Day: March 21, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Chess ploy GAMBIT
A gambit is a chess opening that intrinsically involves the sacrifice of a piece (usually a pawn) with the intent of gaining an advantage. The term “gambit” was first used by the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura who took it from the Italian expression “dare il gambetto” meaning “to put a leg forward to trip someone”. Said priest gave his name to the common Ruy Lopez opening, which paradoxically is not a gambit in that there is no sacrifice.

11. Home of the N.Y. Rangers MSG
Madison Square Garden (MSG) is an arena in New York City used for a variety of events. In the world of sports it is home to the New York Rangers of the NHL, as well as the New York Knicks of the NBA. “The Garden” is also the third busiest music venue in the world in terms of ticket sales. The current arena is the fourth structure to bear the name, a name taken from the Madison Square location in Manhattan. In turn, the square was named for James Madison, the fourth President of the US.

14. Fund-raising targets ALUMNI
An “alumnus” (plural … alumni) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural … alumnae). The term comes into English from Latin, in which alumnus means foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or an alumnus.

15. Wrath, in a hymn IRAE
“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

16. Scarfed down ATE
“To scarf down” is teenage slang from the sixties meaning “to wolf down, to eat hastily”. The term is probably imitative of “to scoff”.

21. Bible book RUTH
The Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament tells the story of Ruth. Ruth was one of two women who married the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi. Father and sons died, leaving the three widows to fend for themselves. Naomi decided that it was best to go to Bethlehem. Orpah was Naomi’s second daughter-in-law, and she decided to return to her home. Ruth decided to stick with her mother-in-law, using the words “Whither thou goest, I will go”.

24. Thrice due SEI
In Italian, three times two (due) is six (sei).

25. Wetlands protection org. EPA
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

26. “Driving Miss Daisy” setting ATLANTA
The 1989 movie “Driving Miss Daisy” is based on the 1987 play by Alfred Uhry. Not only did Uhry win the Pulitzer for the play, he also won an Academy Award for the screenplay for the movie. In a famous scene, when Hoke, Miss Daisy’s driver takes her from Atlanta to Mobile for her brother’s 90th birthday party, Hoke reveals to his passenger that the journey marked the first time he had ever left his home state of Georgia.

31. Long poem EPOS
“Epos” is the Greek word for a story or a poem. We have absorbed it into English as “epic”, a long narrative poetic work describing heroic deeds and ventures.

33. One of two Pauline epistles: Abbr. COR
The seventh and eighth books of the New Testament are the First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians.

34. “__ for Innocent”: Grafton novel I IS
Sue Grafton writes detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and is working her way through the alphabet, most recently publishing “’W’ is for Wasted” in 2009. What a clever naming system!

35. Pentecost, e.g., and what can literally be found in this puzzle’s four other longest answers MOVEABLE FEAST
The Christian festival of Pentecost is known as Whitsun in the UK. Pentecost if the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ.

41. “This American Life” host Glass IRA
“This American Life” is a radio show that is broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR). Host of the show is the much-respected Ira Glass. I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira’s first cousin.

48. Theatergoer’s option MATINEE
“Matinée” is a French word used to describe a musical entertainment held during the daytime. It is derived from the word “matin”, meaning “morning”, although here is used in the sense of “daylight”. Theater performances in the US tend to be either in the evening (for the night owls) or in matinees in the afternoon (for “the early-to-bed crowd”).

49. Fla. NBA team ORL
The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …

50. Maker of “3 Series” cars BMW
The acronym BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and then moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

53. “Beloved” author Morrison TONI
The writer Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Amongst other things, Morrison is noted for first coining the phrase, “our first black President”, a reference to President Bill Clinton.

“Beloved” the movie is based on the Pulitzer-winning novel by Toni Morrison. Oprah, who produced the film, stars opposite Danny Glover.

54. Fromage hue BLEU
In French, a cheese (fromage) might have a blue (bleu) color.

57. Singer with the debut solo album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” GWEN STEFANI
Gwen Stefani is the lead singer for the rock band No Doubt. She joined the band in 1986, focused on a solo career from 2004-2008, but is now back singing and working with No Doubt.

62. Lisa’s title MONA
Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece that we know in English as the “Mona Lisa” is called “La Gioconda” in Italian, the language of the artist. It’s also known as “La Joconde” by the Government of France which owns the painting and displays it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title comes from the name of the subject, almost certainly Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Giocondo was a wealthy silk merchant in Florence who commissioned the painting for the couple’s new home to celebrate the birth of their second son.

Down
1. Pens for Dickens? GAOLS
Both “jail” and “gaol” are pronounced the same way, mean the same thing and are rooted in the same Latin word for “cave”. The spelling “gaol” is seen quite often in the UK, although it is gradually being replaced with “jail”. The “gaol” spelling has Norman roots and tends to be used in Britain in more formal documentation.

“Pen” is a slang term for “penitentiary”. Back in the early 1400s, a penitentiary was a place to do “penance”, a place of punishment for offences against the church.

Charles Dicken lived his early life in conditions that he later used as a backdrop for many of his novels. His father was thrown into debtor’s prison and the young Dickens was forced to leave school to work in a factory.

2. Caine title role ALFIE
There have been two versions of the movie “Alfie”. The original, and for my money the best, was made in 1966 with Michael Caine. The remake came out in 2004 and stars Jude Law in the title role. The theme song was performed by Cher in the 1966 movie, but it was Dionne Warwick’s cover version from 1967 that was the most successful in the charts.

3. Civilian garb MUFTI
“Mufti” is civilian dress that is worn by someone who usually wears a uniform. The term is probably related somehow to the Arabic “mufti”, the word for a Muslim scholar who interprets Islamic law.

4. ASCAP rival BMI
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) collects licence fees for musicians and distributes royalties to composers whose works have been performed. BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) provides the same service.

7. Social group KITH
The word “kith” describes friends and acquaintances, and is used used in the phrase “kith and kin” meaning “friends and family”. “Kith” comes from an Old English word meaning “native country, home”, as the expression “kith and kin” was used originally to mean “country and kinsmen”.

8. Org. co-founded by Gen. George Wingate NRA
George Wingate was a captain in the New York National Guard in 1867 when he drew up rules for rifle practice for the troops under his command. These rules became the first of their kind to be published in the US. In 1871, Wingate partnered with William Conant Church to charter the National Rifle Association, using the published rules of rifle practice to better train troops.

18. “Right away!” STAT!
The exact etymology of “stat”, a term meaning “immediately” in the medical profession, seems to have been lost in the mists of time. It probably comes from the Latin “statim” meaning “to a standstill, immediately”. A blog reader has helpfully suggested that the term may also come from the world of laboratory analysis, where the acronym STAT stands for “short turnaround time”.

23. Key abbr. MAJ
Musical scales and key signatures can be major (maj.) or minor (min.).

26. “He makes no friends who never made __”: Tennyson A FOE
Alfred Tennyson was the Poet Laureate during for much of the reign of Queen Victoria. There are many phrases we use today that were first penned by Tennyson, including:

– “‘Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all”
– “Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die”

28. ’50s Dem. presidential hopeful AES
Adlai Stevenson (AES) ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and in 1956. Some years after his second defeat, Stevenson served under President Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson was always noted for his eloquence and he had a famous exchange in a UN Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. Stevenson bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba. His words were “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” followed by “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”

29. Good, in Hebrew TOV
“Tov” is the Hebrew word for “good”, as in “mozel tov”, meaning “good luck”.

30. Brilliance ECLAT
“Éclat” can mean a brilliant show of success, or the applause or accolade that one receives. The word derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

37. Creamy spread BRIE
Brie is a soft cheese, named after the French region from which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) camembert.

40. Tach no. RPM
The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

44. Dark side YIN
The yin and the yang can be explained using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

46. Fifths on a staff SOLS
In the solfa scale (do re me), “sol” is the fifth note.

47. Knifelike ridges ARETES
An arete is ridge of rock defining the border between two parallel valleys that have been formed by glaciation. If the ridge between the valleys is rounded, it is called a “col”. However if it is “sharpened”, with rock falling way due to successive freezing and thawing, then it is called an “arete”. “Arête“ is the French word for “fish bone”.

51. __ ray MANTA
The manta ray is the biggest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds.

54. __ B’rith B’NAI
B’nai B’rith is a Jewish service organization founded in New York City in 1843. “B’nai B’rith” is Hebrew for “Sons of the Covenant”.

56. Nintendo’s __ mini WII
The Wii mini is smaller version of the incredibly successful Wii gaming console that was released in 2012.

59. Dr.’s specialty ENT
Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Chess ploy GAMBIT
7. Antique cane topper KNOB
11. Home of the N.Y. Rangers MSG
14. Fund-raising targets ALUMNI
15. Wrath, in a hymn IRAE
16. Scarfed down ATE
17. Annual Christmas party group OFFICE STAFF
19. Small group DUO
20. Brightened, with “up” LIT
21. Bible book RUTH
22. “Let it be so!” AMEN!
24. Thrice due SEI
25. Wetlands protection org. EPA
26. “Driving Miss Daisy” setting ATLANTA
29. Humor that won’t offend TASTEFUL JOKE
31. Long poem EPOS
33. One of two Pauline epistles: Abbr. COR
34. “__ for Innocent”: Grafton novel I IS
35. Pentecost, e.g., and what can literally be found in this puzzle’s four other longest answers MOVEABLE FEAST
40. Same old thing RUT
41. “This American Life” host Glass IRA
42. Run FLEE
43. Exercised caution PLAYED IT SAFE
48. Theatergoer’s option MATINEE
49. Fla. NBA team ORL
50. Maker of “3 Series” cars BMW
53. “Beloved” author Morrison TONI
54. Fromage hue BLEU
55. Yay relative RAH
56. Part of a disguise WIG
57. Singer with the debut solo album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” GWEN STEFANI
61. Loan letters IOU
62. Lisa’s title MONA
63. Passes ENACTS
64. Relaxing retreat INN
65. Against ANTI
66. Winning run, perhaps STREAK

Down
1. Pens for Dickens? GAOLS
2. Caine title role ALFIE
3. Civilian garb MUFTI
4. ASCAP rival BMI
5. Grow INCREASE
6. Jams TIE-UPS
7. Social group KITH
8. Org. co-founded by Gen. George Wingate NRA
9. Knucklehead OAF
10. Happen to BEFALL
11. Got some attention MADE NOISE
12. Flier that may have four lines STUNT KITE
13. Prefix with thermal GEO-
18. “Right away!” STAT!
23. Key abbr. MAJ
26. “He makes no friends who never made __”: Tennyson A FOE
27. Grass-and-roots layer TURF
28. ’50s Dem. presidential hopeful AES
29. Good, in Hebrew TOV
30. Brilliance ECLAT
31. Effort to equal others EMULATION
32. Relative of a T-shirt launcher POTATO GUN
36. Hill worker AIDE
37. Creamy spread BRIE
38. Flowing out EFFLUENT
39. Tankard contents ALE
40. Tach no. RPM
44. Dark side YIN
45. It’s hard to untangle ENIGMA
46. Fifths on a staff SOLS
47. Knifelike ridges ARETES
50. Support BRACE
51. __ ray MANTA
52. Chef’s tool WHISK
54. __ B’rith B’NAI
56. Nintendo’s __ mini WII
58. Finished on top WON
59. Dr.’s specialty ENT
60. Distant FAR

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