output_trainer_2_1 Flashcards
Blues rocker Chris. 3 letters
REA. Chris Rea is a singer-songwriter and respected blues guitar player from England. Rea’s biggest hit is a song that he wrote himself called ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over’), released in 1978.
LAX patrollers. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“The best pal that I ever had,” in song. 3 letters
SAL. The line is from “My Gal Sal”, a song written by composer Paul Dresser. “My Gal Sal” is also the name of the movie recounting Dresser’s life made in 1942. It stars Victor Mature as Dresser, and Rita Hayworth as Sally Elliott.
One-named singer with four Grammys. 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!
Athlete who wrote “Off the Court”. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth he 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 America player to be so honored. He 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.
___ Palmas. 3 letters
LAS. Gran Canaria, or Grand Canary Island, may be grand but it isn’t quite as big as Tenerife, the largest island of the group and the most populated. The capital of Gran Canaria is Las Palmas, a port of call for Christopher Columbus in 1492 on his way to the Americas.
108-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.
Low numero. 3 letters
TRE. Tre: the number three in Italian.
Blade 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.
1, for one: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. US Route 1 runs from Fort Kent in Maine right down to Key West in Florida.
Kent State locale. 4 letters
OHIO. Kent State University’s main campus is located in Kent, Ohio, one of eight campuses located around northeast Ohio. Kent State will forever be associated with the student activism and opposition to the Vietnam War in the late sixties and early seventies. The fateful day was May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students, killing four protesters and wounding nine.
JFK probers. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Cartoon busman Mann. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Mann drives the school bus on “The Simpsons”. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Otto is a Germanic character, and his name is a play on the Ottoman Empire. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets him with “Otto, man!”
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”.
Leave in. 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.
Cardinal of Rome?. 3 letters
UNO. ‘Uno’ is the Italian for ‘one’.
Nez Perce Natl. 3 letters
IDA. The Nez Percé tribe of the Pacific Northwest call themselves the Nimiipuu, meaning “The Real People”. The name Nez Percé means “pierced nose” in French, a name applied in error to the Nimiipuu instead of the neighboring Chinook tribe, who did in fact practice nose piercing.
Eminently draftable. 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).
God whose name is a homophone of a zodiac sign. 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 blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
Gillette 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.
Otto minus cinque. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, eight (otto) minus five (cinque) is three (tre).
“___ and the King of Siam”. 4 letters
ANNA. “Anna and the King of Siam” is a semi-biographical novel written by Margaret Landon and first published in 1944. The book tells the largely true story of Anna Leonowens who spent five years in Siam teaching English to the children and wives of King Mongkut. The novel was adapted as a 1946 movie of the same name starring Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison. Then followed a 1951 stage musical titled ‘The King and I’. The musical was written as a vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence, who played Anna. Rex Harrison was asked to play the King, but he turned it down and Yul Brynner was cast instead. A movie version of the stage musical was released in 1956, famously starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.
The Era of ___ (1964-74 Notre Dame football). 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
“My gal” of song. 3 letters
SAL. “My Gal Sal” is a song written by composer Paul Dresser. “My Gal Sal” is also the name of the movie recounting Dresser’s life made in 1942. It stars Victor Mature as Dresser, and Rita Hayworth as Sally “Sal” Elliott.
Largest labor union in the U.S. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the country, mainly representing public school teachers.
Subject of many Georgia O’Keeffe paintings. 4 letters
IRIS. Georgia O’Keefe was an influential American artist, one who led the introduction of American art into Europe. Famously, she was married to photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who helped develop her career in the early days. One of her most famous paintings is from 1926, “Black Iris III”.
Wash. 3 letters
IDA. Idaho has the nickname the Gem State, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there.
Razor brand. 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.
Ones having issues at work, for short?. 3 letters
EDS. Editors (eds.) might have issues of a magazine at work.
Memorable hurricane of 2011. 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.
Grandson of Adam. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
Strauss wrote a concerto in D for it. 4 letters
OBOE. Richard Strauss wrote his Oboe Concerto near the end of his life, in 1945. The idea for the concerto came from American oboist John de Lancie, who was with an Army unit that took control of the Bavarian town in which Strauss lived at the end of WWII.
Slightly open. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Magazine whose name means “she”. 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”.
Pre-1917 autocrat. 4 letters
TSAR. The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word, and was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 A.D. It is derived from the word Caesar, which was synonymous with emperor at that time.
Off-white shade. 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”.
Doc grp. 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.
Subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
German boy’s name meaning “wealthy”. 4 letters
OTTO. The male name ‘Otto’ is German in origin, coming from the Old German ‘aud’ meaning ‘wealth, fortune’.
Class for some immigrants, for short. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
___ vera. 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.
Org. 4 letters
NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was set up in 1958.
Good name for a garage mechanic?. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto would be a good name for a car mechanic because ‘Otto’ sounds like ‘auto’.
Versatile vehicle, for short. 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
One of the Twelve Olympians. 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 blood-lust and slaughter.
Name on a Kazakh map. 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 …
Uzbekistan’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 …
State bordering B.C. 3 letters
IDA. The US state of Idaho has a panhandle that extends northwards between Washington and Montana, right up to the border with Canada. Across that border is the Canadian province of British Columbia. Most of Idaho is in the Mountain Time Zone, but Northern Idaho (the Panhandle) is in the Pacific Time Zone.
Standard breakup creation. 4 letters
ESSO. Standard Oil was founded by John D. Rockerfeller in 1870 and became the largest oil refining company in the world. Standard Oil was judged to be an illegal monopoly and was broken up in 1911 into 33 smaller companies. That list of 33 included Standard Oil of New Jersey, branded as Esso (from SO, the initials of Standard Oil).
Sharkey of TV’s “C.P.O. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Sharkey was played by Don Rickles. Sharkey was a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy in the storyline, a man in charge of new recruits on a San Diego naval base. The show ran from 1976 to 1978 on NBC.
“Pushover” 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 that has been ravaged by drug addiction, leading to numerous legal and health problems.
Ogee’s shape. 3 letters
ESS. An ogee is like an s-curve. Specifically it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S).
Galsworthy’s Mrs. 5 letters
IRENE. The “Forsyte Saga” is a series of novels written by John Galsworthy. There is an excellent BBC television series dating back to 1967 that tells the whole tale in 26 episodes. It ran in the US on PBS and helped to establish “Masterpiece Theater” as the success it is today. In the BBC series, Irene Forsyte was played by Nyree Dawn Porter, but the stars of the show were Susan Hampshire in the role of Fleur Forsyte, and Eric Porter as Soames Forsyte. Great stuff …
A Baldwin. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think his big break really 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. He is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”.
“Eternally nameless” thing. 3 letters
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world. According to the philosopher Laozi, Tao is ‘eternally nameless’ and separate for the many ‘named’ things that are its manifestations. It is the reality of life before we try to describe it.
Fitness grp. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Guthrie who sang 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 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.
Emerald ___. 4 letters
ISLE. And of course Ireland is called the “Emerald Isle” because of all that green caused by all that rain.
Travel option: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as Second Language (ESL) can also be called English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Dot-dot-dot. 3 letters
ESS. ‘…’ is the letter ‘S’ in Morse code.
Cay. 4 letters
ISLE. A “key” (also “cay”) is a low island offshore, as in the Florida Keys. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.
Wii ancestor, briefly. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Part of U.N.L.V. 3 letters
LAS. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) was established in 1957 as the Southern Division of the University of Nevada, Reno. One of UNLV’s flagship departments is the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, which is consistently ranked as one of the best hotel and hospitality colleges in the nation. I suppose that’s not surprising given the proximity to the Las Vegas Strip.
Sign at a sellout. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only!
Game with Wild Draw 4 cards. 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.
Constellation described by Ptolemy. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Panache. 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”.
What makes a top stop?. 3 letters
ESS. The word ‘top’ can be made into ‘stop’ by adding a letter S (ess) in the front.
Orchestra reed. 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”.
“I’ll Be Around” songwriter Wilder. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Wilder was an American popular songwriter and composer of classical pieces. One of Wilder’s more famous songs was ‘I’ll Be There’ that was a hit for the Mills Brothers.
___ Sea (Asian body). 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 …
Lily of Africa. 4 letters
ALOE. The so called “true aloe” is Aloe vera, a succulent plant native to Africa that grows in relatively dry climates. The plants leaves are full of biologically-active compounds that have been extensively studied. Regardless of the studies, aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.
Guadalajara gold. 3 letters
ORO. Guadalajara is a populous city in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The Mexican city is named after the Spanish city of the same name in the center of the country.
B’way sellout sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only.
___ Cruces, N.M. 3 letters
LAS. Las Cruces (Spanish for “the crosses”) is the second largest city in the state of New Mexico, and is the home of New Mexico State University.
Pulitzer-winning James. 4 letters
AGEE. James Agee was a noted American film critic. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously.
Subject of a museum in eastern Colorado. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute are a group of American Indian 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.
Baseball’s Bando. 3 letters
SAL. Sal Bando is a former Major League Baseball player and baseball executive. After retiring as a player, Bando worked for while as a color analyst for NBC, working alongside Bob Costas.
Honeymooners’ site. 4 letters
ISLE. The concept of a honeymoon vacation only started in the early 1800s. In Britain, wealthy couples would take a ‘bridal tour’ together after wedding, visiting those friends and relatives who could not attend the ceremony. The etymology of ‘honeymoon’ isn’t very clear, and may even have a negative derivation as it might suggest that the sweetness (honey) of love is doomed to wane like a passing phase of the moon. The equivalent terms in some other languages are ‘moon of honey’ (French), ‘honey month’ (Welsh) and ‘tinsel week’ (German).
Bolshevik’s target. 4 letters
TSAR. At the second party congress of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903, a split developed. The faction with the most support was led by Vladimir Lenin. Lenin’s faction was in the majority and so became known as the Bolsheviks, derived from the Russian word for “more” or “majority”.
Place for sweaters?. 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”.
“Me, Myself & ___” (Jim Carrey movie). 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!
Singer born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin. 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!
Allure or Essence 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”.
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, true …
Life. 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”.
Org. 4 letters
OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector, and regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.
Neutral color. 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”.
Sponsor of some PBS programs. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …
Story’s opening?. 3 letters
ESS. The opening letter in the word ‘story’ is the letter S (ess).
Test subj. 3 letters
DNA. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.
Parseghian of Notre Dame. 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
Workers’ protection agcy. 4 letters
OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector only, the one exception being the US Postal Service.
It’s part of the gene pool. 3 letters
DNA. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine if individuals are close family relations.
“___ momento”. 3 letters
UNO. ‘Una momento’ is Spanish for ‘one minute’.
Org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Fourth book of the Book of Mormon. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
Jazz legend ___ 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.
Palindromic name. 4 letters
OTTO. The three most famous palindromes in English have to be:
“CSI” topic, often. 3 letters
DNA. CSI gets a lot of criticism from the law enforcement agencies for its unrealistic portrayal of the procedures and science of criminal investigation. I don’t care though. It’s a fun show to watch.
Open a smidge. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Kett of old comics. 4 letters
ETTA. ‘Etta Kett’ was a comic strip that first ran in 1925. The strip ceased to be published in 1974, when creator Paul Robinson passed away. The initial intent was to offer tips to teenagers on manners and social graces, hence the name of the title character Etta Kett (sounds like ‘etiquette’).
Subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Three, in Tuscany. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, ‘uno’ (one) plus ‘due’ (two) makes ‘tre’ (three).
“The Big Read” sponsor, for short. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …
Editor’s override. 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.
It has space for one pupil. 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.
Actress Lupino. 3 letters
IDA. Actress Ida Lupino was also a successful director, in the days when women weren’t very welcome behind the camera. Lupino had already directed four “women’s” short films when she stepped in to direct the 1953 drama “The Hitch-Hiker”, taking over when the original director became ill. “The Hitch-Hiker” was the first film noir movie to be directed by a woman, and represented somewhat of a breakthrough for women in the industry.
Lawyers’ org. 3 letters
ABA. American Bar Association (ABA)
Nobel Prize-winning daughter of the Curies. 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.
Tire abbr. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Botanical balm. 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.
Canadian roadside sign. 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.
Eye part. 4 letters
IRIS. The iris is the colored part of the eye, which has an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
Court giant Arthur. 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.
Colored part of the eye. 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.
Onetime Arapaho foe. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Southwest Indian. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Rap mogul, briefly. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
“Me, Myself & ___,” 2000 Jim Carrey movie. 5 letters
IRENE. “Me, Myself and Irene” was released in 200o, and stars Jim Carrey (me, myself) and Renee (Irene). It tells the story of Charlie, a state trooper who develops a split personality.
Epps or Sharif. 4 letters
OMAR. Omar Epps is the actor who plays Dr. Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Omar Sharif is the great Hollywood actor from Egypt, who played such great roles in the likes of “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. But to me, he is my bridge hero (the card game). In his day, he was one of the best players in the world, but does not play at all anymore.
Grant-giving org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …
Symbol for electric flux. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
Class for a future citizen, for short. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
“The Crying Game” actor Stephen. 3 letters
REA. “The Crying Game” is a fascinating film that made quite a splash when it was released in 1992. Although it was set in Ireland and the UK, it didn’t do well in cinemas in either country yet made a lot of money over here in the US. I think the politics of the movie were a bit raw for Irish and UK audiences back then. It’s an unusual plot, blending Irish political issues with some raw sexuality questions. I won’t tell you about the “surprise scene”, just in case you haven’t seen it and want to do so.
Org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Part of a modern police database. 3 letters
DNA. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.
Bomberman console, briefly. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Retired 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. 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.
Openable with a gentle push, say. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Baldwin of “30 Rock”. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think his big break really 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. He is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey.
Open a tad. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Immigrant’s course, for short. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Intellectual range. 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.
What’s not yet due?. 3 letters
UNO. ‘One, two, three’ in Italian is “uno, due, tre”.
Jazzy 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.
Eponymous Belgian tourist locale. 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’.
Father of 38-Across. 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 blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
Little hopper?. 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.
Soothing stuff. 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.
It’s in the eye of the beholder. 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.
Pizazz. 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”.
Passenger-screening org. 3 letters
TSA. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Self-titled platinum album of 1986. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya is a musician from County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. She started out her musical career with her family band called Clannad, before going solo. Now Enya is Ireland’s best-selling solo musician.
Beige-ish. 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”.
Gillette 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.
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’.
Jazzy 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 that has been ravaged by drug addiction, leading to numerous legal and health problems.
Un-P.C. 3 letters
ESS. Personally, as a lover of language I miss the use of masculine and feminine forms in English, although I do recognize the benefit of making the change in the fight for equality of the sexes. It’s just a pity that the change was necessary.
Diomedes speared him. 4 letters
ARES. IN Greek mythology, Diomedes was a hero who participated in the Trojan War. In one engagement, the war god Ares descended onto the battlefield to assist the Trojans. With the help of the goddess Athena, Diomedes attacked Ares by throwing his spear and wounding him in the stomach. Ares screamed with the voice of 10,000 men and fled the scene.
It fosters bilingualism: Abbr.. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
“Beetle Bailey” dog. 4 letters
OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel id Beetle Bailey’s nemesis in the cartoon strip. Snorkel has a dog called Otto that he dresses up to look just like himself. He started off as a regular dog, but artist Mort Walker decide to make him more like his owner, and he became a big hit.
Relative of Aztec. 3 letters
UTE. The Uto-Aztecan language family consists of about 30 languages spoken in the Western United States and Mexico. Included in the list of Uto-Aztecan languages is Ute, Comanche and Hopi.
Any of the Canaries. 4 letters
ISLE. The Canary Islands are located off the northwest coast of Africa. The islands aren’t named for the canary bird and in fact the bird is named for the islands. The Canary Islands name comes from the Latin ‘Canariae Insulae’ which translates as ‘Island of the Dogs’, the original name for the biggest island now called Gran Canaria. In the days of Ancient Rome the island was noted as a home to a large number of very large dogs.
Writer James. 4 letters
AGEE. James Agee was a noted American film critic. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously.
___ Sea (the “Sea of Islands”). 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. The name ‘Aral Sea’ roughly translates into ‘Sea of Islands’, as the sea was once home to over 1,100 islands. No more …
River forming the borders of parts of five states. 4 letters
OHIO. Ohio marks the boundaries of five states:
Bart and Lisa’s bus driver. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Mann drives the school bus on the TV show “The Simpsons”. Otto is a Germanic character voiced by Harry Shearer, and his name is a play on “Ottoman Empire”. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets Otto with the words “Otto, man!”
___ vera. 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.
Thomas Moore’s “Come ___ the Sea”. 4 letters
O’ER. Thomas Moore was an Irish poet and songwriter, best known for writing the lyrics of ‘The Minstrel Boy’ and ‘The Last Rose of Summer’.
1966 gold album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. 3 letters
SRO. Herb Alpert still plays the trumpet today, but he is also a talented painter and sculptor. His works are seen regularly in exhibitions all around the world.
Native Coloradan. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute are a group of American Indian tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified group as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Beginning of summer?. 3 letters
ESS. The first letter of the word ‘summer’ is S (ess).
Women’s 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”.
Lawyer’s org. 3 letters
ABA. The American Bar Association (ABA)
Mag. 3 letters
EDS. Editors are ‘big wheels’ in magazine publishing.
___ Islas Filipinas. 3 letters
LAS. When the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos discovered the islands of Leyte and Samar, he called them Felipinas, after King Philip II of Spain. Eventually, the name was used for the whole archipelago, becoming what we now call in English, the Philippines.
Hundred Acre Wood resident. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Roo is based on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son, Christopher Robin.
Something most Americans won’t take, for short. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Cultural grp. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. It was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170m annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100m in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150m mark
Flower in a van Gogh painting. 4 letters
IRIS. Van Gogh painted his “Irises” while he was in an asylum in the south of France the year before he committed suicide. The original owner was a French art critic and supporter of Van Gogh who paid 300 francs to purchase the painting. “Irises” was bought for $53.9 million in 1987 making it the most expensive painting sold up to that point. But, the buyer didn’t actually have the necessary funds, so it had to be resold in 1990. It was picked up by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where you can see it today.
Nude alternative. 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”.
Bluesy James. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James is best known for her rendition of “At Last”.
Fit for service. 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).
Memorable hurricane of 2011. 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.
Not quite closed. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Conquistador’s loot. 3 letters
ORO. Conquistador is the Spanish for “conqueror”.
Blade handle?. 4 letters
ATRA. What a clever clue! The Atra was introduced by Gillette in 1977, and sold as the Contour in some markets, and its derivative products are still around today.
Documentarian Burns. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Burns directs and produces epic documentary films that usually make inventive use of archive footage. Recent works are the sensational ‘The War’ (about the US in WWII) and the magnificent ‘The National Parks: America’s Best Idea’. Burns’ latest offering is 2014’s ‘The Roosevelts: An Intimate History’.
Fit for duty, draftwise. 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. 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).
Chemistry Nobelist 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.
Most eligible to be drafted. 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. 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).
New Age Grammy winner. 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, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
Eugene O’Neill’s “___ Christie”. 4 letters
ANNA. The playwright Eugene O’Neill was born in a New York City hotel room in what is now called Times Square, in 1888. That building no longer exists and there is a Starbucks on the site today, but you can go take a look at the commemorative plaque at the Northeast corner of 43rd and Broadway. O’Neill died in 1953, in room 401 of the Sheraton Hotel on Bay State Road in Boston. His last words were, ‘I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room, and God damn it, died in a hotel room.” Eugene O’Neill won a Pulitzer for his play “Anna Christie”.
___ James (Beyoncé role). 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James was portrayed by singer Beyoncé Knowles in the 2008 movie ‘Cadillac Records’.
They had Machmeters, briefly. 4 letters
SSTS. SuperSonic Transports, like the Concorde, broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. They’re all grounded now.
Tonsil doc. 3 letters
ENT. An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
Lombard Street feature. 3 letters
ESS. Lombard Street in San Francisco is noted worldwide for a one-block section on Russian Hill that has eight ridiculously tight hairpin turns. That one-block section has a whipping 27% grade. The San Francisco Street is named for Lombard Street in Philadelphia.
Decidedly not-lax grp. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).
U.S.’s largest labor union, in brief. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Old card game with forfeits. 3 letters
LOO. The old card game of loo was popular in the 17th century. It 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 has to pay a forfeit, a sum added to the pool awarded to the eventual winner.
Columbia org. 4 letters
NASA. Columbia was the name and call sign of the command module that accompanied the lunar module Eagle that landed the first man on the moon in the Apollo 11 mission. Columbia was also the name of the first space shuttle sent into space in 1981. Tragically, Columbia was destroyed during the reentry phase of its 28th flight in 2003.
Baden-Baden, for one. 3 letters
SPA. Baden-Baden is located in the southwest of German in the Black Forest, very close to the border with France. The natural springs of Baden-Baden were greatly prized by the Ancient Romans who used the town as a spa. Baden-Baden became very popular with the aristocracy in the 1800s when visitors included Queen Victoria, as well as the composers Berlioz and Brahms, and the writer Dostoevsky. The town’s reputation earned it the nickname of the “European Summer Capital”. The town was originally called just Baden in the Middle Ages, and the name was officially changed to Baden-Baden in 1931. Baden-Baden is short for “the town of Baden in the state of Baden”.
Grp. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Half of dos. 3 letters
UNO. Uno, dos, tres … (one, two, three in Spanish).
Pal of Pooh. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Roo is based on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son, Christopher Robin.
What may come as a relief?. 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.
Inflation fig. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Hundred Acre Wood resident. 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.
Fit for drafting. 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).
Pantyhose shade. 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”.
Muckraker Tarbell. 3 letters
IDA. Ida Tarbell was a teacher and what we would call today an “investigative journalist”, although back in her day she was known as a “muckraker”. Her most famous work is her 1904 book “The History of the Standard Oil Company”. This exposé is credited with hastening the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in 1911.
The Altar constellation. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Trojan competitor. 3 letters
UTE. The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin’” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.
Proofer’s direction. 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.
Gillette 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.
Bygone U.S. 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.
Stephen of “V for Vendetta”. 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 …
1961 space chimp. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was a chimpanzee that was launched into Earth orbit in 1961 by NASA on a Mercury Atlas 4 rocket. Enos’s flight was a rehearsal for the first orbital flight made by an American, astronaut John Glenn. Enos returned from his mission safely, but died the following year from dysentery.
Employees at the Times or Post, for short. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
Largest U.S. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the country, mainly representing public school teachers.
Steamboat Springs, Colo., for one. 3 letters
SPA. Steamboat Springs is a major winter resort destination in Colorado. The area in which the city is located is home to many hot springs. The chugging sound of the hot springs reminded early settlers of steamboats, so they named their settlement Steamboat Springs.
Grant source, for short. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …
Prize at the Barcelona Olympics. 3 letters
ORO. The 1992 Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona in Spain. They were the last games to be held in the same year as the Winter Games.
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.
Flower whose name means “rainbow”. 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.
Rich of old films. 5 letters
IRENE. The actress Irene Rich worked in movies during the transition from the silent era to talkies. Rich also did a lot of work on radio where she had her own show. “The Irene Rich Show” was a series of mini-dramas in which Rich played opposite her leading man, Gale Gordon, who later played “Mr. Mooney”, Lucille Ball’s boss on “The Lucy Show”.
Diego Rivera’s “___ Sandías”. 3 letters
LAS. Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter, famous for his murals. His wife was an equally famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.
Instrument similar to a cor anglais. 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”.
Tennis’s Arthur. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth he 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 America player to be so honored. He 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.
Classification for some popular Spanish music. 3 letters
ORO. I suppose just as we classify a disc as “gold” in English, in Spanish that may be “oro”.
Commercial version of crazy eights. 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.
Game console pioneer. 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.
Strands in a lab. 3 letters
DNA. Famously, James Watson and Francis Crick worked out that the structure of DNA is a double helix. Well, it turns out that some strands of DNA can twist into different shapes. For example, the DNA at the ends of our chromosomes can form a rectangular structure called a triplex or quadruplex.
Baldwin of “30 Rock”. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think his 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 is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey.
Eggshell shade. 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’.
Teachers’ org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
“Orinoco Flow” singer. 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!
Gillette razor. 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.
Paternity suit evidence. 3 letters
DNA. 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 i.e. 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).
Highly desirable to Uncle Sam?. 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).
___ corde (piano direction). 3 letters
TRE. When a note is played on a piano, the sound is produced by a hammer striking three strings, all tuned to the same frequency. When the soft pedal is depressed, to give a softer quieter sound, the hammer only strikes two of those strings. The use of the soft pedal can be indicated in a musical score by using the Italian words ‘due corde’ (meaning ‘two strings’). The indication to release the soft pedal is the words ‘tre corde’ (meaning ‘three strings’).
Healing helper. 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.
Cracked. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Author Kesey. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Kesey wrote the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Kesey was one of a group of friends who called themselves the “Merry Pranksters”, a bunch of guys who were associated with the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, all icons of the Beat Generation.
Beats by ___ (brand of audio equipment). 3 letters
DRE. Beats by Dre is a brand of audio products that was founded by rapper Dr. Dre.
Old U.S. 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 it is still used all over the rest of the world.
Cognizance. 3 letters
KEN. Ken’ is a noun meaning ‘understanding, perception’. One might say, for example, ‘half the clues in Saturday’s crossword are beyond my ken, beyond my understanding’.
Draft-worthy. 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).
Close to closed. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Three R’s org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Stephen of “Interview With the Vampire”. 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 …
Writer Waugh. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Waugh was the older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both 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!
Strep treater, for short. 3 letters
ENT. An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
Draft status. 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).
It might make you sweat. 3 letters
SPA. The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as Spa is the name of a health resort there. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.
Quattro preceder. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, tre (three) precedes quattro (four).
___ ammoniac. 3 letters
SAL. Sal ammoniac is a mineral made up of ammonium chloride. It is fairly rare as it is very soluble in water and is quite soft. It is most often found around volcanic vents. Sal ammoniac used to be an ingredient in cookies, making them very crispy.
Org. 3 letters
AMA. (41. O.R. personnel : DRS)
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).
Game with Draw 2 cards. 3 letters
UNO. In my youth I remember being introduced to a great card game called Mau Mau, by a German acquaintance of mine. Years later I discovered that Uno is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck, instead of the regular deck used for Mau Mau.
Fashion magazine originally from France. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the biggest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.
___ Ramsay, hero of “The Black Stallion”. 4 letters
ALEC. “The Black Stallion” is the first book in a series about a stallion and its offspring, written by author Walter Farley. The owner of the horse whose life is chronicled is Alec Ramsay, a young man with a remarkably close bond with ‘The Black Stallion’.
Germany’s ___ von Bismarck. 4 letters
OTTO. Germany first became a country of its own in 1871, when the Princes of the various independent German states met at Versailles outside Paris to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as the Emperor of the German Empire. The man behind this historic development was Wilhelm’s Ministerpräsident, Otto von Bismarck. Von Bismarck was a powerful figure in Prussia, and indeed on the world stage, earning him the nickname of the ‘Iron Chancellor’.
“I forget the words” sounds. 3 letters
LAS. La la la la la …
Lady whom Don Giovanni tries to seduce. 4 letters
ANNA. “Don Giovanni” is a comic opera by Mozart, with the libretto in Italian by Lorenzo Da Ponte. The opera follows the adventures of Don Giovanni, a young, rakish nobleman who finally comes to a bad end.
Sandy shade. 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”.
Treasure from una mina. 3 letters
ORO. In Spanish, one might find ‘oro’ (gold) in ‘una mina’ (a mine’).
“All seats have been sold” sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only.
Actor Baldwin. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Baldwin 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 is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey.
Editor’s “On second thought”. 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.
“___, Red-Hot & Live” (1982 blues album). 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.
Court legend Arthur. 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.
Sign of success. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO).
Org. 3 letters
ABA. American Bar Association (ABA)
Flair. 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’.
Physicians’ 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.
Nearly dried-up Asian 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 …
Mission control org. 4 letters
NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was set up in 1958.
___ Sea (greatly shrunken 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 …
Word with grand or soap. 5 letters
OPERA. Grand Opera is the name given to the very lavish operas of the 19th century that lasted for a full 4-5 acts, and often had plots built around historic events. Grand Opera originated in Paris, mainly performed in the marvelous Paris Opera House.
Smart ___. 4 letters
ALEC. Apparently the original “smart alec” was Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.
Flair. 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’.
Competitor of Petro-Canada. 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.
Subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Capri, for one. 4 letters
ISLE. The island of Capri off the coast of Southern Italy has been a tourist resort since the days of ancient Rome. Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto, a sea cave that is illuminated with sunlight that’s colored blue as it passes through the seawater into the cave. Natives of Capri are known as ‘Capriotes’.
Grandson of Adam. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam and Eve.
Actors Harris and Helms. 3 letters
EDS. Ed Harris is a very talented actor, noted for two great performances in movies about the Space Program. He played John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” in 1983, his “breakthrough” role. Twelve years later he made a stellar performance as the flight director Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13”.
Distinctive style. 4 letters
ELAN. Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning, “style” or “flair”.
Gillette 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.
Bygone video game inits. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Union with 3+ million members, in brief. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the country, mainly representing public school teachers.
Tennis legend Arthur. 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.
___ soda. 3 letters
SAL. Sodium carbonate is a well known as a water softener sold for use in laundry, and is variously described as Sal Soda, Washing Soda and Soda Crystals.
Olympian war god. 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 blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
Lav. 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.
A. 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.
Greven who wrote the 2008 best seller “How to Talk to Girls”. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Greven writes self-help books. Greven’s first book was ‘How to Talk to Girls’, a New York Times bestseller in 2008. What’s remarkable is that Alec was only 9-years-old when ‘How to Talk to Girls’ was first published!
“Dark Sky Island” singer, 2015. 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, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
Folkie who chronicled Alice. 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.
Forest 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’.
Docs’ org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
When repeated, a popular puzzle. 3 letters
KEN. KenKen is an arithmetic and logic puzzle invented quite recently, in 2004 by a Japanese math teacher named Tetsuya Miyamoto. “Ken” is the Japanese word for “cleverness”.
Game featuring 108 cards. 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 used for Mau Mau.
Shade akin to beige. 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”.
Docs’ org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Trident-shaped letter. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
One of Ptolemy’s 48 constellations. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Neutral shade. 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’.
Mail abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Light brown shade. 4 letters
ECRU. The shade of ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French, and means “raw, unbleached”, and has the same roots as our word “crude”.
Relaxing getaway. 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”.
Big name in games. 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.
Part of the eye around the pupil. 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.
Battle of Isengard participant. 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’.
Org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Sport-___. 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
Course for some immigrants: Abbr.. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Glamour types, for short. 3 letters
EDS. I’m not sure what “EDS” are in the context of “glamour” … maybe editors of “Glamour” magazine?
Folkie Guthrie. 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.
Body part used in some recognition systems. 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.
“The Killing” star Mireille ___. 4 letters
ENOS. Mireille Enos is an actress from Kansas City. Enos is perhaps best known for her TV work, playing Sarah Linden on ‘The Killing’ and for playing twins Kathy and JoDean Marquart on ‘Big Love’. Enos is married to actor Alan Ruck, who I mainly remember playing Cameron Frye in the great movie ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’.
Drivers brake for it. 3 letters
ESS. I think the idea is that a driver will brake for an S-bend.
Acapulco gold. 3 letters
ORO. The Mexican city of Acapulco is on the southwest coast of the country, in the state of Guerrero. The name ‘Acapulco’ translates from the local language into ‘at the big reeds’.
Org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Trident-shaped letter. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
Animation. 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”.
“___ the ramparts …”. 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the rampart” 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.
One of four Holy Roman emperors. 4 letters
OTTO. The name “Otto” is of Germanic origin, and means “wealthy”. The first three Ottos of the Holy roman Empire ruled in succession from 912 to 1002, and made up what is called the Ottonian dynasty. Otto IV ruled from 1175 to 1218.
Hundred Acre Wood young ‘un. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Roo is based on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son, Christopher Robin.
Acronymic store name. 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. Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.
Not wide open. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Mrs. 3 letters
IDA. Ida Saxton met Bill McKinley at a picnic in 1867, just before she headed off to Europe on a “grand tour”. So, the two had to wait until 1869 before they started courting. The two marries in 1871 in Canton, Ohio, Ida’s hometown. Ida McKinley developed epilepsy before her husband was elected to President of the US, and became very dependent on him to provide physical and moral support. She always sat by his side at public functions, breaking with the tradition of the President hosting some of the guests, and the First Lady others. After her husband was assassinated, Mrs. McKinley could not bring herself to attend her husband’s funeral, and she withdrew from public view to her home in Canton. She passed away six years after her husband, in 1907.
Only three-letter constellation other than Leo. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Chris with the 1978 hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)”. 3 letters
REA. Chris Rea is a singer-songwriter and respected blues guitar player from England.
Eminem producer, informally. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Borg rival. 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.
Folk singer Guthrie. 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.
When doubled, a number puzzle. 3 letters
KEN. KenKen is an arithmetic and logic puzzle invented quite recently, in 2004 by a Japanese math teacher named Tetsuya Miyamoto. “Ken” is the Japanese word for “cleverness”.
“Toy Story 3” role for Michael Keaton. 3 letters
KEN. I haven’t seen Pixar’s “Toy Story 3”, but I hear it is excellent. “Toy Story 3” is so successful that it is now the highest-grossing animated film of all time and has brought in over a billion dollars worldwide. In the movie, Ken is a smooth-talking doll that falls in love with Barbie. Ken is voiced by actor Michael Keaton.
“___ 911!” (former Comedy Central show). 4 letters
RENO. “Reno 911!” is what nowadays is called a “mockumentary”, a documentary-style comedy that parodies the television show “COPS”. I am afraid I don’t watch either … not my cup of tea.
Colorado tribe. 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.
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.
Teachers’ org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Lincoln Center production. 5 letters
OPERA. The Lincoln Center takes its name from the neighborhood in which it is situated, Lincoln Square.
Burn soother. 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.
Actor Baldwin. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think his big break really 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. He is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey.
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
What Indiana University’s superimposed “I” and “U” looks like. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork. It is the 23rd letter of the 24 letters in the Greek alphabet.
“Up in the Air” actress Kendrick. 4 letters
ANNA. Up in the Air’ is a really enjoyable comedy-drama from 2009, an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Walter Kirn. It’s all about life on the road and business travel, and stars George Clooney. It reminded me of my decades of business travel, something I enjoyed, to be honest. Clooney’s young sidekick in the movie is played very ably by Anna Kendrick.
Treasure on the Spanish Main. 3 letters
ORO. ‘Oro’ is Spanish for ‘gold’.
Leave in. 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.
Italian III. 3 letters
TRE. ‘One, two, three’ in Italian is “uno, due, tre”.
Indiana/Kentucky border river. 4 letters
OHIO. The Ohio is the largest tributary of the Mississippi by volume. In fact where the two rivers meet, in Cairo, Illinois, the Ohio is actually the larger of the pair.
Opened a bit. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Trac II successor. 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.
Fashionista’s read, maybe. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945, and today has the biggest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.
Some deadline setters, in brief. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
“May It Be” singer, 2001. 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!
2006 Grammy winner for “Amarantine”. 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!
Genesis son. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam.
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 made his move, creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Color similar 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”.
Gambling mecca. 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. After the expo, 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”.
Correctional workers, for short?. 3 letters
EDS. Editors (eds.)
Subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Treasure of the Sierra Madre. 3 letters
ORO. ‘Oro’ is Spanish for ‘gold’.
Tolkien creature. 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’.
Super ___ (game console). 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES (or SNES) stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …
Sheltered at sea. 4 letters
ALEE. “Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.
Company that buried 700,000+ unsold video games in 1983. 5 letters
ATARI. Back in 1983, it was rumored that Atari buried a huge stash of unsold video games in a New Mexico landfill. The game in question was called ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’, widely panned as perhaps the worst video game ever produced. Partly because the burial took place close to the site of the Roswell UFO incident, and also because Atari denied that the event ever occurred, the destruction of the games became somewhat of an urban legend.
Asia’s shrinking ___ 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 …
Newspaper staffers, in brief. 3 letters
EDS. Editors (eds.)
Arthur with a Queens stadium named after him. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth he 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 America player to be so honored. He 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. He had further heart surgery in 1983, and contracted HIV from blood transfusions during the procedure. Ashe passed away in 1993, due to complications from AIDS.
Scuba tank meas. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
It’s in the eye of the beholder. 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.
Head across the Atlantic. 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!
Folkie Guthrie. 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.
Canterbury can. 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 toilets started to be installed 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.
Balneotherapy locale. 3 letters
SPA. Balneotherapy is similar to hydrotherapy and is the treatment of a disease using baths. Mineral baths and water massages would be considered part of balneotherapy.
With 113-Across, landlocked waters. 4 letters
ARAL. (113. See 48-Down : SEA)
Folkie Guthrie. 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. He 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 from littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
Tennessee’s state flower. 4 letters
IRIS. Actually it’s specifically the Purple Iris that is the state flower of Tennessee.
Something starting something?. 3 letters
ESS. The letter S (ess) starts the word ‘something’.
It’s usually behind a viola in an orchestra. 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”.
Western native. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Cape Canaveral org. 4 letters
NASA. The famous headland in Florida called Cape Canaveral was named by Spanish explorers in the early 16th century. As the Cape acts as a launching station for many of NASA’s rockets, when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 the NASA facility on nearby Merritt Island was renamed the Kennedy Space Center, and President Johnson went as far as renaming the whole of Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy. The name change for the cape didn’t go down well in Florida though, as the headland had been called Cape Canaveral for over 400 years. So, the name was restored in 1973, and Cape Kennedy is no more.
Amendment to an amendment. 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.
Style. 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”.
Bando of baseball. 3 letters
SAL. Sal Bando is a former Major League Baseball player and baseball executive. After retiring as a player, Bando worked for while as a color analyst for NBC, working alongside Bob Costas.
Kanga’s little one. 3 letters
ROO. Kanga is a friend of Winnie-the-Pooh, a kangaroo. She is the mother of Roo, who appears more frequently in the storyline.
First chimp to orbit Earth. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was a chimpanzee that was launched into Earth orbit in 1961 by NASA on a Mercury Atlas 4 rocket. Enos’s flight was a rehearsal for the first orbital flight made by an American, astronaut John Glenn. Enos returned from his mission safely, but died the following year from dysentery.
Sinus doc. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT).
Petrol 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.
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.
“Paint the Sky With Stars” singer. 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!
Eligible to be called up. 5 letters
ONE-A. Class 1-A registrants in the Selective Service System maintained by the US government, are available for unrestricted military service.
Dict. 3 letters
EDS. Edition (ed.)
Conditioner additive. 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.
66, e.g.: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road gained notoriety because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.
Mach3 predecessor. 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.
___ Precheck. 3 letters
TSA. The TSA is the Transportation Security Administration, the good folks that check passengers and baggage at airports.
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Throne room at Buckingham Palace. 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!
“Bird” with a flexible nose. 3 letters
SST. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape and reduce drag. The nose 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 than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.
Title princess of a comic opera. 3 letters
IDA. Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant’ is a Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera. It was first performed in 1884 at the Savoy Theatre in London that was famous for staging the duo’s works.
Instrument used to set the pitch for an orchestra. 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”.
Penlight-wielding doc. 3 letters
ENT. An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
Cinque minus due. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, cinque (five) minus due (two) is tre (three).
Cuba or Aruba. 4 letters
ISLE. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. The exact etymology of the name ‘Cuba’ seems a little unclear. Most believe ‘Cuba’ to be derived from the Taíno terms for ‘where fertile land is abundant’ (cubao) or ‘great place’ (coabana).
Leave without changing. 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).
Slightly open, as a door. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“A Day Without Rain” artist. 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!
Place to get a facial. 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”.
James who sang “A Sunday Kind of Love”. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James is best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she discloses in her autobiography, Etta James has lived a life that has been ravaged by drug addiction, leading to numerous legal and health problems.
Teachers’ grp. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Chinese path of enlightenment. 3 letters
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
Dunne of “My Favorite Wife”. 5 letters
IRENE. Irene Dunne was a wonderful, and beautiful, Hollywood actress. She played a variety of roles, but I always think of her as the leading lady with Cary Grant in the movies “The Awful Truth”, “My Favorite Wife” and “Penny Serenade”. Irene Dunne was great friends with fellow actress Loretta Young, and the two often attended church together. She is often described as the best actress never to win an Oscar, even though she was nominated five times for the Best Actress Academy Award.
Specialist in three of the five senses, for short. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT)
Product with a Lubrastrip. 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.
Little friend of Winnie-the-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.
30% of dieci. 3 letters
TRE. ‘Dieci’ is Italian for ‘ten’. ‘Tre’ is Italian for ‘three’.
Anne Frank’s father. 4 letters
OTTO. Anne Frank has to be one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust, largely because the story of this young girl lives on in her widely published diary, and in adaptations of the diary for stage and screen. Anne Frank was a German national, until she lost her nationality in 1941 when the Nazis came to power. By this time, she was living with her family in Amsterdam, as the Franks chose to flee Germany in 1933. When the Germans occupied the Netherlands, the family went into hiding in the attic of Otto Frank’s office building (Otto was Anne’s father). There the family hid for two whole years, until they were betrayed. The family was split up, and Anne and her sister died in a concentration camp in 1945 from typhus.
26-Across of a North Carolina “-ville”. 4 letters
ASHE. (26A. See 16-Across : EPONYM)
Night school subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as Second Language (ESL) can also be called English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Swelled head?. 3 letters
ESS. The letter S (ess) is the head letter of the word ‘swelled’.
What opens and closes safes?. 3 letters
ESS. The word ‘safes’ opens and closes with a letter ‘s’.
International furniture retailer. 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.
Alternative to plata. 3 letters
ORO. “Plata” and “oro” are Spanish for “silver” and “gold”.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Princess ___”. 3 letters
IDA. Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant’ is a Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera. It was first performed in 1884 at the Savoy Theatre in London that was famous for staging the duo’s works.
Barbie’s beau. 3 letters
KEN. Barbie’s male counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. When Ken was introduced in 1959, it was as Barbie’s boyfriend. In 2004 it was announced that Ken and Barbie were splitting up, and needed to spend quality time apart. Soon after the split, Barbie ‘met’ Blaine, a boogie boarder from Australia.
___ of Capri. 4 letters
ISLE. The island of Capri off the coast of Southern Italy has been a tourist resort since the days of ancient Rome. Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto, a sea cave that is illuminated with sunlight that’s colored blue as it passes through the seawater into the cave.
James portrayed 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.
Letter before omega. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
Something that may be found in a pit. 4 letters
OBOE. An oboe might be found in an orchestra pit.
Thriller author 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, as you can perhaps tell from the preceding list of titles.
Instrument heard in Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe”. 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!) 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.
Astronaut’s letters. 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).
Hair strands?. 3 letters
DNA. I don’t think that there is DNA in hair per se, although there is in the hair root …
Tennis great Arthur. 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.
U.S. 1, for one: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. US Route 1 runs from Fort Kent in Maine, right down to Key West in Florida.
Mens ___ (criminal intent). 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.
Germany’s von Bismarck. 4 letters
OTTO. Germany first became a country of her own in 1871 when the Princes of the various independent German states met at Versailles outside Paris to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as the Emperor of the German Empire. The man behind this historic development was Wilhelm’s Ministerpräsident, Otto von Bismarck. Von Bismarck was a powerful figure in Prussia and indeed on the world stage, earning him the nickname of the ‘Iron Chancellor’.
Super ___. 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES (or SNES) stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …
Son of Seth. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was the son of Seth and the grandson of Adam and Eve.
London facilities. 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.
Ryan of old TV. 5 letters
IRENE. Irene Ryan was the wonderful American actress who played “Granny” on “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ryan was remarkable in that she had a successful career in vaudeville, on radio and television, on film and on Broadway.
Comic strip husband. 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.
Vegas opening?. 3 letters
LAS. Las Vegas, Nevada was founded as a city in 1905. It became a stop-off point for pioneers travelling west and eventually a railroad town, although with the coming of the railroad growth halted as folks began to bypass Las Vegas. The city’s tourism industry took off in 1935 with the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam, and visitors to Vegas take tours of the dam to this day. Then gambling was legalized, and things really started to move. Vegas was picked, largely by celebrated figures in “the mob”, as a convenient location across the California/Nevada state line that could service the vast population of Los Angeles. As a result, Las Vegas became the most populous US city founded in the 20th century (an honor that went to Chicago in the 19th century).
Syllables sung by Figaro. 3 letters
LAS. Figaro is the central character in at least two operas: , “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini, and “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart. The two story-lines are based on plays by Pierre Beaumarchais, with one basically being a sequel to the other.
Low numero. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, three (tre) is a low number (numero).
Chief John Duncan, e.g. 3 letters
UTE. Chief John Duncan was an influential member of the Ute people, who served as a liaison between several Native American tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. after the Civil War. There is a marble bust of Chief John Duncan in the Utah State Capitol building.
Grant grp. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. It was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark
Beehive State athlete. 3 letters
UTE. The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin’” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.
Salt Lake City player. 3 letters
UTE. The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach, from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin’” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less offensive “Utes”.
___-Pacific. 4 letters
ASIA. The term ‘Asia-Pacific’ is often used, particularly in the world of business. However, it tends to be quite imprecise, as the exact definition of which countries and regions are included in Asia-Pacific isn’t really clear. Sometime Asia-Pacific might include the United States for example, and sometimes not.
They’ll check your bag at the airport, for short. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports. The TSA has a Trusted Traveler program that allows certain passengers to move more quickly through security screening. These passengers pay the TSA a one-time fee that covers a background check after which successful applicants are issued a Known Traveler Number (KTN).
Joie de vivre. 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”.
Pal 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.
Card game with stakes. 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.
What an aspiring model may read. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 and today has the biggest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.
“___ the Water to Charlie” (old ballad). 4 letters
O’ER. O’er the Water to Charlie’ is a poem written by the great Scottish poet, Robert Burns, which he himself also put to music as a ballad. The ‘Charlie’ here is Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobite claimant to the throne who fled from Scotland and lived in exile in France (hence ‘o’er the water to Charlie’).
Tres menos dos. 3 letters
UNO. In Spanish, ‘tres menos dos’ (three minus two) is ‘uno’ (one).
Granada gold. 3 letters
ORO. Granada is a city and province in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Granada is not to be confused with Grenada (different spelling), the island nation in the Caribbean that was invaded by the US in 1983.
Some desk workers, for short. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
Writer James. 4 letters
AGEE. James Agee was a noted American film critic. He wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously.
J.F.K. 3 letters
SST. The most famous SuperSonic Transport (SST) was the Concorde, all of which are now grounded. 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. The nose 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.
Old Russian autocrat. 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.
Body scanner org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks. TSA personnel carry out the baggage and body searches at US airports.
___ Plus (pharmacy purchase). 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.
Province of ancient Rome. 4 letters
ASIA. The Roman province of Asia (also called Asiana) was very different than the continent that we today call Asia. Roman Asia was just the land lying east of the Mediterranean.
Paradise in fiction. 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.
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 …
Stephen of “Interview With the Vampire”. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor from Belfast. Rea’s most successful role was Fergus in 1992’s ‘The Crying Game’, for which performance he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. In ‘The Crying Game’, Fergus was a member of the IRA. In real life, Rea was married to IRA bomber and hunger striker Dolours Price at the time he made the movie.
Grandson of 21-Across. 4 letters
ENOS. (21A. Second person in the Bible : EVE)
W competitor. 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.
Neighbor of Mont. 3 letters
IDA. The US state of Idaho has a panhandle that extends northwards between Washington and Montana, right up to the border with Canada. Across that border is the Canadian province of British Columbia. Most of Idaho is in the Mountain Time Zone, but Northern Idaho (the Panhandle) is in the Pacific Time Zone.
Allowing peeking, perhaps. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Accent reduction may be a subj. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Band whose self-titled 1982 album was #1 for nine weeks. 4 letters
ASIA. Asia was one of these “supergroups”, a band composed of musicians from other bands that have already achieved success. The Asia lineup included bandmembers from the groups Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Roxy Music and the Buggles among others.
Burns behind a camera. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Burns directs and produces epic documentary films that usually make inventive use of archive footage. His most recent works are the sensational “The War” (about the US in WWII) and the magnificent “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”.
Greek goddess of peace. 5 letters
IRENE. Eirene (also ‘Irene’) was the Greek goddess of peace, with ‘eirene’ being the Greek word for ‘peace’. The Roman equivalent to Eirene was the goddess Pax.
Neighbor of Norma. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Bus driver on “The Simpsons”. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Mann drives the school bus on the TV show “The Simpsons”. Otto is a Germanic character voiced by Harry Shearer, and his name is a play on “Ottoman Empire”. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets Otto with the words “Otto, man!”
Poseidon’s trident?. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
“Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner. 3 letters
SAL. “Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie, released in 1989. Much of the action is centered on a local pizzeria owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello), so the restaurant is called “Sal’s”.
Color of unbleached silk. 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’.
Eligible 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).
Greek war god. 4 letters
ARES. In Greek mythology the god Ares was the half-brother of the goddess Athena, although the two were regarded as enemies. Both deities are associated with war, with Athena representing strategic warfare whereas Ares is linked to momentary, passionate violence.
Mars, to some. 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 blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
Succulent healer. 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.
Fit for duty. 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. 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).
Hit show sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
“Finnegans Wake” wife. 4 letters
ANNA. Finnegan’s Wake’ is a frustrating piece of literature by Irish writer James Joyce. The language and structure of the work make the whole thing very difficult to get into, and so I just gave up many moons ago. As an illustration, the last words of the book are:
Retail giant whose logo has blue letters in a yellow oval. 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. Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.
John, to Paul, George or Ringo. 3 letters
LOO. Excellent clue! To the Beatles Paul, George and Ringo, the “john” is “the loo”.
Class for some immigrants, for short. 3 letters
ESL. English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
___ Sea (now-divided waters). 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 …
“Brainiac” author Jennings. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s ‘Jeopardy’. Jennings has also won more game show money than any other person. He was defeated after 75 appearances on the show, after racking up over $2.5 million in the prior episodes.
Counterterrorism 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.
What an issei might enroll in: Abbr.. 3 letters
ESL. English as Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Elemento número 79. 3 letters
ORO. Gold is the element with the atomic number of 79, or “oro” in Spanish.
Man, but not woman. 4 letters
ISLE. The Isle of Man is a large island located in the middle of the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. I used to spend a lot of time there in my youth, and a very interesting place it is indeed. The Isle of Man is classed as a British Crown Dependency and isn’t part of the United Kingdom at all. It is self-governing and has its own parliament called the Tynwald. The Tynwald was created in AD 979 and is arguably the oldest continuously-running parliament in the world. The inhabitants of the island speak English, although they do have their own language as well called Manx, which is very similar to Irish Gaeilge and Scottish Gaelic. And then there are those Manx cats, the ones without any tails. I’ve seen lots of them, and can attest that they are indeed found all over the island.
Pax’s Greek counterpart. 5 letters
IRENE. Eirene (also ‘Irene’) was the Greek goddess of peace, with ‘eirene’ being the Greek word for ‘peace’. The Roman equivalent to Eirene was the goddess Pax.
Boise’s home: Abbr.. 3 letters
IDA. Boise, Idaho is the largest metropolitan area in the state by far. Boise is home to many famous residents, including the actor, George Kennedy.
Neighbor of Telescopium. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Metro line: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. I guess a metro line is route (rte.), unless I am missing something …
