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.
Place to get a mud bath. 3 letters
SPA. The word “spa” comes to us from Belgium, as Spa is the name of a health resort there. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.
Sellout sign. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO)
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.
Time reversal?. 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.
Filmmaker Preminger. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Preminger was noted for his films that pushed the envelope in terms of subject matter, at least in the fifties and sixties. Great examples would be 1955’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” that dealt with drug addiction, 1959’s “Anatomy of a Murder” that dealt with rape, and 1962’s “Advise and Consent” that dealt with homosexuality. If you’ve seen these films, you’ll have noticed that the references are somewhat indirect and disguised, in order to get past the censors.
She outwitted Sherlock. 5 letters
IRENE. The character Irene Adler only appeared in one of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In that story, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.
AAA offering: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.
Dot-dot-dot. 3 letters
ESS. The Morse code symbol for the letter S is ‘dot-dot-dot’.
Lotion ingredient. 4 letters
ALOE. Aloe vera has a number of alternate names that are descriptive of its efficacy as a medicine. These include the First Aid plant, Wand of Heaven, Silent Healer and Miracle Plant.
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.
Game with 59-Down 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.
Opposite of 64-Down. 4 letters
STET. (64. Take out : DELE)
Genetic code carrier. 3 letters
DNA. DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Swiss physician and biologist. The molecular structure of DNA was identified in 1953, by the American and British team of James Watson and Francis Crick.
___ 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.
“A Day Without Rain” 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!
Asia’s diminishing ___ 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 …
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’.
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.
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 in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t admitted until one hundred years later, in 1968.
Member of a pit crew?. 4 letters
OBOE. An oboe player can be found in an orchestra pit.
“CSI” evidence, often. 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.
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’.
Subway inspection org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Resort with hot springs. 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”.
Tijuana gold. 3 letters
ORO. Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.
Cousin of a bassoon. 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”.
Kind of hotel, for short. 3 letters
SRO. Single Room Occupancy (SRO)
Museum-funding org. 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.
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”.
Three-in-one M.D. 3 letters
ENT. An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
Double-reed woodwind. 4 letters
OBOE. A double-reed instrument is one in which two pieces of cane vibrate against each other to produce sound. In a single-reed instrument, just one piece of cane vibrates the mouthpiece. The best-known examples of double-reed instruments are the oboe and the bassoon.
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.
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 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.
Old Russian ruler. 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.
Manhattan, for one. 4 letters
ISLE. The island we know as Manhattan was inhabited by the Lenape Indians when the first Europeans explorers arrived in the area. According to the logbook of one of the officers on Henry Hudson’s yacht, the island was called Manna-hata in the local language, from which the modern name derives.
Stephen who was nominated for a 1992 Best Actor Oscar. 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.
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”.
Beehive State tribesman. 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.
Luggage checker, 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.
Otolaryngology: Abbr.. 3 letters
ENT. The branch of medicine known as “ear, nose and throat” is more correctly called otolaryngology.
Maniac Mansion console, for short. 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.
Slaughter in the 1946 World Series. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos Slaughter has a remarkable playing record in Major League Baseball over a 19-year career. Slaughter’s record is particularly remarkable given that he left baseball for three years to serve in the military during WWII.
Helical stuff. 3 letters
DNA. Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge.
1987 album later rereleased as “The Celts”. 4 letters
ENYA. Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from the Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!
GPS calculation: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).
Reflexologist’s place. 3 letters
SPA. Reflexology is an alternative medicine that involves the application of pressure to specific zones on the feet, hands and ears in order to effect a physical change in the body. The basic idea behind reflexology is that every part of the body is reflected in a zone on the soles of the feet or palms of the hand.
“Happy Motoring” gas brand. 4 letters
ESSO. The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.
Tommie of the 1969 World Series Mets. 4 letters
AGEE. Tommie Agee was a Major League Baseball player who played mainly with the Indians, White Sox and Mets. He was one of the “Amazin’ Mets”, and was famous for making two phenomenal catches in game three of the 1969 world series, potentially saving five runs.
Non-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.
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.
Boy toy surnamed Carson. 3 letters
KEN. Barbie’s counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
Shaving 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.
III, in Rome. 3 letters
TRE. In Italian, tre (three) precedes quattro (four).
Joan followed him at Woodstock. 4 letters
ARLO. Joan Baez followed Arlo Guthrie in the line up at the Woodstock music festival.
Mount in Greek myth. 3 letters
IDA. There are two peaks called Mount Ida that are sacred according to Greek mythology. Mount Ida in Crete is the island’s highest point, and is where one can find the cave in which Zeus was reared. Mount Ida in Asia Minor (located in modern-day Turkey) is where Ganymede was swept up by Zeus in the form of an eagle that took him to Olympus where he served as cupbearer to the gods.
Furniture chain. 4 letters
IKEA. Did you know that IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943 …. when he was just 17-years-old??!!
What makes a pin spin?. 3 letters
ESS. Lovely clue. If you add an “ess” to the start of “pin”, you get “spin”.
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.
Great Basin native. 3 letters
UTE. The Ute are a group of Native American tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.
Stephen of “Stuck”. 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”. “Stuck” is the 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 …
Little, twisted part of us all?. 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.
Duck Hunt console, for short. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Tolkien’s Treebeard, e.g. 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’.
Crime scene matter. 3 letters
DNA. Forensic scientists use DNA, usually taken from blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair follicles. Often DNA left at a crime scene can be used to identify a perpetrator of a crime, in a process called genetic fingerprinting.
Capri or Wight. 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.
Concordes, briefly. 4 letters
SSTS. SuperSonic Transports, like the Concorde, broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. They’re all grounded now.
With 37-Down, shrunken body of water in Asia. 4 letters
ARAL. (37D. See 55-Down : SEA)
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.
Word shouted immediately before “Feliz Año Nuevo”. 3 letters
UNO. In Spanish, coming up to midnight on New Year’s Eve, one might hear ‘five, four, three, two, one’ (cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno) and then ‘Happy New Year!’ (Feliz Año Nuevo!).
___ Piedras, P.R. 3 letters
LAS. The town of Las Piedras in Puerto Rico is about a 45-minute drive from the capital city of San Juan.
Bounce. 4 letters
ELAN. Elan: ardor inspired by passion or enthusiasm. I guess that could be “bounce”.
Postal abbr. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Molecule hidden in 4-, 11-, 23-, 25- and 29-Down. 3 letters
DNA. Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge.
Despised figure in “Fiddler on the Roof”. 4 letters
TSAR. The enduring musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is based on a collection of stories by Sholem Aleichem about Tevye, a milkman living in Tsarist Russia. The musical version of the tales first opened on Broadway in 1964. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ had such a long run that it became the first musical to reach 3,000 performances.
Kind of screening, for short. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
The Gem State: Abbr.. 3 letters
IDA. Idaho has the nickname the Gem State, mainly because almost every known gemstone has been found there.
Scientific discovery of 1869. 3 letters
DNA. DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Swiss physician and biologist. The molecular structure of DNA was identified in 1953, by the American and British team of James Watson and Francis Crick.
Western Indian. 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.
Health resort. 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’.
What Vegas doesn’t have?. 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 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 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).
Constellation next to Scorpius. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Canadian fuel name. 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.
M.D. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)
Sign indicating a sold-out performance. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO).
Start to skid?. 3 letters
ESS. The word ‘skid’ starts with the letter S (ess).
Asia’s diminished ___ 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 …
Imported cheese. 4 letters
EDAM. Edam cheese takes the name after the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. It is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps it travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. This means that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.
Officer on TV’s “The Dukes of Hazzard”. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos Strate (played by Sonny Shroyer) was the small-town deputy in the television sitcom ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, and the success of his character merited a follow-on show. The spinoff “Enos” only ran for 18 episodes though.
Spirit. 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”.
Draft-ready. 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).
Sport-___ (vehicle). 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
Precious thing in Montana’s motto. 3 letters
ORO. “Oro y Plata” means “gold and silver”, and is the state motto of Montana. The motto was written in Spanish, solely because “it had a nice ring to it”.
Fashion magazine with a French 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”.
“Jeopardy!” whiz Jennings. 3 letters
KEN. Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s ‘Jeopardy’. He 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.
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”.
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 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.
Super ___, old game console. 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES (or SNES) stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …
No-holds-barred online Q&A. 3 letters
AMA. Ask me anything (AMA)
Sounder of the tuning note at the start of an orchestra rehearsal. 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. I heard recently that HBO are working towards a pilot based on the book. I can’t wait to see it!
Record store section. 5 letters
OPERA. The Latin for work is ‘opus’, with the plural being ‘opera’.
Friend of Pooh. 3 letters
ROO. Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, the baby kangaroo called Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
Cosmopolitan 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”.
Dutch princess who’s the daughter of Queen Juliana. 5 letters
IRENE. Princess Irene is the second child of the late Prince Bernhard and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Princess Irene created a great deal of turmoil in her homeland when she converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism in order to marry Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma. Such was the outcry that no one from the Dutch Royal Family attended her wedding, and she lost her right of succession to the throne. The couple settled in Madrid, but divorced 17 years later. While they were married Princess Irena never once returned to the Netherlands.
Lib. 3 letters
EDS. One might find plenty of editions (eds.) of some books in a library (lib.).
Slaughter who dashed home to win the 1946 World Series. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos Slaughter has a remarkable playing record in Major League Baseball, over a 19-year career. His record is particularly remarkable given that he left baseball for three years to serve in the military during WWII.
Long-stemmed flower. 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’.
Memorable 2011 hurricane. 5 letters
IRENE. Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding in 2011 as it travelled through the Caribbean, up the East Coast of the United States and into the Atlantic seaboard of Canada. The hurricane was unusual in that it came so far up north. Fifty-five deaths were attributed to Irene.
One who’s often looking down in the mouth, for short?. 3 letters
ENT. An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
Western 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.
Tolstoy heroine. 4 letters
ANNA. I have to admit to not having read Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”, but I did see the excellent 1977 British television adaptation starring Nicola Pagett. Most regard the 1935 film starring Greta Garbo in the title role as the definitive big screen adaptation of the novel.
Crime scene evidence. 3 letters
DNA. Forensic scientists use DNA, usually taken from blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair follicles. Often DNA left at a crime scene can be used to identify a perpetrator of a crime, in a process called genetic fingerprinting.
Letter before Peter in an old phonetic alphabet. 4 letters
OBOE. Nowadays we tend to use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie etc.) but before this was introduced in 1956, the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet was common. This latter series started with Able, Baker, Charlie, with O and P represented by Oboe and Peter. The NATO equivalents for O and P are Oscar and Papa.
Evidence in paternity suits. 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.
___ volatile. 3 letters
SAL. Sal volatile is another word for ammonium carbonate. The action of crushing the salt gives off a smell of ammonia, and so it has been used for centuries as a “smelling salt”, to revive someone who has fainted.
Sign of a hit. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO).
Woodwind descended from the shawm. 4 letters
OBOE. The shawm is a double-reed woodwind instrument that was at its height of popularity from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. The name ‘shawm’ came into English via a tortuous route from the Latin ‘calamus’ meaning ‘reed’. The shawm lost its popularity with the arrival of the oboe family of instruments.
Sunburn 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.
Wind in front of a stage. 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, I recommend “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall.
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.
Open a crack. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Hosiery 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’.
Friend of Eeyore. 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 his son, Christopher Robin Milne.
LEM maker. 4 letters
NASA. In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to the command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy”, and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was of course called “Eagle”, and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface.
Unit of pressure: Abbr.. 3 letters
PSI. Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.
Ballerina Rubinstein who commissioned Ravel’s “Boléro”. 3 letters
IDA. Ida Rubinstein was an actress, dancer and patron of the arts from Russia. Rubinstein inherited her wealth and used it to form her own dance company and to commission artistic works. One of the more famous works that she commissioned was a ballet called ‘Boléro’ from Maurice Ravel, which nowadays is performed almost exclusively as an orchestral piece.
Brio. 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”.
Beehive Stater. 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”.
Mens ___ (guilty mind). 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.
Tess’s lover in “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. 4 letters
ALEC. The full name of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel is “Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”. When it was originally published, “Tess …” received very mixed reviews, largely because it addressed some difficult sexual themes including rape, and sexual double standards (attitudes towards men vs women). I suppose the most celebrated screen adaptation is Roman Polanski’s “Tess” released in 1979. Polanski apparently made “Tess” because his wife, Sharon Tate, gave him Hardy’s novel as her last act before she was murdered by the Manson family. There is a dedication at the beginning of the movie that just says “To Sharon”.
Cracked a bit. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Unwelcome sign for latecomers. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
R.N.’s work in them. 3 letters
ERS. Registered nurses work in emergency rooms.
___ 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.
Cara of “Fame”. 5 letters
IRENE. Irene Cara (as well as acting in ‘Fame’) sang the theme songs to the hit movies ‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance’.
1978 Grammy nominee 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.
There’s the rub!. 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”.
…, to Samuel Morse. 3 letters
ESS. The Morse code symbol for the letter S is ‘dot-dot-dot’.
MapQuest abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. MapQuest is a very popular Internet site, one that provides driving directions and maps. MapQuest is actually owned by AOL.
Off-white. 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”.
Baldwin of “30 Rock”. 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.
Hip-hop’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.
Mild cheese. 4 letters
EDAM. One cheese that is recognized by its coating is Edam. Edam cheese takes the name after the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. It is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps it travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. This means that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.
Spanish valuable. 3 letters
ORO. ‘Oro’ is Spanish for ‘gold’.
Kesey or Follett. 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.
Janis’s spouse, in the comics. 4 letters
ARLO. The comic strip “Arlo and Janis” is written by Jimmy Johnson. It was first published in 1985. The lead characters are named after the musicians Arlo Guthrie and Janis Joplin.
Masthead figs. 3 letters
EDS. The masthead is a list of found on the editorial page of a newspaper that lists the members of a newspaper’s editorial board.
Close to closed. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Sol mates?. 3 letters
LAS. The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.
Capri, e.g. 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.
“Anna Bolena” or “Anna Nicole”. 5 letters
OPERA. ‘Anna Bolena’ is an opera by Gaetano Donizetti, which tells the story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII.
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.
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He 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.
Writer Wilkinson of The New Yorker. 4 letters
ALEC. Alec Wilkinson has been a staff writer for ‘The New Yorker’ since 1980. Wilkinson is also the author of ten books.
It’s responsible for controlling a 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.
Fleabag hotel, for short. 3 letters
SRO. Single Room Occupancy (SRO).
Alien’s 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).
Org. 3 letters
AMA. American Medical Association (AMA)
Court legend. 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.
Karate trainee in 2010’s “The Karate Kid”. 3 letters
DRE. In the original 1984 movie, the Karate Kid was named Daniel LaRusso, and in the 2010 remake was named Dre Parker.
Pac-12 athlete. 3 letters
UTE. The Utah Utes are the athletic teams of the University of Utah.
1980 TV spinoff. 4 letters
ENOS. The TV series “Enos” is a spinoff of the “The Dukes of Hazard”. Enos Strate (played by Sonny Shroyer) was the small-town deputy in the original series, and the success of his character merited the follow-on show. It only ran for 18 episodes though.
U.P.S. driver’s assignment: 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.
Teachers’ org. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, and mainly represents public school teachers.
Guanajuato gold. 3 letters
ORO. Guanajuato is one of the 31 states of Mexico.
Punch-Out!! platform, for short. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Fit 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. 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).
Instrument whose name means “high wood”. 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”.
Vogue competitor. 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”.
City NNE of Tahoe. 4 letters
RENO. Reno, Nevada takes its name from Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. There is a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the city’s main street erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. The city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
Jazzy 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.
Genetic stuff. 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.
Fit to be called up. 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).
Rap’s Dr. 3 letters
DRE. Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He 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.
“___ momento”. 3 letters
UNO. ‘Uno momento’ is Spanish for ‘one minute’.
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’.
Arthur of tennis. 4 letters
ASHE. Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” writer. 4 letters
AGEE. ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’ is a book by James Agee, with dramatic photographs by Walker Evans. The book chronicles the plight of sharecropper families in the American South during the Great Depression.
Arthur who often raised a racket. 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.
___ of Wight. 4 letters
ISLE. The Isle of Wight is the largest island in England, and lies about five miles off the south coast.
What the white of an eye surrounds. 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.
“___ Meninas” (Velázquez painting). 3 letters
LAS. ‘Las Meninas’ is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the name of which translates to ‘The Maids of Honor’. ‘Las Meninas’ is the most famous painting owned by the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Area worth the most bonus troops in the game Risk. 4 letters
ASIA. Risk is another fabulous board game, that was first released in France in 1957. The game was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. The original French version was called “La Conquete du Monde” (The Conquest of the World). A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house.
Former St. 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 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.
Notre Dame’s Parseghian. 3 letters
ARA. Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.
Stylishness. 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”.
It’s pitchfork-shaped. 3 letters
PSI. The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.
Waugh who wrote “Island in the Sun”. 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!
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. 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).
Aruba or Bora Bora. 4 letters
ISLE. Aruba is one of the so-called ABC Islands. The ABC Islands is the nickname given to the three western-most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. The nickname comes from the first letters of the island names: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. All three of the ABC Islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
John, to Elton 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!
Screening org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“Put a tiger in your tank” brand. 4 letters
ESSO. ‘Put a Tiger in Your Tank’ was an advertising slogan and theme used by Esso gasoline in the 1960s.
Longtime enemy of Wonder Woman. 4 letters
ARES. Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, published by DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was, and still is, Ares, named for the Greek mythological figure.
Super ___ (Sega Genesis rival). 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.
Explorer or Navigator, briefly. 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
“My Gal ___” (song classic). 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.
Mens ___ (legal term). 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.
Rash application. 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.
Like some doors. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Cong. 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).
Instrument called “an ill wind that nobody blows good”. 4 letters
OBOE. We’ve all probably heard the phrase ‘‘tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good’. The poet Ogden Nash made a ‘punny’ statement about the oboe, calling the instrument “an ill wind nobody blows good’. I must say though, I disagree …
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 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.
___ of Man. 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 the Manx cats, the ones without any tails. I’ve seen lots of them, and can attest that they are found all over the island.
Pulitzer winner 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.
“Die Fledermaus” soprano. 3 letters
IDA. “Die Fledermaus” is a really lovely operetta composed by Johann Strauss II, first performed in 1874. “Fledermaus” is German for “bat” (literally “flying mouse”). The title comes from the fact that one of the characters (Falke) was abandoned drunk, dressed as a bat, in the center of town one evening. As Falke was subject to ridicule, the machinations of the story are designed as revenge for his humiliation.
Class for newcomers to America, 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).
A little open. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Old station name. 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.
Actor Stephen. 3 letters
REA. Stephen Rea is an Irish actor, whose most famous role was that of the “retired” IRA man in the brilliant 1992 film “The Crying Game”. He also starred in the chilling movie “Stuck”, a 2007 film that is based on a true story about a woman who commits a hit and run on a homeless man. The woman leaves the scene of the crime with the victim still “stuck” in her windshield. The woman leaves the man to die in her garage. Chilling, eh? But as I said, a true story …
John of Salisbury. 3 letters
LOO. The use of “john” as a slang term for a toilet is peculiar to North America. It probably comes from the older slang term of “jack” or “jakes” that had been around since the 16th century. In Ireland, in cruder moments, we still refer to a toilet as “the jacks”.
Queens’s ___ Stadium. 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.
Sign of a good show. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only.
Housing for the homeless: Abbr.. 3 letters
SRO. An SRO (the abbreviation standing for Single Room Occupancy) is a multiple-tenant building, housing one or two people in each room. Such buildings are often old hotels, with the cost of the housing usually paid for by a government department or a charity.
Women’s suffragist ___ B. 3 letters
IDA. Ida B. Wells worked as an African American journalist, while providing leadership in 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.
Rainbow goddess. 4 letters
IRIS. In Greek mythology the goddess Iris was viewed as the link between the gods and humanity, a messenger. Iris was also the goddess of the rainbow.
Southern constellation. 3 letters
ARA. The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.
Sign of success?. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
Arcade game 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.
Open a crack. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
B.O. 3 letters
SRO. The term “box office” may date back to Shakespearean times. In those days long past patrons would deposit fees for seeing theater performances in boxes. The full boxes would be collected and placed in an office called, imaginatively enough, the “box office”.
Fangorn Forest denizen. 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’.
What an au pair might study, briefly. 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).
Burn soother. 4 letters
ALOE. Aloe vera is a succulent plant 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.
God with a shield. 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.
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 “Route 66”.
62-Across option north of the border. 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.
Chain founded in Sweden. 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.
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.
Canadian fill-up choice. 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.
Shade akin to sand. 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”.
“Put a tiger in your tank” brand. 4 letters
ESSO. ‘Put a Tiger in Your Tank’ was an advertising slogan and theme used by Esso gasoline in the 1960s.
Slightly open. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
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 producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dog, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Old station name. 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.
Triage sites, briefly. 3 letters
ERS. “Triage” is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on a battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “a sorting”.
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”.
Fashion style-setter Wintour. 4 letters
ANNA. Anna Wintour is fashion editor in Britain, and is also the editor-in-chief of American “Vogue”. Lauren Weisberger wrote the book “The Devil Wears Prada”, with the tyrannical main character apparently based on Wintour.
Card game call. 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.
Tolkien’s Treebeard, e.g. 3 letters
ENT. Ents are those treelike creatures that live in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, in his series of books “The Lord of the Rings”.
Asia’s shrunken ___ 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 …
Old Russian ruler. 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.
Wii forerunner, for short. 3 letters
NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Four Corners-area tribesman. 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. The word ‘Ute’ means ‘Land of the Sun’, and ‘Ute’ also gave us the state name ‘Utah’.
Post office workers, for short?. 3 letters
EDS. Some office workers at ‘The Washington Post’ newspaper are editors (eds).
Low-priced furniture source. 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.
Federal org. 4 letters
OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 during the Nixon administration. OSHA regulates workplaces in the private sector, and only regulates just one government agency, namely the US Postal Service.
Nevada city near Lake Tahoe. 4 letters
RENO. Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street, erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. The city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” lyricist Harbach. 4 letters
OTTO. Otto Harbach was a very successful librettist and lyricist. He was responsible for the words of many celebrated songs including ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ and ‘Indian Love Call’.
Org. 3 letters
AMA. ‘Advocacy Update’ is a newsletter published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
One-named New Age 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!
“Watermark” 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!
Super ___ (game console). 3 letters
NES. The acronym Super NES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The kids probably have one. I wouldn’t know …
___ Minor. 4 letters
ASIA. Asia Minor is also known as Anatolia, and is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe. It is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.
___ Place, Butch Cassidy companion. 4 letters
ETTA. Etta Place is the schoolteacher character played by the lovely Katharine Ross in the 1969 movie ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’.
Bellicose figure. 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.
___ 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.
“Packed” letters. 3 letters
SRO. Standing room only (SRO)
Smash letters. 3 letters
SRO. Standing Room Only (SRO)
Shade of raw linen. 4 letters
ECRU. The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.
New York’s ___ Stadium. 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.
One-third of tres. 3 letters
UNO. In Spanish, ‘uno’ (one) is one-third of ‘tres’ (three).
Sport-___. 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
Instrument with metal keys. 4 letters
OBOE. The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall. I heard recently that the folks at HBO are working towards a pilot based on the book, and I can’t wait to see it!
RAV4 or TrailBlazer, briefly. 3 letters
UTE. The Toyota RAV4 is Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV or “ute” for short). The RAV4 name stands for Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive. Inventive, huh? The Chevy TrailBlazer was also an SUV, but production was stopped in 2008, caught up in the financial woes of GM a couple of years ago.
Reciprocal Fibonacci constant. 3 letters
PSI. Fibonacci was a famous and respected Italian mathematician.
Not stopping the draft, say. 4 letters
AJAR. Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.
Book of Mormon prophet. 4 letters
ENOS. According to the Book of Mormon, Enos was a son of Jacob, and the author of the Book of Enos.
Canadian gas station. 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.
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.
Memorable 2011 hurricane. 5 letters
IRENE. Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding in 2011 as it travelled through the Caribbean, up the East Coast of the United States and into the Atlantic seaboard of Canada. The hurricane was unusual in that it came so far up north. Fifty-five deaths were attributed to Irene.
They may reduce sentences, for short. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
Crime lab evidence. 3 letters
DNA. Forensic scientists use DNA, usually taken from blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair follicles. Often DNA left at a crime scene can be used to identify a perpetrator of a crime, in a process called genetic fingerprinting.
Literally, “land of the sun”. 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. The word ‘Ute’ means ‘Land of the Sun’, and ‘Ute’ also gave us the state name ‘Utah’.
Western Indian. 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.
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”.
Class-conscious grp.?. 3 letters
NEA. The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the country, mainly representing public school teachers.
Newspaper heads, for short. 3 letters
EDS. Editor (ed.)
Bolshevik foe. 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, and as they were in the majority, they became known as the Bolsheviks, derived from the Russian word for “more” or “majority”.
Montemezzi opera “L’Amore dei ___ Re”. 3 letters
TRE. Italo Montemezzi was an Italian composer who wrote his most famous work in 1913, the opera “L’amore dei tre re” (The Love of Three Kings). The opera was an early success for Montemezzi, enabling him to give up teaching and devote most of his life to composition.
Memorable 2011 hurricane. 5 letters
IRENE. Hurricane Irene caused extensive flooding in 2011 as it travelled through the Caribbean, up the East Coast of the United States and into the Atlantic seaboard of Canada. The hurricane was unusual in that it came so far up north. Fifty-five deaths were attributed to Irene.
The good dinosaur in Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur”. 4 letters
ARLO. The Good Dinosaur” is a Pixar movie that premiered in Paris on November 14th, 2015 under the title ‘Le Voyage d’Arlo’.
Dr. 3 letters
ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)
Sport-___. 3 letters
UTE. A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.
Mononymous four-time Grammy winner. 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 left Clannad launched a 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!
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. He is making a name for himself these days playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey.
Cultural org. 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.
Hazzard County deputy. 4 letters
ENOS. Enos Strate (played by Sonny Shroyer) was the small-town deputy in the original series of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, and the success of his character merited a follow-on show. The spinoff “Enos” only ran for 18 episodes though.
Head overseas?. 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!
___ of Wight. 4 letters
ISLE. The Isle of Wight is the largest island in England, and lies about five miles off the south coast.
Course: Abbr.. 3 letters
RTE. Route (rte.)
Raiders Hall-of-Famer Jim. 4 letters
OTTO. Jim Otto played professional football for the Oakland Raiders.
“Beetle Bailey” bulldog. 4 letters
OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel 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 he became a big hit.
Editor’s retraction. 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.
Its code uses just G, T, A and C. 3 letters
DNA. Nucleobases are molecules that form the backbone of DNA and RNA chains. It is the sequence of these bases in the DNA chain that makes up the so-called “genetic code”. In DNA the four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). The same bases are found in RNA, except that thymine is replaced by uracil (U).
Actors Burns and Wynn. 3 letters
EDS. Ed Burns is an American actor from Queens, New York. I mostly remember him for his roles in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Holiday’.
Back of a public house, maybe. 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.
Org. 3 letters
TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was of course created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Vogue rival. 4 letters
ELLE. “Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. ‘Elle’ is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.
Instrument for Johann Jacob Bach. 4 letters
OBOE. Johann Jacob Bach was the older brother of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was a composer and musician in his own right, and played the oboe, flute and maybe even the violin.
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.
