output_trainer_0_2 Flashcards
1
Q
Product of a zymurgist. 3 letters
A
ALE. Zymology (also called ‘zymurgy’) is the scientific term for fermentation, and is a subject much-studied and understood by brewers.
2
Q
John Lennon’s middle name. 3 letters
A
ONO. After John Lennon married Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name by deed poll, adding ‘Ono’ as a middle name. His official name became John Winston Ono Lennon, as he wasn’t allowed to drop the name ‘Winston’ that was given to him at birth.
3
Q
Priest at Shiloh. 3 letters
A
ELI. In the Bible, Eli is a High Priest of Shiloh, and the teacher of Samuel. As such, his story is told in the Book of Samuel.
4
Q
View from Presque Isle. 4 letters
A
ERIE. Presque Isle State Park is off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, sitting on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie. The name ‘Presque Isle’ translates from French as ‘peninsula’, or more literally ‘almost an island’.
5
Q
Iraq’s Imam ___ Air Base. 3 letters
A
ALI. Imam Ali Air Base is a military facility in southeastern Iraq. The base has a security perimeter that extends 22 kilometers. Within that perimeter is located the ancient Babylonian city of Ur, which is reputed to be the birthplace of Abraham.
6
Q
Biology class topic. 3 letters
A
RNA. RNA and DNA are very similar in molecular structure. One big difference is that RNA is a single strand structure, whereas DNA is famously a double-helix. Another difference is that RNA contains ribose as a structural unit, and DNA contains deoxyribose, ribose without one oxygen atom. And that ribose/deoxyribose difference is reflected in the name of the two molecules: ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
7
Q
Its entrance was barred with a flaming sword. 4 letters
A
EDEN. According to the Book Of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
8
Q
Org. 3 letters
A
EPA. ‘The Simpsons’ television show spawned ‘The Simpsons Movie’ in 2007. The film is all about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) taking on Homer Simpson after he pollutes the local lake.
9
Q
Man’s name that’s another man’s name in reverse. 3 letters
A
ARI. The male name ‘Ari’ when written backwards spells the name ‘Ira’.
10
Q
Pickup artist’s skill, for short?. 3 letters
A
ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
11
Q
“The Guilt Trip” actress Graynor. 3 letters
A
ARI. Ari Graynor is an American actress who first came to national attention playing the character of Caitlin Rucker in a few episodes of the HBO series “The Sopranos”.
12
Q
Olympic blade. 4 letters
A
EPEE. The French word for sword is épée. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent’s body.
13
Q
Org. 3 letters
A
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.
14
Q
Summer on the Seine. 3 letters
A
ETE. In French, the season of ‘été’ (summer) starts in ‘juin’ (June).
15
Q
Daniels who directed “The Butler”. 3 letters
A
LEE. Lee Daniels’ The Butler’ is a 2013 movie that is loosely based on the life of Eugene Allen, who worked at the White House for 34 years before retiring as head butler in 1986. Forest Whitaker plays the title role. My wife saw this one, and really enjoyed it …
16
Q
Acid. 3 letters
A
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as ‘acid’) is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn’t until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man …
17
Q
Smog-fighting govt. 3 letters
A
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
18
Q
It’s fairly insensitive to shock, fortunately. 3 letters
A
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. The explosive chemical was first produced by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand in 1863, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate, so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
19
Q
Wisk competitor. 3 letters
A
ERA. Era was the first liquid laundry detergent produced by Procter & Gamble.
20
Q
New Haven alum. 3 letters
A
ELI. Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named ‘Yale’ in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to ‘Yale College’. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed ‘Elis’, again honoring Elihu.
21
Q
Spinks’s opponent in two title fights. 3 letters
A
ALI. Leon Spinks is former professional boxer from St. Louis, Missouri. Spinks’s greatest bout had to be his 1978 fight with Muhammad Ali that Spinks won by a unanimous decision. The fight was for the world heavyweight title, and marked the only time Muhammad Ali lost a title in the ring. However, Spinks was stirpped of his title when he refused to defend it against Ken Norton. Spinks opted instead to have a rematch with Ali in 1979, and this time it was Ali who won by a unanimous decision.
22
Q
Fast-skating #4. 3 letters
A
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 any more. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
23
Q
Something for trill-seekers?. 4 letters
A
ARIA. In music a ‘trill’ is the rapid alternation of two tones that are very close to each other to make a vibrato sound.
24
Q
Bush press secretary Fleischer. 3 letters
A
ARI. Ari Fleischer was the White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush. Fleischer now runs his own media consulting firm that specializes in representing sports players and organizations. Fleischer helped Mark McGwire handle the media when he had to admit to the use of steroids, and was briefly hired by Tiger Woods as he planned his return to the PGA after dropping out of the spotlight to handle the problems in his personal life.
25
"Revolution 9" collaborator. 3 letters
ONO. When the track 'Revolution 9' from the Beatles' 'White Album' is played backwards, there is a section that appears to say 'Turn me on, dead man'. This helped fuel an existing urban legend that Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by someone who just looked like him.
26
Muhammad's successor, to Shiites. 3 letters
ALI. The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad's confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad's own family, and favoured the Prophet's son-in-law Ali.
27
High priest of Shiloh. 3 letters
ELI. In the Bible, Eli is a High Priest of Shiloh, and the teacher of Samuel. As such, his story is told in the Book of Samuel. Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, both of whom are described as wicked. As a result of their wayward lifestyle, it is prophesied that all of Eli's male descendents will die before reaching old age.
28
Nest egg option, briefly. 3 letters
IRA. I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland it was pretty confusing seeing big signs along the freeway advocating IRA contributions. Back in Ireland, contributing to the IRA was pretty illegal (where IRA stands for the outlawed Irish Republican Army!).
29
Prima donna's delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. The Italian operatic term 'prima donna' is used for the lead female singer in an opera company. 'Prima donna' translates from Italian as 'first lady'. The lead male singer is known as the 'primo uomo'. The term 'prima donna assoluta' is reserved for a prima donna who is generally accepted as being an outstanding performer.
30
Kind of card. 3 letters
NRA. The NRA is the National Rifle Association, an organization that has been around since 1871. The group has had some celebrity presidents, including US President Ulysses S. Grant. It's often said that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.
31
Dueling implement. 4 letters
EPEE. The épée that is used in today's sport fencing is derived from the old French dueling sword. In fact, the the sport of épée fencing is very similar to the dualing of the 19th century. The word 'épée' translates from French as 'sword'.
32
Org. 3 letters
NRA. The National Rifle Association (NRA) used the slogan 'I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands'. These words became quite famous when they were used at an NRA convention in 2000 by Charlton Heston, who was then president of the NRA. Heston ended a speech he made with the words 'From my cold, dead hands!' while holding up into the air a replica of a Sharps rifle.
33
Somme summer. 3 letters
ETE. Ete is the French word for summer.
34
Santa ___ winds. 3 letters
ANA. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
35
Amor's Greek counterpart. 4 letters
EROS. The word for "love" in Latin is "amor", and in Ancient Greek is "eros".
36
___ Long, Union general in the Civil War. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Long served in the Union army during the Civil War and was wounded five times, and decorated five times for bravery.
37
Chicago trains. 3 letters
ELS. The Chicago "L" is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The "L" is also the second oldest, again with the New York City Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the "L" (originally short for "elevated railroad"), although the term "El" is also in common use (especially in crosswords as "ELS"). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
38
Eco-friendly org. 3 letters
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.
39
Electronically scored duel. 4 letters
EPEE. The French word for sword is "épée". In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent's body.
40
Greek matchmaker. 4 letters
EROS. Eros was the Greek god of love, the Greek counterpart of the Roman god Cupid.
41
"La donna è mobile," e.g. 4 letters
ARIA. "La donna è mobile" is a very famous aria from Verdi's opera "Rigoletto".
42
Pennsylvania city. 4 letters
ERIE. Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, right on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the 'sparkling' Lake Erie.
43
Creature on the Australian coat of arms. 3 letters
EMU. The official symbol of Australia is a coat of arms that features a kangaroo and an emu.
44
Sistine Chapel painting setting. 4 letters
EDEN. The Sistine Chapel, in the Pope's residence in Rome, takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.
45
Abbé de l'___, pioneer in sign language. 4 letters
EPEE. The French clergyman Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée is often referred to as the 'Father of the Deaf'. Épée dedicated much of his life to helping the deaf. He opened the world's first free school for the deaf in 1760 in Paris, initially using it to provide shelter for those who were poor and hearing-impaired. Épée developed a type of sign language that is believed to be the first example of a formal and complete visual-gesture system for the deaf.
46
Japanese carrier. 3 letters
ANA. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, second in size only to Japan Airlines (JAL).
47
Super Bowl-winning Manning. 3 letters
ELI. Even I know that Eli Manning, and his older brother Peyton, are quarterbacks!
48
Utopia. 4 letters
EDEN. The word Utopia was coined by Sir Thomas More for his book "Utopia" published in 1516, describing an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More's use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek "ou" meaning "not" and "topos" meaning "place". By calling his perfect island "Not Place", More was apparently making the point that he didn't think that the ideal could actually exist.
49
Lust, deified. 4 letters
EROS. As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
50
"Alexander's Feast," e.g. 3 letters
ODE. 'Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music' is a 1697 ode written by English poet John Dryden. The poem tells of a great feast hosted by Alexander the Great in Persia after his forces defeated those of the Persian king.
51
Half-and-half half. 3 letters
ALE. The alcoholic drink known as a 'half-and-half' is 50-50 mix of two different types of beer. Back in Ireland a half-and-half is made from an Irish ale on the bottom with Guinness floated on top. Over here you might see that combination referred to as a 'Black and Tan', but we tend to avoid that reference in my homeland. The Black and Tans were British paramilitary units deployed in Ireland in the early 1920s to suppress the movement for independence. They weren't very good guys ...
52
French word with two accents. 3 letters
ETE. One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in France.
53
"Catch-22" bomber pilot. 3 letters
ORR. The bomber pilot called Orr has no other name, just "Orr", in Joseph Heller's "Catch 22".
54
Iran's ___ Khamenei. 3 letters
ALI. Ali Khamenei has been the Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989.
55
Iraq's Mosque of ___ (pilgrimage site). 3 letters
ALI. The Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq is a holy site for the Shia branch of Islam. The site is the final resting place of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad who ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661 CE. Many also believe that the remains of Adam and Noah are buried within the mosque.
56
Shapiro of NPR. 3 letters
ARI. Ari Shapiro is the very able White House correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
57
Successor to Churchill. 4 letters
EDEN. Sir Anthony Eden served as Britain's Foreign Secretary during WWII, and then as Prime Minister from 1955-57. I think it's fair to say that Eden doesn't have a great reputation as a statesman. He was proud of his stance in favor of peace over war, so his critics characterized him as an appeaser. His major stumble on the world stage occurred with the Suez Crisis in 1956. Egypt's President Nasser unilaterally nationalized the Suez Canal causing war to be declared on Egypt by Britain, France and Israel. Within a few months political pressure from the US and the USSR caused the allies to withdraw, bolstering Egypt's national reputation. Eden never recovered from the loss of face at home, and it is felt that the stress even affected his health. Eden resigned in January 1957.
58
Broadway's Burrows. 3 letters
ABE. Abe Burrows was an author, composer and director who won four Tony Awards over his career, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for the musical adaptation of the book 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'.
59
Low-ranking U.S.N. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
60
Fukuda's predecessor as Japan's P.M. 3 letters
ABE. Shinzō Abe is the current Prime Minister of Japan, and has been in office since 2012. Abe also served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007.
61
Scandinavian capital. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo is the capital of Norway. The city of Oslo burns trash to fuel half of its buildings, including all of its schools. The problem faced by the city is that it doesn't generate enough trash. So, Oslo imports trash from Sweden, England and Ireland, and is now looking to import some American trash too.
62
Word between two last names. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
63
Peyton's gridiron brother. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Manning plays as quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli's brother Peyton Manning is a former quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Eli and Peyton's father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback.
64
Prey for a dingo. 3 letters
EMU. The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an "Emu War" in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the "invading force". The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of "war", the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious ...
65
Ticket info. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
66
You can trip on it. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
67
Fencing blade. 4 letters
EPEE. The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, both of which are also thrusting weapons. However, the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
68
Ivanovic of women's tennis. 3 letters
ANA. Ana Ivanovic is a Serbian tennis player, and former world number one. As well as playing tennis, she also studied finance at university in her native Belgrade.
69
NBC show since '75. 3 letters
SNL. "Saturday Night Live" (SNL)
70
Word between last names. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
71
Arrow-shooting Greek god. 4 letters
EROS. As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
72
Pre-Letterman gig for Paul Shaffer, for short. 3 letters
SNL. Paul Shaffer is the bandleader and sidekick for David Letterman on his late-night talk show, and has been for the show's entire run from 1982 until 2015. From 1975 to 1980, Schaffer played the piano as part of the house band on 'Saturday Night Live'.
73
Time off from l'école. 3 letters
ETE. In France one has time off from school (ecole) during summer (ete).
74
T. 3 letters
IRA. T. Rowe Price is an investment company based in Baltimore that was founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.
75
NBC weekend skit show, for short. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to pull together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he come up with what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
76
Rock in ___ (major music festival). 3 letters
RIO. Rock in Rio is a music festival that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1985. The festival continued annually with the title 'Rock in Rio', even though it has also been held in Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain. 1.5 million people attended the first event in Rio, making it the largest music festival in the world.
77
Pentathlete's need. 4 letters
EPEE. The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the 'modern pentathlon'. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:
78
Noted Cosell interviewee. 3 letters
ALI. Howard Cosell was one of the most popular of all sports journalists. With his high profile came a lot of controversy as Cosell wasn't afraid to express his personal opinions. For example, he came out against professional boxing in 1982 after witnessing a one-sided fight between Larry Holmes and Tex Cobb. Two weeks earlier South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim had died after a match against Ray Mancini.
79
Something taken in preparation for a trip. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
80
First place. 4 letters
EDEN. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden "in" Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
81
___ Digital Short. 3 letters
SNL. Since 2005, the "Saturday Night Live" comedy show has been airing a feature called "SNL Digital Shorts". These spots break away from the "live" format of the show, and are pre-recorded for airing during the Saturday broadcast. The Digital Shorts are filmed on consumer-grade digital cameras, and are edited on personal computers. They can feature members of the regular cast, musical guests, and celebrity cameos.
82
Publisher of Shooting Illustrated, for short. 3 letters
NRA. The NRA is the National Rifle Association, and has been around since 1871. The group was founded as the American rifle Association, and had some celebrated presidents, including President Ulysses S. Grant. It's often been said that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.
83
British P.M. 4 letters
EDEN. Sir Anthony Eden served as Britain's Foreign Secretary during WWII, and then as Prime Minister from 1955-57. I think it's fair to say that Eden doesn't have a great reputation as a statesman. He was proud of his stance in favor of peace over war, so his critics characterized him as an appeaser. His major stumble on the world stage occurred with the Suez Crisis in 1956. Egypt's President Nasser unilaterally nationalized the Suez Canal causing war to be declared on Egypt by Britain, France and Israel. Within a few months political pressure from the US and the USSR caused the allies to withdraw, bolstering Egypt's national reputation. Eden never recovered from the loss of face at home, and it is felt that the stress even affected his health. Eden resigned in January 1957.
84
Composer of the Windows 95 start-up sound. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up 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:
85
Commuting options. 3 letters
ELS. The Chicago "L" is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. It is also the second oldest, again with the New York Subway system having the honor of being the oldest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the "L", although the term "El" is also in common use (especially in crosswords as "ELS"). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
86
Actress Charlotte. 3 letters
RAE. Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties: "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life". Towards the end of the series, the Edna Garrett character operated her own gourmet food shop called 'Edna's Edibles'.
87
Kon-Tiki Museum city. 4 letters
OSLO. The Kon-Tiki was a raft used by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands. The original raft used in the voyage is on display in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (Heyerdahl was a native of Norway).
88
Sketchy program, for short?. 3 letters
SNL. 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL)
89
Down Under bird. 3 letters
EMU. Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.
90
Show that's earned more than 40 Emmys, in brief. 3 letters
SNL. 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL)
91
Peggy of "Lady and the Tramp". 3 letters
LEE. Peggy Lee was a jazz and popular music singer from Jamestown, North Dakota. 'Peggy Lee' was a stage name, and she was born Norma Egstrom. She was a successful songwriter as well as singer, and supplied several numbers for the Disney movie 'Lady and the Tramp'. Lee also sang in the film and voiced four of the characters.
92
Diva's delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. "Diva" comes to us from Latin via Italian. "Diva" is the feminine form of "divus" meaning "divine one". The word is used in Italy to mean "goddess" or "fine lady", and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.
93
What can make molehills out of a mountain?. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
94
401(k) alternative. 3 letters
IRA. A 401(k) account is similar to an IRA in that contributions can be made from a paycheck prior to the deduction of income taxes. Additionally, contributions can be fully or partially matched by an employer.
95
They're caught in Chicago. 3 letters
ELS. The Chicago "L" is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. It is also the second oldest, again with the New York Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the "L" (originally short for "elevated railroad"), although the term "El" is also in common use. (especially in crosswords as "ELS"). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
96
God with a bow. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor.
97
Santa ___. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California, taking its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because they are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up, so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
98
Contents of some charges. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. The explosive chemical was first produced by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand in 1863, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate, so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
99
The Greatest. 3 letters
ALI. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He changed his name to Muhammed Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali won a gold medal in the 1960 games, which he threw into the Ohio River after being refused service at a "whites only" restaurant. He was presented with a replacement medal during the 1996 Games.
100
"Aladdin" prince. 3 letters
ALI. The Disney animated feature "Aladdin" was released in 1992, and is one of the best features to come out of the studio, I think, largely due to the great performance by Robin Williams who voiced the Genie. "Aladdin" was the most successful film of 1992, earning over $500 million worldwide, an unusual feat for an animated movie.
101
Silent ___. 3 letters
ERA. The 'silent' of film was right at the beginning, when movies were first produced in 1894. The era ended in 1929 when silent movies were ousted by 'talking pictures'.
102
"Exodus" hero. 3 letters
ARI. "Exodus" is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris, first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.
103
Essential macromolecule. 3 letters
RNA. Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.
104
"Third Uncle" singer. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up jingle", the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up.
105
Santa ___ winds. 3 letters
ANA. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically 'falls' down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
106
Ginger ___. 3 letters
ALE. The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. 'Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale' was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced homemade liquor.
107
Santa ___. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California, taking its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because they are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls, it becomes drier and heats up, so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
108
Juillet season. 3 letters
ETE. One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in France, and "juillet" is French for July (note that the name of months aren't capitalized in French).
109
Only defenseman to have won the N.H.L. 3 letters
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 any more. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking ...
110
___ Prairie, Minn. 4 letters
EDEN. The city of Eden Prairie lies just outside downtown Minneapolis. If you live there, congratulations! Eden Prairie was ranked by "Money Magazine" in 2010 as the best place to live in America.
111
Where the Storting meets. 4 letters
OSLO. The Storting is the Norwegian parliament and is located in Oslo, Norway's capital city. The Storting differs in structure from say the US Congress and the British Parliament in that is "unicameral", it has only one legislative chamber.
112
Chaud time. 3 letters
ETE. In French, summer (été) is hot (chaud).
113
___ Sremmurd, hip-hop duo with the 2016 #1 hit "Black Beatles". 3 letters
RAE. Rae Sremmurd is hip hop act consisting of two brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi: Khalif 'Swae Lee' Brown and Aaquil 'Slim Jxmmi' Brown. The pair used to perform as Dem Outta St8 Boyz, with the brothers using the names Kid Krunk and Caliboy, along with a third brother known as Lil Pantz. Sometimes I think I over-complicate things by using the name 'Bill' ...
114
Ambient musician Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the 'ambient' genre of music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called 'Ambient 1: Music for Airports', the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks somewhat inventively: 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.
115
It may be dropped when one trips. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
116
Home of the Gardermoen airport. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo is an ancient city, founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV and renamed Christiana. In 1877, there was an official change of the name's spelling to Kristiana, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have gone full circle, for now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has been renamed Christiana.
117
Country's ___ Young Band. 3 letters
ELI. The Eli Young Band is a country group from Texas founded by Mike Eli and James Young when they were roommates in the University of North Texas.
118
Lincoln, the Rail-Splitter. 3 letters
ABE. Before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, his political campaign used the nick-name "the Rail-Splitter" to emphasize his humble upbringing. Lincoln had worked at splitting fence rails in his youth.
119
Docking info. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
120
Talent agent ___ Emanuel. 3 letters
ARI. Ari Emanuel is a very successful talent agent based in Beverly Hills, California. Among those listed as his client are Conan O'Brien, Matt Damon, Michael Moore, Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg. Emanuel is the real-life inspiration for the characters Stevie Grant on the "The Larry Sanders Show" and Ari Gold on the HBO series "Entourage". Oh, and the White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, that's Ari's Brother.
121
Actress Graynor. 3 letters
ARI. Ari Graynor is an American actress who first came to national attention playing the character of Caitlin Rucker in a few episodes of the HBO series "The Sopranos".
122
Sault ___ Marie. 3 letters
STE. In the summer of 2010 I spent a very interesting afternoon watching ships make their way through the Soo Locks and Soo Canal between Lake Superior and the lower Great lakes. The name "Soo" comes from the US and Canadian cities on either side of the locks, both called Sault Ste. Marie.
123
Skill at picking things up?. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
124
Yoko who loved John. 3 letters
ONO. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotels in Amsterdam and then Montreal, when they staged their famous "bed-in" for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words "give peace a chance". While still in bed, he composed his famous song "Give Peace a Chance" and even made the original recording of the song in the Montreal hotel room, with reporters present, and with a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit.
125
Explosive stuff. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
126
Film director Roth. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Roth is one of a group of directors of horror movies known quite graphically as "The Splat Pack". I can't stand "splat" movies and avoid them as best I can. Roth is also famous for playing Donny Donowitz in the Quentin Tarantino movie "Inglourious Basterds", a good film I thought, if you close your eyes during the gruesome bits.
127
Rebel leader. 3 letters
LEE. Robert E. Lee is renowned as a southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state. During the Civil War, Lee's men referred to him affectionately as 'Marse Robert', with 'marse' being slang for 'master'.
128
Jackie's #2. 3 letters
ARI. Aristotle Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They had two children, including the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.
129
Locale painted in the Sistine Chapel. 4 letters
EDEN. The Sistine Chapel, in the Pope's residence in Rome, takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.
130
Santa ___, Calif. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.
131
Coast Guard rank: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign (ens.)
132
Home for Ibsen. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiana. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling od the city's name to "Kristiana", and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiana.
133
Olympian with a bow. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor.
134
___ Taylor (clothing retailer). 3 letters
ANN. There was no such woman as "Ann Taylor" associated with the Ann Taylor line of clothes. The name was chosen by the marketing professionals because "Ann" was considered to be "very New England" back in 1954 when the stores first opened, and "Taylor" suggested that clothes were carefully "tailored".
135
"Touching" Olympic event. 4 letters
EPEE. The French word for sword is épée.
136
J.F.K.'s successor. 3 letters
ARI. Jackie Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of a Wall Street stock broker, John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and first met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. After she saw her husband assassinated, and then her brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy, she declared that she feared for the life of her children as they bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.
137
Tennis's Ivanovic. 3 letters
ANA. Ana Ivanovic is a Serbian tennis player, and former world number one. As well as playing tennis, she also studied finance at university in her native Belgrade.
138
Lennon's love. 3 letters
ONO. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotels in Amsterdam and then Montreal, when they staged their famous "bed-in" for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words "give peace a chance". While still in bed, he composed his famous song "Give Peace a Chance" and even made the original recording of the song in the Montreal hotel room, with reporters present, and with a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit.
139
Sword you score points with. 4 letters
EPEE. The French word for sword is "épée". In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent's body.
140
One of the Romneys. 3 letters
ANN. Ann Davies knew Mitt Romney way back in elementary school, and the pair started dating when Ann was 16 and were married in 1968 when she was 19 years old. Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, and she has been very active with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
141
Fall scene. 4 letters
EDEN. In the Christian tradition, the 'fall of man' took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, against the bidding of God. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.
142
Radon regulators, in brief. 3 letters
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
143
Wallach of "The Magnificent Seven". 3 letters
ELI. Eli Wallach appeared consistently and made great performances on the big and small screens since the 1950s. Wallach's most famous role was probably as 'the Ugly' in 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. More recently he gave a very strong performance in 2006's 'The Holiday'. Sadly, Wallach passed away in june 2014, at the age of 98.
144
Weekly NBC staple, for short. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to pull together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he come up with what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
145
Emissions watchdog, for short. 3 letters
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency was set up during the Nixon administration, and began operation at the end of 1970.
146
Composer of "1/1," "1/2," "2/1" and "2/2". 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno composed an album in 1978 called 'Ambient 1: Music for Airports', the first in a series of four albums with an 'Ambient' theme. Eno named the tracks somewhat inventively: 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.
147
Lake named for an Indian tribe. 4 letters
ERIE. Lake Erie is the second smallest of the Great Lakes (after Lake Ontario). The lake takes its name from the Erie tribe of Native Americans that used to live along its southern shore. Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, something for which nearby residents must be quite grateful. Being relatively shallow, Erie freezes over part way through most winters putting an end to the lake effect snow that falls in the snow belt extending from the lake's edge.
148
Part of the Australian coat of arms. 3 letters
EMU. The official symbol of Australia is a coat of arms that features a kangaroo and an emu.
149
Sporting sword. 4 letters
EPEE. The épée that is used in today's sport fencing is derived from the old French dueling sword. In fact, the the sport of épée fencing is very similar to the dualing of the 19th century. The word 'épée' translates from French as 'sword'.
150
Diva's delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. "Diva" comes to us from Latin via Italian. "Diva" is the feminine form of "divus" meaning "divine one". The word is used in Italy to mean "goddess" or "fine lady", and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.
151
Picking up strength, for short?. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
152
Setting for Hitchcock's "Notorious". 3 letters
RIO. "Notorious" is an interesting Hitchcock film made in 1946, and starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. I find it interesting as it is such a different, dramatic role for Cary Grant, and a more gritty role for the lovely Ingrid Bergman. And the great Claude Rains is in there for good measure. It's a story of espionage, love and intrigue set in Rio de Janeiro where there is a group of Nazi Germans hiding out after WWII. Definitely worth a rental if you've never seen it ...
153
2005 Drama Pulitzer finalist Will. 3 letters
ENO. Will Eno is an American playwright working in Brooklyn, New York. That said, Eno's plays are mainly produced across the pond in the UK.
154
Gift in "The Gift". 3 letters
ESP. "The Gift" is a film produced in 2000, written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. The movie is a supernatural thriller starring Cate Blanchett, and is inspired by the apparent psychic experiences of Thornton's mother.
155
Sault ___ Marie. 3 letters
STE. Sault Ste. Marie is both a city in Ontario, Canada, and a city in Michigan. The two are divided by the Saint Mary's River, along with the US-Canada border runs.
156
Birthplace of the bossa nova. 3 letters
RIO. Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). 'Rio de Janeiro' translates as "January River". The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Years Day in 1502.
157
Brian of ambient music. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up jingle", the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up.
158
Spinks foe. 3 letters
ALI. The boxer Muhammad Ali is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the greatest sports figures of the 1900s. In 1999, Ali was named 'Sportsman of the Century' by 'Sports Illustrated' and 'Sports Personality of the Century' by the BBC.
159
Actor Bruce. 3 letters
LEE. Bruce Lee was born not far from here in San Francisco although he was raised in Hong Kong, returning to the US to attend college. Sadly, Bruce Lee died when he was only 32 years old, due to cerebral edema (a swelling of the brain) attributed to adverse reactions to the pain killing drug Equagesic.
160
Bow-toting deity. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor. The Roman counterpart to Eros was Cupid.
161
Santa ___ winds. 3 letters
ANA. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
162
Prohibition, for one. 3 letters
ERA. There were concerted efforts to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages in the US from the 1840s right up until the lobbyists achieved success with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919. While there were several factors that influenced legislators at that time, one was the perceived need to take political power away from German-based brewing industry during WWI.
163
Yoko who co-produced 45-Down. 3 letters
ONO. Yoko Ono is an avant-garde artist. Ono actually met her future husband John Lennon for the first time while she was preparing her conceptual art exhibit called 'Hammer a Nail'. Visitors were encouraged to hammer in a nail into a wooden board, creating the artwork. Lennon wanted to hammer in the first nail, but Ono stopped him as the exhibition had not yet opened. Apparently Ono relented when Lennon paid her an imaginary five shillings to hammer an imaginary nail into the wood.
164
___ equivalent (measure of explosive strength). 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. The chemical was first produced by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand in 1863, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
165
Jacqueline Kennedy ___ Bouvier. 3 letters
NEE. Jackie Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of a Wall Street stock broker, John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. After she saw her husband assassinated, and her brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy, she declared that she feared for the life of her children, who bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.
166
The "E" of 14-Across. 3 letters
ELI. (14A. Maker of the old Speed Wagon : REO)
167
Acid. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (also known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a development project aimed at finding medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
168
Brian of ambient music. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the 'ambient' genre of music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called 'Ambient 1: Music for Airports', the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks somewhat inventively: 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.
169
"Turn on, tune in, drop out" drug. 3 letters
LSD. "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" is a phrase popularized in the sixties by Timothy Leary, the psychologist and writer. Leary was an icon of the sixties counterculture, a promoter of the use of LSD. On his death, some of his ashes were "buried" in space, launched aboard a rocket that contained the ashes of 24 other people including "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.
170
Amtrak guess, for short. 3 letters
ETA. Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
171
Flatow of NPR's "Science Friday". 3 letters
IRA. "Science Friday" is an excellent talk show broadcast every Friday on NPR, and hosted by Ira Flatow. Flatow is known to television audiences as the host of 'Newton's Apple', which ran from 1983 to 1998.
172
"Is That All There Is" singer Peggy. 3 letters
LEE. Peggy Lee was a jazz and popular music singer from Jamestown, North Dakota. 'Peggy Lee' was a stage name, and she was born Norma Egstrom. She was a successful songwriter as well as singer, and supplied several numbers for the Disney movie 'Lady and the Tramp'. Lee also sang in the film and voiced four of the characters.
173
Org. 3 letters
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
174
Org. 3 letters
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.
175
___ Whitney. 3 letters
ELI. The inventor Eli Whitney is a best known for inventing the cotton gin. Whitney also came up with the important concept of 'interchangeable parts'. Parts that are interchangeable can be swapped out of equipment or perhaps used in related designs.
176
Drug sold in microdots. 3 letters
LSD. LSD was sold in tablet form, with the tablets having varied shapes and sizes. The most famous were the small pills that were commonly called 'microdots'.
177
Pop singer Carly ___ Jepsen. 3 letters
RAE. Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. Jepsen got her start on TV's 'Canadian Idol' when she placed third in the show's fifth season.
178
Codon carrier. 3 letters
RNA. Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.
179
Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality," e.g. 3 letters
ODE. The great English poet William Wordsworth lived in the Lake District in the north of England, a beautiful part of the country. I've been fortunate enough to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere a couple of times, where Wordsworth lived with his wife, Dorothy.
180
City hard hit by the Zika virus. 3 letters
RIO. The Zika virus causes the disease known as Zika fever, and is mainly spread by the yellow fever mosquito. While the majority of cases of infection result in minor symptoms or even no symptoms at all, Zika virus infections of pregnant women may be linked to newborn microcephaly. Microcephaly is a birth defect in which a baby's head is smaller than normal.
181
Called previously. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born", when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né"
182
This does not fly. 3 letters
EMU. The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an 'Emu War' in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the 'invading force'. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of 'war', the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious ...
183
NBC show with skits, in brief. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to come up with a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he created what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
184
Actress ___ Dawn Chong. 3 letters
RAE. Rae Dawn Chong is the daughter of Tommy Chong, of "Cheech and Chong" fame. Rae Dawn acted in quite a few films in the eighties and nineties, including "The Color Purple" and "Commando".
185
Kind of replication. 3 letters
RNA. The two most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which play crucial roles in genetics. The DNA contains the genetic instructions used to keep living organisms functioning, and RNA is used to transcribe that information from the DNA to protein "generators" called ribosomes.
186
Author Levin. 3 letters
IRA. As well as writing novels, Ira Levin was a dramatist and a songwriter. Levin's first novel was "A Kiss Before Dying", and his most famous work was "Rosemary's Baby" which became a Hollywood hit. His best known play is "Deathtrap", a production that is often seen in local theater (I've seen it a couple of times around here). "Deathtrap" was also was a successful movie, starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. My favorite of Levin's novels though are "The Boys from Brazil" and "The Stepford Wives".
187
Singer Yoko. 3 letters
ONO. Yoko Ono was born into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Ono's father moved around the world for work and Yoko lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII. There Yoko lived through the great fire-bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko's father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.
188
Lennon's second mate. 3 letters
ONO. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotels in Amsterdam and then Montreal, when they staged their famous "bed-in" for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words "give peace a chance". While still in bed, he composed his famous song "Give Peace a Chance" and even made the original recording of the song in the Montreal hotel room, with reporters present, and with a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit.
189
Lighter of the Olympic flame in Atlanta. 3 letters
ALI. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali won a gold medal in the 1960 games, which he threw into the Ohio River after being refused service at a "whites only" restaurant. He was presented with a replacement medal during the 1996 Games.
190
Good fig. 3 letters
ERA. Baseball pitcher Greg Maddux won the Cy Young Award for the four consecutive years of 1992-1995, a record that wasn't matched until Randy Johnson did the same thing in 1999-2002.
191
Art rock's Plastic ___ Band. 3 letters
ONO. The Plastic Ono Band was a so-called super-group, brought together by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969. Members of the group included John and Yoko, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Keith Moon.
192
Two-time U.S. 3 letters
ELS. Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname "The Big Easy". He has a child who suffers from autism and so Els has been very effective in raising money for charities that focus on the condition.
193
Formerly. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born", when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né"
194
Cupid, to the Greeks. 4 letters
EROS. As always seems to be the case, the Greek gods Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
195
City on a lake of the same name. 4 letters
ERIE. Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, right on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area.
196
___ Baba. 3 letters
ALI. In the folk tale 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', the title character is a poor woodcutter who discovers the magic words 'Open Sesame' that open the thieves' den.
197
Olympics locale where the first figure-skating triple jump was landed. 4 letters
OSLO. The 1952 Winter Olympic Games took place in Oslo, Norway. The games is remembered as the first time a purpose-built athletes' village was constructed.
198
"Y"-sporting collegian. 3 letters
ELI. Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.
199
Jabber?. 4 letters
EPEE. The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, both of which are also thrusting weapons. However, the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
200
Bus. card abbr.. 3 letters
STE. Suite (ste.)
201
Time for a pique-nique, maybe. 3 letters
ETE. One might spend the summer (été) having picnics (pique-niques) in France.
202
___ de Janeiro. 3 letters
RIO. The name Rio de Janeiro translates into "January River". The name reflects the discovery of the Bay on which Rio sits, on January 1, 1502.
203
Show for which Conan O'Brien once wrote, in brief. 3 letters
SNL. Before Conan O'Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host he was a writer. He wrote for both "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons".
204
Five-spot. 3 letters
ABE. "Abe" is slang for a five-dollar bill.
205
Inventor Whitney. 3 letters
ELI. The inventor Eli Whitney is a best known for inventing the cotton gin. Whitney also came up with the important concept of 'interchangeable parts'. Parts that are interchangeable can be swapped out of equipment or perhaps used in related designs.
206
Tennis's Ivanovic. 3 letters
ANA. Ana Ivanovic is a Serbian tennis player, and former world number one. As well as playing tennis, she also studies finance at university in her native Belgrade.
207
Song for a diva. 4 letters
ARIA. 'Diva' comes to us from Latin via Italian. 'Diva' is the feminine form of 'divus' meaning 'divine one'. The word is used in Italy to mean 'goddess' or 'fine lady', and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.
208
Prey of wild dogs and crocodiles. 3 letters
EMU. The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. The aborigines used them for food and are very adept at hunting them using a variety of traditional techniques. There was even an "Emu War" in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in using machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the emus. The emus were clever , and broke their usual formation and adopted guerrilla tactics, operating as small units. After 50 days of "war", the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers was refused.
209
Buffalo's county. 4 letters
ERIE. Buffalo is the second most-populous city in the state of New York. The city takes its name from Buffalo Creek that runs through the metropolis (although the waterway is called Buffalo River within the city). The source of the name Buffalo Creek is the subject of much speculation, but one thing is clear, there were never any bison in the area.
210
Powerful D.C. 3 letters
NRA. National Rifle Association (NRA)
211
Love god. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word 'erotic', meaning 'arousing sexual desire'. Also known as Amor, the Roman counterpart to Eros was Cupid.
212
Boxer Muhammad. 3 letters
ALI. The boxer Muhammad Ali is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the greatest sports figures of the 1900s. In 1999, Ali was named 'Sportsman of the Century' by 'Sports Illustrated' and 'Sports Personality of the Century' by the BBC.
213
Two out of nine?. 3 letters
ENS. There are two ens (the letter N) in the word 'nine'.
214
Order at McSorley's. 3 letters
ALE. A few years ago, I brought my wife and sister-in-law into McSorley's. I was foolish enough to ask what kind of wine they had for the ladies. The gruff answer was "McSorley's Light Ale or McSorley's Dark Ale".
215
Somme summer. 3 letters
ETE. Ete: the French word for Summer.
216
Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr.. 3 letters
STE. Joan of Arc led the French Army successfully into battle a number of times during the Hundred Years War with England. When she was eventually captured, she was tried in Rouen, the seat of the occupying English government in France at that time. Famously, she was burned at the stake having been found guilty of heresy. Joan of Arc was canonized some 600 years later, in 1920, and is now one of the patron saints of France.
217
Abbr. 3 letters
STE. 'Sainte' (ste.) is French for 'saint', when referring to a female.
218
1970s Bowie collaborator. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, his most oft played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up jingle", the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system starts up.
219
When a plane is due in, for short. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
220
Carrier to Tokyo. 3 letters
ANA. All Nippon Airways is a Japanese airline, second in size only to JAL.
221
Blockbuster?. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
222
2016 Olympics city. 3 letters
RIO. Even though the 2016 Olympic Games is a 'summer' competition, it will be held in Rio de Janeiro in the winter. As Rio is in the southern hemisphere, the planned date of the opening of 5th August 2016 falls in the local season of winter. The 2016 games will also be first to be held in South America, and the first to be hosted by a Portuguese-speaking country.
223
Cupid, to the Greeks. 4 letters
EROS. As always seem to be the case, the Greek gods Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
224
Statue in London's Piccadilly Circus. 4 letters
EROS. London's Piccadilly Circus is a major road junction in the West End of London. The junction is at one end of the thoroughfare called Piccadilly, hence the first part of the name. The junction's shape is roughly circular, hence the use of 'circus', a Latin word meaning 'circle'. Famously, there is a statue of Eros at the center of the junction.
225
Green grp. 3 letters
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)
226
Certain Iroquoian. 4 letters
ERIE. The Erie people were Native Americans who lived on the south shore of Lake Erie. The Erie lost out in wars with the Iroquois in the 1700s. The remnants of the Erie people were absorbed into neighboring tribes.
227
Libidinous god. 4 letters
EROS. Someone described as 'libidinous' is lustful, ruled by his or her libido.
228
Olympic event with electrified equipment. 4 letters
EPEE. The French word for sword is "épée". In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent's body.
229
Thornton Wilder, while earning his B.A. 3 letters
ELI. Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.
230
A Gershwin. 3 letters
IRA. Ira Gershwin was the lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me", and the opera "Porgy and Bess". After his brother died, Ira continued to create great music, working with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.
231
1969 newlywed in the news. 3 letters
ONO. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotel in Amsterdam, when they staged their famous "bed-in" for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words "give peace a chance". While still in bed, he composed his famous song "Give Peace a Chance" and even sang it to the visiting reporters a few times. The original recording of the song was made in the hotel room, with reporters present, and a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit.
232
QB Manning. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Manning plays as quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli's brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Eli and Peyton's father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback.
233
Musician Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, his most oft played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up jingle", the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows system starts up.
234
Part of a financial portfolio, for short. 3 letters
IRA. Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
235
Mind reading, for short. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
236
Mrs. 3 letters
ARI. I haven't seen the HBO series 'Entourage', but will have to take a look one day as I am a huge fan of HBO productions. 'Entourage' is the story of a young movie star from New York City learning about life in Los Angeles. The show is co-produced by the actor Mark Wahlberg and so the storyline is somewhat biographical, based on a few of Wahlberg's own experiences.
237
Lennon's love. 3 letters
ONO. Yoko Ono is an avant-garde artist. Ono actually met her future husband John Lennon for the first time while she was preparing her conceptual art exhibit called 'Hammer a Nail'. Visitors were encouraged to hammer in a nail into a wooden board, creating the artwork. Lennon wanted to hammer in the first nail, but Ono stopped him as the exhibition had not yet opened. Apparently Ono relented when Lennon paid her an imaginary five shillings to hammer an imaginary nail into the wood.
238
Musician Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up 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:
239
Football's Manning. 3 letters
ELI. Even I know that Eli Manning, and his older brother Peyton, are both quarterbacks!
240
'60s prez. 3 letters
ABE. Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky making him the first president born in the West. His formal education was limited to a year and a half of schooling, but fortunately for us, Lincoln was an avid reader and educated himself over the years. Even though he was from a rural area, he avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like to kill animals even for food.
241
Stat that may be "adjusted". 3 letters
ERA. The pitching stat, earned run average (ERA), measures how many runs a pitcher tends to give up per nine innings.
242
Building blaster, for short. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
243
Former Texas governor Richards. 3 letters
ANN. Ann Richards was the second woman to serve as Governor of Texas, and held the office from 1991 to 1995. Richards was a Democrat, and she was defeated in the 1994 election by George W. Bush.
244
It's depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. 4 letters
EDEN. The Sistine Chapel, in the Pope's residence in Rome, takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.
245
Anne, par exemple: Abbr.. 3 letters
STE. 'Sainte' (ste.) is French for 'saint', when referring to a female.
246
Right-to-bear-arms org. 3 letters
NRA. The NRA is the National Rifle Association, an organization that has been around since 1871. The NRA has had some celebrity presidents, including US President Ulysses S. Grant. It's often said that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.
247
Chicago trains. 3 letters
ELS. The Chicago "L" is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The "L" is also the second oldest, again with the New York Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the "L" (originally short for "elevated railroad"), although the term "El" is also in common use (especially in crosswords as "ELS"). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
248
Explorer John. 3 letters
RAE. John Rae was a Scottish explorer, who took on the task of searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The Franklin Expedition was itself searching for the elusive Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. John Rae stirred up much controversy back in England when he reported evidence of cannibalism among the ill-fated Franklin explorers.
249
Radio host Glass. 3 letters
IRA. Ira Glass is a well-respected presenter on American Public Radio, most noted for his show "This American Life". I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira's first cousin.
250
Iran's Ayatollah ___ Khamenei. 3 letters
ALI. Ali Khamenei is a Muslim cleric who has been the Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989.
251
Full Sail or Fuller's. 3 letters
ALE. Full Sail is a craft brewery in Hood River, Oregon.
252
Gate projection, for short. 3 letters
ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
253
Help in making a prediction, maybe. 3 letters
ESP. Extra Sensory Perception.
254
Scottish doctor/explorer John. 3 letters
RAE. John Rae was a Scottish explorer, who took on the task of searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The Franklin Expedition was itself searching for the elusive Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. John Rae created much controversy back in England when he reported evidence of cannibalism among the ill-fated Franklin explorers.
255
"Norma ___". 3 letters
RAE. "Norma Rae" is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called "Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance".
256
Trains to Wrigley. 3 letters
ELS. The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914. Back then it was known as Weegham Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame.
257
Glass or Gershwin. 3 letters
IRA. Ira Glass is a well respected presenter on American Public Radio, most noted for his show "This American Life". I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira's first cousin.
258
Victorian ___. 3 letters
ERA. The Victorian era lasted the length of the Queen Victoria's reign, from 1837 to 1901. The era was a period of great prosperity and growth, with the population of England and Wales doubling to over 30 million. Mind you, the population of Ireland halved during the same period, from 8 million to 4 million, largely due to the Great Famine.
259
Dijon toasting time?. 3 letters
ETE. In Dijon, France the weather is toasty warm in the summer ('été').
260
"Purple haze". 3 letters
LSD. 'Purple Haze' is a 1967 song written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix that has been described as a 'psychedelic drug song of the sixties'. In fact, the term 'purple haze' came to refer to LSD. Having said that, Hendrix denied any relation of the lyrics to drugs at all.
261
Cent gent?. 3 letters
ABE. The US one-cent coin has borne the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of Lincoln's birth. Fifty years later, a representation of the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side.
262
"The Soul of a Butterfly" autobiographer. 3 letters
ALI. 'The Soul of a Butterfly' is a 2004 autobiography of former heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali.
263
Singer Yoko. 3 letters
ONO. Yoko Ono was born into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Her father moved around the world for work, and she lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan, before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII, in time to live through the great fire-bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko's father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.
264
Formerly. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
265
Pitcher's stat. 3 letters
ERA. The pitching stat, earned run average (ERA), measures how many runs a pitcher tends to give up per nine innings.
266
Peabody Museum patron, perhaps. 3 letters
ELI. Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.
267
Golf's Big Easy. 3 letters
ELS. Ernie Els is a South African golfer. He's a big guy, but he has an easy, fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname "The Big Easy". Els has a child who suffers from autism, and he has been very effective in raising money for charities that focus on the condition.
268
Norway's capital. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiana. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling of the city's name to "Kristiana", and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiana.
269
Phiz on a five. 3 letters
ABE. "Phiz" is mainly British slang, a word for the "face". President Abraham Lincoln's "phiz" is on a five dollar bill.
270
Miss identification?. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
271
Singer Carly ___ Jepsen. 3 letters
RAE. Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. Jepsen got her start on TV's 'Canadian Idol' when she placed third in the show's fifth season.
272
Summer in Québec. 3 letters
ETE. One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in French-speaking countries.
273
401(k) alternative. 3 letters
IRA. I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland, it was pretty confusing seeing big signs along the freeway touting contributions to the IRA! Back in Ireland, that was pretty illegal (where IRA means the Irish Republican Army).
274
One of the Gershwins. 3 letters
IRA. Ira Gershwin was a lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me", as well as the opera "Porgy and Bess". After George Gershwin died, Ira continued to create great music, working with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.
275
$$$ set aside for later years. 3 letters
IRA. I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland, it was pretty confusing seeing big signs along the freeway advocating IRA contributions. Back in Ireland, that was pretty illegal (where IRA stands for the outlawed Irish Republican Army!).
276
Tree of Life locale. 4 letters
EDEN. There is mention in the Bible of both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Apparently there is some debate over whether or not the two trees are one and the same.
277
Hockey defender Bobby. 3 letters
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players who ever played the game. By the time he retired in 1978, Orr 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 ...
278
Big bird. 3 letters
EMU. Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.
279
"The Joyous Cosmology" subj. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
280
Born as. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
281
Org. 3 letters
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
282
Bitter, e.g. 3 letters
ALE. The term 'bitter' is used in England for what we are more likely to call 'pale ale' here in North America.
283
They have high stations. 3 letters
ELS. 'Els' are elevated railroads.
284
It's sold by the yard. 3 letters
ALE. A yard of ale is a very tall glass, one that is just under a yard (three feet) long. It holds about 60 fluid ounces of beer. I've tried drinking out of one, and it is extremely difficult. There is a bulb at the bottom of the glass. When you get towards the end of the drink, that bulb causes a kind of airlock and the remainder of the beer rushes to the top of the glass splashing you in the face.
285
Roth ___. 3 letters
IRA. Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.
286
Louisville's Muhammad ___ Center. 3 letters
ALI. The Muhammad Ali Center' is a museum in Ali's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The center was opened in 2005 and explores the life of the champion boxer and features exhibitions that reflect Ali's core values.
287
It can make you squiffy. 3 letters
ALE. 'Squiffy' is a british term meaning 'drunk'.
288
One of Heart's Wilson sisters. 3 letters
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.
289
Boy taking a bow. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor.
290
One "coming" in a Three Dog Night hit. 3 letters
ELI. The rock band Three Dog Night had its first and biggest success back in 1969 with the Harry Nilsson song 'One'. The song is perhaps best known for it's opening words, "One is the loneliest number ..." Three Dog Night took their name from an Australian expression. Apparently indigenous Australians would sleep in a hole in the ground alongside their tame dingoes On a cold night, they would huddle up to two dingoes and if it was really, really cold, it was a "three dog night".
291
Marie or Jeanne: Abbr.. 3 letters
STE. "Sainte" is the French word for a female saint, abbreviated to "Ste."
292
Olympics venue between London and Tokyo. 3 letters
RIO. Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). 'Rio de Janeiro' translates as 'January River'. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year's Day in 1502.
293
"Falling Skies" airer. 3 letters
TNT. "Falling Skies" is a sci-fi television series about life in Boston after an alien invasion.
294
Vegas casino. 3 letters
RIO. The Rio casino in Las Vegas was opened in 1990, originally targeting the local population as it is located off the famous Strip where most of the tourists hang out. Famously, the Rio opened up the adults-only Sapphire Pool in 2008, a pay-to-enter (only men paid) topless pool club that featured music and dancers. A year later the Sapphire Pool was closed down after there were eleven arrests for drugs and prostitution offences during an undercover police operation.
295
Rue ___-Catherine (main commercial street of Montréal). 3 letters
STE. Saint Catherine Street (Rue Sainte-Catherine) is the main commercial street in the Quebec city of Montreal. The street hosts Canada's largest open-air sidewalk sale for one weekend in July every year. Attracting over 300,000 people annually, over a mile of the street's length is closed to traffic for the event.
296
Subj. 3 letters
ESP. The Dead Zone' is a 1979 novel by Stephen King. The 'dead zone' in the title is an area of the brain of the book's protagonist that suffered damage as a result of an accident. I really don't do Stephen King ...
297
Horror director Roth. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Roth is one of a group of directors of horror movies known quite graphically as "The Splat Pack". I can't stand "splat" movies. Roth is also famous for playing Donny Donowitz in the Quentin Tarantino movie "Inglourious Basterds", a good film I thought, if you close your eyes during the gruesome bits.
298
___ Highway, classic New York-to-San Francisco route. 3 letters
LEE. The Lee Highway used to connect New York City to San Francisco, passing through the South and Southwest. The route isn't used much for cross-country travel anymore, not since the interstate system was constructed. Named for Robert E. Lee, parts of the route are still known as the Lee Highway, especially in Virginia and Tennessee.
299
Wiig gig, for short. 3 letters
SNL. Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on "Saturday Night Live". She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV's quirky "The Joe Schmo Show", playing "Dr. Pat".
300
___ de Janeiro. 3 letters
RIO. Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). 'Rio de Janeiro' translates as "January River". The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Years Day in 1502.
301
Musician who co-founded Nutopia. 3 letters
ONO. Back in the 1970s, John Lennon was having immigration problems here in the US where he lived with his wife Yoko Ono. With a satirical smile, Lennon and Ono held a press conference on April Fool's Day in 1973 and announced that the couple were creating a fictional country called Nutopia ('new' + 'utopia'). Lennon and Ono appointed themselves ambassadors of Nutopia and sought diplomatic immunity in order to get around John's immigration issues.
302
Tours summer. 3 letters
ETE. Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France. It is said that the people of Tours speak the "purest" form of French in the whole country, and when spoken by a local it is also said to be free of any accent.
303
"Norma ___". 3 letters
RAE. "Norma Rae" is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field, a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called "Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance".
304
Reagan-___. 3 letters
ERA. Ronald Reagan started out his political career as a member of the Democratic Party, but switched to the Republicans in the early fifties. He served as Governor of California for eight years, and vied unsuccessfully for the nomination for US President on two occasions. He finally succeeded in 1980 and defeated President Jimmy Carter to become the 40th US President in 1981.
305
Gay Nineties, e.g. 3 letters
ERA. When looking back at the 1890s, here in America we sometimes refer to the era as the Gay Nineties. The term is associated with a time of emerging wealth in the days before income taxes were permanently levied on citizens. Back in the British Isles, the same decade is known as the Naughty Nineties, days of society scandals and the outrageous antics of the likes of Oscar Wilde.
306
Determinant of when to do an airport run, for short. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
307
One-striper: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
308
Mr. 3 letters
ARI. Aristotle Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They had two children, including the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.
309
Lakeside tribe. 4 letters
ERIE. The Erie people lived on lands south of Lake Erie. The Erie were sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation, a reference to the mountain lions that were ever-present in the area that they lived. The name 'Erie' is a shortened form of 'Erielhonan' meaning 'long tail', possibly a further reference to the mountain lion or cat, which was possibly used as a totem. The Erie people gave their name to the Great Lake.
310
He's to the right of Teddy on Mount Rushmore. 3 letters
ABE. The four presidents whose faces are carved in the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for the presidents to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.
311
53-Down grad: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
312
Carrier to Tokyo. 3 letters
ANA. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, second in size only to Japan Airlines (JAL).
313
Yale grad. 3 letters
ELI. Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.
314
Mesozoic ___. 3 letters
ERA. Geologic time is divided into four different units, which are, starting from the longest:
315
Hellenic "H". 3 letters
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.
316
Norma ___ (Sally Field role). 3 letters
RAE. "Norma Rae" is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called "Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance".
317
New York county on the Canadian border. 4 letters
ERIE. Erie County lies just west of Wyoming County in New York State. Erie County is home to the city of Buffalo, and sits right on the shores of lake Erie.
318
Psychic's "gift," for short. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
319
Starting point of a long race?. 4 letters
EDEN. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden "in" Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
320
Chain letters?. 3 letters
RNA. Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.
321
Capital near Lillehammer. 4 letters
OSLO. Lillehammer, Norway hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1994. The '94 Winter Games were the first to be held two years after the Summer Olympics, and so took place only two years after the '92 Games, held in Albertville, France.
322
Info for an airport run. 3 letters
ETA. Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
323
Capital near the 60th parallel. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo is the capital of Norway. The city of Oslo burns trash to fuel half of its buildings, including all of its schools. The problem faced by the city is that it doesn't generate enough trash. So, Oslo imports trash from Sweden, England and Ireland, and is now looking to import some American trash too.
324
Pres. 3 letters
ABE. There is a story that just before Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he received a letter from a 12-year-old girl who criticized Lincoln's appearance and his pock-marked, gaunt face. The little girl, Grace Bedell from New York, promised to get her brothers to vote for Lincoln if he would just grow a beard. However, Lincoln waited until after the election to grow his famous whiskers, a distinctive look that would forever be associated with his presidency.
325
Formerly. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born", when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né"
326
One taking a bow?. 4 letters
EROS. As always seem to be the case, the Greek gods Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
327
Inspiration for a troubadour. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor.
328
"The Dead Zone" ability, for short. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
329
One of the Manning brothers. 3 letters
ELI. Even I know that Eli Manning and his older brother Peyton are both quarterbacks!
330
Former New York mayor Beame. 3 letters
ABE. Abraham Beame was mayor of New York City from 1974-1977. Beame was actually born in London, England but grew up in New York. His term as mayor was a rough one, as the main focus back then was staving off bankruptcy for the city.
331
"Vissi d'arte," e.g. 4 letters
ARIA. Vissi d'arte" is an aria from Puccini's 'Tosca' that is sung by the title character Floria Tosca. The title translates from Italian as 'I lived for art'.
332
Boom maker. 3 letters
TNT. TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
333
Bird on the Australian coat of arms. 3 letters
EMU. The official symbol of Australia is a coat of arms that features a kangaroo and an emu.
334
Connection between Obama and Robinson?. 3 letters
NEE. Michelle Obama nee Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago and is sister to Craig Robinson, the coach of men's basketball at Oregon State University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another ...
335
Letter that rhymes with three other letters. 3 letters
ETA. The four Greek letters beta, zeta, eta and theta all rhyme with each other.
336
Messenger of biochemistry. 3 letters
RNA. Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.
337
Abbr. 3 letters
STE. Ste. is the abbreviation for "sainte", the feminine form of the French word for "saint".
338
Yoko who loved Lennon. 3 letters
ONO. John Lennon and Yoko Ono married at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969. The couple decided to use the inevitable publicity surrounding their wedding and honeymoon to promote peace in the world. They honeymooned in the Presidential Suite of the Amsterdam Hilton, inviting the world's press to join them and to witness their 'bed-in'. They spent the week talking about peace, and an end to war. The marriage and bed-in is chronicled by the Beatles in their song 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'.
339
Capital NNW of Copenhagen. 4 letters
OSLO. Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiana. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling of the city's name to "Kristiana", and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiana.
340
Messenger ___. 3 letters
RNA. RNA and DNA are very similar molecules. One big difference is that RNA is a single strand structure, whereas DNA is famously a double-helix. Another difference is that RNA contains ribose as a structural unit, and DNA contains deoxyribose i.e. ribose with one less oxygen atom. And that ribose/deoxyribose difference is reflected in the full name of the two molecules: ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
341
Rank above midshipman: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign (Ens.)
342
NBC weekend fixture, for short. 3 letters
SNL. 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL)
343
Kind of replication. 3 letters
RNA. The two most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which play crucial roles in genetics. The DNA contains the genetic instructions used to keep living organisms functioning, and RNA is used to transcribe that information from the DNA to protein "generators" called ribosomes.
344
Early wielder of a bow and arrow. 4 letters
EROS. As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
345
Singer Carly ___ Jepsen. 3 letters
RAE. Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. Jepsen got her start on TV's 'Canadian Idol' when she placed third in the show's fifth season.
346
Genetic carrier: Abbr.. 3 letters
RNA. RNA and DNA are very similar molecules. One big difference is that RNA is a single strand structure, whereas DNA is famously a double-helix. Another difference is that RNA contains ribose as a structural unit, and DNA contains deoxyribose i.e. ribose with one less oxygen atom. And that ribose/deoxyribose difference is reflected in the name of the two molecules: ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
347
QB Manning. 3 letters
ELI. Even I know that Eli Manning, and his older brother Peyton, are both quarterbacks!
348
The Bible's Garden of ___. 4 letters
EDEN. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden "in" Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
349
Barack Obama's mother. 3 letters
ANN. Barack Obama, Sr. was first married at the age of 18 in his home country of Kenya, and had two children during that marriage. He left his wife and children back in Kenya when he enrolled in the University of Hawaii in 1959 as the school's first African foreign student. There Obama met Ann Dunham in a Russian language course. The two entered into a romantic relationship and Dunham became pregnant. Obama told Dunham that he was divorced from his first wife (not true), and the pair were married on Maui in 1961. Six months later Barack Obama II was born, destined to be come the 44th President of the United States. Soon after the birth of their child, Ann Dunham moved with their son to Seattle, Washington. The couple were divorced in 1964.
350
Onetime gig for Wiig, in brief. 3 letters
SNL. Kristen Wiig is a comic actress who appears on "Saturday Night Live". She also made an appearance on the first season of Spike TV's quirky "The Joe Schmo Show", playing "Dr. Pat". More recently she co-wrote and starred in the 2011 hit film 'Bridesmaids'.
351
Greek god who figures in an annual holiday. 4 letters
EROS. As always seem to be the case, the Greek gods Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
352
Something a fund manager may manage, for short. 3 letters
IRA. Individual retirement account (IRA)
353
Info for an airport greeter. 3 letters
ETA. Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
354
Nest egg letters. 3 letters
IRA. I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland, it was pretty confusing seeing big signs along the freeway touting contributions to your IRA. Back in Ireland, that was pretty illegal (where IRA means the Irish Republican Army!).
355
La Scala presentation. 4 letters
ARIA. The La Scala Opera House opened in 1778. It was built on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave the theater its name, "Teatro alla Scala" in Italian.
356
Org. 3 letters
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.
357
Alumna's bio word. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born", when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
358
It may be waved at the Olympics. 4 letters
EPEE. The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, both of which are also thrusting weapons. However, the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
359
Set of anecdotes. 3 letters
ANA. An ana (plural 'anas') is a collection, perhaps of literature, that represents the character of a particular place or a person. Ana can be used as a noun or as a suffix (e.g. Americana).
360
Lyricist Gershwin. 3 letters
IRA. Ira Gershwin was the lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me", as well as the opera "Porgy and Bess". After George Gershwin died, Ira continued to create great music, working with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.
361
"Caro nome," for one. 4 letters
ARIA. "Caro nome" is an aria from Verdi's opera "Rigoletto".
362
Athlete with the autobiography "The Soul of a Butterfly". 3 letters
ALI. 'The Soul of a Butterfly' is a 2004 autobiography of former heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali.
363
"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" subject, supposedly. 3 letters
LSD. One day in 1966, Julian Lennon came home from nursery school and showed his Dad a drawing he had made of his classmate, a little girl called Lucy O'Donnell. Julian described the artwork as 'Lucy ... in the sky with diamonds'. And that is where John Lennon and Paul McCartney got the inspiration for their hit song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The implied drug reference in the title is an urban myth, although it was a myth that lead to the BBC banning the song from their airwaves for a time. None of the Beatles noticed that the song's initials spelled out LSD, probably because they were all high on LSD at the time ...
364
Thérèse, e.g.: Abbr.. 3 letters
STE. Saint Thérèse de Lisieux is also known as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Back in Ireland we call her 'The Little Flower of Jesus'.
365
Letter between two others that rhyme with it. 3 letters
ETA. In the Greek alphabet, 'eta' comes after 'zeta' and before 'theta'.
366
Acme product in Road Runner cartoons. 3 letters
TNT. The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it was used mainly in the Road Runner cartoons. Wile E. Coyote was always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always led to his downfall instead.
367
Charlotte of "The Facts of Life". 3 letters
RAE. Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties: "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life". Towards the end of the series, the Edna Garrett character operated her own gourmet food shop called 'Edna's Edibles'.
368
Cleveland's lake. 4 letters
ERIE. Cleveland, Ohio was named after the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.
369
Dueler's option. 4 letters
EPEE. The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, both of which are also thrusting weapons. However, the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
370
Info for a limo driver. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
371
A cabaletta is a short one. 4 letters
ARIA. A cabaletta is short and relatively simple aria, usually.
372
Quartet in "No, No, Nanette". 3 letters
ENS. There is a quarter of letters N (ens) in the title 'No, No, Nanette'.
373
Letter from Homer?. 3 letters
ETA. Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character "H".
374
Born. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
375
Prima donna's delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. The Italian operatic term 'prima donna' is used for the lead female singer in an opera company. 'Prima donna' translates from Italian as 'first lady'. The lead male singer is known as the 'primo uomo'. The term 'prima donna assoluta' is reserved for a prima donna who is generally accepted as being an outstanding performer. We tend to use 'prima donna' for a female performer who has an inflated ego.
376
"Southland" airer. 3 letters
TNT. The "Southland" TV series first aired on NBC in 2009, but later in the year cancelled the program after one season's run. TNT picked it up, and is now planning on taping a third season. The show is about various characters with the Los Angeles Police Department.
377
Boxer known as "The Greatest". 3 letters
ALI. The boxer Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta?
378
Yard filler, maybe. 3 letters
ALE. A yard of ale is a very tall glass, one that is just under a yard (three feet) long. It holds about 60 fluid ounces of beer. I've tried drinking out of one, and it is extremely difficult. There is a bulb at the bottom of the glass. When you get towards the end of the drink, that bulb causes a kind of airlock and the remainder of the beer rushes to the top of the glass splashing you in the face.
379
Musician with the 2016 album "The Ship". 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno's 2016 studio album entitled 'The Ship' is named for the sinking of the Titanic, according to Eno himself.
380
"Prince ___" ("Aladdin" song). 3 letters
ALI. The Disney animated feature "Aladdin" was released in 1992, and is one of the best features to come out of the studio, I think, largely due to the great performance by Robin Williams who voiced the Genie. Unusually for an animated movie, "Aladdin" was the most successful film of 1992, earning over $500 million worldwide.
381
Lake that stretches from Toledo to Buffalo. 4 letters
ERIE. Toledo, Ohio lies in the northwest of the state, at the western end of Lake Erie. Toledo was founded as a result of the prosperity that hit the area when the Miami and Erie Canal was constructed in the 19th century connecting Cincinnati to the Great Lakes. Toledo is known as the Glass City as several glass companies originated there, including Owens Corning and Pilkington North America. There is a large exhibition of glass art at the Toledo Museum of Art.
382
Elizabethan ___. 3 letters
ERA. The Elizabethan Era, the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is considered by many to be the golden age in English history, the age of Shakespeare and the English Renaissance. Elizabeth I was the last sovereign of the House of Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
383
Diva's delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. "Diva" comes to us from Latin via Italian. "Diva" is the feminine form of "divus" meaning "divine one". The word is used in Italy to mean "goddess" or "fine lady", and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.
384
World capital with 40 islands within its city limits. 4 letters
OSLO. The Norwegian capital of Oslo is located at the northern end of a fjord known as Oslofjord. The fjord is home to 40 islands that lie within the city's limits. Oslo also has 343 lakes.
385
Air ticket info. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
386
Art philanthropist Broad. 3 letters
ELI. Eli Broad made his fortune in real estate and was one of the founders of Kaufman and Broad, that we know these days as KB Homes. Broad's net worth was recently reported at just over $5 billion.
387
Record producer Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesiser player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo and U2.
388
First place. 4 letters
EDEN. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden "in" Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
389
H of antiquity. 3 letters
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.
390
Henry Purcell's "Dido's Lament," e.g. 4 letters
ARIA. Dido's Lament' is an aria from Henry Purcell's opera 'Dido and Aeneas'.
391
First prez to sport a beard. 3 letters
ABE. There is a story that just before Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he received a letter from a 12-year-old girl who criticized Lincoln's appearance and his pock-marked, gaunt face. The little girl, Grace Bedell from New York, promised to get her brothers to vote for Lincoln if he would just grow a beard. However, Lincoln waited until after the election to grow his famous whiskers, a distinctive look that would forever be associated with his presidency.
392
Old ___ (Yale, affectionately). 3 letters
ELI. Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant from London called Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University's nickname is 'Old Eli', in a nod to the benefactor.
393
Christ the Redeemer overlooks it. 3 letters
RIO. The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is known as Cristo Redento (Christ the Redeemer). The statue was constructed between 1922 and 1931. It is the largest Art Deco statue in the world, standing at over 30 feet tall.
394
Outback native. 3 letters
EMU. The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an "Emu War" in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the "invading force". The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of "war", the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious ...
395
Will Smith biopic. 3 letters
ALI. 'Ali' is a 2001 biographical movie about Muhammad Ali, with Will Smith in the title role. Among other things, the film is noted for its realistic fight scenes. The scenes were realistic because Smith was really being hit, as hard as his opponents could manage.
396
A dedicator of New York's Strawberry Fields. 3 letters
ONO. Strawberry Fields' is a memorial in Central Park in New York City. The memorial is a triangular piece of land found directly across from the Dakota Apartments where Lennon lived and was murdered. At the center of the triangle of land is a circular pathway mosaic of stones with the word 'Imagine' in the middle. Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, contributed over one million dollars to help pay for the memorial's design and upkeep.
397
Stat for Seaver or Santana. 3 letters
ERA. Tom Seaver is a former baseball pitcher, noted for his ten-year stint with the New York Mets from 1967 to 1977. He earned the nickname "Tom Terrific", and is the only Met player to have his jersey number retired. When he quit baseball he moved out here to California and opened up a small winery in Calistoga. Keep an eye out for the vineyard's name, "Seaver Family Vineyards", and their cabernets "Nancy's Fancy" and "GTS".
398
Special sight?. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory Perception (ESP).
399
Skit show, for short. 3 letters
SNL. 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL)
400
Grp. 3 letters
IRA. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) has been around in various forms since 1913, just three years before it launched the famous Easter Rising of 1916, a thwarted rebellion against British rule. The IRA fought the Irish War of Independence against the British which lasted from 1919 until 1921, ending in a treaty which divided the country into the self-governing Irish Free State and the separate country of Northern Ireland which remained part of the United Kingdom. The IRA split at the time the treaty was signed, leading to the Irish Civil War which lasted from 1922 to 1923, ending in a victory for the faction that supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
401
Bob ___, leader of Canada's Liberal Party before Justin Trudeau. 3 letters
RAE. Bob Rae is a former politician who was the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada for almost two full years starting in 2011. Rae was replaced by Justin Trudeau as party leader in 2013.
402
NBC fixture since '75. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to pull together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he come up with what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
403
Agent Gold of TV. 3 letters
ARI. Ari Gold is a fictional character in the HBO series "Entourage". "Entourage" tells the story of a rising film star, Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier), a native of New York but now learning to handle himself in Hollywood. Vincent's Hollywood agent is Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven.
404
Location for Munch's "The Scream". 4 letters
OSLO. Edvard Munch was a Norwegian expressionist, most famous for his painting "The Scream", painted in 1893. What a wonderful work that is, a true representation of expressionism. The Munch Museum in Oslo is dedicated to his work and life. In 2004, two of Munch's paintings, "The Scream" and "Madonna", were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who subdued the museum guards. The paintings were missing for two years, but recovered in 2006.
405
Record producer Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up 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:
406
Prohibition, e.g. 3 letters
ERA. There were concerted efforts to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages in the US from the 1840s right up until the lobbyists achieved success with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919. While there were several factors that influenced legislators at that time, one was the perceived need to take political power away from German-based brewing industry during WWI.
407
Elysium. 4 letters
EDEN. In Greek mythology Elysium was part of the Underworld where heroic and virtuous souls were laid to rest. Nowadays we use the word Elysium to mean a place or condition of ideal happiness, a Garden of Eden.
408
Adam and Eve's garden. 4 letters
EDEN. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden "in" Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.
409
Abbr. 3 letters
EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set up during the Nixon administration and began operation at the end of 1970.
410
Boy with a bow and arrow. 4 letters
EROS. Eros, the Greek god of love, was also known as Amor. The Roman counterpart to Eros was Cupid.
411
Singer Carly ___ Jepsen. 3 letters
RAE. Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. Jepsen got her start on TV's 'Canadian Idol' when she placed third in the show's fifth season.
412
Naval officer below lieut. 3 letters
ENS. An ensign is the most junior rank of commissioned officer (usually) in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
413
Fr. 3 letters
STE. 'Sainte' (ste.) is French for 'saint', when referring to a female.
414
Birthplace of Queen Sonja. 4 letters
OSLO. Queen Sonja is married to King Harald V of Norway. Prior to their marriage, Sonja and Harald had to see each other in secret because Sonja was a non-royal, the daughter of a clothing merchant. The couple dated for nine years before Harald's father and the Norwegian government sanctioned the marriage, which took place in 1968.
415
Honest ___ (presidential moniker). 3 letters
ABE. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the US. There are several stories told about how he earned the nickname 'Honest Abe'. One story dates back to early in his career as a lawyer. Lincoln accidentally overcharged a client and then walked miles in order to right the wrong as soon as possible.
416
Nobel Institute city. 4 letters
OSLO. The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established in Oslo in 1904. The main task of the Institute is to assist the Norwegian Nobel Committee in selecting the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and to organize the annual Nobel event.
417
Big inits. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) in 1975 under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to put together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he came up with what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
418
Japanese P.M. 3 letters
ABE. Shinzo Abe first became Prime Minister of Japan in 2006, at which time he was the youngest person to hold the post since WWII and was the first PM born after the war. Abe was in office for less than a year, but was voted in again in 2012. Abe is usually characterized as a right-wing nationalist.
419
You may give it when you are running late for a meeting, informally. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
420
"Norma ___" (Sally Field film). 3 letters
RAE. "Norma Rae" is a 1979 movie starring Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in a tale of union activities in a textile factory in Alabama. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton told in a 1975 book called "Crystal Lee, a Woman of Inheritance".
421
Cleveland's lake. 4 letters
ERIE. Cleveland, Ohio was named after the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.
422
Automne preceder. 3 letters
ETE. In France, 'Automne' (autumn) follows 'été' (summer).
423
Southernmost Great Lake. 4 letters
ERIE. Lake Erie is the fourth-largest and southernmost of the five Great Lakes by area (Lake Ontario is the smallest). The lake takes its name from the Erie tribe of Native Americans that used to live along its southern shore. Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes by volume and the shallowest, something for which nearby residents must be quite grateful. Being relatively shallow, much of Erie freezes over part way through most winters putting an end to most of the lake effect snow that falls in the snow belt extending from the lake's edge.
424
Ambient musician Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, Eno's most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up 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:
425
Cenozoic or Mesozoic. 3 letters
ERA. Geologic time is divided into four different units of time, which are, starting from the longest:
426
Cousin of a foil. 4 letters
EPEE. The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, both of which are also thrusting weapons. However, the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
427
"Inside the N.B.A." airer. 3 letters
TNT. TNT stands for Turner Network Television. The TNT cable channel made a big splash in the eighties when it started to broadcast old MGM movies that had been 'colorized', not something that was a big hit with the public. In recent years, the TNT programming lineup is touted with the tagline 'We Know Drama', and includes shows like 'Judging Amy', 'ER' and 'Cold Case'.
428
Thoughtful gift?. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
429
Somme summer. 3 letters
ETE. The Somme is a river in the north of France. The name 'Somme' comes from a Celtic word meaning 'tranquility'. Paradoxically, the Somme is remembered as the site of a devastating WWI battle. The river separated British and French forces from the German army from July to November 1916. By the end of the battle, over one million soldiers had been wounded or killed.
430
Santa ___. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up, so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.
431
British P.M. 4 letters
EDEN. Sir Anthony Eden served as Britain's Foreign Secretary during WWII, and then as Prime Minister from 1955-57. I think it's fair to say that he doesn't have a great reputation as a statesman. He was proud of his stance in favor of peace over war, so his critics characterized him as an appeaser. His major stumble on the world stage occurred with the Suez Crisis in 1956. Egypt's President Nasser unilaterally nationalized the Suez Canal causing war to be declared on Egypt by Britain, France and Israel. Within a few months political pressure from the US and the USSR caused the allies to withdraw, bolstering Egypt's national reputation. Eden never recovered from the loss of face at home, and it is felt that the stress even affected his health. Eden resigned in January 1957.
432
"Caro nome," e.g. 4 letters
ARIA. "Caro nome" is an aria from Verdi's opera "Rigoletto".
433
Jeanne d'Arc, for one: Abbr.. 3 letters
STE. 'Sainte' (ste.) is French for 'saint', when referring to a female.
434
One guarded in a duel?. 4 letters
EPEE. 'En garde' is a French term that has been absorbed into the sport of fencing. Originally a warning 'on guard!', it is spoken at the start of an encounter to warn the fencers to take a defensive position.
435
Weapon for fencing. 4 letters
EPEE. The French word for sword is épée. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent's body.
436
Mentalist's skill, briefly. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
437
Nav. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
438
Sault ___ Marie. 3 letters
STE. Sault Ste. Marie is the name of two cities on either side of the Canada-US border, one in Ontario and the other in Michigan. The two cities were originally one settlement in the 17th century, established by Jesuit Missionaries. The missionaries gave the settlement the name 'Sault Sainte Marie', which can be translated as 'Saint Mary's Falls'. The city was one community until 1817, when a US-UK Joint Boundary Commission set the border along the St. Mary's River.
439
"Here Come the Warm Jets" musician. 3 letters
ENO. "Here Come the Warm Jets" is a 1974 album from Brian Eno, his first solo album.
440
1974 Fassbinder film subtitled "Fear Eats the Soul". 3 letters
ALI. "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" is a German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and released in 1974. Apparently it is a remarkable movie, dealing with the xenophobia encountered by a young Moroccan (Ali) who is a guest worker in Germany.
441
Andrea Bocelli delivery. 4 letters
ARIA. Andrea Bocelli is a classically-trained tenor who sings popular music, a so-called cross-over artist. Bocelli was born with poor eyesight and then became totally blind at the age of 12 when he had an accident playing soccer.
442
Will Smith title role. 3 letters
ALI. 'Ali' is a 2001 biographical movie about Muhammad Ali, with Will Smith in the title role. Among other things, the film is noted for its realistic fight scenes. They were realistic because Smith was really being hit, as hard as his opponents could manage.
443
Saison on the Seine. 3 letters
ETE. On the River Seine in Paris, one might spend the season (saison) of summer (ete).
444
Who said "It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am". 3 letters
ALI. Muhammad Ali won 56 professional fights, 37 of which were knockouts. He lost 5 fights, 4 being decisions and one being a technical knockout (TKO). The TKO-loss was Ali's second-last fight, against Larry Holmes. By the time Ali took on Holmes, he was already showing signs of Parkinson's Syndrome, although the diagnosis would not come until four years later. Ali turned out for his last two fights largely because he needed the money. A sad end to a career, I'd say ...
445
Trip vehicle?. 3 letters
LSD. LSD is short for Lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. But it wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that the psychedelic properties of the drug were discovered. Trippy, man ...
446
Animated film franchise starting in 2011. 3 letters
RIO. Rio' is a 2011 animated movie about a male blue macaw who is brought to mate with a female blue macaw in Rio de Janeiro, hence the movie's title. Fans can go see 'Rio 2' that was released in 2014.
447
TV show that has spawned many movies, briefly. 3 letters
SNL. 'Saturday Night Live' ('SNL').
448
"Dropped" drug. 3 letters
LSD. LSD (colloquially known as 'acid') is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn't until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man ...
449
U.S. Navy O-1: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENS. Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.
450
Summer on the Seine. 3 letters
ETE. On the River Seine in Paris, one might spend the summer (été).
451
Retrovirus material. 3 letters
RNA. The genes of most viruses are encoded in DNA. Retroviruses are different in that their genes are encoded in RNA, and so are sometimes called 'RNA viruses'. The best-known retrovirus is HIV.
452
"The Book of ___". 3 letters
ELI. "The Book of Eli" is one of those "end of the world" type movies, with Denzel Washington playing a tough guy traveling across what is left of the United States after some apocryphal event.
453
Moment to come, briefly. 3 letters
ETA. Expected time of arrival (ETA)
454
Sandusky's lake. 4 letters
ERIE. Sandusky, Ohio is a city on the shores of Lake Erie. My son is always talking about Sandusky as a place he'd like to visit, as it is home to one the largest collections of roller coasters in the world.
455
Japan Airlines competitor. 3 letters
ANA. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, second in size only to Japan Airlines (JAL).
456
Org. 3 letters
EPA. (34. Drink that's a freebie : TAP WATER)
457
Record producer Brian. 3 letters
ENO. Brian Eno started out his musical career with Roxy Music. However, his most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft's "start-up jingle", the 6-second sound you hear when the Windows operating system is booting up.
458
Longtime Lorne Michaels-produced show, for short. 3 letters
SNL. NBC first aired a form of "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) in 1975 under the title "NBC's Saturday Night". The show was actually created to give Johnny Carson some time off from "The Tonight Show". Back then "The Tonight Show" had a weekend episode, and Carson convinced NBC to pull the Saturday or Sunday recordings off the air and hold them for subsequent weeknights in which Carson needed a break. NBC turned to Lorne Michaels and asked him to put together a variety show to fill the vacant slot, and he came up with what we now call "Saturday Night Live".
459
Balmy time in Bordeaux. 3 letters
ETE. One might spend the summer (été) in Bordeaux in France.
460
___ de Janeiro. 3 letters
RIO. The name Rio de Janeiro translates into "January River". The name reflects the discovery of the Bay on which Rio sits on January 1, 1502.
461
God with a bow and arrow. 4 letters
EROS. Eros was the Greek god of love, the Greek counterpart of the Roman god Cupid.
462
"We Know Drama" channel. 3 letters
TNT. TNT stands for Turner Network Television. The TNT cable channel made a big splash in the eighties when it started to broadcast old MGM movies that had been "colorized", not something that was a big hit with the public. In recent years, the TNT programming lineup is touted with the tagline "We Know Drama", and includes shows like "Judging Amy", "ER" and "Cold Case".
463
Colt's fans, for short?. 3 letters
NRA. Samuel Colt was fascinated a a young man by the science behind gunpowder and its used in weapons. He decided early on in his life, that he would respond to the challenge of the day, how to achieve the impossible, a weapon that fire more than the two times available at the time using a double-barreled rifle. He came up with the concept of the revolver while at sea, modeling his design on the spoked wheel that steered the ships on which he served. His revolver made him a very rich man in his own lifetime. By the time he died in 1862, his estate was valued at around $15 million. Can you imagine? $15 million back in 1862?
464
With 27-Down, foe of the Forty Thieves. 3 letters
ALI. (27D. See 34-Down : BABA)
465
Oscar Wilde poem "The Garden of ___". 4 letters
EROS. 'The Garden of Eros' is an 1881 poem by Irish author Oscar Wilde. The first verse is:
466
Big guns in D.C. 3 letters
NRA. The National Rifle Association (NRA) used the slogan 'I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands'. These words became quite famous when they were used at an NRA convention in 2000 by Charlton Heston, who was then president of the NRA. Heston ended a speech he made with the words 'From my cold, dead hands!' while holding up into the air a replica of a Sharps rifle.
467
Aussie bird. 3 letters
EMU. The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an "Emu War" in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the "invading force". The emus were clever, breaking their usual formation and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of "war", the military withdrew. Subsequent requests by farmers for military help were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious ...
468
Michael Collins's org. 3 letters
IRA. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) has been around in various forms since 1913, just three years before it launched the famous Easter Rising of 1916, a thwarted rebellion against British rule. The IRA fought the Irish War of Independence against the British which lasted from 1919 until 1921, ending in a treaty which divided the country into the self-governing Irish Free State and the separate country of Northern Ireland which remained part of the United Kingdom. The IRA split at the time the treaty was signed, leading to the Irish Civil War which lasted from 1922 to 1923, ending in a victory for the faction that supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
469
New Deal inits. 3 letters
NRA. The National Recovery Administration was one of the first agencies set up under President Roosevelt's New Deal program. On the one hand the NRA help set minimum wages and maximum working hours for workers in industry, and on the other hand it helped set minimum prices for goods produced by companies. The NRA was very popular with the public, and businesses that didn't opt to participate in the program found themselves boycotted. The NRA didn't survive for long though, as after two years of operation it was deemed to be unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court and so it ceased operations in 1935.
470
Santa ___. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California, taking its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. because they are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, the air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the falls, it becomes drier and heats up, so that the relative humidity can even be below 10% as it hits the coast.
471
Boxer with an allegiance to 16-Across. 3 letters
ALI. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali was presented with a gold medal during those '96 Games, a replacement for the medal he won at the 1960 Olympics. He had thrown the original into the Ohio River as a gesture of disgust after being refused service at a "whites only" restaurant.
472
Levin or Gershwin. 3 letters
IRA. As well as writing novels, Ira Levin was a dramatist and a songwriter. Levin's first novel was "A Kiss Before Dying", and his most famous work was "Rosemary's Baby" which became a Hollywood hit. His best known play is "Deathtrap", a production that is often seen in local theater (I've seen it a couple of times around here). "Deathtrap" was also was a successful movie, starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. My favorite of Levin novels though are "The Boys from Brazil" and "The Stepford Wives".
473
Ernie on the links. 3 letters
ELS. Ernie Els is a South African golfer. He's a big guy, but he has an easy, fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname "The Big Easy". Els has a child who suffers from autism, and he has been very effective raising money for charities that focus on the condition.
474
Gen. 3 letters
LEE. Robert E. Lee is renowned as a southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state. During the Civil War, Lee's men referred to him affectionately as 'Marse Robert', with 'marse' being slang for 'master'.
475
Cousin of a foil. 4 letters
EPEE. Epee is the French word for sword.
476
___ of Good Feelings. 3 letters
ERA. The Era of Good Feelings lasted from about 1816 to 1824, during the administration of President James Monroe. The name described the feeling of bipartisanship that permeated politics at that time, largely due to President Monroe deliberately downplaying partisanship. One can only dream ...
477
Greek god whose name is one letter off from 118-Down. 4 letters
EROS. As always seems to be the case the Greek gods Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, but Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.
478
Holy mlle. 3 letters
STE. Sainte (Ste.)
479
Tennis star Ivanovic. 3 letters
ANA. Ana Ivanovic is a Serbian tennis player, and former world number one. As well as playing tennis, she also studied finance at university in her native Belgrade.
480
Nobel Peace Center site. 4 letters
OSLO. The Nobel Peace Center is an institution that opened in 2005 in Oslo, Norway. The center has exhibits outling the life Alfred Nobel as well as the lives of the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
481
Grp. 3 letters
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
482
Maiden name indicator. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
483
Ginger ___. 3 letters
ALE. The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale" was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced homemade liquor.
484
"Aladdin" prince. 3 letters
ALI. The Disney animated feature "Aladdin" was released in 1992 and is one of the best features to come out of the studio, in my opinion, largely due to the great performance by Robin Williams who voiced the Genie. "Aladdin" was the most successful film of 1992, earning over $500 million worldwide, an unusual feat for an animated movie.
485
Gold medalist of 1960, under a previous name. 3 letters
ALI. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali was presented with a gold medal during those '96 Games, a replacement for the medal he won at the 1960 Olympics. He had thrown the original into the Ohio River as a gesture of disgust after being refused service at a "whites only" restaurant.
486
Pennsylvania's northernmost county. 4 letters
ERIE. There are three Erie Counties in the US:
487
The "A" of I.P.A. 3 letters
ALE. India Pale Ale is a style of beer that comes from England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.
488
Parapsychological subj. 3 letters
ESP. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
489
Bocelli piece. 4 letters
ARIA. Andrea Bocelli is a classically-trained tenor who sings popular music, a so-called cross-over artist. Bocelli was born with poor eyesight and then became totally blind at the age of 12 when he had an accident playing soccer.
490
Medium strength?. 3 letters
ESP. Extra Sensory Perception (ESP).
491
Envelope abbr.. 3 letters
STE. Suite (Ste.)
492
Palindromic girl. 3 letters
ANA. One of my favorite words is "Aibohphobia", although it doesn't appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. "Aibohphobia" is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix "-phobia".
493
Santa ___. 3 letters
ANA. Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California, taking its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city. The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because they are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, the air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, and basically "falls" down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls, it becomes drier and heats up, so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% as it hits the coast.
494
Formerly. 3 letters
NEE. "Née" is the French word for "born" when referring to a female. The male equivalent is "né".
495
Ray Charles hosted it in 1977: Abbr.. 3 letters
SNL. Saturday Night Live (SNL)
496
'60s White House name. 3 letters
ABE. Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky making him the first president born in the West. His formal education was limited to a year and a half of schooling, but fortunately for us, Lincoln was an avid reader and educated himself over the years. Even though he was from a rural area, he avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like to kill animals even for food.
497
Skater with many trophies. 3 letters
ORR. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players who ever played the game. By the time he retired in 1978, Orr had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, Orr concluded that he just couldn't skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking ...
498
Comic Charlotte. 3 letters
RAE. Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties: "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life". Towards the end of the series, the Edna Garrett character operated her own gourmet food shop called 'Edna's Edibles'.
499
Ring master. 3 letters
ALI. Muhammad Ali won 56 professional fights, 37 of which were knockouts. He lost 5 fights, 4 being decisions and one being a technical knockout (TKO). The TKO-loss was Ali's second-last fight, against Larry Holmes. By the time Ali took on Holmes, he was already showing signs of Parkinson's Syndrome, although the diagnosis would not come until four years later. Ali turned out for his last two fights largely because he needed the money. A sad end to a career, I'd say ...
500
Org. 3 letters
NRA. The NRA is the National Rifle Association, an organization that has been around since 1871. The NRA has had some celebrity presidents, including US President Ulysses S. Grant. It's often said that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.
