Constructed by: Mike Peluso
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Vice Versa
Today’s themed answers sound like common phrases, but with an “ay” sound changed to an “er” sound, like “vice” becoming “versa”.
- 27A…Optimal payment arrangements?..THE BEST OF TERMS (from “the best of times”)
- 42A…Mideast cry of despair?..ARABIAN NERTS! (from “Arabian Nights”)
- 67A…Gems kept in inventory?..STOCK PEARLS (from “stockpiles”)
- 96A…Like one brandishing a Super Soaker?..NERF-WIELDING (from “knife-wielding”)
- 114A…White stallion at school?..SILVER LEARNING (from “silver lining”)
- 15D…Reason for cowboy unemployment?..NOTHING TO HERD (from “nothing to hide”)
- 55D…Coquette education?..FLIRT TRAINING (from “flight training”)
Bill’s time: 33m 19s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…Offed, biblically..SMOTE
“To smite” is to strike with a firm blow. The term can also mean to strike down and slay.
11…Big D school..SMU
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, Texas (part of Dallas), and was founded in 1911. SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
“Big D” is a nickname for the city of Dallas, Texas.
14…Exchanges from centers..SNAPS
That would be in football.
19…Dash dials..TACHS
The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).
20…Canadian skater Brian..ORSER
Brian Orser is a retired Canadian figure skater. Orser was one of the “combatants” in the Battle of the Brians, the name given to the rivalry between Brian Orser and US skater Brian Boitano.
22…Forum garments..TOGAE
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.
25…Like some exercises..ISOMETRIC
The word “isometric” comes from Greek, and means “having equal measurement”. Isometric exercise is a resistance exercise in which the muscle does not change in length (and the joint angle stays the same). The alternative would be dynamic exercises, ones using the joint’s full range of motion.
30…”Sugar Lips” trumpeter..AL HIRT
Al Hirt was a trumpeter and bandleader. Hirt’s most famous recordings were the song “Java” and the album “Honey in the Horn”, as well the theme song used “The Green Hornet” TV series in the sixties.
31…Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey, e.g…EARL
In the incredibly successful period drama “Downton Abbey”, the patriarch of the family living at Downton is Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville. Lord Grantham married American Cora Levinson (played by Elizabeth McGovern. Lord and Lady Grantham had three daughters, and no son. The lack of a male heir implied that the Grantham estate would pass to a male cousin, and out of the immediate family. The Grantham daughters are Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and Lady Sybil (played by Jessica Brown Findlay). Lady Sybil had the audacity to marry the family chauffeur, an Irish nationalist. The shame of it all …
32…Some hosp. areas..ORS
Operating room (OR)
33…Fifth-century pope..LEO I
The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.
34…”Spare me the specifics”..TMI
Too much information! (TMI)
35…Black-and-white predator..ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.
37…Eight-time Coty Award winner..BEENE
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer. He had an impressive list of clients that included First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Nancy Reagan.
The Coty Award was introduced in 1943 to celebrate and promote American fashion. The award was sponsored by the the cosmetics and perfume company Coty with the specific intent of providing impetus to the industry during WWII. The Coty Award was discontinued in 1985, reflecting the fact that American fashion was well and truly established.
38…Bigwig..HONCHO
“Honcho” is a slang term for a leader or manager. The term comes to us from Japanese, in which language a “hancho” is a squad (han) leader (cho).
42…Mideast cry of despair?..ARABIAN NERTS! (from “Arabian Nights”)
“Nerts!” is a slang term, a corruption of “nuts!” and with the same meaning.
The marvelous collection of folk tales from the Middle East called “One Thousand and One Nights” is sometimes known as “Arabian Nights” in the English-speaking world. The original collection of tales did not include the three with which we are most familiar in the West. European translators added some stories, including “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp”, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, and “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad”.
47…Response to a sinking feeling?..SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
52…Yorktown __, N.Y…HTS
Yorktown Heights is located in the town of Yorktown, which is about 45 miles north of New York City.
53…Scrabble 8-pointer..J-TILE
The game of Scrabble has been produced in many international versions, and each of these editions has its own tile distribution to suit the local language. For example, in English we have two tiles worth ten points: one “Q” and one “Z”. If you play the game in French then there are five tiles worth ten points: one “K”, one “W”, one “X”, one “Y” and one “Z”.
56…Lorre’s “Casablanca” role..UGARTE
Signor Ugarte is a wonderful character in the classic film “Casablanca”. Ugarte is played by Peter Lorre, and is the man who has possession of the crucial letters of transit that were obtained by murdering two German couriers.
The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. Lorre’s real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. Lorre found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.
66…Govt. benefit..SSI
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is federal program that provides financial relief to persons with low incomes who are 65 or older, or who are blind or disabled. The SSI program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) even though the the Social Security trust fund is not used for SSI payments. SSI payments come out of general tax revenue.
76…Want ad letters..EOE
Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)
77…”Apollo 13″ co-star..ED HARRIS
Ed Harris is a very talented actor, noted for two great performances in movies about the Space Program. Harris played John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” in 1983, his “breakthrough” role. Twelve years later he had a “stellar” performance as flight director Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13”.
80…Trustbusting period..TAFT ERA
The Sherman Antitrust Act dates back to 1890. The act makes it illegal for companies to seek a monopoly or to form cartels. It is named for US Senator John Sherman , the principal author of the act. During the Progressive Era, President Theodore Roosevelt sued 45 companies under the Sherman Act, and President William Howard Taft sued 75.
83…Berra famously jumped into his arms during the 1956 World Series..LARSEN
Don Larsen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Larsen pitched the sixth perfect game ever (out of 20 in MLB history) back in game 5 of the 1956 World Series. That perfect game is the only one to have been pitched in a World Series, and was in a game in which the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers. There’s a famous photo of catcher Yogi Berra jumping into Larsen’s arms right after that perfect game was pitched.
88…Morse code bit..DIT
Samuel Morse came up with the forerunner to modern Morse code for use on the electric telegraph, of which he was the co-inventor. Morse code uses a series of dots and dashes to represent letters and numbers. The most common letters are assigned the simplest code elements e.g. E is represented by one dot, and T is represented by one dash.
93…Diarist Anaïs..NIN
Anaïs Nin was a French author, famous for her 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.
94…Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee..MEIR
Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.
95…__ culpa..MEA
Many Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase “mea culpa” meaning “my fault”, as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term “mea maxima culpa” translates as “my most grievous fault”.
96…Like one brandishing a Super Soaker?..NERF-WIELDING (from “knife-wielding”)
Hasbro produces the Super Soaker water gun under the “Nerf” brand.
The Super Soaker brand of water gun first went on sale in toy shops in 1989. Since then, over a billion dollars worth of Super Soakers have been sold.
101…Heavy hammers..MAULS
A maul is a large, heavy hammer, one often used for driving stakes into the ground. The term comes from the Old French “mail”, and ultimately from the Latin “malleus”, both meaning “hammer”.
103…Santa Monica landmark..PIER
The California city of Santa Monica lies on Santa Monica Bay and is in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909.
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established under President Eisenhower in 1953, and continued operating until 1999. It’s mission was “public diplomacy”, another term for propaganda broadcast over radio airwaves. The intent from day one was to avoid having the broadcasts identified as propaganda, and speaking as a former listener to the USIA’s Voice of America (VOA) over in Europe, there were a lot of fun programs that had one coming back to hear more, but we all knew it was propaganda quite frankly …
107…Former VOA overseer..USIA
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established under President Eisenhower in 1953, and continued operating until 1999. It’s mission was “public diplomacy”, another term for propaganda broadcast over radio airwaves. The intent from day one was to avoid having the broadcasts identified as propaganda, and speaking as a former listener to the USIA’s Voice of America (VOA) over in Europe, there were a lot of fun programs that had one coming back to hear more, but we all knew it was propaganda quite frankly …
111…It has finals in June..THE NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The NBA name was adopted in 1949. Of the four major sports leagues in North America, the NBA has the highest average annual salary per player.
114…White stallion at school?..SILVER LEARNING (from “silver lining”)
Famously, the Lone Ranger’s horse was called Silver and Tonto’s mount was named Scout. But in the early shows, Tonto rode a horse called White Feller.
The idiom “every cloud has a silver lining” suggests that there is something good to be found in in every bad situation. The phrase “silver lining” was coined by English poet John Milton in “Comus”, a piece of dramatic entertainment that was first performed in 1634. The relevant lines are:
Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?
I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.
118…”In Rainbows” Grammy-winning rockers..RADIOHEAD
When the rock band Radiohead self-released their 2007 studio album “In Rainbows”, it was a big deal for the music industry. Radiohead offered a digital version of the album using a pay-what-you-want pricing model. Reportedly, most fans paid what would be a normal retail price for the download version of the album. That’s not bad, considering the relatively low cost to produce a download vs a CD.
120…One-celled critter..AMEBA
An ameba (or “amoeba” as we spell it back in Ireland) is a single-celled microorganism. The name comes from the Greek “amoibe”, meaning change. The name is quite apt, as the cell changes shape readily as the ameba moves, eats and reproduces.
121…City west of Youngstown..AKRON
For part of the 1800s, the Ohio city of Akron was the fasting growing city in the country, feeding off the industrial boom of that era. The city was founded in 1825 and its location, along the Ohio and Erie canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helped to fuel Akron’s growth. Akron sits at the highest point of the canal and the name “Akron” comes from the Greek word meaning “summit”. Indeed, Akron is the county seat of Summit County.
123…Madre’s hermana..TIA
In Spanish, the “hermana” (sister) of your “madre” (mother) is your “tia” (aunt).
125…New Hampshire college town..KEENE
The New Hampshire city of Keene was named in 1753 after Sir Benjamin Keene, who was the British Ambassador to Spain at the time. Keene is home to Keene State College as well as Antioch University New England.
126…Unkempt..MANGY
Mange is a skin disorder in animals caused by parasitic mites that embed themselves in the skin, perhaps living in hair follicles. The same disorder in humans is called scabies.
The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.
128…Stiff collars..ETONS
An Eton collar is a wide, stiff, buttoned collar that is still part of the formal school uniform at Eton College near Windsor in England.
129…Maritime birds..ERNES
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle or sea-eagle.
Down
2…One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”..MASHA
Olga, Masha and Irina were the “Three Sisters” in the play by Anton Chekhov. The three title characters were inspired by the three Brontë sisters, the English authors.
4…”Terror has no shape” sci-fi creature..THE BLOB
The 1958 horror film “The Blob” was the first movie in which Steve McQueen had a leading role. “The Blob” wasn’t a success at all, until Steve McQueen became a star that is. Using McQueen’s name, the movie was re-released and gained a cult following and was particularly successful at drive-in theaters.
5…Latin 101 verb..ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.
6…Monk associate..COLTRANE
John Coltrane was a jazz saxophonist who also went by the nickname “Trane”. John’s son Ravi Coltrane is also a noted jazz saxophonist.
Thelonious Monk was a jazz pianist and composer, the second-most recorded jazz composer after the great Duke Ellington. That’s a pretty impressive statistic given that Ellington wrote more than 1,000 songs, whereas Monk only wrote about 70. Monk was a pioneer in the development of the jazz style called “bebop”, which gained popularity in the 1940s.
7…Double Stuf treats..OREOS
Double Stuf Oreo was introduced in 1975, and has twice the normal amount of white cream filling as the original cookie.
8…”Wild Blue Yonder” mil. branch..USAF
The official song of the US Air Force is entitled “The US Air Force”, and was written in 1938 by Robert MacArthur Crawford. The original title was “Army Air Corps”, and this was changed to “Army Air Force” during WWII when the service changed its name. The current title was adopted in 1947, when the USAF became a separate service. Regardless of the official name, the sonf is commonly referred to as “Wild Blue Yonder”.
Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder
At ’em boys, Give ‘er the gun!
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!
11…Peres of Israel..SHIMON
Shimon Peres is an Israeli statesman who was born in Poland. Peres served as President of the State of Israel from 2007 to 2014. Born Szymon Perski in Poland, while president Peres was the oldest head of state in the world. While serving foreign minister, he represented Israel in the secret negotiations that led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. For that work, Peres was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
13…Digit in diez..UNO
In Spanish, the first digit in the number “diez” (ten) is “uno” (one).
14…Mariner’s patron..ST ELMO
St. Elmo is the patron saint of sailors. He lends his name to the electrostatic weather phenomenon (often seen at sea) known as St. Elmo’s fire. The “fire” is actually a plasma discharge caused by air ionizing at the end of a pointed object (like the mast of a ship), something often observed during electrical storms.
17…Au __..PAIR
An “au pair” is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.
18…Shakers, but not movers..SECT
“Shakers” is a the more common name for the religious sect more properly called the United Society of Believer in Christ’s Second Appearing. The sect’s doctrine was based on the teachings of Ann Lee.
26…Compulsory British subject..MATHS
Yep, on the other side of the Atlantic we learn “maths” and not “math” …
28…L.A.’s environs..SOCAL
Southern California (SoCal)
29…Roger of “Cheers”..REES
Roger Rees was a Welsh actor. Rees played the character Robin Colcord on “Cheers”, the posh love interest for Rebecca Howe played by Kirstie Alley. Rees also appeared periodically on “The West Wing” as the marvelously flamboyant and eccentric Lord John Marbury, the British Ambassador.
37…City near Anaheim..BREA
The city of Brea, California takes its name from “brea”, the Spanish word for “tar”. Back in the 1800s, entrepreneurs were attracted to the area by the “black gold” (crude oil) that was bubbling up from the ground in some instances.
40…With 109-Down, uncommon eagle..HOLE …
(109D…See 40-Down…..IN ONE)
The following terms are routinely used in golf for scores relative to par:
- Bogey: one over par
- Par
- Birdie: one under par
- Eagle: two under par
- Albatross (also “double eagle”): three under par
- Condor: four under par
No one has ever recorded a condor during a professional tournament.
44…Base runners..AWOLS
The Military Police (MPs) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).
46…Heart test: Abbr…ECG
An EKG measures electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.
48…Warren Commission subject..OSWALD
Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin who killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Oswald served with the US Marines from 1956 until 1959. One month after leaving the military, Oswald traveled to the Soviet Union via a circuitous route across the Atlantic and Europe. He entered the Soviet Union on a visa that was only valid for one week, but once in the country he made it clear that he wanted to stay. Oswald settled in Minsk for a few years, working there as a lathe operator and living in government-subsidized housing. In 1961, Oswald married a 19-year-old Russian student and the couple had a baby girl a year later. Oswald grew tired of life in Russia though, so he and his new family moved to the US in 1962, settling in the Dallas area. Oswald’s widow still lives in Texas.
The Warren Commission was set up by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The most-oft quoted conclusions of the 889-page report are that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating the president, and that Jack Ruby acted alone in killing Oswald. Chairman of the commission was Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Sitting alongside Chief Justice Warren was US Representative Gerald Ford and future President of the US.
55…Coquette education?..FLIRT TRAINING (from “flight training”)
A “coquet” is a male flirt, with “coquette” being a female flirt. The word comes from French, and is the diminutive of “coq”, the word for a cock. A cock might well be accused of “strutting his stuff” around the chicken run.
57…Rodeo competitor..ROPER
“Rodeo” is a Spanish word, which is usually translated as “round up”.
62…Peter or Paul..TSAR
Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.
Paul I was Tsar of Russia, and the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great. Paul was on the throne for only five years, before being assassinated in a conspiracy that brought his son Alexander I to power.
63…It retired its spokesbaby in 2014..E*TRADE
E*Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E*Trade produced those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.
68…Breton or Gael..CELT
The Celts were a very broad group of people across Europe, linked by common languages. The Celts were largely absorbed by other cultures, although a relatively modern revival of the “Celtic identity” is alive and well in the British Isles. Such Celtic peoples today are mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany in France..
A Breton is a native of Brittany. Brittany is a large peninsula in the northwest of France, known in French as “Bretagne”.
A Gael is anyone who speaks or spoke one of the Erse tongues. There are actually three Erse languages. Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be Gaeilge (in Ireland), Gaelg (on the Isle of Man) and Gaidhlig (in Scotland).
69…Ukulele wood..KOA
The ukulele originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants. The more pricey ukuleles are made from koa, a Hawaiian wood.
70…Take more People..RENEW
There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call “People” magazine. “People” is noted for its annual special editions with features such as “Best & Worst Dressed” and “Sexiest Man Alive”. The “Sexiest Man Alive” edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for “Sexiest Man” was Mel Gibson, in 1985.
72…Quaker Oats product 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 …
The Quaker Oats Company was founded in 1901 when four oat mills merged, including the Quaker Mill Company of Ravenna, Ohio. Quaker Mill’s owner Henry Parsons Crowell played the key role in the new company and remained at the helm until 1943.
73…”Mr. Mojo __”: repeated words in The Doors’ “L.A. Woman”..RISIN’
Jim Morrison was the lead singer for the Doors. Famously, Morrison died at only 27 years of age in Paris. It is thought that his dependence on hard drugs contributed to his demise, although this is disputed. Morrison’s grave site is one of the most-visited attractions in Paris. Morrison was also known as “Mr. Mojo Risin'”, which is an anagram of “Jim Morrison”. “Mr. Mojo Risin’” is also a repeated lyric in the Doors hit “L.A. Woman”.
78…United choice..AISLE
United Airlines (UAL) has a complicated history, but can trace its roots back to Aviation Enterprises, founded in 1944 and later called Texas International. The first use of the “United” name in the company’s history was when airplane pioneer William Boeing merged his Boeing Air Transport with Pratt & Whitney to form the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. The Air Mail Act of 1934 required that UATC be broken up into United Aircraft (which became United Technologies), the Boeing Aircraft Company and United Air Lines.
79…Lennon work..SONG
Singer-songwriter John Lennon was chosen as the 8th Greatest Briton in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002, the highest ranking entertainer on that list. The top ten make interesting reading:
- Sir Winston Churchill
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- Diana, Princess of Wales
- Charles Darwin
- William Shakespeare
- Sir Isaac Newton
- Queen Elizabeth I
- John Lennon
- Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
- Oliver Cromwell
Others on the list include Sir Paul McCartney (#19), Queen Elizabeth II (#24), Stephen Hawking (#25), Boy George (#46), Jane Austen (#70) and J.K. Rowling (#83).
80…Pyramid, to Tut..TOMB
King Tut is a name commonly used for the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen may not have been the most significant of the pharaohs historically, but he is the most famous today largely because of the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter. Prior to this find, any Egyptian tombs uncovered by archaeologists had been ravaged by grave robbers. Tutankhamen’s magnificent burial mask is one of the most recognizable of all Egyptian artifacts.
81…Economical Chevy..AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.
82…__ accompli..FAIT
“Fait accompli” is a French term, literally translating as “accomplished fact”. It is used in English to mean “a done deal”.
84…Latvia and Estonia, once: Abbr…SSRS
Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). People from Latvia are called Letts.
Estonia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea, due south of Finland. Estonia has been overrun and ruled by various empires over the centuries. The country did enjoy a few years of freedom at the beginning of the 20th century after a war of independence against the Russian Empire. However, Estonia was occupied again during WWII, first by the Russians and then by the Germans, and then reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. Estonia has flourished as an independent country again since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
85…”Unbelievable” band..EMF
EMF is an alternative rock dance band from England. EMF’s biggest hit was 1990’s “Unbelievable” that made it to the number one spot here in the US. The initialism “EMF” supposedly stands for “Epsom Mad Funkers”.
89…Diamond hit..I AM… I SAID
“I Am… I Said” is a song written and performed by Neil Diamond, first released in 1971. “I Am… I Said” earned Diamond his first ever Grammy nomination.
I saw Neil Diamond in concert many years ago, and I must say he does put on a great show. His voice is cracking a bit, but that didn’t seem to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I’ve also seen Diamond interviewed a few times on television, and I wouldn’t say he has the most scintillating of personalities.
92…Canon competitor..LEICA
Leica is a German optics company, famous for production of lenses and cameras. The 1913 Leica was the first practical camera that could use 35mm film, a size chosen because it was already the standard for film used in motion pictures.
The Japanese company called Canon is largely known in the US for producing quality cameras. The company started out as Precision Optical Industry Laboratory in 1937 making camera bodies. The name was changed in 1947 to Canon.
95…Chatty bird..MYNAH
Some species of myna (also “mynah”) bird are known for their ability to imitate sounds.
102…Avia competitor..ADIDAS
The brand name Adidas dates back to when Adolf “Adi” Dassler started making his own sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room in Bavaria after returning from WWI. With his brother, Adi founded Dassler shoes. The companies big break came in 1936 at the Berlin Olympics, when Adi persuaded American sprinter Jesse Owens to use his shoes, and with the success of Jesse Owens came success for the fledgling shoe company. After WWII the brothers split, acrimoniously. Adi’s brother, Ru-dolf Da-ssler, formed “Ruda” shoes (later to become Puma), and Adi Das-sler formed “Adidas”.
106…Truman veep Barkley..ALBEN
Alben Barkley served as Vice President of the US under President Truman. Truman and Barkley fought the famously close presidential race against Thomas Dewey and Earl Warren in 1948. As President Truman finished his second term, Vice President Barkley announced his candidacy for the highest office, but was pressured to pull out of the race as he was considered too old at 74 years.
110…Actress Moorehead..AGNES
Agnes Moorehead was an actress best remembered for her role as Endora, Samantha’s mother on the sitcom “Bewitched”. Moorehead died in 1974 from uterine cancer. She was one of over 90 out of 220 cast and crew members of the 1956 movie “The Conqueror” who all died from cancer, including co-stars Susan Hayward and John Wayne. There is wide speculation that the people working on the film were affected by radiation from eleven nuclear explosions that had taken place the prior year at the Yucca Flats Nevada Test Site that was located nearby and upwind.
112…Maui’s scenic __ Highway..HANA
Maui’s Hana Highway (commonly “Road to Hana”) is a spectacular stretch of roadway connecting Kahului on the northern coast with Hana in the east, and continuing to Kipahulu in the southeast. Even without stops, the 64-mile drive usually takes 2½ hours. I’ve driven the route a couple of times, and cannot imagine making the trip without several stops to enjoy the amazing ocean and rainforest vistas.
116…Ashcroft’s predecessor..RENO
Janet Reno was Attorney General of the US from 1993 to 2001. Reno was the person to hold the office second longest, and was our first female Attorney General. In 2002, Reno ran for Governor of Florida but failed to win the Democratic nomination. Thereafter she retired from public life.
John Ashcroft served as US Attorney General in the administration of President George W. Bush. Ashcroft is quite the musician and has composed some religious tunes in particular. When he was a member of the US Senate (representing the state of Missouri) he formed a barbershop quartet along with three of his colleagues that was called the Singing Senators.
119…Greek vowel..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.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Offed, biblically..SMOTE
6…Matter..COUNT
11…Big D school..SMU
14…Exchanges from centers..SNAPS
19…Dash dials..TACHS
20…Canadian skater Brian..ORSER
21…Mother __..HEN
22…Forum garments..TOGAE
23…Butt ends..ASHES
24…New car option..LEASE
25…Like some exercises..ISOMETRIC
27…Optimal payment arrangements?..THE BEST OF TERMS (from “the best of times”)
30…”Sugar Lips” trumpeter..AL HIRT
31…Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey, e.g…EARL
32…Some hosp. areas..ORS
33…Fifth-century pope..LEO I
34…”Spare me the specifics”..TMI
35…Black-and-white predator..ORCA
37…Eight-time Coty Award winner..BEENE
38…Bigwig..HONCHO
42…Mideast cry of despair?..ARABIAN NERTS! (from “Arabian Nights”)
47…Response to a sinking feeling?..SOS
49…Radiate..GLOW
50…Finalize, with “up”..SEW
51…Lining fabric..FLEECE
52…Yorktown __, N.Y…HTS
53…Scrabble 8-pointer..J-TILE
54…In the sky..ALOFT
56…Lorre’s “Casablanca” role..UGARTE
59…Yelled excitedly..WHOOPED
61…Election figure..POLLSTER
64…Tic-tac-toe loser..O-O-X
65…Writer: Abbr…AUTH
66…Govt. benefit..SSI
67…Gems kept in inventory?..STOCK PEARLS (from “stockpiles”)
71…Attention..EAR
74…Bring up, or something to bring up..REAR
76…Want ad letters..EOE
77…”Apollo 13″ co-star..ED HARRIS
80…Trustbusting period..TAFT ERA
83…Berra famously jumped into his arms during the 1956 World Series..LARSEN
86…Defiant retort..I DO SO!
87…Egglike..OVATE
88…Morse code bit..DIT
90…Senses, as trouble..SMELLS
93…Diarist Anaïs..NIN
94…Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee..MEIR
95…__ culpa..MEA
96…Like one brandishing a Super Soaker?..NERF-WIELDING (from “knife-wielding”)
99…Area for growth?..BOTANY
101…Heavy hammers..MAULS
103…Santa Monica landmark..PIER
104…It’s charged..ION
105…Inactive..IDLE
106…Jump shot shape..ARC
107…Former VOA overseer..USIA
111…It has finals in June..THE NBA
114…White stallion at school?..SILVER LEARNING (from “silver lining”)
118…”In Rainbows” Grammy-winning rockers..RADIOHEAD
120…One-celled critter..AMEBA
121…City west of Youngstown..AKRON
122…__ in itself..AN END
123…Madre’s hermana..TIA
124…Like forks..TINED
125…New Hampshire college town..KEENE
126…Unkempt..MANGY
127…Spots..ADS
128…Stiff collars..ETONS
129…Maritime birds..ERNES
Down
1…Assert..STATE
2…One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”..MASHA
3…Brownish shade..OCHER
4…”Terror has no shape” sci-fi creature..THE BLOB
5…Latin 101 verb..ESSE
6…Monk associate..COLTRANE
7…Double Stuf treats..OREOS
8…”Wild Blue Yonder” mil. branch..USAF
9…Tweeting site..NEST
10…Sapling..TREELET
11…Peres of Israel..SHIMON
12…Most unkempt..MESSIEST
13…Digit in diez..UNO
14…Mariner’s patron..ST ELMO
15…Reason for cowboy unemployment?..NOTHING TO HERD (from “nothing to hide”)
16…Farming prefix..AGRI-
17…Au __..PAIR
18…Shakers, but not movers..SECT
26…Compulsory British subject..MATHS
28…L.A.’s environs..SOCAL
29…Roger of “Cheers”..REES
36…Breakups..RIFTS
37…City near Anaheim..BREA
39…Pace..CLIP
40…With 109-Down, uncommon eagle..HOLE …
41…Due..OWED
42…”Stat!” relative..ASAP!
43…HR dept. concerns..RELOS
44…Base runners..AWOLS
45…Introduction to science?..NEURO-
46…Heart test: Abbr…ECG
48…Warren Commission subject..OSWALD
52…Numerical prefix..HEXA-
53…Write (down)..JOT
55…Coquette education?..FLIRT TRAINING (from “flight training”)
57…Rodeo competitor..ROPER
58…Ring site..TOE
60…Sudden silence..HUSH
62…Peter or Paul..TSAR
63…It retired its spokesbaby in 2014..E*TRADE
68…Breton or Gael..CELT
69…Ukulele wood..KOA
70…Take more People..RENEW
72…Quaker Oats product suffix..-A-RONI
73…”Mr. Mojo __”: repeated words in The Doors’ “L.A. Woman”..RISIN’
75…Rare shoe width..EEE
78…United choice..AISLE
79…Lennon work..SONG
80…Pyramid, to Tut..TOMB
81…Economical Chevy..AVEO
82…__ accompli..FAIT
84…Latvia and Estonia, once: Abbr…SSRS
85…”Unbelievable” band..EMF
89…Diamond hit..I AM… I SAID
91…Watches one’s mouth?..LIPREADS
92…Canon competitor..LEICA
95…Chatty bird..MYNAH
96…Empty..NULL
97…Improve, as one’s game..ELEVATE
98…More smashed..DRUNKER
100…Opposite of a star..NOBODY
102…Avia competitor..ADIDAS
106…Truman veep Barkley..ALBEN
108…Sound during a chase..SIREN
109…See 40-Down…..IN ONE
110…Actress Moorehead..AGNES
111…Rail vehicle..TRAM
112…Maui’s scenic __ Highway..HANA
113…Paradise..EDEN
115…Radiate..EMIT
116…Ashcroft’s predecessor..RENO
117…One leaning against a garden fence..RAKE
119…Greek vowel..ETA