LA Times Crossword Answers 12 Jan 15, Monday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Marti DuGuay-Carpenter
THEME: Secret Beginnings … each of today’s themed answers starts with a word that often follows SECRET:

58A. “Shh! Don’t tell!” and hint to what can precede the starts of 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across IT’S A SECRET!

18A. Grand Prix series designation FORMULA ONE (giving “secret formula”)
23A. Controversial Vietnam War defoliant AGENT ORANGE (giving “secret agent”)
37A. Avon or Fuller Brush work, e.g. DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES (giving “secret door”)
52A. What Al Capone led LIFE OF CRIME (giving “secret life”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 9s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

9. Japanese poem with 17 syllables HAIKU
A haiku is a very elegant form of Japanese verse. When writing a haiku in English we tend to impose the rule that the verse must contain 17 syllables. This restriction comes from the rule in Japanese that the verse must contain 17 sound units called “moras”, but moras and syllables aren’t the same thing. What the difference is though, is not so clear to me. Here’s an example of a Haiku:
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator

16. Caravan stop OASIS
“Caravan” derives from the Persian “karwan”, a word for a group of desert travelers. Over in the British Isles, “caravan” is the name we give to travel trailers.

17. ’50s-’60s Ramblers, briefly AMCS
The Rambler automobile was produced from 1950-69, and was known as the “Kenosha Cadillac” after the location of its manufacture in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

18. Grand Prix series designation FORMULA ONE (giving “secret formula”)
In motor racing, the designation “formula” is a set of rules that all participants and cars must abide by. The definition of “Formula One” was agreed back in 1946, with the “one” designating that it is the most advanced of the “formulae”, and the most competitive.

Even though the term is used in many competitions, I think that we most associate “Grand Prix” with the series of Formula One motor races. These Formula One Grand Prix races trace their roots back to organized automobile road races from one French town to the next that date back to 1894. “Grand Prix” translates from French as “grand, big prize.”

23. Controversial Vietnam War defoliant AGENT ORANGE (giving “secret agent”)
Agent Orange is a defoliant used by the US Military as a chemical weapon, particularly during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is a mixture of two herbicides, and one of these herbicides was shown to be contaminated with an extremely toxic dioxin compound that has been linked to various forms of cancer and birth defects. The name “Agent Orange” arose as the chemical was shipped into the field in 55-gallon barrels with an identifying orange stripe.

26. Onetime Leno announcer Hall EDD
Edd Hall is most famous as the former announcer for Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”. Hall replaced Ed McMahon when Johnny Carson retired from the show.

29. Salt, in France SEL
One might put salt (sel) on one’s french-fries (pommes frites) in France.

33. Serving at Popeyes BREAST
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is a chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in fried chicken. The first Popeyes restaurant was opened in 1972 in a suburb of New Orleans, and was known as “Chicken on the Run”. The name of the chain was changed to Popeyes, originally a reference to Popeye Doyle, the lead character in the movie “The French Connection”. Since then, the company has purchased the right to use the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor in its marketing efforts. By the way, the correct spelling of the restaurant name is “Popeyes”. The owner claims that he was too poor to afford an apostrophe.

37. Avon or Fuller Brush work, e.g. DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES (giving “secret door”)
In 1886, a young man called David McConnell was selling books door-to-door. To enhance his sales numbers he was giving out free perfume to the ladies of the houses that he visited. Seeing as his perfume was more popular than his books, he founded the California Perfume Company in New York City and started manufacturing and selling across the country. The company name was changed to Avon in 1939, and the famous “Avon Calling” marketing campaign was launched in 1954.

The Fuller Brush Company was founded in 1906 in Hartford,Connecticut by Alfred C. Fuller. All of Fuller’s sales were generated door-to-door, right up until 1985.

43. Country bumpkins YOKELS
“Bumpkin” is really a not so nice term for someone from a rural area. The term has an even less nice derivation. It comes from from the Middle Dutch “bommekijn” meaning “little barrel”. “Bumpkin” was used as a derogatory term for Dutch people, who were regarded as short and plump.

48. Little white lie FIB
To “fib” is to “to tell a lie”. The term likely comes from “fibble-fable” meaning “nonsense”, itself derived from “fable”.

52. What Al Capone led LIFE OF CRIME (giving “secret life”)
The Chicago gangster Al Capone was eventually jailed for tax evasion. He was given a record 11-year sentence in federal prison, of which he served 8 years. He left prison suffering dementia caused by late-stage syphilis. Capone suffered through 7-8 sickly years before passing away in 1947.

57. “MASH” setting KOREA
“M*A*S*H” has only three stars (three asterisks, that is!). These asterisks first appeared on the poster for the 1970 movie, but they were omitted in the opening titles. The TV series went on to use the asterisks from the poster.

64. Dance in a line CONGA
The conga line is a dance that originated as a Cuban carnival march. It became popular in the US starting in the thirties. The dance is apparently named after the Congo region of Africa, and it was originated by slaves who were brought from there to Cuba.

65. Actress Garr TERI
The lovely Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr’s big break came with the role of Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and her supporting role in “Tootsie” earned Garr an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

66. Autobahn auto AUDI
The Audi name has an interesting history. The Horch company was founded by August Horch in 1909. Early in the life of the new company, Horch was forced out of his own business. He set up a new enterprise and continued to use his own name as a brand. The old company sued him for using the Horch name so a meeting was held to choose something new. Horch’s young son was studying Latin in the room where the meeting was taking place. He pointed out that “Horch” was German for “hear” and he suggested “Audi” as a replacement, the Latin for “listen”.

Down
1. White House family OBAMAS
By tradition, the Secret Service code names used for the US President and family all start with the same letter. For the current First Family, that letter is R:

– Barack Obama: Renegade
– Michelle Obama: Renaissance
– Malia Obama: Radiance
– Sasha Obama: Rosebud

3. Coin with a buffalo, once NICKEL
The Buffalo nickel is also called the Indian head nickel, and was minted from 1913 to 1938. The coin is so called because the obverse bears the profile of a Native American male, and the reverse an image of an American bison.

4. Designer Mary-Kate or Ashley OLSEN
I know very little about the Olsen twins, but I am told that folks believe Mary-Kate and Ashley to be identical twins. They look very much alike, but are in fact fraternal twins. The sisters were cast as Michelle Tanner on the eighties sitcom “Full House”, taking turns playing the role.

5. Klutzy fellow OAF
A “klutz” is an awkward individual, and the term comes from Yiddish. The Yiddish word for a clumsy person is “klots”.

6. U.N. worker protection gp. ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

7. Doone of Exmoor LORNA
The novel “Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor” was written by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. R. D. Blackmore was an English novelist, very celebrated and in demand in his day (the late 1800s). His romantic story “Lorna Doone” was by no means a personal favorite of his, and yet it is the only one of his works still in print.

Exmoor is a moorland area in South West England that takes its name from the River Exe.

8. Red Sea republic YEMEN
Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, lying just south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman. Yemen is the only state on the peninsula that is a republic (its official name is the Republic of Yemen). Everyone over the age of 18 gets to vote, but only Muslims can hold elected office.

9. “Texas” poker variety HOLD ‘EM
The official birthplace of the incredibly popular poker game of Texas Hold ‘Em is Robstown, Texas where the game dates back to the early 1900s. The game was introduced into Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan enthusiasts including Doyle Brunson, a champion often seen playing on TV today. Doyle Brunson published a poker strategy guide in 1978, and this really helped increase the popularity of the game. But it was the inclusion of Texas Hold ‘Em in the television line-up that really gave the game its explosive surge in popularity, with the size of the prize money just skyrocketing.

11. Prefix with metric ISO-
The word “isometric” comes from Greek, and means “having equal measurement”. Isometric exercise is a resistance exercise in which the muscle does not change in length (and the joint angle stays the same). The alternative would be dynamic exercises, ones using the joint’s full range of motion.

12. Kith and __ KIN
The word “kith” describes friends and acquaintances, and is used used in the phrase “kith and kin” meaning “friends and family”. “Kith” comes from an Old English word meaning “native country, home”, as the expression “kith and kin” was used originally to mean “country and kinsmen”.

24. Sandwich cookie OREO
How the Oreo cookie came to get its name seems to have been lost in the mists of time. One theory is that it comes from the French “or” meaning “gold”, a reference to the gold color of the original packing. Another suggestion is that the name is the Greek word “oreo” meaning “beautiful, nice, well-done”.

26. Airline with famously tight security EL AL
El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies” or “skyward”.

33. The “B” in TV’s former The WB network BROS
The WB Television Network was launched in 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and Tribune Broadcasting. The WB (for “Warner Bros.”) was shut down in 2006 and replaced by the CW (for “CBS” and “Warner Bros.”).

35. Target city for Godzilla TOKYO
Godzilla is a Japanese creation. The first in a very long series of films was released way back in 1954. The original name in Japanese was “Gojira”, but this was changed to Godzilla for audiences outside of Japan. “Gojira” is a combination of “gorira” and “kujira”, the Japanese words for gorilla and whale, apt because Godzilla is a big ape-like creature that came out of the deep.

37. Tyne of “Judging Amy” DALY
The actress Tyne Daly really came into the public eye playing Detective Lacey in “Cagney and Lacey”. From 1999 to 2005, Daly played the mother of the title character in the TV show “Judging Amy”.

38. Margarine OLEO
Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France announced a competition to develop a substitute for butter, a substitute that would be more accessible to the lower classes and more practical for the armed forces. In 1869, a French chemist called Hippolyte Mege-Mouries came up with something that he called oleomargarine, which was eventually manufactured under the trade name “margarine”. The name “oleomargarine” also gives us our generic term “oleo”.

39. __ buco: veal dish OSSO
“Osso” is the Italian word for “bone”, as in the name of the dish Osso Buco: braised veal shanks.

40. Scuba diving area REEF
The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

49. Marcos with a shoe collection IMELDA
Imelda Marcos is the widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, and is a former politician in her own right. Imelda fled the Philippines with her husband and family in 1986, ending up in exile in Hawaii. She was allowed to return in 1991, and set up residence in an apartment block in Manila. One of my personal claims to fame is that I lived for two years in an apartment block right next door to Imelda Marcos when I lived in Manila …

54. “Snowy” wader EGRET
The Snowy Egret is a small white heron, native to the Americas. At one time the egret species was in danger of extinction due to hunting driven by the demand for plumes for women’s hats.

55. Sauce tomatoes ROMAS
The Roma tomato isn’t considered to be an heirloom variety, but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

56. “Othello” conspirator IAGO
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 …

58. Here, in Le Havre ICI
Le Havre is a city on the mouth of the river Seine on the northwest coast of France. The city’s name translates as “the haven”.

60. NBC late-night comedy hit SNL
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL)

62. Tiny Dickens boy TIM
Tiny Tim is the nickname of Timothy Cratchit, the little disabled boy in the Charles Dickens novella “A Christmas Carol”. “A Christmas Carol” is such a popular book that it has not been out of print since its first publication in December 1843.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Say it isn’t so!” OH NO!
5. Slick OILY
9. Japanese poem with 17 syllables HAIKU
14. More than simmer BOIL
15. Natural skin soother ALOE
16. Caravan stop OASIS
17. ’50s-’60s Ramblers, briefly AMCS
18. Grand Prix series designation FORMULA ONE (giving “secret formula”)
20. Brings in, as salary MAKES
22. Geeky types NERDS
23. Controversial Vietnam War defoliant AGENT ORANGE (giving “secret agent”)
26. Onetime Leno announcer Hall EDD
29. Salt, in France SEL
30. “__ we there yet?” ARE
31. Add to the staff EMPLOY
33. Serving at Popeyes BREAST
36. Gutter site EAVE
37. Avon or Fuller Brush work, e.g. DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES (giving “secret door”)
42. Too ALSO
43. Country bumpkins YOKELS
44. “I hope you’ve learned your __!” LESSON
47. Pro vote YEA
48. Little white lie FIB
51. “__-hoo! Over here!” YOO
52. What Al Capone led LIFE OF CRIME (giving “secret life”)
56. Collar attachment for Spot ID TAG
57. “MASH” setting KOREA
58. “Shh! Don’t tell!” and hint to what can precede the starts of 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across IT’S A SECRET!
63. Cheesy sandwich MELT
64. Dance in a line CONGA
65. Actress Garr TERI
66. Autobahn auto AUDI
67. Like a truck climbing a steep hill IN LOW
68. Flower part STEM
69. Tiff SPAT

Down
1. White House family OBAMAS
2. Respect that’s “paid” HOMAGE
3. Coin with a buffalo, once NICKEL
4. Designer Mary-Kate or Ashley OLSEN
5. Klutzy fellow OAF
6. U.N. worker protection gp. ILO
7. Doone of Exmoor LORNA
8. Red Sea republic YEMEN
9. “Texas” poker variety HOLD ‘EM
10. Very small batteries AAAS
11. Prefix with metric ISO-
12. Kith and __ KIN
13. Exploit USE
19. Hankering URGE
21. Button that gets things going START
24. Sandwich cookie OREO
25. Raring to go READY
26. Airline with famously tight security EL AL
27. Symbol of peace DOVE
28. Hair colorings DYES
32. Vegetables in pods PEAS
33. The “B” in TV’s former The WB network BROS
34. “Your point being …?” SOO …?
35. Target city for Godzilla TOKYO
37. Tyne of “Judging Amy” DALY
38. Margarine OLEO
39. __ buco: veal dish OSSO
40. Scuba diving area REEF
41. Not tight SLACK
45. Familiar adage OLD SAW
46. Evening, in ads NITE
48. Inflame with enthusiasm FIRE UP
49. Marcos with a shoe collection IMELDA
50. “Take a hike!” BEAT IT!
53. Verifiable findings FACTS
54. “Snowy” wader EGRET
55. Sauce tomatoes ROMAS
56. “Othello” conspirator IAGO
58. Here, in Le Havre ICI
59. Truck weight unit TON
60. NBC late-night comedy hit SNL
61. Before, in poetry ERE
62. Tiny Dickens boy TIM

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