CROSSWORD SETTER: Mark Bickham
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 25m 10s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Title puppet dragon of ’60s-’70s kids’ TV HR PUFNSTUF
“H.R. Pufnstuf” was a Saturday morning children’s show for which only 17 episodes were made, and originally aired towards the end of 1969. The show has been in reruns in various formats ever since and has a very strong cult following. The memorable theme song “H.R. Pufnstuf” was written by Les Szarvas, but credit is also given to Paul Simon. This is because Simon successfully sued the show’s producers as the song’s theme was too close to his hit “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”.
11. Trading place PIT
The “pit” is that part of a trading floor in a stock exchange where buyers and sellers are shouting and using hand signals to make sales.
14. Supercilious ABOVE IT ALL
“Supercilious” is a such a lovely-sounding word, with a not-so-lovely meaning. Some described as supercilious is lofty with pride, haughtily contemptuous. The term derives from the Latin “supercilium” meaning “eyebrow” (actually “above the eyelid), the idea being that a person is prone to raise his or her eyebrows to express haughtiness.
16. Ristorante offering MINESTRONE
Minestrone is a hearty Italian soup with a varying recipe, but usually including lots of vegetables in a vegetable broth with added pasta or rice. The term “minestrone” comes from the Italian “minestrare” meaning “to serve”.
19. Senseless ASININE
The adjective “asinine” means “stupid, obstinate”, and comes from the Latin for “like an ass”.
21. Bee: Pref. API-
“Apis” is the Latin word for “bee”. Apiculture is the raising and caring of bees.
26. Lady’s love TRAMP
“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney, released in 1955. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date” and together eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute!
28. Bandleader Beneke TEX
Tex Beneke was a saxophonist, singer and bandleader whose name is much associated with Big Band legend Glenn Miller. Beneke played solo sax on Miller’s hit recording of “In the Mood” and sang on Miller’s recording of “Chattanooga Choo Choo”.
30. Ravel’s “Gaspard de la __” NUIT
“Gaspard de la nuit” is a suite of three solo piano pieces written in 1908 by French composer Maurice Ravel. The final “Scarbo” movement of the work is considered to be one of the hardest pieces to play in the whole piano repertoire.
31. Tiny parasites LICE
Lice are small wingless insects of which there are thousands of species, three of which are human disease agents. The three kinds of lice affecting humans are head lice, body lice and pubic lice. Most lice feed on dead skin found on the body of the host animal, although some feed on blood. Ick …
34. Oshkosh hrs. CST
Central Standard Time (CST)
Oshkosh is a city in east-central Wisconsin that was named for Chief Oshkosh of the Menominee Native American people. The word “oshkosh” means “the claw” in the Ojibwe language.
37. Name of eight popes URBAN
There have been eight popes named Urban who have led the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Urban I was in office from 222 to 230 and is the only one of the eight to have been sanctified. Urban VII’s papacy was the shortest in the history of the church. He died from malaria just 13 days after having been chosen as Pope in September 1590.
38. Lionized actor? LAHR
Bert Lahr’s most famous role was the cowardly lion in “The Wizard of Oz”. Lahr had a long career in burlesque, vaudeville and on Broadway. Lahr also starred in the first US production of Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot”, alongside Tom Ewell.
39. 30% of venti SEI
In Italian, 30% of twenty (venti) is six (sei).
40. Characteristic of some jacks ONE EYE
There is a poker game that’s popular in home games in which one-eyed jacks are chosen as wild cards. The one-eyed jacks are the Jack of Spades and the Jack of Hearts.
41. Zeno’s home ELEA
Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived in Elea, a Greek colony in Southern Italy. Zeno is famous for his “paradoxes”, a set of problems that really make you think! In the problem known as Achilles and the Tortoise, Zeno tells us that Achilles races a tortoise, giving the tortoise a head start (of say 100 meters). By the time Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, the tortoise will have moved on, albeit only a small distance. Achilles then sets his sights on the tortoise’s new position and runs to it. Again the tortoise has moved ahead a little. Achilles keeps on moving to the tortoise’s new position but can never actually catch his slower rival. Or can he …?
44. “Slumdog Millionaire” star __ Patel DEV
Dev Patel is an actor from Harrow in England. Patel is best known for playing the lead in the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. Most recently I saw him a lovely 2012 film called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” alongside an incredible cast that included Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson.
46. Frank WIENER
What we call a wiener in this country is known as a Vienna sausage in Germany. It was first produced by a butcher from Frankfurt who was living in Vienna, hence the name “Wiener”, which is German for “of Vienna”. Paradoxically, the same sausage is called a Frankfurter in Vienna, as it was created by someone from Frankfurt. It’s all very confusing …
48. In __: unmoved SITU
“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”, and we use the term to mean “in the original position”.
50. 2002 British Open champion ELS
Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. He has a child who suffers from autism and so Els has been very effective in raising money for charities that focus on the condition.
53. Old Toyota model SUPRA
The Supra was a sporty car made by Toyota from 1979 to 2002. The Spura was in effect a longer and wider Celica.
55. Tara of “American Pie” REID
Tara Reid is an actress known for roles she played on television and the big screen. My guess is her most remembered performances were in the “American Pie” series of movies in which she played Vicky. Sadly, Reid succumbed to the pressure to alter her looks with plastic surgery. In interviews, she has shared that her first experience under the knife “went wrong” leading to more surgeries in attempts to rectify the resulting deformity.
56. Great Plains dweller PRAIRIE DOG
The prairie dog is a type of ground squirrel that is found in the grasslands of North America. Prairie dogs are so named because they inhabit prairies and because they have a warning call that is similar to the bark of a dog.
60. Raison d’__ ETRE
“Raison d’être” is a French phrase meaning “reason for existence”.
62. Movie format DVD
The acronym DVD doesn’t actually stand for anything these days, although it originally was short for Digital Video Disk. The use of the word “video” was dropped as DVDs are no longer limited to storing video content. That said, the use of disks as portable storage devices has largely been replaced by the use of memory sticks.
Down
2. Diamond stat RBI
Runs batted in (RBI)
3. Chevrolet Camaro cousin PONTIAC FIREBIRD
1967 was a big year or American muscle cars. The Pontiac Firebird was introduced that year, as was the Chevrolet Camaro that shared the same platform as the Firebird. At the same time, Ford introduced the Mercury Cougar, which was built on the same platform as the Ford Mustang that went into production just three years earlier.
4. Iris holder UVEA
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball.
The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
5. Spill the beans FESS UP
“To spill the beans” is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”.
6. Tucci’s “Road to Perdition” role NITTI
Frank Nitti was one of the top henchmen working for Al Capone. Unlike American-born Capone, Nitti was actually from Italy and was born near the city of Salerno. When Capone was eventually put away for 11 years for tax evasion, Nitti was convicted of the same crime. Nitti was only imprisoned for 18 months, and when released he was labelled as the new head of Capone’s Chicago Outfit. However the truth seems to be that he was just a frontman, with others making the decisions.
Stanley Tucci is a favorite actor of mine. Of his many fine performances my favorite is in 2009’s “Julie & Julia” in which he plays the husband of celebrity chef Julia Child. Tucci is quite the cook himself in real life and released “The Tucci Cookbook” in 2012. He is also a co-owner of the Finch Tavern restaurant in Croton Falls, New York.
7. Rep in the city STREET CRED
“Street cred” is slang for “street credibility”, of which I have none …
8. Eastern path TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
9. Prismatic bone ULNA
The bone in the arm called the ulna is prismatic in shape, meaning that it is less like a cylinder than it is a prism, having flat sides that are parallel to each other.
10. Bygone Crayola shade FLESH
In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the “Crayola Color Census 2000” in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.
13. Laid-back TYPE B
The Type A and Type B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labelled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type A personality types are so called “stress junkies”, whereas Type B types are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type A personality and heart problems.
15. Xhosa’s language group BANTU
Swahili is one of the many Bantu languages spoken in Africa. There are hundreds of Bantu languages, mainly spoken in central, east and southern Africa. The most commonly spoken Bantu language is Swahili, with Zulu coming in second.
The Xhosa are a Bantu people who live mainly in the southeast of South Africa. The Xhosa language is the second-most common in the country, after Zulu. Among the list of notable Xhosa people are former President Nelson Mandela and retired Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu.
20. Accelerator particles IONS
In a particle accelerator, the particles that are accelerated have to have a charge, so are ions. The charged ions are subjected to high magnetic fields that propel them around a circular “racetrack”, before being smashed into something, just to see what happens!
21. Country album? 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”.
22. It precedes the late news PRIME-TIME TV
Generally, prime time is considered to be the evening hours between 7:00 and 11:00, when most people are watching television.
24. “Can Do!” group SEABEES
The Seabees are members of the Construction Battalions (CB) of the US Navy, from which the name “Seabee” originates. There’s a great 1944 movie called “The Fighting Seabees” starring John Wayne that tells the story of the birth of the Seabees during WWII. The Seabees’ official motto is “Construimus. Batuimus”, Latin for “We build. We fight.” The group’s unofficial motto is “Can Do!”
27. Part of an org. MEM
A member (mem.) is part of an organization (org.).
33. From Okla. City to Tulsa ENE
Oklahoma City is the largest city in Oklahoma, and the state capital. Although it is only the 29th most-populous city in the country, Oklahoma City is the eighth-largest by land area. Sadly, the city suffered the nation’s worst act of domestic terrorism, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that caused the death of 168 people.
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.
40. Letters under TUV, perhaps OPER
On the buttons of a phone you often see TUV on the 8-key and OPER (for “operator”) on the 0-key. Well, you used to …
43. Battery post ANODE
The two terminals of a battery are called the anode and the cathode. Electrons travel from the anode to the cathode creating an electric current.
45. Indonesian currency RUPIAH
The “rupiah” is the currency used in Indonesia. The locals often use the name “perak” for the same unit of currency, a word which means “silver”.
46. Condé Nast technology magazine WIRED
“Wired” is a technology-focused magazine published since 1993 by Condé Nast in San Francisco.
49. Bailiwicks TURFS
Bailiwick is a word dating back to the mid-1600s, and originally meant the “district of a bailiff”. Today we use the term to mean one’s sphere of interest or expertise.
52. Popular 1958 spy novel DR NO
“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. No and Fu Manchu.
54. “General Hospital” Emmy winner Sofer RENA
Rena Sofer came to prominence as an actor in daytime television, most notably playing Lois Cerullo on “General Hospital”. Sofer’s love interest on the show was played by Wally Kurth, and the online romance led to the pair walking down the aisle in real life in 1995 (although they divorced two years later).
57. Nabokov novel ADA
The reference here is to the 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov called “Ada”. The story takes place in the 1800s on Antiterra, an Earth-like planet that has a history similar to ours but with interesting differences. For example, there is a United States, but the country covers all of North and South America. What we call eastern Canada is a French-speaking province called “Canady”, and western Canada is a Russian-speaking province “Estody”. The plot-line is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
58. Where “Shazbot!” is a curse ORK
“Mork & Mindy” is a sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982. The title characters were played by Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who reports back to his superior called Orson. Orson is played by voice actor Ralph James. Ralph James was also known for providing the voice of Mr Turtle in famous Tootsie Pop commercials in the seventies.
There were a few terms coined for the sitcom “Mork & Mindy” in the later seventies that became popular at the time, and are sometimes still quoted today. Most popular was Mork’s greeting “Na-Nu Na-Nu”. Mork also used “Shazbot” as a profanity, said “KO” instead of “OK”.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Title puppet dragon of ’60s-’70s kids’ TV HR PUFNSTUF
11. Trading place PIT
14. Supercilious ABOVE IT ALL
15. Angular BONY
16. Ristorante offering MINESTRONE
17. Words after take or gain A LAP
18. Experience slightly TASTE
19. Senseless ASININE
21. Bee: Pref. API-
23. One-eighties UIES
25. Back porch luxury HOT TUB
26. Lady’s love TRAMP
28. Bandleader Beneke TEX
30. Ravel’s “Gaspard de la __” NUIT
31. Tiny parasites LICE
32. Alarms SCARES
34. Oshkosh hrs. CST
36. Alternative to satellite AM/FM
37. Name of eight popes URBAN
38. Lionized actor? LAHR
39. 30% of venti SEI
40. Characteristic of some jacks ONE EYE
41. Zeno’s home ELEA
42. Hunter’s setting TRAP
44. “Slumdog Millionaire” star __ Patel DEV
45. Comeback RALLY
46. Frank WIENER
48. In __: unmoved SITU
50. 2002 British Open champion ELS
51. Words spoken while stretching, perhaps I’M BORED
53. Old Toyota model SUPRA
55. Tara of “American Pie” REID
56. Great Plains dweller PRAIRIE DOG
60. Raison d’__ ETRE
61. Historical transition point END OF AN ERA
62. Movie format DVD
63. Highly rated individuals? LOAN SHARKS
Down
1. Omelet ingredient HAM
2. Diamond stat RBI
3. Chevrolet Camaro cousin PONTIAC FIREBIRD
4. Iris holder UVEA
5. Spill the beans FESS UP
6. Tucci’s “Road to Perdition” role NITTI
7. Rep in the city STREET CRED
8. Eastern path TAO
9. Prismatic bone ULNA
10. Bygone Crayola shade FLESH
11. Party person POLITICAL LEADER
12. To summarize IN A NUTSHELL
13. Laid-back TYPE B
15. Xhosa’s language group BANTU
20. Accelerator particles IONS
21. Country album? ATLAS
22. It precedes the late news PRIME-TIME TV
24. “Can Do!” group SEABEES
27. Part of an org. MEM
29. Fictional threat to secret-keeping X-RAY VISION
32. Overhead light? SUN
33. From Okla. City to Tulsa ENE
35. Airline conveniences TRAYS
38. Pastoral place LEA
40. Letters under TUV, perhaps OPER
43. Battery post ANODE
45. Indonesian currency RUPIAH
46. Condé Nast technology magazine WIRED
47. Sicken REPEL
49. Bailiwicks TURFS
52. Popular 1958 spy novel DR NO
54. “General Hospital” Emmy winner Sofer RENA
57. Nabokov novel ADA
58. Where “Shazbot!” is a curse ORK
59. Natural __ GAS