LA Times Crossword Answers 19 Sep 13, Thursday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
6. Pear that’s good for poaching BOSC
Bosc is a cultivar of the European Pear grown in the northwest of the United States. The Bosc is that pear with a skin the color of a potato, with a long neck. I always seem to use the potato as my point of reference. How Irish am I …?

17. Pick-me-up TONIC
A tonic is medication that is said to restore health. The original use of the term “tonic” was as an adjective meaning “increasing body tone”.

18. Governor’s pet projects? STATE PORK (from “state park”)
Pork barrel politics have been around for a long time. The term originated in 1863 in a story by Edward Everett Hale called “The Children of the Public”. Hale used “pork barrel” in a positive way, describing any public spending by government for the benefit of citizens. By the 1870s the term “pork” had negative connotations, with references in the press to “pork barrel bills” in Congress. Nowadays “pork” really applies to any government project designed to benefit a relatively small group of citizens (usually potential voters for a particular politician) with the bill being paid by the citizenry as a whole.

20. Like one who forgot the Dramamine SEASICK
Dramamine is a brand name for dimenhydrinate, a drug used to counteract motion sickness.

25. Causes to quail DAUNTS
“To quail” means “to cower”.

29. Utensil that gives you ideas? CREATIVE SPORK (from “creative spark”)
“Spork” is the more common name for the utensil that is a hybrid between a spoon and a fork. It is less commonly referred to as a “foon”.

35. Blues-rocker Chris REA
Chris Rea is a singer-songwriter and respected blues guitar player from England. Rea’s biggest hit is a song that he wrote himself called “Fool (If You Think It’s Over”), released in 1978.

36. Clothes TOGS
“Toggery” is another word for clothing, sometimes shorted to “togs”. For example, back in Ireland we call a bathing suit “swimming togs”. The term “toggery” comes from the Latin “toga”.

37. Alex Haley classic ROOTS
Not only did Alex Haley author the magnificent novel “Roots”, but he was also the collaborator with Malcolm X on “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. His 1976 novel “Roots” is based on Haley’s own family history, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of the real life Kunta Kinte, the slave who was kidnapped in the The Gambia in 1767. If you remember the fabulous television adaptation of “Roots”, you might recall that Kunta Kinte was played by LeVar Burton, who later went on to play another famous role, Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: the Next Generation”.

39. Abarth automaker FIAT
Abarth is a company that produces racing cars, and which is now owned by Fiat. Fiat used the Abarth name on some of the sporty versions of various Fiat models.

48. First name in fashion YVES
Yves Saint-Laurent was a French fashion designer, actually born in Algeria. Saint-Laurent started off working as an assistant to Christian Dior at the age of 17. Dior died just four years later, and as a very young man Saint-Laurent was named head of the House of Dior. However, in 1950 Saint-Laurent was conscripted into the French Army and ended up in a military hospital after suffering a mental breakdown from the hazing inflicted on him by his fellow soldiers. His treatment included electroshock therapy and administration of sedatives and psychoactive drugs. He was released from prison, managed to pull his life back together and started his own fashion house. A remarkable story …

49. Pundit’s piece OP-ED
Op-ed is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

51. Olympic Airways founder ONASSIS
Aristotle Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They had two children, including the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.

56. Say “Come in, Orson!” e.g.? QUOTE MORK (from “quote mark”)
“Mork & Mindy” is a sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982. The title characters were played by Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who reports back to his superior called Orson. Orson is played by voice actor Ralph James. Ralph James was also known for providing the voice of Mr Turtle in famous Tootsie Pop commercials in the seventies.

62. Iroquoian people ERIE
The Erie people were Native Americans who lived on the south shore of Lake Erie. The Erie lost out in wars with the Iroquois in the 1700s. The remnants of the Erie people were absorbed into neighboring tribes.

63. Compass dirección NORTE
In Spanish, one compass dirección (direction) is north (norte).

64. Rep on the street CRED
“Street cred” is slang for “street credibility”, of which I have none …

65. “Law & Order” org. NYPD
“Law & Order” ran for many, many years on NBC, from 1990 to 2010. “Law & Order” is a police drama that spawned a huge franchise of shows both here in the US and overseas. I am probably a bit biased, but my favorite is the version shown in BBC America called “Law & Order: UK”.

66. Composer Bruckner ANTON
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer, not a favorite of mine as he embraces the use of dissonances (I’m a sober traditionalist!). Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 is perhaps his most popular work. He created a slow and mournful movement for the work in recognition of the impending death of Richard Wagner, whom he greatly admired.

Down
1. Expos, since 2005 NATS
The Washington Nationals baseball team started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats. There are only two Major Leagues teams that have never played in a World Series, one being the Mariners and the other the Nats.

2. High wind OBOE
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”.

3. Pulitzer poet Van Duyn MONA
Mona Van Duyn was a poet from Waterloo, Iowa. Van Duyn won the National Book Award in 1971, the Pulitzer Prize in 1991, and served as US Poet Laureate from 1992 to 1993.

6. Hoops score BASKET
Basketball is truly an American sport. It was created in 1891 by a James Naismith at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. His goal was to create something active and interesting for his students in the gym. The first “hoops” were actually peach baskets, with the bottoms of the baskets intact. When a player got the ball into the “net”, someone had to clamber up and get the ball back out again in order to continue the game!

7. London’s prov. ONT
The city of London, Ontario lies about halfway between Detroit, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario. Just like the city’s better known namesake in England, Canada’s London is located on a river called the Thames.

9. Fortresses CITADELS
A citadel is a fortress built to protect a town or a city. Both the words “city” and “citadel” come from the Latin word “civis” meaning “citizen”.

12. Eur. kingdom NOR
Norway has been ranked as the country in the world with the highest standard of living almost every year since 2001. Norway is rich in natural resources and has a relatively low population. The people benefit from a comprehensive social security system, subsidized higher education for all citizens and universal health care.

13. Antlered bugler ELK
Male elks are called bulls, and females are known as cows. Bull elks are known for their very loud screaming, which is called bugling. Cow elks are attracted to bulls that bugle more often and most loudly.

21. “Charlie Wilson’s War” org. CIA
“Charlie Wilson’s War” is an excellent 2007 movie written by my favorite screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin. The film tells the true story of US Congressman Charlie Wilson who was instrumental in supporting local militia during the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Tom Hanks plays the title role, with Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman also starring. Hoffman’s plays a maverick CIA agent called Gust Avrakotos, my favorite role in the movie …

24. Recipient of two New Testament epistles TIMOTHY
The New Testament’s First and Second Epistles to Timothy are letters that were written by Saint Paul to Timothy, a young colleague of his.

29. After-dinner drink COGNAC
Cognac is a most famous variety of brandy named after the town of Cognac in the very west of France. To be called cognac, the brandy must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in very specific French oak barrels. It is the length of this aging that defines the various grades of cognac (and other brandies):

– VS: Very Special … at least 2 years storage
– VSOP: Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale … at least 4 years storage
– XO: Extra Old … at least 6 years
– VSO: Very Superior Old … 12-17 years

30. Jekyll creator’s initials RLS
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was first published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story including one that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

33. Chick of jazz COREA
Chick Corea is an American jazz pianist. Corea is noted for his work in the area of jazz fusion, as well as for his promotion of Scientology.

37. Winchester wielders RIFLEMEN
The Winchester rifle was one of the first repeating rifles to be manufactured in volume. The Winchester repeater is known as “The Gun that Won the West”.

39. Hardy’s “__ From the Madding Crowd” FAR
“Far From the Madding Crowd” was the novel that brought Author Thomas Hardy wide recognition. First published in 1874, it was Hardy’s fourth novel and appeared initially in serial form in the Victorian literary journal “Cornhill Magazine”.

42. Liturgical shout of praise HOSANNA!
“Hosanna” is derived from Hebrew, probably from the term “hoshi’ah-nna” meaning “save, we pray”.

50. Fishing boat DORY
A dory is a small boat, around 20 feet long with a shallow draft, a flat bottom and a sharp bow. Dories are commonly used for fishing.

53. Spreadsheet function SORT
In an electronic spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel, one can select a block of data and use the command “sort” to reorder the data. You can sort the data perhaps alphabetically or in numerical order.

56. Home shopping channel QVC
The QVC shopping channel was founded in 1986 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The company now has operations not only in the US but also in the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy. That means QVC is reaching 200 million households. The QVC acronym stands for Quality, Value and Convenience.

57. Nasser’s confed. UAR
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second president of Egypt, from 1956 until he died in 1970. He stood alongside Muhammad Naguib, Egypt’s first president, during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 that overthrew the ruling monarchy of Egypt and Sudan. Nasser was an advocate of Pan-Arabism, an ideology promoting unification of Arab peoples and countries. President Nasser went so far as forming the United Arab Republic (UAR), a union between Egypt and Syria that started in 1958 but fell apart in 1961 when Syria withdrew.

58. Cry for a picador OLE!
In Spanish bullfighting, picadors are horsemen that take on a bull in pairs, using lances to jab the poor creature. The picadors have a specific job, to lacerate the muscle on the back of the bull’s neck and to fatigue him before the toreros (bullfighters) are let loose.

59. Fashionable jeans feature RIP
The rips in my jeans couldn’t really be described as fashionable …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. One who’s always on the go? NOMAD
6. Pear that’s good for poaching BOSC
10. Glass sheet PANE
14. Superior to ABOVE
15. Member of the opposition ANTI
16. One on a pedestal IDOL
17. Pick-me-up TONIC
18. Governor’s pet projects? STATE PORK (from “state park”)
20. Like one who forgot the Dramamine SEASICK
22. Exposed BARE
23. Nutritionist’s recommendation DIET
25. Causes to quail DAUNTS
29. Utensil that gives you ideas? CREATIVE SPORK (from “creative spark”)
32. Take to task SCOLD
34. Cock or bull MALE
35. Blues-rocker Chris REA
36. Clothes TOGS
37. Alex Haley classic ROOTS
39. Abarth automaker FIAT
40. Coffee hour item URN
41. Talent GIFT
42. Precipitation HASTE
43. Bully’s secret shame? FEAR OF THE DORK (from “fear of the dark”)
47. Day spa offering FACIAL
48. First name in fashion YVES
49. Pundit’s piece OP-ED
51. Olympic Airways founder ONASSIS
56. Say “Come in, Orson!” e.g.? QUOTE MORK (from “quote mark”)
60. Empty room population? NO ONE
61. Poetic lowland VALE
62. Iroquoian people ERIE
63. Compass dirección NORTE
64. Rep on the street CRED
65. “Law & Order” org. NYPD
66. Composer Bruckner ANTON

Down
1. Expos, since 2005 NATS
2. High wind OBOE
3. Pulitzer poet Van Duyn MONA
4. Budget alternative AVIS
5. Ruled DECIDED
6. Hoops score BASKET
7. London’s prov. ONT
8. Shot in the dark STAB
9. Fortresses CITADELS
10. Find one’s voice PIPE UP
11. Stir ADO
12. Eur. kingdom NOR
13. Antlered bugler ELK
19. Take out ERASE
21. “Charlie Wilson’s War” org. CIA
24. Recipient of two New Testament epistles TIMOTHY
26. Without a downside NO-RISK
27. Pet’s reward TREAT
28. Use the rink SKATE
29. After-dinner drink COGNAC
30. Jekyll creator’s initials RLS
31. Distillery vessel VAT
32. Things STUFF
33. Chick of jazz COREA
37. Winchester wielders RIFLEMEN
38. Frequently, in verse OFT
39. Hardy’s “__ From the Madding Crowd” FAR
41. Freak out GO APE
42. Liturgical shout of praise HOSANNA!
44. Was revolting? RIOTED
45. Brought to mind EVOKED
46. Place for a wide-screen TV DEN
50. Fishing boat DORY
52. In short order SOON
53. Spreadsheet function SORT
54. Liking quite a bit INTO
55. Not hidden SEEN
56. Home shopping channel QVC
57. Nasser’s confed. UAR
58. Cry for a picador OLE!
59. Fashionable jeans feature RIP

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