LA Times Crossword Answers 7 Apr 15, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: David Poole
THEME: Finished with Education … each of today’s themed answers ends with a verb meaning “to educate”.

17A. Older name for a passenger bus MOTORCOACH
24A. Wedding gown follower BRIDAL TRAIN
34A. Like one resisting innovation OLD-SCHOOL
50A. Pirate Blackbeard’s real name EDWARD TEACH
58A. Hole-making tool POWER DRILL

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 6m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Peru’s __ Picchu MACHU
Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and it can be visited on a mountain ridge in Peru, 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco in the southeast of the country. The name Machu Picchu means “old peak”. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu originates about 50 miles from Cuzco on the Urubamba River in Peru. It can take travelers about 5 days to trek the full length of the trail, passing through many Incan ruins before reaching the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The trail was becoming greatly overused, forcing the Peruvian government to limit the number of people on the trail each day to 500. Book early …

14. Kindle download E-BOOK
I bought myself a Kindle Fire HD not that long ago. I’ve started reading e-books for the first time in my life, as well as enjoying other computing options available with the tablet device. I love it …

15. SeaWorld performer ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

SeaWorld was started in San Diego in 1964. The original plan was build an underwater restaurant with a marine life show. Eventually the founders dropped the idea of the eating establishment and just went with a theme park. SeaWorld has been mired in controversy since the 2013 release of the documentary “Blackfish”, which tells of the involvement of a particular orca (killer whale) in the death of two SeaWorld employees and one SeaWorld visitor.

16. Ellington’s “Take __ Train” THE A
The A Train in the New York City Subway system runs from 207th Street, through Manhattan and over to Far Rockaway in Queens. The service lends its name to a jazz standard “Take the ‘A’ Train”, the signature tune of Duke Ellington and a song much sung by Ella Fitzgerald. One version of the lyrics are:

You must take the A Train
To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem
If you miss the A Train
You’ll find you’ve missed the quickest way to Harlem
Hurry, get on, now, it’s coming
Listen to those rails a-thrumming (All Aboard!)
Get on the A Train
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem.

21. Cape NNW of Cod ANN
Cape Ann is 30 miles north of Boston and is on the northernmost edge of Massachusetts Bay. The Cape was first mapped by the explorer John Smith. Early in his adventurous life Smith had been captured and enslaved by the Ottoman Empire. His “owner” in his days of slavery was a woman called Tragabigzanda, and apparently the slave and owner fell in love. What we know today as Cape Ann, Smith originally called Cape Tragabigzanda in her memory.

22. Saguaros, e.g. CACTI
The saguaro is a beautiful cactus, native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and in Sonora, Mexico. If you are ever near the Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona, I thoroughly recommend a visit.

27. Place in quarantine ISOLATE
The original use of our word “quarantine” back in the 1500s was as a legal term. A quarantine was the 40 days in which a widow had the legal right to reside in her dead husband’s house.

29. Legal thing RES
“Res” is the Latin for “thing”. “Res” is used in a lot of phrases in the law, including “res ipsa loquitur”. The literal translation of “res ipsa loquitur” is “the thing speaks for itself”. It refers to situations when there is an injury, and the nature of the injury is such that one can assume that negligence had to have taken place.

31. Kate, before Petruchio’s “taming” SHREW
William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” is about a courting couple. The male is Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and the female is Katharina, the so-called “shrew”. As the play progresses, the “shrew” is “tamed” and becomes an “obedient” bride … a controversial storyline in the contemporary world, to say the least. Regardless, modern adaptations have been made, including 1948’s Broadway musical “Kiss Me Kate” and the 1999 romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You”.

33. U2 lead singer BONO
Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner, born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

38. Die dots PIPS
The numbers on dice are arranged so that the opposite faces add up to seven. Given this arrangement, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 all meet at a common vertex. There are two ways of arranging the 1, 2 and 3 around the common vertex, a so called right-handed die (clockwise 1-2-3) or a left-handed die (counterclockwise 1-2-3). Traditionally, dice used in Western cultures are right-handed, whereas Chinese dice are left-handed. Quite interesting …

42. Best man’s offering TOAST
The term “best man” is Scottish in origin and has been used in English since the early 1800s when it replaced “groomsman”.

46. Santa __ winds ANA
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

48. Stir-fry vegetable SNOW PEA
The snow pea lives up to its name. It continues to thrive even when it is snowing.

50. Pirate Blackbeard’s real name EDWARD TEACH
Blackbeard was the nickname of the celebrated English pirate Edward Teach who plied his trade around the West Indies and up and and down the North American coast.

53. Rank below cpl. PVT
In an army, a private (pvt.) is a rank below a corporal (cpl.).

54. Believer in the Great Pumpkin LINUS
The Great Pumpkin is a figure dreamed up by Linus van Pelt, the character in the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz. To Linus, the Great Pumpkin is the Halloween equivalent of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Famously, Linus said:
There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.

55. NYC airport LGA
Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, racking up three full terms in office. The famous airport that bears La Guardia’s name was built at his urging, stemming from an incident that took place while he was in office. He was taking a TWA flight to “New York” and was outraged when the plane landed at Newark Airport, in the state of New Jersey. The Mayor demanded that the flight take off again and land at a small airport in Brooklyn. A gaggle of press reporters joined him on the short hop and he gave them a story, urging New Yorkers to support the construction of a new commercial airport within the city’s limits. The new airport, in Queens, opened in 1939 as New York Municipal, often called “LaGuardia” as a nickname. The airport was officially relabeled as “LaGuardia” in 1947.

61. Years, to Nero ANNI
The Roman emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.

63. Stone marker STELE
Stelae (singular “stele” or “stela”) were used all over the world, sometimes as territorial markers and sometimes to commemorate military victories. In later times stelae were commonly erected as commemorative markers in graveyards or other religious sites.

65. Peel in a cocktail ZEST
Our word “cocktail” first appeared in the early 1800s. The exact origin of the term is not clear, but it is thought to be a corruption of the French word “coquetier” meaning “egg cup”, a container that was used at that time for serving mixed drinks.

66. Filled with cargo LADED
The verb “lade” meaning “to load” comes from an Old English word “hladan”. Lade also used to mean “to draw water” and indeed gave us our word “ladle”. So “lade” and “ladle” are close cousins.

Down
1. Tennessee home of the NBA’s Grizzlies MEMPHIS
The Grizzlies are the NBA team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001, having been founded as the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995. As a result of the move, the Grizzlies became the only team from the “big four” professional sports based in Memphis, and the Toronto Raptors were left as the only Canadian team in the NBA.

3. French department that translates to “golden slope” COTE-D’OR
Côte-d’Or is a department in the east of France, located in the region known as Bourgogne (anglicized as “Burgundy”). The department takes its name from a limestone cliff called the Côte d’Or (“Golden Slope”, literally “Coast of Gold”) that runs north-south through the area.

4. Robin __ HOOD
Robin Hood is a figure from English folklore, celebrated in story and song. Some stories suggest that Robin Hood the outlaw was actually a real nobleman, the Earl of Huntington. Robin Hood’s famous companion was Maid Marian. Interestingly, the legend of Maid Marian (full name Lady Marian of Leaford) had been around for centuries before she became associated with Robin Hood starting in the 1700s.

5. Kiev is its cap. UKR
Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe, a Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) before the dissolution of the USSR. In English we often call the country “the” Ukraine, but I am told that we should just say “Ukraine”.

6. Canadian coin nicknamed for the bird on it LOONIE
The great northern loon is the provincial bird of Ontario, and the state bird of Minnesota. The loon once appeared on Canadian $20 bills and also appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin, giving the coin the nickname “the Loonie”.

7. Lego or Eggo, for example BRAND
Lego is manufactured by Lego Group, a privately held company headquartered in Billund, Denmark. The company was founded by a carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1934 and the now-famous plastic interlocking blocks were introduced in 1949. The blocks were originally sold under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks” but I think “Lego” is easier to remember! The name “Lego” comes from the Danish term “leg godt” meaning “play well”.

Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.

8. Duke Univ. conference ACC
Duke University was founded in 1838 as Brown’s Schoolhouse. The school was renamed to Trinity College in 1859, and to this day the town where the college was located back then is known as Trinity, in honor of the school. The school was moved in 1892 to Durham, North Carolina in part due to generous donations from the wealthy tobacco industrialist Washington Duke. Duke’s donation required that the school open its doors to women, placing them on an equal footing with men. Trinity’s name was changed to Duke in 1924 in recognition of the generosity of the Duke family.

10. Rose essence ATTAR
Attar is a fragrant essential oil obtained from flowers, and the term may particularly refer to attar of roses.

11. Lake Michigan metropolis CHICAGO
Chicago, Illinois is the US’s third most populous city, after New York and Los Angeles. It is also home to O’Hare airport, the busiest airport in the whole world (in terms of takeoffs and landings). Chicago takes its name from the Chicago River, which in turn takes its name from the Native American word “shikaakwa” that translates as “wild onion” or “wild garlic”. Early French explorers chose this name as they found dense growths of wild garlic along the banks of the river.

26. “Dallas Buyers Club” actor Jared LETO
Jared Leto is an actor and musician. In the world of music, Leto is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. In the film world his most critically acclaimed role was that of a heroin addict in “Requiem for a Dream”. He also appeared in “American Psycho”, “Panic Room” and “Lord of War”.

“Dallas Buyers Club” is a 2013 film that tells the real-life story of AIDS patient Ron Woodruff. Woodruff smuggled unapproved AIDS drugs across the US border into Texas in opposition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The movie won the Best Actor Oscar for Matthew McConaughey and Best Supporting Actor for Jared Leto.

28. Some summer babies, astrologically LEOS
Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 13 to August 23 are Leos.

32. Summer coolers, for short ACS
Air conditioning units (ACs) are room (rm.) coolers.

35. Like Easter eggs DYED
Tradition states that the first Easter Egg Roll in the nation’s capitol was staged by Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison. The inaugural event was held in 1814, but not at the White House, where it is held today. That first Egg Roll was held on the grounds of the US Capitol. After a new lawn was planted in 1877, Congress passed a law making it illegal to use the lawn as a children’s playground (boo! hiss!), and so President Rutherford and his wife Lucy brought the Egg Roll to the White House (hurrah!).

37. Texter’s “From a different angle …” OTOH
On the other hand (OTOH)

38. Spanish rice dishes PAELLAS
Paella is sometime referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia.

39. Gary’s home INDIANA
The city of Gary, Indiana is located just 25 miles from downtown Chicago and falls within the Chicago metropolitan area (also known as “Chicagoland”). Gary was founded by US Steel in 1906, as the company selected it as the site for a new steel plant. The name “Gary” was chosen in honor of Elbert H. Gary, who was the key player in setting up US Steel in 1901.

40. Hocking PAWNING
The phrase “in hock” is an American invention. Back in the mid-19th century “in hock” meant both “in debt” and “in prison”. The word “hock” comes from the Dutch “hok” meaning “jail”.

44. Whence Rossini’s barber SEVILLE
Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” was first performed in 1816 in Rome. It was one of the first Italian operas to be performed in the US, premiering at the Park Theater in New York City in 1825.

45. Spilled the beans TATTLED
“To spill the beans” is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”.

47. Dalloway’s title MRS
“Mrs Dalloway” is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1925. The story tells of a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a day in which she is preparing for a party that she is hosting. The novel has been compared to “Ulysses” by James Joyce, a story about a day in the life of Leopold Bloom.

49. Virg. neighbor N CAR
The Province of Carolina was an English colony that was chartered by the Crown in 1629. At one point the territory covered by the colony included modern-day North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and parts of Florida and Louisiana. The province was named for the King Charles I, who granted the charter (“Carolus” is Latin for “Charles”). By 1720, lands included in the Province of Carolina had shrunk drastically, and there was dissent between the north and south of the province. Following a rebellion, separate governments were set up for North and South Carolina.

51. German cars AUDIS
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”.

52. Actor Cary ELWES
Cary Elwes is an English actor, most noted for appearing in the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”. Cary is the son of a celebrated English portrait painter, Dominick Elwes.

56. Latina lass: Abbr. SRTA
Señorita (Srta.) is Spanish and mademoiselle (Mlle.) is French for “Miss”.

58. Peace, in Acapulco PAZ
The Mexican city of Acapulco is on the southwest coast of the country, in the state of Guerrero. The name “Acapulco” translates from the local language into “at the big reeds”.

60. High-speed www option DSL
The abbreviation “DSL” originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is the technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Peru’s __ Picchu MACHU
6. Angle iron L-BAR
10. Highest point ACME
14. Kindle download E-BOOK
15. SeaWorld performer ORCA
16. Ellington’s “Take __ Train” THE A
17. Older name for a passenger bus MOTORCOACH
19. Glass darkener TINT
20. Responded in court PLED
21. Cape NNW of Cod ANN
22. Saguaros, e.g. CACTI
23. Covered up HID
24. Wedding gown follower BRIDAL TRAIN
27. Place in quarantine ISOLATE
29. Legal thing RES
30. Came down with GOT
31. Kate, before Petruchio’s “taming” SHREW
32. Bit of legislation ACT
33. U2 lead singer BONO
34. Like one resisting innovation OLD-SCHOOL
38. Die dots PIPS
41. Thumbs-up YES
42. Best man’s offering TOAST
46. Santa __ winds ANA
47. Fellows MEN
48. Stir-fry vegetable SNOW PEA
50. Pirate Blackbeard’s real name EDWARD TEACH
53. Rank below cpl. PVT
54. Believer in the Great Pumpkin LINUS
55. NYC airport LGA
56. Narrow opening SLIT
57. Installed, as carpet LAID
58. Hole-making tool POWER DRILL
61. Years, to Nero ANNI
62. Wows, and how AWES
63. Stone marker STELE
64. Droops over time SAGS
65. Peel in a cocktail ZEST
66. Filled with cargo LADED

Down
1. Tennessee home of the NBA’s Grizzlies MEMPHIS
2. Do away with ABOLISH
3. French department that translates to “golden slope” COTE D’OR
4. Robin __ HOOD
5. Kiev is its cap. UKR
6. Canadian coin nicknamed for the bird on it LOONIE
7. Lego or Eggo, for example BRAND
8. Duke Univ. conference ACC
9. Stadium shout RAH!
10. Rose essence ATTAR
11. Lake Michigan metropolis CHICAGO
12. Bring up MENTION
13. Chip away at EAT INTO
18. Golfer’s ride CART
22. Dollar divs. CTS
24. Cry out loud BAWL
25. Curved foot part ARCH
26. “Dallas Buyers Club” actor Jared LETO
28. Some summer babies, astrologically LEOS
32. Summer coolers, for short ACS
33. What winds do BLOW
35. Like Easter eggs DYED
36. Emailed SENT
37. Texter’s “From a different angle …” OTOH
38. Spanish rice dishes PAELLAS
39. Gary’s home INDIANA
40. Hocking PAWNING
43. Answered a help-wanted ad, say APPLIED
44. Whence Rossini’s barber SEVILLE
45. Spilled the beans TATTLED
47. Dalloway’s title MRS
48. Most judicious SAGEST
49. Virg. neighbor N CAR
51. German cars AUDIS
52. Actor Cary ELWES
56. Latina lass: Abbr. SRTA
58. Peace, in Acapulco PAZ
59. Be indebted to OWE
60. High-speed www option DSL

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