Category: Bruce Venzke

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Bjorn Borg’s org. USTA
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national organization governing the sport of tennis in the US. The USTA was founded way back in 1881 as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association.

Björn Borg is a retired tennis player from Sweden, and a former World No. 1. Borg won 41% of the 27 Grand Slam singles tournaments that he entered, which is a record that stands to the day. He was known for reacting very calmly under pressure on the tennis court and hence earned the nicknames “Ice Man” and “Ice Borg”, which is my personal favorite.

17. AABBA, in limericks RHYME SCHEME
No one knows for sure how the limerick got its name, although there does seem to be agreement the name does indeed come from the city or county of Limerick in Ireland. Try this one for size:

There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.

19. TV buying channel HSN
The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982.

20. Crude from a well, slangily TEXAS TEA
“Texas tea” is a familiar term for oil drilled from the Earth.

22. Baton Rouge sch. LSU
LSU’s full name is Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.

Baton Rouge is the capital city of the state of Louisiana. The name “Baton Rouge” is French for “red stick or staff”. The exact reason why such a name was given to the city isn’t really clear.

31. Type size PICA
A pica is a unit of measure used in typography. One pica is equivalent to 1/6 of an inch. Each pica unit contains 12 “points”.

33. Evening TV viewing period PRIME TIME
Generally, prime time is considered to be the evening hours between 7:00 and 11:00, when most people are watching television.

38. Alley in comics OOP
“Alley Oop” is a comic strip that ran for four decades starting in 1932. “Alley Oop” was drawn by V. T. Hamlin. The title character lived in the prehistoric kingdom of Moo and had a pet dinosaur called Dinny. Alley Oop also had a girlfriend called Ooola. I had assumed that Ooola’s name was a play on “hula hoop”, but that wasn’t invented until the 1950s (a kind blog reader informs me) …

39. Rice-__ A-RONI
Rice-a-Roni was introduced in 1958 by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company of San Francisco. The company was run by an Italian immigrant and his four sons. The wife of one of the sons served a pilaf dish at a family diner that was a big hit, so her brother-in-law created a commercial version by blending dry chicken soup mix with rice and macaroni. Sounds like “a San Francisco treat” to me …

40. Neighbor of Arg. BOL
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordered by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The land now occupied by Bolivia was originally part of the Inca Empire. The country declared independence from Spain in 1809, which led to 16 years of war. When the Republic was finally named, “Bolivia” was chosen in honor of the Venezuelan-born revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

Argentina is the second largest country in South America (after Brazil), and geographically is the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation. The name “Argentina” of course comes from the Latin “argentum”, the word for “silver”. It is thought that the name was given by the early Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who also named the Rio de la Plata (the “Silver River”). Those early explorers got hold of lots of silver objects that they found among the native population.

41. Pass-the-buck accusations BLAME GAME
The phrase “passing the buck” supposedly comes from poker. The marker that indicated whose turn it was to deal was called the buck, and it was passed from player to player. Over time, the phrase came to mean the passing of responsibility (or usually blame). President Harry S. Truman popularized the derivative phrase “the buck stops here” by placing a sign bearing those words on his desk in the Oval Office. President Truman had received the sign as a gift from a prison warden who was also an enthusiastic poker player.

46. “Son of __!” A GUN
The term “son of a gun” is used to describe a rogue, a scamp. The etymology of the phrase is disputed, and it may simply be a euphemism for a more offensive expression. Given that disclaimer, it is widely reported that “son of a gun” originated as “son of a military man”. In days of yore, the British Navy turned a blind eye and allowed some women to live on board their vessels. Any child born on board would listed in the ship’s log as “son of a gun”.

53. Hosp. personnel RNS
Registered nurses (RNs) might be found in a hospital (hosp.).

54. Isn’t feeling up to snuff AILS
The term “up to snuff” today means “up to standard”. It was introduced to us for the first time in 1811 in a play called “Hamlet Travestie” by Englishman John Poole. He used the term to mean “in the know”. It was perhaps a reference to the habit of taking powdered tobacco, a practice back then that was associated with the upper classes, the educated, those in the know.

60. Winter bug FLU
Influenza (flu) is an ailment that is caused by a virus. The virus is readily inactivated by the use of soap, so washing hands and surfaces is especially helpful in containing flu outbreaks.

Down
2. 1975 Wimbledon winner Arthur ASHE
Arthur Ashe won the 1975 Men’s Singles competition at the Wimbledon Championships. He defeated Jimmy Connors 3 sets to 1.

The Wimbledon Championships of tennis are held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club located in Wimbledon, a district of London. The Wimbledon Championships started in 1877, and are still played on grass.

3. River of Hades STYX
The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

4. Cantina fare TAMALES
A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made of leaves. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese fruit and vegetables.

5. Ready to sire, as a retired racehorse AT STUD
The word “stud”, meaning “a male horse kept for breeding”, is derived from the Old English word “stod”, which described a whole herd of horses.

6. Scalp 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 …

7. “The Merry Widow” composer Franz LEHAR
Franz Lehar was a Hungarian composer who had a difficult relationship with the Nazi regime after it took control of his country. His wife was born Jewish, but converted to Catholicism. Fortunately, Hitler enjoyed Lehar’s music and as a result Goebbels intervened and made Sophie Lehar “an honorary Aryan by marriage”.

“The Merry Widow” is an operetta composed by Franz Lehar. It is a comic piece about a rich widow and the attempts by her countrymen to marry her off in order to keep her fortune in the poverty-stricken Grand Duchy of Pontevedro. “The Merry Widow” was first performed in 1905 and has been popular ever since.

9. Sleep phase initials REM
REM is an acronym standing for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

10. “__ on a Grecian Urn” ODE
“Ode on a Grecian Urn” was one of the so-called “1819 Odes” written by the poet John Keats, a collection that included famous poems such as “Ode on Melancholy”, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to Psyche”.

21. Itty-bitty biter GNAT
Gnats are attracted to the smell of rotting food, and to vinegar. Simple homemade traps that use vinegar are often constructed to attract and kill gnats.

25. Actress Rogers MIMI
Mimi Rogers is a favorite actress of mine, although she hasn’t really had the starring roles in big movies. Off screen. Rogers is famous for her association with her second husband, Tom Cruise. It was Mimi who introduced Tom to Scientology. Mimi Rogers can also be seen playing a lot of so-called “celebrity poker”, and she is on the board of directors of the World Poker Tour.

27. Snooty sort SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

29. TV host Kelly RIPA
When Kelly Ripa secured the co-host spot on morning television with Regis Philbin, she was still acting in “All My Children” in a role she had been playing for over ten years. After a year of holding down two jobs, she eventually gave up the acting job.

34. CD-__ ROM
CD-ROM stands for “compact disc read only memory”. The name indicates that you can read information from the disc (like a standard music CD for example), but you cannot write to it. You can also buy a CD-RW, which stands for “compact disc – rewritable”, with which you can read data and also write over it multiple times using a suitable CD drive.

36. Lawn burrower MOLE
One of the more commonly known facts about my native Ireland is that there are no snakes in the country. A less known fact is that there are no moles either. There are plenty of snakes and moles in Britain, just a few miles away. Over a pint we tend to give the credit to Saint Patrick, but the last ice age is more likely the responsible party …

37. Jazzy Fitzgerald ELLA
Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song”, had a hard and tough upbringing. She was raised by her mother alone in Yonkers, New York. Her mother died while Ella was still a schoolgirl, and around that time the young girl became less interested in her education. She fell in with a bad crowd, even working as a lookout for a bordello and as a Mafia numbers runner. She ended up in reform school, from which she escaped, and found herself homeless and living on the streets for a while. Somehow Fitzgerald managed to get herself a spot singing in the Apollo Theater in Harlem. From there her career took off and as they say, the rest is history.

39. Water, to Juan AGUA
In Spanish, a desert (un desierto) lacks water (agua).

42. Sunday rite MASS
The principal act of worship in the Roman Catholic tradition is the Mass. The term “Mass” comes from the Late Latin word “missa” meaning “dismissal”. This word is used at the end of the Latin Mass in “Ite, missa est” which translates literally as “Go, it is the dismissal”.

48. “Seinfeld” character who dreams up a coffee table book about coffee tables KRAMER
Cosmo Kramer is the outrageous character played by Michael Richards on “Seinfeld”. “Seinfeld” co-creator, Larry David, introduced Kramer into the story, basing the character on real-life comedian Kenny Kramer who used to live across the hall from him.

49. Social blunder GAFFE
Our word “gaffe” , meaning a social blunder, comes from the French word “gaffe” meaning “clumsy remark”, although it originally was the word for “boat hook”. The exact connection between a boat hook and a blunder seems to be unclear.

50. Crude carrier OILER
An “oiler” is an oil tanker, an ocean-going vessel used to transport crude oil.

52. Music licensing fee-collecting org. ASCAP
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.

57. Fictional sleuth Mr. __ MOTO
The mysterious Mr. Moto is a Japanese secret agent who appears in six novels by American author, John P. Marquand. Mr. Moto was famously played by Peter Lorre in a series of eight films released in the 1930s.

63. “__ Abner” LI’L
“Li’l Abner” was created and drawn by Al Capp for over 43 years starting in 1934. Al Capp stopped producing the strip in 1977, largely due to illness (he died from emphysema two years later). As the strip finished up, he went so far as to apologize to his long-standing fans, saying that he should have stopped 3-4 years earlier as he felt that the quality of his work had gone down in those latter years.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Bandage often signed by friends CAST
5. Top NFL player ALL-PRO
11. Piercing spot EAR
14. Bjorn Borg’s org. USTA
15. Like tall wedding cakes TIERED
16. Reason for overtime TIE
17. AABBA, in limericks RHYME SCHEME
19. TV buying channel HSN
20. Crude from a well, slangily TEXAS TEA
21. Coat with a precious metal GILD
22. Baton Rouge sch. LSU
23. Love stories ROMANCES
27. Butter and cream cheese, e.g. SPREADS
31. Type size PICA
32. Like jackhammers NOISY
33. Evening TV viewing period PRIME TIME
38. Alley in comics OOP
39. Rice-__ A-RONI
40. Neighbor of Arg. BOL
41. Pass-the-buck accusations BLAME GAME
44. Little League precursor T-BALL
46. “Son of __!” A GUN
47. Resort with trails SKI AREA
49. Becomes foolishly passionate (over) GOES GAGA
53. Hosp. personnel RNS
54. Isn’t feeling up to snuff AILS
55. Parent in the wings STAGE MOM
60. Winter bug FLU
61. Words on a banner for returning soldiers WELCOME HOME
64. Nourished FED
65. Fly AVIATE
66. Newsy bit ITEM
67. Lyrical “before” ERE
68. Shrill barker YELPER
69. “If you want to leave a message, please wait for the __” TONE

Down
1. Rudely abrupt CURT
2. 1975 Wimbledon winner Arthur ASHE
3. River of Hades STYX
4. Cantina fare TAMALES
5. Ready to sire, as a retired racehorse AT STUD
6. Scalp parasites LICE
7. “The Merry Widow” composer Franz LEHAR
8. Lead-in for school or season PRE-
9. Sleep phase initials REM
10. “__ on a Grecian Urn” ODE
11. Value system ETHIC
12. Theater divider AISLE
13. Tears apart RENDS
18. Writing assignment ESSAY
21. Itty-bitty biter GNAT
24. Speaks one’s mind OPINES
25. Actress Rogers MIMI
26. Unreturnable serve ACE
27. Snooty sort SNOB
28. “No lifeguard on duty” site, perhaps POOL
29. TV host Kelly RIPA
30. Leapt SPRANG
34. CD-__ ROM
35. Letter-shaped beam I-BAR
36. Lawn burrower MOLE
37. Jazzy Fitzgerald ELLA
39. Water, to Juan AGUA
42. Sunday rite MASS
43. One may be sunnyside up EGG
44. Hint of color TINGE
45. Batter’s success BASE HIT
48. “Seinfeld” character who dreams up a coffee table book about coffee tables KRAMER
49. Social blunder GAFFE
50. Crude carrier OILER
51. Slip away from ELUDE
52. Music licensing fee-collecting org. ASCAP
56. Handy bag TOTE
57. Fictional sleuth Mr. __ MOTO
58. Broken mirror, to some OMEN
59. Kid’s response to “Who wants some?” … and a hint to what’s hidden in 17-, 33-, 41- and 61-Across ME! ME!
61. Method WAY
62. Anticipatory night EVE
63. “__ Abner” LI’L

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