Across
4. Party garb for Hef PJS
Our word "pajamas" (“PJs” for short) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where "pai jamahs" were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And "pajamas" is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is "pyjamas".
Hugh Hefner (often called “Hef”) is from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for "Esquire" magazine. He left "Esquire" to found his own publication that he called "Playboy", which first hit the newsstands in 1953. "Playboy" has been around ever since.
7. Some grenades, briefly FRAGS
Fragmentation grenade (frag)
12. Response to a home team bobble BOO!
In the world of baseball, a “bobble” is a momentary fumbling of the ball by a player who is fielding.
14. Amazon crocodilian CAIMAN
Caimans are relatively small, crocodile-like reptiles that inhabit Central and South America. That said, the largest species can grow to 13 feet in length, but many are about 3 feet long.
15. Eight-time Norris Trophy winner BOBBY ORR
Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn't skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in the NHL each year, based on votes by members of the professional Hockey Writers' Association. Bobby Orr won the award every single season from 1967-1975. Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn't skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking ...
17. A to A, e.g. OCTAVE
I find that terminology in music can be confusing. My way of looking at an octave (my way ... don't shout at me!) is thinking of a piano keyboard. In the key of C, the seven notes of the octave are C, D, E, F, G, A, B (or "do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti"). These are all white keys. Most of these "white notes" are separated by whole tones, so there is room to add a "semitone" in between most of them, and these are the black keys (C-sharp for example). There is room for five black keys in an octave, and 7 + 5 adds up to 12. I assume we use the term "octave" because we often add an eighth note on the end "to bring us back to do" as the song says (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do ... or ... C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C). That eighth note is really the first note in the next octave up. And I know we’ve discussed this before, but I still don’t get it ...
18. Mascara mishap SMEAR
Variations of mascara have been around a long time, and certainly there was a similar substance in use in Ancient Egypt. “Mascara” is a Spanish word meaning “stain, mask”.
19. Practical joke during a greeting JOY BUZZER
A “joy buzzer” is also known as a “hand buzzer”. It’s that practical joke device that is hidden in the palm of one person before he or she shakes hands with another. When contact is made, a button on the device causes a wound spring to unwind creating a sudden vibration that might be mistaken for an electric shock.
21. Vena __: heart vessel CAVA
The superior vena cava is a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body to the right atrium of the heart. The inferior vena cava does the same thing for the lower part of the body.
24. Times gone by, in times gone by ELD
“Eld” is an archaic word meaning “antiquity, olden times”.
28. Anti-bullfighting org. PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a very large animal rights organization, with 300 employees and two million members and supporters worldwide. Although the group campaigns for animal rights across a broad spectrum of issues, it has a stated focus in opposition of four practices:
- factory farming
- fur farming
- animal testing
- use of animals in entertainment
30. Steamed cantina food TAMALE
A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made of leaves. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese fruit and vegetables.
31. Postwar population phenomenon BABY BOOM
A “baby boomer” is someone who was born in the post-WWII baby boom. The rate of births had been falling fairly steadily in the US at least since 1900, but this trend was sharply reversed in 1946 after WWII. The higher birth rate continued until 1964, when it returned to pre-war levels. Since then the birth rate has continued to decline, although at a slower pace. The period between 1946 and 1964 is defined as the "baby boom".
38. Yokohama is on it TOKYO BAY
Yokohama is the second-most populous city in Japan. Yokohama lies on Tokyo Bay and is just a 40-minute drive from the nation's capital.
44. Pens in CORRALS
“Corral” is the Spanish word for an enclosure for livestock, and is a word we’ve imported into English. Ultimately, the term comes from the Vulgar Latin “currale” meaning “enclosure for carts”, itself coming from “currus”, the Latin for “cart”.
45. Scammer's target SAP
“Sap” is slang for a fool, someone easily scammed. The term arose in the early 1800s in Britain when it was used in “saphead” and “sapskull”. All these words derive from “sapwood”, which is the soft wood found in tree trunks between the bark and the heartwood at the center.
48. "The Book of __": 2010 film ELI
2010’s "The Book of Eli" is one of those "end of the world" type movies, with Denzel Washington playing a tough guy traveling across what is left of the United States after some apocalyptic event.
50. Board buyer's request TWO-BY-FOUR
In woodworking, a “two-by-four” is a length of timber that is 2 inches by 4 inches in cross section, before it is trimmed. A trimmed (smoothed) two-by-four measures 1⅝ inches by 3 ⅝ inches.
61. Nobelist Wiesel ELIE
Elie Wiesel is a holocaust survivor, best known for his book "Night" that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
62. Tax shelter letters IRA
Individual retirement account (IRA)
Down
5. "Star Wars" character __ Binks JAR JAR
Jar Jar Binks is a comedic character who appears in Episodes I-III of the “Star Wars” movies.
6. Houston MLBer ‘STRO
The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city's long association with the US space program.
8. __ Bits: cracker sandwiches RITZ
Ritz Bits are sandwiches made from two Ritz crackers and a filling.
I've always liked Ritz crackers. They've been around since 1934 when they were introduced by Nabisco. The name Ritz was chosen because the marketing folks felt that the association with Ritz-Carlton would evoke images of wealth and the highlife.
10. "Order! Order!" mallet GAVEL
A gavel is a small hammer that is rapped on a table or desk to call a meeting to order, or perhaps to signify a sale at an auction.
11. Dummy Mortimer SNERD
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's most famous character was Charlie McCarthy, but Bergen also worked with Mortimer Snerd.
13. How much cargo is transported BY RAIL
“Cargo” is freight carried by some vehicle. The term comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.
25. Medical "Now!" STAT
The exact etymology of "stat", a term meaning "immediately" in the medical profession, seems to have been lost in the mists of time. It probably comes from the Latin "statim" meaning "to a standstill, immediately". A blog reader has helpfully suggested that the term may also come from the world of laboratory analysis, where the acronym STAT stands for "short turnaround time".
26. Saintly radiance HALO
The Greek word “halos” is the name given to the ring of light around the sun or moon, which gives us our word “halo”.
27. Hog-wild AMOK
The phrase "to run amok" (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for "attacking furiously", "amuk". The word "amok" was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were "frenzied". Given Malaya's troubled history, the natives probably had good reason for that frenzy ...
32. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones" OONA
Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill. the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is a fantasy television drama that was adapted from a series of novels by George R. R. Martin called “A Song of Ice and Fire”. “Game of Thrones” is actually made in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
33. Pitcher Hershiser OREL
Orel Hershiser is big into poker now that he has retired from Major League Baseball. Hershiser lives in Las Vegas and when he isn't working for ESPN, apparently he is at the poker tables.
40. Quasimodo's workplace BELFRY
Quasimodo is the title character in the Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”. There is some recent evidence that a hunchbacked stone carver, working at Notre-Dame at the same time Hugo was alive, may have been the inspiration for the Quasimodo the bellringer.
42. Mesmerized state TRANCE
Franz Mesmer was a German physician, the person who coined the phrase “animal magnetism”. Back then the term described a purported magnetic field that resided in the bodies of animate beings. Mesmer also lent his name to our term “mesmerize”.
44. King of pop CAROLE
Carole King is a marvelous singer-songwriter from Manhattan, New York. King started her career writing a string of hit songs with her partner and eventual husband Gerry Goffin (although they later divorced). King’s first composition to get to number one was “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, which she wrote at 18 years of age for the Shirelles. Not so long ago, my wife and I saw the stage musical “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”, which tells the story of King’s music and life. I highly recommend “Beautiful” …
45. Parts of peonies STEMS
The flowering plant called a peony is named for Paean, the mythical physician to the Greek gods.
47. Ad hoc law group POSSE
Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.
The Latin phrase "ad hoc" means "for this purpose".
51. Gallbladder fluid BILE
The human gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that mainly helps with the digestion of fat. The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile, which is made in the liver. The bile is released from the gallbladder when fat enters the digestive tract. The bile acts as a surfactant, emulsifying the fat in food so that it can be more easily digested.
52. Slangy prefix meaning "ultra" UBER-
We use the prefix “uber-” to mean “over, beyond, ultra”. “Uber” is the German word for “over”.
55. University founder Cornell EZRA
Ezra Cornell was an associate of Samuel Morse and made his money in the telegraph business. After Ezra retired he co-founded Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He provided a generous endowment and donated his farm as a site for the school, and was then rewarded by having the institute named after him.
56. "Sleepless in Seattle" co-star RYAN
Meg Ryan is the stage name of the actress Margaret Mary Hyra. Ryan's big break came with the excellent 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally” from which she went on to star in some of the greatest romantic comedies ever made.
“Sleepless in Seattle” is a lovely romantic comedy directed and co-written by Nora Ephron, released in 1993. The film’s storyline is based on the excellent 1957 movie “An Affair to Remember”, and there are numerous direct references to the Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr classic throughout the “remake”. The lead roles in “Sleepless …” are played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
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