LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Oct 15, Wednesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Punch kin ADE
“Punch” and “ade” are both types of soft drink.

9. Debussy’s sea MER
“La Mer” is a lovely group of three symphonic sketches for orchestra by the French composer Claude Debussy. Listen to it, and you can feel yourself at the ocean. “La Mer” is French for “The Sea”.

Claude Debussy is one of my favorite composers, one who epitomises the Romantic Era and Impressionist Movement in music. One of my favorite CDs is a collection of some “lighter” Debussy pieces called “Debussy for Daydreaming”, and what an evocative collection it is. Included are “Syrinx”, “Maid with the Flaxen Hair”, “Rêverie” and everyone’s favorite, “Clair de Lune”.

12. __ Scotia NOVA
The Canadian province of Nova Scotia lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

16. Three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee ERIC CLAPTON
Can you believe that the great Eric Clapton only had one chart-topper in the US? In 1974, Clapton released a cover version of the Bob Marley classic “I Shot the Sheriff” and ended up selling more copies of that song than Bob Marley did himself. Clapton is the only person to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: once as a member of the Yardbirds, once as a member of the supergroup Cream, and once as a solo artist.

18. Sleep phase initials REM
REM is an acronym standing for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

19. 1990s Polish president WALESA
Lech Walesa worked as an electrician in the Gdansk Shipyards in Poland. Walesa was active in the trade union movement in the days when unions were not welcome behind the Iron Curtain. His efforts resulted in the founding of Solidarity, the first independent trade union in Soviet-controlled territory. For his work, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and in 1990 he became the first democratically elected President of Poland. He has lost support in Poland in recent years, but he is a very popular booking on the international speaking circuit.

20. Ocean State sch. URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was first chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, but is the second most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.

21. California’s __ Valley SIMI
Nowadays Simi Valley, California is perhaps best known as being home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. If you ever get the chance to do so, the library is a great place to visit. There you can tour one of the retired Air Force One planes.

22. Master thespian’s skill DRAMATIC CHOPS
We use the word “chops” to mean “expertise” as in the phrases “showing his chops” and “having the chops”, meaning showing his expertise, having the expertise. This usage evolved from the use of the word “chops” for the mouth, jaw or lips, which dates back to the the 1700s. The more contemporary usage dates back to the 1940s when jazz musicians referred to the skill of a player with reference to their use of the lips on an instrument.

A “thespian” is an actor. The term derives from the name of the Greek poet of the 6th century, Thespis, known as the father of Greek tragedy.

25. Pretentious sort SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

27. Used Grecian Formula on DYED
Grecian Formula is a hair dye that is targeted at men. Here in the US, Grecian Formula uses lead(II) acetate as a key ingredient. The Grecian Formula that is sold in Canada and Europe has no lead(II) acetate, because the chemical is prohibited from cosmetics sold in those markets.

29. Civil War nickname ABE
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, elected in 1860 as the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln’s electoral support came almost exclusively from the north and west of the country, winning only two out of 996 counties in the Southern slave states. Lincoln led the country through Civil War, and then was assassinated in 1865 just a few days after Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia. President Lincoln was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

31. “La Bamba” actor Morales ESAI
The actor Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai).

33. Burroughs’ feral child TARZAN
“Tarzan” is the title character in the series of books created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The line “Me Tarzan, you Jane” never appeared in the books, and indeed doesn’t even figure in the movies. Apparently Johnny Weissmuller (who played Tarzan in the thirties and forties) saw Maureen O’Sullivan (“Jane”, to Weissmuller’s “Tarzan”) struggling with a suitcase in the parking lot during filming. He grabbed the bag from her, jokingly saying “Me Tarzan, you Jane”, and people have been quoting those words ever since.

“Feral”, meaning existing in a wild or untamed state, comes from the Latin word “fera” meaning “a wild animal”.

39. Actress Sommer ELKE
Elke Sommer is a German-born actress who was at the height of her success on the silver screen in the sixties. Sommer won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer Actress for her role opposite Paul Newman in 1964’s “The Prize”. She also sings and has released several albums. Now Sommer focuses on painting, producing artwork that is strongly influenced by the work of Marc Chagall.

42. Rapid-fire weapon UZI
The first Uzi submachine gun was designed in the late 1940s by Major Uziel “Uzi” Gal of the Israel Defense Forces, who gave his name to the gun.

46. Maker of Air Zoom sneakers NIKE
Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, often referred to as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, which is based on the goddess’s wing.

52. Regatta implements OARS
The word “regatta” is Venetian dialect and was originally used to describe boat races among the gondoliers of Venice on the Grand Canal back in the mid-1600s.

57. Former AT&T rival GTE
GTE was a rival to AT&T, the largest of the independent competitors to the Bell System. GTE merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form the company that we know today as Verizon.

58. “One Thousand and One Nights” transport MAGIC CARPET
The marvelous collection of folk tales from the Middle East called “One Thousand and One Nights” is sometimes known as “Arabian Nights” in the English-speaking world. The original collection of tales did not include the three with which we are most familiar in the West. European translators added some stories, including “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp”, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, and “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad”.

62. With 60-Across, big name in desserts SARA
(60A. See 62-Across LEE)
In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

63. Harris and Asner EDS
Ed Harris is a very talented actor, noted for two great performances in movies about the Space Program. Harris played John Glenn in “The Right Stuff” in 1983, his “breakthrough” role. Twelve years later he had a “stellar” performance as flight director Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13”.

Ed Asner is most famous for playing the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spin-off drama “Lou Grant”. Off-screen Asner is noted for his political activism. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and was very involved in the 1980 SAG strike. When “Lou Grant” was cancelled in in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was a lot of talk that the cancellation was a move by the network against Asner personally. In fact, one of Asner’s activist colleagues, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever) found that his show “WKRP in Cincinnati” was also cancelled … on the very same day.

65. Duplicates, briefly … and a hint to 16-, 22-, 49- and 58-Across CCS
I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle?

Down
2. Latina toon explorer DORA
“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases.

3. Superhero’s nemesis EVILDOER
Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make pay those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant. In modern parlance, one’s nemesis (plural “nemeses”) is one’s sworn enemy, often someone who is the exact opposite in character but someone who still shares some important characteristics. A nemesis is often someone one cannot seem to beat in competition.

4. Long Island Iced __: cocktail TEA
The mixed drink known as a Long Island Iced Tea uses the name “iced tea” as it physically resembles and somewhat tastes like sweetened iced tea. The “Long Island” reference in the name is disputed, but no doubt there is a connection to the New York island. A Long Island Iced Tea can be very alcoholic indeed, with the recipe calling for tequila, vodka, light rum, triple sec and gin, with some sour mix and a splash of cola.

9. Ohio county or its seat MARION
The Ohio city of Marion was named for General Francis Marion who served in the American Revolutionary War. Marion is oft cited as one of the fathers of modern guerrilla warfare. The city was home to Warren G. Harding and his wife Florence for thirty years before his election to the US presidency.

14. Focus of an annual 26-Down contest SLAM DUNK
In basketball, a player makes “slam dunk” by jumping up and powering the ball downward into the basket with his or her hands over the rim. The term “slam dunk” was coined by Chick Hearn, an announcer for the L.A. Lakers. The NBA even holds an annual Slam Dunk Contest.

17. Jefferson Davis was its only pres. CSA
The Confederate States of America (CSA) set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.

21. Mideast chieftain SHEIK
The word “sheik” is an honorific title in the Arabic world, translating into English as “elder”.

23. Reply to Bligh AYE
William Bligh was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who was famously captain of the HMS Bounty when her crew mutinied. As I found out in my last trip back to Ireland, late in his life Bligh charted and mapped Dublin Bay and designed the important North Bull Wall that sits at the mouth of the River Liffey and entrance to Dublin Port.

Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall wrote “Mutiny on the ‘Bounty'”, based on a true story. They followed up their successful novel with two more works, creating what is now called the “Bounty Trilogy”. The three books are:

1. “Mutiny on the ‘Bounty'”, the tale of the mutiny against Captain Bligh.
2. “Men Against the Sea”, the story of Captain Bligh and the eighteen men set adrift in an open boat by the mutineers.
3. “Pitcairn’s Island”, a narrative about the lives of the mutineers on South Sea islands after the mutiny.

26. Hoops gp. NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The NBA name was adopted in 1949. Of the four major sports leagues in North America, the NBA has the highest average annual salary per player.

30. Drummer Alex Van __ HALEN
Van Halen is a heavy metal band formed in Pasadena, California back in 1972. Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally called the band Mammoth, changing the name to Van Halen in 1974 when they found out there was another Mammoth playing the circuit. Early on, the brothers were renting a sound system from David Lee Roth, and they decided to save some money by bringing him into the band and saving on the rental fee!

34. Epsilon followers ZETAS
Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the name “zed”, which became “zee”, the pronunciation that we use here in the US.

Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet. The uppercase epsilon looks very similar to our Latin E.

36. Large political spending org. SUPER PAC
A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that PACS that did not make direct contributions to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions. These “independent-expenditure only committees” are commonly referred to as “super PACs”.

38. Put the kibosh on NIX
The use of “nix” as a verb, meaning “to shoot down”, dates back to the early 1900s. Before that “nix” was just a noun meaning “nothing”. “Nix” comes from the German “nichts”, which also means “nothing”.

“Kibosh” is something that constrains or checks. “Kibosh” looks like a Yiddish word but it isn’t, and is more likely English slang from the early 1800s.

41. Ring result, briefly TKO
In boxing, a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can’t get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly “knocked out”. A referee, fighter or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a physical knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter’s safety. In this case the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).

43. Help in many a search GOOGLE
The search engine “Google” was originally called “BackRub” would you believe? The name was eventually changed to Google, an intentional misspelling of the word “googol”. A googol is a pretty big number, 10 to the power of 100. That would be the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros.

47. Asian MLB outfielder with a record 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons ICHIRO
Ichiro Suzuki plays baseball for the New York Yankees. Suzuki holds quite a few batting records including the single-season record for base hits (262), and a record-breaking streak of 10 consecutive 200-hit season. Ichiro Suzuki is a huge celebrity in his native-Japan. His agent says that if you address fan mail to “Ichiro Suzuki, Japan”, he’ll get your letter …

48. Craftsman retailer SEARS
Sears has a few long-standing, in-house brands, including Craftsman tools, Kenmore appliances and DieHard car batteries.

51. Jeb Bush’s st. FLA
I always thought that Jeb was an American nickname for James or Joseph but I must be wrong, because George and Barbara’s son John Ellis Bush is called “Jeb”. A kind blog reader has suggested the the name “Jeb” may have been chosen as JEB are the initials of John Ellis Bush.

55. Cougar maker, for short MERC
Ford made the Mercury Cougar from 1967 to 2002. The Cougar was originally based on the Ford Mustang, then the Thunderbird, and finally the Contour/Mondeo.

56. Dots on a subway map: Abbr. STAS
Station (sta.)

58. Voice legend Blanc MEL
Mel Blanc was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”. We’ve all heard Mel Blanc at one time or another, I am sure. His was the voice behind such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Woody Woodpecker, Elmer Fudd and Barney Rubble. And the words on Blanc’s tombstone are … “That’s All Folks”.

59. Channel founded by Turner CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) was launched in 1980 by the Turner Broadcasting System, and was the first television channel in the world to provide news coverage 24 hours a day.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Punch kin ADE
4. Refuse TRASH
9. Debussy’s sea MER
12. __ Scotia NOVA
14. Makes arrangements for SEES TO
15. Chopper AXE
16. Three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee ERIC CLAPTON
18. Sleep phase initials REM
19. 1990s Polish president WALESA
20. Ocean State sch. URI
21. California’s __ Valley SIMI
22. Master thespian’s skill DRAMATIC CHOPS
25. Pretentious sort SNOB
27. Used Grecian Formula on DYED
28. Uses for a fee RENTS
29. Civil War nickname ABE
30. Artist’s shade HUE
31. “La Bamba” actor Morales ESAI
33. Burroughs’ feral child TARZAN
35. Welcomes to one’s home ASKS IN
39. Actress Sommer ELKE
41. Sets for binge watchers TVS
42. Rapid-fire weapon UZI
43. Fireplace piece GRATE
46. Maker of Air Zoom sneakers NIKE
48. Eyewear, in ads SPEX
49. Brew produced without pesticides ORGANIC COFFEE
52. Regatta implements OARS
53. Shout of support RAH!
54. Burglars’ concerns ALARMS
57. Former AT&T rival GTE
58. “One Thousand and One Nights” transport MAGIC CARPET
60. See 62-Across LEE
61. Endless, poetically ETERNE
62. With 60-Across, big name in desserts SARA
63. Harris and Asner EDS
64. Gave the wrong idea LED ON
65. Duplicates, briefly … and a hint to 16-, 22-, 49- and 58-Across CCS

Down
1. Once again ANEW
2. Latina toon explorer DORA
3. Superhero’s nemesis EVILDOER
4. Long Island Iced __: cocktail TEA
5. Public stature REPUTE
6. Not sidesaddle ASTRIDE
7. Hard to arouse STOIC
8. Sweetie pie HON
9. Ohio county or its seat MARION
10. Not obliged to pay EXEMPT
11. Neglectful REMISS
13. Harsh ACERB
14. Focus of an annual 26-Down contest SLAM DUNK
17. Jefferson Davis was its only pres. CSA
21. Mideast chieftain SHEIK
23. Reply to Bligh AYE
24. Ill-mannered CRASS
25. Convened SAT
26. Hoops gp. NBA
30. Drummer Alex Van __ HALEN
32. Avoid embarrassment SAVE FACE
34. Epsilon followers ZETAS
36. Large political spending org. SUPER PAC
37. Ending with civil or social -IZE
38. Put the kibosh on NIX
40. Behind bars ENCAGED
41. Ring result, briefly TKO
43. Help in many a search GOOGLE
44. Like many violent films R-RATED
45. Goes with the flow AGREES
47. Asian MLB outfielder with a record 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons ICHIRO
48. Craftsman retailer SEARS
50. Really boiling IRATE
51. Jeb Bush’s st. FLA
55. Cougar maker, for short MERC
56. Dots on a subway map: Abbr. STAS
58. Voice legend Blanc MEL
59. Channel founded by Turner CNN

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