LA Times Crossword Answers 10 Oct 13, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jennifer Nutt
THEME: Mixed Greens … today’s themed answers all start with shades of GREEN, although the letters are MIXED in anagrams:

62A. Salad choice, and a literal description of the starts of the answers to starred clues MIXED GREENS

17A. *Slow-to-develop sort LATE BLOOMER (“late” is an anagram of “teal”)
23A. *Precursor to adoption, often FOSTER CARE (“foster” is an anagram of “forest”)
52A. *Bargain hunter’s destination FLEA MARKET (“flea” is an anagram of “leaf”)
10D. *21st birthday, e.g. MILESTONE (“mile” is an anagram of “lime”)
31D. *Old TV title shown in a heart I LOVE LUCY (“I love” is an anagram of “olive”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 08m 03s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Kindle add-ons APPS
I finally bought myself a Kindle Fire HD a couple of weeks ago. For the price, it really is a great device. That said, the applications that interest me don’t seem to be available for the Kindle. However, I’ve started reading e-books for the first time in my life. I’ve always been behind the times …

13. Wool source LLAMA
The wool from a llama is much softer than that from a sheep, and it is also free from lanolin.

15. Personal strength FORTE
A person’s “forte” is a person’s strength, coming into English via French from the Latin “fortis” meaning strong.

16. George’s songwriting partner IRA
Ira Gershwin was the lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs “I Got Rhythm” and “Someone to Watch Over Me”, as well as the opera “Porgy and Bess”. After George Gershwin died, Ira continued to create great music, working with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.

George Gershwin was a remarkable composer in so many ways, not least in that he was respected for both his popular and classical compositions. Gershwin’s best known works for orchestra are the magnificent “Rhapsody in Blue” from 1924 and “An American in Paris” from 1928. Another noted work is the opera “Porgy and Bess” that was first performed in 1935. Surprisingly, Porgy and Bess was a commercial failure, and so Gershwin moved to Hollywood and started composing very successful film scores. He was only 38 years old when he died in 1937, from a brain tumor.

20. Work in which Iago is a baritone OTELLO
Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” was first performed in 1887 at La Scala Theater in Milan. The opera is based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello” and is considered by many to be Verdi’s greatest work.

Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. He hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. By the end of the play it’s Iago himself who is discredited and Othello (before committing suicide) apologizes to Cassio for having believed Iago’s lies. Heavy stuff …

21. Spot for a Hindu’s tilak FOREHEAD
The “tilaka” is a mark worn by Hindus, mainly on the forehead. The tilaka can come in several different shapes and colors, some based on caste and some based on religion.

26. “Ring Cycle” goddess ERDA
In Richard Wagner’s (very, very lengthy) “Ring Cycle”, Erda is the goddess of the Earth (as well as wisdom and fate). The role of Erda is sung by a contralto.

35. Maui howdy ALOHA
Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands. Maui is sometimes called the “Valley Isle” as it is composed of two volcanoes to the northwest and southeast of the island, each with numerous beautiful valleys carved into them.

39. Pound spenders SYRIANS
The currency used in Syria is the Syrian pound, which is divided into 100 qirsh.

41. Postal motto word NOR
There is no official creed or motto for the US Postal Service. However, there is the oft-quoted inscription found posted (pun!) at the James Farley Post Office in New York City:

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

44. Half a sci-fi sign-off NANU
“Mork & Mindy” was broadcast from 1978 to 1982. We were first introduced to Mork (played by Robin Williams, of course) in a special episode of “Happy Days”. The particular episode in question has a bizarre storyline culminating in Fonzie and Mork having a thumb-to-finger duel. Eventually Richie wakes up in bed, and alien Mork was just part of a dream! Oh, and “Nanu Nanu” means both “hello” and “goodbye” back on the planet Ork. “I am Mork from Ork, Nanu Nanu”. Great stuff …

46. Star in Lyra VEGA
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Vega (along with Altair and Deneb from other constellations) is also part of the group of three stars that is called the Summer Triangle. Vega is the star at the right-angle of this triangle.

60. Northwest college town where “Animal House” was filmed EUGENE
Eugene is the second-largest city in Oregon (after Portland). The city is named for its founder, Eugene Franklin Skinner. Skinner arrived in the area in 1846, after which the settlement he established was called Skinner’s Mudhole. The name was changed to Eugene City in 1852, which was shortened to Eugene in 1889.

The very funny 1978 movie “Animal House” has the prefix “National Lampoon’s …” because the storyline came out of tales that had already appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine. “Animal House” was to become the first in a long line of successful “National Lampoon” films. The main pledges in the movie are Tom Hulce (Pinto), who later played a magnificent “Amadeus”, and Stephen Furst (Flounder), later played a regular role on television’s “Babylon 5”.

61. Big bird EMU
Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.

66. Where many tennis winners are hit AT NET
Tennis players might hit winning shots while up “at net”, close to the net.

68. Father of Moses AMRAM
In the Hebrew Bible, Amram is the father of Aaron, Moses and Miriam, and is married to Jochebed. The name Amram is written as Imram in the Qur’an.

Down
1. “__ the Lights”: Kanye West song ALL OF
Kanye West is a rap singer from Atlanta, Georgia. That’s all I know …

2. First philosopher to mention Atlantis PLATO
The legendary city of Atlantis was first referred to in writing by the Greek philosopher Plato. The story is that a navy from Atlantis attempted to invade Athens but failed, and as a result the city of Atlantis sank into the ocean.

3. Gourmet spreads PATES
Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made up of a mixture of ground meat and fat, to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version is pâté de foie gras, made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

4. Ore refinery SMELTER
Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and of course, a greenhouse gas).

5. Fiscal VIP CFO
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

6. Bubble bath accessory LOOFA
The loofah (also loofa, lufah and luffa, all Arabic words) is a vine, with fruit that’s very popular in Asia and Africa. If the fruit is allowed to mature, it can be processed to remove everything but the more rigid xylem structure (remember your high school botany class?) leaving a soft, sponge-like mass that is used as a skin polisher.

8. Music provider STEREO
Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

11. Hater of David, in Dickens URIAH
Uriah Heep is a sniveling insincere character in the novel “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. The character is such a “yes man” that today, if we know someone who behaves the same way, then we might call that person a “Uriah Heep”.

24. __ terrier: Highlands hunter CAIRN
The Cairn Terrier breed of dog originated in the Highlands of Scotland. The breed is named for the original task given to the dog,rooting out rats and other rodents from man-made piles of stones called cairns.

30. La Brea goo TAR
The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirsts. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

31. *Old TV title shown in a heart I LOVE LUCY
In the hit television show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The Ricardos’ best friends were also their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Mertz’s were played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.

33. Newscaster Lindström PIA
Pia Lindström is a retired television journalist who was born in Sweden, but who lived most of her life in the US. Lindström is the oldest child of actress Ingrid Bergman.

34. Capital SSW of Riyadh SANA’A
Sana (also Sana’a) is the capital city of Yemen. Within the bounds of today’s metropolis is the old fortified city of Sana where people have lived for over 2,500 years. The Old City is now a World Heritage Site.

Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is located near the center of the country. The name “Riyadh” translates from Arabic as ‘the gardens”.

40. Pumpkin pie spice NUTMEG
The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

49. Tierney of “ER” MAURA
Maura Tierney is an actress from Boston, Massachusetts. Tierney is best known for playing Lisa Miller on television’s “NewsRadio” and Abby Lockhart on “ER”.

You know, I’ve never seen “ER”. The most famous doctor in the TV show was Dr. Doug Ross played by George Clooney, the role that really gave Clooney his big break.

50. Drives the getaway car for ABETS
The word “abet” came into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (“abeter” 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.

53. Vegas hotel with a Sphinx re-creation LUXOR
The Luxor is the hotel and casino in Las Vegas that is shaped like a black pyramid. The hotel is named for the city of Luxor in Egypt, which is the site of the ancient city of Thebes. One of the features of the building is the Luxor Sky Beam, the intense beam of light that projects upwards from the top of the pyramid at night time. The Luxor Sky Beam is the strongest beam of light in the world.

54. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia ELENA
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg serves on the US Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to join the Court, nominated by President Bill Clinton. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During that time she did not miss one day on the bench. In 2009 Justice Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, and was back to work 12 days later.

Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic justice on the US Supreme Court, and the third female justice. Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama to replaced the retiring Justice David Souter.

55. New Hampshire city KEENE
The New Hampshire city of Keene was named in 1753 after Sir Benjamin Keene who was the British Ambassador to Spain at the time.

56. Nine: Pref. ENNEA-
“Ennead” is the Greek word for “the nine”.

59. Village People classic YMCA
“YMCA” was released by Village People and has been adopted as an anthem by the gay community. The song was written by Victor Willis, a straight member of the mostly gay band, and he clarifies that the lyrics are extolling the virtues of the “YMCA” as a source of recreation for black urban youth. I think he might have been winking when he said that …

Village People is a disco group formed in New York City in 1977. From day one, the band’s act and music was aimed at the gay community. The name refers to New York’s Greenwich Village, which at the time had a large gay population. The group’s members dressed up as characters associated with stereotypical gay culture, including a cop, Native American, GI, construction worker and cowboy. The biggest hits for Village People are “Y.M.C.A.” and “In the Navy”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Kindle add-ons APPS
5. Fight CLASH
10. Rainy day consequence MUD
13. Wool source LLAMA
15. Personal strength FORTE
16. George’s songwriting partner IRA
17. *Slow-to-develop sort LATE BLOOMER
19. Cover LID
20. Work in which Iago is a baritone OTELLO
21. Spot for a Hindu’s tilak FOREHEAD
23. *Precursor to adoption, often FOSTER CARE
25. Like an unswept fireplace ASHY
26. “Ring Cycle” goddess ERDA
27. Skip over OMIT
29. Hubbub STIR
32. Gloss targets LIPS
35. Maui howdy ALOHA
38. Amigo PAL
39. Pound spenders SYRIANS
41. Postal motto word NOR
42. Coffee shop feature AROMA
44. Half a sci-fi sign-off NANU
45. Yard parts FEET
46. Star in Lyra VEGA
48. Sphere opening ATMO-
50. Gray __ AREA
52. *Bargain hunter’s destination FLEA MARKET
58. All one can stomach BELLYFUL
60. Northwest college town where “Animal House” was filmed EUGENE
61. Big bird EMU
62. Salad choice, and a literal description of the starts of the answers to starred clues MIXED GREENS
64. Twitch TIC
65. Witch CRONE
66. Where many tennis winners are hit AT NET
67. Farm structure STY
68. Father of Moses AMRAM
69. Word after high or open SEAS

Down
1. “__ the Lights”: Kanye West song ALL OF
2. First philosopher to mention Atlantis PLATO
3. Gourmet spreads PATES
4. Ore refinery SMELTER
5. Fiscal VIP CFO
6. Bubble bath accessory LOOFA
7. Hard wear? ARMOR
8. Music provider STEREO
9. On hand HERE
10. *21st birthday, e.g. MILESTONE
11. Hater of David, in Dickens URIAH
12. Pops DADDY
14. More qualified ABLER
18. Imperious LORDLY
22. Flag down HAIL
24. __ terrier: Highlands hunter CAIRN
28. More, in Madrid MAS
29. Relaxing getaway SPA
30. La Brea goo TAR
31. *Old TV title shown in a heart I LOVE LUCY
33. Newscaster Lindström PIA
34. Capital SSW of Riyadh SANA’A
36. Weeder’s tool HOE
37. Busts, perhaps ART
39. Lose tensile strength SAG
40. Pumpkin pie spice NUTMEG
43. __ ticket MEAL
45. Evolves beyond forgiveness FORGETS
47. Maintain as true AFFIRM
49. Tierney of “ER” MAURA
50. Drives the getaway car for ABETS
51. Mail payment REMIT
53. Vegas hotel with a Sphinx re-creation LUXOR
54. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia ELENA
55. New Hampshire city KEENE
56. Nine: Pref. ENNEA-
57. Lab work TESTS
59. Village People classic YMCA
63. Rep.’s rival DEM

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