LA Times Crossword Answers 29 Aug 13, Thursday

CROSSWORD SETTER: David Poole
THEME: Animall … today’s themed answers are the names of celebrities who have a family name that is an animal with a “double letter” ending:

17A. “Django Unchained” co-star JAMIE FOXX
24A. “Malice N Wonderland” rapper SNOOP DOGG
35A. “This Boy’s Life” memoirist TOBIAS WOLFF
50A. Sal Romano portrayer on “Mad Men” BRYAN BATT
59A. Super Bowl X MVP LYNN SWANN

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 11m 04s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … BAH! (fah!), EARBOB (ear fob)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
16. Civic, perhaps COUPE
The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

Introduced in 1972, the Honda Civic is the second-oldest brand of Japanese car made for the US today (only the Toyota Corolla has been around longer). Today’s Civic is a compact car, but the original was smaller, and classed as a sub-compact. The first design had a transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel drive to save on space, copying the configuration introduced with the British Mini.

17. “Django Unchained” co-star JAMIE FOXX
Jamie Foxx is the professional name used by Eric Marlon Bishop, an actor from Terrell, Texas. Foxx’s most acclaimed performance in film was the title role in “Ray”, the biopic about Ray Charles.

“Django Unchained” is a Quentin Tarantino film that was released in 2012. It is the highest grossing film that Tarantino has made to date. I tend to avoid Tarantino movies as I find them to be unnecessarily violent. Apparently “Django Unchained” is one of his more violent offerings.

21. Area near a hangar APRON
The apron is the paved area around airport terminals and hangars.

“Hangar” is a French word for “shed”. The French first started using the term for a “shed for airplanes” in the very early 1900s.

24. “Malice N Wonderland” rapper SNOOP DOGG
The rap star Snoop Dogg’s real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus. He is the most famous protege of the notorious rapper Dr. Dre. Sadly, Snoop Dogg has had numerous run-ins with police all round the world, even after he started to live the good life that came with his fame. Snoop Dogg has also been known as “Snoop Doggy Dogg”, and more recently as “Snoop Lion”.

32. Salk vaccine target POLIO
Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, famous for developing the first safe polio vaccine. In the fifties, especially after the 1952 polio epidemic, the biggest health fear in the US was polio because it killed thousands, left even more with disabilities and most of the victims were children. The situation was dire and the authorities immediately quarantined the family of any polio victim, and that quarantine was so strict that in many cases the families were not even permitted to attend the funeral of a family member who died from the disease.

34. Group with a self-titled bimonthly magazine AARP
AARP is now the official name for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

35. “This Boy’s Life” memoirist TOBIAS WOLFF
Tobias Wolff is an author from Birmingham, Alabama. Noted for his memoirs, Wolff’s most famous work is “This Boy’s Life”, which was adapted into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

46. Cenozoic __ ERA
The Cenozoic Era is the most recent geologic era, and covers the period from 65.5 million years ago to the present day. The start of the Cenozoic Era is defined as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, the cataclysm that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

47. Parisian possessive SES
“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”, when referring to a group of items.

50. Sal Romano portrayer on “Mad Men” BRYAN BATT
The actor Bryan Batt is an actor best known for his recurring role in the television show “Mad Men”. Batt plays Salvatore Romano, the art director in the Sterling Cooper advertising agency.

52. Stem cell research advocate Christopher REEVE
The actor Christopher Reeve was most associated with his portrayal of Superman in the late seventies and early eighties. Reeve became paralyzed from the neck down when he fell from a horse in a jumping event in 1995. He passed away in 2004.

55. First name of two U.S. presidents ANDREW
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the US, the man who came to power after the assassination of President Lincoln. As well as being Lincoln’s successor, Johnson is remembered as the first sitting president to be impeached. Johnson fell foul of the so-called “Radical Republicans” due to his efforts to quickly incorporate the southern states back into the Union. His political opponents chose the Tenure of Office Act as their “weapon” for impeachment. The Act prevented a president from removing an appointee of a past-president without the consent of the Senate. Johnson had removed the sitting Secretary of War without consulting Congress creating the opportunity for an impeachment trial in Congress. He was acquitted though, as his opponents fell one vote shy of the majority needed. The impeachment of President Johnson was the only presidential impeachment until that of President Clinton in 1999.

Like many of the earlier US presidents, Andrew Jackson was a career military man. Jackson distinguished himself as commander of American forces during the War of 1812, particularly in the defense of New Orleans. He had a reputation of being fair to his troops, but strict. It was during this time that he was described as “tough as old hickory”, giving rise to the nickname “Old Hickory” that stuck with him for life.

59. Super Bowl X MVP LYNN SWANN
After his professional football career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lynn Swann became a sportscaster and has been very active in Republican politics in recent years. Swann ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2006. He also publicly declared his interest in running for the House of Representatives in 2008, but bowed out of the race early.

61. Streisand title role YENTL
“Yentl” is a play that opened in New York City in 1975. The move to adapt the play for the big screen was led by Barbara Streisand, and indeed she wrote the first outline of a musical version herself as far back as 1968. The film was eventually made and released in 1983, with Streisand performing the lead role.

Barbra Streisand has recorded 31 top-ten albums since 1963, more than any other female recording artist. In fact, she has had an album in the top ten for the last five decades, a rare achievement in itself.

62. The Gaels of college sports IONA
Iona College is a Roman Catholic school run by Christian Brothers in New Rochelle, New York.

63. __ facto IPSO
“Ipso facto” is Latin, meaning “by the fact itself”. Ipso facto describes something that is a direct consequence of particular act, as opposed to something that is the result of some subsequent event. For example, my father was born in Dublin and was an Irish citizen ipso facto. My son was born in California and is an Irish citizen by virtue of being the son of an Irish citizen (“not” ipso facto).

64. Candy man REESE
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese. Peanut Butter Cups were originally called penny cups, reflecting the price at which they were sold. Then inflation took over, and maybe that’s why they were broken into smaller “pieces” …

65. Tech news dot-com CNET
c|net is an excellent technology website. c|net started out in 1994 as a television network specializing in technology news. The host of “American Idol”, Ryan Seacrest, started off his career as a host on a c|net show.

66. Broadway shiner NEON
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

Down
1. __ party PAJAMA
Our word “pajamas” comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is “pyjamas”.

2. Boy who had a legendary meltdown ICARUS
Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.

4. The Pont Neuf spans it SEINE
Paradoxically, Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge standing today that crosses the River Seine in Paris. The paradox is that the name translates to “new bridge”. The bridge is in two parts, as it crosses from the Left Bank to the Île de la Cité (on which stands Notre Dame) and then from the Île de la Cité to the Right Bank.

7. Perot, e.g. TEXAN
Henry Ross Perot graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1953, as president of his class. Ross Perot served his 4-year commitment but then resigned his commission, apparently having become somewhat disillusioned with the navy. He was ranked number 101 on the Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans in 2012, and at that time was worth about $3.5 billion.

9. Cuttlefish cousins OCTOPI
Octopuses and squid have the ability to release a dark pigment into the water as a means of escape. The dark pigment is called cephalopod ink (the squid and octopus belong to the class cephalopod). The dark color is created by melanin, the same substance that acts as a pigment in human skin.

11. It makes SADD mad DUI
In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) was founded in Massachusetts in 1981. SADD’s aim is to prevent road traffic accidents by urging students to avoid potentially destructive decisions (such as driving under the influence of alcohol).

12. Groovy music collection? LPS
The first vinyl records designed to play at 33 1/3 rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first Long Play (LP) 33 1/3 rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

18. Bit of dangly jewelry EARBOB
“Earbob” is an alternative name for an earring, and is a term mainly used in the Southern US.

22. Fracas ROW
“Fracas” is a French word that we absorbed into English. In turn, the French usage evolved from the Italian “fracasso” meaning “uproar, crash”.

24. Islamic branch SHIA
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.

25. Norwegian royal name OLAF
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

26. An official lang. of Switzerland GER
The nation of Switzerland is made up of four linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

27. National econ. stat GDP
A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of a country for that year.

30. Clay, today ALI
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali was presented with a gold medal during those ’96 Games, a replacement for the medal he won at the 1960 Olympics. He had thrown the original into the Ohio River as a gesture of disgust after being refused service at a “whites only” restaurant.

33. CIA forerunner OSS
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed during WWII in order to carry out espionage behind enemy lines. A few years after the end of the war the OSS functions were taken up by a new group, the Central Intelligence Agency that was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.

36. Use a strop on WHET
A strop is a strip of leather used to sharpen/whet a razor.

37. “__ the fields we go” O’ER
The traditional Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was first published in 1857, penned by James Lord Pierpoint. We associate the song with Christmas, although in fact Pierpoint wrote it as a celebration of Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

44. “Days of Our Lives” network NBC
NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” is the second-longest running soap opera on US television, second only to “General Hospital”. “Days …” has been aired since November 1965.

45. Language that gave us “galore” GAELIC
Our word “galore”, meaning “in great numbers”, comes from the Irish phrase “go leór” that translates as “sufficiently, enough”.

47. Señorita’s shawl SERAPE
“Serape” is the English pronunciation and spelling of the Spanish word “zarape”. A zarape is like a Mexican poncho, a soft woolen blanket with a hole in the middle for the head. Most serapes have colorful designs that use traditional Mayan motifs.

53. Dickens’ Drood EDWIN
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. The story itself is centered not on the title character, but on Edwin Drood’s uncle, a choirmaster named John Jasper.

56. Leb. neighbor SYR
The modern state that we know as Syria was established after WWI as a French mandate. Syria was granted independence from France in 1946.

After WWI, Lebanon was placed under administrative control of the French, and the capital city of Beirut flourished as a financial center in the Middle East, and a major world tourist destination. The city was devastated in the Lebanese Civil War that raged from 1975 to 1990, but reconstruction has restored the city to much of its former glory, making it a major cultural center once again.

57. Beginning of time? TEE
The first letter in the word “time” is T (tee).

60. Oak Lawn-to-Chicago dir. NNE
Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Window sill coolers PIES
5. Waffles no more OPTS
9. In an offbeat way ODDLY
14. Spots teens don’t like ACNE
15. Unoccupied FREE
16. Civic, perhaps COUPE
17. “Django Unchained” co-star JAMIE FOXX
19. Different take TWIST
20. Rings of activity ARENAS
21. Area near a hangar APRON
23. Thoughtful type MUSER
24. “Malice N Wonderland” rapper SNOOP DOGG
28. Cinders ASH
29. Cross word BAH!
31. Pirouetted TWIRLED
32. Salk vaccine target POLIO
34. Group with a self-titled bimonthly magazine AARP
35. “This Boy’s Life” memoirist TOBIAS WOLFF
39. Beyond bad EVIL
41. Bedding item SHEET
42. It involves checks and balances BANKING
46. Cenozoic __ ERA
47. Parisian possessive SES
50. Sal Romano portrayer on “Mad Men” BRYAN BATT
52. Stem cell research advocate Christopher REEVE
54. Kitchen gadget DICER
55. First name of two U.S. presidents ANDREW
56. Lost a lap STOOD
59. Super Bowl X MVP LYNN SWANN
61. Streisand title role YENTL
62. The Gaels of college sports IONA
63. __ facto IPSO
64. Candy man REESE
65. Tech news dot-com CNET
66. Broadway shiner NEON

Down
1. __ party PAJAMA
2. Boy who had a legendary meltdown ICARUS
3. Tangle up ENMESH
4. The Pont Neuf spans it SEINE
5. Wastes, mob-style OFFS
6. For PRO
7. Perot, e.g. TEXAN
8. One who’s really hot SEXPOT
9. Cuttlefish cousins OCTOPI
10. Vertical air movement DOWNDRAFT
11. It makes SADD mad DUI
12. Groovy music collection? LPS
13. However YET
18. Bit of dangly jewelry EARBOB
22. Fracas ROW
24. Islamic branch SHIA
25. Norwegian royal name OLAF
26. An official lang. of Switzerland GER
27. National econ. stat GDP
30. Clay, today ALI
32. Spotty pattern POLKA DOTS
33. CIA forerunner OSS
35. Minute TINY
36. Use a strop on WHET
37. “__ the fields we go” O’ER
38. Hears LEARNS
39. Drop in the ocean? EBB
40. Alt. spelling VAR
43. Sitting at a red light, say IN IDLE
44. “Days of Our Lives” network NBC
45. Language that gave us “galore” GAELIC
47. Señorita’s shawl SERAPE
48. “All the same …” EVEN SO
49. Like some patches SEWN ON
51. Check for fit TRY ON
53. Dickens’ Drood EDWIN
55. Future MD’s class ANAT
56. Leb. neighbor SYR
57. Beginning of time? TEE
58. Half and half ONE
60. Oak Lawn-to-Chicago dir. NNE

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