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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 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.

20 Site of Italy’s Festival of Festivals, featuring local food and wine : ASTI

The “Festival delle Sagre” (Festival of Festivals) takes place in Asti in northwestern Italy in September of each year. The festival celebrates rural life, with a focus on food and wine. Visitors can dine at the nation’s largest open-air restaurant.

21 Parting from 1-Across : ADIEU

(1A Friend of d’Artagnan : ATHOS)
“Adieu” is the French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

22 Managed care gps. : HMOS

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

23 Interface on old computers : SERIAL PORT

In the world of computing, serial and parallel ports have essentially been replaced with newer technology that allows for faster data transfer (such as USB ports). One of the main differences between serial and parallel ports is that a parallel port can only transfer information in one direction, from the hard drive. A serial port transfers information both to and from the hard drive.

27 Crab in space : NEBULA

The Crab Nebula is located in the constellation of Taurus. It was discovered in 1731 by English astronomer John Bevis, although it appears to correspond to a bright supernova reported by Chinese astronomers in 1054.

31 Herbie of jazz : MANN

Herbie Mann was a Jewish-American flautist, recognized as perhaps the greatest jazz flautist in the sixties. Mann recorded a best selling single called “Hijack” in 1975, which topped the disco charts for three weeks.

34 Debatable claim : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

35 Repeated word in the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” : GAS

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is a song released in 1968 by the Rolling Stones. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards at Richards’ country house. Apparently Jagger awoke one morning to the sound of a gardener doing his work. Richards told Jagger that the gardener’s name was Jumpin’ Jack Dyer, and the song evolved from there.

38 Suffolk slammer : GAOL

Both “jail” and “gaol” are pronounced the same way, mean the same thing, and are rooted in the same Latin word for “cave”. The spelling “gaol” is seen quite often in the UK, although it is gradually being replaced with “jail”. The “gaol” spelling has Norman roots and tends to be used in Britain in more formal documentation.

Suffolk is a county on the east coast of England that is home to Felixstowe, which is one of the largest container ports in Europe. Suffolk lies just south of the county of Norfolk. Back in the day, the “north folk” lived in “Norfolk” and the “south folk” lived in Suffolk.

40 Diarist Anaïs : NIN

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

48 Violinist awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 : ISAAC STERN

Isaac Stern was Ukrainian-born, but moved with his family to San Francisco at a very young age. He was a wonderful violin virtuoso, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Stern passed away in 2001 at 81 years of age.

51 TD Garden skater : BRUIN

TD Garden is a sports arena that was built in the 1990s to replace the aging Boston Garden as home for the Boston Celtics basketball team and the Boston Bruins hockey team.

55 128-Across’ __ Vecchio : PONTE

(128A See 55-Across : ARNO)
The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge that spans the Arno river in Florence, Italy. The bridge dates back to medieval times, and indeed the name “Ponte Vecchio” translates as “Old Bridge”. Famously, there are two rows of shops built on either side of the roadway crossing the bridge.

57 __-Caps: candy : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

58 Rights advocacy gp. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

60 18th-century lexicographer Johnson : SAMUEL

Samuel Johnson (also known as Dr. Johnson) was a British author active in the 1700s. Johnson is famous for producing a “Dictionary of the English Language” published in 1755. Johnson’s dictionary was the standard used until the OED was published 150 years later. As a creative writer, Johnson wrote one play, called “Irene”, a work that he believed to have been his worst, and the critics apparently agreed.

61 Thrice, in Rx’s : TER

Abbreviations on a medical prescription (Rx) are shortened forms of Latin phrases. “Ter in die” is Latin for “three times a day”, abbreviated to “TID”. “Bis in die” (BID) would be twice a day, and “quater in die” (QID) would be four times a day.

67 “Top Hat” star : ASTAIRE

“Top Hat” is a fun comedy musical starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that was released in 1935. It was to become the most successful movie that the Astaire-Rogers team made.

70 Longest serving Secretary of State, 1933-’44 : CORDELL HULL

Cordell Hull was a politician from Tennessee who served as US Secretary of State from 1933 until 1944, holding the office longer than any other person in history. He was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was a key advisor to the president in the run-up and during WWII. Hull was a leading force in the establishment of the United Nations, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.

74 Many desktops : PCS

The original IBM Personal Computer is model number 5150, which was introduced to the world on August 12, 1981. The term “personal computer” was already in use, but the success of the IBM 5150 led to the term “PC” being used for all computer products compatible with the IBM platform.

78 Actor Baldwin : ALEC

Alec Baldwin is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think Alec’s big break was playing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October”, but thank goodness that role was taken over by Harrison Ford for the subsequent Jack Ryan movies. Baldwin also made a name for himself playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey. More recently, he is known for impersonating President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”.

80 Okra unit : POD

The plant known as okra is mainly grown for it edible green pods. The pods are said to resemble “ladies’ fingers”, which is an alternative name for the plant. Okra is known as “ngombo” in Bantu, a name that might give us the word “gumbo”, the name for the name of the southern Louisiana stew that includes okra as a key ingredient.

84 Fed. benefits agency : SSA

Social Security Administration (SSA)

94 Nouveau __ : RICHE

The nouveau riche are people who have achieved their wealth themselves, and not from an inheritance. “Nouveau riche” is French for “new rich”.

96 Longest-serving Republican senator, 1977-2019 : ORRIN HATCH

Orrin Hatch is a former Republican Senator from Utah. Hatch is also quite the musician, and plays the piano, violin and organ. He has composed various compositions, including a song called “Heal Our Land” that was played at the 2005 inauguration of President George W. Bush.

102 The first of two T’s, in a familiar sequence : TUE

The days of the week are named for celestial bodies and gods

• Sunday — Sun’s Day
• Monday — Moon’s Day
• Tuesday — Tiu’s day
• Wednesday — Woden’s day
• Thursday — Thor’s day
• Friday — Freya’s day
• Saturday — Saturn’s day

103 Flue residue : SOOT

The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that its opening is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition.

106 Caribbean export : RUM

Rum was first distilled by slaves on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 1800s, with the tradition being that the very first production came from Barbados.

111 Actress Lansbury : ANGELA

Angela Lansbury is a veteran actress and singer from London. When she won her fifth Tony Award, in 2009, she equalled the record for the most Tony Awards held by Julie Harris. My wife and I particularly enjoy Lansbury’s first film performance, in the 1944 classic film “Gaslight”. Lansbury also played Jessica Fletcher on the small screen in “Murder, She Wrote”.

114 Nova __ : SCOTIA

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

115 Single-masted ships : SLOOPS

Sloops and cutters are sailboats, and each has just one mast. One major difference between the two types of vessel is that the mast on a cutter is set much further aft than the mast on a sloop.

126 Tolstoy’s Karenina : ANNA

I have to admit to not having read Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, but I did see the excellent 1977 British television adaptation starring Nicola Pagett. I also saw the 2012 film adaptation with a screenplay by Tom Stoppard, and found that to be far from excellent, awful in fact. I am no Stoppard fan …

129 Lew in old films : AYRES

The Hollywood actor Lew Ayres got his big break in “All Quiet On the Western Front”. Famously, he also played Dr. Kildare in several movies. Ayres’ private life wasn’t too dull. He was married three times, Lola Lane and Ginger Rogers being wives one and two. Ayres was also the man for whom actress Jane Wyman left her husband Ronald Reagan, although the Ayres-Wyman relationship didn’t last very long.

130 Foucault with a pendulum : LEON

Léon Foucault was a French physicist who is noted for measuring the speed of light in 1850, for naming the gyroscope, and most famously for building and demonstrating the Foucault pendulum. A Foucault’s pendulum is a very large pendulum that moves back and forth as usual. It is so large that one can observe a steady angular shift in the oscillation. That shift is caused by the rotation of the Earth under the pendulum. Cool …

131 Candy mogul H.B. __ : REESE

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese. Peanut Butter Cups were originally called penny cups, reflecting the price at which they were sold. Then inflation took over, and maybe that’s why they were broken into smaller “Pieces” …

Down

1 PGA part: Abbr. : ASSN

The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) was founded in 1916 and today has its headquarters (unsurprisingly) in Florida, where so many golfers live. Back in 1916, the PGA was based in New York City.

2 So precious, in Penzance : TWEE

In the UK, something “twee” is cutesy or overly nice. “Twee” came from “tweet”, which is the cutesy, baby-talk way of saying “sweet”.

Penzance is a port at the southwestern tip of England, in the county of Cornwall. Among other things, Penzance is famous as the birthplace of the famed chemist Sir Humphry Davy, and as a setting for the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta “The Pirates of Penzance”.

3 Oregano, for one : HERB

Oregano is a perennial herb that is in the mint family. Also known as wild marjoram, oregano is very much associated with the cuisine of southern Italy. Oregano’s popularity surged in the US when soldiers returning from WWII in Europe brought with them an affinity for what they called “the pizza herb”.

4 Old den indulgence : OPIUM

The opium poppy is the source of the narcotic alkaloids known as opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs of morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.

5 “The Great Escape” setting : STALAG

“Stalag” was the term used for a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. “Stalag” is an abbreviation for “Stammlager”, which in turn is the short form of” Mannschaft Stamm und Straflager”, literally “crew master and prison camp”.

“The Great Escape” is a 1944 nonfiction book by Paul Brickhill that recounts the story of a mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Germany. Brickhill was actually a participant in the breakout. Famously, the book was adapted into a very successful 1963 movie starring Steve McQueen and Richard Attenborough.

7 “Operation Phone Home” gp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

The USO uses Operation Phone Home to connect forward-deployed service members with their loved ones at home. As part of the program, the USO places centers in combat zones that offer free phone calls and high-speed Internet access over hardwired computers and Wi-Fi. One valuable use of such a service is for an expectant father to virtually accompany his partner during the delivery of a child.

9 “Mere” amount : PITTANCE

A pittance is a small amount, often a living allowance or remuneration. The term “pittance” came into English from Old French, and is basically an amount given out of a sense of “pity”.

16 Source of film trivia : IMDB

The website called the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) was launched in 1990, and is now owned by Amazon.com. It’s a great site for answering question one has about movies and actors.

17 Opera house section : LOGE

In most theaters and stadia today, “loge” is the name given to the front rows of a mezzanine level. Loge can also be used for box seating.

18 River of Flanders : YSER

The Yser river flows into the North Sea at Nieuwpoort in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium.

24 Tropical veranda : LANAI

A lanai is a type of veranda, and a design that originated in Hawaii. A kind blog reader tells me that the etymology of “lanai” seems unclear, but that the island name of “Lana’i” is not related.

36 2000s Saturn midsize model : AURA

Saturn was a brand of automobile introduced by General Motors (GM) in 1985. The Saturn line was GM’s response to the increase in sales of Japanese imports, and was initially set up as a relatively independent division within the company. Saturn had its own assembly plant, and its own network of retailers.

39 Athletic shoe once endorsed by Paula Abdul : LA GEAR

LA Gear is an athletic shoe manufacturer based in Los Angeles.

Paula Abdul is primarily a singer and dancer, and someone who endeared herself even more to the American public in recent years as a judge on “American Idol”. Abdul had a famous husband for a couple of years, as she was married to actor Emilio Estevez from 1992-94.

41 Limo destination : PROM

The word “limousine” derives from the name of the French city Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

44 NorCal NFL team : NINERS

The 49ers football team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush. These “1849 prospectors” became known as the “49ers”.

49 Sure competitor : ARRID

Arrid is an antiperspirant deodorant brand introduced in the thirties. Slogans associated with Arrid have been “Don’t be half-safe – use Arrid to be sure”, “Stress stinks! Arrid works!” and “Get a little closer”.

50 Greener Living org. : EPA

Greener Living is an initiative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

56 Electric wheels : TESLA

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 as a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The company followed the sports car with a luxury sedan, the Model S. The Model S was the world’s best selling plug-in electric vehicle of 2015. Tesla Motors shortened its name to Tesla in early 2017.

63 One of 20 in “Hamlet” : SCENE

The full title of William Shakespeare’s play that we tend to call “Hamlet” is “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. It is the most performed of all Shakespeare’s plays and it is also his longest, the only one of his works comprising over 4,000 lines. That’s about a 4-hour sitting in a theater …

65 Military meal : MESS

“Mess” first came into English about 1300, when it described the list of food needed for a meal. The term comes from the Old French word “mes” meaning a portion of food or a course at a meal. This usage in English evolved into “mess” meaning a jumbled mass of anything, from the concept of “mixed food”. The original usage, in the sense of a food for a meal, surfaced again in the military in the 1500s when a “mess” was a communal eating place.

66 Help for a sad BFF : TLC

Tender loving care (TLC)

Best friend forever (BFF)

68 High points : APEXES

The plural of “apex” can be “apexes”, although I’ve always used “apices”.

69 Latin carol word : GLORIA

“Gloria in excelsis Deo” is a Latin hymn, the title of which translates as “Glory to God in the Highest”.

72 Biblical prophet : HOSEA

Hosea was one of the Twelve Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. The Twelve Prophets are also known as the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.

75 Eye-catching display : OP ART

Op art is also known as optical art, and puts optical illusions to great effect.

76 SoCal wine valley : TEMECULA

Temecula Valley is a winegrowing region in Riverside County near Los Angeles, California. The first winery in Temecula was the Callaway Vineyard. It opened for business in 1974 by Ely Callaway Jr., who also founded Callaway Golf, the world’s largest manufacturer of golf clubs.

83 Rocky peak : TOR

A tor is a high, rocky hill. “Tor” comes from the Old English “torr”, the word for a tower or rock, which in turn comes from the Old Welsh “twrr” meaning a heap or a pile.

85 Knotted neckwear : ASCOT

An Ascot is a horrible-looking (I think!), wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

90 Arctic people : INUIT

The Inuit peoples live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada.

93 Vietnam New Year : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

95 Opening words eventually followed by clinking : HERE’S TO …

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 …

101 Seyfried of “Mean Girls” : AMANDA

Actress Amanda Seyfried’s first film role was in the 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls”, supporting Lindsay Lohan. Seyfried has quite the voice too, using it to good effect in her leading roles in 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” and 2012’s “Les Misérables”. Seyfried married fellow actor Thomas Sadoski (from “Life in Pieces”) in 2017.

“Mean Girls” is a teen comedy movie released in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan. Tina Fey also puts in an appearance, which really isn’t surprising as Fey wrote the screenplay.

104 Employee in a cage : TELLER

To tell can mean to count, as in “telling one’s blessings” and “there are 16, all told”. This usage of the word “tell” gives us the term “bank teller”.

108 Rhône tributary : SAONE

The Saône is a river in eastern France that joins up with the Rhône in Lyon.

110 Professor Challenger’s creator : DOYLE

Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is most closely associated with his wonderful character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle also wrote a series of science fiction stories featuring the character Professor Challenger. The first book in which Challenger appears is the famous “The Lost World”, a story about prehistoric creatures that are found living in the modern age on an isolated plateau in South America.

113 Tony-winning Verdon of “Damn Yankees” : GWEN

Gwen Verdon was one of Broadway’s biggest stars, and an actress, singer and dancer. She is also famous for playing Lola in the 1958 movie adaptation of “Damn Yankees”, in which she sings the unforgettable “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets”. Verdon’s second marriage was to celebrated choreographer Bob Fosse.

In the musical show “Damn Yankees”, the title refers to the New York Yankees baseball team that dominated the sport in the fifties. That said, the show tells the story of the a man who sells his soul to help his beloved Washington Senators team beat the Yankees and win the pennant. So, “Damn Yankees” is yet another version of the classic German legend of “Faust”. The show was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, a production that turned out to be a very successful follow-up to their prior hit, “The Pajama Game”. The future was looking really rosy for Adler and Ross but, sadly, Jerry Ross died of an obstructive lung disease only a few weeks after “Damn Yankees” opened on Broadway in 1955. He was just 29 years old.

114 __-Pei: dog breed : SHAR

The shar-pei breed of dog is that one with the wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.

116 Wind ensemble member : OBOE

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

118 Popeye’s __’Pea : SWEE

Originally Popeye used the nickname “Swee’Pea” to address his girlfriend Olive Oyl. Then along comes a baby, found on Popeye’s doorstep.

122 Card game shout : UNO!

UNO is a card game that was developed in the early seventies and that has been sold by Mattel since 1992. UNO falls into the “shedding” family of card games, in that the goal is to get rid of all your cards while preventing opponents from doing the same.