LA Times Crossword Answers 25 Apr 15, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Daniel Nierenberg
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 10m 31s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Video game that comes in a World Tour version GUITAR HERO
Guitar Hero is an amazingly successful series of video games, first published in 2005. It is the third best selling franchise of video games, after Mario and Madden NFL. Sales have dropped in recent years though, and there are no plans for further releases.

16. Part of the Louisiana Purchase IOWA
The state of Iowa was part of the French colony known as New France until it was acquired by the US in the Louisiana Purchase. The state’s name comes from the Ioway Native American people who lived there at the time European’s started exploring the area.

18. Vet EX-GI
The initials “G.I.” stand for “Government Issue” and not “General Infantry” as is often believed. GI was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

20. Bull or cow, perhaps RHINO
There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, and the smaller Javan Rhino is the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

21. Pipe material BRIER
The wood of the tree heath plant is known as briar root and is extremely heat-resistant. As a result, briar root is used to make smoking pipes.

24. Patsy PIGEON
In the confidence trick known as a “pigeon drop”, the victim (the pigeon) is fooled into putting his or her money into say an envelope along with a sum provided by the trickster. The envelope is switched for an envelope stuffed with perhaps newspaper. The victim usually takes the opportunity to sneak off with the supposed money, but is actually sneaking off with nothing and leaving the trickster a handsome profit.

27. Copernicus Science Centre site WARSAW
The Copernicus Science Centre is science museum in Warsaw, Poland that was established in 2005. The facility is named for Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer active during the Renaissance. Copernicus was the first person to propose that the Earth and the planets revolved around the Sun.

29. “Herbie: Fully Loaded” actress LOHAN
I think that actress Lindsay Lohan’s big break was in the Disney remake of “The Parent Trap” in 1998. I’ve really only enjoyed one of Lohan’s films though, “Freaky Friday” from 2003 in which she stars alongside the fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis.

“Herbie: Fully Loaded” is a 2005 comedy movie starring LIndsay Lohan, Michael Keaton and Matt Dillon. The film is a continuation of the “Herbie” series of films that made its debut in 1963.

“The Love Bug” is a 1969 film from Walt Disney, the star of which is a 1963 Volkswagen Big named Herbie. Believe it or not, the movie is based on a book, called “Car, Boy, Girl” written by Gordon Buford.

36. Sports demographic NASCAR DAD
“NASCAR dad” is one of those phrases that is used to broadly describe a perceived demographic, the “typical” person who enjoys watching NASCAR. It is often used to describe a bloc of voters, and is akin to “soccer mom”.

38. Bach’s “Jesu, meine Freude,” e.g. MOTET
A motet is a simple musical composition based on a sacred text, usually sung without an accompaniment. The term “motet” is a diminutive form of “mot”, the French for “word”.

“Jesu, meine Freude” is a funeral motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The motet is based on a hymn of the same name by Johann Franck.

39. Pisa native TUSCAN
Tuscany is a beautiful region of central Italy, the capital of which is the city of Florence. Tuscany is considered to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, centered around Florence. It was home to great artistic icons such as Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo and Puccini.

The city of Pisa is right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

40. UTEP athletes MINERS
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was founded in 1914, originally as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. To this day there is a mine shaft on the campus, and the mascot of the school’s sports teams is Paydirt Pete, a prospector from the mining industry. The teams are also known as the UTEP Miners and Lady Miners.

41. Caroline portrayer in “Untamed Heart” MARISA
Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spinoff called “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

“Untamed Heart” is a 1993 film starring Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater. It’s a love story of sort, hence the reference to a heart in the title. That said, Christian Slater’s character has a heart defect, which does figure in the storyline. Film critic Robert Ebert described the movie as “kind of sweet and kind of goofy, and works because its heart is in the right place”.

45. “The Fountainhead” architect ROARK
“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand was first published in 1943, her first novel to achieve public success. The story focuses on an idealistic architect, Howard Roark. Roark is uncompromising in his designs, refusing the give the public what it wants, staying doggedly loyal to his own vision.

47. Hophni’s father, in the Bible ELI
According to the Bible’s Books of Samuel, Eli was a high priest of Shiloh. Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, both of whom are described as wicked. As a result of their wayward lifestyle, it is prophesied that all of Eli’s male descendents will die before reaching old age.

50. Fictional knight JEDI
The Jedi are the “good guys” in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorite Jedi …

51. Software for screenwriters MOVIE MAGIC
Movie Magic Screenwriter is a specialized word processing program that uses automation to facilitate the writing of screenplays and novels.

54. Secret discovered by a woodcutter OPEN SESAME
In the folk tale “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, the title character is a poor woodcutter who discovers the magic words “Open Sesame” that open the thieves’ den.

Down
1. Currency exchange fee AGIO
The term “agio” derives from the Italian “aggio” meaning “exchange rate, discount, premium”. Most often, the agio is defined as the difference between the actual exchange rate and the nominal exchange rate for two currencies. That difference is mainly made up of the service fee for making the exchange.

5. Buzzard attractor CARRION
“Carrion” is dead and putrefying flesh. The word “carrion” comes from the Old French “charogne” meaning “corpse”, and is ultimately derived from the Latin “caro”, the word for “meat”.

The turkey vulture is also known simply as the buzzard. It is found anywhere from southern Canada right down to the southern tip of South America. The turkey vulture feeds on carrion, using its sharp eyesight and very keen sense of smell. In fact when seeking out nourishment, it flies low enough so that it can pick up the gasses given off as the body of a dead animal begins to decay.

6. Bruce Wayne, e.g. ORPHAN
Bruce Wayne is the alter-ego of Batman. He lives in Wayne Maror, a huge home that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access is to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

7. “The good is oft interred with __ bones”: Shak. THEIR
There is a famous speech made by Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” that starts with:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.

8. “Sleepy” woman in the song “Daydream Believer” JEAN
“Daydream Believer” is a song composed by John Stewart, formerly with the Kingston Trio. Although Stewart did record the song himself, it was the 1967 recording by the Monkees that is most famous, closely followed by a 1979 version by Anne Murray. Here’s the chorus, so all together now …

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen.

9. Violist’s direction ARCO
“Arco” is a musical direction instructing a string player to return to normal bowing technique after a passage played using some other technique (perhaps pizzicato).

10. Springfield bartender MOE
Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender and owner of Moe’s Tavern in “The Simpsons” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the Moe character … him I like …

“The Simpsons” television show is meant to be set in “anytown, USA”, so the creators chose the name Springfield as it is one of most common town and city names in the country.

11. Freetown is its capital SIERRA LEONE
The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, lying on the Atlantic Coast. The capital city of Freetown was originally set up as a colony to house the “Black Poor” of London, England. These people were mainly freed British slaves of Caribbean descent who were living a miserable life in the run-down parts of London. Perhaps to help the impoverished souls, perhaps to rid the streets of “a problem”, three ships were chartered in 1787 to transport a group of blacks, with some whites, to a piece of land purchased in Sierra Leone. Those who made the voyage were guaranteed British citizenship and protection. The descendants of these immigrants, and others who made the journey over the next 60 years, make up the ethnic group that’s today called the Sierra Leone Creole.

12. “Erin Brockovich” subject TOXIC WASTE
Erin Brockovich is an environmental activists who is famous for the role she played in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating drinking water. Her story was told in a 2000 film title “Erin Brockovich” that starred Julia Roberts. Brockovich herself actually appeared in the film as she was given a cameo as a waitress in a restaurant scene.

14. John Logie __, inventor of the first mechanical TV BAIRD
Scottish inventor John Logie Baird is credited as the inventor of the television. Baird’s invention is classified as a “mechanical” television because it used a mechanical device to scan the scene and generate the video signal. Modern televisions use “electronic” scanning technology. A mechanical scanning device might be a rotating disc or mirror, whereas an electronic scanning device might be a cathode ray tube.

21. Anjou cousin BOSC
Bosc is a cultivar of the European Pear grown in the northwest of the United States. The Bosc is that pear with a skin the color of a potato, with a long neck. I always seem to use the potato as my point of reference. How Irish am I …?

The Anjou pear is a cultivar of the European Pear. The Anjou pear is thought to have originated in Belgium or France (Anjou is a province in the Loire Valley of western France).

22. Dieter’s brand LEAN CUISINE
Lean Cuisine is a brand of frozen dinners that was created in 1981, introduced as a healthy, low-fat and low-calorie alternative to Stouffer’s frozen meals.

23. Drescher of “The Nanny” FRAN
Fran Drescher’s real name is Francine Jane Drescher. She is a comedian and comic actress best known for playing Fran Fine on the sitcom “The Nanny”. Fran was born in Queens, New York (go figure!). Her big break came with a small role, but in a huge movie. You might recall in “Saturday Night Fever” that John Travolta was asked by a pretty dancer, “Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?” Well, that young lady was Fran Drescher.

25. Hebrides isle IONA
Although the small island of Iona lies just off the west coast of Scotland, it was the site of a monastery built in the Middle Ages by a monk from Ireland names Colm Cille (also known as Columba). Colm Cille and his followers were sent into exile from the Irish mainland and settled in Iona, as at that time the island was part of an Irish kingdom. This monastery in Iona expanded its influence over the decades and founded other institutions all over Ireland and Great Britain. It is believed that the famous Book of Kells may have been written, or at least started, at the monastery on Iona. Iona is also the burial site for Macbeth, King of Scotland who was immortalized in Shakespeare’s fictional account of the king’s life.

The Hebrides is a group of islands just off the west coast of Scotland. The Hebrides are divided into two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

26. 2007 Nicolas Cage title role GHOST RIDER
“Ghost Rider” is a 2007 film based on the Ghost Rider superhero from Marvel Comics. Nicolas Cage plays the title role, as indeed he did in the 2012 sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”. Not my cup of tea …

27. Odin’s Germanic counterpart WOTAN
“Wotan” is an alternative (High German) spelling of the name Woden, the Anglo-Saxon version of the Norse god Odin. Wotan is the head god in the pagan tradition, but as paganism was gradually replaced by Christianity in the 7th and 8th centuries, Wotan moved from his place in religion and into the realm of folklore. Indeed, he is a precursor of our modern day Father Christmas. Wotan (Woden) also gave his name to Wednesday, Woden’s Day …

28. Like fine port AGED
The city of Oporto in Portugal gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s, as it was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified red wine was exported.

31. Dump closing? -STER
“Dumpster” is one of those words that we use generically that is actually a brand name. The original “Dumpster” was patented by the Dempster Brothers of Knoxville, Tennessee. “Dumpster” is derived from “dump” and “Dempster”.

32. Coll. acceptance factors SATS
Today the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the acronym SAT.

42. “Spy Kids” actress Vega ALEXA
The actress Alexa Vega was just a kid when she played Carmen Cortez in the first “Spy Kids” movie in 2001, but now she is “all growed up”. I remember taking the kids to see “Spy Kids”. I think I slept through most of it though …

47. Alike, in Arles EGAL
“Egal” is the French word for “equal, alike”, and a word we sometimes use in English. The national motto of France is “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”, meaning “Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood).

A few years ago I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and where he painted his famous “Cafe Terrace at Night”, as well as “Bedroom in Arles”.

48. It was founded as Ciudad de los Reyes in 1535 LIMA
Lima is the capital city of Peru. Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it “la Ciudad de los Reyes” (the City of Kings). He chose this name because the decision to found the city was made on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three kings to Jesus in Bethlehem. Lima is home to the oldest university in all of the Americas, as San Marco University was founded in 1551 during the days of Spanish colonial rule.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Breakfast spread APRICOT JAM
11. Attempt STAB
15. Video game that comes in a World Tour version GUITAR HERO
16. Part of the Louisiana Purchase IOWA
17. Meditation goal INNER PEACE
18. Vet EX-GI
19. Allowed OK’D
20. Bull or cow, perhaps RHINO
21. Pipe material BRIER
22. One may be compulsive LIAR
23. Imposed FORCED
24. Patsy PIGEON
27. Copernicus Science Centre site WARSAW
29. “Herbie: Fully Loaded” actress LOHAN
30. Place to stretch one’s legs YOGA CLASS
33. Like many a quote: Abbr. ANON
34. Like some cereal OATEN
35. What we have here, to Jorge ESTA
36. Sports demographic NASCAR DAD
38. Bach’s “Jesu, meine Freude,” e.g. MOTET
39. Pisa native TUSCAN
40. UTEP athletes MINERS
41. Caroline portrayer in “Untamed Heart” MARISA
43. One may be recurring ROLE
44. Important star group A-LIST
45. “The Fountainhead” architect ROARK
47. Hophni’s father, in the Bible ELI
50. Fictional knight JEDI
51. Software for screenwriters MOVIE MAGIC
53. Field laborers OXEN
54. Secret discovered by a woodcutter OPEN SESAME
55. Medium __ RARE
56. Dating option PERSONAL AD

Down
1. Currency exchange fee AGIO
2. Kind of rock PUNK
3. Zest source RIND
4. Urban ending -ITE
5. Buzzard attractor CARRION
6. Bruce Wayne, e.g. ORPHAN
7. “The good is oft interred with __ bones”: Shak. THEIR
8. “Sleepy” woman in the song “Daydream Believer” JEAN
9. Violist’s direction ARCO
10. Springfield bartender MOE
11. Freetown is its capital SIERRA LEONE
12. “Erin Brockovich” subject TOXIC WASTE
13. “Rats!” AW GEE!
14. John Logie __, inventor of the first mechanical TV BAIRD
21. Anjou cousin BOSC
22. Dieter’s brand LEAN CUISINE
23. Drescher of “The Nanny” FRAN
24. Design PLAN
25. Hebrides isle IONA
26. 2007 Nicolas Cage title role GHOST RIDER
27. Odin’s Germanic counterpart WOTAN
28. Like fine port AGED
30. “Blah …” YADA …
31. Dump closing? -STER
32. Coll. acceptance factors SATS
34. Sea predator ORCA
37. __ mgr. ASST
38. Old calcium source? MILKMEN
40. To a greater extent MORE SO
41. Academic declaration MAJOR
42. “Spy Kids” actress Vega ALEXA
43. Comes down RAINS
45. Partition, with “off” ROPE
46. Done OVER
47. Alike, in Arles EGAL
48. It was founded as Ciudad de los Reyes in 1535 LIMA
49. Decorated, in a way ICED
51. Cleanup aid MOP
52. “__ result …” AS A

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5 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 25 Apr 15, Saturday”

  1. I needed Google's help here and there, but I enjoyed it. Bill did it in 10:31. I did it in….uh…MORE than 10:31….

    Someone once told me there is a Springfield in every state in the continental U.S. I never researched whether it was true, but it certainly sounds plausible.

    I had a teacher in high school who had been involved in so many productions of Macbeth that he claimed we could give him any 5 words (might even have been 3 words) in the play and he could tell us what act and what scene it came from. We tested him one class period on it, and he nailed it every time. It was amazing.

    Best

  2. So many movies I never saw and never will see.

    When I asked Hubster why anyone would want to record 7 movies at once, he said, "So you don't have to watch them."

    I don't remember our MILKMAN, (or iceman or coalman) but I do remember our eggman, because he looked like a chicken.

  3. I didn't struggle overly much with this puzzle. The NE corner was the last to fall and it did give me a little trouble with "aw gee" and "Baird" and even "Ex G.I." all had me puzzling over them for a bit. I don't think (in fact I know) I didn't approach Bill's solve time. Way to go, Bill!.

    Have a great weekend everyone and see you on Monday.

  4. I had my best Saturday time ever, and our leader still cut my time in half! 🙂

    Not an easy grid, but easier than some recent Saturday offerings. Several nits today: NASCARDAD – sorry, no one says this. It's either "hockey dad" or "soccer mom." EXGI is a bit of an insult to a veteran. As an example, General McArthur once scolded another general who referred to the men as "GIs." He demanded they refer to them as "soldiers" or "men."

    Factoid about the Louisiana Purchase: the transaction was financed by Barings Bank in London, for US$11.5MM plus assumption of claims on France by U.S. citizens. The bonds were 20 years and paid 6% (I recall). The U.S. actually paid the bonds off early.

    Finally, YADA. I suppose "blah" might be a rough translation. Elaine Benes explains.

  5. I always "borrow" from Bill's grid on Saturdays, but then I run the risk of seeing answers I just mighta come up with on my own! Maybe I throw in the towel too soon…
    See you all Monday 😀

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