Day: January 1, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. See 58-Across GUFFAW
“Guffaw” is an imitative word for a boisterous laugh, which comes to us from Scotland.

14. Member of Buck Showalter’s MLB team ORIOLE
Buck Showalter is the manager of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. Showalter has won the American League’s Manager of the Year award three times.

22. With 20-Across, “American Beauty” rockers, familiarly THE
(20A. See 22-Across DEAD)
“American Beauty” is an album released in 1970 by the Grateful Dead rock band.

34. See 58-Across CHORTLE
“Chortle” is such a lovely word, coined by Lewis Carroll in his novel “Through the Looking-Glass”. Carroll probably combined the words “chuckle” and “snort” to come up with “chortle”, descriptive of a snorting, joyful laugh.

42. Baseball’s Piniella LOU
Lou Piniella is a former professional baseball player and manager. Piniella has the nickname “Sweet Lou”, which he earned for his “sweet” swing when hitting the ball as a player. The moniker is also applied somewhat tongue-in-cheek given his somewhat loud, intense and physical demeanor.

43. Measure typically given in knots AIRSPEED
A knot (kt.) is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour. Traditionally a vessel’s speed was determined by using a “chip log”. A chip log is made up of a wooden board attached to a line wrapped around a reel. The line (called a “log-line”) had knots tied in it at uniform spacings. To determine the vessels speed the board was thrown overboard and the line allowed to unroll. The speed was then the “number of knots” paid out in a fixed time interval.

46. “Discreet Music” composer ENO
“Discreet Music” is a 1975 studio album released by British musician Brian Eno. The album features music that approaches the “ambient” style for which he later became famous. Eno was inspired to make the album while bedridden in hospital after an automobile accident. He found himself listening to 18th-century harp music repeatedly on a turntable, but could not reach the volume control so that he was forced to listen to it playing very quietly. From this experience he started writing music that was meant to blend in with the background, become part of the ambience.

47. They can be lifesavers: Abbr. EMTS
Emergency medical technician (EMT)

51. Greek cheeses FETAS
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.

55. Nick working at night? SANTA
Saint Nicholas of Myra is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (now in modern-day Turkey) during the 4th century AD, and was known for being generous to the poor. Centuries after he died, his remains were desecrated by Italian sailors and moved to Bari in Italy. One legend has it that the relics were moved again centuries later and reburied in the grounds of Jerpoint Abbey in Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, where you can visit the grave today. I choose to believe that Santa Claus’s relics are indeed buried in Ireland …

57. Crush competitor FANTA
The soft drink “Fanta” has quite an interesting history. As WWII approached, the Coca-Cola plant in Germany had trouble obtaining the ingredients it needed to continue production of the cola beverage, so the plant manager decided to create a new drink from what was available. The new beverage was built around whey (left over from cheese production) and pomace (left over after juice has been extracted from fruit). The inventor asked his colleagues to use their imagination (“Fantasie” in German) and come up with a name for the drink, so they piped up “Fanta!”

The Crush brand of soft drinks was invented in 1916. The first product was an orange-flavored beverage sold as Ward’s Orange Crush.

58. Psalm 100 excerpt suggested by six puzzle answers and graphically represented by certain black squares in this puzzle MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE
Psalm 100 of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament is sometimes called “Jubilate Deo”, from its first words in Latin. The first two lines of Psalm 100 in english are:

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

65. Like “Gilligan’s Island” characters MAROONED
The iconic sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” ran for only three seasons, although that added up to a total of 98 episodes. The show is about a small band of castaways who are trying to escape their island and return to Hawaii. The last episode originally aired in 1967. The castaways did eventually get off the island in a 1978 TV movie called “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island”, but ended up back on the island at the end of the film.

68. Bicuspid PREMOLAR
The bicuspid or premolar teeth are located between the molar and canine teeth. Adult humans have eight premolars in all. A premolar is called “bicuspid” because each tooth has two cusps, two raised points on the crown.

69. Yakima-to-Spokane dir. ENE
The city and county of Yakima lie southeast of Mount Rainier in the state of Washington. The Yakima Valley is recognized as one of the best apple-producing regions in the world, and it also produces three quarters of all the hops grown in the US.

Back in 1974, Spokane in Washington was the smallest city ever to host a World’s Fair. The theme of the fare was “the environment”, which I suppose was ahead of its time. Notably, Expo ’74 was the first American-hosted World’s Fair attended by the Soviet Union after WWII.

Down
1. Pampas cowboy GAUCHO
A “gaucho” is someone who lives in the South American pampas, the fertile lowlands in the southeast of South America. The term “gaucho” is also used as the equivalent of our “cowboy”.

2. Beersheba’s land ISRAEL
Beersheba is the largest city in the desert region in southern Israel called the Negev. Beersheba is home to many Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who brought with them many aspects of the culture of their former homeland. For example, the Beersheba now has more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world.

4. Prime meridian std. GST
GST is Greenwich Sidereal Time.

Astronomers use sidereal time to know where to locate given stars in the night sky. Sidereal time is a time scale that takes into account the Earth’s rotation relative to stars with a fixed location in the night sky.

A meridian is a line of longitude, and the Prime Meridian is that line of longitude defined as 0 degrees. The Prime Meridian is also called the Greenwich Meridian as it passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in southeast London. Of course the line of longitude that is used to represent 0 degrees is an arbitrary decision. 25 nations formally decided in 1884 to use the Greenwich Meridian as 0 degrees as it was already a popular choice. That is all except the French, who abstained from the vote and used the Paris Meridian as 0 degrees on French charts for several decades.

5. Regulus is in it LEO
Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation of Leo. Regulus is a multiple star and what we see as one entity is actually made up of four stars rotating around a common center of mass. “Regulus” is Latin for “prince”.

6. Technique-building pieces ETUDES
An étude is a small instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

8. Second-smallest S.A. country URU
The official name of Uruguay is the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, reflecting the nation’s location on the eastern coast of South America. It is a relatively small country, the second-smallest on the continent, after Suriname. In 2009, Uruguay became the first country in the world to provide a free laptop and Internet access to every child. Now there’s a thought …

10. Warm alpine wind, in Austria FOHN
A Föhn is a dry wind that comes off the downwind side of a mountain range. The air is dry as the wind has lost its moisture by being forced upwards as it hit the upwind side of the mountains. The word “Föhn” is German and originated in the Alps. The term probably comes from the Latin name for a mild west wind, which was “favonius”. Favonius was the Latin name for the Greek god of the west wind, Zephyrus.

11. Klingons, e.g. ALIENS
Klingons are a warrior race often featured in the “Star Trek” franchise of shows. Back in the first “Star Trek” movie, the actor James Doohan (who played “Scottie”) put together some Klingon dialogue that was used in the film. For subsequent movies, the American linguist Marc Okrand was commissioned to develop a working Klingon language, which he duly did, using the original words from Doohan as its basis.

16. Support on the links? TEE
The oldest type of golf course is a links course. The name “links” comes from the Old English word “hlinc” meaning “rising ground”. “Hlinc” was used to describe areas with coastal sand dunes or open parkland. As a result, we use the term “links course” to mean a golf course that is located at or on the coast, often amid sand dunes. The British Open is always played on a links course.

26. Valuable cello STRAD
Generations of the Stradivari family produced string instruments such as violins and cellos. The most famous examples were constructed by Antonio Stradivari.

29. USPS item LTR
One might send a letter (ltr.) using the US Postal Service (USPS).

34. Score symbol CLEF
Clef is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on the stave. Usually, a G-clef is used for high parts, a C-clef for middle parts and an F-clef for low parts.

37. “The Grouchy Ladybug” writer Carle ERIC
Eric Carle is a very successful children’s author and book illustrator, with over 100 million of his books sold around the world. Carle’s most famous title is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, and it alone has sold 30 million copies.

“The Grouchy Ladybug” is a children’s book by Eric Carle, first published in 1977. The book was published using an alternative title “The Bad-Tempered Ladybird”, presumably for children speaking English on the other side of the Atlantic.

38. Accent pair? CEES
There are a pair of letters C (cees) in the word “accent”.

41. Dirty __ POOL
“Dirty pool” is unsportsmanlike conduct. someone playing dirty pool isn’t cheating, but is stretching the rules to the limit. The term presumably comes from the game of pool.

44. Disco __ of “The Simpsons” STU
On television’s “The Simpsons”, the character of Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although Stu was voiced for a while by the late Phil Hartman. Disco Stu is described as “a black, wrinkly John Travolta”.

45. Gal.’s eight PTS
There are eight pints (pts.) in a gallon (gal.).

The name of our fluid measure called a “gallon” ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin term “galleta” meaning “bucket, pail”.

50. Philosopher known for a paradox ZENO
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 …?

54. Getaway goal, for short R AND R
Rest and relaxation/recuperation (R&R)

56. Somewhat open AJAR
Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.

57. Boxer’s woe FLEA
The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites!) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful animal. Our current family dog is a boxer/pug mix, and is another gorgeous creature.

60. __ Kippur YOM
Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, and is the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar. “Yom” is Hebrew for “day”, and “kippur” comes from the verb “to atone”.

61. Rock’s __ Fighters FOO
Foo Fighters are described as an alternative rock band, one formed in 1994 by the drummer from Nirvana, Dave Grohl. The term “Foo fighters” originally applied to unidentified flying objects reported by allied airmen during WWII. Spooky …

62. Not in the bk. UNL
A number that is unlisted (unl.) is not in the book (bk.).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. See 58-Across GIGGLE
7. See 58-Across GUFFAW
13. How many golf clubs are sold AS A SET
14. Member of Buck Showalter’s MLB team ORIOLE
15. See 58-Across BURST OUT LAUGHING
19. Put __ on: restrict A CAP
20. See 22-Across DEAD
21. __ profit: make money NET A
22. With 20-Across, “American Beauty” rockers, familiarly THE
23. Gets harder to climb STEEPENS
27. Pester NAG
28. Valleys HOLLOWS
30. Can’t stand DETESTS
32. Prefix with -pod TRI-
33. Oils and such ART
34. See 58-Across CHORTLE
38. See 58-Across CRACK UP
42. Baseball’s Piniella LOU
43. Measure typically given in knots AIRSPEED
46. “Discreet Music” composer ENO
47. They can be lifesavers: Abbr. EMTS
49. See 58-Across TITTER
50. Focus, with “in” ZERO
51. Greek cheeses FETAS
53. Swear CUSS
54. Withstand REPEL
55. Nick working at night? SANTA
57. Crush competitor FANTA
58. Psalm 100 excerpt suggested by six puzzle answers and graphically represented by certain black squares in this puzzle MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE
64. Pub order ALE
65. Like “Gilligan’s Island” characters MAROONED
66. Do yard work MOW
67. “Success!” YES!
68. Bicuspid PREMOLAR
69. Yakima-to-Spokane dir. ENE

Down
1. Pampas cowboy GAUCHO
2. Beersheba’s land ISRAEL
3. [I don’t believe it!] GASP!
4. Prime meridian std. GST
5. Regulus is in it LEO
6. Technique-building pieces ETUDES
7. Incited GOADED
8. Second-smallest S.A. country URU
9. Pear-shaped fruit FIG
10. Warm alpine wind, in Austria FOHN
11. Klingons, e.g. ALIENS
12. Attacked WENT AT
15. Spa area BATH
16. Support on the links? TEE
17. Running measure LAP
18. Suppresses GAGS
23. Not entirely, informally SORTA
24. Like an early evening sky TWILIT
25. Comparatively warm? NEARER
26. Valuable cello STRAD
29. USPS item LTR
31. List-limiting letters ETC
34. Score symbol CLEF
35. Realty transaction HOME SALE
36. Amusing DVD feature OUTTAKES
37. “The Grouchy Ladybug” writer Carle ERIC
38. Accent pair? CEES
39. Tap your foot, say KEEP TIME
40. Folly UNREASON
41. Dirty __ POOL
44. Disco __ of “The Simpsons” STU
45. Gal.’s eight PTS
48. Levelheaded SANE
50. Philosopher known for a paradox ZENO
52. Prepare for mailing STAMP
54. Getaway goal, for short R AND R
56. Somewhat open AJAR
57. Boxer’s woe FLEA
58. Might MAY
59. Rock worth mining ORE
60. __ Kippur YOM
61. Rock’s __ Fighters FOO
62. Not in the bk. UNL
63. Field grazer EWE

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