Category: Trenton Charlson

Constructed by: Trenton Charlson
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 14m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Opportunities to watch the big game? : SAFARIS

“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey” or “expedition”.

20 Dessert traditionally served with an RC Cola in the South : MOON PIE

Marshmallow cream was developed in 1927. Soon after, workers in the coal mines around Chattanooga, Tennessee started dipping graham crackers in marshmallow cream as a snack. Then a local baker jumped on the idea, and came up with a sandwich made with a marshmallow filling between two round graham crackers. His young grandson remarked that the popped bubbles in the marshmallow (from baking) looked like moon craters, and the Moon Pie was born. I used to love them as a kid, although we called them “Wagon Wheels” in our part of the world.

Nehi Corporation was the nickname for the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works that introduced the Nehi drink in 1924. Years later the company developed a new brand, Royal Crown Cola (also known as RC Cola). By 1955, RC Cola was the company’s flagship product, so the “Nehi Corporation” became the “Royal Crown Company”. In 1954, RC Cola became the first company to sell soft drinks in cans.

22 “The Bottle ___” (short story by Robert Louis Stevenson) : IMP

Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) was a Scottish author. He was most famous for his novels “Treasure Island”, “Kidnapped” and “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.

23 Disappointing R.S.V.P.s : NOES

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

29 F1 neighbor : ESC

The escape key (Esc) was originally used to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of things, especially in gaming programs.

30 As low as you can go : NADIR

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

31 Historical subject of a Verdi opera : ATTILA

Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Attila” is based on the play “Attila, King of the Huns” written by Friedrich Werner. The opera premiered in 1846 in Venice.

33 Powerful engine : TURBOJET

Turbofans and turbojets are types of aircraft engine. Turbofan engines are quite common on large passenger aircraft. Turbojet engines are more efficient at speeds higher than Mach 2, so are more likely to be found on something like a cruise missile.

51 Virtual community admin : SYSOP

System operator (sysop)

53 Zola title heroine : NANA

“Nana” is a novel by the French author Émile Zola. It is the ninth in a series of twenty books collectively given the title “Les Rougon-Macquart”. The series follows the life of a fictional family during the Second French Empire in the second half of the 19th century.

57 Classic sports cars : MGS

My neighbor used to keep his MG Midget roadster in my garage (away from his kids!) back in Ireland many moons ago. The Midget was produced by the MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979, with the MG initialism standing for “Morris Garages”.

58 Titular woodcutter of a folk tale : ALI BABA

There is some controversy about the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” in that it has been suggested it was not part of the original collection of Arabic tales called “One Thousand and One Nights”. The suggestion is that the Ali Baba tale was added by one of the European translators of the collection.

60 Bygone brand of weight-loss pills : TRIMSPA

TrimSpa was a dietary supplement touted as an aid to weight loss. Its active ingredients were stimulants (like caffeine and ephedra). TrimSpa became quite famous when the manufacturers hired Anna Nicole Smith as spokesperson for the product. The company went bankrupt soon after the Federal Trade Commission issued fines for making false claims in advertising.

65 Peacock feature : EYESPOT

An ocellus (plural “ocelli”) is an eye-like marking, or eyespot. A good example of ocelli are the eyespots on the elaborate display feathers of a peacock.

Down

1 “Driving Miss Daisy” setting : ATLANTA

The 1989 movie “Driving Miss Daisy” is based on the 1987 play by Alfred Uhry. Not only did Uhry win the Pulitzer for the play, he also won an Academy Award for the screenplay for the movie. In a famous scene, when Hoke, Miss Daisy’s driver takes her from Atlanta to Mobile for her brother’s 90th birthday party, Hoke reveals to his passenger that the journey marked the first time he had ever left his home state of Georgia.

3 Any character with a token in Clue : SUSPECT

Clue is board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

5 Fall guy? : ADAM

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

6 Ingredient in some chips : CAROB

The carob is a tree or shrub in the pea family that is mainly grown for its seed pods. The carob seeds are dried or roasted, and when powdered or chipped make a good substitute for chocolate.

7 Automaker Bugatti who reportedly said “I make my cars to go, not to stop” : ETTORE

Italian Ettore Bugatti founded his company Automobiles E. Bugatti in 1909 in Alsace, then part of Germany. Bugatti cars were noted for the beauty of their design as well as their performance. Ettore came from an artistic family. His younger brother Rembrandt Bugatti was a noted sculptor.

9 First name in erotica : ANAIS

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

14 Dr. Ruth, for one : SEXPERT

Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a German sex therapist who made a name for herself as a media personality. Westheimer is the daughter of Orthodox Jews and was sent away from Germany by her family just before WWII. She ended up in Palestine and participated in the 1948 Palestine War serving as a scout and sniper. Westheimer was seriously wounded, and spent several months unable to walk. She moved to France in 1950, and soon after arrived in the US. It was in the US where she did her training as a sex therapist.

21 Cartoonist Thomas : NAST

Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. Nast was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today.

26 Kip spender : LAOTIAN

The kip has been the unit of currency in Laos since 1952. One kip is divided into 100 att.

30 Its headquarters are at 30 Rockefeller Plaza : NBC TV

What is now called the GE Building in New York City, was originally known as the RCA Building, with the name changing in 1988 after the 1986 takeover of RCA by GE. The building was completed in 1933 as part of the Rockefeller Center and was named for its main tenant RCA. Famously, the skyscraper’s address of 30 Rockefeller Center is routinely shortened to “30 Rock”.

32 Band aid : AMP

An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

34 Hall monitors, for short : RAS

A resident assistant or resident adviser (RA) is a peer leader found in a residence hall, particularly on a college campus.

38 “Yesterday” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” e.g. : BALLADS

“Yesterday” is such a beautiful ballad. It was written by Paul McCartney, who also routinely performed the song as a solo piece. “Yesterday” wasn’t originally released as a single, and first appeared as a track on the 1965 Beatles album, “Help!” In several polls over in the UK, “Yesterday” has been named the number one pop song of all time.

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is an epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge that was first published in 1798. The publication of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is said to mark the beginning of the Romantic period of British literature. Perhaps the lines most often quoted from the poem are:

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where
Nor any drop to drink

39 Biological rings : AREOLAE

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”.

40 Boxer rebellion? : DOG BITE

The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites!) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful combination. Our current family dog is a boxer/pug mix, and is another gorgeous animal.

44 Spicy Chinese dish with peanuts : KUNG PAO

Kung Pao chicken is a Sichuan stir-fry dish that includes chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers. The name “Kung Pao” is thought to come from a governor of the Sichuan province whose title was “Gongbao”, meaning “Palace Guardian”.

45 Ingredient in some chips : SEA SALT

The lobbyists have done their job when it comes to the labelling of “sea salt”. In the US, sea salt doesn’t even have to come from the sea. The argument is that all salt came from the sea if you look back far enough. The politics of food; don’t get me started …

48 Blood lines : AORTAE

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

52 Friend of Thomas the Tank Engine : PERCY

My kids really loved Thomas the Tank Engine when they were young. The “Thomas the Tank Engine” television show is based on the series of books by the Reverend W. V. Awdry and his son. The TV series was remarkable in that it attracted some celebrity narrators, the first being ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. I think American audiences might have been more familiar with George Carlin, and then Alec Baldwin. Pierce Brosnan also had a go, narrating a TV special. I remember being on a flight one time with Ringo Starr (we didn’t sit together!). When I told our kids’ babysitter a few days later about my celebrity encounter, she was marginally impressed although I had to explain that he was the drummer for the Beatles. When I added that Ringo was also the narrator for the “Thomas the Tank Engine” show, she nearly fainted with excitement. A generation gap exists …

59 “Poppycock!” : BAH!

It is thought that the relatively gentle term “poppycock”, meaning “nonsense”, comes from a Dutch word for “dung” combined with a Latin word for “excrete”. Not so gentle after all …

61 ___ Peacock : MRS

Mrs. Peacock is a suspect in the game Clue.