letter_trainer_1_1 Flashcards
OB_
OBI. The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.
NE_
NED. American composer Ned Rorem is famous for his musical compositions, but also for his “Paris Diary of Ned Rorem” which was published in 1966. He talks openly about his sexuality in the book, but also about the sexuality of others including Noel Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber.
AST_
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
A_A
ADA. The reference here is to the 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov called “Ada”. The story takes place in the 1800s on Antiterra, an Earth-like planet that has a history similar to ours but with interesting differences. For example, there is a United States, but the country covers all of North and South America. What we call eastern Canada is a French-speaking province called “Canady”, and western Canada is a Russian-speaking province “Estody”. The plot-line is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
ATAR_
ATARI. Centipede is an arcade game from Atari (it was my favorite!). The game was designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey, with Bailey being one of the few female game designers back then (it was released in 1980). Perhaps due to her influence, Centipede was the first arcade game to garner a significant female following.
ETO_
ETON. The world-famous Eton College sits on the River Thames and is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
_IA
CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during WWII. The CIA was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.
_RR
ORR. The bomber pilot in Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” is called Orr, and he has no other name, just “Orr”.
ET_A
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-guage railway, and two ski resorts.
OT_S
OTIS. Otis Redding is often referred to as the “King of Soul”, and what a voice he had. Like so many of the greats in the world of popular music it seems, Redding was killed in a plane crash, in 1967 when he was just 26 years old. Just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.
ORC_
ORCA. The killer whale, or ‘orca’, features in several movies, perhaps most notably ‘Free Willy’.
_LA
A LA. A dish prepared “a la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is food prepared in a cream sauce, with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.
_OTA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
I_S
IRS. The IRS came into being during the Civil War, to raise money to pay for war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, taxation was limited to levies on trade and property.
O_I
OBI. An obi is a sash worn in some forms of dress in Japan both by men and women, although the styles for women tend to be more ornate.
INC_
INCA. The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Tupac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.
EL_
ELO. The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is a symphonic rock group from the north of England. The band’s manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).
RE_E
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’.
EE_
EEL. Unadon is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. Unadon is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).
E_K
ELK. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868 and is a social club that has about a million members today. The Elks started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome.
RH_
RHO. Euripides was a great playwright of Ancient Greece, renowned for his tragedies.
OB_
OBI. The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.
I_CA
INCA. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu originates about 50 miles from Cuzco on the Urubamba River in Peru. It can take travelers about 5 days to trek the full length of the trail, passing through many Incan ruins before reaching the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The trail was becoming greatly overused, forcing the Peruvian government to limit the number of people on the trail each day to 500. Book early …
I_S
IRS. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) came into being during the Civil War, to raise money to pay for war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, taxation was limited to levies on trade and property.
ER_C
ERIC. Can you believe that the great Eric Clapton only had one chart-topper in the US? In 1974, Clapton released a cover version of the Bob Marley classic “I Shot the Sheriff” and ended up selling more copies of that song than Bob Marley did himself.
A_L
AOL. Moviefone is a movie listing service, available by telephone in many parts of the country.
E_ON
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is indeed just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for generating many British leaders, including David Cameron who took power very recently. The list of Old Etonians includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell and Soviet spy, Guy Burgess.
OD_
ODE. A ‘panegyric’ was originally a formal speech made in public, the intent of which was to praise some person of some entity. Later, the term came to mean a laudatory verse, such as an ode. ‘Panegyris’ is the Greek for ‘speech fit for a general assembly’.
O_E
ONE. As we all recall from school (!), for an angle in a right-angled triangle, the sine is the length of the side opposite the angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse (the longest side). The cosine is the length of the adjacent side divided by the length of the hypotenuse.
_MA
UMA. Fall Out Boy is a rock band from Chicago that formed in 2001. And then, I lost interest …
I_N
IAN. English actor Sir Ian Holm is very respected on the stage in the UK, but is better known for his film roles here in the US. Holm played the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in two of the “Lord of the Rings” movies, and he also played the character who turns out be an android in the film “Alien”.
_LK
ELK. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome.
U_A
UMA. Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit ‘Pulp Fiction’. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy ‘The Truth About Cats and Dogs’.
T_D
TED. ‘Ted’ is a movie that is about to be released that was written, directed, produced and stars Seth MacFarlane. In the story, MacFarlane voices a teddy bear who is the best friend of a character played by Mark Wahlberg.
CS_
CSI. The TV show “CSI” gets a lot of criticism from law enforcement agencies for its unrealistic portrayal of the procedures and science of criminal investigation. I don’t care though, as I just think it’s fun television. The original “CSI” set in Las Vegas seems to have “gone off the boil”, but the addition of Sela Ward to the cast of “CSI: NY” has really, really raised the level of the sister show set in New York City.
_RIC
ERIC. ‘The Little Mermaid’ is a 1989 animated feature from Disney that is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name. It tells the story of a mermaid princess called Ariel who falls in love with the human Prince Eric.
_HO
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.
O_CA
ORCA. The orca who starred in the 1993 movie “Free Willy” was actually called Keiko, with Willy being his “stage name”. Keiko had a sad life. He was captured near Iceland in 1979, and sold to a local aquarium, and then onto Marineland in Ontario, and Six Flags Mexico in 1985. After starring in the movie, his fans raised money with the intent of returning Keiko to the wild. Keiko had become very ill, partly from being confined in a small tank in Mexico, so a lot of money had to be spend restoring him to health. He was purchased by the Oregon Coast Aquarium who undertook the task of treating him and preparing him for the wild. You might recall the dramatic journey he took from Mexico to Oregon in US Air Force transport plane in 1996. Having regained his health, he was flown to Iceland and there gradually reintroduced into the wild. Sadly, Keiko did not fare too well back in the ocean. He was never adopted by a pod, so lived a solitary life. He lost weight, would sometimes follow fishing boats and play with any humans who would give him attentions. In 2003 he beached himself in Taken Bay in Norway, where he died.
OM_N
OMAN. Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The capital city of Muscat has a strategic location on the Gulf of Oman and has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next one hundred years until finally being ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place in Oman ever since.
_ES
LES. In French the word for “the” is la (feminine, singular) or le (masculine, singular) or les (masculine and feminine, plural).
_SN
SSN. Generally speaking, I think it’s a good idea to shred documents that show a social security number (SSN), rather than just toss them in the garbage.
LE_
LEO. Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.
TE_
TED. US Senator Ted Cruz served as Solicitor General for the state of Texas before heading to Washington. Cruz was appointed Solicitor General in 2003 at the age of 32, making him the youngest Solicitor General in the country. Famously, Cruz is an opponent of the Affordable Care Act and made a speech in 2013 in the US Senate on the subject that lasted for 21 hours and 19 minutes. It was the fourth longest speech in the history of the Senate.
OT_S
OTIS. Johnny Otis was the stage name of Ioannis Veliotes, a musician from Vallejo, California. Otis is sometimes referred to as the ‘Godfather of Rhythm and Blues’.
_EL
EEL. Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.
UM_
UMA. Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.
OR_O
OREO. The Oreo was the biggest selling cookie in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been produced since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added to give a different taste.
A_TI
ASTI. The Palazzo Alfieri is an ancient palace in the Italian city of Asti.
S_N
SSN. Phishing is the name given to the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. ‘Phishing’ is a variant of the word “fishing’, as in ‘fishing for passwords, PIN numbers etc.”
_LK
ELK. The Rocky Mountain Elk population has been facing a serious threat since 2010, a disorder called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is similar to BSE (so called ‘mad-cow disease’) and affects the brain tissue of the infected elk.
SS_
SSR. The former Soviet Union was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. The new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent geographically to the old Russian Empire, and was made up of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics.
E_AU
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
IK_
IKE. President Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas and given the name David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower. Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.
_TON
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders, including David Cameron who took power in the recent UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming.
E_AU
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother, Rebekah, gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”.
T_D
TED. Ted Kennedy was the youngest boy in the family that included his older brothers: Joseph Jr. (killed in action in WWII), John (assassinated) and Robert (assassinated). Ted went into the US Senate in 1962 in a special election held after his brother became US President. He remained in the Senate until he passed away in 2009, making Ted Kennedy the fourth-longest-serving Senator in history.
AB_
ABA. The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.
LE_
LEO. Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 13 to August 23 are Leos.
I_TA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest letter in the alphabet.
E_A
EVA. Little Eva is a character in the novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’. Eva’s full name is Evangeline St. Clare.
REN_
RENE. At the end of WWI, of all the allied nations, Rene Fonck was the top flying ace. He was credited with 75 victories.
_EL
EEL. In J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ universe, The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four most brilliant witches and wizards of their time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the founders lent their name to a House in the school, i.e. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
LE_
LES. Issy-les-Moulineaux is a suburb of Paris lying on the banks of the Seine. Issy’s economy was based on manufacturing, but now it is known as a nexus for the French telecommunications and media industries.
L_S
LES. ‘Die’ is the German for ‘the’ in the plural, and ‘les’ is French.
_SI
CSI. The ‘CSI’ franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. ‘CSI: Miami’ (the ‘worst’ of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. ‘CSI: NY’ (the ‘best’ of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong and has been doing so since 2000.
INC_
INCA. Manco Capac was the head of the Incan Kingdom of Cusco. He introduced what we might call some sensible laws, including abolishing human sacrifice, and outlawing marriage to one’s sister. However, through a loophole in the law, I guess, he managed to marry his own sister and had a son who became his successor.
EL_
ELK. Exactly when the Hartford Stag (or Elk, or Hart) logo first appeared isn’t precisely known. The oldest extant representation of the Hartford Stag is found on a policy that the company issued to Abraham Lincoln in 1861.
_SP
ASP. The venomous snake called an asp was a symbol of royalty in Ancient Egypt.
IA_
IAN. Ian Somerhalder had his big break as an actor in the TV drama “Lost”, and now has a part in TV’s “The Vampire Diaries”.
_RCA
ORCA. “Blackfish” is a 2013 documentary film that examines the dangers of keeping orca in captivity.’Star’ of the movie is a killer whale (orca) named Tilikum who was responsible in whole or in part for the deaths of three people. Tilikum was captured in 1983 and has been a ‘guest’ of SeaWorld since 1992. Most recently, Tilikum killed a 40-year old trainer named Dawn Brancheau in 2010.
A_A
ABA. The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.
AD_
ADA. “Ada” is a 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The story takes place in the 1800s on Antiterra, an Earth-like planet that has a history similar to ours but with interesting differences. For example, there is a United States, but the country covers all of North and South America. What we call eastern Canada is a French-speaking province called “Canady”, and western Canada is a Russian-speaking province called “Estody”. The storyline is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
IR_
IRS. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.
_NE
ONE. (5 x 3) - (7 x 2) = 15 - 14 = 1
AST_
ASTI. Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a ‘poor man’s champagne’. The ‘Spumante’ was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.
AL_
A LA. In French “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America it has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream or, as I recall from my days living in Upstate New York, with cheese.
O_AN
OMAN. The national flag of Oman is made up of three stripes (white, red and green) alongside a red bar which bears the national emblem of the country (a dagger and two swords).
ET_A
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-guage railway, and two ski resorts.
_OTA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
_AU
EAU. ‘Eau’ is the French word for ‘water’.
_VA
EVA. Despite the English sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. She played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale”, opposite Daniel Craig.
I_N
IAN. Ian McShane is an English actor, famous in his homeland (and to PBS viewers in the US) for playing the title role in “Lovejoy”. In this country he is perhaps better known for playing the conniving saloon owner on the HBO western drama “Deadwood”.
L_O
LEO. Babies born from July 23 to August 22 each year fall under the star sign of Leo.
_RIC
ERIC. Eric Holder is the Attorney General of the United States, and is the first African American to hold the position. Holder was close to President Obama during the presidential campaign. He was the campaign’s legal advisor, and was also one of the three members on the Obama vice-presidential selection committee, which of course opted for Vice-President Joe Biden.
_SN
SSN. A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot, as since 2011 SSN’s are assigned randomly.
E_U
EAU. ‘Eau’ is the French word for ‘water’. ‘Mer’ is the French word for ‘sea’.
EM_
EMO. Emo Philips is a stand-up comedian from Chicago. He’s had a long and successful career, and listed on his resume is a small acting part in the 1992 hit movie “Meet the Parents” starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. Philips was also the executive producer for that very same film, so, I’d say he made a few pennies …
O_E
ODE. ‘Plutonian Ode’ is a 1978 poem by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. The work is a protest against the arms race between the superpowers. Philip Glass wrote his 2002 ‘Symphony No. 6’ using the poem as inspiration, and indeed including parts of the poem to be sung by a soprano soloist. As such, the piece is often referred to as the ‘Plutonian Ode Symphony’.
EM_
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. ‘Emo’ is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …
ON_
ONE. In motor racing, the designation “formula” is a set of rules that all participants and cars must abide by. The definition of “Formula One” was agreed back in 1946, with the “one” designating that it is the most advanced of the “formulae”, and the most competitive.
UM_
UMA. Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.
R_O
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.
AB_
ABA. The Italian poet Dante invented the terza rima rhyming scheme. It has a chain rhyming pattern and so has the format ABA, BCB, CDC etc. Dante introduced terza rima in his epic poem called “Divine Comedy”.
E_O
EMO. The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …
OT_S
OTIS. Otis Day & the Knights were a fictional band created for the 1978 movie “Animal House”. In the movie, they perform fabulous versions of “Shout” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong”. The band’s performance was so well received that they transitioned from the world of make believe to reality, and they are still performing today, over 30 years later.
I_TA
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.
AD_
ADA. The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. Today the ADA is based in Chicago, but the association was founded in Niagara Falls, New York in 1859. The ADA started out as a group of 26 dentists and now has more than 152,000 members.
_OL
AOL. ‘The Huffington Post’ (aka ‘HuffPo’) is a news website founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington. It is a very active site, with 3,000 people contributing blog posts (including many celebrities and politicians), and readers leaving over one million comments every month. ‘The Huffington Post’ was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million, with Arianna Huffington staying on as editor-in-chief.
AN_E
ANNE. Anne Rice is an American author of erotic and Gothic novels. She was born Howard Allen O’Brien (no wonder she changed her name!). Her famous series of novels “The Vampire Chronicles” centers on her character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. One of the stories, “Interview with the Vampire”, was adapted for the big screen in 1994 and features Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others in a star-studded cast. Not my kind of movie though, as I don’t do vampires …
_SI
CSI. The ‘CSI’ franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. ‘CSI: Miami’ (the ‘worst’ of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. ‘CSI: NY’ (the ‘best’ of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong, and has been doing so since 2000.
EV_
EVA. Eva Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón who was in office from 1946 to 1955. The Argentine First Lady was known affectionately by the people as ‘Evita’, the Spanish language diminutive of ‘Eva’. “Evita” was also the follow-up musical to “Jesus Christ Superstar” for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and was based on the life of Eva Perón.
_LA
A LA. In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
OMA_
OMAN. Oman is lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The city of Muscat, with its strategic location, has a history of invasion and occupation. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody invasion. The Portuguese held the city for much of the next century until finally ousted by local Omani forces in 1648.
_AU
EAU. “Glace”, the French word for “ice-cream” (and “ice”).
_EO
LEO. Despite rumors to the contrary, I am pretty sure that Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 (he’s a Leo!) at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the first president to have been born outside of the continental US.
RH_
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.
E_U
EAU. In French, water (eau) is a clear liquid (liquide clair).
_LA
A LA. A dish prepared “a la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is food prepared in a cream sauce, with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.
AST_
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
A_A
ADA. Ada Leverson was a British writer, a great friend of Oscar Wilde. Leverson was played by actress Zoë Wanamaker in the 1997 film ‘Wilde’ starring Stephen Fry in the title role.
ETO_
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
SS_
SSR. The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the world’s largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan was also the last of the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) to declare itself independent from Russia.
UM_
UMA. “Prime” is a romantic comedy from 2005. It has an interesting storyline. 37-year-old divorcee (Uma Thurman) falls for 23-year-old man (Bryan Greenberg) and shares her thought about the affair with her therapist (Meryl Streep). The therapist turns out to be the 23-year-old man’s mother. Hilarity ensues, I am sure (I have yet to see this one …).
_RIC
ERIC. Eric Carle’s most famous title is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.
SO_
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 simply mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.
U_A
UMA. Uma Thurman’s father, Robert Thurman, was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and gave his daughter Uma her name as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name, Dbuma.
_SR
SSR. The former Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia is now an independent country. Supposedly, the Georgian people were given their name because they especially revered St. George. The flag of Georgia does indeed feature five St. George’s crosses.
O_E
ONE. Marine One is the call sign used by a Marine Corps helicopter when it is carrying the US president. In fact, the call sign can be used by any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president, but usually refers either a Sea King or White Hawk helicopter that is used routinely in transportation to and from the White House.
ETN_
ETNA. Typhon was known as the ‘father of all monsters’ in Greek mythology, and he was married to the ‘mother of all monster’, Echidna. Typhon had a huge human torso with a hundred dragon heads. His lower body was made up of gigantic viper coils. Although all the gods feared Typhon, Zeus finally defeated him and trapped him underneath Mount Etna.
_SR
SSR. The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).
AB_
ABA. The American Basketball Association (ABA) merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976.
_SN
SSN. A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot, as since 2011 SSN’s are assigned randomly. However, some random numbers have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.
_RR
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
ES_U
ESAU. Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described, ‘Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment’. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.
_RCA
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.
_NE
ONE. Snake eyes is the slang term for a roll of two dice in which one pip turns up on each die.
A_L
AOL. The Huffington Post’ is a news website founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington. It’s a very active site, with 3,000 people contributing blog posts (including many celebrities and politicians), and readers leaving over one million comments every month. ‘The Huffington Post’ was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million, with Arianna Huffington staying on as editor-in-chief.
EL_
ELO. ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. ELO’s manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).
LE_
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.
_NNE
ANNE. Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Brontë family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter from a young man describing the events leading up to his first meeting with his wife-to-be. Anne Brontë’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.
CS_
CSI. The ‘CSI’ franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. ‘CSI: Miami’ (the ‘worst’ of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. ‘CSI: NY’ (the ‘best’ of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong and has been doing so since 2000.
L_I
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.
ORE_
OREO. The Oreo was the best-selling cookie in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been sold since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added in the overseas version to give a different taste.
R_O
RHO. Chi Rho is an ancient religious symbol in the Christian tradition. ‘Chi’ and ‘rho’ are the first two letters in the Greek word for ‘Christ’.
EE_
EEL. The Sargasso Sea, an area within the Atlantic Ocean, is famous for being home to many species of Sargassum, the algae floating on the surface that gives the area its name. The Sargasso Sea is also where both the European and American ells lay their eggs and hatch their young. The young eels then head east or west, depending on the species.
EV_
EVA. Eva Mendes played the female lead in the movie “Hitch”, opposite Will Smith.
R_O
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”. Rho is the symbol used for density, i.e. mass/volume.
_NE
ONE. 24. See 23-Across : ACT
_STI
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
_SA
NSA. The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … “No Such Agency”.
I_E
IKE. President Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas and given the name David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower. Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.
_ES
LES. Leslie Moonves had many senior positions in the television industry, especially with CBS and Viacom. Early in his career he was an actor and played tough guy roles on “Cannon” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Moonves is the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and he is married to TV news personality Julie Chen.
_HO
RHO. Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter ‘p’.
_AU
EAU. In France, one fights fire (feu) with water (eau).
_MO
EMO. Dashboard Confessional is an emo band from Boca Raton, Florida.
AN_
ANN. Heart is a rock band from Seattle, Washington, founded in the seventies and still going strong. The band has had a changing lineup, except for sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson.
OMA_
OMAN. Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a Sultanate, headed by a hereditary sultan. The current head of state is Qaboos bin Said Al Said. He rules with the help of an elected advisory council (instituted in the early nineties), but there are no legal political parties.
R_NE
RENE. The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito, ergo sum” … “I think, therefore I am”.
CI_
CIA. Kryptos’ is a fascinating sculpture that sits on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The work contains four encrypted messages that were created by the sculptor Jim Sanborn and Ed Scheidt, then Chairman of the CIA Cryptographic Center. What’s interesting is that only three of the messages has been decoded to date.
A_P
ASP. The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
A_NE
ANNE. Anne Bradstreet was a poetess who was the wife of Simon Bradstreet, a governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anne was the first poet in the British North American colonies to have her works published.
LE_
LEI. “Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together to be worn.
_SAU
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother, Rebekah, gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
A_N
ANN. Ann Patchett is an author who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Patchett’s most famous work is probably her novel ‘Bel Canto’, published in 2001. In 2012, ‘Time’ included her in the magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.
L_O
LEO. In ‘The West Wing’, Leo McGarry was played very ably by John Spencer. If you haven’t seen them, the early seasons of “The West Wing” are just fabulous. I think I learned so much about the workings of the American government through this TV show.
OR_A
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.
_REO
OREO. The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912. The Oreo was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …
_EO
LEO. The company that made Fender electric guitars was founded in Fullerton, California in 1946 by Leo Fender.
_EI
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.
SO_
SOS. S.O.S is a brand name of scouring pads made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The product was invented as a giveaway by an aluminum pot salesman in San Francisco called Ed Cox. His wife gave it the name “S.O.S” as an acronym for “Save Our Saucepans”. Note the punctuation! There is no period after the last S, and that is deliberate. When Cox went to register the trademark, he found that S.O.S. could not be a trademark because it was used as an international distress signal. So, he dropped the period, and I hope made a lot of money for himself and his wife.
ES_U
ESAU. Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born, the event was described, ‘Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment’. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.
NE_O
NERO. The Great Fire of Rome raged for five and a half days in 64 AD. Of the fourteen districts of Rome, three were completely destroyed and seven more suffered serious damage. The emperor at the time was Nero, although reports that he fiddled, played his lyre or sang while the city burned; those accounts are probably not true. In fact, Nero was staying outside of Rome when the fire started and rushed home on hearing the news. He organized a massive relief effort, throwing open his own home to give shelter to many of the citizens who were left living on the street.
I_E
IKE. When the future president was growing up, the Eisenhower family used the nickname ‘Ike’ for all seven boys in the family, as ‘Ike’ was seen as an abbreviation for the family name. ‘Big Ike’ was Edgar, the second oldest boy. ‘Little/Young Ike’ was Dwight, who was the third son born. Dwight had no sisters.
_VA
EVA. Despite the English sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. Green played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale”, opposite Daniel Craig.
_LA
A LA. A dish prepared “a la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is food prepared in a cream sauce, with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.
O_EO
OREO. Apparently Oreo Ice Cream flavors were introduced relatively recently, in 2010.
N_D
NED. Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.
ET_N
ETON. The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).
AN_E
ANNE. Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Brontë family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter from a young man describing the events leading up to his first meeting with his wife-to-be. Anne Brontë’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.
IA_
IAN. ‘Chariots of Fire’ is British film released in 1981. The movie is based on the true story of two athletes training for and participating in the shorter running events in the 1924 Paris Olympics.
_NE
ONE. 50 divided by 50 is 1.
SS_
SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR)
O_IS
OTIS. The Temptations used to be known as the Elgins, and were formed in 1960 in Detroit. The group is still performing although only the second tenor, Otis Williams, was part of the original quintet. The Temptations were very much associated with their ‘sister group’, the Supremes.
_AO
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
ETN_
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. The third of Italy’s famous volcanoes is Stromboli.
A_NE
ANNE. Anne Meara has been married to fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller since 1954. Anne and Jerry are the parents of actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spinoff from “All in the Family”.
ETN_
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt Vesuvius.
I_CA
INCA. The Inca Empire was known as the Tawantinsuyu, which translates as ‘land of the four quarters’. The Inca Empire was a federal organization having a central government that sat above four ‘suyu’ or ‘quarters’, four administrative regions.
ES_U
ESAU. Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
E_U
EAU. ‘Eau’ is the French word for ‘water’; ‘Mer’ is the French word for ‘sea’.
_DA
ADA. The reference here is to the 1969 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, “Ada”. The story takes place in the 1800s on Antiterra, an Earth-like planet that has a history similar to ours but with interesting differences. For example, there is a United States, but the country covers all of North and South America. What we call eastern Canada is a French-speaking province called “Canady”, and western Canada is a Russian-speaking province “Estody”. The plot-line is about a man called Van Veen who, when 14 years old, meets for the first time his cousin, 11-year-old Ada. The two cousins eventually have an affair, only to discover later that they are in fact brother and sister.
NER_
NERO. The Great Fire of Rome raged for five and a half days in 64 AD. Of the fourteen districts of Rome, three were completely destroyed and seven more suffered serious damage. The emperor at the time was of course Nero, although reports that he fiddled, played his lyre or sang while the city burned; those accounts are probably not true. In fact, Nero was staying outside of Rome when the fire started, and rushed home on hearing the news. He organized a massive relief effort, throwing open his own home to give shelter to many of the citizens who were left living on the street.
AN_E
ANNE. Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Bronte family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter written by a young man describing the events leading to his meeting his wife. Anne Bronte’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.
NE_
NED. Ned Beatty is probably best remembered for the rather disturbing “squeal like a pig” scene in the movie “Deliverance”. Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie ‘Network’.
AN_E
ANNE. Anne, Princess Royal was born in 1950, the only daughter of British Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Anne has been in the public spotlight for many things, including here success as an Equestrian. Princess Anne is the only member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the Olympic Games.
_STI
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
IO_A
IOTA. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use it to portray something very small, as it is the smallest letter in the alphabet.
E_IC
ERIC. Eric Idle was one of the founding members of the Monty Python team. Idle was very much the musician of the bunch, and is an accomplished guitarist. If you’ve seen the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian”, you might remember the closing number, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It was sung by Idle, and was indeed written by him. The song made it to number 3 in the UK charts in 1991.
_IA
CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during WWII. The CIA was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.
ET_A
ETNA. Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts.
E_IC
ERIC. Eric Cartman is a character on the animated television series “South Park”, a show that I have never watched …
AT_RI
ATARI. The kids today probably don’t realize that we had a video game console back in the seventies, but it wasn’t a Nintendo nor a PlayStation. The Atari 2600 game system introduced the idea of separating out computing hardware (the console) from the game code (a cartridge). The same concept persists to this day, although cartridges have been displaced by discs.
_BI
OBI. Sir Alec Guinness has played many great roles over a long a distinguished career, but nowadays is best known for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”. The Force is a metaphysical power much cited in all of the “Star Wars” movies, and still today we may hear someone in real life say “May the Force be with you”.
EE_
EEL. Even though Italian-style pizza is readily available in Japan, I think the reference here might be to the dish called ‘okonomiyaki’, often referred to in English as ‘Japanese pizza’. I’ve been lucky enough to eat okonomiyaki quite a few times on business trips to Japan. My favorite way to eat Japanese pizza is in a grill-it-yourself restaurant, where you prepare the dish at a grill in the center of your own table.
_SP
ASP. The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It was so venomous that it was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without and painful spasms. When opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
OTI_
OTIS. Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.
OD_
ODE. Here’s the first verse of Thomas Gray’s poem ‘Ode on the Spring’.
A_A
ADA. American Dental Association (ADA)
_TIS
OTIS. Otis is a manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. By some accounts, Otis is the world’s most popular transportation company, with the equivalent of the whole world’s population travelling on Otis devices every few days.
AS_I
ASTI. Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.
