Tagging symbols : ATS

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial world, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

32A ___-Magnon : CRO

Remains of early man, dating back to 35,000 years ago, were found in Abri de Cro-Magnon in southwest France, giving the name to those early humans. Cro-Magnon remains are among the oldest human relics that have been discovered in Europe.

33A Vegas opener? : LAS

Back in the 1800s, the Las Vegas Valley was given its name from the extensive meadows (“las vegas” is Spanish for “the meadows”) present in the area courtesy of the artesian wells drilled by local farmers. Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1905, in the days when it was a stopping-off point for pioneers traveling west. It eventually became a railroad town, although with the coming of the railroad growth halted as travelers began to bypass Las Vegas. The city’s tourism industry took off in 1935 with the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam, which is still a popular attraction. Then gambling was legalized, and things really started to move. Vegas was picked, largely by celebrated figures in “the mob”, as a convenient location across the California/Nevada state line that could service the vast population of Los Angeles. As a result, Las Vegas is the most populous US city founded in the 20th century (Chicago is the most populous US city founded in the 19th century, just in case you were wondering).

34A Perry of pop : KATY

Katy Perry is an American singer who grew up listening to and singing gospel music, as she was the daughter of two Christian pastors. In fact, her first musical release was a gospel album in 2001. She has branched out since then. Her first successful single was “Ur so Gay”, followed by “I Kissed A Girl”. She was married (only for a year) to the British comedian Russell Brand, until 2012.

39A Belgrade native : SERB

Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia. The name “Belgrade” translates into “White City”.

40A “Beats me,” in a text : IDK

I don’t know (IDK)

41A Caviar, essentially : ROE

Caviar is the roe of a large fish that has been salted and seasoned, and especially the roe of a sturgeon. Beluga caviar comes from the beluga sturgeon, which is found primarily in the Caspian Sea. It is the most expensive type of caviar in the world. 8 ounces of US-farmed beluga caviar can be purchased through Amazon.com for just over $850, in case you’re feeling peckish …

42A Miss Piggy, for one : SOW

The Muppet named Miss Piggy has a pretentious air, and so refers to herself as “moi”. In 1998, Miss Piggy even released her own perfume called “Moi”.

49A Chant heard at the start of “Hot Hot Hot” : OLE, OLE!

“Hot Hot Hot” is a song written and first recorded in 1982 by Arrow, a singer-songwriter from the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. “Hot Hot Hot” became a dance floor hit for Arrow, and then really took off when it was covered in 1987 by Buster Poindexter. Ole ole …

51A Girl in Glasgow : LASS

Glasgow sits on the River Clyde, and is the largest city in Scotland. Back in the Victorian Era, Glasgow earned a reputation for excellence in shipbuilding and was known as “Second City of the British Empire”. Glasgow shipyards were the birthplaces of such famous vessels as the Lusitania, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. People from Glasgow are known as Glaswegians.

52A Alias initialism : AKA

Also known as (aka)

57A Popular flavor of bubble tea : TARO

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

58A “What’s Opera, Doc?,” e.g.? : ARIA KIDDING (from “are you kidding?)

“What’s Opera, Doc?” is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. It’s all about Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny to musical extracts from Wagnerian operas. The most famous line from the cartoon is “Kill the Wabbit”, which Elmer sings to the main theme from “Ride of the Valkyries”. “What’s Opera, Doc?” cost Warner Bros. about six times as much as any other cartoon the studio had produced up to that time.

62A Respond, as a pupil might : DILATE

The pupil of the eye is the hole located in the center of the iris through which light enters the retina. The term “pupil” came into English via French from the latin “pupilla”, which is the diminutive form of “pupa” meaning “girl, doll”. The term came about due to the tiny doll-like image that one can see of oneself when looking into the center of another’s eyes.

64A Painter Paul : KLEE

Artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. We can see many of Klee’s works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005. Klee’s most celebrated work is his pointillist painting from 1932 called “Ad Parnassum”, which is owned by the Kunstmuseum, also located in Bern.

65A Key of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 : E MINOR

“Symphony No. 4 in E minor” by Johannes Brahms was his last symphony.

Down

1D Covered passageway : ARCADE

Our word “arcade” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “arc”. The first arcades were passages made from a series of arches. This could be an avenue of trees, and eventually any covered avenue. I remember arcades lined with shops and stores when I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Arcades came to be lined with lots of amusements, resulting in amusement arcades and video game arcades.

2D Meteor in a November shower : LEONID

The two most famous meteor showers are the Perseids and Leonids. The Perseid meteor shower is most visible around August 12th each year, and the Leonid meteor shower is most notable around November 17th. The Perseids appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, and the Leonids from the constellation Leo (hence the names “Perseids” and “Leonids”).

4D Actor Astin of the “Lord of the Rings” films : SEAN

Sean Astin is best known for playing the title role in the 1993 film “Rudy” and the character Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” movies. You might also have seen him playing Lynn McGill in the 5th season of “24”. Astin is the son of actress Patty Duke, and the adopted son of actor John Astin (of “The Addams Family” fame).

8D Moon over Managua : LUNA

Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua. It is located on the shores of Lake Managua in the west of the country.

10D What Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa are both believed to have : OCEANS

Saturn has over 250 known moons, with over 50 of them having formal names. The moon named Titan accounts for more than 90% of the total mass orbiting the planet.

So far, Jupiter is known to have about 150 moons, more than any other planet in the Solar System. The four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) were discovered by Galileo in 1610, making them the first objects found that did not orbit either the Earth or the Sun.

11D The Gem State : IDAHO

Idaho has the nickname “Gem State”, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State, as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state. I’d go for the potatoes over the gems, but that’s probably just me. Oh, and Idaho license plates have borne the slogan “Famous Potatoes” for decades …

13D Dublin college founded in 1592 : TRINITY

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is one of the ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, and was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. For much of its existence, it was the Protestant university for Ireland’s ruling elite. From 1871 until as late as 1970, the Catholic Church actually had a ban on Catholics attending the college without a special dispensation. There was also a tenuous link between TCD and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. At a time when the two English universities were refusing to confer degrees upon women, over 700 female graduates crossed the Irish Sea to receive degrees from Trinity College Dublin, in recognition of the completion of their studies in “Oxbridge”. These women earned the colorful nickname “Steamboat ladies”.

19D Good gardening soil : LOAM

Loam is soil made up of sand, silt and clay in the ratio of about 40-40-20. Relative to other soil types, loam is usually rich in nutrients and moisture, drains well and is easy to till. Loam can also be used in constructing houses as it is quite strong when mixed with straw and dried.

23D Traditional samurai hairstyles : TOPKNOTS

Samurai were noble military officers in medieval and early-modern Japan who served particular clans and lords. Originally known as “bushi” in Japanese, the term “samurai” was introduced in the early part of the 18th century.

25D Graph of y = ax² + bx + c, for example : PARABOLA

A parabola is roughly a u-shape curve. Parabolic mirrors have cross-sections that are parabolic curves. Such mirrors have the characteristic that light emanating from the parabola’s focal point leaves the mirror as a parallel beam, a collimated beam.

30D Forehead marking at the start of Lent : ASH

In the Christian tradition, the first day in the season of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On that day, Palm Crosses from the prior year’s Palm Sunday are burned. The resulting ashes are mixed with sacred oil and then used to anoint worshipers on the forehead with the shape of a cross.

35D Big name in hardware stores : ACE

The Ace Hardware chain of stores was founded in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. The name “Ace” comes from “ace” fighter pilots from World War I.

38D Jean-Bertrand ___, 1990s Haitian leader : ARISTIDE

Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian native. When he was 29 years old he entered the priesthood, after having studied in Italy, Greece and Israel. He served as a priest in Haiti under the brutal regimes of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc”. Aristide became an outspoken critic of the dictators, and many times incurred their wrath. While still a priest, he was elected to the office of president, in the country’s first democratic election. Aristide was also an outspoken critic of the church, and in 1994 left the priesthood, getting married 12 months later.

48D Rolling Stones frontman : JAGGER

The Rolling Stones lead singer’s full name is Sir Michael Philip Jagger. “Mick” was knighted for his services to popular music in 2003.

50D Absorber of UV light : OZONE

Ozone gets its name from the Greek word “ozein” meaning “to smell”. It was given this name as ozone’s formation during lightning storms was detected by the gas’s distinctive smell. Famously, there is a relatively high concentration of the gas in the “ozone layer” in the Earth’s stratosphere. This ozone layer provides a vital function for animal life on the planet as it absorbs most of the sun’s UV radiation. A molecule of ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms (O3), whereas a “normal” oxygen (O2) has just two atoms.

54D Word with cavity or contraceptive : ORAL …

“The Pill” is more correctly called “the combined oral contraceptive pill”. The formulation is a combination of an estrogen called estradiol and a progestogen called progestin.

56D Savory South Asian rice cake : IDLI

Idli (also “idly”) are savory rice cakes in the cuisine from the Indian subcontinent. The cakes are made from de-husked, fermented black lentils incorporated into a batter and then steamed.