Tag: Bulgaria’s Simeon I and Simeon II crossword clue

Constructed by: Jeff Chen
Edited by: Will Shortz

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Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 10m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8. Frying need for French fries : DEEP FAT

French fries are called “chips” back in Ireland where I grew up. And what we call “chips” in the US are known as “crisps” in Britain and Ireland. In France, French fries are known as “pommes frites” (fried potatoes).

16. So-called “Crossroads of America” : INDIANA

Indiana adopted “Crossroads of America” as the state’s official motto in 1937. The same phrase also applies unofficially to Indianapolis, a reference to the state capital’s location at the junction of four interstates in the center of Indiana.

19. Steamy fare : PORN

The word “pornography” comes from the Greek “pornographos” meaning “writing of prostitutes”.

20. Co-founder of the Black Panther Party : SEALE

Bobby Seale is the civil rights activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton. Seale was one of the Chicago Eight, eight people charged as a result of anti-Vietnam war protests that took place during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. The judge ordered Seale severed from the case, reducing the group of defendants to the Chicago Seven. However, Seale’s vehement protests during the trial led to the judge ordering him bound, gagged and chained to his chair, and eventually sentenced him to four years in jail for contempt of court. That conviction was quickly overturned on appeal.

22. City north of Pittsburgh : ERIE

Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, right on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” water of Lake Erie.

25. Tax ID : SSN

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So, from 1986 onward, it is a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987.

27. Bulgaria’s Simeon I and Simeon II : TSARS

The term “czar” (also “tsar”) is a Slavic word that 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.

28. Grub : CHOW

“Chow” is a slang term for food that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

31. Projected expense for a roofer? : EAVE

The eaves are the overhanging edges of a roof that project beyond the supporting wall. The term “eaves” evolved from the Old English “efes” meaning “edge.

39. “Au contraire!” : NOT TRUE!

“Au contraire” is French for “on the contrary”.

41. 1976 AC/DC single with the lyric “Watch me explode” : TNT

The Heavy Metal band known as AC/DC was formed by two brothers Malcolm and Angus Young in Australia. The group is usually called “Acca Dacca” down under.

52. Important case for national security : NUCLEAR FOOTBALL

When the US president is away from a fixed command center, there is always a military aide in close proximity who is carrying a mobile hub that can be used to launch a nuclear attack. That hub is carried in a black suitcase, and is nicknamed “the nuclear football”. The nickname is reputed to derive from an early attack plan that had the codename “Dropkick”. The use of the football began during the Eisenhower administration.

54. Erté’s art : DECO

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. Erté is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

56. When the tempest occurs in “The Tempest” : ACT I

William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” tells the story of Prospero, who was removed from the throne of Milan and banished to a deserted island along with his daughter Miranda. The island is home to a devilish character called Caliban, who is forced into slavery on the arrival of the exiles. Prospero learns sorcery while cast away, and eventually conjures up a tempest that drives those who usurped his throne onto the island’s shores (in particular his own brother, Antonio). On the island, Prospero is eventually successful in revealing Antonio’s lowly nature.

58. Shakespearean lament : ALACK!

The archaic interjection “alack!” is an exclamation of sorrow or dismay. It is an abbreviated form of “ah, lack”, with “lack” used in the sense of loss, failure or shame.

59. Get cheeky with? : MOON

The first recorded mooning incident took place in 66 AD during the First Roman-Jewish War. Roman soldiers decided to moon Jewish pilgrims as they traveled to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

62. Rice left on a shelf, maybe : ANNE

Anne Rice is an American author of erotic and Gothic novels. Rice was born Howard Allen O’Brien (no wonder she changed her name!). Her famous series of novels “The Vampire Chronicles” centers on her character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. One of the stories, “Interview with the Vampire”, was adapted for the big screen in 1994 and features Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others in a star-studded cast. Not my kind of movie though, as I don’t do vampires …

Down

1. Sister chain of Applebee’s : IHOP

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests!

The Applebee’s chain of “Neighborhood Bar & Grill” restaurants was founded in 1980, with the first Applebee’s eatery opening in Decatur, Georgia. When it comes to “chain” restaurants, I like Applebee’s …

2. Simple fighting style : MANO A MANO

“Mano a mano” is Spanish for “hand-to-hand”, and is used in English to mean “face-to-face”.

4. Rocker nicknamed “The Motor City Madman” : TED NUGENT

Ted Nugent was the lead guitarist with the Amboy Dukes, and is now a successful solo artist. Off the stage, Nugent is noted for his conservative views, particularly when it comes to the Second Amendment. He serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association.

6. Tight-fitting wear : CORSET

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

9. “___ Game” (1986 Hugo Award winner) : ENDER’S

Orson Scott Card is a science fiction author (mainly). Card’s most famous work is his novel “Ender’s Game” first published in 1985. “Ender’s Game” was adapted into a movie and released in 2013, with a cast that includes Harrison Ford.

10. Brown. follower : EDU

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown has been around a long time, founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears, and their mascot is Bruno.

13. Fictional work that eschews literary conventions : ANTINOVEL

An antinovel is experimental work of fiction that was popularized by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre as an “anti-roman” (the French translation of the term). I’ve never read an antinovel, and it sounds like I would not appreciate the genre at all. It is characterized by a lack of plot, presentation of characters outside of chronological order, and experimental use of vocabulary.

21. Lovelace of early computing : ADA

Ada Lovelace’s real name and title was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes, she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”. There is a computer language called “Ada” that was named in her honor. The Ada language was developed from 1977 to 1983 for the US Department of Defense.

33. Man’s nickname that sounds like two letters : ARTIE

“Artie” sounds like “RT”.

36. Reality show whose contestants must be good with numbers : THE VOICE

“The Voice” is yet another reality television show. It is a singing competition in which the judges hear the contestants without seeing them in the first round. The judges then take on chosen contestants as coaches for the remaining rounds. “The Voice” is a highly successful worldwide franchise that originated in the Netherlands as “The Voice of Holland”.

38. Bit of fancy attire : ASCOT

An Ascot is a horrible-looking (I think!), wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

43. Long range : ANDES

The Andes range is the longest continuous chain of mountains in the world, as it runs down the length of the west coast of South America for about 4,300 miles. The highest peak in the Andes is Mt. Aconcagua, at an elevation of 22,841 feet. Interestingly, the peak of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador is the furthest point on the Earth’s surface from the center of the planet. That’s because of the equatorial “bulge” around the Earth’s “waist”.

44. Spanish omelet ingredient : HUEVO

In Spanish, one needs at least one “huevo” (egg) to make an omelet.

45. Secretly included, in a way : BCC’ED

A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

46. Author Mario Vargas ___ : LLOSA

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer of renown, and one of the most significant authors from Latin America by all accounts. Llosa is also very active politically, and in 1990 ran unsuccessfully for the Peruvian presidency.

49. Georgia home of Mercer University : MACON

Mercer University is a private school with a main campus in Macon, Georgia. Mercer was founded in Penfield, Georgia as a boys’ preparatory school called Mercer Institute, in 1833. The school was named in honor of Jesse Mercer, a Baptist leader who provided the initial funding.

50. John in England : ELTON

“Elton John” is the stage name of English singer and pianist Reginald Dwight. John is an avid football (soccer) supporter, and is especially enthusiastic about Watford Football Club, which was his local team growing up. After he achieved financial success, John was able to purchase Watford FC, and owned the club from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 until 2002.

53. Madame, across the Rhine : FRAU

The river running through Europe that we know in English as the Rhine, is called “Rhein” in German, “Rhin” in French and “Rijn” in Dutch.