Tag: Way to watch bamboo-munching zoo bears crossword clue

Bill’s time: 5m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 White vin : BLANC

In French, a “vin” (wine) might be “rouge” (red) or “blanc” (white).

14 Jason’s ship : ARGO

In Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. The vessel was called “Argo” in honor of the ship’s builder, a man named Argus.

15 Southwest tableland : MESA

“What’s the difference between a butte and a mesa?” Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, and taller than it is wide.

16 Piece between steps : RISER

The riser is the vertical part of a step in a flight of stairs.

18 Nerve impulse carrier : AXON

A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The branched projections that receive electrochemical signals from other neurons are known as dendrites. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. A neuron that has no definite axon is referred to as “apolar” or “nonpolar”. In apolar neurons the nerve impulses radiate in all directions.

23 Eclectic musician Brian : ENO

Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno’s most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “startup jingle”, the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:

I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.

25 Wood-shaping tool : ADZ

An adze (also “adz”) is similar to an axe, but is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft. An axe blade is set in line with the shaft.

26 __-relief : BAS

In bas-relief, an image projects just a little above the background, as in perhaps a head depicted on a coin.

34 Small island : CAY

A key (also “cay”) is a low offshore island, as in the Florida Keys. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

35 Horne of jazz : LENA

Lena Horne was an American jazz singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne started out her career as a nightclub singer and then began to get some meaty acting roles in Hollywood. However, she ended up on the blacklist during the McCarthy Era for expressing left wing political views. One of Horne’s starring roles was in the 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” for which she also performed the title song.

39 Electrical unit : OHM

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

40 Civil War sword : SABER

A saber (sometimes “sabre”) is a sword with a curved blade and a relatively large hand guard. It is thought that the term originated with the Hungarian verb “szabni” meaning “to cut”.

42 __-Caps : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

43 Agnus __ : DEI

“Agnus Dei” is Latin for “Lamb of God”, The expression is used in Christian traditions to describe Jesus Christ, hence symbolizing his role as a sacrificial offering (sacrificial lamb) to atone for the sins of man.

44 “The Third Man” or “Double Indemnity” : FILM NOIR TITLE

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

“The Third Man” is a great film noir produced in England in 1949, and starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles and Trevor Howard. A great film in itself, “The Third Man” is often remembered for the title music, an instrumental piece featuring the zither that was written and performed by Anton Karas. The screenplay for the film was written by Graham Greene.

“Double Indemnity” is a classic film noir released in 1944 and starring Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck. Based on the James M. Cain novella of the same name, it’s all about a woman who kills her husband for the insurance money. The title “Double Indemnity” refers to the double payout clause in the life insurance policy in the event of an accidental death. And that’s what the wife tried to show investigators, that the death was accidental.

49 “Mr. Blue Sky” rock gp. : ELO

“Mr. Blue Sky” is a 1977 song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from Britain. It’s a song that has been described as “Beatlesque”, and I must say that I agree with that statement …

54 Parliamentary rules violation … or what each circled-letter quartet represents? : POINT OF ORDER

Someone sitting in a legislative body might raise a point of order in order to draw attention to a rules violation.

57 MD meeting an ambulance : ER DOC

Medical doctors (MDs) might be found in an operating room (OR) or emergency room (ER).

61 Subtle glow : AURA

An aura (plural “aurae”) is an intangible quality that surrounds a person or thing, a “je ne sais quoi”. “Je ne sais quoi” is French for “I don’t know what”.

62 Safari heavyweight : RHINO

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey” or “expedition”.

63 Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

Composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

64 Bearded flower : IRIS

Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow”. Many species of irises are called “flags”. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English “flagge” meaning “reed”. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.

65 Seth who played Wozniak in “Steve Jobs” : ROGEN

Seth Rogen is a Canadian comedian who got a lot of credit for his supporting role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”. That led to him being cast as the lead in the 1970 film “Knocked Up”. Rogen also co-directed and co-starred in the movie “The Interview”, which created a huge ruckus in North Korea.

Steve Wozniak was one of the founders of Apple Computer, along with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne. Wozniak was the driving force behind the creation of the Apple I and Apple II computers that revolutionized the computer market in the seventies.

“Steve Jobs” is a 2015 biographical film about the life of the Apple co-founder. The film is based on an excellent biography of the same name by Walter Isaacson. Michael Fassbender plays Jobs, and Seth Rogen plays Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, which is always a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I’m going to have to put this film on my watch list …

Down

1 Hidden supply : CACHE

A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term into English from French Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was a slang term for a “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

2 Mythological night-sky hunter : ORION

The very recognizable constellation of Orion is named for the Greek god Orion, the Hunter. If you take a look at the star in Orion’s “right shoulder”, the second brightest star in the constellation, you might notice that it is quite red in color. This is the famous star called Betelgeuse, a red supergiant, a huge star that is on its way out. Betelgeuse is expected to explode into a supernova within the next thousand years or so. You don’t want to miss that …

3 Christmas drink : EGGNOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

7 Not worth __ : A SOU

A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “an almost worthless amount”.

8 Way to watch bamboo-munching zoo bears : PANDACAM

Pandas have a particularly short mating season, lasting only a few days per year. The zookeepers at San Diego Zoo like to give the pandas some well-deserved privacy during this time, so the popular Internet “PandaCam” is shut down for about a week.

9 Medal metal : BRONZE

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Compare this with bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Brass and bronze are often mistaken for each other.

In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

10 Dryer fluff : LINT

“Lint”, meaning “fluff”, is one of those terms that I had to learn when I moved to the US. We call the same thing “fuzz” on the other side of the Atlantic.

12 French word in bridal bios : NEE

“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”. The term “née” is mainly used in English when referring to a married woman’s birth name, assuming that she has adopted her husbands name, e.g. Michelle Obama née Robinson, and Melania Trump née Knavs.

26 U.K. network, with “the” : BEEB

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”. The BBC was founded in 1922, and was the world’s first national broadcasting organization.

27 Clearasil target : ACNE

Clearasil acne medication was developed in 1940 by Ivan Combe and Kedzie Teller. Combe promoted the product by sponsoring the television show “American Bandstand” for many years.

28 Oater badge shape : STAR

In the Old West, a sheriff’s badge was often referred to as a “tin star”.

The term “oater” that is used for a Western movie comes from the number of horses seen, as horses love oats!

30 English derby site : EPSOM

The Surrey town of Epsom in England is most famous for its racecourse (Epsom Downs), at which is run the Epsom Derby every year, one of the three races that make up the English Triple Crown. We also come across “Epsom salts” from time to time. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters. Epsom was indeed a spa town at one time. The town is also home to Epsom College, an English “public school” (which actually means “private, and expensive”). One of Epsom’s “old boys” was the Hollywood actor Stewart Granger.

31 Blood of the gods : ICHOR

Ichor is a golden fluid that is the blood of the gods in Greek mythology.

36 Broadway hit, in slang : BOFF

“Boffo” (sometimes “boff”) is show-biz slang for “very successful”, and is a term that dates back to the early sixties.

37 “__ from Muskogee”: Merle Haggard song : OKIE

Merle Haggard was a country singer and songwriter whose most famous recording has to be “Okie from Muskogee” released in 1969. Haggard would tell you that the song was actually meant as a spoof, but it has become a country “anthem”.

42 Études, typically : SOLI

“Soli” (the plural of “solo”) are pieces of music performed by one artist, whereas “tutti” are pieces performed by all of the artists.

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

45 Recent rightist : NEOCON

By definition, a neoconservative (neocon) is a formerly left-aligned politician who has moved to the right, and who now supports the use of American power and military might to bring democracy, liberty, equality and human rights to other countries.

46 Like pitches that bounce in the dirt : TOO LOW

That would be baseball.

52 Cliffside abode : AERIE

An aerie is the nest of an eagle, and is also known as an “eyrie”.

55 Draped Roman garment : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) 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”.

58 Letter after pi : RHO

Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R.

59 Project for an archaeologist : DIG

“Archaeology” is a word that looks like it’s British English, and one might be forgiven for using the spelling “archeology” in American English. Even though the latter spelling has been around for a couple of hundred years, the former is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic.