LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Jan 14, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: David Poole
THEME: 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 … we have an numerical sequence at the start of today’s themed answers, and each of those answers is a film title:

20A. 2002 Sandra Bullock film TWO WEEKS NOTICE (2)
24A. 1981 Alan Alda film, with “The” FOUR SEASONS (2 x 2 = 4)
45A. 1988 John Cusack film EIGHT MEN OUT (2 x 2 x 2 = 8)
54A. 1984 Molly Ringwald film SIXTEEN CANDLES (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 04m 53s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Scale units: Abbr. LBS
The unit of mass that we know today as a “pound” is descended from the old Roman unit of weight known as a “libra”. That “libra” connection is why we abbreviate pound to “lb”. The name “pound” though comes from the Latin “pondo” meaning “weight”.

9. Jazz singer Carmen MCRAE
Carmen McRae was a jazz singer from Harlem in New York City. McRae’s inspiration was singer Billie Holiday, whom McRae met when she was 17 years old.

14. Pop-up path ARC
In a baseball game, a pop-up arcs across the infield.

15. Gold purity unit KARAT
A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

19. Some IRAs, informally ROTHS
Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.

20. 2002 Sandra Bullock film TWO WEEKS NOTICE
“Two Weeks Notice” is a fun romantic comedy released in 2002 starring two giants of the “rom-com” genre: Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. The Bullock character gives two weeks notice to the billionaire Grant character, and hilarity ensues.

23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker TRIS
Tris Speaker was a Major League Baseball player, the holder of the record for the most doubles hit in a career. He led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series championships, in 1912 and 1915.

24. 1981 Alan Alda film, with “The” FOUR SEASONS
“The Four Seasons” is a 1981 romantic comedy that was written and directed by, and stars Alan Alda. The film features three married couples who routinely take vacations together in each of the four seasons.

37. TV host Philbin REGIS
Regis Philbin is an amazingly popular television personality. Philbin is in such high demand and has had such a long career, that he holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera (in excess of 16,000 hours).

41. They’re the littlest in their litters RUNTS
Back around 1500. a runt was an old or decayed tree stump, and by the early 1600s “runt” was being used to describe animals that were similarly old and decayed. Ultimately “runt” came to mean the smallest and often sickest in a litter.

43. Peter and Paul, but not Mary APOSTLES
In the Christian tradition, Saint Peter is often depicted as the keeper of the gates of heaven. This depiction arises from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew:

I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

According to the Bible, Saint Paul was an apostle, although he was not one of the original Twelve Apostles. Paul is said to have written 14 of the 27 books in the Christian New Testament.

Peter, Paul and Mary were a trio of folk singers who got together in 1961. The group’s members were Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Peter, Paul and Mary’s big hit was 1963’s “Puff, the Magic Dragon”.

45. 1988 John Cusack film EIGHT MEN OUT
In the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, eight Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the World Series for financial gain. The tale is told in “Eight Men Out”, a movie released in 1988 based on the book “8 Men Out” written by Eliot Asinof and published in 1963.

John Cusack is an actor from Evanston, Illinois. John is noted for appearing in several films with his equally-talented actress sister, Joan Cusack. I think the John Cusack film that I most enjoy is 1997’s “Grosse Pointe Blank”.

54. 1984 Molly Ringwald film SIXTEEN CANDLES
“Sixteen Candles” is a 1984 John Hughes film starring Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall. Ringwald plays a girl whose family has forgotten her 16th birthday in the fuss leading up to her older sister’s wedding that is set for the following day.

Molly Ringwald is an actress who was one of the “Brat Pack”, the group of young actors who often appeared together in the 1980s in coming-of-age movies. Ringwald was a core member of the group, having starred in three John Hughes films: “Sixteen Candles” (1984), “The Breakfast Club” (1985) and “Pretty in Pink” (1986).

59. Former Portuguese colony in China MACAU
Macau (also Macao) was a Portuguese colony, the first European colony in China, which was established in the 16th century. Macau was handed back to the Chinese in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was returned by the British. That made Macau the last European colony in China. Today Macau’s economy is driven by tourism and gambling.

64. Sharon of “Cagney & Lacey” GLESS
On the eighties police drama “Cagney & Lacey” Christine Cagney was played by Sharon Gless. A few years after “Cagney & Lacey” ended its run, Gless married the show’s executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig.

65. Toys that have their ups and downs YO-YOS
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
1. “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner Christine LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.

2. “Peanuts” family name BROWN
The characters in the cartoon series “Peanuts” were largely drawn from Charles Schultz’s own life, with shy and withdrawn Charlie Brown representing Schultz himself.

3. New England food fish SCROD
Scrod is the name given to fish that has been “scrawed” i.e. split open, dried and then broiled.

4. “Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses” painter Georgia O’KEEFFE
Georgia O’Keeffe was an influential American artist, one who led the introduction of American art into Europe. Famously, she was married to photographer Alfred Stieglitz who helped develop her career in the early days. Georgia O’Keeffe’s last home was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she had done a lot of her work during her lifetime. She died there in 1986, at the ripe old age of 98. One of her most famous paintings is from 1926, called “Black Iris III”.

6. “CHiPS” star Estrada ERIK
Erik Estrada got his big break in the movie “Airport 1975”, before playing motorcycle police officer Poncherello on the television show “CHiPs” from 1977-81.

8. Angioplasty implants STENTS
Angioplasty is a mechanical widening of a narrowed artery. In the surgical procedure, a balloon catheter is inflated at the point of the obstruction to open up the artery. A stent may then be inserted to make sure the vessel remains open.

9. Word before arts or law MARTIAL
“Martial arts” are various fighting traditions and systems used in combat or simply to promote physical well-being. The term ultimately derives from Latin and means “Arts of Mars”, a reference to Mars, the Roman god of war.

Martial law is military rule imposed usually as a temporary measure when civilian rules appears to be failing. The imposition of martial law often involves curfews, suspension of civil rights and the use of military justice.

10. Buttery bakery buy CROISSANT
Although similar pastries have been around since the 13th century, the croissant was introduced in a Viennese bakery in Paris in 1839. The pastry was named for its shape, as “croissant” is French for “crescent”.

11. Campus recruiting org. ROTC
The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program for officers based in colleges all around the US. The ROTC program was established in 1862 when as a condition of receiving a land-grant to create colleges, the federal government required that military tactics be part of a new school’s curriculum.

12. Arthur of tennis ASHE
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

13. Some MIT grads EES
Some Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduates are electrical engineers (EEs).

18. Stockholm’s country: Abbr. SWE
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and most populous city in the country. Over one fifth of all Swedish residents live in Stockholm.

25. Sculling blade OAR
A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”.

26. Beehive State native UTE
The Ute is a group of Native American tribes that now resides in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.

When Mormon pioneers were settling what is today the state of Utah, they referred to the area as Deseret, a word that means “beehive” according to the Book of Mormon. Today Utah is known as the Beehive State and there is a beehive symbol on the Utah state flag.

27. Lear’s middle daughter REGAN
In William Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, Regan is the king’s second daughter. Regan vies with her older sister for influence over her father, and for the attentions of Edmund, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester.

Shakespeare was inspired to write his famous drama “King Lear” by the legend of “Leir of Britain”, the story of a mythological Celtic king.

28. Iridescent gem OPAL
Something that is iridescent like an opal (i.e. opaline), has a lot of lustrous colors. “Iridescent” comes from the Latin word “iris” (“iridis” in the genitive case), the word for “rainbow”.

38. Wall St. event IPO
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

39. Trifling amount SOU
A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “an almost worthless amount”.

42. Easter Island attractions STATUES
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for what we are more likely to call Easter Island. The European name was coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who came across the island on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. Easter Island is inhabited, and is a location that is remarkably distant from neighboring civilization. The nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, almost 1300 miles away.

46. G.I. ration MRE
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

47. E, in Einstein’s formula ENERGY
In Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=mc², “E” stands for energy, “m” stands for mass, and “c” stands for the speed of light.

50. Banned bug spray DDT
DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (don’t forget now!). DDT was used with great success to control disease-carrying insects during WWII, and when made available for use after the war it became by far the most popular pesticide. And then Rachel Carson published her famous book “Silent Spring”, suggesting there was a link between DDT and diminishing populations of certain wildlife. It was the public outcry sparked by the book, and reports of links between DDT and cancer, that led to the ban on the use of the chemical in 1972. That ban is touted as the main reason that the bald eagle was rescued from near extinction.

52. Salami selection GENOA
Salame (note the “e” at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.

53. Fragrant compound ESTER
Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol.

54. Political satirist Mort SAHL
Mort Sahl is a Canadian-born actor and comedian who moved to the US with his family when he was a child. Sahl became friends with John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy became president, Sahl wrote a lot of jokes for the President’s speeches, although he also told a lot of Kennedy jokes in his acts. After the President was assassinated in 1963, Sahl was intensely interested in finding out who was behind the crime and even got himself deputized as a member of one of the investigating teams. He was very outspoken against the results of the Warren Commission report on the assassination, and soon found himself out of favor with the public. It took a few years for him to make his comeback, but come back he did.

55. Slurpee alternative ICEE
Icee and Slurpee are brand names of those slushy drinks. Ugh …

56. Fiddling emperor NERO
The Great Fire of Rome raged for five and a half days in 64 AD. Of the fourteen districts of Rome, three were completely destroyed and seven more suffered serious damage. The emperor at the time was of course Nero, although reports that he fiddled, played his lyre or sang while the city burned; those accounts are probably not true. In fact, Nero was staying outside of Rome when the fire started and rushed home on hearing the news. He organized a massive relief effort, throwing open his own home to give shelter to many of the citizens who were left living on the street.

58. Coupe or convertible AUTO
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”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Scale units: Abbr. LBS
4. Does as told OBEYS
9. Jazz singer Carmen MCRAE
14. Pop-up path ARC
15. Gold purity unit KARAT
16. Greeted the day AROSE
17. Resembling an equine HORSE-LIKE
19. Some IRAs, informally ROTHS
20. 2002 Sandra Bullock film TWO WEEKS NOTICE
22. Like the articles “a” and “an”: Abbr. INDEF
23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker TRIS
24. 1981 Alan Alda film, with “The” FOUR SEASONS
31. Spread throughout PERMEATE
35. Enjoy eagerly LAP UP
36. Blue hue AQUA
37. TV host Philbin REGIS
40. Zip NADA
41. They’re the littlest in their litters RUNTS
43. Peter and Paul, but not Mary APOSTLES
45. 1988 John Cusack film EIGHT MEN OUT
48. Deserve EARN
49. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” e.g. ADAGE
54. 1984 Molly Ringwald film SIXTEEN CANDLES
59. Former Portuguese colony in China MACAU
60. Unwilling RELUCTANT
61. Unifying idea THEME
62. Storm drain cover GRATE
63. Fish eggs ROE
64. Sharon of “Cagney & Lacey” GLESS
65. Toys that have their ups and downs YO-YOS
66. Month after Feb. MAR

Down
1. “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner Christine LAHTI
2. “Peanuts” family name BROWN
3. New England food fish SCROD
4. “Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses” painter Georgia O’KEEFFE
5. Bundle in a barn BALE
6. “CHiPS” star Estrada ERIK
7. Gabs and gabs YAKS
8. Angioplasty implants STENTS
9. Word before arts or law MARTIAL
10. Buttery bakery buy CROISSANT
11. Campus recruiting org. ROTC
12. Arthur of tennis ASHE
13. Some MIT grads EES
18. Stockholm’s country: Abbr. SWE
21. Mined material ORE
25. Sculling blade OAR
26. Beehive State native UTE
27. Lear’s middle daughter REGAN
28. Iridescent gem OPAL
29. Without a thing on NUDE
30. Health resorts SPAS
31. Remove the rind from PARE
32. Kin of iso- EQUI-
33. Hierarchy level RUNG
34. Trig finals, e.g. MATH EXAMS
38. Wall St. event IPO
39. Trifling amount SOU
42. Easter Island attractions STATUES
44. Batting postures STANCES
46. G.I. ration MRE
47. E, in Einstein’s formula ENERGY
50. Banned bug spray DDT
51. Clock radio feature ALARM
52. Salami selection GENOA
53. Fragrant compound ESTER
54. Political satirist Mort SAHL
55. Slurpee alternative ICEE
56. Fiddling emperor NERO
57. Potter’s purchase CLAY
58. Coupe or convertible AUTO
59. Appt. calendar entry MTG

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