Category: Richard Martin

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
11. Welcome sign for a B’way angel : SRO
Standing Room Only (SRO).

“Broadway angels” are people who invest money in Broadway shows.

14. Dental deposits : CALCULI
Calculus or tartar is dental plaque that has hardened on the surface of teeth. Plaque is removed relatively easily by brushing and flossing. Once plaque has hardened into tartar though, a dental hygienist usually needs to intervene.

15. P, to Pythagoras : RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

Pythagoras of Samos is remembered by most these days for his work in mathematics, and for his famous Pythagorean theorem that states that in any right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Although there is very little of Pythagoras’s own work that survives, much has been written by his successors that shows how great his influence was above and beyond mathematics, in the fields of philosophy and religion in particular. In fact, it is believed that Pythagoras coined the word “philosophy”, coming from the Greek for “loving wisdom or knowledge”. On a “timeline” of famous Greek philosophers, Pythagoras was doing his work over a hundred years before Socrates, who was followed by Plato and then Aristotle.

17. Senior softballers, e.g.? : THE A(GED) TEAM
“The A-Team” is an action television series that originally ran in the eighties. The A-Team was a group of ex-US special forces personnel who became mercenaries. Star of the show was Hollywood actor George Peppard, ably assisted by Mr. T and Robert Vaughan.

19. LAX monitor info : ETA
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

20. “The Turner Diaries” conflict : RACE WAR
“The Turner Diaries” is an inflammatory novel written by white nationalist William Luther Pierce under the pen name Andrew Macdonald. In the storyline there is a race war leading to the extermination of non-white groups. When Timothy McVeigh was caught after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the authorities found in his possession two pages from “The Turner Diaries”, pages that described a fictional bombing of the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

21. ___ Flux (Charlize Theron role) : AEON
“Aeon Flux” is a sci-fi film from 2005 starring Charlize Theron in the title role.

Charlize Theron is an actress from South Africa who has played leading roles in Hollywood films such as “The Devil’s Advocate”, “The Cider House Rules” and my personal favorite “The Italian Job”.

22. Star in Cygnus : DENEB
Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation called Cygnus, the Swan. The name “Deneb” comes from the Arabic word “dhaneb” meaning tail, as it lies at “the tail” of the swan.

27. Gooey camp fare : S’MORES
S’mores are a treat peculiar to North America, usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

29. CNN’s Barnett and others : ERROLS
Errol Barnett is a CNN anchor who is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Barnett was born in England, but was educated in Phoenix, Arizona.

30. Counterpart of long. : LAT
Lines of latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:

– Arctic Circle
– Tropic of Cancer
– Equator
– Tropic of Capricorn
– Antarctic Circle

35. Descartes’s “sum,” translated : I AM
The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement, in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum” … “I think, therefore I am”.

36. Former first lady sporting a different outfit? : JACKIE CHAN(GED)
Jackie Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of Wall Street stock broker John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and first met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. Years later, after she saw her husband assassinated and then her brother-in-law (Bobby Kennedy) suffer the same fate, Jackie declared that she feared for the life of her children as they bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.

Jackie Chan is an actor from Hong Kong who is noted for his action and martial arts films. When Chan was 17-years-old he featured as a stunt actor in Bruce Lee movies. He also starred in the 1982 Hong Kong action film “Dragon Lord” which includes a fight scene that required an amazing 2900 takes, a record in the movie industry.

41. El Al hub city : LOD
The city of Lod lies just a few miles southeast of Tel Aviv, and is the home of Ben Gurion International, Israel’s main airport.

45. Greyhound lookalike : SALUKI
The Saluki is also known as the Persian Greyhound or the Royal Dog of Egypt. The Saluki breed has been around a long time. Salukis feature in petroglyphs in Iran that date back to over 10,000 years ago.

51. Small-screen performance of “Hamlet,” e.g.? : TV TRA(GED)Y
“Hamlet” is William Shakespeare’s longest play, and was also one of most popular of the playwright’s works during his lifetime.

56. Thai currency : BAHT
The baht is the currency of Thailand, and is subdivided into 100 satang.

57. Broadway title character who sings “Tea for Two” : NANETTE
The 1925 musical “No, No, Nanette” spawned two famous songs: “Tea for Two” and “I Want to Be Happy”.

59. Vacation time in Versailles : ETE
One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in France.

Versailles is a city located just 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is famous of course as home to the magnificent Palace of Versailles.

60. King, queen or jack? : VISA(GED) CARD
“Visage” is the French word for “face”.

64. Lineage-based women’s org. : DAR
In order to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), an applicant has to prove that she is a descendant of someone closely associated with, and supportive of, the American Revolution.

68. Leftorium owner on “The Simpsons” : NED
The Leftorium is a store in “The Simpsons”. It’s located in the Springfield Mall and is owned by Ned Flanders. The Leftorium specializes in products made for left-handed people.

Down
3. Barley wine, really : ALE
Barley wine is a very strong ale from England. The term “barley wine” is used because the alcohol content of the beer is similar to that of wine (8-12%) and yet it is made from grain rather than fruit.

5. Zimbabwean strongman Robert : MUGABE
Robert Mugabe is the current President of Zimbabwe. Mugabe came to power in 1980, first as Prime Minister and then as President. Prior to taking over leadership of the country, he was a leader in the fight against rule by the white minority. Mugabe’s period of rule has been marked by violence and a rapidly deteriorating economy.

6. Author Waugh : ALEC
Alec Waugh was the older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both Waughs were successful novelists (Evelyn of “Brideshead Revisited” fame), but what I like about Alec is that he supposedly invented the cocktail party. He invited his friends around “for tea” in the twenties, and served them all rum swizzles instead!

8. Nymph of Mount Ida, e.g. : OREAD
The Oreads were the nymphs that accompanied the goddess Artemis on her hunting expeditions.

13. Cousins of chimps : ORANGS
Orangutans are arboreal creatures, in fact the largest arboreal animals known to man. Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, living in the rain forests. Like many animals in rain forests these days, orangutans are endangered, with only two species surviving. The word “orangutan” is Malay, meaning “man of the forest”.

18. Pan Am rival : TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan-Am, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the acronym TWA) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

22. Cable alternative, for short : DSL
DSL originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is the technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

26. CNN’s Burnett : ERIN
Erin Burnett is a television journalist, the host of her own show on CNN called “Erin Burnett OutFront”. Apparently Burnett also shows up occasionally as advisor to Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.

28. One of a biathlete’s pair : SKI
A biathlon is an event requiring expertise in two sporting disciplines. The most common biathlon is the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. This traditional biathlon was born out of an exercise for soldiers in Norway.

33. “The Name of the Rose” author : ECO
Umberto Eco is an Italian writer, probably best known for his novel “The Name of the Rose” published in 1980. In 1986, “The Name of the Rose” was adapted into a movie with the same title starring Sean Connery.

38. Pittsburgh radio station since 1920, said to be the world’s first : KDKA
KDKA is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania radio station that lays claim to being the world’s first commercially licensed radio station. One of the station’s first broadcasts was the US presidential election results in November 1920.

40. Humorist Barry : DAVE
Dave Barry is a very humorous guy, an author and columnist. Barry also plays lead guitar in a rock band called The Rock Bottom Remainders. Also included in the band are noted authors Stephen King, Amy Tan and Scott Turow.

44. Many a H.S. dropout’s goal … and what’s added to 17-, 25-, 36-, 51- and 60-Across : GED
The General Education Diploma (GED) is a substitute for a high school diploma. The GED might be awarded to high school dropouts who later complete their education, or to students who are homeschooled.

45. “Venerable” monk of old England : ST BEDE
The Venerable Bede was a monk in the north of England in the first century AD. Saint Bede is mainly known as an author and scholar, publisher of “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”.

46. First movie to gross more than $2 billion (2009) : AVATAR
I went to the 3D version of “Avatar” when I saw it for the first time … it really is the only way to see that movie!

54. Safecrackers : YEGGS
“Yegg” is a slang word for a burglar and often for a safe-cracker. The origin of the term appears to be unknown.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Blood bank supplies : PLASMAS
8. Foliage-viewing mo. : OCT
11. Welcome sign for a B’way angel : SRO
14. Dental deposits : CALCULI
15. P, to Pythagoras : RHO
16. Pricing word : PER
17. Senior softballers, e.g.? : THE A(GED) TEAM
19. LAX monitor info : ETA
20. “The Turner Diaries” conflict : RACE WAR
21. ___ Flux (Charlize Theron role) : AEON
22. Star in Cygnus : DENEB
25. K-9 Corps member? : BAD(GED) DOG
27. Gooey camp fare : S’MORES
29. CNN’s Barnett and others : ERROLS
30. Counterpart of long. : LAT
31. Had down cold : KNEW
35. Descartes’s “sum,” translated : I AM
36. Former first lady sporting a different outfit? : JACKIE CHAN(GED)
41. El Al hub city : LOD
42. Tries to win : WOOS
43. Make “it” : TAG
45. Greyhound lookalike : SALUKI
48. Magician’s hiding spot : SLEEVE
51. Small-screen performance of “Hamlet,” e.g.? : TV TRA(GED)Y
55. Missed the mark : ERRED
56. Thai currency : BAHT
57. Broadway title character who sings “Tea for Two” : NANETTE
59. Vacation time in Versailles : ETE
60. King, queen or jack? : VISA(GED) CARD
64. Lineage-based women’s org. : DAR
65. Ore suffix : -ITE
66. Sparkly component of face paint : GLITTER
67. ‘Fore : ERE
68. Leftorium owner on “The Simpsons” : NED
69. Teeter-totters : SEESAWS

Down
1. Fig. on an I.R.S. schedule : PCT
2. “Well, ___-di-dah!” : LAH
3. Barley wine, really : ALE
4. Fun house worker, maybe : SCARER
5. Zimbabwean strongman Robert : MUGABE
6. Author Waugh : ALEC
7. Lesser-played half of a 45 : SIDE B
8. Nymph of Mount Ida, e.g. : OREAD
9. Use plastic : CHARGE
10. Certain turkey : TOM
11. Dash component : SPEEDOMETER
12. Prepare for next year’s models, say : RETOOL
13. Cousins of chimps : ORANGS
18. Pan Am rival : TWA
21. “What ___” (“Ho-hum”) : A DRAG
22. Cable alternative, for short : DSL
23. Mus. key with four sharps : E-MAJ
24. A few bricks short of a load : NOT ALL THERE
26. CNN’s Burnett : ERIN
28. One of a biathlete’s pair : SKI
32. Common packaging word : NEW
33. “The Name of the Rose” author : ECO
34. “___ knows?” : WHO
37. Try to win : COURT
38. Pittsburgh radio station since 1920, said to be the world’s first : KDKA
39. Fool : ASS
40. Humorist Barry : DAVE
44. Many a H.S. dropout’s goal … and what’s added to 17-, 25-, 36-, 51- and 60-Across : GED
45. “Venerable” monk of old England : ST BEDE
46. First movie to gross more than $2 billion (2009) : AVATAR
47. Put a match to : IGNITE
49. Allow to expire : LET DIE
50. Puts up : ERECTS
52. Relaxed : EASED
53. Paternity suit evidence : DNA
54. Safecrackers : YEGGS
58. Prefix with cast : TELE-
60. Rouge or blanc selection : VIN
61. ___ crossroads : AT A
62. FF’s opposite, on a VCR : REW
63. “ER” personnel : DRS

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