LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Jan 16, Thursday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Chinese take-out order? NO MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

6. Co. making many arrangements FTD
Back in 1910, fifteen florists from around America agreed to fulfill each other’s orders using the telegraph system, setting up what they called the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery. The concept grew so large that in 1965 the group started to offer international service, and changed its name to Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTD).

9. Basilica recess APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

In its modern usage, the term “basilica” applies to a Roman Catholic church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope.

14. Lab coat discovery? FLEA
The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814. The breed comes in three registered colors: black, yellow and chocolate.

19. *Whopper alternative (1969-1986) VEGGIE BURGER (giving “Warren E. Burger”)
If you were in Japan at the end of 2009 and went to Burger King, you might have ordered a Windows 7 Whopper, a promotion for the Windows 7 Operating System. The sandwich was 5 inches in height, and contained seven beef patties!

Warren E. Burger served as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1969, after being nominated by President Nixon. Burger served until retiring 1986, making him the longest-serving Chief Justice of the 20th century.

22. Affaire de coeur AMOUR
“Affaire de coeur” is French for “love affair”.

23. Star followers MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, magi is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born.

26. Webby Award candidate EMAG
The Webby Awards recognize excellent on the Internet, and have been presented since 1995. One interesting twist in the Webby version of the award ceremony is that (theoretically) recipients are limited to five-word acceptance speeches.

29. Wrap maker ALCOA
The Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA) is the largest producer of aluminum in the United States. The company was founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where its headquarters are to this day.

Before thin sheets of aluminum metal were available, thin sheets of tin were used in various applications. Tin foil isn’t a great choice for wrapping food though, as it imparts a tinny taste. On the other side of the pond, aluminum foil has a different name. No, it’s not just the different spelling of aluminum (“aluminium”). We still call it “tin foil”. You see, we live in the past …

33. WWII lander LST
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.

34. Author Greene GRAHAM
Graham Greene was a writer and playwright from England. Greene wrote some of my favorite novels, including “Brighton Rock”, “The End of the Affair”, “The Confidential Agent”, “The Third Man”, “The Quiet American” and “Our Man in Havana”. Greene’s books often feature espionage in exotic locales. Greene himself worked for MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence agency. In fact, Greene’s MI6 supervisor was Kim Philby, the famed Soviet spy who penetrated high into British intelligence.

36. *Former MLB mascot BJ Birdy was one (1789-1795) BLUE JAY (giving “John Jay”)
The Toronto Blue Jays mascot was a blue jay named BJ Birdy from 1979 to 1999. BJ BIrdy was replaced in 2000 by two new blue jays named Ace and Diamond. Diamond was kicked out of the nest in 2004 leaving Ace as the mascot. That said, Ace is occasionally joined on the field by Junior.

John Jay was one of the Founding Fathers and President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779. From 1789 to 1795, Jay was the nation’s first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He retired from the court to serve as the second Governor of New York.

41. Roker and Rosen ALS
Al Roker is best known as the meteorologist on the “Today” show on NBC. He has successfully branched out from that platform though, and even co-wrote a novel called “The Morning Show Murders”, about a celebrity chef and TV host who get entangled in mystery. Topical stuff …

Al Rosen is a former Major League baseball player who played his whole career with the Cleveland Indians. As one of the best all-time players of the game with a Jewish heritage, his fans gave him the nickname “the Hebrew Hammer”.

42. Tiny time meas. PSEC
A picosecond is one trillionth of a second, and is correctly abbreviated to “ps” in the SI system of measurements. I guess that’s what “psec” is meant to be …

43. Branch of yoga HATHA
Hatha yoga is a yoga system developed in 15th century India. Traditional Hatha yoga is a more “complete” practice than often encountered in the west, involving not just exercise but also meditation and relaxation.

45. Car-collecting star LENO
Jay Leno was born James Leno in New Rochelle, New York. Jay’s father was the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother was from Scotland. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and actually dropped out of school on the advice of a high school guidance counsellor. However, years later he went to Emerson college and earned a Bachelor’s degree in speech therapy. Leno also started a comedy club at Emerson in 1973. Today Jay Leno is a car nut and owns about 200 vehicles of various types. You can check them out on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com.

46. George Eliot or George Sand WOMAN
George Eliot was the pen name of English novelist Mary Anne Evans. As one might think, Evans chose a male pen name in order that her work might be best appreciated in the Victorian era. Eliot wrote seven novels including “Adam Bede” (1859), “The Mill on the Floss” (1860), “Silas Marner” (1861) and “Middlemarch” (1871-72).

George Sand was the pseudonym of the very colorful French novelist Baroness Dudevant. Along with the renown that she garnered for her novels, Sand was also known for celebrated affairs with the likes of Frédéric Chopin.

48. UV index monitor EPA
Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)

54. Hi’s wife, in comics LOIS
“Hi and Lois” is a comic strop that first appeared in 1954 and is still running today. The strip was created by Mort Walker (also known for “Beetle Bailey”) and was originally illustrated by Dik Browne (also known for “Hägar the Horrible”). The title characters Hi and Lois Flagstone first appeared in “Beetle Bailey”. Lois is Beetle’s sister, and the characters occasionally show up in each other’s strip.

58. Start to freeze? ANTI-
The antifreeze that we put into our cars has ethylene glycol as the active ingredient. Ethylene glycol is dangerous stuff, and is very poisonous. Ingestion causes calcium oxalate crystals to form in the kidneys. It sounds like a horrible way to go …

62. National Preparedness Mo. SEP
September was declared as National Preparedness Month starting in 2004 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). National Preparedness Month is part of FEMA’s Ready Campaign, which urges folks to prepare for emergencies including natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Down
1. Grafton’s “__ for Noose” N IS
Sue Grafton writes detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and is working her way through the alphabet, most recently publishing “’W’ is for Wasted” in 2009. Apparently Ms. Grafton is working on her “X is for …” novel, and has already decided that “Z is for Zero” will be the final title in the series. What a clever naming system!

2. “Art is my life and my life is art” artist ONO
Yoko Ono is an avant-garde artist. Ono actually met her future husband John Lennon for the first time while she was preparing her conceptual art exhibit called “Hammer a Nail”. Visitors were encouraged to hammer in a nail into a wooden board, creating the artwork. Lennon wanted to hammer in the first nail, but Ono stopped him as the exhibition had not yet opened. Apparently Ono relented when Lennon paid her an imaginary five shillings to hammer an imaginary nail into the wood.

3. Sportscaster Albert MARV
Marv Albert is television and radio sportscaster, often referred to as “the voice of basketball”. Marv has two younger brothers who are also sports announcers, and his son Kenny calls baseball and football for New York Rangers games on FOX radio. In addition, Marv’s daughter is a reporter for NBA TV.

6. Ice __ FLOE
An ice floe is a sheet of ice that has separated from an ice field and is floating freely on the ocean.

8. Fact DATUM
Our word “data” (singular “datum”) comes from the Latin “datum” meaning “given”. The idea is that data are “things given”.

9. Peppery salad green ARUGULA
Eruca sativa is an edible plant that is known as “arugula” in the US, and “rocket” in the British Isles and Canada. The Italian name for the plant is “rucola”, from the Latin name. It is “rucula” that evolved into the American term “arugula”.

10. *Film for which John Houseman won an Oscar, with “The” (1864-1873) PAPER CHASE (giving “Salmon P. Chase”)
“The Paper Chase” is a 1973 film that led to a very enjoyable spinoff TV series of the same name that ran in the seventies and eighties. The film was based on a 1970 novel, also called “The Paper Chase”, by John Jay Osborn, Jr. The actor John Houseman does a marvelous job playing an intimidating professor teaching first-year law students at Harvard, both in the film and in television series.

Salmon P. Chase held the offices of Chief Justice of the US, Governor of Ohio, and Secretary of the Treasury among others. As Treasury Secretary in the Lincoln administration, Chase presided over the introduction of the nation’s first paper currency The first one-dollar bill bore Chase’s image and not the George Washington portrait with which we are so familiar today. Even though he had no affiliation with the institution, Chase National Bank was named in his honor, which is no part of JPMorgan Chase. By the way, Chase’s portrait appears on the $10,000 bill that is still legal tender today although the Federal Reserve has been withdrawing them since the late sixties. I just checked my wallet and can confirm that his image does indeed appear on the bill …

11. Candy bar with a Nordic name SKOR
Skor is a candy bar produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. Skor is sold in Canada as Rutnam.

12. Dusk, to Pope E’EN
Alexander Pope was an English poet, famous for his own compositions as well as for a translation of Homer’s works. One of Pope’s most notable poems is “Ode on Solitude” that opens with:

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Pope wrote that when he was just twelve years old!

14. Calendar col. FRI
Our day of week “Friday” comes from the Old English “Frīġedæġ” meaning “Frige’s Day”. Frige was a deity in pre-Christian England who was perhaps the same goddess as the Norse Freyja or Frigg.

17. “The War of the Worlds” author HG WELLS
“The War of the Worlds” is a science fiction classic penned by H. G. Wells in 1895-97. This compelling story of Martians invading Earth has been adapted many times into radio dramas, a television series and several movies.

20. Detroit Lions’ lion mascot ROARY
There are few sporting teams with a mascot named “Roary the Lion”. Here in the US we have Roary the mascot of the Detroit Lions football team. Over in the UK, there are Roary mascots for the Middlesbrough soccer club, as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that plays home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

23. Time that “went out like a lion,” in song MARCH
“June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” is song from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “Carousel”. One of the verses is:

March went out like a lion
A-whippin’ up the water in the bay.
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along came pretty little May!

24. Upscale Honda ACURA
Acura is a division of the Honda Motor Company, their luxury brand. As an aside, Infiniti is the equivalent luxury brand for the Nissan Motor Company, and Lexus is the more luxurious version of Toyota’s models.

25. *”Jaws” menace (1910-1921) GREAT WHITE (giving “Edward Douglass White”)
The great white shark is one big fish, and can grow to over 21 feet long and weigh over 7,000 pounds. Great whites can also live long lives, over 70 years. The great white has no natural predator, and is responsible for far more attacks on humans than any other shark species.

Peter Benchley’s book “Jaws” is a great read. It was published in 1974, and the Steven Spielberg movie “Jaws” was released just one year later.

Edward Douglass White served as the ninth Chief Justice of the US, from 1910 until 1921. White was appointed by President William Taft. When White passed away in office in 1921, William Taft actually became White’s successor as Chief Justice.

27. Spartans’ sch. MSU
Michigan State University (MSU) is located in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU has the largest study-abroad program of any single-campus university in the US. Programs are offered on all continents of the world, including Antarctica. MSU’s athletic teams are called the Spartans.

30. Like granola OATEN
The name “Granola” (and “Granula”) were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.

31. Oil giant that built what is now Chicago’s Aon Center AMOCO
“Amoco” is an abbreviation for “American Oil Company”, which was acquired by BP in 1998 Amoco was the first oil company to introduce gasoline tanker trucks and drive-through filling stations. I wonder did they know what they were starting …?

The Aon Center in Chicago is the third-tallest building in the city. There is also an Aon Center in Los Angeles that is the second-tallest building in that city.

37. 2001 album that’s also a nickname J.LO
J.Lo is the nickname of singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. “J.Lo” is also the title of her second studio album, released in 2001.

42. Medically ineffectual treatment PLACEBO
A “placebo” is a medical treatment that is ineffective, but that is deliberated formulated to deceive the patient into thinking it is real. Placebos can be given as control treatments in trials, and so the level of deception can be relatively low, as the patients are aware of the possibility of being given an ineffective treatment. The term “placebo” is the Latin word for “I shall please”. The idea is that the treatment is given more to please than to benefit the patient.

44. Bit of clique humor IN-JOKE
A “clique” is a small, exclusive group of people. The term comes to us from France, where it has the same meaning. In French it somehow evolved in meaning from the original “clique” meaning a sharp noise, or as we would say today, “click”.

49. Galileo, by birth PISAN
Galileo Galilei may be the most famous son of the city of Pisa in Italy and was considered by many to have been the father of modern science. In the world of physics, Galileo postulated that objects of different masses would fall at the same rate provided they did so in a vacuum (so there was no air resistance). There is a story that he dropped two balls of different masses from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate this, but this probably never happened. Centuries later, Astronaut David Scott performed Galileo’s proposed experiment when he dropped a hammer and feather on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission and we all saw the objects hit the moon surface, at exactly the same time.

51. Lone Star State sch. UTEP
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.

The single star on the state flag of Texas is a reminder of the “lone star” on the 1836 National Standard of Texas. The single gold star on a blue background symbolized Texas as an independent republic and its struggle for independence from Mexico.

52. Caesar of comedy SID
Sid Caesar achieved fame in the fifties on TV’s “Your Show of Shows”. To be honest, I know Sid Caesar mainly from the very entertaining film version of the musical “Grease”, in which he played Coach Calhoun.

53. Psyche’s beloved EROS
In the myth of Cupid (aka Eros) and Psyche, the two title characters must overcome many obstacles to fulfill their love for each other. Overcome them they do, and the pair marry and enjoy immortal love.

57. “Edge of Tomorrow” enemies, briefly ETS
“Edge of Tomorrow” is an absorbing science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The movie has a very relevant tag line “Live. Die, Repeat.”, which is a reference to the time loop experienced by the main character. You have to stay awake during this film to follow what’s going on …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Chinese take-out order? NO MSG
6. Co. making many arrangements FTD
9. Basilica recess APSE
13. Impressed IN AWE
14. Lab coat discovery? FLEA
15. Tool with teeth RAKE
16. Loud cheering consequence SORE THROAT
18. Informed about UPON
19. *Whopper alternative (1969-1986) VEGGIE BURGER (giving “Warren E. Burger”)
21. Help for a breakdown TOW
22. Affaire de coeur AMOUR
23. Star followers MAGI
26. Webby Award candidate EMAG
29. Wrap maker ALCOA
32. Lot size ACRE
33. WWII lander LST
34. Author Greene GRAHAM
35. Feel sorry about RUE
36. *Former MLB mascot BJ Birdy was one (1789-1795) BLUE JAY (giving “John Jay”)
38. From __ Z A TO
39. Barely moves CRAWLS
41. Roker and Rosen ALS
42. Tiny time meas. PSEC
43. Branch of yoga HATHA
44. “No real damage” I’M OK
45. Car-collecting star LENO
46. George Eliot or George Sand WOMAN
48. UV index monitor EPA
50. The end of each answer to a starred clue is a former one CHIEF JUSTICE
54. Hi’s wife, in comics LOIS
55. Broiler with a motor ROTISSERIE
58. Start to freeze? ANTI-
59. Sanctioned OKED
60. Scrub ABORT
61. Russia is its largest producer BEET
62. National Preparedness Mo. SEP
63. Breathers? NOSES

Down
1. Grafton’s “__ for Noose” N IS
2. “Art is my life and my life is art” artist ONO
3. Sportscaster Albert MARV
4. Honey SWEETIE
5. Day one GET-GO
6. Ice __ FLOE
7. Leaves holder TEA BAG
8. Fact DATUM
9. Peppery salad green ARUGULA
10. *Film for which John Houseman won an Oscar, with “The” (1864-1873) PAPER CHASE (giving “Salmon P. Chase”)
11. Candy bar with a Nordic name SKOR
12. Dusk, to Pope E’EN
14. Calendar col. FRI
17. “The War of the Worlds” author HG WELLS
20. Detroit Lions’ lion mascot ROARY
23. Time that “went out like a lion,” in song MARCH
24. Upscale Honda ACURA
25. *”Jaws” menace (1910-1921) GREAT WHITE (giving “Edward Douglass White”)
27. Spartans’ sch. MSU
28. Best crew A-TEAM
30. Like granola OATEN
31. Oil giant that built what is now Chicago’s Aon Center AMOCO
34. Leak preventers GASKETS
36. Fault BLAME
37. 2001 album that’s also a nickname J.LO
40. Response to a ring WHO IS IT?
42. Medically ineffectual treatment PLACEBO
44. Bit of clique humor IN-JOKE
47. High styles AFROS
49. Galileo, by birth PISAN
50. Frozen yogurt holder CONE
51. Lone Star State sch. UTEP
52. Caesar of comedy SID
53. Psyche’s beloved EROS
54. Class where partners may be required LAB
56. Ill temper IRE
57. “Edge of Tomorrow” enemies, briefly ETS

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