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Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Clamors BROUHAHAS
“Brouhaha”, meaning “ado, stir”, was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow!

16. Eponymous WWII flying ace Edward O’HARE
O’Hare International is the fourth busiest airport in the world. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 and 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built, there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD (OR-chard D-ouglas). Orchard Place Airport was renamed to O’Hare International in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Edward “Butch” O’Hare who grew up in Chicago. O’Hare was the US Navy’s first flying ace and a Medal of Honor recipient in WWII. As an aside, Butch O’Hare’s father Edward was a lawyer friend of Al Capone who eventually worked undercover for the IRS and helped get the famous gangster convicted on tax evasion. Some years later, Edward was shot to death while driving his car.

17. High muck-a-muck BIG KAHUNA
Like many words in Hawaiian, the term “kahuna” has several English translations, everything from a priest to an expert in some profession. The expression “the Big Kahuna” comes from the movie “Gidget”, released in 1959. The Big Kahuna was the leader of one of the surfing gangs in the film, and was played by Cliff Robertson.

18. One of Johnny’s two final “Tonight Show” guests BETTE
The last two guests for Johnny Carson’s tenure of “The Tonight Show” appeared on his penultimate show, and they were the magnificent Robin Williams and Bette Midler. Midler’s appearance was particularly poignant, and was an appearance that won her an Emmy.

23. Spoiler of a perfect GPA ONE B
GPA Grade point average (GPA)

25. Military group with an insect in its logo SEABEES
The Seabee logo features a ferocious-looking bee.

The Seabees are members of the Construction Battalions (CB) of the US Navy, from which the name “Seabee” originates. There’s a great 1944 movie called “The Fighting Seabees” starring John Wayne that tells the story of the birth of the Seabees during WWII. The Seabees’ official motto is “Construimus. Batuimus”, Latin for “We build. We fight.” The group’s unofficial motto is “Can Do!”

27. Swing voter: Abbr. IND
Independent (Ind.)

29. Pacific landing handout LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

32. Mag wheels? EDS
An editor (ed.) is a big wheel at a magazine (mag.).

33. Best Picture of 1965 THE SOUND OF MUSIC
“The Sound of Music” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers”, a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war, and one family descended from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I live in California.

40. Mario Lanza classic ARRIVEDERCI ROMA
“Arrivederci Roma” is a song from the Italian film of the same name, released in English in 1957 as “Seven Hills of Rome”. Star of the movie was Mario Lanza.

Mario Lanza was a classical tenor and Hollywood actor from Philadelphia who had a very successful, but very short career. Lanza’s most famous movie performance was playing Enrico Caruso in the 1951 biopic “The Great Caruso”. Lanza struggled with overeating and alcohol abuse, and died in 1959 at only 38 years of age.

42. Familia member TIO
In Spanish, an uncle (tio) is a member of the family (familia).

49. Some Ivy Leaguers ELIS
Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

52. “… where was __ Urania / When Adonais died?”: Shelley LORN
“… where was __ Urania / When Adonais died?” are lines from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “An Elegy on the Death of John Keats”.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English Romantic poet. Shelley had strong views on vegetarianism. He was dedicated to the cause of all sentient beings, believing that the slaughter of animals by humans for the use of food was a barbaric practice. He wrote a famous essay on the subject called “A Vindication of Natural Diet” in 1813.

59. As much as you like, ’60s-style A GOGO
Go-go dancing started in the early sixties. Apparently, the first go-go dancers were women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City who would spontaneously jump up onto tables and dance the twist. It wasn’t long before clubs everywhere started hiring women to dance on tables for the entertainment of their patrons. Out in Los Angeles, the “Whisky a Go Go” club on Sunset Strip added a twist (pun intended!), as they had their dancers perform in cages suspended from the ceiling, creating the profession of “cage dancing”. The name “go-go” actually comes from two expressions. The expression in English “go-go-go” describes someone who is high energy, and the French expression “à gogo” describes something in abundance.

61. Augustine St. Clare’s daughter, in an 1852 classic LITTLE EVA
Little Eva is a character in the 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Eva’s full name is Evangeline St. Clare.

63. Prince Ramiro in Rossini’s “La Cenerentola,” e.g. TENOR
“La Cenerentola” (or “Cinderella” in English) is a comic opera by Gioachino Rossini first performed in 1817. Rossini composed the piece when he only 25 years old, and a year after his extremely successful opera “The Barber of Seville”.

65. “Goosebumps” series author STINE
“Goosebumps” is a series of children’s horror novels written by author R. L. Stine. The novels have been adapted into a television series shown on Canadian TV. Stine is sometimes referred to as the Stephen King of children’s literature as he writes horror stories for young people.

66. Irving Bacheller’s “__ Holden” EBEN
Irving Bacheller was an American journalist and writer. His novel “Eben Holden” was published in 1900.

67. Latin 101 verb ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.

Down
4. 3,185-kilometer river YUKON
The Yukon River is the longest river in Alaska, and also passes through Canada’s Yukon territory. Along its length of almost 2,000 miles, there are only four, just four, vehicle-carrying bridges. Amazing …

5. Code word DAH
A “dah” or “dash” is Morse code for the letter “T”.

Samuel Morse was a very accomplished and reputable painter (he was engaged to paint a portrait of President John Adams, for example). In 1825 Morse was in Washington working on a commissioned painting when he received a one-line letter by horse messenger telling him that his wife was ill. He left immediately for his home in New Haven, Connecticut but by the time that Morse arrived his wife had already died and had been buried. This single event spurred him to move from painting to the development of a rapid means of long distance communication, leading to the single-wire telegraph and Morse code.

8. Medieval Bulgarian rulers TSARS
The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.

10. Theater for Beckett? THE ABSURD
“Theater of the Absurd” was a literary movement popular mainly in Europe from the forties through the eighties. Adherents to the style were inspired by Albert Camus’ Philosophy of the Absurd, which stated that the search for meaning and truth was absurd. Playwrights associated with the movement were Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Edward Albee. I am not a big fan, not a fan at all …

11. Invitation Alice accepted EAT ME
In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Alice follows the white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds a bottle labelled “DRINK ME”. When she drinks the contents, it causes her to shrink. She also sees a cake adorned with the words “EAT ME”, and when she eats the cake she grows so big she finds it hard to stand up. After eating the cake, she utters the famous words, “Curiouser and curiouser”.

12. Wheelchair-bound “Glee” character ARTIE
Artie Abrams is a character in the Fox television show “Glee”. Abrams is played by the young actor Kevin McHale. Abrams is the character who gets around in a wheelchair.

13. West Yorkshire city LEEDS
I went to school for a while not far from Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was a major center for the production and trading of wool, and then with the onset of mechanization it became a natural hub for manufacture of textiles. These days Leeds is noted as a shopping destination and so has been dubbed “the Knightsbridge of the North”. People from Leeds are known locally as “Loiners”, but nobody really knows why.

15. Sound HALE
“Hale” is an adjective meaning “healthy”. Both the words “hale” and “healthy” derive from the the Old English “hal” meaning healthy.

21. Some pinups BEEFCAKE
It’s not really clear how the “cheesecake” came to be used for a provocative picture of a woman. It is known that the term arose in the 1930s, and originally applied to to the covers of “pulp” magazines that used the images of the attractive young females to attract a largely male audience. One theory is that during the depression years, the luscious cheesecake dessert was unattainable, as were the “luscious” models depicted on the magazine covers. The male equivalent of cheesecake is “beefcake”.

24. Prude BLUENOSE
A bluenose is a person who is excessively puritanical. Apparently the term comes to us from Nova Scotia, where the potatoes grown had a bluish skin and were called bluenoses. Later that term was applied to the growers, and I guess they must have had a reputation for being prudish.

26. Running group, informally ADMIN
Administration (admin) runs things, some say …

27. Underlining alternative: Abbr. ITAL
Italic type leans to the right. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

28. Funny Car org. NHRA
Funny Car is a type of drag racing. Apparently, funny cars have automotive bodies that are quite light, made from fiberglass or carbon fiber. The bodies are tilted up over the chassis with a forward-mounted engine. The sport of drag racing is administered by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

30. “The Neverending Story” author ENDE
Michael Ende was a children’s author from Germany. His most famous novel is the fantasy work “The Neverending Story”, first published in 1979.

31. Words usually abbreviated ID EST
“Id est” is Latin for “that is”, and is often abbreviated to “i.e.” when used in English.

36. Remnants ORTS
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

38. Mae West’s “__ Angel” I’M NO
“I’m No Angel” is an 1933 film starring Mae West and a very young Cary Grant who just making a name for himself in Hollywood. “I’m No Angel” gives us some iconic Mae West quotations:

– Come up and see me sometime.
– Beulah, peel me a grape.
– It’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men.
– When I’m good I’m very good. But when I’m bad I’m better.

46. Wordsmith’s reference ROGET
Peter Mark Roget was an English lexicographer. Roget was an avid maker of lists, apparently using the routine of list-making to combat depression, a condition he endured for most of his life. He published his famous thesaurus in 1852, with revisions and expansions being made years later by his son, and then in turn by his grandson.

47. “The San Francisco Treat” suffix -A-RONI
Rice-a-Roni was introduced in 1958 by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company of San Francisco. The company was run by an Italian immigrant and his four sons. The wife of one of the sons served a pilaf dish at a family diner that was a big hit, so her brother-in-law created a commercial version by blending dry chicken soup mix with rice and macaroni. Sounds like “a San Francisco treat” to me …

48. One-toothed dragon of ’50s TV OLLIE
“Kukla, Fran and Ollie” is an early television show that aired from 1947-1957. Kukla and Ollie (Oliver J. Dragon) were puppets and Fran was Fran Allison, usually the only human on the show.

50. Beaut LULU
We call a remarkable thing or a person a “lulu”. The term is used in honor of Lulu Hurst, a stage magician active in the 1880s who was also known as the Georgia Wonder.

51. Grenoble’s river ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.

Grenoble is a city at the edge of the French Alps. Grenoble hosted the 1968 Winter Olympic Games.

54. Danger metaphor LIMB
Danger to life and limb …

57. Audio/visual production awards AVAS
The AVA awards are presented annually for excellence in the field of digital communication. I’ve never been nominated 🙂

60. Celestite, e.g. ORE
The minerals containing strontium sulfate are called celestine or celestite. Celestine is the main source of elemental strontium.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Hot tub feature EDDY
5. Air carrier DUCT
9. Bargain STEAL
14. Clamors BROUHAHAS
16. Eponymous WWII flying ace Edward O’HARE
17. High muck-a-muck BIG KAHUNA
18. One of Johnny’s two final “Tonight Show” guests BETTE
19. Reel kin SPOOL
20. Garden grower HERB
22. In the thick of AMID
23. Spoiler of a perfect GPA ONE B
25. Military group with an insect in its logo SEABEES
27. Swing voter: Abbr. IND
29. Pacific landing handout LEI
32. Mag wheels? EDS
33. Best Picture of 1965 THE SOUND OF MUSIC
40. Mario Lanza classic ARRIVEDERCI ROMA
41. Winner LAST ONE STANDING
42. Familia member TIO
43. Disdainful click TSK
44. Golf club part TOE
45. “Yup, sorry to say” ‘FRAID SO
49. Some Ivy Leaguers ELIS
52. “… where was __ Urania / When Adonais died?”: Shelley LORN
53. Additions, perhaps ELLS
56. __ directed USE AS
59. As much as you like, ’60s-style A GOGO
61. Augustine St. Clare’s daughter, in an 1852 classic LITTLE EVA
63. Prince Ramiro in Rossini’s “La Cenerentola,” e.g. TENOR
64. Volunteer’s declaration I’M YOUR MAN
65. “Goosebumps” series author STINE
66. Irving Bacheller’s “__ Holden” EBEN
67. Latin 101 verb ESSE

Down
1. Subsides EBBS
2. __-dry DRIP
3. Many a social reformers DO-GOODERS
4. 3,185-kilometer river YUKON
5. Code word DAH
6. “No way!” UH-UH!
7. Raspberry stem CANE
8. Medieval Bulgarian rulers TSARS
9. Blubber SOB
10. Theater for Beckett? THE ABSURD
11. Invitation Alice accepted EAT ME
12. Wheelchair-bound “Glee” character ARTIE
13. West Yorkshire city LEEDS
15. Sound HALE
21. Some pinups BEEFCAKE
24. Prude BLUENOSE
26. Running group, informally ADMIN
27. Underlining alternative: Abbr. ITAL
28. Funny Car org. NHRA
30. “The Neverending Story” author ENDE
31. Words usually abbreviated ID EST
34. Withholding SITTING ON
35. Roundish OVOID
36. Remnants ORTS
37. “By all appearances” SO IT SEEMS
38. Mae West’s “__ Angel” I’M NO
39. Imprison CAGE
45. Broken glass dangers FLATS
46. Wordsmith’s reference ROGET
47. “The San Francisco Treat” suffix -A-RONI
48. One-toothed dragon of ’50s TV OLLIE
50. Beaut LULU
51. Grenoble’s river ISERE
54. Danger metaphor LIMB
55. Bump on a lid STYE
57. Audio/visual production awards AVAS
58. Levelheaded SANE
60. Celestite, e.g. ORE
62. Workload hyperbole TON

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