Day: December 4, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Caesar’s love AMOR
“Amor” is the Latin word for love.

15. Sharif who played Zhivago OMAR
Omar Sharif is the great Hollywood actor from Egypt, an actor who played major roles in memorable movies such as “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. But to me he is my bridge hero (the card game). In his heyday Sharif was one of the best bridge players in the world.

“Doctor Zhivago” is an epic novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957. I haven’t tried to read it the book, but the 1965 film version is a must-see, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif in the title role. The story centers on Yuri Zhivago, a doctor and poet, and how he is affected by the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War.

16. World Court site, with “The” HAGUE
Den Haag is the Dutch name for the city in the Netherlands that we know in English as The Hague. Even though The Hague is the seat of the Dutch parliament and is where Queen Beatrix resides, it is not the country’s capital city. That honor goes to Amsterdam.

International Court of Justice (ICJ) is commonly referred to as the World Court, and is based in the the Hague in the Netherlands. The ICJ is the main judicial branch of the United Nations, and one of its functions is to settle disputes between UN member states. The US no longer accepts the jurisdiction of the ICJ, after the court’s 1986 decision that the US’s covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law. The UN Security Council is charged with enforcing ICJ rulings, and so the US used its veto power in the Nicaragua v. United States case.

17. Shepard in space ALAN
Alan Shepard was the first American in space. Shepard’s flight was originally scheduled for October 1960 but a series of delays pushed it out till May 5, 1961. Yuri Gagarin made his celebrated flight on April 12, 1961, just one one month earlier, winning that part of the Space Race for the Soviets.

20. Brand for heartburn ZANTAC
Zantac is a brand name for the drug called ranitidine, which is used to inhibit the production of stomach acid. Ranitidine was introduced in 1981, and by 1988 was the biggest-selling, prescription drug in the world.

22. Providence-to-Boston dir. NNE
Providence is the capital of the state of Rhode Island. The city was founded way back in 1636 by a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony called Roger Williams. Williams believed that it was “God’s merciful providence” that revealed the location of today’s city as a haven for him and his followers, and so gave the new settlement the name “Providence”.

23. Scraps for Rover ORTS
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

24. Unit of work ERG
An erg is a unit of energy or mechanical work. “Erg” comes from the Greek word “ergon” meaning “work”. A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”. Ergs and dynes are related to each other in that one erg is the amount of energy needed to move a force of one dyne over a distance of one centimeter.

25. Soda for dieters COKE ZERO
Even though Coca-Cola Zero is in the category of “diet soda”, the marketing folks at Coca-Cola don’t like its association with the word “diet”. The target market for the beverage is young adult males, so it is described as “calorie-free” rather than “diet”, the assumption being that males associate “diet” with women.

28. French season ETE
One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in French-speaking countries.

30. Thin pancake CREPE
“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.

43. Boy king TUT
King Tut is a name commonly used for the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen may not have been the most significant of the pharaohs historically, but he is the most famous today largely because of the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922. Prior to this find, any Egyptian tombs uncovered by archaeologists had been ravaged by grave robbers. Tutankhamen’s magnificent burial mask is one of the most recognizable of all Egyptian artifacts.

46. Oater group bent on justice POSSE
Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

The term “oater” that is used for a western movie comes from the number of horses seen, as horses love oats!

48. Nile biter ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

49. Blush wine, for short WHITE ZIN
Zinfandel is my favorite red wine varietal. It amazes me that the rich and heavy red Zinfandel comes from the same grape as does the sweet White Zinfandel.

The term “blush” in the world of wine has only been around since the late seventies, and is really only used here in the US. Today we think of a blush as a relatively sweet pink wine, and a rosé as something drier.

51. Short market lines? UPC
UPC stands for Universal Price Code or Universal Product Code. The first UPC-marked item to get scanned in a store was on June 26, 1974 at 08:01 a.m. at Marsh’s supermarket in Troy, Ohio. It was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum …

54. Piedmont wine region ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

57. Erie Canal mule SAL
The song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal” was written in 1905. The lyrics are nostalgic and look back to the days when traffic on the canal was pulled by mules, bemoaning the introduction of the fast-moving engine-powered barges. The first line is “I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal”.

58. __ Pipeline, Oahu surfing attraction BANZAI
The Banzai Pipeline is an area where the waves start to break off Ehukai Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. The spot was given its name in 1961 by a movie producer filming surfers. At that time there was an underground pipeline being constructed nearby, so the producer named the surf reef break “Pipeline”. The “Banzai” was added to the name in honor of Banzai Beach, where the waves comes ashore.

60. “She’s Not There” rock group THE ZOMBIES
The Zombies are a rock band from St. Albans in England that formed in 1962. The band’s big hits were “She’s Not There” released in 1962 and “Time of the Season” from 1969.

63. “Ripostes” poet Pound EZRA
Ezra Pound was an American poet who spent much of his life wandering the world, spending years in London, Paris, and Italy. In Italy, Pound’s work and sympathies for Mussolini’s regime led to his arrest at the end of the war. His major work was the epic, albeit incomplete, “The Cantos”. This epic poem is divided into 120 sections, each known as a canto.

“Ripostes of Ezra Pound” is a collection of 25 Ezra Pound poems that were first published in England in 1912.

65. Theater part LOGE
In most theaters today, “loge” is the name given to the front rows of a mezzanine level. Loge can also be the name given to box seating.

66. Choir part ALTO
In choral music, an alto is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

68. __ collar ETON
An Eton collar is a wide, stiff, buttoned collar that is still part of the formal school uniform at Eton College near Windsor in England.

69. Stonewall’s soldiers REBS
Manassas, Virginia was the site of two major battles during the Civil War, the First and Second Battles of Bull Run (also known as the Battles of Manassas). In the first battle, one of the southern brigades was led by Brigadier General Thomas Jackson. His brigade was well-trained and disciplined, so much so that as the Union troops made advances, a fellow-general encouraged his retreating men to hold their positions yelling “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer”. There are reports that the actual quote was less complimentary, but regardless, from that day on Jackson was known as “Stonewall”.

Down
2. Large grinder MOLAR
The molars are grinding teeth. The term “molar” comes from the Latin “mola” meaning “millstone”.

5. “Thick and Rich” chocolate syrup BOSCO
Bosco Chocolate Syrup is produced in New Jersey, and first hit store shelves in 1928.

6. Rescue pro EMT
Emergency medical technician (EMT)

8. Freddie __ Jr. of “Scooby-Doo” films PRINZE
Freddie Prinze, Jr. is an actor from Los Angeles who made it back with performances in teen movies like “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Scooby-Doo”. Prinze is married to actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.

10. Musical buzzer KAZOO
The modern instrument we know today as the kazoo was invented by one Alabama Vest of Macon, Georgia in the 1800s. The kazoo first came to the public’s attention at the Georgia State Fair of 1852, when it was known as the “Down-South Submarine” (because of it’s shape, I would imagine).

11. Composer Stravinsky IGOR
The composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

21. The Red Sox’ Jon Lester, e.g. ACE
In the world of baseball, an”ace” is the best starting pitcher on a team.

Jon Lester is pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who pitched a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in 2008. Lester was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2006, and made a remarkable recovery from the resulting chemotherapy. He started and won the final game of the World Series the season following his treatments.

26. 1980s Chrysler product K-CAR
Chrysler’s K-cars were designed to carry 6 passengers, on two bench seats. Remember taking a corner a little too fast on those seats, in the days when no one wore seat belts?

27. Altered mtge. REFI
One might refinance (refi) a mortgage (mtge.).

Our word “mortgage” comes from the Old French “mort gaige” which translated as “dead pledge”. The idea was that a pledge to repay a loan dies when the debt is cleared.

33. Oboe, e.g. REED
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”.

35. They’re found in lodes ORES
A lode is metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure.

38. Classic Fords LTDS
There has been a lot of speculation about what the acronym LTD stands for in the car model known as “Ford LTD”. Many say it stands for Luxury Trim Decor, and others that it is an abbreviation for “limited”. Although the car was produced in Australia with the acronym meaning Lincoln Type Design, it seems LTD was originally chosen as just three meaningless letters that sound well together.

40. Last year’s frosh SOPH
The term “sophomore” has been used for a student in the second year of university since the 1680’s. The original meaning of the word was “arguer”. The term has Greek roots, from two Greek words that have been artificially combined in English. The Greek “sophos” means “wise”, and “moros” means “foolish”.

“Frosh” is a slang term for a college freshman. We call them “freshers” back in Ireland …

41. 1956 Mideast dispute area SUEZ
The Suez Crisis of 1956 came about when President Nasser of Egypt decided to nationalize the Suez Canal, a response to a withdrawal of funds by Britain and the US for the building of the Aswan Dam. Egypt then refused to allow any Israeli shipping the use the canal. With British and French support, Israel invaded the Sinai in October 1956, starting the military conflict. Combined British, French and Israeli forces eventually took control of the Suez Canal, which was viewed as a military success but a political disaster. The United Nations, led by the US, pressured the British, French and Israelis to withdraw.

43. J. Alfred Prufrock creator T S ELIOT
T. S. Eliot was born in New England but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Much of Eliot’s 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.

“The Lovesong 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.

49. Shrivel WIZEN
“Wizen” is such a lovely word, I think. It means to “dry up”, especially with age.

50. “A Doll’s House” playwright IBSEN
Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright, considered by many to be the greatest playwright since William Shakespeare. Ibsen was famous for shocking his audiences by exploring subjects that offended the sensibilities of the day (the late 1800s).

“A Doll’s House” is probably the most famous play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play deals with the feminist awakening of the lead character, Nora Helmer. “A Doll’s House” is sometimes referred to as the “first true feminist play”.

52. Medicare section PART B
Medicare is divided into four parts:

A: Hospital Insurance
B: Medical Insurance
C: Medicare Advantage Plans
D: Prescription Drug Plans

53. Informal byes CIAOS
“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates better as “goodbye”.

54. Dollar dispensers, for short ATMS
Automated teller machine (ATM)

55. Hit a Target? SHOP
Target Corporation was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 in Minneapolis, Minnesota as Dayton Dry Goods Company. Dayton developed into a department store, and the company opened up a discount store chain in 1962, calling it Target. Today Target is the second-largest discount retailer in the country, after Walmart.

56. Head of Paris? TETE
“Tête” is the French word for “head”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Caesar’s love AMOR
5. Signal to an on-call doctor BEEP
9. Omits SKIPS
14. Chowhound’s request MORE
15. Sharif who played Zhivago OMAR
16. World Court site, with “The” HAGUE
17. Shepard in space ALAN
18. Plate ump’s purview STRIKE ZONE
20. Brand for heartburn ZANTAC
22. Providence-to-Boston dir. NNE
23. Scraps for Rover ORTS
24. Unit of work ERG
25. Soda for dieters COKE ZERO
28. French season ETE
30. Thin pancake CREPE
31. Violinist’s gift EAR
34. Move very slowly OOZE
36. Suffers from HAS
37. In recent times OF LATE
39. Mechanic, at times GREASER
41. “That works!” SUITS ME!
42. 4-Down collector LESSOR
43. Boy king TUT
44. Made a hue turn? DYED
45. Suffix for records -EST
46. Oater group bent on justice POSSE
48. Nile biter ASP
49. Blush wine, for short WHITE ZIN
51. Short market lines? UPC
54. Piedmont wine region ASTI
57. Erie Canal mule SAL
58. __ Pipeline, Oahu surfing attraction BANZAI
60. “She’s Not There” rock group THE ZOMBIES
63. “Ripostes” poet Pound EZRA
64. Overnight refuge MOTEL
65. Theater part LOGE
66. Choir part ALTO
67. Blow some dough SPEND
68. __ collar ETON
69. Stonewall’s soldiers REBS

Down
1. Shock AMAZE
2. Large grinder MOLAR
3. Citrus shavings ORANGE ZEST
4. Payment to 42-Across RENT
5. “Thick and Rich” chocolate syrup BOSCO
6. Rescue pro EMT
7. Ones on the payroll EARNERS
8. Freddie __ Jr. of “Scooby-Doo” films PRINZE
9. Ship reference SHE
10. Musical buzzer KAZOO
11. Composer Stravinsky IGOR
12. Fourth-down play PUNT
13. Dates SEES
19. Property border warning KEEP OUT
21. The Red Sox’ Jon Lester, e.g. ACE
26. 1980s Chrysler product K-CAR
27. Altered mtge. REFI
29. Social cupfuls TEAS
31. This crossword, literally for some, phonetically for all EASY PUZZLE
32. “Please don’t yell __” AT ME
33. Oboe, e.g. REED
34. Eye rudely OGLE
35. They’re found in lodes ORES
36. Reason for a medal HEROISM
38. Classic Fords LTDS
40. Last year’s frosh SOPH
41. 1956 Mideast dispute area SUEZ
43. J. Alfred Prufrock creator T S ELIOT
47. Straw-strewn shelter STABLE
48. Santa __ winds ANA
49. Shrivel WIZEN
50. “A Doll’s House” playwright IBSEN
52. Medicare section PART B
53. Informal byes CIAOS
54. Dollar dispensers, for short ATMS
55. Hit a Target? SHOP
56. Head of Paris? TETE
59. Close by NEAR
61. Getting on in years OLD
62. Big one on the set, perhaps EGO

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