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Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
1. It has eyes that can’t see : SPUD
The word “spud” is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

13. Student of morality : CASUIST
A “casuist” is someone who studies and resolves cases of conscience.

21. Pacific strings : UKULELES
The ukulele originated in the 1800s, and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

28. Bad record part, for short : DWI
In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

30. Ancient parting place : RED SEA
The Red Sea (sometimes called the Arabian Gulf) is a stretch of water lying between Africa and Asia. The Gulf of Suez (and the Suez Canal) lies to north, and the Gulf of Aden to the south.

33. With 44-Across, execute, in a way : DRAW AND QUARTER (ONE over FOUR)
44. See 33-Across : FOUR
The brutal punishment described as being “hanged, drawn and quartered” was an elaborate procedure, first recorded in England in 1351. The convicted man (it was never a woman) was “drawn” through the streets, dragged behind a horse to the place of execution. There he was hanged by the neck, but only to cause distress and not to kill. The victim was then cut down and disemboweled, with the heart saved till last so that the unfortunate was often conscious and could watch his intestines being thrown on a fire. After the heart was removed, the body was cut into four quarters with an axe.

41. Pond fish : KOI
Koi are also called Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

43. ___-d’Or, Québec : VAL
Val-d’Or is a city in Quebec, with a name translating into English as “Valley of Gold”. The city was given this name as gold was indeed discovered in the area in 1923.

45. With 50-Across, euphoric : IN SEVENTH (ONE over SEVEN) HEAVEN
50. See 45-Across : SEVEN
In cosmology associated with some religious traditions, the universe is said to be made up of Seven Heavens. The highest of these is the “seventh heaven”.

48. Ankle bone : TARSAL
The tarsals are the ankle bones, equivalent to the carpals in the wrist.

51. Product with the old ad catchphrase “Mother, please, I’d rather do it myself!” : ANACIN
Anacin is a pain reliever, with aspirin and caffeine as active ingredients.

53. Faith that celebrates both Jesus and Muhammad : BAHA’I
The Baha’i Faith is relatively new in the scheme of things, founded in Persia in the 1800s. One of the tenets of the religion is that messengers have come from God over time, including Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and most recently Bahá’u’lláh, who founded the Baha’i Faith.

65. Sacred music composer ___ Pärt : ARVO
Arvo Pärt is a classical composer from Estonia, and a noted composer of sacred music. Pärt is a member of the minimalist school.

67. Trig inverse : ARCSINE
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent. Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The inverses to these three functions are arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. The inverse functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent.

68. County subdivision: Abbr. : TWP
Township (twp).

71. With 77-Across, high-end retail chain : SAKS FIFTH (ONE over FIVE) AVENUE
77. See 71-Across : FIVE
Saks Fifth Avenue is a high-end specialty store that competes with the likes of Bloomingdale’s and Nieman Marcus. The original Saks & Company was founded by Andrew Saks in 1867, and the first Saks Fifth Avenue store was opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1924.

74. Neighbor of Bulg. : ROM
Romania sits just east of Hungary and north of Bulgaria in Europe. Romania was formed from the union of two principalities in 1859, Moldavia and Wallachia. The Kingdom of Romania grew larger in size after WWI with the addition of three new regions, including the “vampirish” Transylvania.

75. Botanical beards : ARISTAE
In the world of biology, arista is another word for awan, a bristle-like structure that is appended to a larger organic structure. A familiar example would be the aristae, the hair-like appendages surrounding the florets on barley and rye.

80. Political party that won 39 electoral votes in 1948 : DIXIECRATS
Dixiecrats were members of the States’ Rights Democratic Party, a segregationist group that was disbanded after only a few months of activity, in 1948. The Dixiecrats were a breakaway faction from the Democratic Party. The Dixiecrat party platform was centered around States’ rights, racial segregation and white supremacy.

86. Panache : STYLE
Someone exhibiting panache is showing dash and verve, and perhaps has a swagger. “Panache” is a French word used for a plume of feathers, especially one in a hat.

90. Poet who wrote “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” : ELIOT
The following lines come from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot:

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a very famous poem by T. S. Eliot, first published in 1915. The rather odd name of “Prufrock” seems to have just come to Eliot, although there was a Prufrock-Littau Company in St. Louis when he lived there.

T. S. Eliot was born in New England but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Much of his college education was at Oxford, and clearly he became comfortable with life in England. In 1927 he became a British citizen, and lived the rest of life in the UK.

94. With 103-Across, 1999 Shyamalan thriller : THE SIXTH (ONE over SIX) SENSE
103. See 94-Across : SIX
“I see dead people” is one of the most famous lines in movies. Of course the line comes from M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense”, and is spoken by then child actor Haley Joel Osment to Bruce Willis. If you haven’t seen the movie, do yourself a favor and go rent it. I won’t tell you about the plot …

98. Part of AARP: Abbr. : ASSN
AARP is the official name now for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

113. Ancient Balkan region : THRACE
Thrase is a historical and geographic region of southeast Europe, largely lying in southeastern Bulgaria. The region took its name from the Thracian people, an ancient race that used to inhabit the area. Included in the region is the European side of the city of Istanbul.

122. With 127-Across, classical work that’s the source of the European Union’s anthem : BEETHOVEN’S NINTH (ONE over NINE)
127. See 122-Across : NINE
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is of course his wonderful “Choral” symphony. When it was composed in 1824 it was the first time that a major composer had used voices in a symphony. By the time of the Ninth’s premier, Beethoven was essentially deaf. He insisted on sharing the stage with the musical director (who was conducting), and was visibly counting out time but was off by quite a few measures. When the last notes were played there was enthusiastic applause, although Beethoven was still conducting. The lead contralto had to walk over to Beethoven, stop him, and turn him to the audience to receive his adulation.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 has to be one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the classical repertoire. “Ode to Joy”, based on the final movement of the work, is now the anthem of the European Union. If you’d like to see a fictional tale that explores Beethoven’s life at the time he was writing the Ninth Symphony, I highly recommend you take a look at the 2006 movie “Copying Beethoven”. Ed Harris plays Beethoven, and the sound track is of course superb.

125. Dancer Duncan : ISADORA
Isadora Duncan was an American dancer, inventor of American modern dance. Duncan emphasised the torso in her moves, a break from the balletic tradition of moving from the feet. She left the US when she was 22 years old and moved to Europe around 1900, and from there emigrated to the Soviet Union. Duncan had a tragic passing. She loved to travel in open automobiles wearing a long, flowing scarf. One day her scarf got wrapped around the spokes and axel of the car in which she was travelling, and broke her neck.

128. They have scales : ATLASES
We call a book of maps an “atlas” after a collection of maps published by the famous Flemish geographer Gerhadus Mercator. His collection contained a frontispiece with an image of Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology holding up the world on his shoulders.

130. Peter, e.g. : TSAR
The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word, and was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word Caesar, which was synonymous with emperor at that time.

Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.

Down
2. Phnom ___ : PENH
Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, and has been since the French colonized the country in the late 1800s. The name translates from the Khmer language as “Hill of Penh”.

4. Old Italian magistrate : DOGE
Doges were the elected chief magistrates of the former republics of Venice and Genoa.

7. “1984” superpower : EURASIA
The action in George Orwell’s 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” takes place in the intercontinental super-state of Oceania. Orwell created two other super-states, Eurasia and Eastasia.

10. Et ___ (and others) : ALII
Et alii (et al.) is the equivalent of et cetera (etc.), with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names. In fact “et al.” can stand for et alii (for a group of males, or males and females), aliae (for a group of women) and et alia (for a group of neuter nouns, or for a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

11. “Star Trek: T.N.G.” role : GEORDI
LeVar Burton’s has two major television roles on his resume. He played Kunta Kinte in the fabulous miniseries “Roots” shown in 1977. He then had a long run portraying Geordi La Forge on the best of the Star Trek TV shows, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

12. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” Emmy winner : ASNER
Ed Asner is most famous for playing the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spin-off drama called “Lou Grant”. Off-screen Asner is noted for his political activism. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and was very involved in the 1980 SAG strike. When “Lou Grant” was cancelled in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was a lot of talk that the cancellation was a move by the network against Asner personally. In fact one of Asner’s activist colleagues, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever), found that his show “WKRP in Cincinnati” was also cancelled … on the very same day …

16. The Rams of the N.C.A.A. : URI
The University of Rhode Island was first chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. It’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

18. George Bush’s chief of staff John : SUNUNU
John Sununu was the Governor of New Hampshire, and later the Chief of Staff for President George H. W. Bush. Sununu was actually born in Havana, Cuba but was raised in the US and attended MIT. After retiring from politics, Sununu went on to co-host CNN’s “Crossfire” for many years.

32. Dr. ___ : DRE
Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is perhaps as well known for his own singing career as he is for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dog, Eminem and 50 Cent.

34. ___-garde : AVANT
People described as being avant-garde are especially innovative. “Avant-garde” is French for “advance guard”.

48. Gherman ___, cosmonaut who was the second human to orbit the earth : TITOV
Gherman Titov was the second man to orbit the Earth, following in the footsteps of Yuri Gagarin. Titov was the first to make multiple orbits of the Earth and spent over a day in space. Titov was only 25 years old at the time of his flight, making him the youngest person ever to go into space, even to this day.

52. Venae ___ : CAVAE
The superior vena cava is a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body to the right atrium of the heart. The inferior vena cava does the same thing for the lower part of the body.

54. Musical with the song “Easy to Be Hard” : HAIR
The full name of the famed stage show from the sixties is “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”. This controversial work outraged many when it was first performed in the sixties as it attacked many aspects of life at the time. For example, the song “Air” is a satirical look at pollution, sung by a character who comes onto the stage wearing a gas mask. The opening lines are “Welcome, sulfur dioxide. Hello carbon monoxide. The air … is everywhere”. How things have changed in fifty years said he, satirically. I’ve never had the chance to see “Hair” in a live production, but it’s on “the bucket list” …

55. The Piazzale Michelangelo affords a view of it : ARNO
The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, passing through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

The Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square in Florence that sits at quite a height in the city and from which one has magnificent panoramic views of the skyline. If you’ve seen photos of the skyline of Florence say on a postcard, chances are they were taken from the Piazzale Michelangelo. The square is named of course for the city’s most famous sculptor, and you can see bronze replicas of Michelangelo’s most celebrated works on display in the piazza.

58. R&B singer Hayes : ISAAC
Isaac Hayes was a soul singer and songwriter. Hayes wrote the score for the 1971 film “Shaft”, and the enduring “Theme from ‘Shaft'” won him an Academy Award in 1972.

59. Glacial formation : ESKER
An esker is a long and winding ridge formed by glaciation, made of sand and gravel. The term “esker” comes from the Irish word “eiscir” that describes the same feature.

60. Part of A.B.S.: Abbr. : SYS
The first anti-lock braking system (ABS) was actually developed for use on aircraft, in 1929. The system reduced braking distances for aircraft by 30% because pilots were able to apply a full braking force immediately on landing instead of applying gradual pressure to avoid skidding.

62. World capital once occupied by France : HANOI
Hanoi was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state and Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City.

68. Iotas : TADS
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

79. Fisher with a grig : EELER
A grig is a type of eel.

85. Put back : STET
“Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” beside the change and then underscoring the change with a line of dots (or dashes).

89. Death personified, in ancient Greece : THANATOS
Thanatos was the Greek personification of death. In the world of psychology, Sigmund Freud named man’s life instinct “Eros”. He also postulated that man has a death drive, which others termed “Thanatos”.

93. Colored parts : AREOLAS
The word areola comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.

96. “Henry & June” role : NIN
The 1990 movie “Henry & June” is loosely adapted from the book of the same name by Anaïs Nin. The book is based on diaries written by Nin telling of her part in a love triangle with American author Henry Miller and his wife June, played by Uma Thurman in the movie.

98. 2009 Hilary Swank biopic : AMELIA
The 2009 movie “Amelia” tells the life story of Amelia Earhart, with Hilary Swank in the title role. This one didn’t do well with the critics, although I must say that I enjoyed it. Maybe that’s because I love the whole Earhart story …

The actress Hilary Swank had her first major role in “The Next Karate Kid” released in 1994, in which she played the first female student of the sensei, Mr. Myagi.

100. Like a nasal membrane : SEPTAL
In the world of anatomy, a septum is a dividing wall within a chamber or other structure. For example, the interatrial septum separates the left and right atria of the heart, and the nasal septum separates the nostrils of the nose.

106. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS
Oaxaca is in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific coast. The state takes the name of Oaxaca, its largest city.

109. Cousin of rust : OCHRE
The colors “rust” and “ochre” can be quite similar.

110. Korean money : WON
The three currencies, the Korean Won, the Chinese Yuan, and the Japanese Yen, all take their names from the Chinese written character that represents “round shape”.

114. Sleep stages : REMS
REM is an acronym standing for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

116. “Freedom ___ free” : ISN’T
“Freedom isn’t free” is an idiom that expresses the sentiment that freedom only comes with the sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform.

117. ___ Lowry, children’s writer : LOIS
Lois Lowry is a writer of children’s fiction. Lowry doesn’t stick to “safe” material in her books, and has dealt with difficult subjects such as racism, murder and the Holocaust. Two of her books won the Newbery Medal: “Number the Stars” (1990) and “The Giver” (1993).

118. City in Sicily : ENNA
The city of Enna sits very high up in the hills of Sicily, overlooking the whole island below. Enna is the capital of the province that bears its name, which is the highest province in the whole country of Italy.

121. Child-care author LeShan : EDA
Eda LeShan wrote “When Your Child Drives You Crazy”, and was host of the PBS television show “How Do Your Children Grow?”

124. “___ Beso” : ESO
“Eso Beso” is Spanish for “That Kiss”, and was the name of a hit for Canadian-born singer Paul Anka.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. It has eyes that can’t see : SPUD
5. Flips : GOES GAGA
13. Student of morality : CASUIST
20. Philippine money : PESO
21. Pacific strings : UKULELES
22. Fine word for libraries? : OVERDUE
23. With 26-Across, like grandchildren : THIRD (ONE over THREE) GENERATION
25. Beach bottles : LOTIONS
26. See 23-Across : THREE
27. Deck out : ATTIRE
28. Bad record part, for short : DWI
29. “For shame!” : TUT
30. Ancient parting place : RED SEA
33. With 44-Across, execute, in a way : DRAW AND QUARTER (ONE over FOUR)
36. Keen observer : HAWK
40. Prefix with cycle : TRI-
41. Pond fish : KOI
43. ___-d’Or, Québec : VAL
44. See 33-Across : FOUR
45. With 50-Across, euphoric : IN SEVENTH (ONE over SEVEN) HEAVEN
48. Ankle bone : TARSAL
50. See 45-Across : SEVEN
51. Product with the old ad catchphrase “Mother, please, I’d rather do it myself!” : ANACIN
53. Faith that celebrates both Jesus and Muhammad : BAHA’I
57. Superlatively strong : STEELIEST
61. Initially : AT THE START
64. Scaredy-cat, maybe : SISSY
65. Sacred music composer ___ Pärt : ARVO
67. Trig inverse : ARCSINE
68. County subdivision: Abbr. : TWP
71. With 77-Across, high-end retail chain : SAKS FIFTH (ONE over FIVE) AVENUE
74. Neighbor of Bulg. : ROM
75. Botanical beards : ARISTAE
77. See 71-Across : FIVE
78. Grove : COPSE
80. Political party that won 39 electoral votes in 1948 : DIXIECRATS
82. “Apparently” : SO IT SEEMS
86. Panache : STYLE
87. They’re fit for kings and queens : SHEETS
90. Poet who wrote “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” : ELIOT
91. What’s left behind : ESTATE
94. With 103-Across, 1999 Shyamalan thriller : THE SIXTH (ONE over SIX) SENSE
98. Part of AARP: Abbr. : ASSN
101. Fury : IRE
102. ___ Records (old music label) : MCA
103. See 94-Across : SIX
104. What’s left : REST
105. With 112-Across, compromise : MEET HALF (ONE over TWO) WAY
108. Later : NOT NOW
111. Abbr. on many food labels : EXP
112. See 105-Across : TWO
113. Ancient Balkan region : THRACE
115. Stinko : OILED
120. Like some interpretations : LITERAL
122. With 127-Across, classical work that’s the source of the European Union’s anthem : BEETHOVEN’S NINTH (ONE over NINE)
125. Dancer Duncan : ISADORA
126. Military depots : ARMORIES
127. See 122-Across : NINE
128. They have scales : ATLASES
129. Gave, as a hot potato : TOSSED TO
130. Peter, e.g. : TSAR

Down
1. Bind : SPOT
2. Phnom ___ : PENH
3. Possible candidate for rehab : USER
4. Old Italian magistrate : DOGE
5. Word with top or pop : GUN
6. Fine, in old slang : OKE
7. “1984” superpower : EURASIA
8. Blue-gray : SLATE
9. Be fooled : GET TAKEN
10. Et ___ (and others) : ALII
11. “Star Trek: T.N.G.” role : GEORDI
12. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” Emmy winner : ASNER
13. The West was part of it : COLD WAR
14. Promises : AVOWALS
15. Become fixed : SET IN
16. The Rams of the N.C.A.A. : URI
17. “Ditto!” : I DO TOO
18. George Bush’s chief of staff John : SUNUNU
19. Person doing a practice run : TESTER
24. Poetic “always” : E’ER
31. Biblical suffix : -ETH
32. Dr. ___ : DRE
34. ___-garde : AVANT
35. Neighbors of C notes : D-FLATS
36. What letting off steam might result in : HISS
37. Operating without ___ : A NET
38. Zigzagged : WOVE
39. Trouser parts : KNEES
42. ___ mission : ON A
46. New faces on bases : ENLISTEES
47. Brewer’s vessel : VAT
48. Gherman ___, cosmonaut who was the second human to orbit the earth : TITOV
49. Jobs for dentists : ABSCESSES
52. Venae ___ : CAVAE
54. Musical with the song “Easy to Be Hard” : HAIR
55. The Piazzale Michelangelo affords a view of it : ARNO
56. Detail : ITEM
58. R&B singer Hayes : ISAAC
59. Glacial formation : ESKER
60. Part of A.B.S.: Abbr. : SYS
62. World capital once occupied by France : HANOI
63. Fly off the handle : ERUPT
65. Flavor akin to fennel : ANISE
66. Quickly accelerate : REV
68. Iotas : TADS
69. Order in the court : WRIT
70. Sprite : PIXY
72. ___ same mind : OF THE
73. Prefix with resort : ECO-
76. Muted : SILENT
79. Fisher with a grig : EELER
81. Agitated, after “in” : A STEW
82. Beijing-to-Shanghai dir. : SSE
83. One from Germany : EINE
84. Nature’s pillow? : MOSS
85. Put back : STET
88. And everything else, for short : ETC
89. Death personified, in ancient Greece : THANATOS
92. Colonial service : TINWARE
93. Colored parts : AREOLAS
95. Bonelike : OSTEOID
96. “Henry & June” role : NIN
97. Outside: Prefix : EXO-
98. 2009 Hilary Swank biopic : AMELIA
99. Gender offender : SEXIST
100. Like a nasal membrane : SEPTAL
102. Rescued damsel’s cry : MY HERO
106. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS
107. Up : AT BAT
109. Cousin of rust : OCHRE
110. Korean money : WON
114. Sleep stages : REMS
116. “Freedom ___ free” : ISN’T
117. ___ Lowry, children’s writer : LOIS
118. City in Sicily : ENNA
119. Silhouette on many a yellow sign : DEER
121. Child-care author LeShan : EDA
123. Cat scanner? : VET
124. “___ Beso” : ESO
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