Tag: Athlete’s peak performance crossword clue

Bill’s time: 7m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Word that appears four times in a 1963 film title : MAD

“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” is a 1963 comedy film with quite the cast. The list of great comedic actors appearing seems to be endless and includes: Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Spencer Tracy, Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Jim Backus, Jimmy Durante and Peter Falk. In addition, there were cameo appearances by Jack Benny, Buster Keaton, Don Knotts, Carl Reiner, the Shirelles and the Three Stooges. I can’t remember any other movie with such a cast …

10. Deadens, as a piano string : DAMPS

When a piano key is depressed, the action causes a padded hammer to strike a piano string and create a tone. When the piano key is released, the action causes a damper to come down onto the string and end the note.

15. Media agcy. : UPI

Founded in 1958, United Press International (UPI) used to be one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with just a fraction of that workforce.

16. Roadster in the Henry Ford Museum : MODEL A

The Ford Model A was the original car produced by the Ford Motor Company. The first production run lasted from 1903 to 1904, when it was replaced by the Model C. The name “Model A” was brought back in 1927 and used for the successor to the Model T.

The Henry Ford is a huge indoor-outdoor museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan. The museum was founded by automobile industrialist Henry Ford in 1929 as the Edison Institute, and was opened to the public in 1933. Exhibits focus on the Industrial Revolution in America, although there are also many fascinating items in the collection that reflect US history in general. Included in the Henry Ford’s collection are:

• The Lincoln Continental carry President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated
• The rocking chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated
• Thomas Edison’s alleged last breath, in a sealed tube
• The bus on which Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat
• A camp bed used by President George Washington
• The bicycle shop and home used by the Wright brothers

17. How sardines are packed : IN OIL

Sardines are oily fish related to herrings. Sardines are also known as pilchards, although in the UK “sardine” is a noun reserved for a young pilchard. Very confusing …

18. Mythical bird : ROC

The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, one reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published of his travels through Asia.

19. With 63-Across, ending lines of a poem by 72-Across : … AND MILES TO GO …
72A. Poet who used the starts of 24-, 41- and 55-Across to describe the woods : FROST

When I was a school-kid back in Ireland, Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” was our first introduction to American poetry, and what a lovely introduction it was:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

21. Hydrocarbon group : ALKYL

An alkyl group is an alkane that is missing one hydrogen atom. For example, the methyl group is CH3-, and the methane molecule is CH4.

23. 1995-2006 New York governor George : PATAKI

George Pataki is a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. I happen to know that Pataki’s maternal grandmother is from a village close to where I lived in Ireland. When Pataki was first running for Governor, I met someone in Ireland who was researching Pataki’s Irish roots for him. My guess is that the Irish vote is important in New York State …

24. Alice Sebold novel, with “The” : LOVELY BONES

“The Lovely Bones” is a novel by Alice Sebold that was first published in 2002. The book was adapted into a wonderful film of the same title directed by Peter Jackson and released in 2010.

27. The W in kWh : WATT

The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy, made up of the product of power (kilowatts – kW) and time (hour – h). We see “kWh” all the time, on our electricity bills.

34. Thrill : BANG

To get a bang out of something is to get a thrill out of it.

40. __ Navy: discount retailer : OLD

Old Navy is a store brand founded and owned by The Gap. The name Old Navy was taken from the Old Navy Cafe in Paris.

41. Harmful spells, in the Potterverse : DARK ARTS

The “Harry Potter” universe is referred to as the Potterverse.

44. Gen-__ : XER

The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

45. Like universal blood donors : O-TYPE

The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labelled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a universal donor.

47. Nantes notion : IDEE

“Idée” is French for “idea”.

Nantes is a beautiful city located on the delta of the Loire, Erdre and Sèvre rivers. It has the well deserved nickname of “The Venice of the West”. I had the privilege of visiting Nantes a couple of times on business, and I can attest that it really is a charming city …

54. WWI battle river : YSER

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

68. __ Van Winkle : RIP

“Rip Van Winkle” is a short story written by Washington Irving. The story was an instant hit, and was adapted for the stage just a few years after its first publication in 1819. Since then “Rip” has featured on the small screen, big screen and even in an operetta.

69. Tolkien ringbearer : FRODO

Frodo Baggins is a principal character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. Frodo is a Hobbit, and is charged with the quest of destroying Sauron’s Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Frodo is portrayed by American actor Elijah Wood in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the novels.

72. Poet who used the starts of 24-, 41- and 55-Across to describe the woods : FROST

The wonderful poet Robert Frost was a native of San Francisco, but lived most of life in New England. He also spent a few years in England, just before WWI. Frost was well recognized for his work during his lifetime, and received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He was also Vermont’s first Poet Laureate, a position that he held from 1961 until his death in 1963.

73. Old-Timers’ Day VIP : EX-STAR

Old-Timers’ Day is a tradition in Major League Baseball in which former players who have retired are lauded before a game, usually a late-afternoon weekend game. The tradition is particularly associated with the New York Yankees, who famously held celebrations for retired player Lou Gehrig in 1939 and Babe Ruth in 1948.

Down

1. Diego Rivera creation : MURAL

Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter who was famous for his murals. His wife was the equally famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

2. Speed skater Ohno : APOLO

Speed-skater Apolo Ohno has won more Winter Olympics medals than any other American. Ohno also did a great job winning the 2007 season of television’s “Dancing with the Stars”.

3. “Mary Poppins” and “Mary Poppins Returns” actor : DICK VAN DYKE

The iconic comedian, actor, singer and dancer Dick Van Dyke has been in the world of entertainment since the 1940s when he was a radio announcer with the US military. He really made a name for himself on television in his iconic sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. On the big screen, Van Dyke’s most famous roles were in “Bye Bye Birdie” (1963), “Mary Poppins” (1964) and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968).

The “Mary Poppins” series of children’s novels was written by Australian-born English writer and actress P. L. Travers. Mary Poppins is a magical children’s nanny with a best friend called Bert. In the famous 1964 musical film adaptation of the Mary Poppins stories, Poppins is played by Julie Andrews and Bert is played Dick Van Dyke.

“Mary Poppins Returns” is a 2018 musical movie that is a sequel to the 1964 Disney film “Mary Poppins”. Emily Blunt takes on the title role. Notably, Dick Van Dyke appears in the sequel, having co-starred in the original 56 years earlier.

4. Component of the “at” sign : SMALL A

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial word, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

5. Chaney of horror : LON

Lon Chaney, Sr. played a lot of crazed-looking characters in the days of silent movies. He did much of his own make-up work, developing the grotesque appearances that became his trademark, and earning himself the nickname “the man of a thousand faces”. Most famous were his portrayals of the title characters in the films “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925).

8. Cuban boy in 2000 headlines : ELIAN

The immigration status of young Cuban boy Elián González was all over the news in 2000. Elián’s mother drowned while trying to enter the US illegally, whereas Elián and his mother’s boyfriend survived the journey. The INS placed Elián in the care of paternal relatives in the US who then petitioned to have the boy stay with them permanently, against the wishes of Elián’s father back in Cuba. After court proceedings, the federal authorities forcibly removed Elián from his relatives in the US, and he was returned to his father who took him back to Cuba. Back in Cuba, Fidel Castro stepped in and befriended Elián, and the young man still has influential sponsorship in his homeland as a result of his ordeal. Elián has grown up, earning himself a degree in industrial engineering in 2016.

9. One curing meat : SALTER

Food can be preserved in salt. Salting works because potentially harmful organisms cannot survive in extremely salty environments.

10. Saucer, e.g. : DISK

Our saucer is a shallow plate used to support a cup or other vessel from which a liquid can spill. The term “saucer” comes from the Anglo-Latin “saucerium” meaning “sauce dish”.

11. Like many ’60s-’70s protests : ANTIWAR

By some definitions, the official involvement of Americans in the Vietnam War started in 1955. At that time, President Eisenhower deployed a Military Assistance Advisory Group to assist in the training of the South Vietnamese Army. American involvement in the conflict officially ended in 1973 with the signing of an agreement that came out of the Paris Peace Accords.

12. __ juice : MOO

“Moo juice” is a slang term meaning “milk”.

22. Safecracker : YEGG

“Yegg” is a slang word for a burglar and often for a safe-cracker. The origin of the term appears to be unknown.

25. Initial disco hit? : YMCA

“YMCA” was released in 1978 by Village People and has been adopted as an anthem by the gay community. The song was written by Victor Willis, a straight member of the mostly gay band, and he clarifies that the lyrics are extolling the virtues of the “YMCA” as a source of recreation for black urban youth. I think he might have been winking when he said that …

26. Smokey, for one : BEAR

Smokey Bear is the mascot of the US Forest Service. Smokey first appeared in 1944, in an advertising campaign directed towards preventing forest fires.

28. 1964 Anthony Quinn role : ALEXIS ZORBA

“Zorba the Greek” the film, and “Zorba” the musical, are adaptations of the 1952 novel “Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis. The 1964 film version stars Anthony Quinn in the title role, and Alan Bates. The movie is set and was filmed on location on the island of Crete, the home of author Kazantzakis.

Anthony Quinn was a Mexican-born American actor who is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the 1964 film “Zorba the Greek”. Off the screen, Quinn was an accomplished artist, with his works being exhibited both domestically and internationally.

29. Religious belief : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he holds”.

30. Dynasts of old Russia : 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.

33. What H, O or N may represent : GAS

Here is a list of all the single-letter element symbols:

• B = boron
• C = carbon
• F = fluorine
• H = hydrogen
• I = Iodine
• K = potassium
• N = nitrogen
• O = oxygen
• P = phosphorus
• S = sulfur
• U = uranium
• V = vanadium
• W = tungsten
• Y = yttrium

34. Pirate riches : BOOTY

“Booty”, meaning plunder or profit, is derived from the Old French word “butin” which has the same meaning.

38. Tiny bit : TAD

Back in the 1800s, “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this extended into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

42. Great Barrier __ : REEF

The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is a system of almost three thousand individual reefs, and is the largest such system on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef is also the only living thing on Earth that can be seen from outer space.

48. Sweet root : BEET

The biggest producer of sugar beets in the world is Russia, with France and the US in second and third place.

50. Actress Falco : EDIE

The actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”, an excellent black comedy.

53. Evening star : VESPER

Due to the difference in orbit between the Earth and Venus, Venus appears in the night sky sometimes after sunset, and sometimes just before sunrise. Ancient civilization perceived this light in the sky as two different entities, labelling one appearance as the “evening star”, and one as the “morning star”. Ancient Romans named the evening star “Vesper” (from the Greek for “evening”), and the morning star “Lucifer” (from the Greek for “light bringer”).

56. Southend-on-Sea’s county : ESSEX

Southend-on-Sea is a coastal town located in the county of Essex and just 40 miles east of London. Southend’s main claim to fame is that it is home to Southend Pier. Extending 1.34 miles into the estuary of the River Thames, Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the whole world.

57. Focus group surveys : POLLS

A focus group is a small group of people who are asked their opinions about a product or perhaps a political candidate. Researchers use the information learned as an approximation of the opinions of the larger population.

58. Water brand : EVIAN

Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …

61. Harness race pace : TROT

In harness racing, the horses race using one of two specific gaits, i.e. trotting or pacing.

63. Fave pal : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

65. Egg __ yung : FOO

Egg foo yung is a dish served in Chinese restaurants, and is basically an omelet. It probably takes its name from a flower called the Fu Yung.

66. “Mangia!” : EAT!

“Mangia!” is Italian for “Eat!” and is often used in the names of Italian restaurants or in brand names of Italian foods.

67. Zeta follower : ETA

Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.