CROSSWORD SETTER: Brad Wilber
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 10m 24s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
12. 1961 Ben E. King hit SPANISH HARLEM
“Spanish Harlem” is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that was a hit for Ben E. King in 1960. It was King’s first hit after he left the Drifters, with whom he had been the lead singer.
14. Fiction involving letters EPISTOLARY NOVEL
An epistolary novel is one that is structured usually as a series of letters, although diary entries and other documents can also be used. The term “epistolary” comes from the Greek “epistole” meaning “letter”. One of the more famous examples of the genre is Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”.
18. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums ENO
Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno’s most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “start-up jingle”, the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:
I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.
Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner, born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …
19. Comportment MIEN
One’s “mien” is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.
21. By and by ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once” and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon” apparently just because the word was misused over time.
22. Pay stub abbr. YTD
Year-to-date (YTD)
23. MIT Sloan degree MBA
MIT’s School of Management is named for MIT graduate Alfred P. Sloan, a former chairman of General Motors.
28. Jack-in-the-pulpit family ARUM
Jack-in-the-pulpit is a perennial plant native to eastern North America. It’s a nasty plant though and contains oxalic acid, a compound that can be very painful if ingested and that can even cause death if taken in sufficient quantities.
31. Onetime Bell Atlantic rival GTE
GTE was a rival to AT&T, the largest of the independent competitors to the Bell System. GTE merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form the company that we know today as Verizon.
34. 1995 film with the line “Alan, please, last time I played this game, it ruined my life” JUMANJI
“Jumanji” is a 1995 film about four people who are trapped in a supernatural board game called Jumanji. Those four characters are played by Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce. Quite a quartet …
37. 1994 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee LENNON
Singer-songwriter John Lennon was chosen as the 8th Greatest Briton in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002, the highest ranking entertainer on that list. Sir Winston Churchill came in at number one.
39. “The Whiffenpoof Song” repetitions BAAS
The Yale Whiffenpoofs are an a cappella group based in Yale University. They are the oldest such university group in this country, established in 1909. “The Whiffenpoof Song” is the group’s traditional closing number. The song was first performed back in 1909, and has been recorded by many artists including Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby.
46. Schmeling rival BAER
Max Baer was an American Heavyweight Champion of the World in the thirties. Baer held the title for 364 days, and then went into the ring after hardly any training at all against the well-prepared James J. Braddock. Braddock was a huge underdog, and yet emerged victorious after 15 rounds (Braddock is the subject of the 2005 movie “Cinderella Man”). By the way, Baer’s son is Max Baer, Jr., the actor who played Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies”.
Joe Louis was defeated by German boxer Max Schmeling in 1936, an outcome that made Schmeling a hero in his homeland. Nazi party members claimed that the victory supported the claim of Aryan superiority. A much anticipated rematch was scheduled for 1938, to be held once again in Yankee Stadium. Prior to the fight, Louis was invited to the White House where President Roosevelt told him “Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.” Louis won the rematch in spectacular style, knocking Schmeling to the canvas three times in a bout that lasted just two minutes and four seconds. Schmeling only managed to throw two punches.
47. Wanamaker Trophy org. PGA
The Wanamaker Trophy is awarded annually to the winner of golf’s PGA Championship. The trophy was donated by Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate from Philadelphia who was instrumental in the formation of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).
49. Reason for an R GORE
The Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) film-rating system (R, PG-17, G etc.) is purely voluntary and is not backed by any law. Movie theaters agree to abide by the rules that come with the MPAA ratings in exchange for access to new movies.
50. Gardner of film AVA
Ava Gardner is noted for her association with some big movies, but also for her association with some big names when it came to the men in her life. In the world of film, she appeared in the likes of “Mogambo” (1953), “On the Beach” (1959), “The Night of the Iguana” (1964) and “Earthquake” (1974). The men in her life included husbands Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra. After her marriages had failed (and perhaps before!) she had long term relationships with Howard Hughes and bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin whom she met through her friend Ernest Hemingway.
51. Admitting a draft, perhaps AJAR
Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
53. Like some wallpaper motifs FLORAL
A motif is a recurring element in an artistic work or design.
55. Read lots of travelogues, say LIVE VICARIOUSLY
Our word “vicarious” means “experienced through another”. The term comes from the Latin “vicarius”, meaning “substitute, deputy”.
59. Political matriarch who lived to 104 ROSE KENNEDY
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was the mother of President John F. Kennedy, and eight other children. She lived to a very ripe old age, passing away in 1995 when she was 104 years old.
Down
4. Baroque instrument VIOL
Viols are a family of stringed instruments that resemble the violin family. However, viols have fretted fingerboards like guitars, and have six strings instead of four.
5. Ex-pat’s subj. ESL
English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
6. Capital where trains provide oxygen masks LHASA
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name “Lhasa” translates as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”. Lhasa was also once called the “Forbidden City” due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The “forbidden” nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa. Visitors are also faced with the problem that the air in Lhasa contains only 68% of the oxygen content found in air at sea level. Trains into the city from lower altitudes have oxygen added to the ventilation system to help counteract altitude sickness, and personal oxygen masks are made available to passengers.
7. Hog trim CHROME
“Hog” is a nickname for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was started up in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, . Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn’t generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson’s house. In 1906, the partners built their first factory, located where the company’s headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
8. Robert of “Airplane!” HAYS
The 1980 movie “Airplane!” has to be one of the zaniest comedies ever made. The lead roles were Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) and Elaine Dickinson (played by Julie Hagerty). But it was Leslie Nielsen who stole the show, playing Dr. Barry Rumack. That’s my own humble opinion of course …
9. River through Pisa ARNO
The city of Pisa is right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …
10. 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy. ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
12. Nautical pole SPRIT
A sprit is a pole that extends out from a mast, often supporting a special sail called a spritsail.
13. Image on Israel’s state emblem MENORAH
There is a seven-branched menorah used symbolically in ancient temples. However, the Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched lampstand that is lit during the eight-day holiday called Hanukkah. “Menorah” is the Hebrew word for “lamp”.
The Emblem of the State of Israel is a coat of arms featuring a menorah flanked by two olive branches.
14. Winged statuette EMMY
The Emmy Awards are the television equivalent of the Oscars in the world of film, the Grammy Awards in music and the Tony Awards for the stage. Emmy Awards are presented throughout the year, depending on the sector of television being honored. The most famous of these ceremonies are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. The distinctive name of “Emmy” is a softened version of the word “immy”, the nickname given to the video camera tubes found in old television cameras.
20. “John Dough and the Cherub” author, 1906 BAUM
“John Dough and the Cherub” is a children’s book by Frank L. Baum, the author of the “Oz” series of novels.
L. Frank Baum (the “L” is for Lyman) is of course famous for writing “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. Writing early in the 20th century, Baum actually described in his books things that had yet to be invented, like television, laptop computers and wireless telephones.
21. Well of Souls guardian, in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ASP
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” is, in my humble opinion, the best of the Indiana Jones franchise of movies. This first Indiana Jones film was released in 1981, produced by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. Harrison Ford was Spielberg’s first choice to play the lead, but Lucas resisted as he was concerned that he would be too closely associated with the actor (as Ford played Han Solo in “Star Wars”, and also appeared in Lucas’s “American Graffiti”). Tom Selleck was offered the role but couldn’t get out of his commitments to “Magnum, P.I.” Eventually Spielberg got his way, and that was a good thing I’d say …
24. 20th-century maestro __ Walter BRUNO
Bruno Walter was a conductor from Germany who escaped the Third Reich and settled in the US. While in Germany, Walter (then still using his birth name of “Schlesinger”) worked closely with the composer Gustav Mahler. Such was their relationship, that Walter’s name remained associated with Mahler for decades after the composer died.
26. Indian bigwig RAJAH
“Raja” (also “rajah”) is word derived from Sanskrit that is used particularly in India for a monarch or princely ruler. The female form is “rani” (also “ranee”) and is used for a raja’s wife.
29. Fairy queen who carried a “whip of cricket’s bone,” in Shakespeare MAB
In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Mercutio refers to the fairy known as Queen Mab. It seems that Queen Mab was Shakespeare’s creation, although she became popular in subsequent works of literature. For example, she is referred to in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”, in Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”, and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a large poetic work called “Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem”.
32. City with prevalent Bauhaus architecture TEL AVIV
The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv translates into “Spring Mound”, a name chosen in 1910.
The literal translation to the term “Bauhaus” is “House of Building”. It was a school (meaning education establishment) that operated from 1919 to 1933. It became famous for its approach to design across many disciplines, everything from art to typography.
35. Magellan sponsor NASA
The Magellan spacecraft was launched by NASA in 1989 with the mission to map the surface of Venus. The probe was launched from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, making it the first interplanetary craft to use a Space Shuttle to exit the Earth’s atmosphere.
38. “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” network NPR
Chicago Public Radio produces one of my wife’s favorite shows, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” It is indeed a fun game show, hosted by Peter Sagal. The “Morning Edition” newsreader Carl Kasell used to act as judge and scorekeeper, until he retired in 2014. There should be more game shows of that ilk on the radio in my humble opinion …
41. “In the Bedroom” Oscar nominee SPACEK
The actress Sissy Spacek probably got her big break in movies when she played the title role in the 1976 horror movie “Carrie”, which is based on the Stephen King novel. Her most acclaimed role is the lead in the 1980 biopic about Loretta Lynn called “Coal MIner’s Daughter”, for which she won an Oscar. Spacek’s first cousin is the actor Rip Torn.
“In the Bedroom” is a thought-provoking film released in 2001, set in a small community on the coast of Maine. The “bedroom” in the title refers to the inner compartment of a lobster trap (in Ireland we call them lobster pots). The outer chamber of the trap is baited and the lobster lured in. When the lobster enters the small “bedroom” at the rear of the trap, it cannot escape.
43. Hirer of Sinatra in 1940 DORSEY
Tommy Dorsey was a jazz trombonist and bandleader in the Big Band era, and the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. One of Tommy’s singers was Frank Sinatra, whom he hired from bandleader Harry James in 1940. Sinatra claimed that he learned breath control from watching Tommy Dorsey play the trombone.
44. Mount Narodnaya’s range URALS
The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.
Mount Narodnaya is the highest peak in the Ural Mountains, the famous Russian range.
49. Pianist Glenn known for his Bach interpretations GOULD
Glenn Gould was a pianist from Toronto who was noted in particular for his interpretation of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. My favorite Gould recording though is a performance of the Liszt Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s 5th and 6th Symphonies.
51. Alamo rival AVIS
Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.
The third largest car rental company right now is Alamo, a relative newcomer founded in 1974. Alamo made inroads (pun intended!) into the market by popularizing the idea of “unlimited mileage”.
52. Balderdash JIVE
“Jive” is a slang term meaning “nonsensical talk”.
“Balderdash” means a senseless jumble of words, and was originally (back before the late 1600s) a jumbled mix of liquids, like maybe beer and wine, or even beer and milk!
53. Fictional rafter FINN
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain was first published in 1884, not here in the US but rather in England. The original launch planned for the US had to be delayed until the following year because some rascal had defaced the plate for one of the illustrations, making an obscene joke. Once the problem was spotted a new plate had to be made, and 30,000 copies already printed had to be reworked to cover up the obscenity.
54. Underground band? LODE
A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure.
56. Maginot Line arena: abbr. ETO
European Theater of Operations (ETO)
The Maginot Line was a fortified line built in the 1930s by France along her borders with Germany. The French built a similar fortification along the border with Italy called the Alpine Line. The Maginot Line was pretty much useless at the start of WWII as the German forces just went around it and invaded France through Belgium. It was French minister André Maginot who convinced the government to build the fortifications, and so the resulting “line” was named in his honor.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Cubicle sight SWIVEL CHAIR
12. 1961 Ben E. King hit SPANISH HARLEM
14. Fiction involving letters EPISTOLARY NOVEL
16. Hipster persona MR COOL
17. Fair SO-SO
18. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums ENO
19. Comportment MIEN
20. Impact sound BAM!
21. By and by ANON
22. Pay stub abbr. YTD
23. MIT Sloan degree MBA
25. Striking action? ERASURE
28. Jack-in-the-pulpit family ARUM
30. Entreaty APPEAL
31. Onetime Bell Atlantic rival GTE
34. 1995 film with the line “Alan, please, last time I played this game, it ruined my life” JUMANJI
36. Not forward SHY
37. 1994 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee LENNON
39. “The Whiffenpoof Song” repetitions BAAS
40. Veterans OLD PROS
42. Gag order? SHH!
43. Owed DUE
46. Schmeling rival BAER
47. Wanamaker Trophy org. PGA
49. Reason for an R GORE
50. Gardner of film AVA
51. Admitting a draft, perhaps AJAR
53. Like some wallpaper motifs FLORAL
55. Read lots of travelogues, say LIVE VICARIOUSLY
58. Altar burners VOTIVE CANDLES
59. Political matriarch who lived to 104 ROSE KENNEDY
Down
1. Like some rum SPICED
2. Got shown WAS ON
3. Not apathetic about INTO
4. Baroque instrument VIOL
5. Ex-pat’s subj. ESL
6. Capital where trains provide oxygen masks LHASA
7. Hog trim CHROME
8. Robert of “Airplane!” HAYS
9. River through Pisa ARNO
10. 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy. ILO
11. Proceeds REVENUES
12. Nautical pole SPRIT
13. Image on Israel’s state emblem MENORAH
14. Winged statuette EMMY
15. Uninhabited LONELY
20. “John Dough and the Cherub” author, 1906 BAUM
21. Well of Souls guardian, in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ASP
23. Sizable MAJOR
24. 20th-century maestro __ Walter BRUNO
26. Indian bigwig RAJAH
27. Imitative APISH
29. Fairy queen who carried a “whip of cricket’s bone,” in Shakespeare MAB
31. Far-reaching GLOBAL
32. City with prevalent Bauhaus architecture TEL AVIV
33. Attempt ENDEAVOR
35. Magellan sponsor NASA
38. “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” network NPR
41. “In the Bedroom” Oscar nominee SPACEK
43. Hirer of Sinatra in 1940 DORSEY
44. Mount Narodnaya’s range URALS
45. Hard to capture EELY
48. Adorn GRACE
49. Pianist Glenn known for his Bach interpretations GOULD
51. Alamo rival AVIS
52. Balderdash JIVE
53. Fictional rafter FINN
54. Underground band? LODE
56. Maginot Line arena: abbr. ETO
57. Published RAN