LA Times Crossword Answers 24 Feb 13, Sunday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Melanie Miller
THEME: Excess Baggage … today’s themed answers are well-known terms with BAG inserted, to suit the clue:

23A. Self-defense overkill? HANDBAG GRENADE (from “hand grenade”)
33A. Red wines aged in autos? AIRBAG PORTS (from “airports”)
50A. KEGO on your radio dial? GASBAG STATION (from “gas station”)
70A. Direct route to Loserville? DIRTBAG ROAD (from “dirt road”)
90A. Entertaining show in a run-down hotel? FLEABAG CIRCUS (from “flea circus”)
104A. Consumer Reports first aid recommendations? ICEBAG PICKS (from “icepicks”)
121A. Activist grocery clerk? PAPERBAG PUSHER (from “paper pusher”)

COMPLETION TIME: 26m 12s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … ABALONE (abilone!), GRAFT (grift)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Proofer’s mark STET
“Stet” is the Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

13. Protozoa genus AMOEBA
An ameba (or “amoeba” as we spell it back in Ireland) is a single-celled microorganism. The name comes from the Greek “amoibe”, meaning change. The name is quite apt, as the cell changes shape readily as the ameba moves, eats and reproduces.

19. First Nations tribe CREE
The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US most of the Cree nation live in Montana on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

22. Elephant in the Jungle of Nool HORTON
Horton the elephant turns up in two books by Dr. Seuss, “Horton Hatches the Egg” and “Horton Hears a Who!”

27. Orbital extremes APOGEES
In the celestial world, an apsis is a point in an orbit when the orbiting body is at its greatest, or least, distance from it’s center of orbit. The farthest and closest points of orbit are known as the apogee and perigee, when talking about bodies orbiting the Earth. The farthest and closest points for bodies orbiting the sun are known as the aphelion and perihelion.

30. Shocked, in a way TASED
Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym TASER stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”. Interesting, eh?

33. Red wines aged in autos? AIRBAG PORTS (from “airports”)
The city of Oporto in Portugal gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s, as it was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified wine was exported.

42. Dashboard Confessional music genre EMO
Dashboard Confessional is an emo band from Boca Raton, Florida.

The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

46. Edible mollusks ABALONES
The large edible sea snails that we call abalone are called ormer in the British Isles.

50. KEGO on your radio dial? GASBAG STATION (from “gas station”)
A radio station for gasbags might well be called KEGO (K-EGO).

56. Thread holder ETUI
An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui” from France. The French also have a modern usage of “etui”, using the term to depict a case for carrying CDs.

58. Secret alternative BAN
Ban was the first roll-on deodorant, introduced in 1952. The formulation for Ban is the same as the brand called Mum, the first commercial deodorant, which dates back to the late 1800s.

Secret is an antiperspirant/deodorant made by Procter & Gamble, first introduced in 1956 as a cream that was applied with the fingers (ick!). There followed a roll-on version in 1958, a spray in 1964 and the solid stick in 1978.

59. Solar __ PLEXUS
A nerve plexus is a network of intersecting nerves. One example of a plexus in the human body is the celiac plexus, also known as the solar plexus. The celiac plexus is a network of nerves in the abdomen that serves many of the internal organs.

67. Part of the Constitution that describes Cong. powers ART I
Article One of the US Constitution describes the powers of the US Congress. Those powers are described in great detail, and cover everything from the number or representatives of each state in the House and Senate to the responsibility to prove a postal service.

80. Chicago-based superstation WGN
WGN America is a cable television network based in Chicago. The WGN name has long been associated with Chicago, and is the acronym for the former slogan of the Chicago Tribune: “World’s Greatest Newspaper”.

84. California peak rumored to hide advanced beings called Lemurians SHASTA
Lemuria is a legendary lost continent located either in the Indian or Pacific Oceans. Frederick S. Oliver wrote a book in the late 1800s called “A Dweller on Two Planets” in which he claimed that survivors from sunken Lemuria lived in Mount Shasta in northern California, in a complex of tunnels beneath the mountain.

97. After Effects and Final Cut Pro EDITORS
Adobe’s After Effects and Apple’s Final Cut Pro are software applications used in the post-production of film and television production.

98. Mount Rushmore prez ABE
The four presidents whose faces are carved in the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although this might have been larger. The original intent was for the presidents to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

99. Pabst brand STROH’S
Bernard Stroh was the son of a German brewer. Stroh immigrated to the US in 1848 and set up his own brewery in 1850 in Detroit. Years later, the Stroh Brewing Company introduced a European process called fire-brewing. This results in higher temperatures at a crucial stage in the brewing process, supposedly bringing out flavor. Stroh’s is the only American beer that still uses this process.

101. Large green moth LUNA
The lime-green Luna Moth is one of the largest moths found in North America, growing to a wingspan of up to 4½ inches.

102. Mythical enchantress MEDEA
In Greek mythology Medea was the wife of Jason, the heroic leader of the Argonauts.

124. “The Human Condition” writer Hannah ARENDT
Hannah Arendt was studying and working the field of philosophy, when she had to flee her native Germany in the run up to WWII because of her Jewish heritage. She ended up in the US in 1941, and took posts in various schools here. In 1969 she was appointed full professor at Princeton, the first woman to win such a position, and a decade before women students were admitted to the college.

129. It may be used to walk the dog YO-YO
Would you believe that the first yo-yos date back to 500 BC? There is even an ancient Greek vase painting that shows a young man playing with a yo-yo. Centuries later Filipinos were using yo-yos as hunting tools in the 1500s. “Yo-yo” is a Tagalog (Filipino) word meaning “come-come” or simply “return”.

Down
2. Many a Yemeni ARAB
Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, lying just south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman. Yemen is the only state on the peninsula that is a republic (its official name is the Republic of Yemen). Everyone over the age of 18 gets to vote, but only Muslims can hold elected office.

6. Hash attachment -TAG
A hashtag is word preceded by the symbol #. Hashtags are big these days because of Twitter, a microblogging service that I will never understand …

8. __ Bora: Afghan region TORA
The famous cave that almost certainly housed Osama Bin Laden for a while was in Tora Bora in eastern Pakistan. Tora Bora is not far (~ 30 mi) from what used to be an even more famous spot, the Khyber Pass. “Tora Bora” is a Pashto name which translates to “black dust”.

9. Italy’s largest seaport GENOA
Genoa is a seaport in the very north of Italy, in the region known as Liguria. One of Genoa’s most famous sons was Christopher Columbus.

10. Eel, at sushi bars UNAGI
Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel, and unadon is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. Unadon is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).

11. Ritual meals SEDERS
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

– Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
– Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

13. Hawaiian tuna AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. Yellowfin tuna is one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

14. Least populous state capital MONTPELIER
Montpelier is the capital of the state of Vermont, the smallest state in the Union in terms of population. The city was named for the French city of Montpelier in the days when there was great enthusiasm for things French after the aid received during the American Revolution.

16. Wild blue yonder ETHER
The Greek philosopher Empedocles proposed that there are four elements that made up the universe, namely earth, water, air and fire. Aristotle later proposed a fifth element which he called aether (also “ether”). Aether was the divine substance that made up the stars and planets.

18. Kitty starters ANTES
The “pot” in a card game has been referred to as the kitty since the 1880s. It’s not certain how the name “kitty” evolved but possibly it came from “kit”, the necessary equipment for the game.

28. Swedish import SAAB
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

34. Payola, e.g. GRAFT
Payola is the illegal practice of paying radio stations or disk jockeys to repeatedly play a particular piece of music. The impetus behind the crime is that the more often a song is played, the more likely it is to sell. The term “payola” comes from the words “pay” and “Victrola”, an RCA brand name for an early phonograph.

36. Apple variety IMAC
The iMac is a desktop computer platform from Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated.

37. Elegant POSH
No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that POSH stands for “Port Out, Starboard Home” is completely untrue, a story that can be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers travelling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

39. Cryptologic govt. org. NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … “No Such Agency”.

44. Hair color immortalized by a Renaissance painter TITIAN RED
The shade of red known as “titian” is named for the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, who often painted women with red hair.

47. Jar Jar Binks’s home planet NABOO
Jar Jar Binks is a comedic character who appears in Episodes I-III of the “Star Wars” movies.

48. Virginie et Floride ETATS
In French, Virginia (Virginie) and Florida (Floride) are states (états).

53. Short blaster? NITRO
Nitroglycerin is a very unstable, oily, colorless liquid. It is usually used as the explosive ingredient in a stabilized product like dynamite or cordite. Nitroglycerin is also used medically, as a vasodilator. Right after it hits the bloodstream is causes the blood vessels to dilate to that the heart has less work to do. I had occasion to take it a couple of times, and boy, what a speedy and fundamental effect it has.

60. Capital of Shaanxi province XI’AN
Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi province of China, is one of the oldest cities in the country, with history going back over 3,000 years. Today, in contemporary China, Xi-an is figuring at the forefront of the country’s participation in the modern world. China’s second aerospace center is being built in Xi’an, for example, and the city is also home to the world’s largest Internet Cafe/Bar, a facility with over 3,000 computers.

61. Modern search result URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

64. Small-government proponent Paul RON
Ron Paul is a celebrated Republican Congressman from Texas. He is a libertarian, and actually ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian Party candidate. He ran for the Republican nomination for President in 2008 as a member of the Liberty Caucus of the party, meaning that he values a federal government that is limited in size and scope.

66. “__ the train a-comin'”: Johnny Cash lyric I HEAR
I must admit that I am not a big country music fan, but who doesn’t love Johnny Cash? The man had such a unique voice, and indeed unique songs. I think that his biopic, “Walk the Line”, is very cool, as is the title song itself. Recorded back in 1956, “Walk the Line” is relatively creative for “popular” music. The basic rhythm of the song emulates the sound of a freight train, the “boom-chicka-boom” sound. Cash’s guitar has a unique tone to it as it plays this rhythm, achieved by threading a piece of paper between the guitar strings giving the rhythm a bit of a “buzz”. Above the rhythm line, each of the five verses is sung in different keys. You can actually hear Cash hum a note signifying the key change at the start of each verse. With all these modulations, the final verse is sung a full octave lower that the first. A remarkable tune …

67. Covers for a crook, say ABETS
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

68. Battle on a log ROLEO
Roleo is the name given to a log rolling competition traditionally engaged in by lumberjacks

71. Bluesy Memphis street BEALE
Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee is a major tourist attraction. In 1977, by act of Congress, the street was officially declared the “Home of the Blues” due to its long association with the musical genre. Apparently “Beale” is the name of some forgotten military hero.

78. Vital life force, to acupuncturists CHI
In Chinese culture “qi” or “chi” is the life force in any living thing.

81. Storied officer __ Ludwig von Trapp GEORG
Baron Georg Johannes von Trapp was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy who achieved worldwide fame when his family became the inspiration for the musical “The Sound of Musical”.

“The Sound of Music” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers”, a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war and one family descended from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I reside in California.

91. A/C measure BTU
In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

95. 1969 Arkin/Moreno comedy POPI
“Popi” is a drama/comedy film from 1969 starring Alan Arkin and Rita Moreno.

104. Faith of nearly a quarter of Earth’s population ISLAM
The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family.

105. Where “Aida” premiered CAIRO
“Aida” is the famous opera by Giuseppe Verdi, actually based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, who also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first performed in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radames is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then of course complications arise!

106. Rivendell inhabitants ELVES
Rivendell is a location occupied by Elves in Middle-earth, the fictional realm created by novelist J. R. R. Tolkien.

107. Key letter KAPPA
Phi Beta Kappa was the first collegiate Greek fraternity in the US, founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. The initials Phi Beta Kappa stand for “philosophia biou kybernētēs”, which translates into “philosophy is the guide of life”. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key.

108. “Golf Begins at Forty” author SNEAD
Sam Snead was probably the most successful golfer never to win a US Open title, as he won a record 82 PGA Tour events. Snead did win seven majors, but never the US Open. He was also quite the showman. He once hit the scoreboard at Wrigley Field stadium with a golf ball by teeing off from home plate.

110. Souse DIPSO
“Dipsomania” is a craving for alcohol to the point of damaging one’s health. “Dipsa” is the Greek for “thirst”, hence dipsomania is a “manic thirst”.

113. Lab warning GRR
The Labrador breed of dog has been around at least since 1814, and the chocolate Labrador appeared over a century later in the 1930s.

117. Designer Saarinen EERO
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect, renowned in this country for his unique designs for public buildings such as Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Dulles International Airport Terminal, and the TWA building at JFK.

120. Some Windows systems NTS
Windows XP, Windows Vista and now Windows 7; they’re all based on the Windows NT operating system. There is a common perception that Windows NT (WNT) takes its name from VMS, an earlier operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. “WNT” is what’s called a “Caesar cipher” of “VMS”, as you just augment the letters of VMS alphabetically by one to arrive at WNT. Bill Gates disputes this derivation of the name, and in a 1998 interview stated that the NT originally stood for N-Ten and that the marketing folks at Microsoft revised history by changing it to “New Technology”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Corn at a picnic EARS
5. Proofer’s mark STET
9. Wind surge GUST
13. Protozoa genus AMOEBA
19. First Nations tribe CREE
20. Kitchen aid CAN OPENER
22. Elephant in the Jungle of Nool HORTON
23. Self-defense overkill? HANDBAG GRENADE (from “hand grenade”)
25. Because IN THAT
26. Secure OBTAIN
27. Orbital extremes APOGEES
29. The ones right here THESE
30. Shocked, in a way TASED
33. Red wines aged in autos? AIRBAG PORTS (from “airports”)
35. Water carriers PIPES
38. Garbage collectors BINS
41. Rose to great heights SOARED
42. Dashboard Confessional music genre EMO
43. Expanding concern? OBESITY
46. Edible mollusks ABALONES
50. KEGO on your radio dial? GASBAG STATION (from “gas station”)
54. Get stuck (on), mentally FIXATE
55. Ocean gathering SCHOOL
56. Thread holder ETUI
57. Series of turns, usually: Abbr. RTE
58. Secret alternative BAN
59. Solar __ PLEXUS
63. Foreword, briefly INTRO
65. Takes to the streets RIOTS
67. Part of the Constitution that describes Cong. powers ART I
70. Direct route to Loserville? DIRTBAG ROAD (from “dirt road”)
73. Stockings HOSE
74. They may have spurs BOOTS
76. Unfamiliar ALIEN
77. How chicken may be served ON RICE
79. Bugler with horns ELK
80. Chicago-based superstation WGN
82. Growing business FARM
84. California peak rumored to hide advanced beings called Lemurians SHASTA
88. Giggle TEE-HEE
90. Entertaining show in a run-down hotel? FLEABAG CIRCUS (from “flea circus”)
94. Vending machine options SODA POPS
97. After Effects and Final Cut Pro EDITORS
98. Mount Rushmore prez ABE
99. Pabst brand STROH’S
101. Large green moth LUNA
102. Mythical enchantress MEDEA
104. Consumer Reports first aid recommendations? ICEBAG PICKS (from “icepicks”)
109. Rear-__ ENDER
111. Retail benchmark SALES
112. Close enough IN RANGE
115. “Shortly” IN A SEC
119. Like some domestic help LIVE-IN
121. Activist grocery clerk? PAPERBAG PUSHER (from “paper pusher”)
124. “The Human Condition” writer Hannah ARENDT
125. Contraption APPARATUS
126. Italian capital EURO
127. They’re popular in Japanese gardening MOSSES
128. Unusable, as a cellphone DEAD
129. It may be used to walk the dog YO-YO
130. Obey a red light STOP

Down
1. Chamber bouncer ECHO
2. Many a Yemeni ARAB
3. Borrow for a price RENT
4. Unflappable SEDATE
5. Checks out, as groceries SCANS
6. Hash attachment -TAG
7. H.S. course ENG
8. __ Bora: Afghan region TORA
9. Italy’s largest seaport GENOA
10. Eel, at sushi bars UNAGI
11. Ritual meals SEDERS
12. South American arboreal snake TREE BOA
13. Hawaiian tuna AHI
14. Least populous state capital MONTPELIER
15. Traditional ORTHODOX
16. Wild blue yonder ETHER
17. Sing one’s own praises BOAST
18. Kitty starters ANTES
21. Verve PEP
24. Leaning BIAS
28. Swedish import SAAB
31. Dies down EBBS
32. Plan to take off DIET
34. Payola, e.g. GRAFT
35. Correctly assesses PEGS
36. Apple variety IMAC
37. Elegant POSH
39. Cryptologic govt. org. NSA
40. Something to build on SITE
43. Checked out OGLED
44. Hair color immortalized by a Renaissance painter TITIAN RED
45. In its early stages YOUNG
47. Jar Jar Binks’s home planet NABOO
48. Virginie et Floride ETATS
49. Horse __ SENSE
51. Hasbro reaction game BOP IT
52. Email letters AOL
53. Short blaster? NITRO
57. Revved engine sound ROAR
60. Capital of Shaanxi province XI’AN
61. Modern search result URL
62. Strong, drinkwise STIFF
64. Small-government proponent Paul RON
66. “__ the train a-comin'”: Johnny Cash lyric I HEAR
67. Covers for a crook, say ABETS
68. Battle on a log ROLEO
69. Tipped, as a dealer TOKED
71. Bluesy Memphis street BEALE
72. Some are compact DISCS
75. Brushed off SWEPT ASIDE
78. Vital life force, to acupuncturists CHI
81. Storied officer __ Ludwig von Trapp GEORG
83. Junk __ MAIL
85. Gob SCAD
86. Den focus, familiarly TUBE
87. Sailing ASEA
89. Stars no longer shining HAS-BEENS
91. A/C measure BTU
92. Unrivaled A-ONE
93. Nana GRAN
95. 1969 Arkin/Moreno comedy POPI
96. Soccer protection SHINPAD
100. Minor injury SCRAPE
102. Options list MENU
103. Takes out mistakes ERASES
104. Faith of nearly a quarter of Earth’s population ISLAM
105. Where “Aida” premiered CAIRO
106. Rivendell inhabitants ELVES
107. Key letter KAPPA
108. “Golf Begins at Forty” author SNEAD
110. Souse DIPSO
113. Lab warning GRR
114. Cybermarket since 1995 EBAY
116. Latched, say SHUT
117. Designer Saarinen EERO
118. Prune CROP
120. Some Windows systems NTS
122. From __ Z A TO
123. Chap GUY

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2 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 24 Feb 13, Sunday”

  1. Bill,
    You show more insight to some answers
    than most others that I am surprised
    you don't get more comments. Please keep up the good work.

  2. Thx, Addict, for the kind words.

    There's a small but loyal following for the blog, which I appreciate. I'm not really qualified to critique the puzzles published, so instead I focus on sharing information that I dig up after I'm done. Hopefully folks are interested enough to drop by!

Comments are closed.