Category: Gail Grabowski

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Seepage at sea BILGE
The bilge is lowest internal part of a ship. It is also the name given to the water that collects there, “bilge water”.

14. “Bye, José!” ADIOS
The term “adios” is of course Spanish for “goodbye”. In the Spanish language, “adios” comes from the phrase “a dios vos acomiendo” meaning “I commend you to God”.

15. WWII sub U-BOAT
“U-boat” is short for the German “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). Notably, a U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania in 1915, an event that helped propel the US into WWI.

19. Luau instrument UKE
The ukulele originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

24. Daily Planet cub reporter OLSEN
In the Superman stories, Jimmy Olsen is a cub photographer who works on the “Daily Planet” newspaper with Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

26. Swab brand Q-TIP
Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”, but this was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

27. Pirate on the Jolly Roger SMEE
In J. M. Barrie’s play and novel about Peter Pan, Smee is one of Captain Hook’s pirates and is Hook’s right-hand man. Smee is described by Barrie as being “Irish” and “a man who stabbed without offence”. Nice guy! Captain Hook and Smee sail on the pirate ship called the Jolly Roger.

28. Sydney natives AUSSIES
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia, and the capital of the state of New South Wales. Captain James Cook landed at Botany Bay (which is now in Sydney) in 1770, starting the European habitation of Australia. The British then set up a penal colony on Botany Bay. That colony was named “Sydney” after the British Home Secretary at the time, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney.

34. Cost-of-living fig. CPI
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures changes in the price of services and goods purchased by households. The United States CPI fell in 2009, for the first time since 1955. That’s how bad the 2009 recession was …

42. Lake __: “Prairie Home Companion” town WOBEGON
The amazing humorist Garrison Keillor is one of Minnesota’s most famous sons. Keillor’s wonderful radio show called “A Prairie Home Companion” made its debut in 1974 and is named after the Prairie Home Cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota. I actually saw a live taping of “A Prairie Home Companion” not so long ago in San Francisco and thoroughly enjoyed the experience …

45. Thin coin DIME
The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

46. Colorado natives UTES
The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.

47. Valuable violin AMATI
The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons, Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, they were succeeded by Girolamo’s son, Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

49. Persian Gulf emirate DUBAI
Dubai is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy.

51. Refinery waste SLAG
The better lead ores are processed in a blast furnace, to extract the metal. The “waste” from this process is called “slag”. Slag does contain some lead and it can be processed further in a “slag furnace” to extract the residual metal. Slag furnaces also accept poorer lead ores as a raw material.

57. Seafood selection suggested by this puzzle’s circles STUFFED SOLE
The group of flatfish known as soles take their name from “solea”, the Latin word for “sandal”.

60. Gibson of “Braveheart” MEL
Mel Gibson is an American actor, and not Australian as many believe. Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York and moved with his family to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old.

“Braveheart” is an excellent 1995 historical drama that was directed by and stars Mel Gibson. “Braveheart” tells the story of William Wallace, the warrior who led the Scottish against King Edward I of England. Much of the movie was filmed on location in Ireland, and I visited Trim Castle not so long ago where that filming took place …

61. Artist Rousseau HENRI
Henri Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter. He was self-taught, only starting to paint seriously in his forties. He worked as a tax collector until he was 49 years old, when he retired to focus on his art. Rousseau’s most famous painting is “The Sleeping Gypsy”, a celebrated work that depicts a lion standing beside a sleeping woman in the moonlight. You can take a look at it in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

62. Pisa place ITALY
The city of Pisa is right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

63. Pay dirt ORE
“To hit pay dirt” is to succeed, make a profit. The expression comes from the mining industry, when hitting pay dirt was finding the mother lode, as it were.

Down
6. Mumbai money RUPEE
The rupee is a unit of currency, used in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the second most populous city in the world (after Shanghai). The name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.

7. Jed Clampett portrayer Buddy EBSEN
The actor Buddy Ebsen is best known for playing Jed Clampett in television’s “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ebsen had been cast in the role of the Tin Man in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”, but he developed an allergy to the aluminium dust that was used in the makeup. He ended up in hospital and had to walk away from the part. Ebsen blamed “The Wizard of Oz” on persistent problems that he had with his lungs in subsequent years. But Ebsen lived 16 years longer that any of the other major cast members of the film, so maybe he got the last laugh!

10. Experimental bomb blasts N-TESTS
The testing of US nuclear weapons by the US at Bikini Atoll in the middle of 1946 went by the codename “Operation Crossroads”. The tests used A-bombs and were designed to measure the effect of blasts on navy vessels. There were three tests planned, but the third had to be cancelled as the Navy couldn’t decontaminate the ships used in the second test.

12. Betty’s role in “Hot in Cleveland” ELKA
“Hot in Cleveland” is a sitcom aired by the TV Land channel, which in fact is TV Land’s first original scripted series. The show stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as past-their-prime actresses who live with an elderly Polish caretaker played by Betty White.

23. “__ the season …” ‘TIS
“‘Tis the season to be jolly” is a line from the traditional Yuletide carol “Deck the Halls”. The tune itself is Welsh in origin, dating back to the 16th century. However, the lyrics are American and from the 19th century. Also, Mozart used the tune as a theme for a delightful violin and piano duet.

26. “__ Sera, Sera” QUE
As Doris Day told us, “que sera, sera” is Spanish for “whatever will be, will be”.

28. Actor Guinness ALEC
Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”.

29. Fencer’s sword EPEE
The French word for sword is “épée”. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent’s body.

31. 1944 invasion city ST LO
Saint-Lô is a town in Normandy that was occupied by Germany in 1940. Saint-Lo stood at a strategic crossroads and so there was intense fighting there during the Normandy invasion of 1944. After a prolonged bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.

32. Presley’s middle name ARON
Elvis Aron Presley was the younger of two identical twins. His brother was stillborn, delivered 35 minutes before Elvis. The brother was named Jesse Garon Presley. So though born a twin, Elvis was raised as an only child.

40. “Mayday!” SOS!
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

The term “Mayday” is an emergency codeword used internationally as a distress signal, especially when making a radio transmission. “Mayday” comes from the French phrase “venez m’aider” meaning “come to help me”. When used properly, the term is repeated three times in a row: “Mayday Mayday Mayday”.

43. LAX listing ETA
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

44. Teahouse hostess GEISHA
The Japanese term “geisha” best translates as “artist” or “performing artist”.

47. Four-time Emmy winner Woodard ALFRE
Alfre Woodard is an actress from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woodard was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the 1983 film “Cross Creek”. Off the stage and screen she is very active in the Democratic Party.

48. Underworld society MAFIA
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.

50. Slangy prefix meaning “super” UBER-
“Uber” is the German word for “over”.

51. Phoenix cagers SUNS
The Phoenix Suns NBA team are in the Pacific Division, and are the only team in that division not based in California.

In the early days of basketball, when a ball went out of bounds possession was awarded to the player who first retrieved the ball. This led to mad scuffles off the court, often involving spectators. As the game became more organized courts were routinely “caged”, largely because of this out of bounds rule, to limit interaction with the crowd. It’s because of these cages that basketball players are sometimes referred to today as “cagers”.

54. Couture monthly ELLE
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.

“Haute couture”, literally “high dressmaking” in French, is a name given to the creation of exclusive fashions. A couturier is someone who creates or sells such fashions.

58. Vietnamese New Year TET
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning “Feast of the First Morning”. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Seepage at sea BILGE
6. King’s tenure REIGN
11. Attach a button, e.g. SEW
14. “Bye, José!” ADIOS
15. WWII sub U-BOAT
16. “Go, José!” OLE!
17. Easy-to-swallow gelatin pill SOFT CAPSULE
19. Luau instrument UKE
20. Util. supply ELEC
21. Gets a load of, so to speak SEES
22. Backpack part STRAP
24. Daily Planet cub reporter OLSEN
26. Swab brand Q-TIP
27. Pirate on the Jolly Roger SMEE
28. Sydney natives AUSSIES
31. Decorative piece behind a couch SOFA TABLE
34. Cost-of-living fig. CPI
35. Sticks around STAYS
36. Wish undone RUE
37. “For goodness __!” SAKES
39. European peak ALP
40. Aromatic burner made from vegetable wax SOY CANDLE
42. Lake __: “Prairie Home Companion” town WOBEGON
45. Thin coin DIME
46. Colorado natives UTES
47. Valuable violin AMATI
49. Persian Gulf emirate DUBAI
51. Refinery waste SLAG
52. Arduous expedition TREK
56. Flow back EBB
57. Seafood selection suggested by this puzzle’s circles STUFFED SOLE
60. Gibson of “Braveheart” MEL
61. Artist Rousseau HENRI
62. Pisa place ITALY
63. Pay dirt ORE
64. Out of the harbor AT SEA
65. Styles MODES

Down
1. Slider’s goal BASE
2. Recipient of bags of fan mail IDOL
3. “That’s __!” LIFE
4. Snuggled up on the couch, say GOT COMFY
5. PC “oops” key ESC
6. Mumbai money RUPEE
7. Jed Clampett portrayer Buddy EBSEN
8. Promissory notes IOUS
9. Guy’s pal GAL
10. Experimental bomb blasts N-TESTS
11. Cucumber in brine SOUR PICKLE
12. Betty’s role in “Hot in Cleveland” ELKA
13. Have a bawl WEEP
18. Desirable quality ASSET
23. “__ the season …” ‘TIS
25. Grassy expanses LEAS
26. “__ Sera, Sera” QUE
27. Bathtub popper SOAP BUBBLE
28. Actor Guinness ALEC
29. Fencer’s sword EPEE
30. Family nickname SIS
31. 1944 invasion city ST LO
32. Presley’s middle name ARON
33. Pay cash for BUY
35. Tool with teeth SAW
37. Fit of temper SNIT
38. Acknowledges responsibility for ADMITS TO
40. “Mayday!” SOS!
41. Maxim ADAGE
43. LAX listing ETA
44. Teahouse hostess GEISHA
47. Four-time Emmy winner Woodard ALFRE
48. Underworld society MAFIA
49. Tutorial feature DEMO
50. Slangy prefix meaning “super” UBER-
51. Phoenix cagers SUNS
53. Place for a pothole ROAD
54. Couture monthly ELLE
55. Jinglers on rings KEYS
58. Vietnamese New Year TET
59. Poorly lit DIM

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