Category: Samuel Smalley

Bill’s time: 16m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Measure of rank in Maori culture, informally : FACE TAT

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

13 Sauce in Italian-American cuisine : MARINARA

Italians use the term “marinara” not for a sauce, but in the name of a recipe that includes a tomato-based sauce. For example, “spaghetti alla marinara” would be a spaghetti dish, served “mariner’s style”. The tomato sauce that we call “marinara” is called “salsa di pomodoro” in Italy.

17 Having a single purpose : AD HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

18 Light that goes up when things are going down? : FLARE

The most commonly used flare gun was invented by an American naval officer, called Edward Wilson Very. He put his name to his invention (from the late 1800s), so we often hear the terms Very pistol, Very flare, and maybe even Very “light”. A Very pistol is indeed a gun, with a trigger and a hammer that’s cocked and can be reloaded with Very flares.

21 Crank cases? : UFOLOGY

In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.

23 Something pulled in many car chase scenes, for short : E-BRAKE

Emergency brake (e-brake)

25 Home to the Arco di Constantino : ROMA

The Arch of Constantine in Rome was the inspiration for subsequent structures built around the world, including the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Marble Arch in London and the main facade of Union Station in Washington, D.C.

33 Many an attachment : PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications and platforms, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

37 Longtime name in Cuban politics : RAUL

Raul Castro is the younger brother of Fidel Castro. Raul took over as President of Cuba in 2008, when Fidel stepped aside. Raul resigned his position in 2018, and retired from politics.

38 Those playing the king of Egypt in “Aïda” : BASSOS

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

39 Monthly magazine that sponsors a large annual music festival in New Orleans : ESSENCE

“Essence” is a women’s magazine aimed at the African American female, covering fashion and beauty. First published in 1970, the magazine’s slogan is “Fierce, Fun and Fabulous”.

45 Smallest member of the eurozone (122 square miles) : MALTA

The island state of Malta is relatively small (122 square miles), but its large number of inhabitants makes it one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. Malta’s strategic location has made it a prized possession for the conquering empires of the world. Most recently it was part of the British Empire and was an important fleet headquarters. Malta played a crucial role for the Allies during WWII as it was located very close to the Axis shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The Siege of Malta lasted from 1940 to 1942, a prolonged attack by the Italians and Germans on the RAF and Royal Navy, and the people of Malta. When the siege was lifted, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta collectively in recognition of their heroism and devotion to the Allied cause. The George Cross can still be seen on the Maltese flag, even though Britain granted Malta independence in 1964.

48 Spirals out of control? : TORNADOES

Although a tornado (plural “tornadoes, tornados”) can be encountered in many locations around the world, it is most likely to be experienced in North America, and particularly in “Tornado Alley” in the central US. The Canadian Tornado Alley in southern Canada is where one is second most likely in the world to encounter a tornado.

50 Panhellenic Games venue : NEMEA

Someone from Greece can be called a Hellene. “Ellas” is the Greek word for “Greece”, the name of the country. Greece is also known as the “Hellenic” Republic.

Down

1 Understands : FATHOMS

To fathom something is to comprehend it, to get to the bottom of something. The verb comes from the noun “fathom”, the unit used in measuring the distance between the surface and “the bottom” of a body of water.

2 Site of some piercings : AREOLA

An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” (plural “areolae”) comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.

3 “There’s never been a better time” tech sloganeer : CISCO

Cisco is a company that I really admire (in terms of innovation and management). Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco develops and sells products and services in the communications sector. The name “Cisco” was taken from the name of the city San Francisco.

4 Fangorn resident : ENT

Fangorn Forest is a location in the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Notably, it is the home of the Ents, a race of beings who closely resemble trees.

5 Sweet doings at a county fair : TAFFY PULLS

Salt water taffy was invented in Atlantic City and is now found all over the US, but primarily in coastal towns (for some reason) and not really outside of America. Taffy is made by stretching the solid mass made by boiling up sugar, butter, flavoring, and coloring until it achieves a fluffy texture. Despite the inference in the name, the recipe for salt water taffy does not include “seawater”, but does include both salt and water.

6 ___ Sea, locale of a 20th-century environmental disaster : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how humankind can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

9 It works in translation : RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a single-stranded molecule that is made up of nucleotides. The four nucleotides that make up RNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U). RNA is transcribed from DNA, which means that the information stored in DNA is used to create RNA. RNA then carries this information to the ribosomes, which are the cellular structures responsible for protein synthesis.

15 21st-century first lady : LAURA

Laura Bush, wife of President George W. Bush, had her memoir “Spoken from the Heart” published in 2010. Born Laura Lane Welch, the former First Lady has a Master’s degree in Library Science (as does my wife, my own First Lady!). Given that background, it’s not surprising that two causes that Laura Bush focused on while in the White House were education and literacy. She established the annual National Book Festival, first held in Washington, D.C. in 2001, after having co-founded the Texas Book Festival in her home state.

19 Attire for many a flamenco dancer : RED DRESS

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

24 Bonheur who painted “Ploughing in the Nivernais” : ROSA

Rosa Bonheur was a painter and sculptor from France who was noted for her works that featured animals as subjects. Bonheur’s two most-famous works are “Ploughing in the Nivernais” depicting a team of oxen, and “The Horse Fair”, depicting some spirited horses.

28 Colorful swimmers in the Amazon : NEON TETRAS

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

30 Energy device that reflects sunlight : HELIOSTAT

A heliostat is a device designed to reflect sunlight towards a particular target and to maintain that reflection on the target even as the sun moves across the sky. These days, heliostats are primarily used to provide extended periods of light inside a building, or to aid in the production of solar energy. The term “heliostat” comes from the Greek “helios” meaning “sun” and “stat” meaning ‘stationary”.

35 Dogbane? : FLEAS

Today, we tend to use the word “bane” to mean “anathema, a source of persistent annoyance”. A few centuries ago, a bane was a cause of harm or death, perhaps a deadly poison.

37 FAQ heading : READ ME

A readme (or “read me”) file is usually a simple text file that is issued with software when it is distributed. It often contains the latest information about the application, including bugs that were found at the last minute just before release.

38 East African honorific : BWANA

“Bwana” is a Swahili word meaning “important person” or “leader of a safari”.