THE EX-COUNTRY
On October 3, 1990 this Communist country in Europe lost its direction after reunification
East Germany
Sia wanted to swing from one:
ARCHED LINE
DDT was first used as this lethal type of substance around 1940 & restrictions on it began in the late '50s
a pesticide
These 2 main branches of Islam separated before 1000 A.D.; one has about 1.3 billion followers to the other's 200 million
Sunni & Shiite
The name of this insectivore has meant a scolding woman since before Shakespeare used it in a play title
shrew
This island was independent from 1755 to 1769, the year Napoleon was born there
Corsica
One of man's best friends:
DADS HUNCH
Dachshund
This largest reptile on Earth is amphibious & can weigh over 2,000 pounds
crocodile
Using the rosary in Catholic devotions involves sequences of reciting one Lord's Prayer followed by 10 of these prayers
a Hail Mary
O. vulgaris, a species of this cephalopod, can change its skin color thanks to pigment-bearing cells
octopus
Gran this was a South American republic from 1819 to 1830 whose land included the rough area of 4 present-day nations
Gran Colombia
A chef's finishing touch:
REPLAYS
Parsley
Since the early 1990s, this condition also known as Hansen's disease has decreased by about 90% worldwide
leprosy
Rinpoche is a title of respect in Tibetan Buddhism given to many who reach this level of monk, from Tibetan for "superior"
lama
the scientific name for an animal with a pouch
marsupial
This Central European nation got divided into 2 new countries in 1993, each keeping half of the original name
Czechoslovakia
It's got a West Indian vibe:
SCALP YO
Calypso
Monkey-faced is another name for the bird better known by this name, for a place it might nest
a barn owl
Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, holds this fatherly title
patriarch
Males of these mammals engage in bouts called necking to establish a social hierarchy
giraffes
This Central European dual state got divided into 2 new countries in 1918, each keeping half of the original name
Austria-Hungary
It can have a beach on both sides:
SALINE PUN
peninsula
Many elements are named for places--like polonium & this one, atomic No. 21, which honors a large peninsula of northern Europe
scandium
It's the ascension heavenward by true Christians, both living & dead, at Christ's second coming
the rapture
Timone in "The Lion King"
meerkat