output_trainer_2_0 Flashcards
Palindromic man’s name. 4 letters
OTTO. The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:
Put back in order?. 4 letters
STET. “Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” beside the change and then underscoring the change with a line of dots (or dashes).
Nickname for a junior’s junior. 3 letters
TRE. Trey (also ‘Tre’) is a common nickname for someone in a family who is of the third generation to have a particular name. For example, billionaire Bill Gates has the full name of William Henry Gates III and is known to many family members as ‘Trey’.
Teachers’ union: Abbr.. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Early 20th-century abdicator. 4 letters
TSAR. The last ruler of Imperial Russia was Tsar Nicholas II (of the House of Romanov). Famously, the Tsar and his family were murdered in 1918 in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia by members of the Bolshevik secret police. The Tsar’s youngest daughter was 16-year-old Anastasia and rumors of her escape have persisted for years. The rumors grew with the help of numerous women who claimed to be Anastasia. In 2009, DNA testing finally proved that the remains of all of the Tsar’s immediate family, including Anastasia, have been found and identified.
“___ Meninas” (Velázquez painting). 3 letters
LAS. ‘Las Meninas’ is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the name of which translates to ‘The Maids of Honor’. ‘Las Meninas’ is the most famous painting owned by the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
“At Last” singer James. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James is best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she discloses in her autobiography, James has lived a life ravaged by drug addiction, leading to numerous legal and health problems.
Forensic material. 3 letters
DNA. Something described as ‘forensic’ is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The the term comes from the Latin ‘forensis’ meaning ‘of a forum, of a place of assembly’. We mainly use the word today to mean ‘pertaining to legal trials’ as in ‘forensic medicine’ and ‘forensic science’.
Helmeted deity. 4 letters
ARES. The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
Pier 1 alternative. 4 letters
IKEA. Did you know that IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old??!! IKEA is an acronym that stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.
“I Ching” concept. 3 letters
TAO. The ‘I Ching’ is an ancient Chinese text dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. The text deals with aspects of cosmology and divination, and perhaps served as a guide for making predictions of the future. The statements in the ‘I Ching’ consist of 64 hexagrams, sets of six lines composed in horizontal stacks.
Nephew of Abel. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
Professional org. 3 letters
AMA. The American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in 1847 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The first female member was allowed to join the AMA in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t admitted until one hundred years later, in 1968.
Title girl on the first Beatles album. 4 letters
ANNA. Anna (Go to Him) was written and first recorded by Arthur Alexander in 1962. My guess is that he made more money from the cover version recorded by the Beatles on their debut album “Please Please Me”, released the following year.
Mob member, informally. 3 letters
ROO. The collective noun for kangaroos is court, troop or mob.
Prize at las Olimpiadas. 3 letters
ORO. In Spanish, a victor wins ‘oro’ (gold) at ‘las Olimpiadas’ (the Olympics).
Shade akin to almond. 4 letters
ECRU. The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.
Actor Stephen of “Michael Collins”. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But, true …
Rightmost number on an Italian clock. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, the rightmost number on the face of a clock is ‘tre’ (three).
Author Waugh. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Waugh was the older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both Waughs were successful novelists (Evelyn of “Brideshead Revisited” fame), but what I like about Alec is that he supposedly invented the cocktail party. He invited his friends around “for tea” in the twenties, and served them all rum swizzles instead!
Turkic word for “island”. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Palindromic elemento. 3 letters
ORO. In Spanish, ‘oro’ (gold) is an ‘elemento’ (element).
Era of ___ (period in Notre Dame football history). 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
John of England. 3 letters
LOO. When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes and linens in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo” in which the pot was called the loo!
Org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
One-named singer with multiple Grammys. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
Flag in a garden. 4 letters
IRIS. Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term ‘iris’ is a Greek word meaning ‘rainbow’. Many species of irises are called ‘flags’. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English ‘flagge’ meaning ‘reed’. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.
Prize for Pizarro. 3 letters
ORO. In Spanish, a ‘medalla’ (medal) might be made from ‘oro’ (gold).
Qualified to serve. 5 letters
ONE-A. The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System(SS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).
“The Star-Spangled Banner” preposition. 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the rampart we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key. The lyrics were written first as a poem by Key, inspired by his witnessing of the bombarding by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song written by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.
Razor brand. 4 letters
ATRA. Fortunately for crossword constructors, the Atra razor was introduced by Gillette in 1977. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.
Treelike creature in “The Lord of the Rings”. 3 letters
ENT. Ents are those tree-like creatures that live in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth in his series of books “The Lord of the Rings”. ‘Ent’ is an Old English word for ‘giant’.
Lotion ingredient. 4 letters
ALOE. Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. These include the First Aid plant, Wand of Heaven, Silent Healer and Miracle Plant.
New Deal inits. 3 letters
REA. The Rural Electrification Administration was one of the New Deal agencies set up by President Franklin Roosevelt. Created in 1935, the agency’s goal was to provide electrical power to rural areas, something that the profit-conscious power companies weren’t willing to take on by themselves.
___ Sea, Kazakh/Uzbek body of water. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Baseball’s ___ Griffey Jr. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Griffey, Jr. is noted as a home run hitter as well as a defensive player. In fact, Griffey is tied for the record for the most consecutive games with a home run.
Razor brand. 4 letters
ATRA. Fortunately for crossword setters, the Atra razor was introduced by Gillette in 1977. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.
Epps of “House”. 4 letters
OMAR. Omar Epps is the actor who plays Dr. Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Grant on “ER”. And, in another link to the world of medicine, Epps was born in Savannah, Georgia to single mom, Dr. Bonnie Epps.
Color of raw linen. 4 letters
ECRU. The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word ‘ecru’ comes from French and means ‘raw, unbleached’. ‘Ecru’ has the same roots as our word ‘crude’.
“___ the towering steep” (anthem lyric). 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the towering steep” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key. The lyrics were written first as a poem by Key, inspired by his witnessing of the bombarding by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song written by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.
Fleet fleet, once, in brief. 4 letters
SSTS. SuperSonic Transports, like the Concorde, broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. The whole of the Concorde fleet is grounded now.
It has base pairs. 3 letters
DNA. Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U). In DNA, the nucleobases exist in ‘base pairs’.
Nephew of Cain. 4 letters
ENOS. According to the Bible, Adam and Eve had several children, although only the first three are mentioned by name: Cain, Abel and Seth. Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.
Court legend. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
Nobel winner Joliot-Curie. 5 letters
IRENE. Along with her husband, Frederick, Irene Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Irene was the daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, who also won Nobel Prizes. Irene died when she was 58 years old, suffering from leukemia brought on her exposure to high doses of radiation. Her mother, Marie, died from aplastic anemia, also caused by high exposure to radiation. To this day, Marie’s personal papers are kept preserved in lead-lined boxes as they are highly radioactive, even her personal cookbook.
Singer who has recorded in Tolkien’s Elvish language. 4 letters
ENYA. The Irish singer Enya wrote and performed two songs for the 2001 film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’. Her song ‘May It Be’ was nominated to that season’s Best Original Song Academy Award. The second number, called ‘Aniron’, was sung in Tolkien’s Elvish language called Sindarin.
Mule of song. 3 letters
SAL. The song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal” was written in 1905. The lyrics are nostalgic and look back to the days when traffic on the canal was pulled by mules, bemoaning the introduction of the fast-moving engine-powered barges. The first line is “I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal”.
Not shut tight. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Pizzeria owner in “Do the Right Thing”. 3 letters
SAL. “Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie, released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).
Writer/singer of an Elvish song for “The Lord of the Rings”. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya co-wrote and performed a song titled ‘Aníron’ for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series of films. The song’s lyrics are written in the Elvish language of Sindarin, a fictional language that was created by author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Part of R.R.: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Rural route (RR).
1-Across, for one. 4 letters
ISLE. Maui is an isle …
“Your safety is our priority” org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Jerusalem’s Mosque of ___. 4 letters
OMAR. The Siege of Jerusalem took place in the year 637. The Rashidun Army lay siege to Jerusalem which was in the hands of the Byzantine Empire. In order for the city to surrender, the Caliph Omar had to travel himself to Jerusalem. As victor, Omar was invited to pray in the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Out of respect for the Christian edifice, Omar refused to go into the church and instead prayed outside in the courtyard. Just over 500 years later, the Mosque of Omar was built on the site where Omar prayed, right opposite the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
First name at Woodstock. 4 letters
ARLO. Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m and 34s. In the song, Guthrie tells how he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War after being drafted, based on his criminal record. He had one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
Screeners’ org. 3 letters
TSA. The TSA is the Transportation Security Administration, the agency that employs the good folks that check passengers and baggage at airports.
Cheese with a red coat. 4 letters
EDAM. One cheese that is recognized by its coating is Edam. Edam cheese takes the name after the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. It is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps it travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. This means that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.
Mens ___. 3 letters
REA. “Mens rea” is Latin for “guilty mind” and is a central concept in criminal law. The concept is expanded to “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” meaning “the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind be also guilty”. In other words, a someone should not be deemed guilty of an act, unless he or she had a “guilty mind”, intended to do wrong.
King Arthur of tennis. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
2 + 1 in italiano. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, ‘uno’ (one) plus ‘due’ (two) makes ‘tre’ (three).
“___ the ramparts …”. 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the ramparts” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key.
Moscow’s home: Abbr.. 3 letters
IDA. Moscow, Idaho is home to the University of Idaho. In its early days the city was known as Paradise Valley, and the name changed to Moscow in 1875. The choice of ‘Moscow’ seems unexplained, but it is more likely related to Moscow, Pennsylvania than Moscow, Russia.
Winter Palace resident. 4 letters
TSAR. The Winter Palace is a magnificent building in St. Petersburg in Russia, home to the Russian tsars (and tsarinas). The Winter Palace houses the famous Hermitage Museum. I was lucky enough to visit the Palace and museum some years ago, and I have to say that I have rarely been more impressed by a historical building.
Allure alternative. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.
Cara of “Fame”. 5 letters
IRENE. Irene Cara (as well as acting in “Fame”) sang the theme songs to the hit movies “Fame” and “Flashdance”.
25-Down, en français. 4 letters
ELLE. The French word ‘elle’ can mean ‘her’, the pronoun.
Early Nintendo competitor. 5 letters
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
District in southern Kazakhstan. 4 letters
ARAL. The capital of the Aral district in Kazakhstan is the city of Aral, once a fishing port and harbor on the coast of the Aral Sea. However, since the Aral Sea has shrunk in size Aral is now landlocked, with the sea 12km away from the city.
The so-called “potted physician”. 4 letters
ALOE. Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. These include the First Aid plant, Wand of Heaven, Silent Healer and Miracle Plant.
Colorful card game. 3 letters
UNO. In my youth I remember being taught a great card game, by a German acquaintance of mine, called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that Uno is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.
“At Last” singer James. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.
Number of coins in la Fontana di Trevi?. 3 letters
TRE. ‘Tre’ is Italian for ‘three’.
Mens ___. 3 letters
REA. “Mens rea” is Latin for “guilty mind” and is a central concept in criminal law. The concept is expanded to “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” meaning “the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind be also guilty”. In other words, someone should not be deemed guilty of an illegal act unless he or she had a “guilty mind”, intended to do wrong.
Strike leader?. 3 letters
ESS. ‘S’ (ess) is the leading letter in the word ‘strike’.
Preceder of 116-Across. 3 letters
ESS. ESS: the letter S.
Concerto soloist, perhaps. 4 letters
OBOE. The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall. I heard recently that the folks at HBO are working towards a pilot based on the book, and I can’t wait to see it!
S.A.S.E. 3 letters
EDS. An editor (ed.) might receive a manuscript (MS) with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE).
Milne young ‘un. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’, the kangaroo named Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
It has four bases. 3 letters
DNA. Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U).
Galley order. 4 letters
STET. “Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” beside the change and then underscoring the change with a line of dots (or dashes).
The white surrounds it. 4 letters
IRIS. The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
City east of the Sierra Nevada. 4 letters
RENO. Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street, erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. The city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
Actor Stephen. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But as I said, a true story …
Erie Canal mule. 3 letters
SAL. The song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal” was written in 1905. The lyrics are nostalgic, and look back to the days when traffic on the canal was pulled by mules, and bemoans the introduction of the fast-moving engine powered barges. The first line is “I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal”.
1998 Goo Goo Dolls hit. 4 letters
IRIS. The Goo Goo Dolls is an American rock band that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, NY. “Iris”, mentioned in today’s clue, is a track off their hit 1998 album “Dizzy Up the Girl”. They’re not my cup of tea …
Baldwin of “30 Rock”. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think Alec’s big break was playing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October”, but thank goodness that role was taken over by Harrison Ford for the subsequent Jack Ryan movies. Baldwin made a name for himself in recent times playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey. He has also hosted the sketch show ‘Saturday Night Live’ on more occasions than anyone else (16 times).
Leader issuing a ukase. 4 letters
TSAR. In Imperial Russia, a ‘ukase’ was a proclamation issued by the government or the tsar.
Sign adored by angels. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
Winter Palace resident. 4 letters
TSAR. The Winter Palace is a magnificent building in St. Petersburg in Russia, home to the Russian tsars (and tsarinas). The Winter Palace houses the famous Hermitage Museum. I was lucky enough to visit the Palace and museum some years ago, and I have to say that I have rarely been more impressed by a historical building.
GPS suggestion: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The modern GPS system that we use today was built by the US military who received the massive funding needed because of fears during the Cold War of the use of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. We civilians, all round the world, owe a lot to President Ronald Reagan because he directed the military to make GPS technology available to the public for the common good. He was moved to do so after the Soviet Union shot down KAL flight 007 carrying 269 people, just because the plane strayed accidentally into Soviet airspace.
Head of Buckingham Palace?. 3 letters
LOO. When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bath-room” was the room that had the bath and no toilet. The separate room with the toilet was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C., the water closet. Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s as toilets moved indoors they often displaced clothes in a “closet”, as a closet was just the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure.
Son of Seth. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
Slightly open. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Lupino of “High Sierra”. 3 letters
IDA. “High Sierra” is a 1941 movie based on a novel by W.R. Burnett. It’s a gangster piece, starring Humphrey Bogart as “Mad Dog” Roy Earle, a bad guy with a heart. Bogie’s love interest is played by the very talented Ida Lupino.
___ Place (Butch and Sundance companion). 4 letters
ETTA. Etta Place is the schoolteacher character played by the lovely Katharine Ross in the 1969 movie ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’.
Super Mario Bros. 3 letters
NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to to 1995. The NES was the biggest selling gaming console of the era.
Coach Parseghian. 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
Super G shape. 3 letters
ESS. Super Giant Slalom is an alpine skiing event introduced in 1982. The Super G isn’t as fast as its sister event, the Downhill, but is faster than the more technical Giant Slalom.
Tire abbr.. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Janis’s husband in the funnies. 4 letters
ARLO. The comic strip “Arlo and Janis” is written by Jimmy Johnson. Introduced in 1985, Arlo and Janis are a baby booming couple with an easy approach to life, and who are very much in love.
___ Gunn, “Breaking Bad” co-star. 4 letters
ANNA. Anna Gunn is an actress from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is best known for playing Skyler White on the TV show ‘Breaking Bad’.
Kind of profiling. 3 letters
DNA. Forensic scientists use DNA, usually taken from blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair follicles. Often DNA left at a crime scene can be used to identify the perpetrator of a crime, using a process called genetic fingerprinting.
Tinnitus treater: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)
Code material. 3 letters
DNA. Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U).
Former British P.M. 4 letters
ALEC. Sir Alec Douglas-Home was the Prime Minister of the UK from 1963 to 1964. Nowadays the British Prime Minister is chosen from the membership of the House of Commons, and Sir Alec Douglas-Home was the last Prime Minister to be chosen from the House of Lords. He had to give up his peerage though (he was the Earl of Home) in order to take up the post.
Common Core org. 3 letters
NEA. The Common Core State Standards Initiative lays out what K-12 students should know in English and mathematics. The standard is intended to standardize requirements across all states.
Stella D’___ (cookie brand). 3 letters
ORO. Stella D’Oro is a brand of cookies and breadsticks, originally manufactured in the Bronx, New York City but now made in New Jersey.
“Bearded” bloom. 4 letters
IRIS. Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term ‘iris’ is a Greek word meaning ‘rainbow’. Many species of irises are called ‘flags’. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English ‘flagge’ meaning ‘reed’. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.
Guilty, in a legal phrase. 3 letters
REA. The Latin phrase “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” means “the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind be also guilty”. In other words, a man should not be deemed guilty of an act, unless he had a “guilty mind”, that he intended to do wrong.
What makes a top stop?. 3 letters
ESS. The word ‘top’ is transformed into ‘stop’ by adding a letter S (ess) at the beginning.
First name in folk. 4 letters
ARLO. Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
Duck Hunt gaming console, briefly. 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The kids probably have one somewhere …
Contraction that sounds like a conjunction. 4 letters
O’ER. “O’er” (a contraction for “over”) sounds like “or” (a conjunction).
Card game akin to euchre. 3 letters
LOO. The old card game of loo was popular in the 17th century. Loo was a game involving trumps and the taking of tricks. As part of the game, a player might be “looed”, not win any tricks at all in a particular round. As such, he or she had to pay a forfeit, a sum added to the pool awarded to the eventual winner.
Basis of many positive IDs. 3 letters
DNA. Forensic scientists use DNA, usually taken from blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair follicles. Often DNA left at a crime scene can be used to identify a perpetrator of a crime, in a process called genetic fingerprinting.
Pizazz. 4 letters
ELAN. Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning, “style” or “flair”.
Super ___ (old game console). 3 letters
NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to to 1995. The NES was the biggest selling gaming console of the era.
Archipelago component. 4 letters
ISLE. ‘Archipelago’ is a name often used for a group or chain of islands. ‘Archipelago’ is our spelling of the Italian ‘arcipelago’, a word that has Greek roots. ‘Arcipelago’ was the proper name for the Aegean Sea in Greek, a word that was eventually used for the Aegean Islands.
Proofreader’s “leave it”. 4 letters
STET. ‘Stet’ is a Latin word meaning ‘let it stand’. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word ‘stet’ and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.
Onetime Ice Cube collaborator, informally. 3 letters
DRE. N.W.A was a hip hop group from Compton, California. The original five group members included rappers who have made a name for themselves as solo acts, including: Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. The story of NWA is told in a 2015 film, also called ‘Straight Outta Compton”. I hear that the movie is being well received, although I probably won’t be seeing it …
Ryan of “The Beverly Hillbillies”. 5 letters
IRENE. Irene Ryan was the wonderful American actress who played “Granny” on “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ryan was a remarkable in that she had a successful career in vaudeville, on radio and television, on film and on Broadway.
___ James, singer played by Beyoncé. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.
Winter Palace resident. 4 letters
TSAR. The Winter Palace is a magnificent building in St. Petersburg in Russia, home to the Russian tsars (and tsarinas). The Winter Palace houses the famous Hermitage Museum. I was lucky enough to visit the Palace and museum some years ago, and I have to say that I have rarely been more impressed by a historical building.
Friend of Pooh. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
Grandson of Adam. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
Aussie bounder. 3 letters
ROO. The name ‘kangaroo’ comes from the Australian Aborigine term for the animal. There’s an oft-quoted story that James Cook (later Captain Cook) asked a local native what was the name of this remarkable looking animal, and the native responded with ‘kangaroo’. The story is that the native was actually saying ‘I don’t understand you’, but as cute as that tale is, it’s just an urban myth.
Magazine with a palindromic name. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. ‘Elle’ is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.
Hothouse plant. 4 letters
ALOE. The so called “true aloe” is Aloe vera, a succulent plant native to Africa that grows in relatively dry climates. The plant’s leaves are full of biologically active compounds that have been extensively studied. Even before all the modern research, aloe vera was used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.
Place to get a wrap. 3 letters
SPA. The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as Spa is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.
“L’Amore dei ___ Re” (Montemezzi opera). 3 letters
TRE. Italo Montemezzi was an Italian composer who wrote his most famous work in 1913, the opera “L’amore dei tre re” (The Love of Three Kings). The opera was an early success for Montemezzi, enabling him to give up teaching and devote most of his life to composition.
Asia’s ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Pupil surrounder. 4 letters
IRIS. The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
Paper cutters, briefly?. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
“An ill wind …” instrument. 4 letters
OBOE. We’ve all probably heard the phrase ‘‘tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good’. How about the pun, ‘The oboe: an ill wind nobody blows good’?
Showy bloom. 4 letters
IRIS. Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term ‘iris’ is a Greek word meaning ‘rainbow’.
Actress Paquin. 4 letters
ANNA. Anna Paquin is an actress from New Zealand who won an Oscar as an 11-year-old for her role in “The Piano”. In the HBO series “True Blood” she plays Sookie Stackhouse, a role for which she won a Golden Globe.
Thriller writer Follett. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Follett is a Welsh author specializing in thrillers and historical novels. Among his most famous works are ‘Capricorn One’, ‘Eye of the Needle’, ‘The Man From St. Petersburg’ and ‘On Wings of Eagles’. Quite a few of Follett’s novels have been adapted for the big screen, and you may recognize some movies made from the preceding list of titles.
Suited to serve. 5 letters
ONE-A. The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System(SS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).
Stephen of “Still Crazy”. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman then leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But as I said, a true story …
Parseghian of the Fighting Irish. 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
Baseball’s Slaughter. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos Slaughter has a remarkable playing record in Major League Baseball over a 19-year career. Slaughter’s record is particularly remarkable given that he left baseball for three years to serve in the military during WWII.
Onetime arcade giant. 5 letters
ATARI. At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.
Dash. 4 letters
ELAN. Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning: “style” or “flair”.
___ Minor. 4 letters
ASIA. Asia Minor is also known as Anatolia, and is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe. It is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.
Bygone flier. 3 letters
SST. The most famous SuperSonic Transport (SST) was the Concorde, a plane that’s no longer flying. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag, and was lowered during taxi, takeoff and landing, so that the pilot had better visibility. The need for the droop nose was driven largely by the delta-shaped wings on Concorde. The delta wing necessitates a higher angle of attack at takeoff and landing than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.
Carry-on inspector, in brief. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Asia’s ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Elba or Capri. 4 letters
ISLE. I had a lovely two-week vacation in Tuscany once, including what was supposed to be a two-night stay on the island of Elba. I had envisioned Elba as a place full of history, and maybe it is, but it is overrun with tourists who use it as a beach getaway. We left after one day and we won’t be going back again …
International gas brand. 4 letters
ESSO. The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.
Dot-dot-dot. 3 letters
ESS. The letter S is represented by ‘dot-dot-dot’ in Morse code.
MS. 3 letters
EDS. Editors (eds.) can review a manuscript (MS).
Anthem contraction. 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the land of the free” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key. The lyrics were written first as a poem by Key, inspired by his witnessing of the bombarding by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song written by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.
Good name for a chauffeur?. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto’ sounds like ‘auto’, so might be a good name for your chauffeur, if you have one …
Asia’s ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the original lake’s volume gone. Sad …
Wii ancestor, briefly. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Glamour rival. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. ‘Elle’ is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.
South American cardinal?. 3 letters
UNO. ‘Uno’ is the Italian for ‘one’.
Knowledge. 3 letters
KEN. ‘Ken’ is a Scottish verb meaning ‘to know’, as in being able to recognize a person or thing. The word is also used as a noun, as in ‘beyond my ken’, outside of what I can know or understand.
War force. 4 letters
ARES. The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera.
1968 live folk album. 4 letters
ARLO. Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
Boomer that retired in the early ’00s?. 3 letters
SST. The most famous SuperSonic Transport (SST) was the Concorde, a plane that’s no longer flying. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag, and was lowered during taxi, takeoff and landing, so that the pilot had better visibility. The need for the droop nose was driven largely by the delta-shaped wings. The delta wing necessitates a higher angle of attack at takeoff and landing than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.
Inflation indicator: Abbr.. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Professional org. 3 letters
AMA. The American Medical Association was founded in 1847. The governing body of the organization is called the House of Delegates.
Fashion magazine founded in France. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. ‘Elle’ is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.
1999 drama “___ and the King”. 4 letters
ANNA. The 1999 film ‘Anna and the King’ was inspired by the 1944 semi-fictional biographical novel by Margaret Landon called ‘Anna and the King of Siam’. The same book spawned a 1946 movie starring Irene Dunne as Anna and Rex Harrison as the King of Siam. Then followed a 1951 stage musical ‘The King and I’, with a related 1956 film musical of the same name starring Deborah Kerr as Anna and Yul Brynner as the King. In the 1999 film ‘Anna and the King’, Jodie Foster plays Anna and Chow Yun-Fat plays the King.
Goddess in “The Tempest”. 4 letters
IRIS. In Greek mythology the goddess Iris was viewed as the link between the gods and humanity, a messenger. She was also the goddess of the rainbow.
Ivan or Nicholas. 4 letters
TSAR. The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.
Old game console inits. 3 letters
NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to to 1995. The NES was the biggest selling gaming console of the era.
Gillette offering. 4 letters
ATRA. Fortunately for crossword setters, the Atra razor was introduced by Gillette in 1977. It was sold as the Contour in some markets, and its derivative products are still around today.
Beehive State native. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute are a group of Native American tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Head for a pub. 3 letters
LOO. In old sailing ships the toilet area for the regular sailors was located in the forward part (the head) of the ship, hence the term “head” that has been used since then for any toilet on board a boat.
Place to go in London. 3 letters
LOO. When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes and linens in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo” in which the pot was called the loo!
Start to sneeze?. 3 letters
ESS. The first letter in the word ‘sneeze’ is S (ess).
Singer with the triple-platinum album “The Memory of Trees”. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
“And Winter Came …” artist. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ni Braonain, which can translate from the Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
Station on the Alaska Highway. 4 letters
ESSO. The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.
Head of Parliament?. 3 letters
LOO. When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode. It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water-closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure.
Actor Stephen. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But as I said, a true story …
Memorable 2011 hurricane. 5 letters
IRENE. Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding in 2011 as it travelled through the Caribbean, up the East Coast of the United States and into the Atlantic seaboard of Canada. The hurricane was unusual in that it came so far up north. Fifty-five deaths were attributed to Irene.
Show sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
Certain woodwind. 4 letters
OBOE. The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall. I heard recently that the folks at HBO are working towards a pilot based on the book, and I can’t wait to see it!
A pupil is in the middle of it. 4 letters
IRIS. The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
Dash. 4 letters
ELAN. Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours i.e “style” or “flair”.
Theater sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
Reddit Q&A session, briefly. 3 letters
AMA. Reddit.com is a networking and news website that started up in 2005. It is essentially a bulletin board system with posts that are voted up and down by users, which determines the ranking of posts. The name ‘Reddit’ is a play on ‘read it’, as in ‘I read it on Reddit’. One popular feature of the Reddit site is an online forum that is similar to a press conference. Known as an AMA (for ‘ask me anything’), participants have included the likes of President Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, Stephen Colbert and Gordon Ramsay. President Obama’s AMA was so popular that the high level of traffic brought down many parts of the Reddit site.
Biblical son begat by a 105-year-old father. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was the son of Seth and the grandson of Adam and Eve.
Masthead listing, for short. 3 letters
EDS. The masthead is a list often found on the editorial page of a newspaper that gives the members of a newspaper’s editorial board.
___ Paradise of “On the Road”. 3 letters
SAL. Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” is largely autobiographical, telling the story of Sal Paradise (Jack K.) and the road trips that he and his friends took across the country in the fifties.
Org. 4 letters
NASA. The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite towards the end of 1957, a development that shocked the establishment in the US. Within months, President Eisenhower had made his moves, creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Singer with the 4x platinum album “Watermark”. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ni Braonain, which can translate from the Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful career. Personally, I don’t like her music, as it all sounds the same to me, but she sure does turn up in crosswords a lot!
Asia’s disappearing ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 4 letters
OHIO. I. M. Pei (full name Ieoh Ming Pei) is an exceptional American architect, born in China. Of his many wonderful works, my favorite is the renovation of the Louvre in Paris, especially the Glass Pyramid in the courtyard. I’ve never visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building in Cleveland, which he also designed, but from pictures I can see that there are elements that are very similar to Pei’s work at the Louvre. There is a steel and glass pyramid protruding from the roof of the Hall of Fame that looks like it came straight from Paris.
First numero. 3 letters
UNO. In Italian, one (uno) is the first number (numero).
___ soda. 3 letters
SAL. Sodium carbonate is a well known a water softener, and is sold for use in laundry variously described as Sal Soda, Washing Soda and Soda Crystals.
___ Sea, waters depleted by irrigation projects. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …
Prime draft classification. 5 letters
ONE-A. The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft is held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objectors available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrants who have completed military service) and 4-D (ministers of religion).
Med. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)
Pal of Piglet and Pooh. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’, Roo was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
Not completely shut. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
“Me, Myself & ___” (Jim Carrey film). 5 letters
IRENE. ‘Me, Myself & Irene’ is a 2000 comedy film starring Jim Carrey (‘Me’ and ‘Myself’) and Renée Zellweger (Irene). The movie is a perfect vehicle for Carrey as his character is a state trooper who develops a second personality after a psychotic breakdown. You can just imagine how Jim Carrey plays that extra, unrepressed persona!
