Category: Garry Morse

Bill’s time: 17m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Einstein’s “m” : MASS

In Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=mc², “E” stands for energy, “m” stands for mass, and “c” stands for the speed of light.

5 Game with knights : CHESS

In the game of chess, the knight is a piece with relatively unusual properties. It doesn’t move in a straight line, but rather moves two squares in one-direction, and one square in the other. Also, the knight is the only piece that can jump over others.

10 Missouri city nickname : ST JOE

The city of Saint Joseph (“St. Joe”) in Missouri was the westernmost point in the US that was accessible by rail after the Civil War. As such, it was a final stopping-off point as people headed out to the Wild West. The city takes its name from its founder, fur trader Joseph Robidoux. Robidoux apparently like things named after himself and his family, as eight of the main streets downtown were named after his children, and another was named for his second wife!

19 Some choristers : ALTI

In choral music, an alto (plural “alti”) is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

20 Auto pioneer Henry : ROYCE

Henry Royce founded the Rolls-Royce company in 1904 with his partner, Charles Rolls. Royce died at 70 years of age in 1933. His last words were, reportedly, “I wish I had spent more time in the office …”

21 Woman on the original “Star Trek” bridge : UHURA

Lt. Nyota Uhura is the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, and is played by Nichelle Nichols. The role is significant in that Uhura was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first interracial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner claims that he deliberately ran long on the first shoot (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second shoot (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.

22 Fish or book lead-in : BLUE

The bluefish is a marine fish that is known as “tailor” in Australia and “elf” in South Africa.

I think we tend to associate the term “blue book” with the Kelley Blue Book that provides valuations for vehicles. The term itself dates back to the 15th century when we started calling an almanac or other publication full of information a “blue book”.

23 Enjoy prettifying the gifts? : GLADLY WRAP (from “Glad Wrap”)

Glad is a company making plastic products, especially food containers and trash bags. Glad was launched in 1963 to make Glad Wrap, a polyethylene wrap used to preserve food.

25 Fast-spreading Web units : MEMES

A meme (from “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

In essence, the World Wide Web is a vast collection of documents that is accessible using the Internet, with each document containing hyperlinks which point to other documents in the collection. So the “Web” is different from the Internet, although the terms are often used interchangeably. The Web is the collection of documents, and the Internet is global network of computers on which the documents reside. The Web was effectively the invention of British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. The key to Berner-Lee’s invention was bringing together two technologies that already existed: hypertext and the Internet. I, for one, am very grateful …

26 Spanish muralist : SERT

José Maria Sert was a painter of murals from Catalan. He was a good friend of fellow-artist Salvador Dali.

30 Home of Odysseus : ITHACA

Ithaca is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. The island features in Homer’s “Odyssey” as it was the home of the mythological hero Odysseus, who was Ithaca’s king.

31 What pros know, with “the” : ROPES

As one might expect perhaps, the phrase “learning the ropes” is nautical in origin. A new recruit on a sailing vessel would have to learn how to tie the appropriate knots and learn which rope controlled which sail or spar.

32 The Big Ten’s Boilermakers : PURDUE

The Purdue Boilermakers are the athletic teams of Purdue University. The school picked up the nickname in 1891 after a football game with fellow Indiana school, Wabash College. A subsequent newspaper headline referred to Purdue as the “boiler makers”, a reference to the engineering education prevalent in Purdue at the time. And the name stuck …

38 Skinny, loose-jointed club golfer? : GANGLY MEMBER (from “gang member”)

“Gangly” is an American-English version of the word “gangling”, with both meaning “lanky and awkward”.

43 “The Enemy Within” org. : CIA

“The Enemy Within” is an espionage drama that started airing in 2019. It stars Jennifer Carpenter as a former Deputy Director at the CIA who is jailed after revealing under duress the names of agents. She is freed from prison after three years in order to track down the man who forced her to name names.

44 Deg. for crown fitters : DDS

Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)

45 “Tiny Alice” dramatist : ALBEE

Playwright Edward Albee’s most famous play is “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Albee won three Pulitzer Prizes for Drama:

• 1967: “A Delicate Balance”
• 1975: “Seascape”
• 1994: “Three Tall Women”

Albee also won three Tony Awards:

• 1963: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (Best Play)
• 2002: “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?”
• 2005: Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement

“Tiny Alice” is a play by Edward Albee that premiered on Broadway in 1964. The play deals with the corruption that can arise with the mixing of religion and money.

46 Golden State school whose city is also its county : UCSB

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is one of the 10 campuses in the UC system. UCSB joined the UC system in 1944, although the school was founded as a teachers’ college in 1891.

52 Helena winter hrs. : MST

Mountain Standard Time (MST)

Helena is the capital of the state of Montana, and is known as the Queen City of the Rockies. Helena’s main street has a very colorful name, namely Last Chance Gulch.

53 Yale of Yale fame : ELIHU

Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

55 “The Easter Parade” author Richard : YATES

Richard Yates was a novelist and short story writer from Yonkers, New York. The most famous of his works was his first novel “Revolutionary Road”, published in 1962.

70 Morse “T” : DAH

A “dah” or “dash” is Morse code for the letter “T”.

73 Kindle download : E-BOOK

Amazon’s Kindle line of e-book readers was introduced in 2007. The name “kindle” was chosen to evoke images of “lighting a fire” through reading and intellectual stimulation. I bought myself a Kindle Fire HD a few years ago. I’ve started reading e-books for the first time in my life, as well as enjoying other computing options available with the tablet device …

74 Bishop’s district : DIOCESE

In some Christian traditions, a district under the control of a bishop is a diocese, bishopric or see. Dioceses are in turn divided into parishes that are under the control of priests. A particularly significant diocese might be called an archdiocese, and falls under the control of an archbishop.

81 Marseille mates : AMIS

Marseille (often written “Marseilles” in English) is the second largest city in France, after Paris. Marseille is also the largest commercial port in the country. I used to live nearby, and can attest that Marseille and environs is a great place to visit …

82 Sandburg’s metaphorical fog carrier : CAT FEET

Writer and editor Carl Sandburg was heading to an interview with a judge one morning when he was taken by a view of the fog lingering over the Chicago harbor. He had to sit waiting forty minutes for the judge to turn up, so he wrote a poem called “Fog”.

THE fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

87 Span. title : SRA

The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).

90 Leaving approx. : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

98 Transfer to a larger computer, say : UPLOAD

In the computing world, to upload something (a file, data, etc.) is to transfer it from say one computing device to another device. Usually, the receiving device is a large computer acting as a server, and the transfer often takes place over the Internet. Downloading is transferring files and data in the opposite direction, from a large computer or server to a smaller device.

99 Barbecue leftovers : ASHES

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

102 Rough partner? : TUMBLE

Rough and tumble

107 Texas Hold ’em in Texas? : DRAWLY POKER (from “draw poker”)

The official birthplace of the incredibly popular poker game of Texas hold ’em is Robstown, Texas where the game dates back to the early 1900s. The game was introduced into Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan enthusiasts including Doyle Brunson, a champion often seen playing on TV today. Doyle Brunson published a poker strategy guide in 1978, and this really helped increase the popularity of the game. But it was the inclusion of Texas hold ‘em in the television lineup that really gave the game its explosive surge in popularity, with the size of the prize money just skyrocketing.

112 1977 ELO hit : DO YA

“Do Ya” is a song written by Jeff Lynne. Lynne first recorded “Do Ya” in 1972 with his band the Move. The Move gradually “moved” in a new artistic direction and rebranded themselves as the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). ELO recorded a hit version of “Do Ya” in 1976.

113 Selection from a pool : JUROR

A jury is a group of people who have sworn to render a verdict. The term “jury” comes into English via French, ultimately from the Latin “iurare” meaning “to swear”.

114 Bird that returns fire when hunted? : DEADLY DUCK (from “dead duck”)

Good for the duck …

116 Square dance quorum : OCTAD

A square dance is a dance for eight participants, i.e. four couples. For much of the time, the couples are arranged so that they form the sides of a square, hence the name of the dance.

117 “Live PD” airer : A AND E

“Live PD” is a reality television show in which cameras follow police officers during their nighttime patrols. The show is aired live, but with a delay of a few minutes so that confidential information can be hidden.

120 “Flashdance” star Jennifer : BEALS

Jennifer Beals is an actress from Chicago who first came to national attention when she played the lead role of Alex in the blockbuster 1983 movie “Flashdance”. Beals basically quit acting after “Flashdance” so that she could complete her studies, and graduated from Yale in 1987. Despite her iconic dancing role in “Flashdance”, Beals declined to appear on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars” claiming, “I am not a dancer”. Beals’ “Flashdance” dancing scenes were performed by French actress and dancer Marine Jahan.

122 Tarot reader : SEER

Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

Down

1 Son of Thor, in comics : MAGNI

In the Marvel Comics universe, Magni is the son of Thor and Amora the Enchantress. He is based on Magne, who is a character in Norse mythology.

3 Bacteria in grapelike clusters : STAPH

Staphylococcus is a genus of bacteria. Under a microscope it can be seen that the individual bacteria form into clusters like bunches of grapes. “Staphylococcus” comes from the Greek word meaning “bunch of grapes”.

4 Libyan port on its own gulf : SIDRA

Sidra is a port on the Libyan coast. It is the country’s largest oil depot.

6 Lupine call : HOWL

The term “lupine” means “wolf-like”, coming from the Latin “lupus” meaning “wolf”.

7 Fictional governess : EYRE

“Jane Eyre” is the celebrated novel written by Charlotte Brontë, under the pen name Currer Bell. The love story is perhaps represented by the oft-quoted opening lines of the last chapter, “Reader, I married him”. There is a wonderful 4-hour television adaptation made by the BBC that I highly recommend to fans of the novel …

8 Main plot element in “The Sting” : SCAM

“The Sting” is a marvelous 1973 film about two grifters pulling off a con on a mob boss. The con artists are played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and their target is played by Robert Shaw. The film is memorable for many reasons, one being the soundtrack featuring several Scott Joplin ragtime compositions. The movie also reunited director George Roy Hill with actors Newman and Redford. The trio had last worked together on the 1969 hit “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

9 Labor Day mo. : SEP

Labor Day is a federal holiday observed every year on the first Monday in September. The tradition of honoring workers with a holiday started in Boston in 1878, when a day of observance was organized by the Central Labor Union, the major trade union at the time. There was a bloody dispute in 1894 between labor unions and the railroads called the Pullman Strike, which led to the death of some workers when the US Military and US Marshals were instructed to maintain order. President Grover Cleveland submitted a “Labor Day” bill to Congress which was signed into law just six days after the end of the strike. The introduction of a federal holiday to honor the worker was a move designed to promote reconciliation between management and unions after the bitter conflict.

13 Baseball’s Hershiser : OREL

Orel Hershiser is big into poker now that he has retired from Major League Baseball. Hershiser lives in Las Vegas and when he isn’t working for ESPN, apparently he is at the poker tables, playing professionally. When Hershiser is eliminated in a poker tournament, he is in the habit of presenting the person who ousts him with an autographed baseball.

18 Hunting dogs : SETTERS

The breeds of dog known as setters are all gundogs and are used in hunting game.

31 Yeshiva leader : REBBE

“Rebbe” is the Yiddish word for “rabbi”.

In the Jewish tradition, a yeshiva is an educational institution focusing on the study of sacred texts.

35 Mennonites, e.g. : SECT

The Mennonites are a group of religious sects that originated in the Friesland region of the Low Countries. The various denominations are named for Menno Simons who was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers who followed Martin Luther.

36 Pinafore letters : HMS

“H.M.S. Pinafore” is one of my favorite of the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas (a production we staged at high school, many moons ago). “Pinafore” was one of the first big hits for Gilbert & Sullivan (in their native Britain, and in America), and they followed it up with “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado”.

40 Jordan or Curry, e.g. : NBA STAR

Michael Jordan is considered by some to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Not only is he a talented sportsman, but he is also very successful in the business world. He became majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team in 2010. Fans refer to Jordan as “His Airness”.

Steph Curry is a professional basketball player who was named the league’s MVP in 2015, the same season that he led the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975. Steph’s father is former NBA player Dell Curry, and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry.

41 Actress Rowlands : GENA

Gena Rowlands is an actress best known for the films made with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes. More recently, Rowlands played a lead role opposite James Garner in the weepy, weepy 2004 film “The Notebook”. “The Notebook” was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands was nominated for Oscars for her performances in two films: “Gloria” (1980) and “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974).

42 Beast with thick skin : RHINO

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

48 West Virginia border river : OHIO

The Ohio River forms in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. It empties into the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.

The state of West Virginia (WVA) was formed during the civil war when the western counties in the old state of Virginia (VA) voted to secede from the Confederate States of America (CSA).

49 Letter after Sierra : TANGO

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

50 Plains tribe : 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.

52 Paolo’s possessive : MIO

“Mio” is Italian for “my”.

59 Frat row letter : THETA

The Greek letter theta is the one that looks like the number zero with a horizontal line across the middle.

61 Nephrologist’s concern : KIDNEYS

Nephrology is the medical field specializing in the treatment of kidney problems. “Nephros” is the Greek word for “kidney”.

63 Luther’s 95 __ : THESES

Martin Luther wrote his “95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of the Indulgences” in 1517, creating a document that is often seen as setting off the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s main argument was that the Catholic Church’s practice of granting “indulgences”, forgiveness from punishment for sins, was wrong. It was especially wrong when such indulgences were granted in exchange for money.

69 Tiny insect egg : NIT

A nit is an egg of a louse.

Lice (singular “louse”) 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 …

72 Efron of “High School Musical” : ZAC

Zac Efron is an actor from San Luis Obispo, California. Apparently Efron is a heartthrob to “tweenyboppers”. His big break came with the hit Disney movie “High School Musical”.

75 Mets infielder Robinson __ : CANO

Robinson Canó is a second baseman playing for the Seattle Mariners. Robinson’s father José Canó is a former pitcher who played briefly for the Houston Astros. José named his son for the great Jackie Robinson.

80 Folksy Guthrie : ARLO

Singer Arlo Guthrie is known for his protest songs, just like his father Woody Guthrie. The younger Guthrie only ever had one song in the top 40: a cover version of “City of New Orleans”. He has lived for years in the town of Washington, just outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His 1976 song “Massachusetts” has been the official folk song of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1981.

83 ProFlowers parent co. : FTD

Back in 1910, fifteen florists from around America agreed to fulfill each other’s orders using the telegraph system, setting up what they called the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery. The concept grew so large that in 1965 the group started to offer international service, and changed its name to Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTD).

ProFlowers is an online retailer of flowers and gift baskets that opened for business in 1998. The company was sued by FTD, its main competitor, in 2005 for false advertising, and the case was settled in 2006. FTD ended up buying ProFlowers in 2014.

85 Econ. yardstick : GDP

A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

92 Violinist who taught Heifetz : AUER

Leopold Auer was a Hungarian violinist, as well as a conductor and composer. Auer wrote a small number of works for the violin, the most famous of which is the “Rhapsodie Hongroise” written for violin and piano.

Jascha Heifetz was a violinist from Vilnius in Lithuania who emigrated with his family to the US when he was a child. Heifetz toured Israel in 1953 and included in his recitals the Violin Sonata by Richard Strauss. Strauss was known for his anti-Semitic views, so this piece was always received in silence at his recitals in Israel. Heifetz was attacked with a crowbar outside his hotel in Jerusalem, severely injuring his right arm. He struggled with the injured arm for several years, and eventually had surgery in 1972. Heifetz’s injured arm never really recovered, and he was forced to cease giving concerts.

95 Hawkeyes : IOWANS

Iowa is nicknamed the Hawkeye State in honor of Chief Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk people during the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War.

99 Blood line : AORTA

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

100 Word shouted with a raised glass : SKOAL!

“Skoal” is a Swedish and Norwegian toast that has roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.

101 Antelope groups : HERDS

“Antelope” is the name given to just over 90 species of deer-like mammals. As a group, antelopes aren’t defined taxonomically, although they might be described as all members of the family Bovidae that aren’t sheep, cattle or goats.

103 King with a magic touch : MIDAS

King Midas of Greek mythology might be termed an alchemist as he had the power to turn everything he touched into gold i.e. the Midas touch. The power that he was given became be a curse, as everything he touched turned to gold, including his food and drink and even his children.

104 Wayne of Wayne Manor : BRUCE

Bruce Wayne is the secret identity of Batman in the comic series created by DC Comics. The first name of Bruce was chosen as a homage to the Scottish king and heroic figure, Robert the Bruce. The family name was a nod to “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the US Army general and statesman who rose to prominence in the Revolutionary War.

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access is to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

105 Café lightener : LECHE

In Spanish, one might have “café con leche” (coffee with milk).

106 Glacial ridge : ESKER

An esker is a long and winding ridge formed by glaciation, made of sand and gravel. The term “esker” comes from the Irish word “eiscir” that describes the same feature.

108 Dark purple : PUCE

The name of the purple shade known as “puce” has a strange derivation. “Puce” came into English from French, in which language “puce” means “flea”. Supposedly, puce is the color of a flea!

109 Word repeated in an iconic FDR quote : FEAR

When Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as president for his first term, he made a 20-minute inaugural address. The most famous lines of the speech are probably:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

110 Superboy’s girlfriend : LANA

Lana Lang is a character in the DC Comics universe. She grew up in Smallville, and was a friend of the young Clark Kent. As an adult, Lana became a rival to Lois Lane for the adult Kent’s affections. Lang has been portrayed by several actresses on the big and small screens. A unique portrayer of Lang is Annette O’Toole in the 1983 film “Superman III”. O’Toole went on to play Martha Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive mother on the TV show “Smallville”. Apparently, the producers of “Smallville” cast O’Toole as Clark’s mother without realizing that she had once played Clark’s girlfriend.