NYXCrossword.com

Bill’s time: 6m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Center of the solar system, with “the” : … SUN

Heliocentrism is the astronomical model that has the Earth and other planets revolving around the Sun at the center of the Solar System. The geocentric model holds that the Earth is the center of the Universe.

4A “A Fish Called ___” : WANDA

The 1988 comedy “A Fish Called Wanda” is a favorite of mine. The film was co-written by and stars John Cleese, and has an exceptional cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Cleese’s friend from “Monty Python”, Michael Palin. Kevin Kline won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. The “fish” in the film is the con artist Wanda, played by Curtis.

12A “Where the Wild Things ___” : ARE

Maurice Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children’s books. Sendak’s best known work is “Where the Wild Things Are”, published in 1963. The “Wild Things” of the tale are beasts conjured up in the imagination of a young boy named Max, after he is sent to bed without supper.

17A Supermarket franchise inits. : IGA

The initialism “IGA” stands for “Independent Grocers Alliance”, and is a chain of supermarkets that extends right around the world. IGA’s headquarters is in Chicago. The company uses the slogan “Hometown Proud Supermarkets”.

18A Giving excessive praise and flattery : FAWNING OVER (hiding “AWNING”)

The verb “to fawn” has a different etymology to that of the noun “fawn”. The Old English “faegnian” meant “to rejoice, be glad”. In particular, the Old English verb applied to a dog wagging its tail. From there, “to fawn” came to mean “to court favor, to grovel”.

22A Will of “Arrested Development” : ARNETT

Will Arnett is a Canadian actor who got his big break in the Fox show “Arrested Development”. Arnett’s father was the president and CEO of Molson Breweries, and Will was married to actress Penelope Ann Miller and actress/comedian Amy Poehler.

“Arrested Development” is a sitcom that originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. Ron Howard was heavily involved in the show behind the camera, serving as executive producer and also as the show’s narrator. Fifteen new episodes of “Arrested Development” were filmed specifically for release on Netflix in 2013, and there may even be a movie on the way.

24A Dutch beer brand : AMSTEL

Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery that was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river that runs through the city.

27A Bundle of hay : BALE

Hay is dried grass that is stored for use as animal fodder. Straw consists of the dried stalks of cereal plants, the residue left after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw can also be used as animal fodder, as well as fuel, bedding and thatch.

30A “The Raven” writer, in footnotes : EA POE

“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally, the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore”.

37A Sombrero or fedora : HAT

In English we think of a sombrero as a wide-brimmed hat, but in Spanish “sombrero” is the word for any hat. “Sombrero” is derived from “sombra” meaning “shade”.

A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fédora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1882. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …

45A Muscle-bone connector : SINEW

“Sinew” is another name for “tendon”. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean “muscular power”.

46A Some jeans that aren’t Wranglers or Levi’s : LEES

The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wrangler jeans were first made in the mid-1940s and were designed specifically for use by cowboys in rodeos.

Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.

47A Philosopher Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can be described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

48A Made some waves? : PERMED

“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.

54A Home country of Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling : CANADA

Ryan Reynolds is an actor from Vancouver who is best known these days for playing the title character in the “Deadpool” superhero films. Named “People” magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2010, Ryan has had some high-profile relationships. He was engaged to singer Alanis Morissette for a couple of years, married to actress Scarlett Johansson (again for a couple of years), and is now married to actress Blake Lively whom he met on the set of “Green Lantern”.

Ryan Gosling is a Canadian actor who is one of a string of entertainers to graduate from the Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel. His career really took off when he played the male lead in the 2004 movie “The Notebook” (the best ever “weepie”, according to my wife). Gosling is quite the musician, and is one half of a rock duo called Dead Man’s Bones.

64A Letter between phi and psi : CHI

The letter chi is the 22nd letter in the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks like our Roman letter X.

65A Month with Mother’s Day : MAY

The month of May was named for Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility.

Note the official punctuation in “Mother’s Day”, even though one might think it should be “Mothers’ Day”. President Wilson and Anna Jarvis, who created the tradition, specifically wanted Mother’s Day to honor the mothers within each family and not just “mothers” in general, so they went with the “Mother’s Day” punctuation.

66A Law school class : TORTS

“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Down

3D Tricolored ice cream flavor : NEAPOLITAN

Neapolitan ice cream is made up of blocks of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Perhaps stating the obvious, Neapolitan ice cream is assumed to be of Italian origin, from the city of Naples …

7D Cacophony : DIN

“Cacophony” is such a lovely word, a word used to describe a harsh or jarring sound. The term arises from the Greek “kakos” (bad) and “phone” (voice).

8D Darth Vader’s childhood nickname : ANI

Anakin “Ani” Skywalker is the principal character in the first six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

• Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training.
• Episode II: Anakin is 19 years old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
• Episode III: Anakin is 21 years old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
• Episode IV: Darth Vader comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.
• Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
• Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

11D What everyone becomes at the touch of love, per Plato’s “Symposium” : POET

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote a philosophical treatise on the nature of love called “Symposium”. “Symposium” is the source of the contemporary phrase “Platonic love”.

16D “Rocky III” actor with a mohawk : MR T

Mr. T’s birth name is Lawrence Tureaud (he later legally changed his name to Lawrence Tero before adopting “Mr. T”). He is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

“Rocky III” is the movie in which Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) goes up against Clubber Lang (Mr. T). It is a forgettable film, but Mr. T was grateful for his role no doubt, as it launched his career and landed him a spot on television’s “The A-Team”. Also making an appearance was professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, an appearance that raised his profile as well and kick-started his career outside of the ring. But for me, the most memorable thing is the song “Eye of the Tiger”, which was commissioned for “Rocky III”. A great tune …

Here is another example of a difference in terminology on either side of the Atlantic. What we call the mohawk hairstyle in the US is known as a mohican in Britain and Ireland. The mohawk hairstyle is named after the mohawk nation, who wore their hair in the same fashion. The mohawk style has been around for a long time elsewhere in the world. There was a well-preserved male body found in a bog near Dublin in Ireland in 2003. The body is about 2,000 years old, and has a mohawk haircut.

25D Debussy’s “La ___” : MER

“La Mer” is a lovely group of three symphonic sketches for orchestra by the French composer Claude Debussy. Listen to it, and you can feel yourself at the ocean. “La Mer” is French for “The Sea”.

27D Thai currency units : BAHTS

The baht is the currency of Thailand. One baht is subdivided into 100 satang.

28D Sapporo rival : ASAHI

Asahi is a Japanese beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Kirin close behind.

The Sapporo Brewery was founded in 1876 as the Kaitakushi Brewery, making it the oldest producer of beer in Japan. Kaitakushi’s first brewer was German-trained Seibei Nakagawa. The first beer that Nakagawa produced was Sapporo lager, which was named for the city in which Kaitakushi was located.

29D Pre-1917 Russian autocrat : TSAR

The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, which was led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

36D Uber ___ : EATS

Uber Eats is a food-delivery platform offered by ride-sharing service Uber. For a delivery fee of a few bucks, users can order food from local restaurants using an app. That food might be delivered by car, bike or foot, depending on the city and courier.

38D New York city, county or river : OSWEGO

Oswego is a port city in New York State that lies on Lake Ontario. It bills itself as “The Port City of Central New York”.

44D Elvis Presley’s middle name : ARON

Elvis Aron Presley (aka “the King”) was the younger of two identical twins. His brother was stillborn, and delivered 35 minutes before Elvis. The brother was named Jesse Garon Presley. So, although born a twin, Elvis was raised as an only child.

51D Winter hrs. in Wichita : CST

Wichita, Kansas started out as a trading post established by Jesse Chisholm in the 1860s, a stopover on the famous Chisholm Trail. Wichita became one of the railheads on the Chisholm Trail, the end point of many cattle drives from Texas. As such, Wichita earned the nickname “Cowtown”.

53D Simba’s mate in “The Lion King” : NALA

In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.

55D Capital of Qatar : DOHA

The Qatari capital Doha was established in the 1820s as an offshoot of an older settlement called Al Bidda. Its modern name comes from the Arabic word “dohat” meaning “roundness”, a reference to the curved bays along its Persian Gulf coastline. The city was officially designated as Qatar’s capital in 1971 following the nation’s independence from Britain. Today, Doha houses over 80% of the nation’s entire population within its metropolitan boundaries.

59D Gold, in Granada : ORO

Granada is a city and province in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Granada should not be confused with Grenada (note the different spelling), an island nation in the Caribbean that was invaded by the US in 1983.

60D Gen ___ (Zoomer’s parent) : 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.