LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Oct 12, Tuesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Kevin Christian
THEME: See Sea C? Si! … all of the theme answers being with a “C” sound:

17A. 2003 horse movie that won Best Picture : SEABISCUIT
28A. One who’s not on the honor roll : C STUDENT
46A. “Yes, ma’am,” in Madrid : SI, SENORA
60A. Primer sentence : SEE JANE RUN

COMPLETION TIME: 07m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. Turkish honorific : AGHA
“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

16. Kolkata cover-up : SARI
The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital of West Bengal, India. Kolkata grew up around a fort that the British built in the area in 1712. Prior to the arrival of the British, there were three villages at the site, one named Kalikata, which gave its name to the city that eventually developed. This was anglicized to “Calcutta” which became the official name for centuries, until it was changed to Kolkata in 2001.

17. 2003 horse movie that won Best Picture : SEABISCUIT
Hardtack is an easily preserved biscuit that was used in days gone by on long ocean voyages. As such, is was also called “ship biscuit” and “sea biscuit”. The legendary racehorse called Seabiscuit was named for the very same food item, as Seabiscuit was sired by a horse called Hard Tack.

25. __ acid : AMINO
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins.

34. Gets moving : HIES
“To hie” is to move quickly, to bolt.

36. Pal of Piglet : ROO
Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Roo is based on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son, Christopher Robin Milne.

40. DSL offerer : ISP
An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs. I’d go with cable if I were you, if it’s available in your area …

41. Banjo ridge : FRET
A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, like a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

43. WWII females : WACS
The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed in 1942, and the unit was converted to full status the following year to become the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Famously, General Douglas MacArthur referred to the WACs as his “best soldiers”, saying they worked harder, complained less and were better disciplined than men. The WACs were disbanded in 1978 and the serving members were integrated into the rest of the army.

44. Like Stallone’s persona : MACHO
If ever there was a movie that defines a career breakthrough for an actor, it would have to be “Rocky” for Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was a struggling actor in 1975 when a Muhammad Ali fight inspired Stallone to write a screenplay for a boxing movie, which he did in just three days. His efforts to sell the script went well but for the fact that the interested studios wanted a big name for the lead role, and Stallone was determined to be the star himself. Stallone persevered and “Rocky” was made with him in the lead, and the movie won three Oscars. “Sly” Stallone had arrived …

46A. “Yes, ma’am,” in Madrid : SI, SENORA
Madrid is the largest city in Spain and the capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country.

48. “Fresh Air” airer : NPR
National Public Radio (now just called NPR) was launched in 1970 after President Johnson signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The intent of the act was to provide funding for radio and television broadcasting that wasn’t simply driven by profit. As a longtime fan of the state-funded BBC in the UK, I’d have to agree with that intent …

“Fresh Air” is a marvelous radio talk show broadcast on NPR, hosted by Terry Gross. The first broadcast of the program was made in 1975, with Judy Blank hosting. Terry Gross took over a few months later, and Gross has been presenting and producing the show ever since. I had the privilege of hearing Terry Gross give a talk here in my hometown some years ago. What a fascinating woman she is, full of great stories about the her experiences interviewing so many interesting personalities.

50. Bench or Berra : CATCHER
Johnny Bench is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds. Bench is now a spokesman for the Stryker Corporation, makers of medical implants. After a career as a baseball catcher, his natural hip joint was in bad shape and so he had very successful replacement surgery in 2004. Bench isn’t just a spokesman for Stryker, he’s a customer.

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some greats:

– “It’s ain’t over till it’s over.”
– “90% of the game is half mental.”
– “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
– (giving directions) “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
– “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
– “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.”

54. Manager who managed the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers : TORRE
As a manager, Joe Torre was part of four World Series wins, all of them with the New York Yankees baseball team. Torre is an Italian American, born in Brooklyn, New York. During the run up (pun intended!) to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Torre carried the Olympic flame part of the way through Florence in Italy, handing it over to the next runner at the famous Ponte Vecchio. I’d guess that was quite a thrill for him …

56. ’70s sitcom family name : BRADY
The famous sitcom “The Brady Bunch” originally aired from 1969 to 1974 on ABC. If you ever see a movie called “Yours, Mine and Ours” starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda (and remade with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo), you might notice a similarity in storyline. It was because of the success of the 1968 movie that ABC decided to go ahead with the development of “The Brady Bunch”.

59. Antioxidant berry in fruit juices : ACAI
Açaí is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

60A. Primer sentence : SEE JANE RUN
The “Dick and Jane” beginning reader series of books was originally written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and first published in the 1930s. There are claims of plagiarism from an earlier pair of books published throughout the British Commonwealth that featured the characters Dick and Dora. Indeed, I grew up in the British Isles with “Dick and Dora”, and always assumed that “Dick and Jane” were somehow their American cousins!

63. Cologne that sounds forbidden : TABU
Tabu was a whole line of cosmetics and perfumes produced by the House of Dana. The company’s brand names were purchased by a Florida company called Dana Classic Fragrances in 1999.

Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted hometown. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

65. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT-YR
A light-year is a measure of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. The accepted abbreviation for a light-year is “ly”.

66. Comical Laurel : STAN
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson), who made a great career for himself in Hollywood. Laurel ended up at the Hal Roach studio directing films, intent on pursuing a career in writing and directing. However, he was a sometime actor and was asked to step in when another comic actor, Oliver Hardy, was injured and couldn’t perform. Laurel and Hardy started to share a stage together during that time and when it was clear they worked so well together, their partnership was born. Oh, and the oft-quoted story that Clint Eastwood is the son of Stan Laurel … that’s just an urban myth.

Down
1. Malia Obama’s sister : SASHA
Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, born in 2001. She is the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

2. Black-and-white treats : OREOS
The Oreo was the best-selling cookie in the 20th century, and almost 500 billion of them have been sold since they were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco. In those early days the creme filling was made with pork fat, but today vegetable oils are used instead. If you take a bite out of an Oreo sold outside of America you might notice a difference from the homegrown cookie, as coconut oil is added in the overseas version to give a different taste.

5. Rum cocktail : DAIQUIRI
Daiquirí is a small village on the coast near Santiago, Cuba that was a key location in the American invasion of Cuba in the Spanish-American War. Supposedly, the cocktail called a Daiquiri was invented by American mining engineers in a bar in nearby Santiago.

8. Waters near Hong Kong and Shanghai : CHINA SEAS
The three China Seas are:

– The Yellow Sea
– The East China Sea
– The South China Sea

9. One might have “Mom” in a heart, briefly : TAT
The word “tattoo” was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”.

10. Utah singing family : OSMONDS
The Osmond Brothers were performing at Disneyland in the early sixties when they were spotted by Andy Williams’ father. He was so impressed by their performance that he told Andy to book them on his TV show, after which they became regulars from 1962-69.

11. Woo like Cyrano : WAX POETIC
Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist who lived in the 17th century. Paintings and drawings show that Bergerac had a large nose, although the size was exaggerated by those who wrote about his life. Reputedly, Cyrano fought in over 1000 duels, mostly instigated by someone insulting his nose. In the play written about his life, Cyrano had a famous lover named Roxane. It is thought that the Roxane character was modelled on Cyrano’s cousin who lived with his sister in a convent.

12. New York’s __ Canal : ERIE
The Erie Canal runs from Albany to Buffalo in the state of New York. What the canal does is allow shipping to proceed from New York Harbor right up the Hudson River, through the canal and into the Great Lakes. When it was opened in 1825, the Erie Canal had immediate impact on the economy of New York City and locations along its route. It was the first means of “cheap” transportation from a port on the Atlantic seaboard into the interior of the United States. Arguably it was the most important factor contributing to the growth of New York City over competing ports such as Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was largely because of the Erie Canal that New York became such an economic powerhouse, earning it the nickname of the Empire State.

22. Lucy of “Kill Bill” : LIU
Lucy Liu is an Asian-American actress from Queens, New York. Liu’s big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked her in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy “Kill Bill”. I am having fun watching one of Liu’s latest projects. She is one of the two leads in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.

26. __ Helens, Wash. : MT ST
Only two volcanoes in the Cascade range have erupted in the 20th century: Mount St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Lassen in 1915. The last significant eruption of Mount Shasta, a third volcano in the Cascades, was about 200 years ago

28. About, chronologically : CIRCA
“Circa” is a Latin word meaning “around, near, about the time of”. We use “circa” directly in English to mean “about the time of”, as well as in derivative words such as “circle” and “circus”.

29. “A bit of talcum/Is always walcum” poet : NASH
The poet Ogden Nash was well known for his light and humorous verse. Try this one for size:

The one-L lama,
He’s a priest.
The two-L llama,
He’s a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn’t any
Three-L lllama.

42. Jack Russell or wirehair : TERRIER
Most terrier breeds of dog originated in the British Isles. Terriers were developed as working dogs, with the job of controlling populations of rats, rabbits and foxes by rooting them out above and below the ground. The name “terrier” comes via Middle French from the the Latin “terra” meaning “earth”, a reflection of the breeds habit of burrowing into the earth looking for its prey.

47. Word before a maiden name : NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

50. Like some Louisiana fare : CAJUN
The great explorer Verrazzano gave the name “Arcadia” to the coastal land that stretched from north of present day Virginia right up the North American continent to Nova Scotia. The name Arcadia was chosen as it was also the name for a part of Greece that had been viewed as idyllic from the days of classical antiquity. The “Arcadia” name quickly evolved into the word “Acadia” that was used locally here in North America. Much of Acadia was settled by the French in the 1600s, and then in 1710 Acadia was conquered by the British. There followed the French and Indian War after which there was a mass migration of French Acadians, often via the French colony of Saint-Dominique (present-day Haiti) to the French colony of Louisiana. The local dialectic pronunciation of the word “Acadian” was “Cajun”, giving the name to the ethnic group for which Louisiana has been home for about 300 years.

53. Auberjonois and Russo : RENES
René Auberjonois is an American actor. Auberjonois’ most famous role on the big screen was Father Mulcahy in the movie “M*A*S*H”.

The lovely and very talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to highschool (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modelling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting. I am so glad she did, as Rene Russo is one of my favorite actresses …

55. One __: kids’ ball game : O’ CAT
One o’cat, or more properly “one old cat”, is an abbreviated form of baseball with a home plate and just one base.

57. Singer McEntire : REBA
Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

61. Actor Wallach : ELI
Eli Wallach has been appearing consistently and making great performances on the big and small screens since the 1950s. Wallach’s most famous role was probably as “the Ugly” in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. More recently he gave a very strong performance in 2006’s “The Holiday”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Well-constructed : SOLID
6. Formal agreement : PACT
10. Carried a balance : OWED
14. Boxing venue : ARENA
15. Turkish honorific : AGHA
16. Kolkata cover-up : SARI
19. Early 11th century date : MXIV
17. 2003 horse movie that won Best Picture : SEABISCUIT
20. Bunny gait : HOP
21. Important bee : QUEEN
22. Runs easily : LOPES
23. Throw for a loop : ASTOUND
25. __ acid : AMINO
27. Suffix with neat or beat : -NIK
28A. One who’s not on the honor roll : C STUDENT
31. Tee off : ANGER
34. Gets moving : HIES
35. Stick around : STAY
36. Pal of Piglet : ROO
37. Stress, as a key point : ITERATE
40. DSL offerer : ISP
41. Banjo ridge : FRET
43. WWII females : WACS
44. Like Stallone’s persona : MACHO
46A. “Yes, ma’am,” in Madrid : SI, SENORA
48. “Fresh Air” airer : NPR
49. Colgate rival : CREST
50. Bench or Berra : CATCHER
54. Manager who managed the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers : TORRE
56. ’70s sitcom family name : BRADY
58. Firefighter’s tool : AXE
59. Antioxidant berry in fruit juices : ACAI
60A. Primer sentence : SEE JANE RUN
62. Idle : LAZE
63. Cologne that sounds forbidden : TABU
64. Sidestep : ELUDE
65. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT YR
66. Comical Laurel : STAN
67. Uses a stopwatch for : TIMES

Down
1. Malia Obama’s sister : SASHA
2. Black-and-white treats : OREOS
3. Jumped : LEAPT
4. Having five sharps, musically : IN B
5. Rum cocktail : DAIQUIRI
6. Walked around the waiting room : PACED
7. Fluish feeling : AGUE
8. Waters near Hong Kong and Shanghai : CHINA SEAS
9. One might have “Mom” in a heart, briefly : TAT
10. Utah singing family : OSMONDS
11. Woo like Cyrano : WAX POETIC
12. New York’s __ Canal : ERIE
13. Parts of depts. : DIVS
18. Done for : SUNK
22. Lucy of “Kill Bill” : LIU
24. Small number : ONE
26. __ Helens, Wash. : MT ST
28. About, chronologically : CIRCA
29. “A bit of talcum/Is always walcum” poet : NASH
30. Proofreader’s pickup : TYPO
31. Fido’s greetings : ARFS
32. “Me neither” : NOR I
33. Flips out : GOES CRAZY
34. Chest pulsation : HEART BEAT
38. “Terrible” age : TWOS
39. Uncontested, like some hockey goals : EMPTY NET
42. Jack Russell or wirehair : TERRIER
45. Rainbow shape : ARC
47. Word before a maiden name : NEE
48. Zilch : NADA
50. Like some Louisiana fare : CAJUN
51. __-scarum : HARUM
52. Radiate : EXUDE
53. Auberjonois and Russo : RENES
54. Hard to believe, as a tale : TALL
55. One __: kids’ ball game : O’ CAT
57. Singer McEntire : REBA
60. Rds. : STS
61. Actor Wallach : ELI

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