Category: Will Nediger

Bill’s time: 22m 00s

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15. Smetana composition inspired by a river : THE MOLDAU

The Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic. We might perhaps know the river as “the Moldau”, which is its German name, as we might be familiar with the symphonic poem called “The Moldau” by Bedřich Smetana.

25. 777, e.g. : AIRLINER

The Boeing 777 was introduced in 1995, when ti was the company’s first fly-by-wire airliner. It has been tremendously successful, with Boeing receiving more orders for the 777 than any other model.

26. Target of some shots : FLU VIRUS

Influenza (flu) is an ailment that is caused by a virus. The virus is readily inactivated by the use of soap, so washing hands and surfaces is especially helpful in containing flu outbreaks.

28. Creature that can walk on lava : NENE

Those would be lava plains.

The nene is a bird that native to Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name “nene” is imitative of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful. The nene was named State Bird of Hawaii in 1957.

30. Opposite of pobre : RICO

In Spanish, most would say it’s better to be “rico” (rich) that “pobre” (poor).

32. Sierra and others : GMCS

The GMC Sierra truck is also sold as the Chevrolet Silverado.

35. Leslie’s friend on “Parks and Recreation” : ANN

“Parks and Recreation” is a sitcom that started airing on NBC in 2009, and is a show that has grown on me. It stars the “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler. The creators of “Parks and Recreation” are part of the team responsible for the American version of “The Office”, so you’ll notice some similarities in the style of the two shows, and some actors that have appeared in both.

36. Mutant villain of Marvel Comics : MAGNETO

In the Marvel Comics universe, Magneto is a powerful mutant and an enemy of the X-Men. As his name implies, Magneto’s superhuman ability is that he can generate and control magnetic fields. Magneto has been portrayed on the big screen in the “X-Men” series of films by Sir Ian McKellen, and by Michael Fassbender.

39. Gambler’s spot : PIP

A pip is a dot on a die or a domino, or a mark on a playing card.

40. Bottom of the barrel : LEES

The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), are also called “lees”.

42. Former Senate majority leader who was once an amateur boxer : REID

Democrat Harry Reid was the Senate Majority leader from 2007 until 2015. Reid had a big day in the Senate from a Democratic perspective with the successful passage of the so-called ObamaCare Bill. Paradoxically, Harry Reid’s wife was in hospital at the time, having broken her back in a car accident. Reid took over as Senate Majority leader from Republican Bill Frist who retired from politics in 2007. Reid was replaced in 2015 by Republican Mitch McConnell.

53. Activity at a comic con : COSPLAY

Cosplay (costume play)

Comic convention (comic con)

55. Fancy restaurant topping? : TOQUE

A toque was a brimless style of hat that was very fashionable in Europe in the 13th to 16th centuries. Nowadays we associate toques with chefs, as it is the name given to a chef’s hat (called a “toque blanche” in French, a “white hat”). A chef’s toque is quite interesting. Many toques have exactly 100 pleats, often said to signify the number of ways that an egg can be cooked.

56. “The Mikado” and “The Merry Widow” : OPERETTAS

“The Mikado” is a wonderful comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan that is set in the exotic location of Japan. “Mikado” is a word formerly used for the “Emperor of Japan”. In the story, Nanki-Poo is the Mikado’s son, who falls in love with Yum-Yum.

“The Merry Widow” is an operetta composed by Franz Lehar. It is a comic piece about a rich widow and the attempts by her countrymen to marry her off in order to keep her fortune in the poverty-stricken Grand Duchy of Pontevedro. “The Merry Widow” was first performed in 1905 and has been popular ever since.

61. What sharks take interest in : USURY

Usury used to be the practice of simply lending money at interest, but the term now refers to lending at rates of interest that are excessive.

62. Rebel fighter during the Mexican Revolution : ZAPATISTA

Emiliano Zapata was a leader in the Mexican Revolution that took place from 1910 to 1920. Zapata was the leader of the Liberation Army of the South, a force more commonly referred to as the Zapatistas.

Down

5. Mass appeal : POPULISM

Populism is a political doctrine that appeals to the masses, usually playing off the interests of the elite.

10. Dangling part of a turkey : WATTLE

A wattle is that ugly (at least I think it’s ugly) appendage hanging below the neck of some birds, like say a turkey.

12. Subject of a classic six-volume work by Edward Gibbon : ROMAN EMPIRE

Edward Gibbon was an English historian who wrote the 6-volume work “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.

14. Event in which the Four Questions are read : SEDER

The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

• Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
• Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
• Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
• Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

22. Butcher’s scraps : OFFAL

The internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal is referred to as “offal”. Examples of dishes that make use of offal would be sausages, foie gras, sweetbreads and haggis. The term is a melding of the words “off” and “fall”, and dates back to the 14th century. The idea is that offal is what “falls off” a butcher’s block.

23. “I Fall to Pieces” singer : CLINE

“I Fall to Pieces” is a 1961 song released by Patsy Cline that was to become her first #1 hit in the country charts.

24. Like landscape paintings that focus more on color and lighting than fine detail : TURNERESQUE

J. M. W. Turner was an English painter who is best known for his watercolor landscapes. Turner had an uncanny ability to portray light in his works, earning him the moniker “the painter of light”.

41. Carolina Panthers mascot with a rhyming name : SIR PURR

The Carolina Panthers are the NFL team based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

44. Dog depicted by Monopoly’s dog token : SCOTTIE

The Aberdeen Terrier is also known as the Scottish Terrier, and is commonly referred to as the Scottie. One of the most famous Scotties in American history was Fala, the much-loved dog belonging to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also, the Scottie is famous as one of the playing pieces in the original game of Monopoly.

46. Chicago political dynasty : DALEYS

Richard J. Daley was the Mayor of Chicago for 21 years (1955-1976), making him the longest-serving mayor for the city in history. His son, Richard M. Daley, was mayor from 1989 to 2011, and was the city’s second-longest serving mayor.

48. TV show created by Vince McMahon : WWE RAW

“WWE Raw” is a professional wrestling TV show. Not my cup of java …

49. Go haywire : ACT UP

Haywire is wire used to bind bales of hay. Haywire is very springy, and coils of the wire are difficult to keep under control. That characteristic gives us the informal meaning of “haywire”, namely “erratic, crazy”.

54. Was lachrymose : WEPT

“Lachrymose” means “teary”, from the Latin “lacrima”, the word for “tear”.

57. Bucko : PAL

“Bucko” was originally a nautical term of address. It dates back at least to 1883 when it referred to a cocky, swaggering sort of guy.