As mentioned in Sol Steinmetz's new book "Semantic Antics," "crafty" and the synonymous "cunning" were adjectives of praise long before they took on their more pejorative meanings. Hundreds of years ago, both words meant "skillful." Today, "charmingly cute" is in current dictionaries under "cunning," the sense in which Teddy Roosevelt often used it in his letters when discussing his children.

Welsh-born actor Christian Bale is the first non-American to portray Batman on film. Eighteen years before he first portrayed the Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins," he was the British schoolboy who is separated from his parents in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun." Unexpected connection: Bale's former stepmother is feminist icon Gloria Steinem.

If you're not familiar with the Texas-based rock band Max Q, you should be, because it is notable for being composed entirely of people who have:
A) Won the Nobel Prize
B) Been to outer space
C) Served in the U.S. Congress
D) Played on the PGA tour

Previous answer: Columns, needles and plates are three common varieties of snowflakes, named for their basic shapes. Other snowflake varieties include prisms and dendrites.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.

Stanley Newman is the editor of the Newsday Crossword and author/editor of more than 125 books on crosswords, word games and trivia, including "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia" (Random House). To find out more about Stanley Newman visit StanXwords.com, or e-mail him at StanTrivia@aol.com.
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