Day: October 16, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Tower site BABEL
We use the word “babel” now to describe a scene of confusion, lifting the term from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The Tower was built in the city of Babylon, and the construction was cursed with a confusion of languages due to the varied origins of all the builders.

6. “That last piece of cake is mine!” DIBS!
The expression used by child “to have dibs on” expresses a claim on something. Apparently, the term “dibs” is a contraction of “dibstone”, which was a knucklebone or jack used in a children’s game.

10. Hemingway nickname PAPA
Apparently, the author Ernest Hemingway picked up the moniker “Papa” on the birth of his first child (as one might expect!). Hemingway seemed to the like the nickname, and welcomed its use outside of the family, and his admirers obliged.

15. Shield border, in heraldry ORLE
In heraldry, an orle is a decorative band that lies close to the edge of the front surface of a shield. With such a design, the orle necessarily takes on the shape of the shield.

16. Skunk’s defense ODOR
Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

17. Roulette choices NOIRS
In the game of roulette, players can bet on red (rouge) and black (noir).

18. Roulette, for one NOUN
The name “roulette” means “little wheel” in French, and the game as we know it today did in fact originate in Paris, in 1796.

19. Baltic native LETT
Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics. People from Latvia are called Letts.

20. Some boxing wins SPLIT DECISIONS (pointing to “banana split”)
The banana split was created in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1904. This particular sundae was the idea of David Stickler, a young apprentice pharmacist at the Tassel Pharmacy’s soda fountain.

33. TV talk pioneer PAAR
Jack Paar was most famous as the host of “The Tonight Show”, from 1957 to 1962. When he died in 2004, “Time” magazine wrote that Paar was “the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar”. Very complimentary …

34. March composer SOUSA
John Philip Sousa was a composer and conductor from Washington, D.C. Sousa was well known for his patriotic marches and earned himself the nickname “The American March King”. He served as a member of the US Marine Band from 1868 to 1875, and after leaving the Marines learned to conduct and compose. One of the Sousa compositions that is well-known around the world is called “The Liberty Bell”, a tune used as the musical theme for BBC Television’s “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Sousa also wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which is the official march of the US Marine Corps.

35. Destructive Greek god ARES
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

37. Like May through August, literally R-LESS
There are no letters R in the words May, June, July and August.

41. Use Comet on SCRUB
The Comet brand of household cleanser produced a famous series of ads in the sixties through the eighties that featured a character known as “Josephine the Plumber”. Played by actress Jane Withers, she was noted for uttering the line “Nothing can hold a can to Comet!”

43. Rejection from the top VETO
“Veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The word was used by tribunes of Ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

45. RMN was his vice president DDE
Richard Milhous Nixon (RMN) was US Vice President under President Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE).

Journalist Jeffrey Frank just published what looks like an interesting book called “Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage”. Frank makes the case that Eisenhower really didn’t choose Nixon as a running mate in 1952, but that Nixon was chosen for him in some smoke-filled backroom in that way that such decisions were made back then. Eisenhower was a national war hero, and Nixon was noted back then as being an active and successful anti-Communist. The party elders thought that they would make a perfect ticket.

46. Sitcom security device that often defeated its own purpose CONE OF SILENCE
The “Cone of Silence” was an ineffective security device that featured on the espionage sitcom “Get Smart” in the sixties.

The satirical comedy series called “Get Smart” was the creation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and starred Don Adams as Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. Agent 86 worked for the spy agency CONTROL, alongside the lovely Agent 99. CONTROL’s sworn enemy was the criminal organization called KAOS. Smart’s shoe phone was a hilarious prop used in almost every episode. When Smart dialed the number 117, the shoe converted into a gun. Cool stuff …

50. Bread, at times SOP
Cerberus is a dog with three heads that appears in both Greek and Roman mythology. Cerberus had the job of guarding the gates of Hades and preventing those who had crossed the River Styx from ever escaping. A sop is a piece of food that has been dipped in some liquid, as one might sop a piece of bread in soup. There is an idiomatic expression, “to give a sop to Cerberus”, which means to give someone a bribe, or pay someone off. The idea is that if one could bribe Cerberus, give him a sop to eat, then he would let you pass and escape from Hades.

51. Salad cheese FETA
Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

60. Michigan city or college ALMA
Alma College in Alma, Michigan was founded by Michigan Presbyterians in 1886. The school has a Scottish heritage of which it is very proud. Alma has its own Scottish marching band, a Scottish dance troupe and even its own design of tartan.

61. __ Janeiro RIO DE
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Years Day in 1502.

65. Tools for Wolfgang Puck PANS
Wolfgang Puck is a celebrity chef from Austria. Puck is the man behind the famous pair of restaurants in Southern California called Spago.

66. Italian noble family ESTE
The House of Este is a princely dynasty in Europe. The House of Hanover that ruled Britain from 1714 to 1901 (when Queen Victoria died) was perhaps the most notable branch of the House of Este. The House takes its name from the town of Este in the province of Padua in northern Italy.

67. Fancy moldings OGEES
An ogee is like an s-curve. Specifically it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S).

Down
7. Camaro __-Z IROC
The IROC-Z is a model of Camaro, introduced in 1978. The IROC-Z takes its name from a famous stock car race, the International Race of Champions.

9. Dojo instructor SENSEI
“Sensei” is a Japanese form of address used for figures of authority, from lawyers to martial arts instructors.

The Japanese word dojo literally means “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

10. Game divided into chukkers POLO
A game of polo is divided into periods of play called chukkers (sometimes “chukkas”). The game usually lasts for two hours, and the time between the chukkers is used to change horses.

The game of polo originated in Iran, possibly before the 5th century BC. Polo was used back them primarily as a training exercise for cavalry units.

11. Arabian Peninsula seaport ADEN
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. Someone from the seaport of Aden is known as an Adeni.

21. Senegal’s capital DAKAR
The Republic of Senegal is a country on the far western coast of Africa. For many years Senegal was a French colony, gaining independence in 1960. The capital of Senegal is Dakar, a city located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.

22. Swimmers Crocker and Thorpe IANS
Ian Crocker is former competitive swimmer from Portland, Maine who specialized in the butterfly stroke. Crocker won five Olympic medals over the course of his career and was the first in the world to swim the 100-meter butterfly in under 51 seconds.

Ian Thorpe is a retired competitive swimmer from Australia. Thorpe won five Olympic gold medals and earned himself the nickname “The Thorpedo”.

26. Coin-tossing attraction TREVI
The Trevi Fountain is a huge fountain in Rome, the largest constructed in the Baroque style. The tradition is that if one throws a coin in the fountain then one is guaranteed a return visit to the city. Tourists throw in an amazing 3,000 euros (over $4,000) every day. The money is collected and is used to stock a supermarket for the needy of the city.

28. Upholsterer’s choice SUEDE
Suede is leather made from the underside of the skin, mainly from a lamb. As such it is very soft, although not as durable as leather made from the exterior skin. The soft leather was, and is still used for making gloves. Back in 1859 these gloves were called “gants de Suede” in France, or “gloves of Sweden”. So, the name “suede” comes from the French word for Sweden.

31. Like “padre,” e.g.: Abbr. MASC
In Spanish, a father (padre) might have a boy (niño) and a girl (niña).

32. BP subsidiary ARCO
ARCO stands for the Atlantic Richfield Company. One of ARCO’s claims to fame is that it is responsible for the nation’s largest Superfund site. Mining and smelting in the area around Butte, Montana polluted the region’s water and soil, and ARCO have agreed to pay $187 million to help clean up the area.

BP is an oil and gas company headquartered in London, UK. BP started out as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909 with the remit of exploiting oil discovered in Iran. The company name was changed to British Petroleum in 1954, and today the name used is simply “BP”.

42. Pear variety BOSC
Bosc is a cultivar of the European Pear grown in the northwest of the United States. The Bosc is that pear with a skin the color of a potato, with a long neck. I always seem to use the potato as my point of reference. How Irish am I …?

44. Lake on the New York border ONTARIO
Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes and lies on the US-Canadian border between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. “Ontario” translates from the Wyandot/Huron language as “Lake of the Shining Waters”. About 50 people have made the 32-mile swim across the lake, including Diana Nyad who made the swim in 1974. Nyad made the headlines in 2013 when swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64.

47. Silo filler FORAGE
“Forage” is another word for “fodder”, food used for domestic animals.

Silo is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English, originally coming from the Greek word “siros” that described a pit in which one kept corn.

48. Hogwarts castings SPELLS
Hogwarts is of course the boarding school in the “Harry Potter” series of books by J. K. Rawling.

52. Cuzco native INCA
Cusco (also Cuzco) is a city in the southeast of Peru. Historically, Cusco was the historic capital of the Inca Empire.

55. Latin I verb AMAT
“Amo, amas, amat: … “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”, in Latin.

57. “Garfield” canine ODIE
Odie is Garfield’s best friend and is a slobbery beagle, a character in Jim Davis’s comic strip “Garfield”.

58. “Cheers” actor Roger REES
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. Rees played the character Robin Colcord on “Cheers”, the posh love interest for Rebecca Howe played by Kirstie Alley. Rees also appeared periodically on “The West Wing” as the marvelously flamboyant and eccentric Lord John Marbury, the British Ambassador.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Tower site BABEL
6. “That last piece of cake is mine!” DIBS!
10. Hemingway nickname PAPA
14. Once __ time … UPON A
15. Shield border, in heraldry ORLE
16. Skunk’s defense ODOR
17. Roulette choices NOIRS
18. Roulette, for one NOUN
19. Baltic native LETT
20. Some boxing wins SPLIT DECISIONS
23. Not bare CLAD
24. Large expanse SEA
25. Cause a stir SHAKE THINGS UP
31. Bath accessory MAT
33. TV talk pioneer PAAR
34. March composer SOUSA
35. Destructive Greek god ARES
37. Like May through August, literally R-LESS
40. Bar order BEER
41. Use Comet on SCRUB
43. Rejection from the top VETO
45. RMN was his vice president DDE
46. Sitcom security device that often defeated its own purpose CONE OF SILENCE
50. Bread, at times SOP
51. Salad cheese FETA
52. Where to find the starts of 20-, 25- and 46-Across ICE CREAM PARLOR
59. Winter coat SNOW
60. Michigan city or college ALMA
61. __ Janeiro RIO DE
62. Part of a plot ACRE
63. Pleased GLAD
64. Navel phenomenon INNIE
65. Tools for Wolfgang Puck PANS
66. Italian noble family ESTE
67. Fancy moldings OGEES

Down
1. Burger King supply BUNS
2. For each one A POP
3. Recipe instruction BOIL
4. Supplement nutritionally ENRICH
5. Race ender LAST LAP
6. Outcome of successful negotiations DONE DEAL
7. Camaro __-Z IROC
8. A bit down BLUISH
9. Dojo instructor SENSEI
10. Game divided into chukkers POLO
11. Arabian Peninsula seaport ADEN
12. Tools for Wolfgang Puck POTS
13. Gallery showing ART
21. Senegal’s capital DAKAR
22. Swimmers Crocker and Thorpe IANS
25. Rudder’s locale STERN
26. Coin-tossing attraction TREVI
27. Gooey lump GOB
28. Upholsterer’s choice SUEDE
29. Previously owned USED
30. Cut the skin from PARE
31. Like “padre,” e.g.: Abbr. MASC
32. BP subsidiary ARCO
36. Drag to court SUE
38. Like some millionaires SELF-MADE
39. Expensive STEEP
42. Pear variety BOSC
44. Lake on the New York border ONTARIO
47. Silo filler FORAGE
48. Hogwarts castings SPELLS
49. Thoughtful CARING
52. Cuzco native INCA
53. Muffin grain CORN
54. Flock females EWES
55. Latin I verb AMAT
56. Single LONE
57. “Garfield” canine ODIE
58. “Cheers” actor Roger REES
59. Maple yield SAP

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