Tag: Sharp increase crossword clue

Bill’s time: 8m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Isle that’s the traditional burial site of Scottish kings : IONA

Although the small island of Iona lies just off the west coast of Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, it was the site of a monastery built in the Middle Ages by a monk from Ireland named Colm Cille (also known as Columba). Colm Cille and his followers were sent into exile from the Irish mainland and settled in Iona, as at that time the island was part of an Irish kingdom. This monastery in Iona expanded its influence over the decades and founded other institutions all over Ireland and Great Britain. It is believed that the famous Book of Kells may have been written, or at least started, at the monastery on Iona. Iona is also the burial site for Macbeth, King of Scotland, who was immortalized in Shakespeare’s fictional account of the king’s life.

15A Mayberry kid on old TV : OPIE

Opie Taylor is the character played by Ron Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show”. Opie lives with widowed father Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) and his great-aunt Beatrice “Aunt Bee” Taylor (played by Frances Bavier). Ron Howard first played the role in 1960 in the pilot show, when he was just 5 years old. Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”.

20A Like a moon that is not full but is more than half visible : GIBBOUS

The phases of the moon have been given the following names, in order:

• New moon
• Waxing crescent moon
• First quarter moon
• Waxing gibbous moon
• Full moon
• Waning gibbous moon
• Third quarter moon
• Waning crescent moon
• Dark moon

27A Nottingham-to-London dir. : SSE

Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England. To us on this side of the Atlantic, perhaps Nottingham is most famous as a setting for the legend of Robin Hood.

39A San Francisco team, informally : NINERS

The 49ers football team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California gold rush. These “1849 prospectors” became known as the “49ers”.

43A Times Sq. squad : NYPD

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is the largest municipal police force in the country. The department’s roots go back as far as 1658 when there was an eight-man night watch in the days when New York was still known as New Amsterdam. Several disparate forces with policing responsibility were amalgamated by legislation in 1844 (officially taking effect in 1845) to form the New York City Police Department, signaling the end of the night watch force that had existed for nearly 190 years.

Times Square in New York City isn’t a square at all, but rather a triangle. When the New York Times newspaper opened new headquarters in the area in 1904, the city agreed to the name “Times Square”, changing it from Longacre Square.

44A Humanities degs. : BAS

The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.

51A Need for a greedy Swede? : KRONA

The Swedish krona is divided into 100 öre, a term derived from the Latin “aureus” meaning “gold”.

52A Great flair : PANACHE

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.

62A Margarine : OLEO

Emperor Napoleon III of France announced a competition to develop a substitute for butter, a substitute that would be more accessible to the lower classes and more practical for the armed forces. A French chemist called Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès came up with something he called oleomargarine in 1869., which was eventually manufactured under the trade name “margarine”. The name “oleomargarine” also gives us our generic term “oleo”.

Down

1D Drawn-out attacks : SIEGES

Our word “siege” comes from a 13th-century word for a “seat”. The military usage derives from the concept of a besieging force “sitting down” outside a fortress until it falls.

4D Movie with the record for the longest time between its release and the release of its sequel (63 years) : BAMBI

The 1942 Disney classic “Bambi” is based on a book written by Felix Salten called “Bambi, A Life in the Woods”. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

22D “___ Troyens” (five-hour French opera) : LES

“Les Troyens” (The Trojans) is a grand opera by Hector Berlioz based on Virgil’s epic poem the “Aeneid”. It is considered Berlioz’s magnum opus, but sadly, he never got to see the complete work performed in its entirety.

29D God whose name has one “I,” fittingly : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

34D “Star Trek” helmsman : SULU

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “PT 109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

41D “Star Trek” engineer : SCOTTY

In the “Star Trek” series on television and in the movies, the colorful character named Scotty was played by Canadian actor James Doohan. Doohan joined the Royal Canadian Artillery at the start of WWII, and participated in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. After surviving the landing, that same day Doohan was shot by one of his own men in a tragic mishap. Doohan was hit six times, with a bullet to his chest stopped by a silver cigarette case he was carrying. One of Doohan’s fingers was shot off in the incident. He managed to conceal that injury during his acting career.

45D Where landlubbers are at home : ASHORE

A lubber is a clumsy person and “landlubber” is a contemptuous term used by sailors describing a man of the land. Sailors might also call an inexperienced seaman a landlubber or perhaps just a lubber.

52D Word found at the start of “Poe, to name one” : POET

Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 40 years of age.

54D Rank below sgt. : CPL

Sergeant (sgt.) is a rank above corporal (cpl.).