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Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Fictional whale hunter AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. The role of Captain Ahab was played by Gregory Peck in the 1956 John Huston film adaptation. Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a 1998 miniseries in which Peck made another appearance, as Father Mapple.

14. Farmer’s place, in song DELL
“The Farmer in the Dell” is a nursery rhyme and singing game that probably originated in Germany.

The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell

15. Cuisinart setting PUREE
A “purée” is a food that has been made smooth by straining or blending. “Purée” is a French term, which I believe is now used to mean “pea soup” (more completely written as “purée de pois”). The French verb “purer” means “to strain, clean”, from the Latin “purare” meaning “to purify, clean”.

The Cuisinart line of home appliances was introduced by Carl and Shirley Sontheimer in 1973. The debut product in the line was America’s first food processor. Sales of the machine were very slow for a couple of years, until celebrity chefs like Julia Child and Jacques Pepin started to endorse the product.

19. Al __: firm, as pasta DENTE
The Italian expression “al dente” literally means “to the tooth” or “to the bite” and is used to describe not only pasta, but also vegetables that are cooked so that they are tender yet still crisp.

20. “Splish Splash” singer Bobby DARIN
“Splish Splash” was a hit for Bobby Darin in 1958, and was the result of a bet. The first line (Splish splash, I was taking a bath) was suggested by Jean Kaufman, the mother of disk jockey “Murray the K”. Murray wagered that Darin couldn’t write a song beginning with those words. Darin won the bet …

21. Inexact no. EST
Estimate (est.)

32. Cinderella’s horses, after midnight MICE
The folk tale about “Cinderella” was first published by French author Charles Perrault in 1697. The storyline of the tale may date back as far as the days of Ancient Greece. A common alternative title to the story is “The Little Glass Slipper”.

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

37. Springsteen’s “Born in the __” USA
“Born in the USA” is a 1984 song (and album) written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen. The song was written three years earlier as the title song for a movie, but was never used. That film ultimately was released as “Light of Day” starring Michael j. Fox. The original intention was for Springsteen to star in the film himself.

38. Outfit for the slopes SKI SUIT (giving “monkey suit”)
“Monkey suit” is a slang term for a tuxedo.

The style of men’s evening dress called a “tuxedo” was apparently first worn to a country club event in 1886 in New York. The use of a dark dinner jacket without tails became fashionable at the club with the members, and the tradition spread from there. The country club was located in Tuxedo Park, New York, giving the style of dress its name.

41. Cocktail party bite CANAPE
A canapé is a finger food, usually small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original “canapés” were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny “couch”.

43. Envoy’s bldg. EMB
Embassy (emb.)

45. Many-headed monster HYDRA
The Lernaean Hydra was a mythical sea snake that had multiple heads. Heracles had to slay the Hydra of Lerna as the second of his Twelve Labors.

48. Gulf of Aden republic YEMEN
The Gulf of Aden is the body of water that lies south of the Red Sea, and just north of the Horn of Africa.

53. Texter’s “Hang on a minute” BRB
Be right back (brb)

60. It more or less coincides with 2016 on Chinese calendars … and a hint to this puzzle’s circles YEAR OF THE MONKEY
The 12-year cycle in the Chinese Calendar uses the following animals in order:

– Rat
– Ox
– Tiger
– Rabbit
– Dragon
– Snake
– Horse
– Goat
– Monkey
– Rooster
– Dog
– Pig

63. Fortune-teller’s deck TAROT
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.

64. Coke, e.g. COLA
The first cola drink to become a commercial success was Coca-Cola, soon after it was invented by a druggist in 1886 as nerve tonic. That first Coca-Cola was flavored mainly with kola nuts and vanilla. The formulation was based on an alcoholic drink called Coca Wine that had been on sale for over twenty years. The original alcoholic version actually contained a small concentration of cocaine.

Down
3. The World Series, e.g. EVENT
The first World Series of baseball in the so-called “modern” era was played in 1903, between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) of the American League. Boston emerged victorious by five games to three.

5. Hue and cry ADO
We use the phrase “hue and cry” figuratively, to describe a public clamor. The term was used in English law to describe the process of summoning bystanders to assist with the apprehension of someone seen committing a crime. It’s possible that the phrase came into English via French from the Latin “hutesium et clamor” meaning “a horn and shouting”.

7. “Dark Angel” actress Jessica ALBA
Actress Jessica Alba got her big break when she was cast in the Fox science fiction show “Dark Angel”. Alba had a tough life growing up as she spent a lot of time in hospital and so found it difficult to develop friendships. As a youngster she twice had a collapsed lung, frequently caught pneumonia, suffered from asthma, had a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. On top of all that she acknowledges that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. It seems that she has really turned her life around …

“Dark Angel” is a sci-fi series that ran from 2000 to 2002, and gave the star Jessica Alba her big break as an actress. Alba plays genetically-enhanced super-soldier in post-apocalyptic Seattle. The show is a creation of celebrated producer and director James Cameron.

8. Movie disk format BLU-RAY
A CD player reads the information on the disc using a laser beam. The beam is produced by what’s called a laser diode, a device similar to a light-emitting diode (LED) except that a laser beam is emitted. That laser beam is usually red in CD and DVD players. Blu-ray players are so called as they use blue lasers.

10. Seller’s come-on FREE TRIAL (giving “Monkey Trial”)
H. L. Mencken was a journalist and essayist from Baltimore. Mencken reported on the Scopes trial of 1925 and was the writer who dubbed it the “Monkey Trial”.

In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Act which made it unlawful for a public school teacher to teach the theory of evolution over the Biblical account of the origin of man. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sought to challenge this law and found a test case of a Tennessee high school teacher named John Scopes, who was charged with violating the law by presenting to his students ideas put forth by Charles Darwin. Celebrity lawyers descended on the small town of Dayton, Tennessee to argue the case. At the end of a high-profile trial, teacher John Scopes was found guilty as charged and was ordered to pay a fine.

11. Come clean, with “up” FESS
The term “fess” is most often seen as part of the phrasal verb “to fess up” meaning “to admit to something”. “Fess” is simply a shortened form of “confess”.

15. Pesto ingredient PINE NUT
The term “pesto” applies to anything made by pounding. What we tend to know as “pesto” sauce is more properly called “pesto alla genovese”, pesto from Genoa in northern Italy.

17. Brine-cured Greek cheese FETA
Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

18. Vicious of the Sex Pistols SID
Sid Vicious was a famous English musician, the best-known member of the seventies punk rock group called the Sex Pistols. In 1978, Vicious woke up out of a drugged stupor in his hotel room in New York, to find his girlfriend stabbed to death in the bathroom. Vicious was charged with the murder, and ten days later sliced his wrist in a suicide attempt. Vicious made bail a few months later and at a celebratory party his own mother supplied him with heroin on which Vicious overdosed and died, at the age of 21.

27. SADD focus DWI
In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI(Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) was founded in Massachusetts in 1981. SADD’s aim is to prevent road traffic accidents by urging students to avoid potentially destructive decisions (such as driving under the influence of alcohol).

31. Hornet’s home NEST
A hornet is a large type of wasp, with some species reaching over two inches in length.

33. Words to an old chap I SAY …
I say, old chap!

“Chap” is an informal term for “lad, fellow”, especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

34. Snickers and Milky Way CANDY BARS (giving “monkey bars”)
Snickers is a candy bar made by Mars. When I was growing up in Ireland, the same candy bar was sold as a Marathon. The name was changed in Europe to Snickers in 1990. 75% of the world’s Snickers bars are made in the Mars factory in Waco, Texas.

Having lived on both sides of the Atlantic, I find the Mars Bar to be the most perplexing of candies! The original Mars Bar is a British confection (and delicious) first manufactured in 1932. The US version of the original Mars Bar is called a Milky Way. But there is candy bar called a Milky Way that is also produced in the UK, and it is completely different to its US cousin, being more like an American “3 Musketeers”. And then there is an American confection called a Mars Bar, something different again. No wonder I gave up eating candy bars …

The “Junglegym” was invented in Chicago in 1920, although today we use the generic term “jungle gym”. Somehow, the phrase “monkey bars” started to be used in the mid-fifties for the same apparatus.

36. Sign of many an October baby LIBRA
The constellation of Libra is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. Libra is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.

38. Program that sends unsolicited messages SPAMBOT
Spambots are nasty little computer programs that send out spam emails and messages, often from fake accounts. This blog gets about 300 spam comments a day that I have to delete, almost all of which are written by spambots.

39. Thurman of “The Producers” UMA
The sex kitten married to Leo Bloom in the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers” is called Ulla, although her full name is Ulla Inga tor Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson Bloom! Ulla was played by Lee Meredith in the original 1968 film, and by Uma Thurman in the 2005 remake.

44. Wine in a straw-wrapped bottle CHIANTI
Chianti is a red wine from the Chianti region of central Tuscany in Italy. Historically, Chianti was stored in a characteristically bulbous bottle wrapped in a straw basket. However, the pragmatists have won the day and regular wine bottles tend to be used nowadays.

47. 1963 Liz Taylor role CLEO
The 1963 movie “Cleopatra” really was an epic work. It was the highest grossing film of the year, taking in $26 million dollars at the box office, yet it still lost money. The original budget for the film was just $2 million, but so many things went wrong the final cost swelled to a staggering $44 million dollars, making it the second most expensive movie ever made (taking into account inflation). Elizabeth Taylor was supposed to earn a record amount of $1 million for the film, and ended up earned seven times that amount due to delays. But she paid dearly, as she became seriously ill during shooting and had to have an emergency tracheotomy to save her life. The scar in her throat can actually be seen in some of the shots in the film.

51. “Argo” actor Alan ARKIN
The 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 …

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I saw “Argo” recently and recommend it highly, although I found the scenes of religious fervor pretty frightening …

52. T-bone source STEER
A steer is a male bovine that was castrated when young and is then raised for beef. The term comes from the Old English “steor” meaning “bullock”.

The T-bone and porterhouse are related cuts of meat, with the latter being a larger version of the former, and both being cut from the short loin.

53. Computer memory unit BYTE
In the world of computers, a “bit” is the basic unit of information. It has a value of 0 or 1. A “byte” is a small collection of bits (usually 8), the number of bits needed to uniquely identify a character of text. The prefix mega- stands for 10 to the power of 6, so a megabyte (meg) is 1,000,000 bytes. And the prefix giga- means 10 to the power of 9, so a gigabyte (gig) is 1,000,000,000 bytes. Well, those are the SI definitions of megabyte and kilobyte. The purists still use 2 to the power of 20 for a megabyte (i.e. 1,048,576), and 2 to the power of 30 for a gigabyte.

59. Jekyll’s alter ego HYDE
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was first published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story including one that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “That was close!” PHEW!
5. Fictional whale hunter AHAB
9. Dying-out sound PFFT
13. Affectionate email closing LOVE …
14. Farmer’s place, in song DELL
15. Cuisinart setting PUREE
16. Ready to admit customers OPEN FOR BUSINESS (giving “monkey business”)
19. Al __: firm, as pasta DENTE
20. “Splish Splash” singer Bobby DARIN
21. Inexact no. EST
22. Baseball card figs. STATS
24. Skillful ADEPT
26. Blot up the moisture on PAT DRY
29. Like a perfect game NO-RUN
32. Cinderella’s horses, after midnight MICE
35. “I __ you one” OWE
36. Like wolves LUPINE
37. Springsteen’s “Born in the __” USA
38. Outfit for the slopes SKI SUIT (giving “monkey suit”)
40. TV program breaks ADS
41. Cocktail party bite CANAPE
43. Envoy’s bldg. EMB
44. Thicken, as cream CLOT
45. Many-headed monster HYDRA
46. Potato or rice, e.g. STARCH
48. Gulf of Aden republic YEMEN
50. False name ALIAS
53. Texter’s “Hang on a minute” BRB
55. Super-fun party BLAST
58. Planet attacked in some sci-fi films EARTH
60. It more or less coincides with 2016 on Chinese calendars … and a hint to this puzzle’s circles YEAR OF THE MONKEY
63. Fortune-teller’s deck TAROT
64. Coke, e.g. COLA
65. Like a 2-2 game TIED
66. “What __ is new?” ELSE
67. Wait on the phone HOLD
68. Memo starter IN RE

Down
1. Walk with difficulty PLOD
2. Crosses one’s fingers HOPES
3. The World Series, e.g. EVENT
4. Came unglued WENT APE
5. Hue and cry ADO
6. Buffalo group HERD
7. “Dark Angel” actress Jessica ALBA
8. Movie disk format BLU-RAY
9. “I used to be a banker but I lost interest,” e.g. PUN
10. Seller’s come-on FREE TRIAL (giving “Monkey Trial”)
11. Come clean, with “up” FESS
12. Dry run TEST
15. Pesto ingredient PINE NUT
17. Brine-cured Greek cheese FETA
18. Vicious of the Sex Pistols SID
23. Tend, as a fire STOKE
25. Dad POP
27. SADD focus DWI
28. Put back to zero RESET
30. Bring to ruin UNDO
31. Hornet’s home NEST
32. “__ obliged!” MUCH
33. Words to an old chap I SAY …
34. Snickers and Milky Way CANDY BARS (giving “monkey bars”)
36. Sign of many an October baby LIBRA
38. Program that sends unsolicited messages SPAMBOT
39. Thurman of “The Producers” UMA
42. “__ you nuts?” ARE
44. Wine in a straw-wrapped bottle CHIANTI
46. Grab SNATCH
47. 1963 Liz Taylor role CLEO
49. Helper for Santa ELF
51. “Argo” actor Alan ARKIN
52. T-bone source STEER
53. Computer memory unit BYTE
54. Genuine REAL
56. “Beat it!” SHOO!
57. Be a snitch TELL
59. Jekyll’s alter ego HYDE
61. Lobster eggs ROE
62. Fuming MAD

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