Day: March 18, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Dictation takers STENOS
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

11. “Every kiss begins with __”: jeweler’s slogan KAY
Kay Jewelers is perhaps the famous store brand owned by Sterling Jewelers. Sterling is the largest fine jewelry chain in the country, with the company’s main competitor being Zale Corporation.

16. Grand __ Opry OLE
“The Grand Ole Opry” started out as a radio show in 1925 originally called the WSM “Barn Dance”. In 1927, the “Barn Dance” radio show was broadcast in a slot after an NBC production called “Musical Appreciation Hour”, a collection of classical works including Grand Opera. In a December show, the host of “Barn Dance” announced, “For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on we will present the ‘Grand Ole Opry'”. That name was used for the radio show from then on.

17. 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee BARRY LARKIN
Barry Larkin is a retired baseball player who spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. Larkin won nine Silver Slugger awards and three Golden Glove awards.

20. Volume of maps ATLAS
The famous Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published his first collection of maps in 1578. Mercator’s collection contained a frontispiece with an image of Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology holding up the world on his shoulders. That image gave us our term “atlas”.

21. Versailles ruler ROI
Versailles is a city located just 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is famous of course as home to the magnificent Palace of Versailles.

22. Plucky movie pig BABE
The hit 1995 film “Babe” was produced and filmed in Australia. The movie is an adaptation of a 1983 novel called “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith. “Babe” was a smash hit at the box office and was extremely well received by the critics. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to “Braveheart”. However, it did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects by beating out “Apollo 13”, which was an amazing feat, I’d say…

23. Michelle, to Barack WIFE
Michelle Obama nee Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago and is sister to Craig Robinson, the coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another …

24. Best Supporting Actor nominee for “Argo” ALAN ARKIN
The actor Alan Arkin won his only Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine” from 2006, a movie that I just did not understand …

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I saw “Argo” recently and recommend it highly, although I found the scenes of religious fervor pretty frightening …

28. Expressive music subgenre EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

30. Hopi home PUEBLO
The Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.

A pueblo is a Native American village, a term used in the American Southwest. The buildings in a pueblo are usually made of stone and adobe mud, and hence are ochre in color.

37. Modern, in Munich NEU
“Neu” is the German word for “new”.

Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, and is the third largest city in the country (after Berlin and Hamburg). The city is called “München” in German, a term that derives from the Old German word for “by the monks’ place”, which is a reference to the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city in 1158.

41. Watchdogs from Japan AKITAS
The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, the Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.

44. Superhero duds CAPES
“Duds” is an informal word for clothing, coming from the word “dudde” that was used around 1300 as the name for a cloak.

45. Iowa senator since 1985 TOM HARKIN
Tom Harkin is the junior US Senator from Iowa, and a Democrat. Harkin served for five years in the US Navy as a pilot in the 1960s. He now serves in the Civil Air Patrol in the US Air Force Auxiliary. Harkin is the commander of the Congressional Squadron, a unit composed of active and retired members of Congress.

51. Elevator innovator OTIS
Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

53. D-backs, on scoreboards ARI
The Arizona Diamondbacks joined Major League Baseball’s National League in 1998. By winning the World Series in 2001, the Diamondbacks became the fastest expansion team to do so in Major League history.

57. Al Pacino’s “Sea of Love” co-star ELLEN BARKIN
Ellen Barkin is an actress from the Bronx in New York City. I mostly know Barkin from her roles in the 1989 movie “Sea of Love” and 2007’s “Ocean’s Thirteen”.

“Sea of Love” is a 1989 thriller starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. Pacino plays an alcoholic NYPD detective who investigates murders in which the bodies are left beside a gramophone playing the song “Sea of Love”.

61. City known for its Boys’ Choir VIENNA
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is of course based in Austria, but is well known for touring the whole world. The choir is actually divided into four full choirs that tour, and which are called the Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert Choirs.

62. Giggly Muppet ELMO
The toy called Tickle Me Elmo was a sensational fad in the late nineties, with stores raising prices dramatically above the recommended retail price to take advantage of demand. Reportedly, prices as high as $1500 were paid at the height of the craze. The toy’s manufacturer, Tyco, originally planned to market the “tickle” toy as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil (after the “Looney Tunes” character), but then went with “Elmo” after they bought the rights to use “Sesame Street” names.

63. “Schedule uncertain at press time” abbr. TBA
To Be Advised (TBA).

Down
1. “Fernando” band ABBA
I am an unapologetic fan of ABBA’s music. ABBA was of course the Swedish group who topped the charts in the seventies and eighties. The name ABBA is an acronym formed from the first letters of the given names of each of the band members, namely: Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid.

“Fernando” was a 1976 hit for ABBA, a followup to their smash hit “Dancing Queen”. “Fernando” was originally released as a solo single by one the ABBA band members: Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

3. Flier with a shamrock logo AER LINGUS
Aer Lingus is my favorite airline! Well, the service isn’t that great, but when I get on board an Aer Lingus plane I feel like I am back in Ireland. Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, with “Aer Lingus” being a phonetic spelling of the Irish “aer-loingeas” meaning “air fleet”. These days Aer Lingus can only lay claim to the title of Ireland’s oldest airline as it is no longer the biggest. That honor goes to the controversial budget airline called Ryanair.

4. Fires on from above STRAFES
We’ve been using “strafe” to mean an attack on a ground position from low-flying aircraft since WWII. Prior to that, the word was used by British soldiers to mean any form of attack. It was picked up from the German word for “punish” as it was used in “Gott strafe England” meaning, “May God punish England”.

5. “My gal” of song SAL
“My Gal Sal” is a song written by composer Paul Dresser. “My Gal Sal” is also the name of the movie recounting Dresser’s life made in 1942. It stars Victor Mature as Dresser, and Rita Hayworth as Sally “Sal” Elliott.

7. Flamboyant Flynn ERROL
Errol Flynn was born 1909 in Tasmania, Australia where he was raised. In his twenties Flynn lived in the UK, where he pursued his acting career. Around the same time he starred in an Australian film “In the Wake of the Bounty” and then appeared in a British film “Murder at Monte Carlo”. It was in the latter film that he was noticed by Warner Brothers who brought him to America. His non-American heritage shone through even while he was living the American dream in California. He regularly played cricket, along with his friend David Niven, in the Hollywood Cricket Club.

8. Cellphone giant NOKIA
I do enjoy classical guitar music, but there isn’t a huge choice on CD. There is one very special piece, Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega, written in 1902. This piece has a unique reputation as it contains a phrase that it is the most listened to piece of music in the whole world! Just a few bars into the work one can hear the omnipresent Nokia ring tone.

10. MTA stop STN
The MTA is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut). MTA might also refer to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is known as the Metro and sometimes the MTA.

11. Camera name since 1888 KODAK
George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company, named after the Kodak camera that he had invented four years earlier. He came up with the name of Kodak after careful consideration. Firstly he was a big fan of the letter “K”, calling it “strong, incisive”. He also wanted a word that was short, easy to pronounce and difficult to mispronounce, and a word that was clearly unique with no prior associations. “Kodak” fit the bill.

12. Suspect’s excuse ALIBI
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi'”.

13. Aden’s country YEMEN
Aden is a seaport in Yemen, located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967.

18. Belgian river YSER
The Yser originates in northern France and flows through Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser is often associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war, the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium and across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of their Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

25. Actress Carter and “little” Dickens character Trent NELLS
Nell Carter was a singer and actress from Birmingham, Alabama. Carter won a Tony for her performance on Broadway in “Ain’t Misbehavin’”. She also starred in the TV sitcom “Gimme a Break!” in the 1980s.

“The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens tells the story of little 14-year-old Nell Trent and her grandfather who live in the Old Curiosity Shop in London. If you visit London, there actually is an “Old Curiosity Shop”, in Westminster. It is an establishment selling odds and ends, old curiosities, and is believed to have been the inspiration for the shop in the Dickens story. The building has been around since the 1500s, but the name “The Old Curiosity Shop” was added after the book was published.

26. Hog-wild AMOK
The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had good reason for that frenzy …

27. Water-to-wine village CANA
According to the Christian Bible, Cana is the place where Jesus performed his first public miracle. Jesus was attending a wedding feast with his mother when the party ran out of wine. Jesus turned water into wine, wine that was judged to be the best served at the feast.

30. Penny pincher PIKER
A piker is a cautious gambler, and in more general terms can be a miser, someone very stingy.

32. Wee newt EFT
Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

38. Former “Idol” judge DioGuardi KARA
Kara DioGuardi is a singer-songwriter from Ossining, New York. DioGuardi served as a judge for two seasons on the show “American Idol” .

43. Resistance measure OHM
The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

44. Musical wrap-up CODA
In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

46. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” catchphrase OH, ROB!
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” is a sitcom that ran from 1961 to 1966 starring Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as Rob and Laura Petrie. This classic show was created by the great Carl Reiner, who also had a supporting role on the screen.

47. Brainy bunch MENSA
If you ever had to learn Latin, as did I, “mensa” was probably taught to you in Lesson One as it’s the word commonly used as an example of a first declension noun. Mensa means “table”. The Mensa organization for folks with high IQs was set up in Oxford, England back in 1946. To become a member, one is required to have an IQ that is in the top 2% of the population.

48. Superman, on Krypton KAL-EL
Kal-El was sent from his home planet of Krypton to Earth, where we know him better as Superman.

49. Dancer Castle IRENE
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-wife team of ballroom dancers who regularly performed on Broadway at the start of the 20th century. The Castles have been credited with creating or at least popularizing the Fox Trot.

55. Years in España ANOS
In Spanish, we start years (anos) in January (enero) as noted on a calendar (calendrio).

“España” is the Spanish for “Spain”.

57. One of the Gabors EVA
Eva Gabor was the youngest of the Gabor sisters, all three of whom were celebrated Hollywood actresses and socialites (her siblings were Zsa-Zsa and Magda). The Gabor sisters were born in Budapest and immigrated to the United States separately, with Eva being the first to arrive. Eva broke into movies, but her most famous role was on the TV sitcom “Green Acres” in which she played the lovely character Lisa Douglas opposite Eddie Albert. One of Eva’s claims to fame is the unwitting promotion of the game called “Twister”, the sales of which were languishing in 1996. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” she got on all fours and played the game with Johnny Carson. Sales took off immediately, and Twister became a huge hit.

58. Small, in Dogpatch LI’L
The cartoonist Al Capp set his classic comic strip “Li’l Abner” in the fictional community of “Dogpatch”. According to one of the “Li’l Abner” strips, Dogpatch was located somewhere in the state of Kentucky.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Discoverers’ shouts AHAS
5. Dictation takers STENOS
11. “Every kiss begins with __”: jeweler’s slogan KAY
14. Red salad veggie BEET
15. Clear the fustiness from AIR OUT
16. Grand __ Opry OLE
17. 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee BARRY LARKIN
19. Not too bright DIM
20. Volume of maps ATLAS
21. Versailles ruler ROI
22. Plucky movie pig BABE
23. Michelle, to Barack WIFE
24. Best Supporting Actor nominee for “Argo” ALAN ARKIN
27. Patio furniture repairman CANER
28. Expressive music subgenre EMO
29. Report card figs. AVGS
30. Hopi home PUEBLO
34. Kind ILK
37. Modern, in Munich NEU
38. Relatives, and an apt title for this puzzle KINFOLK
39. “__ do not!” NO I
40. Hee-hawing critter ASS
41. Watchdogs from Japan AKITAS
42. Get snippy with SASS
43. Unrefined find ORE
44. Superhero duds CAPES
45. Iowa senator since 1985 TOM HARKIN
51. Elevator innovator OTIS
52. “Can I get a word in?” AHEM
53. D-backs, on scoreboards ARI
54. Formal decrees DICTA
56. Party coffeemaker URN
57. Al Pacino’s “Sea of Love” co-star ELLEN BARKIN
60. Statistical data: Abbr. NOS
61. City known for its Boys’ Choir VIENNA
62. Giggly Muppet ELMO
63. “Schedule uncertain at press time” abbr. TBA
64. Passages between buildings ALLEYS
65. Gets the point SEES

Down
1. “Fernando” band ABBA
2. Stretches in the high 90s, say HEATWAVES
3. Flier with a shamrock logo AER LINGUS
4. Fires on from above STRAFES
5. “My gal” of song SAL
6. Sparkling topper TIARA
7. Flamboyant Flynn ERROL
8. Cellphone giant NOKIA
9. “I’d love to, Yvette!” OUI
10. MTA stop STN
11. Camera name since 1888 KODAK
12. Suspect’s excuse ALIBI
13. Aden’s country YEMEN
18. Belgian river YSER
22. Dude BRO
25. Actress Carter and “little” Dickens character Trent NELLS
26. Hog-wild AMOK
27. Water-to-wine village CANA
30. Penny pincher PIKER
31. Prefix with cycle UNI-
32. Wee newt EFT
33. Showy wrap BOA
34. Up the creek IN A PICKLE
35. Runs too slowly, as a watch LOSES TIME
36. X, in valentines KISS
38. Former “Idol” judge DioGuardi KARA
42. Ironic sketches SATIRES
43. Resistance measure OHM
44. Musical wrap-up CODA
45. Talk trash to TAUNT
46. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” catchphrase OH, ROB!
47. Brainy bunch MENSA
48. Superman, on Krypton KAL-EL
49. Dancer Castle IRENE
50. Simpleton NINNY
55. Years in España ANOS
57. One of the Gabors EVA
58. Small, in Dogpatch LI’L
59. History majors’ degs. BAS

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