crossword #4

Colette- Victorian/turn of the century French novelist, a pretty fascinating character- culturally versatile (largely a novelist, she also had a brief and controversial career as a music hall performer, and also dabbled in modern poetry and painting), with a romantic and stormy personal life (first marriage, to a powerful, popular, libertine author- a bisexual and an extremely interesting man on his own; second marriage to a newspaper editor, a marriage that ended after her much-publicized affair with her stepson- he 16, she in her forties; and a third marriage- a Jew whom she hid in her attic during the years of Nazi occupation; and some very public lesbian affairs along the way.) Her most famous work is the novella, Gigi.

baht- the currency of Thailand.

Grand cru- a term referring to the quality of the vineyard from which a bottle of wine comes; Grand cru indicates a vineyard of exceptional quality or potential.

poker facts- for instance, the specifics of the ante (it's a forced bet), and a reminder of the terms used for the cards dealt in a poker hand, in the climactic stage of the game: the flop, the turn, and the river.

etsy- it's like ebay for arts and crafts, vintage goods, handmade goods, and so on. Like an old fashioned craft fair. The design and content reminds me of my pal Ana's blog. It looks like a pretty cool thing to get into, actually.

Abies- the genus of fir trees.

Oysters are half shellfish.

a "lea" is an open grassland, such as a meadow, primarily used for grazing (for instance, a place to keep sheep.)