Category: David Karp

Advertisement

Constructed by: David Karp
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 11m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Luxuriates : BASKS

Our verb “to bask”, meaning “to expose one to pleasant warmth”, is derived from the gruesome, 14th-century term “basken”, meaning “to wallow in blood”. The contemporary usage apparently originated with Shakespeare, who employed “bask” with reference to sunshine in “As You Like It”.

6 Self starter? : ESS

The starting letter of the word “self” is a letter S (ess).

13 World record? : ATLAS

The first modern atlas was published in 1570 by Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer. It was called “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” (Theater of the World).

14 Express opp. : LOC

A local (loc.) train is the opposite (opp.) of an express train.

15 Hop on board? : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. Yeah, I could do that …

16 Brazilian steakhouse fare : CHURRASCO

Churrasco is a grilled beef dish that is prominent in the cuisines of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The word “churrasco” comes from the Portuguese word “churrar,” which means “to roast over coals”. “Churrasco” is often cooked on a “Churrasqueira”, a purpose-built barbecuing device, The term “Churrascaria” can also be used to describe a steakhouse restaurant serving the dish.

18 Like the Spanish Steps : ROMAN

Rome’s Spanish Steps are known locally as the “Scalinata” and are a set of 135 steps that sit above the Piazza di Spagna. The Spanish Steps actually form the widest staircase in Europe. They always remind me of the movie “Roman Holiday”, as that is where Audrey Hepburn enjoyed her gelato.

19 “Hava Nagila” dance : HORA

“Hava Nagila” is a Hebrew folk song, with the title translating into “Let Us Rejoice”. The melody is from a Ukrainian folk song. The words to “Hava Nagila” were composed in 1918 to celebrate the British victory in Palestine during WWI.

20 Some Gilded Age industrialists : RAIL BARONS

“The Gilded Age” is a phrase coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in a book they wrote together. It describes the period of growth in the economy and the population following the Civil War.

22 Quinto role : SPOCK

Actor Zachary Quinto is perhaps best known for his roles in sci-fi TV and film. On TV, he plays super-powered serial killer Sylar (as Gabriel Gray) on the superhero drama show “Heroes”. On the big screen, he plays Spock in the “Star Trek” reboot series of movies.

24 “Rectify” star Young : ADEN

Aden Young is Canadian-Australian actor who is best known for his starring role on the TV show “Rectify”. Young was born in Toronto, and moved with his family at the age of 10 years to Sydney.

26 Southern Ocean food source : KRILL

Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that live in the oceans. Krill feed on plankton, and in turn, krill are the main part of the diet of larger animals such as whales, seals and penguins. There’s an awful lot of krill in the world, an estimated 500,000,000 tonnes of it. That’s about twice the biomass of humans on the planet!

The Southern Ocean is sometimes referred to as the Antarctic Ocean. It is the body of water that surrounds the landmass of Antarctica.

30 Almost never : ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

As there is a full moon once every four weeks, approximately monthly, there are usually twelve full moons in any given year. However, every 2-3 years, depending on the phase of the moon at the beginning of the calendar year, there may be a thirteenth full moon. The “extra” full moon is called a “blue moon”, although no one seems to really know why the term “blue” is used, as far as I can tell. Which of the thirteen full moons that is designated as the blue moon varies depending on tradition. My favorite definition is from the Farmer’s Almanac. It states that as each of the seasons normally has three full moons (one for each calendar month), then the season with four full moons is designated as “special”, then the third (and not the fourth) full moon in that “special” season is the blue moon. Complicated, huh?

37 Zendaya’s “Euphoria” role : RUE

Zendaya Coleman, known simply as “Zendaya” on stage, is an actress and singer. Her big break as an actress came with the role of Rocky Blue on the Disney sitcom “Shake It Up”. Zendaya gained further attention from TV audiences when in 2013, at 16 years of age, she became the youngest contestant up to that time on “Dancing with the Stars”. She did well, coming in second in the competition.

“Euphoria” is an HBO teen drama show that is loosely based on a miniseries of the same name from Israel. Lead actress in the show is Zendaya, who plays a recovering teenage drug addict.

42 Hebrides language : ERSE

There are three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

The Hebrides are a group of islands just off the west coast of Scotland. They are divided into two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

43 Super Bowl highlights? : TV ADS

The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, Super Bowl XLIX (2015) had an average audience of 114 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.

46 Designation represented by the Mars symbol : MALE

The icon used to depict the male gender is known as the Mars symbol. It is supposedly composed of the shield and spear of the war god Mars. The icon used to depict the female sex is known as the Venus symbol.

48 Yogurt-based condiment : RAITA

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

51 Fare named for their original sponsors : SOAP OPERAS

The original soap operas were radio dramas back in the fifties. Given the structure of society back then, the daytime broadcasts were aimed at women working in the home as housewives. For some reason the sponsors of those radio shows, and the television shows that followed, were soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. And that’s how the “soap” opera got its name …

57 One who earns money on the links : AFFILIATE

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy in which an individual or business earns a commission by promoting another company’s products or services. Perhaps the most prominent Affiliate marketing program is run by Amazon. Online publishers can act as Amazon affiliates by publishing tailored links to products on Amazon.com. A reader who clicks on one of those links earns a commission for the publisher from Amazon. If the reader makes an actual purchase on Amazon, then that commission is even greater.

60 Hollywood’s st. : FLA

The Florida city of Hollywood is part of the Miami metropolitan area. It was founded in 1921 by Joseph Wesley, a property developed from California. Wesley chose the name “Hollywood”, originally “Hollywood by the Sea”, as he had lived in Hollywood, California.

61 American Eagle lingerie line : AERIE

Aerie (stylized as “aerie”) is a retailer of lingerie and general undergarments that was founded in 2006. Aptly enough, Aerie was initially a sub-brand of American Eagle. The name “Aerie” comes from “American Eagle lingerie”).

62 Banks with style : TYRA

Tyra Banks is a tremendously successful model and businesswoman. Banks created and hosted the hit show “America’s Next Top Model “, and also had her own talk show. She was also the first African-American woman to make the cover of the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.

63 Leb. neighbor : SYR

The Levant is the geographic region that lies east of the Mediterranean, covering modern-day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. The term is sometimes also used synonymously with the Near East. Syria and Lebanon, when under French rule, were called the Levant States, a name still used at times for the two nations. As one might expect, the word Levant comes from French and was the Middle French word for “the Orient”. The term was used for the Orient as it described lands to the east, where the sun rises (from “lever”, the French word meaning “to rise”). Really, quite interesting …

Down

1 Baroque bigwig with a big wig : BACH

Johann Sebastian Bach died when he was 65-years-old, in 1750. He was buried in Old St. John’s Cemetery in Leipzig, and his grave went unmarked until 1894. At that time his coffin was located, removed and buried in a vault within the church. The church was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during WWII, and so after the war the remains had to be recovered and taken to the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.

Something described as baroque is extremely ornate and convoluted. The term comes from the Baroque Period of the early 17th to mid-18th century. Many of the arts focused on great detail and elaborate design during that time.

A bigwig is someone important. The use of the term “bigwig” harks back to the days when men of authority and rank wore … big wigs.

2 Friend of d’Artagnan : ATHOS

Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” are Athos, Porthos and Aramis, although the hero of the novel is the trio’s young protégé D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, the three “musketeers” really don’t use their muskets, and are better known for prowess with their swords.

5 Georgia, once: Abbr. : SSR

The former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of Georgia is now an independent country. Supposedly, the Georgian people were given their name because they especially revered St. George. The flag of Georgia does indeed feature five St. George’s crosses.

6 Queen who appears in “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” is a 2017 animated short featuring several characters and voice actors from the 2013 animated feature “Frozen”.

9 Plant with pétalos : FLOR

In Spanish, “pétalos“ (petals) are part of a “flor” (flower).

10 Ingredient in a nutty vinaigrette : ALMOND OIL

A vinaigrette is a mixture of oil with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. A traditional mixture of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar forms a stable emulsion that is commonly used as a salad dressing. The term “vinaigrette” is a diminutive form of the French word “vinaigre” (meaning “vinegar”). Back in the 1800s, such a mixture was referred to as “French dressing”, a term that has evolved to describe a creamy dressing in contemporary American cuisine.

11 Designer von Fürstenberg : DIANE

Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF) is a fashion designer from Brussels, now based in the US. Born Diane Halfin, she was Princess Diane of Fürstenberg from 1969 until 1972 while married to Prince Egon of Fürstenberg.

15 Crush, for one : ORANGE SODA

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

17 Alan of “The Kominsky Method” : ARKIN

Actor Alan Arkin won his only Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine” from 2006 (a movie that I just did not understand!). More recently, Arkin appeared alongside Michael Douglas in the TV show “The Kominsky Method”. Arkin plays the character Norman Newlander. Arkin chose the name “Newlander” in honor of his wife Suzanne Newlander.

“The Kominsky Method” is a TV series starring Michael Douglas as Sandy Kominksky, a former actor and revered Hollywood acting coach. Also starring in the show are Alan Arkin as Kominsky’s friend Norman Newlander, and Nancy Travis as Lisa, a newly divorced woman who starts taking acting lessons.

21 Actor Bridges : BEAU

Actor Beau Bridges is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges, and brother of actor Jeff Bridges. Beau’s best-known role is perhaps one of “The Fabulous Baker Boys” alongside brother Jeff.

27 Metallica drummer Ulrich : LARS

Lars Ulrich is a drummer from Denmark, and one of the founding members of the American heavy metal band Metallica. Lars is the son of former professional tennis player Torben Ulrich, the oldest Davis Cup player in history.

Metallica is a heavy metal band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. Metallica is usually listed as one of the ”big four” of “thrash metal”, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth.

29 Soy lecithin, notably : EMULSIFIER

An emulsion is a mixture of two liquids, two liquids that don’t easily mix. Examples are milk (water and fat), mayonnaise (oil and water) and vinaigrette (oil and vinegar). Mixture of such liquids requires the presence of an emulsifier, a substance that stabilizes the emulsion so that separation does not occur. Examples of emulsifiers are egg yolk and mustard.

Lecithins are a whole group of yellow-brown fatty compounds found in many different animal and plant tissues. It is widely used in everything from pharmacological products to food to paint. Much of the processed lecithin comes from soya beans.

31 Vancouver-to-Yellowknife dir. : NNE

Vancouver in British Columbia is a major port in western Canada. It is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the nation (after Toronto and Montreal), and the country’s most densely populated city. Vancouver grew out of a settlement called Gastown named for “Gassy” Jack Deighton, a steamboat captain from Yorkshire, England who opened a saloon in the area in 1867. Gastown became the town of Granville, named for the British Colonial Secretary at the time, Lord Granville. Granville incorporated as a city in 1886, and was named “Vancouver” in honor of Royal Navy officer George Vancouver who explored and charted the northwestern Pacific Coast of North America.

Yellowknife is the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT). The city is located on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, and lies just 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The city was named for the Yellowknives Dene aboriginal people who traded tools made from local copper deposits. The tools were “yellow” in color, hence the name.

32 Nice resort area : COTE D’AZUR

The Côte d’Azur is on the Mediterranean coast of France and stretches from Saint-Tropez in the west and to the Italian border in the east. In English, we often refer to the area as “the French Riviera”. It’s a little crowded for me (okay, “expensive”), especially in the summer.

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. Something described as “à la niçoise” is “of Nice”.

33 Pope of 903 : LEO V

Pope Leo V was head of the Roman Catholic Church for just one year, from 903 to 904. Leo V was imprisoned by Antipope Christopher just two months after taking office. It is likely that both Antipope Christopher and Pope Leo V were executed on the orders of Sergius III, who took over the papacy in 904.

34 Missouri River people : OTO

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

41 Language that uses Persian calligraphy : FARSI

Farsi (also known as Persian) is a language spoken by about 62 million people as a first language, and another 50 million or more as a second language. It is the official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

Calligraphy is the art of fine handwriting. The term “calligraphy” comes from the Greek “kallos” meaning “beauty” and “graphein” meaning “to write”.

45 Valentine decor : DOILY

There was a draper in London in the seventeenth century named Doiley, and he gave his name to the lace fabric that he sold. The fabric in turn gave its name to the ornamental mat that we call a “doily”. I can’t abide doilies …

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

47 Team that shares an arena with the Raptors : LEAFS

The Raptors are an NBA basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The franchise was founded, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, when the NBA expanded into Canada in 1995. However, the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001, leaving the Raptors as the only Canadian member of the league. The selection of the name “Raptors” in 1995 was strongly influenced by the popularity of the movie “Jurassic Park in the mid-nineties.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team was founded way back in 1917. As members of the National Hockey League, the Maple Leafs have won the Stanley Cup championships thirteen times, the second best record in the league. Having said that, the last championship the team won was in 1967, and the resulting “drought” is the longest in the NHL.

50 Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC

In Middle English, in the mid-14th century, a mentally deficient man might be referred to as a “Thom Foole”. We retain the old pejorative term in our contemporary word “tomfoolery” meaning “clowning around”.

52 Doughy Indian dessert flavored with cardamom : PEDA

Peda (also “pera”) is a milk-based confection served in Indian cuisine. It takes the form of a bite-size lump of khoa (a semi-dehydrated milk product) sweetened with sugar and flavored with the likes of cardamom seeds or pistachio nuts.

55 Bit of hot goss : DEET

“Deets” is slang for “details”.

“Goss” is an informal shortening of the word “gossip”.

58 Long. counterpart : LAT

Lines of latitude are imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:

• Arctic Circle
• Tropic of Cancer
• Equator
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Antarctic Circle

Lines of longitude are imaginary lines that run from pole to pole. The distance between lines of longitude decreases as you move away from the equator. At the equator, the distance between lines of longitude is about 69 miles. At 60 degrees north or south, the distance is 35 miles. At the poles, the lines of longitude converge to a single point.