LA Times Crossword Answers 5 Jan 15, Monday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Forbidden Planet … we are living on a planet today full of things that are FORBIDDEN. Each of the words at the end of the themed answers is often seen after the word FORBIDDEN:

65A. Groundbreaking 1956 sci-fi film … or where you might find the ends of 17-, 27- and 49-Across? FORBIDDEN PLANET

17A. Easy orchard pickings LOW-HANGING FRUIT (giving “forbidden fruit”)
27A. Bankrupt Best Buy competitor CIRCUIT CITY (giving “Forbidden City”)
49A. Best-selling 2006 memoir subtitled “One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia” EAT, PRAY, LOVE (giving “forbidden love”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 4m 46s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

9. Cola choice PEPSI
The Pepsi-Cola formulation was developed by one Caleb Bradham who made the drink at home and sold it as “Brad’s Drink”. Bradham’s aim was to provide a drink that was pleasant to taste, that would aid digestion and boost energy. Included in the formula were pepsin (a digestive enzyme) and kola nuts. These two ingredients inspired the brand name we use today: Pepsi-Cola.

17. Easy orchard pickings LOW-HANGING FRUIT (giving “forbidden fruit”)
Something described as “forbidden fruit” is an unlawful pleasure. The phrase is a reference to the fruit of the tree of knowledge that Adam and Even tasted in the Garden of Eden.

In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, against the bidding of God. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.

27. Bankrupt Best Buy competitor CIRCUIT CITY (giving “Forbidden City”)
Circuit City introduced the first real electronics superstore in the seventies, although the company had been doing business since 1949. Circuit City started out as Wards, in Richmond Virginia. The company went bankrupt in 2009.

Best Buy is a retailer specializing in the supply of consumer electronics. Best Buy services include the famous “Geek Squad”, a band of technical experts that will help solve your computer and other consumer electronic problems.

Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name “Lhasa” translates as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”. Lhasa was also once called the “Forbidden City” due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The “forbidden” nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa.

36. Small Chevy model AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.

40. “__ That Tune”: classic game show NAME
“Name That Tune” is a TV game show that actually started out on radio, in 1952. The show was most popular in the mid-to-late seventies.

43. Full-grown filly MARE
There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

– Foal: horse of either sex that is less that one year old
– Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
– Filly: female horse under the age of four
– Colt: male horse under the age of four
– Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
– Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
– Mare: female horse four years or older

48. “Platoon” war zone NAM
“Platoon” is a 1986 movie, written and directed by Oliver Stone. The storyline comes out of Stone’s own experiences in Vietnam as an infantryman. It is gritty stuff, and is Stone’s response to the more “glamorous” movie “Green Berets” starring John Wayne. And that famous piece of classical music included the soundtrack is “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber.

49. Best-selling 2006 memoir subtitled “One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia” EAT, PRAY, LOVE (giving “forbidden love”)
“Eat, Pray, Love” is a 2006 memoir by novelist Elizabeth Gilbert. “Eat, Pray, Love” is a huge bestseller that got a boost with the release of a 2010 screen adaptation starring Julia Roberts. The memoir covers a year in Gilbert’s life after her divorce during which she travels the world. She spent time in Italy (eating), in India (praying) and in Indonesia (falling in love). Gilbert wrote a 2010 sequel called “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage”.

55. Stand watch for, say ABET
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.

57. Lira replacement EURO
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

65. Groundbreaking 1956 sci-fi film … or where you might find the ends of 17-, 27- and 49-Across? FORBIDDEN PLANET
“Forbidden Planet” is a 1956 sci-fi movie starring Walter Pidgeon that bears some resemblance to William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”. “Forbidden Planet” is notable for several reasons, including the fact that it was the first film showing humans traveling in a starship, the first set entirely on another planet. It was also the first film to feature a robot that had a personality. That’s Robby the Robot.

68. Caesar or Brutus ROMAN
The most famous Roman known as “Caesar” was Gaius Julius Caesar, the dictator usually referred to as Julius Caesar. It was Julius Caesar’s actions and assassination that ushered in the end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire. The name Gaius Julius Caesar was also used by the dictator’s father, and indeed his grandfather.

The most famous man with the name “Brutus” in Ancient Rome was Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger. It was this Brutus that Julius Caesar turned to when he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate. William Shakespeare immortalized Brutus by featuring him in his play, “Julius Caesar”, and giving his victim the line “Et tu, Brute?”

Down
1. Animal’s hide PELT
The “pelt” is the skin of a furry animal.

3. New Zealand bird KIWI
The kiwi is an unusual bird in that it has a highly developed sense of smell and is the only one of our feathered friends with nostrils located at the tip of its long beak.

4. One of two directing brothers ETHAN COEN
I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the lovely Frances McDormand.

7. The “E” in HOMES ERIE
A famous mnemonic for remembering the names of the Great Lakes is HOMES: standing for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

8. Comic Carvey DANA
Dana Carvey, along with the likes of Phil Hartman and Kevin Nealon, was part of the new breed of “Saturday Night Live” comedians credited with resurrecting the show in the late eighties. One of Carvey’s most popular characters was the Church Lady, and he became so associated with her that among fellow cast members Carvey was often referred to simply as “the Lady”. Carvey had open-heart surgery in 1997 to clear a blocked artery, but the surgical team operated on the wrong blood vessel. To recover, he had to have five more procedures. He ended up suing for medical malpractice and donated his $7.5 million compensation payment to charity.

9. Adobe document suffix PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

11. Spaghetti sauce ingredient PLUM TOMATO
The term “spaghetti” is a plural diminutive form of the Italian word “spago”, which means “thin string, twine”.

18. Felipe of baseball ALOU
Felipe Alou is a former professional baseball player and manager. Alou managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001, and the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2006. Alou was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to the US to play for the Giants in 1955. Felipe’s brothers Matty and Jesús followed him to the US, and into Major League baseball.

19. “True __”: Wayne film GRIT
The classic 1969 western movie “True Grit” starring John Wayne is a screen adaptation of a 1968 novel by Henry Hathaway. The Coen brothers made another big screen adaption of the novel in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges in the Rooster Cogburn role previously played by John Wayne.

26. Athletic center GYM
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed.

27. Popular Pachelbel work CANON
Johann Pachelbel was a composer from Germany active in the Baroque Era. Pachelbel’s music was very popular during his own lifetime, and today his best-known work is his “Canon in D”. which has become one of the most popular choices during modern wedding ceremonies.

28. The first Mrs. Trump IVANA
Ivana Winklmayr was born in Czechoslovakia. Winklmayr was an excellent skier, and was named as an alternate for the 1982 Czech Olympic Team. She was promoting the Montreal Olympics in New York in 1976 when she met Donald Trump. Ivana and Donald’s marriage was very public and well-covered by the media, but not nearly so well as their very litigious divorce in 1990.

30. Futurist’s deck TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future.

34. Big name in Russian ballet KIROV
The Mariinsky Ballet is a company based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in the mid-1700s as the Imperial Russian Ballet, but was renamed to the Kirov Ballet during the Soviet era, in honor of the Bolshevik revolutionary Sergey Kirov. The Kirov was renamed again at the end of communist rule, taking the name of the Mariinsky Theatre where the company was headquartered. The theatre was named for Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who was the wife of Tsar Alexander II.

55. Jackson 5 hair style AFRO
The Jackson 5 singing group was originally made up of brothers Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael.

56. __ tube: TV BOOB
“Idiot box” and “boob tube” are nicknames for television.

58. Japanese noodle UDON
Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisine like tempura.

60. Snake eyes pair ONES
“Snake eyes” is the slang term for a roll of two dice in which one pip turns up on each die.

62. Soon, to a bard ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once” and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon” apparently just because the word was misused over time.

63. Supermarket section DELI
The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Jab POKE
5. Ran, as dye BLED
9. Cola choice PEPSI
14. Work with words EDIT
15. Pervasive glow AURA
16. Secluded valleys DELLS
17. Easy orchard pickings LOW-HANGING FRUIT (giving “forbidden fruit”)
20. Test run TRIAL
21. Char SEAR
22. Little tricksters IMPS
23. “Fat chance!” NOT!
25. “__ the picture” I GET
27. Bankrupt Best Buy competitor CIRCUIT CITY (giving “Forbidden City”)
33. Approves OKS
36. Small Chevy model AVEO
37. Deserve EARN
38. Copy in fun MIMIC
40. “__ That Tune”: classic game show NAME
41. Mild oaths DRATS
43. Full-grown filly MARE
44. Without a break ON END
46. Sign that might bode ill OMEN
47. Heavy amount, as of homework A TON
48. “Platoon” war zone NAM
49. Best-selling 2006 memoir subtitled “One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia” EAT, PRAY, LOVE (giving “forbidden love”)
52. Gunshot sound BANG
54. Toothpaste option GEL
55. Stand watch for, say ABET
57. Lira replacement EURO
61. Is in first place LEADS
65. Groundbreaking 1956 sci-fi film … or where you might find the ends of 17-, 27- and 49-Across? FORBIDDEN PLANET
68. Caesar or Brutus ROMAN
69. Dedicated poems ODES
70. Part in a play ROLE
71. Follows orders OBEYS
72. Overly inquisitive NOSY
73. Barbershop sound SNIP

Down
1. Animal’s hide PELT
2. Scent ODOR
3. New Zealand bird KIWI
4. One of two directing brothers ETHAN COEN
5. Prohibit BAN
6. Hauls with effort LUGS
7. The “E” in HOMES ERIE
8. Comic Carvey DANA
9. Adobe document suffix PDF
10. Bone-chilling EERIE
11. Spaghetti sauce ingredient PLUM TOMATO
12. Lose one’s footing SLIP
13. Believers: Suff. -ISTS
18. Felipe of baseball ALOU
19. “True __”: Wayne film GRIT
24. In a dead heat TIED
26. Athletic center GYM
27. Popular Pachelbel work CANON
28. The first Mrs. Trump IVANA
29. “Isn’t my face familiar?” REMEMBER ME?
30. Futurist’s deck TAROT
31. Calf muscle malady CRAMP
32. Entomb INTER
34. Big name in Russian ballet KIROV
35. Drama division SCENE
39. “Please tell me” I’M ALL EARS
42. Stocking tear SNAG
45. Bear’s home DEN
50. Like much wine and cheese AGED
51. Holler YELL
53. Cornered AT BAY
55. Jackson 5 hair style AFRO
56. __ tube: TV BOOB
58. Japanese noodle UDON
59. Make over REDO
60. Snake eyes pair ONES
62. Soon, to a bard ANON
63. Supermarket section DELI
64. Dance movement STEP
66. __ and outs: particulars INS
67. Aspiring therapist’s maj. PSY

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