output_trainer_2_2 Flashcards
Frivolous 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.
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is perhaps as well known for his own singing career as he is for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dog, Eminem and 50 Cent.
“Beetle Bailey” dog. 4 letters
OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel (‘Sarge’) is Beetle Bailey’s nemesis in the cartoon strip that bears his name. Snorkel has a dog called Otto that he dresses up to look just like himself. Otto started off as a regular dog, but artist Mort Walker decide to draw him more like his owner, and soon Otto became a big hit.
Leave in. 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” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.
Cousin of 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”.
Its version of table tennis had a square ball. 5 letters
ATARI. Do you remember the arcade video game that was like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looked like a ball, over what looked like a net? Well, that was ‘Pong’.
Discount ticket letters. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO)
Docs’ org. 3 letters
AMA. The American Medical Association was founded in 1847, at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The first female member was allowed to join in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t let in until 1968.
Doc bloc. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Mongols’ home. 4 letters
ASIA. The Mongols are an ethnic group that is found today in modern Mongolia, in China and in Russia.
Super ___ (1980s-‘90s game console). 3 letters
NES. The acronym stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The kids probably have one. I wouldn’t know …
Sensor forerunner. 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.
“At Last” singer James. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta James is best known for her rendition of “At Last”. Sadly, 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.
Cracked open, as a door. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Asia’s ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the original lake’s volume gone. Sad …
Constellation between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Italian TV channel. 3 letters
TRE. Rai 3 is one of three television channels owned and operated by the Italian government. They also operate Rai 1 and Rai 2. Rai stands for ‘Radiotelevisione Italiana’, Italian public broadcasting.
Constellation next to Scorpius. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
What surrounds an aperture. 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.
Slalom figure. 3 letters
ESS. Slalom is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”.
Archipelago part. 4 letters
ISLE. ‘Archipelago’ is a name often used for a group or chain of islands. ‘Archipelago’ is our spelling of the Italian ‘arcipelago’, a word that has Greek roots. ‘Arcipelago’ was the proper name for the Aegean Sea in Greek, a word that was eventually used for the Aegean Islands.
Game with 108 cards. 3 letters
UNO. In my youth I remember being taught a great card game by a German acquaintance of mine, a game 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.
The “you” in the lyric “I’ll see you in my dreams”. 5 letters
IRENE. “Goodnight, Irene”, also known as “Irene, Goodnight”, is a lovely American folk song that was first recorded commercially back in 1932 by blues singer Lead Belly. The song made it to number one in the charts for the Weavers in 1950 and for Frank Sinatra in the same year.
Mineo of movies. 3 letters
SAL. Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plate” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.
Lab compound, to a chemist. 3 letters
SAL. ‘Sal’ is a pharmacological term meaning ‘salt’.
1961 space chimp. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was a chimpanzee who 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.
Zing. 4 letters
ELAN. Elan: ardor inspired by passion or enthusiasm. I guess that could be “zing”.
Common adult ed course. 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).
Away from the storm. 4 letters
ALEE. The direction “alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he is pointing “aweather”.
“El tiempo es ___” (Spanish proverb). 3 letters
ORO. ‘El tiempo es oro’ is a Spanish proverb that translates as ‘time is gold’.
Fashion magazine founded in 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”.
Instrument that tunes 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”.
Cousin of an agave. 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.
Target of a 1917 uprising. 4 letters
TSAR. The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called ‘the Russian Revolution’. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.
Where I-15 meets I-86: Abbr.. 3 letters
IDA. Interstate 86 is a little unusual, in that it is actually and “intrastate” highway. It is located entirely within the state of Idaho. Now to be fair, there are also two sections of road called Interstate 86 back east, running through parts of Pennsylvania and New York.
Home of the Salmon River Mtns. 3 letters
IDA. The Salmon River Mountains in Idaho cover much of the central part of the state. The range forms part of the central Rocky Mountains.
Pulitzer-winning James. 4 letters
AGEE. James Agee was a noted, American film critic. He wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that was published in 1957, and won him his Pulitzer, albeit posthumously, in 1958.
“Put a tiger in your tank” 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 it is still used in many other countries.
Milne character. 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.
Where the robed are rubbed. 3 letters
SPA. The word “spa” migrated to 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”.
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.
Coach Parseghian. 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
What “……..” means to a typesetter. 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).
“Watermark” vocalist. 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!
Peter the Great, for one. 4 letters
TSAR. Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.
Frequent night school 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).
Head of Hogwarts. 3 letters
LOO. 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!
Mineo of “Exodus”. 3 letters
SAL. Sal Mineo’s most famous role was that of John “Plate” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. “Exodus” is the 1960 film of the Leon Uris novel of the same name. Paul Newman heads the cast, and Sal Mineo had a supporting role playing Dov Landau. Sadly, Sal Mineo was murdered in in 1976, when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment, and stabbed through the heart. An arrest was made, and the murderer apparently had no idea who his victim was, and had committed a number of robberies in the area.
Night sch. 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).
What you might hear halting speech in, 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).
Place for a “me day”. 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”.
Visitor to Siam, on stage and film. 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.
Body image grp. 3 letters
TSA. The TSA is the Transportation Security Administration, the agency that employs the good folks that check passengers and baggage at airports.
Verve. 4 letters
ELAN. Elan: ardor inspired by passion or enthusiasm. I guess that could be “verve”.
Warlike deity. 4 letters
ARES. The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros.
III, now. 3 letters
TRE. In ancient Rome, the number three was written as ‘III’, in Roman numerals. In modern-day Rome, ‘tre’ is Italian for the same number.
Actor Baldwin. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Baldwin 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.
Tire spec abbr. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Body treatment facility. 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”.
River that ends at Cairo. 4 letters
OHIO. Nope, not the Nile, but the Ohio River. The Ohio is formed in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. It empties into the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.
Slalom figure. 3 letters
ESS. Slalom is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam”, meaning “skiing race”.
___ 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.
Helmeted 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.
Polo setting. 4 letters
ASIA. Marco Polo was a merchant from Venice, and famous traveler throughout Asia. He journeyed with his father and uncle on an epic tour of Central Asia and China that lasted 24 years. Marco is the one we remember today because he documented their travels in the book “Il Milione”.
Plastic guy. 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.
James of jazz. 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.
Asia’s shrunken ___ Sea. 4 letters
ARAL. The Aral Sea is another great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In 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 …
___ Stadium (Big Apple tennis locale). 4 letters
ASHE. The Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997 and is the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium is sometimes criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather.
“The King and I” governess. 4 letters
ANNA. The King and I’ is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called ‘Anna and the King of Siam’, first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the King’s wives.
Nonnative speaker’s course, in brief. 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).
___ Palmas, Spain. 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, which was a port of call for Christopher Columbus in 1492 on his way to the Americas.
26-Down’s role in “The King and I”. 4 letters
ANNA. The King and I’ is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called ‘Anna and the King of Siam’, first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the King’s wives.
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.
Sunburn soother. 4 letters
ALOE. The so called “true aloe” is aloe vera, a succulent plant that grows in relatively dry climates and one native to Africa. The plants leaves are full of biologically active compounds that have been studied extensively. Regardless of the studies, aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.
Cutting-edge 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.
Very light brown. 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”.
“May It Be” singer, 2001. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ni Braonain, which can translate from the Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. Personally, I don’t like her music as it all sounds the same to me, but she sure does turn up in crosswords a lot!
How the helm might be put. 4 letters
ALEE. The direction “alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he is pointing “aweather”.
___ Little, “The Wire” gangster. 4 letters
OMAR. The character Omar Little is played on “The Wire” by Michael K. Williams. I didn’t watch “The Wire” when it first aired but we ending up buying all five series on DVD and we watched the whole thing earlier this year. It’s is a great drama series, and I thoroughly recommend it. Personally, I think that HBO produces some of the best dramas on American television.
Cargo on the Spanish Main. 3 letters
ORO. ‘Oro, plata, bronce’ is ‘gold, silver, bronze’ in Spanish.
Cortés’s quest. 3 letters
ORO. ‘Oro’ is Spanish for ‘gold’.
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).
Lotion 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.
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.
Mother’s Day destination, maybe. 3 letters
SPA. Note the official punctuation in ‘Mother’s Day’, even though one might think it should be ‘Mothers’ Day’. President Wilson, and Anna Jarvis who created the tradition, specifically wanted Mother’s Day to honor the mothers within each family and not just “mothers” in general, so they went with the “Mother’s Day” punctuation.
Broadway musical of 1919 and 1973. 5 letters
IRENE. The Broadway musical ‘Irene’ is based on a play by James Montgomery called ‘Irene O’Dare’. When the musical opened for the first time, in 1919, it ran for 675 performances, a record for Broadway that stood for nearly 20 years. The show was revived in 1973, with Debbie Reynolds in the title role, and ran for 594 performances.
Shell alternative. 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.
Pitchfork-shaped letter. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
Double-reed woodwind. 4 letters
OBOE. The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance, you’ll note (pun intended!) the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. Everyone tunes in turn to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “expose”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall.
Vegas opening?. 3 letters
LAS. Back in the 1800s, the Las Vegas Valley was given its name from the extensive meadows (“las vegas” is Spanish for “the meadows”) present in the area courtesy of the artesian wells drilled by the local farmers. Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1905, in the days when it was a stopping-off point for pioneers travelling west. It eventually became a railroad town, although with the coming of the railroad growth halted as travelers began to bypass Las Vegas. The city’s tourism industry took off in 1935 with the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam, which is still a popular tourist attraction. 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 is the most populous US city founded in the 20th century (Chicago is the most populous city founded in the 19th century, just in case you were wondering).
Times V.I.P.’s. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
It’s all about the pupil. 4 letters
IRIS. The pupil of the eye is the ‘hole’ located in the center of the iris through which light enters the retina. The term ‘pupil’ came into English via French from the latin ‘pupilla’, which is the diminutive form of ‘pupa’ meaning ‘girl, doll’. The term came about due to the tiny doll-like image that one can see of oneself when looking into the center of another’s eyes.
___ Candy, “Wonder Woman” character. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta Candy was introduced into Wonder Woman’s universe by DC Comics in 1942. She started out as a undernourished young woman that Wonder Woman encountered in a local hospital. The next time she appeared in the comics she was a rather rotund woman who claims to have been rejuvenated by eating candy. This was 1942 …
Hyacinth relative. 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.
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.
Chichi getaway. 3 letters
SPA. Someone who is “chichi” is showily trendy and pretentious. ‘Chichi’ is a French noun meaning ‘airs, fuss’.
Journalist Wells. 3 letters
IDA. Ida B. Wells was an African American journalist and leader of the civil rights movement. She published a pamphlet in 1892 called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases”, which publicized the horrors of lynching of African Americans by white mobs in the South.
Otoscope user, for short. 3 letters
ENT. An otoscope is that instrument that an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist uses to look into the interior of your ears.
Actor Guinness. 4 letters
ALEC. Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”.
Museum-funding org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
GPS suggestion: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. A Global Positioning System (GPS) might suggest a route (rte.).
“The Makropulos Affair,” for one. 5 letters
OPERA. ‘The Makropulos Affair’ is an opera by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček, and is based on a play of the same name by author Karel Čapek.
“The Simpsons” character with a habit of calling things “gnarly”. 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!”
Publishing hirees, for short. 3 letters
EDS. Editors.
Palindromic fashion magazine. 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.
Friend of Pooh. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’, Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
Measure of inflation, for short. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
1960s British P.M. 4 letters
ALEC. Sir Alec Douglas-Home was the Prime Minister of the UK from 1963 to 1964. Nowadays the British Prime Minister is chosen from the membership of the House of Commons, and Sir Alec Douglas-Home was the last Prime Minster to be chosen from the House of Lords. He had to give up his peerage though (he was the Earl of Home) in order to take up the post.
Mars, to the Greeks. 4 letters
ARES. The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera.
Artery: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Asia’s shrinking ___ 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 …
It controls the amount of light admitted. 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.
“I’ve got a mule, and her name is ___”. 3 letters
SAL. The song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal” was written in 1905. The lyrics are nostalgic, and look back to the days when traffic on the canal was pulled by mules, and bemoans the introduction of the fast-moving engine-powered barges. The first line is “I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal”.
Ready to be called. 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).
Father of Harmonia. 4 letters
ARES. Harmonia was the Greek goddess of harmony and concord. According to some Greek lore, she was the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. She is noted for the story of ‘the Necklace of Harmonia’. She received the necklace as a gift at her wedding, and it brought bad luck to her and all who wore it.
Queens’s ___ Stadium. 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 Richmond. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first black player to be so honored. He still ran into trouble because of his ethnicity though, as in 1968 he 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 to have corrective surgery in 1983, and contracted HIV from blood transfusions during the surgery. He eventually passed away in 1993, due to complications from AIDS.
Half of us?. 3 letters
ESS. Half of the word ‘us’ is a letter S (ess).
Bush junior?. 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 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.
Mineo of film. 3 letters
SAL. Sal Mineo’s most famous role was that of John “Plate” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Sal Mineo was murdered in in 1976, when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. An arrest was made, and it was discovered that the murderer apparently had no idea who his victim was and was just intent on robbery.
Full house sign. 3 letters
SRO. SRO: Standing Room Only.
It may have many jets. 3 letters
SPA. Jacuzzi is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925 when one the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.
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.
Glamour types, for short. 3 letters
EDS. I’m not sure what “EDS” are in the context of “glamour” … maybe editors of “Glamour” magazine?
Cutting-edge 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.
Copy desk workers, e.g.: Abbr.. 3 letters
EDS. Editors (eds.)
John of Liverpool. 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!
Hurricane of 2011. 5 letters
IRENE. Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding 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 north up the North American coast. 55 deaths were attributed to Irene.
First son of Seth. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos was the son of Seth and the grandson of Adam and Eve.
Sign of theatrical success. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
“The King and I” role. 4 letters
ANNA. The King and I’ is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called ‘Anna and the King of Siam’ first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the king’s wives.
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).
Colorado tribe. 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.
Baby boomer, in Aussie slang. 3 letters
ROO. In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just the one name for young kangaroos: joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.
Tire meas. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Home of Lewis-Clark State Coll. 3 letters
IDA. Lewis-Clark State College was founded in 1893, in Lewiston, Idaho.
Former high fliers. 4 letters
SSTS. 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. It 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.
Hosiery 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”.
Style. 4 letters
ELAN. Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which the word has a similar meaning, “style” or “flair”.
Actress Kendrick of “Pitch Perfect”. 4 letters
ANNA. Anna kendrick is a marvelous actress whose big break came when she played the sidekick to George Clooney’s character in the very interesting 2009 film ‘Up in the Air’. Kendrick can sing as well as act, and played a student a cappella singer in the 2012 movie ‘Pitch Perfect’.
Postal abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Father of Phobos. 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.
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, a game 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.
God who sounds like he was mentioned in the preceding clue. 4 letters
ARES. The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera.
Space Invaders maker. 5 letters
ATARI. Space Invaders is one of my favorite video games, a classic from the good old days (not that I play video games anymore). When Space Invaders was first released in video arcades in Japan in 1978, it was so popular that it caused a shortage of 100-yen coins.
Hall-of-Fame football center Jim. 4 letters
OTTO. Jim Otto played professional football for the Oakland Raiders.
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.
Place for a mani-pedi. 3 letters
SPA. Manicure & pedicure (mani-pedi)
Off-white 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”.
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.
Chinese “way”. 3 letters
TAO. The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
Italian TV channel. 3 letters
TRE. “Tre” is the Italian for “three”, and lots of Italians watch Channel 3.
Some newcomers’ study, in brief. 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).
___ Cruces. 3 letters
LAS. Las Cruces is the second largest city in the state of New Mexico, and is the home of New Mexico State University.
Prime draft classification. 5 letters
ONE-A. The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System(SS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).
“The End of the Affair” actor, 1999. 3 letters
REA. “The End of the Affair” is a largely autobiographical novel by Graham Greene. There have been a couple of movie adaptions of the book, including a 1999 Neil Jordan version starring Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore and Stephen Rea.
Sun Devil rival. 3 letters
UTE. The Utah Utes and Arizona State Sun Devils are college football teams.
Singer with the 2008 album “And Winter Came …”. 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!
Romanov bigwig. 4 letters
TSAR. Peter the Great was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.
Baseball’s Minaya. 4 letters
OMAR. Omar Minaya was the General Manager for the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets.
Super Mario Bros. 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …
40-Down minus quattro. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, seven (sette) minus four (quattro) makes three (tre).
Guthrie who performed 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.
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’.
Kournikova of tennis. 4 letters
ANNA. Not only is Anna Kournikova a world class tennis player, but she is also a model. She apparently has a lot of fans because her name is one of the most commonly searched for terms on Google’s search engine …
Samuel Johnson’s only play. 5 letters
IRENE. Samuel Johnson (also known as Dr. Johnson) was a British author active in the 1700s. Johnson is famous for producing a “Dictionary of the English Language” published in 1755. Johnson’s dictionary was the standard used until the OED was published 150 years later. As a creative writer, Johnson wrote one play, called ‘Irene’, a work that he believed to have been his worse, and the critics apparently agreed.
Keep in order?. 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” beside the change and then underscoring the change with a line of dots or dashes.
Sailor’s direction. 4 letters
ALEE. The direction “alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he is pointing “aweather”.
National Junior Tennis League co-founder. 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.
Bygone Kremlin resident. 4 letters
TSAR. I was lucky enough to visit the Moscow Kremlin as a tourist a few decades ago. The Kremlin of course sits right on Red Square, along with Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the famed GUM department store. ‘Kremlin’ is a Russian word for ‘fortress’.
Classic gaming inits. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Milne young ‘un. 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.
Athlete who posthumously won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1993. 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.
Most eligible for military 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 (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).
Slot-car track section. 3 letters
ESS. Slot cars are those motorized toy cars that run around on tracks picking up power from the slot in the racing surface. The first slot cars were made by the Lionel company, the manufacturer of toy trains sets. They first appeared in 1912.
Arthur who was king of the court?. 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.
John. 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!
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.
Anthem contraction. 4 letters
O’ER. The words “o’er the rampart we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key. The lyrics were written first as a poem by Key, inspired when he witnessed 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”. The Anacreontic Society was a men’s club in London (an elite and genteel place, not at all like a “gentlemen’s club” in today’s society here in the US).
A U.P.S. driver may have one: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky.
Muckraker Tarbell. 3 letters
IDA. Ida Tarbell was a teacher, and what we would call today an “investigative journalist”, which back in her day was known as a “muckraker”. Her most famous work is her 1904 book “The History of the Standard Oil Company”. This exposé was credited with hastening the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in 1911.
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.
Slalom path. 3 letters
ESS. Slalom is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam”, meaning “skiing race”.
ID clincher. 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.
Folk legend 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.
Super ___ (old game console). 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The kids probably have one. I wouldn’t know …
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.
Velázquez’s “___ Meninas”. 3 letters
LAS. ‘Las Meninas’ is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the name of which translates to ‘The Maids of Honor’. ‘Las Meninas’ is the most famous painting owned by the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
I ___ Tenori. 3 letters
TRE. ‘I Tre Tenori’ is Italian for ‘The Three Tenors’. The Three Tenors were Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti (RIP).
Physician’s org. 3 letters
AMA. The American Medical Association was founded in 1847, at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The first female member joined in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t allowed to join until 1968.
Pooh’s baby friend. 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.
Russian ruler after Peter II. 4 letters
ANNA. Peter II was the son of Peter I and Emperor of Russia. Peter II took over as Emperor on the death of Catherine I, wife of Peter I.
Brit’s toilet. 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!
Velázquez’s “___ Meninas”. 3 letters
LAS. ‘Las Meninas’ is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the name of which translates to ‘The Maids of Honor’. ‘Las Meninas’ is the most famous painting owned by the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
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 and 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.
Material in mitochondria. 3 letters
DNA. Mitochondria are structures found in most living cells. Sometimes called cellular power plants, mitochondria generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s source of chemical energy.
London bathroom. 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!
Sheltered. 4 letters
ALEE. “Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.
Baldwin or Guinness. 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.
James who co-wrote the script for 39-Across. 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.
Figure in a Rimsky-Korsakov opera. 4 letters
TSAR. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the great Russian composers from the Romantic Era. His most famous works are probably ‘Capriccio Espagnol’ and ‘Scheherazade’. While he was composing, Rimsky-Korsakov spent much of his working life as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy.
