Category: Gareth Bain

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Bodybuilder’s pride ABS
Abdominal muscles (abs.)

4. “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress Gomez SELENA
Selena Gomez is a young actress from Grand Prairie, Texas. Gomez’s first television role was in the children’s show “Barney & Friends”. She then played the lead in the TV series “Wizards of Waverly Place”. Offscreen, Gomez made a splash as the girlfriend of Canadian singer Justin Bieber for a couple of years.

10. Like crudités RAW
Crudités are a French appetizer made up of sliced and whole raw vegetables that are dipped into a sauce. The French word “crudité” simply means a raw vegetable, and derives from the Latin word “crudus” meaning “raw”.

13. Helpful URL link FAQ
Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). There is a link to this blog’s FAQ page at the top-right of every page.

14. Literary postscript EPILOG
Our word “epilog”, meaning an addition at the end of a play or other literary work, ultimately comes from Greek. “Epi-” is a prefix signifying “in addition”, and “logos” is the noun for “a speech”.

15. Townshend of 22-Down PETE
The musician Pete Townshend is best known as guitarist for the Who.Townshend also served as the main songwriter for the band, composing over one hundred songs that the Who recorded. Sadly, Townshend has paid the price for his exposure to loud rock music and had severe hearing problems. Because of this ailment, he provided the initial funding for a hearing advocacy group called Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (HEAR).

16. Cross-shaped letter TAU
Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, the letter which gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

18. Glade target ODOR
Glade is a brand of air fresheners that was first introduced in 1956.

19. Poet friend of Jonathan Swift ALEXANDER POPE (giving “Popemobile”)
Alexander Pope was an English poet, famous for his own compositions as well as for a translation of Homer’s works. One of Pope’s most notable poems is “Ode on Solitude” that opens with:

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Pope wrote that when he was just twelve years old!

Jonathan Swift was an Irish author and cleric. Swift is most famous perhaps for his 1726 novel “Gulliver’s Travels”, but we Irishmen also remember him also as the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Swift was renowned for his wit and satire.

The “Popemobile” is actually a whole fleet of vehicles used since the days of Pope John Paul II. The popemobiles used on foreign visits are often manufactured locally and then stay in the country after the visit has been concluded. The British-built popemobile used for a 2006 visit to the UK was ultimately sold for over $70,000 at auction.

22. Frequent Hepburn co-star TRACY
Spencer Tracy was a marvelous actor who shares the record for most nominations for the Best Actor Oscar (nine) with Sir Laurence Olivier. Famously, Tracy became estranged from his wife early in their marriage, but never divorced. He had a long-term relationship with fellow actor Katharine Hepburn, a relationship that they worked hard to keep out of the spotlight.

Katharine Hepburn has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar 12 times, and holds the record for Best Actress wins at four. She won for her roles in:

– “Morning Glory” in 1933
– “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” in 1967
– “The Lion in Winter” in 1968
– “On Golden Pond” in 1981

24. __ rhythm: brain waves pattern THETA
When electrical signals from the brain are recorded in an electroencephalogram (EEG), a strong oscillating pattern is observed that is referred to as the theta rhythm. It isn’t really clear what function the theta rhythm plays.

33. Kipling story collection, with “The” JUNGLE BOOK (giving “bookmobile”)
“The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling was originally published in 1894 and is a collection of adventure stories or fables featuring the animals of the jungle and a young boy called Mowgli. Baloo is a sloth bear who teaches the cubs of a wolf pack the Law of the Jungle. His most challenging pupil however is no lupine, but the man-cub Mowgli.

A bookmobile is a mobile library, a vehicle designed to provide library services in locations where there is no library building.

35. Iconic WWII setting, familiarly IWO
Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since.

36. Missouri tributary OSAGE
Much of the Osage River in Missouri is now taken up by two large reservoirs created behind two dams that provide power for St. Louis and the surrounding area. The two reservoirs are the Truman Reservoir and the Lake of the Ozarks.

38. “Poetry Man” singer PHOEBE SNOW (giving “snowmobile”)
Phoebe Snow was a singer-songwriter from New York City whose best known work is her 1975 hit “Poetry Man”.

41. Water-to-wine site CANA
According to the Christian Bible, Cana is the place where Jesus performed his first public miracle. Jesus was attending a wedding feast with his mother when the party ran out of wine. Jesus turned water into wine, wine that was judged to be the best served at the feast.

42. __ voce: softly SOTTO
“Sotto voce” literally means “under the voice” in Italian, and describes the deliberate lowering of one’s voice for emphasis.

43. Longing YEN
The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium!

44. Gourmet mushroom MOREL
The morel is that genus of mushroom with the honeycomb-like structure on the cap. They’re highly prized, especially in French cuisine. Morels should never be eaten raw as they are toxic, with the toxins being removed by thorough cooking.

47. Theorize POSIT
“To posit” is to put forward for consideration, to suggest a “position”.

48. Title phrase that rhymes with “he lightly doffed his hat” CASEY AT THE BAT (giving “Batmobile”)
“Casey at the Bat” is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, first published in the San Francisco Examiner. The poem became very popular due to repeated live performances in vaudeville by DeWolf Hopper. Casey played for the Mudville Nine, and the last line of the poem is “But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.”

The Batmobile was first introduced in the world of comic books in 1939. It started out as a simple, red convertible, with nothing special to recommend it. Over the years though, the car evolved and became more and more sophisticated. The Batmobile always had pride of place in the Batman tales, but once in a while Batman would take the Batplane, Batboat and Batcycle out for a spin.

55. Hummus ingredient TAHINI
“Tahini” is the Arabic name for the paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is a major ingredient in hummus, one of my favorite dishes.

The lovely dip/spread called hummus usually contains mashed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. The name “hummus” is an Arabic word for “chickpeas”.

56. “Run to __”: Bobby Vee hit HIM
Bobby Vee is the stage name of pop singer Robert Velline. Bobby Vees big break in music came amid a terrible tragedy. Buddy Holly and the Crickets were scheduled to play in Moorhead, Minnesota in February 1959 when the plane carrying Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper went down killing all on board. 15-year-old Bobby Vee and a group of friends were given the job of replacing Buddy Holly at the gig. Despite the circumstances, the show was a success, and Bobby Vee’s career was launched.

59. Galvanizing metal ZINC
Steel or iron can be galvanized to prevent rusting. The galvanization process involves the application of a protective zinc coat. The most common method used is hot-dipping in a bath of molten zinc metal.

60. Like many Schoenberg compositions ATONAL
Arnold Schoenberg was a champion of the use of atonality in music. I admit to having a somewhat closed mind when it comes to atonality, so I have very little of his music in my collection.

61. Possible reply to “Got milk?”? MOO
The “got milk?” advertising campaign was funded originally by the California Milk Processor Board and later by milk processors and dairy farmers. The “got milk?” ads encourage us to drink cow’s milk, and lots of it.

63. Seuss reptile YERTLE
“Yertle the Turtle” is a story by Dr. Seuss. The book is noted for the inclusion of the word “burp”, which back in 1958 when it was published, was considered to be vulgar. But no one seemed to mind!

Down
4. Iroquois Confederacy tribe SENECA
The Seneca nation’s name came from their principal village of Osininka. There is no link at all with Seneca the famous Roman statesman, and the similarity in name is just a coincidence.

6. Turkish bread? LIRA
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

7. Gusto ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours i.e “style” or “flair”.

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in the sense of “with gusto”, with great enjoyment.

9. Patron saint of girls AGNES
Saint Agnes is the patron saint of young girls. John Keats wrote a poem called “The Eve of Saint Agnes” which refers to the superstition that young women should practice certain rituals on Saint Agnes’s Eve in order to identify their future husbands.

12. “While __ Young”: USGA anti-slow play campaign WE’RE
The USGA unveiled its “While We’re Young” campaign in 2013, which is designed to address the issue of slow play on golf courses. “While we’re young” is a line spoken sarcastically by the Rodney Dangerfield character in the 1980 movie “Caddyshack” when he encounters slow play.

15. Can convenience POP TAB
The oldest method of opening a can with a device included in the can’s design is the pull-tab or ring pull, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to less injuries and eliminated all those used pull-tabs that littered the streets.

20. Bodybuilder’s pride LATS
The muscles known as the “lats” are the latissimi dorsi, the broadest muscles in the back. “Latissimus” is the Latin for “broadest” and “dorsum” is Latin for “back”.

22. “Pinball Wizard” band THE WHO
“Tommy” was the name given to the fourth album recorded by the British band, The Who. It was the original “rock opera” and was adapted for both the stage and screen, with both adaptations becoming huge successes. The title character has an uncanny ability to play pinball, giving rise to the hit song “Pinball Wizard”.

26. Lacking sense INANE
Our word “inane” meaning silly or lacking substance comes from the Latin “inanitis” meaning “empty space”.

27. Encourage EGG ON
The verb “edge” has been used to mean to incite, to urge on, from the 16th century. Somewhere along the way “edge” was mistakenly replaced with “egg”, giving us our term “to egg on” meaning “to goad”.

29. Shortcuts for complex multiplication LOGARITHMS
As an example, the number 10,000 is equal to 10 to the power of 4, so the base-10 logarithm of 10,000 is said to be 4. Inversely, the antilogarithm of 4 (in the base-10) is 10,000. But, we all remember that from school, don’t we?

31. Toaster’s word SKOAL
Skoal is a Swedish toast, with roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.

The tradition of “toasting” someone 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 …

33. Beanery cuppa JOE
It seems that no one really knows why we refer to coffee as “joe”, but we’ve been doing so since early in WWII.

A beanery is an inexpensive restaurant, and a term that’s been in American English since the 1800s.

34. “Ben-Hur” author Wallace LEW
Lew Wallace was a general for the Union Army during the Civil War, and was also an author. He wrote a very successful and celebrated book called “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ”, first published in 1880, which was made into a movie starring Charlton Heston.

41. __ Nostra COSA
Apparently “Cosa Nostra” is the real name for the Italian Mafia. “Cosa Nostra” translates as “our thing” or “this thing of ours”. The term first became public in the US when the FBI managed to turn some members of the American Mafia. The Italian authorities established that “Cosa Nostra” was also used in Sicily when they penetrated the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s. The term “mafia” seems to be just a literary invention that has become popular with the public.

46. Skewered Thai dish SATAY
The dish known as “satay” originated in Java, Indonesia and is marinated pieces of meat served on a skewer in a sauce, often a spicy peanut sauce.

49. Nice lady friend AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera.

51. London gallery TATE
The museum known as “the Tate” is actually made up of four separate galleries in England. The original Tate gallery was founded by Sir Henry Tate as the National Gallery of British Art. It is located on Millbank in London, on the site of the old Millbank Prison, and is now called Tate Britain. There is also the Tate Liverpool in the north of England located in an old warehouse, and the Tate St. Ives in the west country located in an old gas works. My favorite of the Tate galleries is the Tate Modern which lies on the banks of the Thames in London. It’s a beautiful building, a converted power station that you have to see to believe.

52. Superhero with a hammer THOR
Thor is a superhero who was introduced to us by Marvel Comics in 1962. The character is of course based on the Norse god Thor, and comes complete with a magical hammer. Like so many comic book heroes it seems, Thor has made it to the big screen. Actor Chris Hemsworth played the role in the 2011 film “Thor” directed by the great Kenneth Branagh. Branagh must have needed the cash. Thor’s father Odin is played by Anthony Hopkins. He must have needed the cash too …

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Bodybuilder’s pride ABS
4. “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress Gomez SELENA
10. Like crudités RAW
13. Helpful URL link FAQ
14. Literary postscript EPILOG
15. Townshend of 22-Down PETE
16. Cross-shaped letter TAU
17. Forecast words golfers like to hear NO RAIN
18. Glade target ODOR
19. Poet friend of Jonathan Swift ALEXANDER POPE (giving “Popemobile”)
22. Frequent Hepburn co-star TRACY
23. Take a load off SIT
24. __ rhythm: brain waves pattern THETA
25. Old-style “For shame!” FIE!
28. Soothing sprinklings TALCS
32. Rink VIPs REFS
33. Kipling story collection, with “The” JUNGLE BOOK (giving “bookmobile”)
35. Iconic WWII setting, familiarly IWO
36. Missouri tributary OSAGE
37. Garden product word GRO
38. “Poetry Man” singer PHOEBE SNOW (giving “snowmobile”)
41. Water-to-wine site CANA
42. __ voce: softly SOTTO
43. Longing YEN
44. Gourmet mushroom MOREL
45. Storage media CDS
47. Theorize POSIT
48. Title phrase that rhymes with “he lightly doffed his hat” CASEY AT THE BAT (giving “Batmobile”)
54. Leave off OMIT
55. Hummus ingredient TAHINI
56. “Run to __”: Bobby Vee hit HIM
59. Galvanizing metal ZINC
60. Like many Schoenberg compositions ATONAL
61. Possible reply to “Got milk?”? MOO
62. Shout of success YES!
63. Seuss reptile YERTLE
64. Classroom fill-in SUB

Down
1. Not fore AFT
2. Ewe cry BAA!
3. Storage unit? SQUARE FOOT
4. Iroquois Confederacy tribe SENECA
5. Powerful adhesive EPOXY
6. Turkish bread? LIRA
7. Gusto ELAN
8. Reason to be turned away by a bouncer NO ID
9. Patron saint of girls AGNES
10. Edit menu choice REDO
11. Straddling ATOP
12. “While __ Young”: USGA anti-slow play campaign WE’RE
15. Can convenience POP TAB
20. Bodybuilder’s pride LATS
21. Religious ceremony RITE
22. “Pinball Wizard” band THE WHO
24. Vacation plans TRIPS
25. Persnickety FUSSY
26. Lacking sense INANE
27. Encourage EGG ON
29. Shortcuts for complex multiplication LOGARITHMS
30. Trumpet cousin CORNET
31. Toaster’s word SKOAL
33. Beanery cuppa JOE
34. “Ben-Hur” author Wallace LEW
39. “… and all that jazz,” for short ETC ETC
40. Fullness of flavor BODY
41. __ Nostra COSA
44. Vehicular attachment for the ends of 19-, 33-, 38- and 48-Across -MOBILE
46. Skewered Thai dish SATAY
47. Serving to punish PENAL
48. Like a warm nest COZY
49. Nice lady friend AMIE
50. Confession details SINS
51. London gallery TATE
52. Superhero with a hammer THOR
53. Help for a solver HINT
57. Letters of credit? IOU
58. Group gone wild MOB

Return to top of page