LA Times Crossword Answers 23 Jun 15, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: David Poole
THEME: Rising Stars … the circled letters in the grid spell out the name of three STARS, when read in the up-direction, when RISING:

28D. Up-and-comers, and what the circled squares contain RISING STARS

4D. “Sugar and spice” tykes LITTLE GIRLS (rising star = “Rigel”)
9D. Altar exchanges MARRIAGE VOWS (rising star = “Vega”)
21D. Brunch dish with hollandaise sauce EGGS BENEDICT (rising star = “Deneb”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 28s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record 894 GOALS
Wayne Gretzky is regarded by many as the greatest ever player of ice hockey, and indeed has the nickname “The Great One”.

6. SALT warhead ICBM
An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with the range necessary to cross between continents. Being ballistic (as opposed to a cruise missile) an ICBM is guided during the initial launch phase, but later in flight just relies on thrust and gravity to arrive at its target. It is defined as intercontinental as it has a range greater than 3,500 miles. ICBMs are really only used for delivering nuclear warheads. Scary stuff …

There were two rounds of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the US and the Soviet Union, and two resulting treaties (SALT I & SALT II). The opening round of SALT I talks were held in Helsinki as far back as 1970, with the resulting treaty signed by President Richard Nixon and General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in 1972.

14. Columbo’s asset LOGIC
“Columbo” is a police drama that aired from 1971-78, with some more episodes made as recently as 2003. Columbo was of course played by Peter Falk, although the character of Columbo was first played by Bert Freed in 1960 in an episode of “The Chevy Mystery Show”. That first appearance was so successful that the episode was adapted for the stage in 1962, with Thomas Mitchell taking on the role. Then the same episode was stretched into a TV movie in 1968, with Peter Falk playing Lt. Columbo for the first time.

15. Law office hiree, briefly PARA
A paralegal is someone who is trained in legal matters sufficiently to assist a lawyer. A paralegal cannot engage in the practice of law and must be supervised by a qualified lawyer.

17. Singer Baker ANITA
Anita Baker is an R&B and soul singer who was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Baker’s most successful song is the Grammy-winning “Sweet Love” released in 1986.

20. Mickey of the Yankees MANTLE
Mickey Mantle only played professional baseball for the one team, spending 18 years with the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle memorabilia is highly prized, especially since he retired from the game in 1969, and even more so since he died in 1995. The only other player memorabilia said to command a higher price is Babe Ruth’s.

22. O.K. Corral family name EARP
The famous Earp brothers of the Wild West were Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan. All three brothers participated in what has to be the most famous gunfight in the history of the Old West, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Strangely enough, the fight didn’t happen at the O.K. Corral, but took place six doors down the street in a vacant lot next to a photography studio.

24. CAT scan kin MRI
A CT (or “CAT”) scan produces (via computer manipulation) a three dimensional image of the inside of an object, usually the human body. It does so by taking a series of two dimensional x-ray images while rotating the camera around the patient. The issue with CT scans is that they use x-rays, and high doses of radiation can be harmful causing damage that is cumulative over time. An MRI on the other hand (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so now it’s just called MRI.

29. Throat soothers LOZENGES
Back in the 14th century, a “lozenge” was a diamond shape. The original lozenges that were tablets, held in the mouth to dissolve, had this diamond shape, hence the name.

33. “Thrilla in Manila” boxer ALI
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had three memorable fights. The first was billed as the “Fight of the Century” and took place in 1971 in Madison Square Garden. It was a fight between two great boxers, both of whom were undefeated up till that point. Frazier won in a unanimous decision after fifteen rounds. A couple of years later, in 1973, Frazier lost his title to George Foreman. Ali and Frazier had a non-title rematch in 1974, with Ali coming out ahead this time, also in a unanimous decision. Later that year, Ali grabbed back the World Heavyweight Title in “The Rumble in the Jungle”, the famous “rope-a-dope” fight against George Foreman. That set the stage for the third and final fight between Ali and Frazier, “The Thrilla in Manila”. Ali won the early rounds, but Frazier made a comeback in the middle of the fight. Ali took control at the end of the bout, so much so that Frazier wasn’t able to come out of his corner for the 15th and final round. He couldn’t come out of his corner because both of his eyes were swollen shut, giving Ali a victory due to a technical knockout (TKO).

39. Nobelist Morrison TONI
The writer Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Amongst other things, Morrison is noted for first coining the phrase, “our first black President”, a reference to President Bill Clinton.

40. Utah’s __ Canyon BRYCE
Bryce Canyon National Park is truly a beautiful part of America. The strange thing is that Bryce isn’t a canyon at all, but rather is a natural amphitheater created by erosion of sedimentary rocks that are part of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

42. Intestinal sections ILEA
The human ileum is the lowest part of the small intestine, found below the jejunum and above the cecum of the large intestine.

43. Actress North SHEREE
Sheree North was a singer, dancer and actress associated with the 20th Century Fox studio in Hollywood. North started her performance career during WWII with the USO, when she was just ten years old. On the big screen, her most famous role was probably the female lead opposite Tom Ewell in the 1955 romantic comedy “The Lieutenant Wore Skirts”.

47. System of connected PCs LAN
Local Area Network (LAN)

54. Put a spell on HEX
“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

61. Flower painted by van Gogh IRIS
Van Gogh painted his “Irises” while he was in an asylum in the south of France the year before he committed suicide. The original owner was a French art critic and supporter of Van Gogh who paid 300 francs to purchase the painting. “Irises” was bought for $53.9 million in 1987 making it the most expensive painting sold up to that point. But, the buyer didn’t actually have the necessary funds, so it had to be resold in 1990. It was picked up by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where you can see it today.

65. Niño’s mother MADRE
In Spanish a madre’s (mother’s) boy is a niño.

71. Heroic Schindler OSKAR
Oskar Schindler is the protagonist in the Steven Spielberg movie “Schindler’s List”. Schindler was a real person who survived WWII. During the Holocaust, Schindler managed to save almost 1,200 Jews from perishing by employing them in his factories. After the war, Schindler and his wife were left penniless having used his assets to protect and feed his workers. For years the couple survived on the charity of Jewish groups. Schindler tried to make a go of it in business again but never had any real success. He died a pauper in 1974 in Hildesheim, not far from Hanover. His last wish was to be buried in Jerusalem. Schindler was the only former member of the Nazi Party to be buried on Mount Zion.

Down
1. Glittery rock music genre GLAM
I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in the British Isles during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and Gary Glitter.

2. O’Neill’s daughter OONA
Oona O’Neill dated J. D. Salinger and Orson Welles in her teens, but ended up marrying Charlie Chaplin. Oona was still pretty young when she married Chaplin, much to the dismay of her famous father, the playwright Eugene O’Neill. After the marriage Eugene disowned Oona as he was pretty upset about 54-year-old Chaplin marrying his 18-year-old daughter.

4. “Sugar and spice” tykes LITTLE GIRLS (rising star = “Rigel”)
The nursery rhyme “What Are Little Boys Made Of?” is falling out of favor these days as it is considered sexist by modern standards:

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Slugs and snails
And puppy-dogs’ tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
That’s what little girls are made of.

Rigel is the sixth brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion. If you can imagine the stars in Orion laid out, Rigel is at his left foot. The name “Rigel” is an abbreviated version of the Arabic term for “Left Foot of the Central One”.

5. Like some triangles SCALENE
A scalene triangle is one in which all three sides are of unequal length.

6. Wall St. debut 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).

7. Stalactite site CAVE
A stalactite is a mineral deposit that hangs from the roof of a cave, formed by continuous dripping of mineral-rich water. “Stalactite” comes from the Greek word “stalasso” meaning “to drip”.

9. Altar exchanges MARRIAGE VOWS (rising star = “Vega”)
There’s a phrase used in some traditional wedding vows that goes “… and thereto I plight thee my troth”. “I plight” is an obsolete way of saying “I pledge”. “Troth” is an old variant of the word truth, and meant “truth” but also “loyalty”. So, “I plight thee my troth” means, “I promise to be loyal to you”. I am sure all of us who uttered those words knew what we were saying …

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Vega (along with Altair and Deneb from other constellations) is also part of the group of three stars that is called the Summer Triangle. Vega is the star at the right-angle of this triangle.

12. Weather-controlling “X-Men” character STORM
Storm is a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe whose superpower is the ability to control the weather. Storm was played by Halle Berry in the “X-Men” series of movies.

X-Men is a team of superheroes created by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. Nowadays the X-Men are perhaps best known as the subject of a series of movies, with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine, and Patrick Stewart playing Professor Xavier (or simply “Professor X”). Some very respected actors have also played the villains that X-Men have to battle. For example, the enemy called Magneto is portrayed by veteran Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellan.

13. Country where damask was first made SYRIA
Damask was originally a weaving technique associated with the Byzantine and Islamic weaving centers of the Middle Ages. “Damask” comes from the name of Damascus which was a major trading city at that time.

21. Brunch dish with hollandaise sauce EGGS BENEDICT (rising star = “Deneb”)
Eggs Benedict is a dish traditionally served at an American breakfast or brunch. It usually consists of a halved English muffin topped with ham and poached eggs, all smothered in Hollandaise sauce. The exact origin of the dish is apparently debated, but one story is that it is named for a Wall Street stockbroker called Lemuel Benedict. In 1894 in the Waldorf Hotel, Benedict ordered toast, poached eggs, crispy bacon and Hollandaise sauce as a cure for his hangover. The hotel’s maître d’ Oscar Tschirky was impressed by the dish and added the variant that we use today to the hotel’s menu, naming it for the gentleman who had first ordered it.

Hollandaise sauce is a mixture of egg yolk and melted butter that is then seasoned, usually with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Hollandaise has an exalted position in French cuisine. Although the origin is debated, some say that the recipe was invented in the Netherlands and taken to France by the Huguenots, hence the name “Hollandaise” meaning “of Holland”.

Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation called Cygnus, the Swan. The name “Deneb” comes from the Arabic word “dhaneb” meaning “tail”, as it lies at the tail of the swan.

23. Sport with mallets POLO
The sport of polo originated in Iran, possibly before the 5th century BC. Polo was used back them primarily as a training exercise for cavalry units.

29. D-Day carriers LSTS
LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank. LSTs were the large vessels used mainly in WWII that had doors at either ends through which tanks and other vehicles could roll off and onto beaches. The design concept persists to this day in the huge fleet of commercial roll-on/roll-off car ferries, all inspired by the LST.

30. IMer’s “Then again … ” OTOH …
On the other hand (OTOH)

Even though instant messaging (sending IMs) has been around since the 1960s, it was AOL who popularized the term “instant message” in the eighties and nineties.

31. Western writer Grey ZANE
Zane Grey certainly did hit on the right niche. He wrote romanticized western novels and stories that really lent themselves to the big screen in the days when westerns were very popular movies. Incredibly, 110 films were made based on his work.

36. Gold medalist Korbut OLGA
Olga Korbut is from modern-day Belarus, but was born during the days of the Soviet Union. Korbut competed for the USSR team in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. She was 17 when she appeared in the 1972 Munich Games, and had been training in a sports school since she was 8-years-old. The world fell in love with her as she was a very emotional young lady, readily expressing joy and disappointment, something that we weren’t used to seeing in athletes from behind the Iron Curtain. Korbut immigrated to the US in 1991 and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

37. Poolroom surface FELT
The more correct name for the game of pool is pocket billiards. The name “pool” arose after pocket billiards became a common feature in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.

38. Actor Diggs TAYE
Taye Diggs is an actor most associated with the Broadway show “Rent”, in which he played the nasty landlord Benny. He then co-starred on the television show “Private Practice”. Diggs given name is “Scott”, and the nickname “Taye” comes from saying the given name as “Scottay”.

41. Where Pikes Peak is: Abbr. COLO
Zebulon Pike was an American Army officer and explorer. On his first expedition for the military he discovered a mountain in the Rockies that had been dubbed El Capitan by Spanish settlers. El Capitan was later renamed to Pike’s Peaks (now “Pikes Peak”) in honor of the explorer.

46. Left hanging IN LIMBO
In the Roman Catholic tradition, “Limbo” is a place where souls can remain who cannot enter heaven. For example, infants who have not been baptized are said to reside in Limbo. Limbo is said to be located on the border of Hell. The name was chosen during the Middle Ages from the Latin “limbus” meaning “ornamental border to a fringe”. We use the phrase “in limbo” in contemporary English to mean “in a state of uncertainty”.

51. Nitrous __ OXIDE
Laughing gas is the common name for nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is used as an anesthetic, particularly by dentists. It is also used in motor racing to increase the power output of engines. Laughing gas was first synthesized by the English chemist Joseph Priestly, but it was Humphrey Davy who discovered its potential as an anesthetic. Once it was realized that the gas could give the patient a fit of the giggles, “laughing gas parties” became common among those could afford them.

58. Mt. Rushmore’s state SDAK
The four presidents whose faces are carved in the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for the presidents to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

59. Ocean predator 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.

64. Bridal bio word NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record 894 GOALS
6. SALT warhead ICBM
10. Gridiron throw PASS
14. Columbo’s asset LOGIC
15. Law office hiree, briefly PARA
16. Superficially highbrow ARTY
17. Singer Baker ANITA
18. Finished OVER
19. Way in DOOR
20. Mickey of the Yankees MANTLE
22. O.K. Corral family name EARP
24. CAT scan kin MRI
25. Table supports LEGS
27. Three-dimensional historical display DIORAMA
29. Throat soothers LOZENGES
33. “Thrilla in Manila” boxer ALI
34. Props and scenery, as a unit STAGE SET
35. Treat leniently, with “on” GO SOFT
39. Nobelist Morrison TONI
40. Utah’s __ Canyon BRYCE
42. Intestinal sections ILEA
43. Actress North SHEREE
45. With affection LOVINGLY
47. System of connected PCs LAN
48. Stretch out ELONGATE
49. Waded to the other side of CROSSED
53. Hooting hunters OWLS
54. Put a spell on HEX
55. Perfect place EDEN
57. Suppresses, as bad news SITS ON
61. Flower painted by van Gogh IRIS
63. Desktop image ICON
65. Niño’s mother MADRE
66. Art class subject NUDE
67. Roadwork marker CONE
68. Shore up BRACE
69. From square one ANEW
70. Arborist’s study TREE
71. Heroic Schindler OSKAR

Down
1. Glittery rock music genre GLAM
2. O’Neill’s daughter OONA
3. Feudin’ with AGIN
4. “Sugar and spice” tykes LITTLE GIRLS
5. Like some triangles SCALENE
6. Wall St. debut IPO
7. Stalactite site CAVE
8. Diner basketful BREAD
9. Altar exchanges MARRIAGE VOWS
10. Bachelor __ PAD
11. Food court lure AROMA
12. Weather-controlling “X-Men” character STORM
13. Country where damask was first made SYRIA
21. Brunch dish with hollandaise sauce EGGS BENEDICT
23. Sport with mallets POLO
26. Visionary SEER
28. Up-and-comers, and what the circled squares contain RISING STARS
29. D-Day carriers LSTS
30. IMer’s “Then again … ” OTOH …
31. Western writer Grey ZANE
32. Fashion STYLE
36. Gold medalist Korbut OLGA
37. Poolroom surface FELT
38. Actor Diggs TAYE
41. Where Pikes Peak is: Abbr. COLO
44. Lack of difficulty EASE
46. Left hanging IN LIMBO
49. Wedding registry category CHINA
50. Between-seasons TV fare RERUN
51. Nitrous __ OXIDE
52. Interior designer’s concern DECOR
56. Zero NONE
58. Mt. Rushmore’s state SDAK
59. Ocean predator ORCA
60. Not e’en once NE’ER
62. Attach a patch, say SEW
64. Bridal bio word NEE

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