Day: November 20, 2015

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Traditional Islamic garment BURQA
A burqa (also “burka”) is a garment worn by some women in the Islamic tradition to cover up their bodies when in public.

6. Big fish OPAH
Opah is the more correct name for the fish also known as the sunfish, moonfish or Jerusalem haddock. I’ve seen one in the Monterrey Aquarium. It is huge …

15. Brazos River city WACO
In recent years, the city of Waco, Texas is perhaps most famous as the site of a siege and shootout between ATF agents and members of the Protestant sect known as the Branch Davidians. Shortly after ATF agents tried to execute a search warrant, shots were fired and at the end of the fight six people inside the Branch Davidian compound were dead, as were four agents. A fifty-day siege ensued at the end of which a final assault resulted in members of the community setting fire to the compound. Only nine people walked away from that fire. 50 adults and 25 children perished.

The Brazos River is the longest river in the state of Texas. It was originally called “Rio de los Brazos de Dios” by the Spanish, which translates as “the River of the Arms of God”. So, the Brazos is literally “the arms” in English.

17. Primus or Helena, in a classic play ROBOT
In the science fiction play “R.U.R” by Karel Čapek, Primus and Helena are two robots that develop human-like characteristics and fall in love.

Karel Čapek was a Czech writer noted for his works of science fiction. Čapek’s 1920 play “R.U.R.” is remembered in part for introducing the world to the word “robot”. The words “automaton” and “android” were already in use, but Capek gave us “robot” from the original Czech “robota” meaning “forced labor”. The acronym “R.U.R.”, in the context of the play, stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.

18. Tan relative ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

20. One keeping tabs on the best man? TOASTER TIMER
The tradition of “toasting” probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

32. Court period: Abbr. SESS
Session (sess.)

34. Of a battery terminal ANODAL
A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.

41. Tank type SEPTIC
Anaerobic organisms are those that do not require oxygen to live. A good example would be the bacteria working away in a septic tank. It’s fortunate that these bacteria are anaerobes, otherwise the tank would have to be opened up to the external atmosphere.

49. Biblical prophet SAMUEL
According to the Bible, Samuel was a leader of the Israelites before they began to be ruled by a king. Samuel anointed Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel.

51. Roma’s home ITALIA
In Italian, the city of Rome (Roma) is in Italy (Italia).

57. Jamaican fruit UGLI
The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine, first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruits unsightly wrinkled rind.

58. Bucks’ pursuits DOES
A male deer is usually called a “buck”, and a female a “doe”.

66. Start of a run, maybe SNAG
A “snag” is a pull or a tear in a fabric. A snag, particularly in stockings, might lead to a run. And on the other side of the Atlantic, a “run” is called a “ladder”.

Down
4. Like Twain and Wilde, e.g. QUOTABLE
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was the real name of the author Mark Twain. Twain wasn’t the only pen name used by Clemens. Early in his career he signed some sketches as “Josh”, and signed some humorous letters that he wrote under the name “Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass”. The name of Mark Twain came from the days when Clemens was working on riverboats on the Mississippi. A riverboatman would call out “by the mark twain” when measuring the depth of water. This meant that on the sounding line, according to the “mark” on the line, the depth was two (“twain”) fathoms, and so it was safe for the riverboat to proceed.

If you didn’t know Oscar Wilde was Irish, you will when you see the name he was given at birth: Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde!

8. One of 640 in a square mile ACRE
At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. This was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one chain wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. A area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

13. Fern seed SPORE
Ferns are unlike mosses, in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

22. Palo Alto-based automotive company TESLA
Tesla Motors is a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The current base price of a roadster is about $100,000, should you be interested …

The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.

25. Dad or fish preceder CRAW
“Crawdad” and “crawfish” are alternative names for crayfish, with “crawdad” being more common in the south of the country.

30. City south of Lisboa PORTO
As has been pointed out by kind blog readers, there’s an error here as Oporto is located north of Lisbon.

In Portuguese, “Lisboa” (Lisbon) and “Porto” (Oporto) are the two largest cities in Portugal.

31. Murphy who voices Donkey in “Shrek” EDDIE
Eddie Murphy is a multi-faceted performer and entertainer from the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Murphy was a comedian on “Saturday Night Live” from 1980 to 1984. He has also appeared in several hit movies, the success of which make Murphy the fourth-highest grossing actor in the country, as of 2014.

Before “Shrek” was a successful movie franchise and Broadway musical, it was a children’s picture book called “Shrek!” authored and illustrated by William Steig. The title “Shrek!” came from the German/Yiddish word Schreck, meaning “fear” or “terror”.

35. Inverse trig function ARCSIN
The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent. Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are cosecant, secant and cotangent (in that order). The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent. For example, the arctangent can be read as “What angle is equivalent to the following ratio of opposite over adjacent?”

38. Potter’s specialty WIZARDRY
The author of the amazingly successful “Harry Potter” series of books is J. K. Rowling. Rowling wrote the first book when she was living on welfare in Edinburgh in Scotland, and in longhand. She would often write in local cafes, largely because she needed to get her baby daughter out of the house (she was a single mom), and the youngster would tend to fall asleep on walks. Within five years, the single mom on welfare became a very rich woman, and is now worth over $1 billion!

40. Indian royal RANI
“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.

43. “Great Public Schools for Every Student” gp. NEA
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.

44. Tongue JARGON
“Jargon” can mean nonsensical and meaningless talk, or the specialized language of a particular group, trade or profession. The term is Old French, with the more usual meaning of “a chattering”. How apt …

45. Victim of Iago EMILIA
Emilia and Iago are characters in William Shakespeare’s play “Othello”. Emilia and Iago are a married couple, although Iago kills Emilia late in the play.

49. Taters SPUDS
The word “spud” is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

54. Béchamel base ROUX
Béchamel sauce is a roux made from butter and flour cooked in milk. It is sometimes known simply as white sauce. Béchamel is also considered one of the five “mother sauces” of French cuisine, as it is the base of other sauces (along with espagnole, velouté, hollandaise and sauce tomate). For example, adding cheese to the Béchamel mother sauce creates Mornay sauce.

béchamel, espagnole, velouté, and allemande.[1] In the early 20th century, Auguste Escoffier refined this list to the contemporary five “mother sauces” by dropping allemande as a daughter sauce of velouté, and adding hollandaise and sauce tomate

56. Bone, to Benito OSSO
“Osso” is the Italian word for bone as in the name of the dish Osso Buco: braised veal shanks.

60. Bank statement abbr. DEP
Deposit (dep.)

61. Lao Tzu principle TAO
Lao Tse (also Lao-Tzu) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Traditional Islamic garment BURQA
6. Big fish OPAH
10. Literary group? ARTS
14. On the bad side (of) AFOUL
15. Brazos River city WACO
16. Skin malady CHAP
17. Primus or Helena, in a classic play ROBOT
18. Tan relative ECRU
19. Cord for Ford, perhaps TYPO
20. One keeping tabs on the best man? TOASTER TIMER
23. Preserve, in a way ENCASE
26. Strict SEVERE
27. Feed, but not food VERB
28. Ready to pick RIPE
32. Court period: Abbr. SESS
33. Abbr. in a footnote ET AL
34. Of a battery terminal ANODAL
36. Portrait artist at a gym? SWEATER DRAWER
41. Tank type SEPTIC
42. Optimist’s words I CAN
44. Frequent fliers JETS
47. Where to see decorative nails TOES
48. Defense choice ZONE
49. Biblical prophet SAMUEL
51. Roma’s home ITALIA
53. Coach for a newspaper employee? PRINTER TONER
57. Jamaican fruit UGLI
58. Bucks’ pursuits DOES
59. Augment ADD TO
63. Off DO IN
64. Impedes, with “up” GUMS
65. Haunted house sound CREAK
66. Start of a run, maybe SNAG
67. Big show EXPO
68. Sources of shots HYPOS

Down
1. Shut out BAR
2. Mars rover? UFO
3. Fleece ROB
4. Like Twain and Wilde, e.g. QUOTABLE
5. Chorus section ALTOS
6. Is short OWES
7. Agreement PACT
8. One of 640 in a square mile ACRE
9. Quite a while HOURS
10. Prone to heavy market trading ACTIVE
11. Poet’s stock-in-trade RHYMES
12. Narrows TAPERS
13. Fern seed SPORE
21. Gas up? AERATE
22. Palo Alto-based automotive company TESLA
23. First lady? EVE
24. Has left to spend NETS
25. Dad or fish preceder CRAW
29. Clumsy INEPT
30. City south of Lisboa PORTO
31. Murphy who voices Donkey in “Shrek” EDDIE
35. Inverse trig function ARCSIN
37. Plus ASSET
38. Potter’s specialty WIZARDRY
39. Earth sci. ECOL
40. Indian royal RANI
43. “Great Public Schools for Every Student” gp. NEA
44. Tongue JARGON
45. Victim of Iago EMILIA
46. What some forks are used for TUNING
49. Taters SPUDS
50. Overhang LEDGE
52. Show TEACH
54. Béchamel base ROUX
55. Sub TEMP
56. Bone, to Benito OSSO
60. Bank statement abbr. DEP
61. Lao Tzu principle TAO
62. Sanctions OKS

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