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Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. A Swiss Army knife has many of them USES
Swiss Army knives are multi-tools made by the Swiss company Victorinox. The device was first produced in 1891 when Victorinox’s predecessor company was awarded the contract to supply the knife to the Swiss Army. The name “Swiss Army knife” was actually an American invention as it was the term used by American GIs during and after WWII as an alternative to pronouncing the more difficult German “Schweizer Offiziersmesser” (Swiss Officer Knife).

5. Halley’s __ COMET
Edmond Halley was an English astronomer who lived at the turn of 17th and 18th centuries. In 1705 he declared that comet sightings recorded in 1456, 1531, 1607 and 1682 were in fact observations of the same comet returning to fly by Earth at regular intervals. He predicted that this comet would return in 1758, and he was right, and so the comet was named after him: Halley’s Comet. Sadly, Halley didn’t live long enough to see his prediction come true.

16. Nueve preceder OCHO
In Spanish, nine (nueve) precedes eight (ocho).

20. Half of a 45 SIDE A
The first vinyl records designed to play at 33 1/3 rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first Long Play (LP) 33 1/3 rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

25. Hymn finale AMEN
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

A “hymn” is a song of praise or thanksgiving to a deity. The term comes into English via Old French and is ultimately derived from the Greek “hymnos”, the word for an ode or song in praise of the gods. The Greek term is possibly a variant of “hymenaios” meaning “wedding song”, derived from Hymen, the Greek god of marriage.

38. “My __ Amour”: Stevie Wonder hit CHERIE
Stevie Wonder wrote “My Cherie Amour” way back in 1966, but it wasn’t released until 1969. The song tells of Stevie’s infatuation with a real woman that he encountered in the Michigan School for the Blind.

The great musician Stevie Wonder signed up with Motown Records when he was just 11-years-old. He has been remarkably loyal to the label and is still recording with Motown some 50 years later. The level of Stevie Wonder’s success is illustrated by his 22 Grammy Awards, the most Grammys awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder was born 6 weeks prematurely, and incomplete development of blood vessels in his eyes caused the retinas to detach leaving him blind soon after birth. He recorded a hit single called “I Was Made to Love Her” in 1967, and one of his co-writers was his mother Lula Mae Hardaway.

39. __ toast MELBA
Melba toast is crisp, thinly-sliced toast that is often served with soup or salad. It is often topped with melted cheese or pâté. The toast was created by chef Auguste Escoffier in 1897 when he came up with the idea for Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, who was forced to eat it as part of her diet during an illness. Escoffier also created the dessert called Peach Melba for the singer.

44. Bistro, e.g. EATERY
“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term for a “little wine shop or restaurant”.

48. Joe and Rose Kennedy’s youngest TED
Ted Kennedy was the youngest boy in the family that included his older brothers: Joseph Jr. (killed in action in WWII), John (assassinated) and Robert (assassinated). Ted went into the US Senate in 1962 in a special election held after his brother became US President. He remained in the Senate until he passed away in 2009, making Ted Kennedy the fourth-longest-serving Senator in history.

55. Wyoming neighbor IDAHO
Idaho has the nickname the Gem State, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state.

68. Fashion designer Marc ECKO
Marc Ecko is a fashion designer from New Jersey. Marc was born Marc Milecofsky. In college he became a fan of graffiti and used the name “Ecko” to tag his drawings.

72. Climbing rope material NYLON
The polymer known as “nylon” was developed by Dupont in the 1930s. The first application was as bristles in toothbrushes, in 1938. The second application became more famous, for women’s stockings starting in 1940, stockings that came to be known as “nylons”. The polymer was developed as a replacement for silk, which was to become in short supply during WWII.

73. Bard’s instrument LYRE
The lyre is a stringed instrument most closely associated with Ancient Greece, and with the gods Hermes and Apollo in particular. According to myth, Hermes slaughtered a cow from a sacred herd belonging to Apollo and offered it to the gods but kept the entrails. Hermes used the entrails to create the first lyre. Apollo liked the sound from the lyre and agreed to accept it as a trade for his herd of cattle.

Down
1. Israeli guns UZIS
The first Uzi submachine gun was designed in the late 1940s by Major Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces who gave his name to the gun.

2. Truck stop rig SEMI
A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

3. Storefront sign abbr. ESTD
Established (estd.)

5. Long-running TV crime drama CSI
The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong and has been doing so since 2000.

7. O. Henry’s “The Gift of the __” MAGI
O’Henry’s short story called “The Gift of the Magi” was first published in 1905. It tells of relatively poor, newly-married couple who want to buy each other a gift for Christmas. The wife’s pride and joy is her long blonde hair, while the husband’s most treasured possession is his grandfather’s gold pocket watch. The wife sells her hair to buy her gift, and the husband sells his watch to buy his gift for his spouse. The wife is given a set of combs, hair accessories that are useless now that her hair is short. The husband gets a platinum fob chain for the watch that he no longer owns.

O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

9. Ref’s decision TKO
In boxing, a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can’t get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly “knocked out”. A referee, fighter or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a physical knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter’s safety. In this case the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).

10. Lettuce-washing aid COLANDER
A colander is a bowl-shaped utensil with holes in it that is used for draining liquid from food. The term “colander” comes from the Latin word “colum” meaning “sieve”.

24. Wanted poster initials AKA
Also known as (aka)

26. Audio jack label MIC
Microphone (mic)

A jack is a socket that accepts a plug, allowing a connection to some electrical circuit.

27. Marisa of “The Wrestler” TOMEI
Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spinoff, “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

“The Wrestler” is a really hard and gritty movie from 2008, a comeback film for actor Mickey Rourke. Rourke stars as an over-the-hill professional wrestler, with Marisa Tomei playing a faded stripper, the love interest. The film received really strong reviews, but I found it to be a tough movie to sit through.

29. Trapper’s goods PELTS
The “pelt” is the skin of a furry animal.

31. “This can’t wait” hosp. areas ERS
Emergency Room (ER)

32. Bygone anesthetic ETHER
Ethers are a whole class of organic compounds, but in the vernacular “ether” is specifically diethyl ether. Diethyl ether was once very popular as a general anesthetic.

54. Seven-member Mideast fed. UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

56. HMO staffers DOCS
A doctor (doc.) might work for a health maintenance organization (HMO).

57. Egyptian royal cross ANKH
The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world).

60. “Beetle Bailey” bulldog OTTO
Sgt. Snorkel (“Sarge”) is Beetle Bailey’s nemesis in the cartoon strip that bears his name. Snorkel has a dog called Otto that he dresses up to look just like himself. Otto started off as a regular dog, but artist Mort Walker decide to draw him more like his owner, and soon Otto became a big hit.

64. Brontë’s Jane EYRE
“Jane Eyre” is the celebrated novel written by Charlotte Brontë, under the pen name Currer Bell. Over the years, I’ve shared here on my blogs that the “Jane Eyre” story line is a little too dark and Gothic for my taste, but a very persuasive blog reader convinced me to look more at the romantic side of the story and give it a second chance. I watched a wonderful 4-hour television adaptation of the novel made by the BBC a while back and I have to say that because I was focused on the relationship between Jane and Rochester, I was able to push past the Gothic influences (that depress me) so I really enjoyed the story. I thoroughly recommend the 2006 BBC adaptation to fans of the novel.

66. Cape NNW of Cod ANN
Cape Ann is 30 miles north of Boston and is on the northernmost edge of Massachusetts Bay. The Cape was first mapped by the explorer John Smith. Early in his adventurous life Smith had been captured and enslaved by the Ottoman Empire. His “owner” in his days of slavery was a woman called Tragabigzanda, and apparently the slave and owner fell in love. What we know today as Cape Ann, Smith originally called Cape Tragabigzanda in her memory.

Cape Cod is indeed named after the fish. It was first called Cape Cod by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 as his men caught so many fish there.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. A Swiss Army knife has many of them USES
5. Halley’s __ COMET
10. Crow calls CAWS
14. Peel in a cocktail ZEST
15. Stylish SWANK
16. Nueve preceder OCHO
17. “Please let me get my beauty rest” I’M TRYING TO SLEEP
20. Half of a 45 SIDE A
21. Title for a superior SIR
22. Loosens, as restrictions EASES
23. Place for a massage SPA
25. Hymn finale AMEN
27. Kitchen amts. TSPS
30. “Too much noise” KEEP IT DOWN
36. Need to remit OWE
37. Shopping aid CART
38. “My __ Amour”: Stevie Wonder hit CHERIE
39. __ toast MELBA
41. Warning that often precedes 17-, 30-, 49- and 65-Across SHH!
43. Remove from the board ERASE
44. Bistro, e.g. EATERY
46. Ages and ages EONS
48. Joe and Rose Kennedy’s youngest TED
49. “No one can know” IT’S A SECRET
51. Exceedingly VERY
52. Burn a lot … or slightly CHAR
53. Pink or purple HUE
55. Wyoming neighbor IDAHO
58. Altar agreement I DO
61. Make a case ARGUE
65. “Junior needs his nap time” DON’T WAKE THE BABY
68. Fashion designer Marc ECKO
69. “Super!” NEATO!
70. U.S. native AMER
71. Like the ground after a campfire ASHY
72. Climbing rope material NYLON
73. Bard’s instrument LYRE

Down
1. Israeli guns UZIS
2. Truck stop rig SEMI
3. Storefront sign abbr. ESTD
4. Emotional strain STRESS
5. Long-running TV crime drama CSI
6. Possesses OWNS
7. O. Henry’s “The Gift of the __” MAGI
8. Lure into a crime ENTRAP
9. Ref’s decision TKO
10. Lettuce-washing aid COLANDER
11. Poker “bullets” ACES
12. Sledding shout WHEE!
13. Soaks (up) SOPS
18. Run off at the mouth YAP
19. Does a slow burn SEETHES
24. Wanted poster initials AKA
26. Audio jack label MIC
27. Marisa of “The Wrestler” TOMEI
28. Workout output SWEAT
29. Trapper’s goods PELTS
31. “This can’t wait” hosp. areas ERS
32. Bygone anesthetic ETHER
33. Speak with pomp ORATE
34. More sage WISER
35. Down-and-out NEEDY
37. Where models stand by models CAR SHOW
40. Plastic shovel, for one BEACH TOY
42. Soil chopper HOE
45. Supporting vote YEA
47. Ultimate degree NTH
50. “Holy moly!” CRIKEY!
51. Spoken VERBAL
54. Seven-member Mideast fed. UAE
55. Overhead exclamation point, in comics IDEA
56. HMO staffers DOCS
57. Egyptian royal cross ANKH
59. Business agreement DEAL
60. “Beetle Bailey” bulldog OTTO
62. Like wild boar meat GAMY
63. Over, in Germany UBER
64. Brontë’s Jane EYRE
66. Cape NNW of Cod ANN
67. Dearie HON

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