LA Times Crossword Answers 27 Mar 16, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Mark MacLachlan
THEME: C Battery … we have a BATTERY of C-sounds added to common phrases to give us today’s themed answers:

23A. Film monster at a construction site? CRANE OF TERROR (C + “Reign of Terror”)
39A. Peat moss heist? NURSERY CRIME (C + “nursery rhyme”)
44A. Double without a seatbelt? UNSECURED CLONE (C + “unsecured loan”)
69A. Exclusive editing websites? WIKI CLIQUES (C + “WikiLeaks”)
92A. Marx feature? CRAZED EYEBROWS (C + “raised eyebrows”)
96A. Garden center bulk purchase? CASE OF SPADES (C + “ace of spades”)
114A. Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes? CRY ON THE CROCS (C + “rye, on the rocks”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 19m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

7. They were introduced to Western pop music during the British Invasion SITARS
The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. The sitar is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

13. Quantities like mass and volume SCALARS
In physics, a “scalar” is a one-dimensional quantity, whereas a “vector” has two dimensions. For example, speed is a scalar. On the other hand, velocity is a vector as it is defined by both speed and direction.

20. Earth pigment SIENNA
The shade known as “sienna” or “burnt sienna” was originally a pigment made from earth found around Siena in Tuscany.

21. Slow movement ADAGIO
An adagio is a piece of music with a slow tempo. The “adagio” marking on the score is an instruction to play the piece slowly and in a stately manner. The word adagio is Latin for “at ease”.

22. Hamlet’s friend HORATIO
Horatio is a character in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, a friend of the play’s hero and a relatively uninterested party in the intrigue of the storyline. As a trusted friend, Horatio serves as a sounding board for Hamlet, allowing us in the audience to gain more insight into Hamlet’s thinking and character as we listen to the two in conversation. One of Horatio’s more famous lines is spoken right after the title character dies, as Horatio says goodbye to his friend:
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince:
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

23. Film monster at a construction site? CRANE OF TERROR (C + “Reign of Terror”)
“Reign of Terror” is the name given to the violent months that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The guillotine earned the nickname “the National Razor” during those days in 1793 and 1794, with tens of thousands of people losing their lives (and heads).

25. Subject for Dumbledore ALCHEMY
Professor Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of the school for wizards called Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter universe. Dumbledore’s specialties are nonverbal spells and alchemy. Author J. K. Rowling chose the name Dumbledore as it is an Early English word for a bumblebee. Apparently she pictured him wandering around, humming to himself.

28. Unrestricted ruler DESPOT
A “despot” is a ruler with absolute power, often one who wields that power oppressively. “Despot” is an old French term from the 14th century, ultimately derived from the Greek “despotes” meaning “master of a household, absolute ruler”.

30. Govt. intel org. NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … “No Such Agency”.

31. Co-star of “Suspect” (1987) CHER
“Suspect” is a 1987 courtroom drama with a decent cast led by Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson. I haven’t seen this one, but I’m adding it to “my list”, even though I hear that the ending of the movie annoyed some folks, including film critic Roger Ebert.

32. Author Rand AYN
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist born Alisa Rosenbaum. Her two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” from 1957. Back in 1951, Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan.

37. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone LIA
The “Lia Fáil” is the coronation stone that is found on the Hill of Tara, the traditional seat of the High Kings of Ireland. “Lia Fáil” translates from Irish as “stone of destiny”.

38. Civil War prez 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.

39. Peat moss heist? NURSERY CRIME (C + “nursery rhyme”)
Peat moss is actually Sphagnum moss that has partially decayed and dried. The term “peat moss” is used as Sphagnum moss is often found in peat bogs. Sphagnum moss has the ability to store large quantities of water, so the dried form is used by gardeners to condition soil, to increase the soil’s capacity to retain moisture.

50. Former “Daily Show” correspondent Samantha BEE
Samantha Bee is a comedian from Toronto who is best known as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” starting way back in 2003. Bee left “The Daily Show” in 2015 to host her own late-night talk show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS.

51. Recipe words A DASH
In cooking, a “dash” is a very small measure, one that is often undefined. However, you can in fact buy some measuring spoons that define not only a dash but also a “pinch” and a “smidgen”, as follows:

– a dash is 1/8 teaspoon
– a pinch is 1/16 teaspoon
– a smidgen is 1/32 teaspoon

54. Vietnam’s last emperor Bao __ DAI
Bao Dai was the last of the Vietnamese emperors to serve under the “protection” of the French. Bao Dai was emperor of what was then called French Indochina, from 1926 to 1945. He remained in office after the Japanese ousted the French in 1945. He was also the person responsible at that time for giving his country the new name of Vietnam.

57. Bagel topper LOX
Lox is a cured salmon fillet, finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City.

61. Art opening? POP
An artistic work in the Pop Art style includes images taken from popular culture, perhaps from the news or an advertisement. The pop art movement started in the mid-fifties in Britain and emerged in the late-fifties in the US.

66. Something in the air NITROGEN
Air is mainly composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). We hear a lot about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It makes up (or should make up!) about 0.04%, but that’s an important 0.04%.

67. “Return of the Jedi” dancer OOLA
Oola was a slave-girl dancer who was eaten by a scary creature in the movie “Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the the Jedi”. Oola was played by British actor Femi Taylor.

69. Exclusive editing websites? WIKI CLIQUES (C + “WikiLeaks”)
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, a “click”.

Julian Assange founded WikiLeaks, the website that is notorious for publishing information provided by whistleblowers. Assange is currently in England and recently lost an appeal to avoid extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault. Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking political asylum in 2012. He was granted that asylum and now lives at the embassy.

71. Adored speaker BOSE
Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Amar G. Bose, and is a company that specializes in manufacture of audio equipment.

72. Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation THE CHAOS
“The Chaos” is a poem by Dutch writer Gerard Trenité in 1920. It is an intriguing work, one designed to demonstrate the irregularity (“chaos”) of spelling and pronunciation in the English language. The poem opens with:

Dearest creature in creation
Studying English pronunciation,
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse.

and closes with:

Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, bough, cough, hough, sough, tough??
Hiccough has the sound of cup…
My advice is: GIVE IT UP!

75. Part of PST: Abbr. STD
Pacific Standard Time (PST)

78. Astronomer Celsius ANDERS
Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. The temperature scale that Celsius created was the reverse of that used today, with “zero” representing the boiling point of water and “100” representing water’s freezing point. This scale was “upended” (in 1744) just after Celsius died, by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The resulting temperature scale then became known as the centigrade scale for over 200 years, until in 1948 it was decided to adopt the “degree Celsius”. So, anyone still using “degrees centigrade” is actually way behind the times …

82. Time, e.g., briefly MAG
“Time” magazine has a readership of about 25 million, making it the largest-circulation weekly news magazine in the world.

83. Iraqi port BASRA
It’s quite a coincidence that the Iraqi city of Basra has a name that is an anagram of “Arabs”, isn’t it? Basra also features in the H. G. Wells science-fiction tale “The Shape of Things to Come”. Written in 1933, the storyline predicts a global conflict (WWII) that breaks out in 1940 lasting for ten years, after which chaos reigns as no victor emerges. Following worldwide plague, a benevolent dictatorship takes charge and the world moves towards a serene utopia. In time, the dictators are overthrown and peacefully retired, and the people of the Earth live happily ever after, all citizens of one global state with its capital in Basra in the Middle East.

85. French pen name BIC
Société Bic is a French company, based in Clichy in France. The first product the company produced, more than fifty years ago, was the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen that is still produced today. Bic also makes other disposable products such as lighters and razors.

90. “… __, mean, fightin’ machine!”: John Candy in “Stripes” A LEAN
John Candy was a Canadian comedian and actor. He was an alum of Canada’s famed comedy troupe called the Second City (later “SCTV”). In the world of movies I have to say my favorite of Candy’s performances were in supporting roles, as in “Stripes” and “Home Alone”. Sadly, Candy died of a heart attack in 1994, when he was only 43 years old.

“Stripes” is a very funny 1981 comedy film about a group of misfits going through basic training for the US Army. The excellent cast is led by Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. There are also a lot of actors making appearances relatively early in their careers, including Sean Young, John Larroquette, Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton.

92. Marx feature? CRAZED EYEBROWS (C + “raised eyebrows”)
Groucho Marx’s real name was Julius Henry Marx. By the time Groucho started his successful, post-Hollywood career hosting the quiz show “You Bet Your Life”, he was sporting a real mustache. For all his movies, his mustache had been painted on with greasepaint.

99. Carbohydrate ending -OSE
Sugars are usually named using the “-ose” suffix e.g. glucose, fructose, sucrose.

100. “Dinosaur Train” watcher TOT
“Dinosaur Train” is an animated TV series about a young T. rex named Buddy who explores his world on the Dinosaur Train.

101. WWII German minesweeper R BOAT
Over 400 R boats were built for the German navy before and during WWII for use mainly as minesweepers. The “R boat” designation comes from the German “Räumboote” meaning literally “room boat”, although “clearance boat” is a better translation.

104. Riot squad spray MACE
Mace is actually a brand name, originally introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray.

105. Munich lament ACH!
The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, and is the third largest city in the country (after Berlin and Hamburg). The city is called “München” in German, a term that derives from the Old German word for “by the monks’ place”, which is a reference to the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city in 1158.

108. Tree in a tray BONSAI
The term “bonsai” is used more correctly to describe the Japanese art of growing carefully shaped trees in containers, although it has come to be used as the name for all miniature trees in pots.

114. Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes? CRY ON THE CROCS (C + “rye, on the rocks”)
Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas.

119. Ursa Minor star POLARIS
Because the orientation of the Earth’s axis shifts, albeit very slowly, the position of north relative to the stars changes over time. The bright star that is closest to true north is Polaris, and so we call Polaris the North Star or Pole Star. 14,000 years ago, the nearest bright star to true north was Vega, and it will be so again in about 12,000 years time.

Ursa Minor (Latin for “Smaller Bear”) sits right beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “dragon”). Ursa Minor used to be considered the wing of Draco, and so was once called “Dragon’s Wing”. The constellation has long been important to mariners for navigation, because it includes Polaris, the North Star.

121. “Real love __ me through”: Steve Winwood lyric TO PULL
The lyric comes from the Steve Winwood song “Real Love”.

Steve Winwood is a musician from Birmingham in the English midlands. Winwood has a successful solo career, but first achieved fame as a member of the Spencer Davis Group. In fact, Winwood joined the group at the ripe old age of 14 years!

123. Franklin writings ESSAYS
The noted polymath Benjamin Franklin was one of the US’s Founding Fathers. Franklin was born into a working class family in Boston in 1706. He went on to invent the lightning rod and bifocals. He became the first US Ambassador to France, the US’s Postmaster General and the Governor of Pennsylvania. He played the violin, the harp and the guitar and composed a string quartet. He was also an accomplished chess player, the first to be known by name in the American colonies. The list of the Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments seems to be endless …

124. Large furniture chain ASHLEY
Ashley Furniture is based in Arcadia, Washington and is the largest domestic manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings in the US.

Down
1. Advanced math deg., in Canada MSC
Master of Science (“M.S.” in the US, “M. Sc.” in Canada and Britain).

2. Carrier with a Shanghai hub AIR CHINA
Air China is a flag carrier for the People’s Republic of China, and is based in Beijing. The airline is not to be confused with China Airlines, the flag carrier of the Republic of China (aka “Taiwan”).

Shanghai is a major city on the west coast of China that is home to the busiest container port in the world. The name “Shanghai” translates as “Upon-the-Sea”.

3. Qatar locale NEAR EAST
In geographical terms there are three “Easts”. The Near East and Middle East are terms that are often considered synonymous, although “Near East” tends to be used when discussing ancient history and “Middle East” when referring to the present day. The Near/Middle East encompasses most of Western Asia and Egypt. The term “Far East” describes East Asia (including the Russian Far East), Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. Qatar has more oil and gas reserves per capita of population than any other country in the world. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry. Qatar is scheduled to who the 2022 FIFA World Cup, although the nation’s eligibility to do so is under question after a far-reaching bribery scandal was uncovered at the sport’s governing body.

6. Brazil map word SAO
“São” is a word used in Portuguese that translates as “saint”.

9. Sailor TAR
A Jack Tar, or just “tar”, was a seaman in the days of the British Empire. The term probably arose due to a sailor’s various uses of tar back then, including waterproofing his clothes and using tar in his hair to slick down his ponytail.

10. Cabinet dept. AGR
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) actually dates back to 1862 when it was established by then-president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln referred to the USDA as the “people’s department” as our economy had such a vast agrarian base back then.

11. Aldi supermarket juice brand that translates to “river of gold” RIO D’ORO
Aldi is an extremely large discount supermarket chain based in Germany with outlets in many countries, including the main European nations and Australia. Here in the US, Aldi owns the Trader Joe’s chain of stores.

15. Northernmost freshwater fish ARCTIC CHAR
The Arctic char is cold-water fish, found in freshwater bodies in the very north of our planet, as the name suggests. In fact, no other freshwater fish is found as far north as the Arctic char.

17. UMass’s conference A-TEN
The Atlantic 10 Conference actually has fourteen member colleges, despite the name.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) is the largest public university in New England. UMass was founded back in 1863, although it took a while to get the school into service. Construction work was delayed and the college went through two presidents before William S. Clark took charge. He cracked the whip, completed the construction and enrolled the first students in the same year that he took over the reins, in 1867. As a result, although Clark was the third President of UMass, he is regarded by most as the school’s founding father.

19. Tofu source SOYA
Tofu is another name for bean curd, and is a Japanese word meaning just that … bean that has “curdled”. Tofu is produced by coagulating soy milk, using either salt or something acidic. Once the protein has coagulated, the curds are pressed into the familiar blocks. Personally I love tofu dishes, but my wife, she absolutely hates them …

24. Handbill FLYER
“Fliers” are notices that are circulated. The original fliers (also “flyers”) were police bulletins that were “scatter broadcast”.

29. 1994 film set on a bus SPEED
“Speed” is an entertaining 1994 action film starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, as well as the late Dennis Hopper as the bad guy.

31. Game with a rope CLUE
Clue is another board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), a lead pipe (lead piping in the US) and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

32. “Perched upon __ of Pallas”: “The Raven” A BUST
“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore” …

33. Fairy tale opener ONCE …
Once upon a time …

34. Summer mo. JUL
Our month of July used to be called “Quintilis” in Ancient Rome. “Quintilis” is Latin for “fifth”, and it was the fifth month of the year back then. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Roman Senate renamed Quintilis to Julius, in his honor, which evolved into our “July”.

36. Org. for marksmen NRA
National Rifle Association (NRA)

38. 43,560 square feet ACRE
At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. This was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one furlong wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. A area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

41. Dyes used for blue jeans INDIGOS
The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

42. Most Grinch-like MEANEST
The Grinch is the title character in Dr. Seuss’s 1957 children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Based on Seuss’s hero, we now use the term “grinch” for someone opposed to Christmas festivities or coarse and greedy in general.

46. Nook downloads E-BOOKS
The Barnes & Noble electronic-book reader is called the Nook. If you are looking for a free read, Barnes & Noble allow you to read any e-book for free for up to an hour if connected to the Internet via a Barnes & Noble store’s Wi-Fi.

47. Home of Humayun’s Tomb DELHI
The Mughal Emperor Humayun is buried in a very elaborate and quite beautiful garden-tomb in Delhi. Completed in 1572, it was the first garden-tomb to be built in the whole of the Indian subcontinent. The tomb has been extensively restored in recent years, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

53. Puts in rollers SETS
Those would be hair rollers.

57. Award-winning courtroom drama LA LAW
“L.A. Law” ran on NBC from 1986 to 1994, and was one of the network’s most successful drama series. It took over from the equally successful “Hill Street Blues” in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot until, after a six-year run, it was itself replaced by yet another respected drama, “E.R.” The opening credits showed that famous California licence plate. The plate was on a Jaguar XJ for most of the series, but moved onto a Bentley towards the end of the run. For each series the registration sticker was updated, so no laws were being broken.

58. Elevator innovator OTIS
Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

61. Chesapeake Bay feeder POTOMAC
Chesapeake Bay is on the Atlantic coast and is surrounded by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the whole country, with over 150 rivers and streams draining into it, including the Potomac.

63. Telethon commitments PLEDGES
The world’s first telethon was took place in 1949. It was a 16-hour fundraiser hosted by Milton Berle that raised over a million dollars for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The term “telethon”, a portmanteau of “television” and “marathon”, was coined in the news media the day after the event.

65. Maker of Cage golf shoes ECCO
I have to say, after owning several pairs, that ECCO shoes are the most comfortable in the world …

70. “Brokeback Mountain” actor QUAID
The very successful 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” is an adaptation of a short story written by Annie Proulx. The two romantic lead characters were Ennis del Mar (played by Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).

The actor Randy Quaid is perhaps best known for his performances in the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movies, “Brokeback Mountain” and “Independence Day”. Quaid also had the title role in the 1987 TV movie “LBJ: The Early Years”, for which he won a Golden Globe. Randy is the older brother of fellow actor Dennis Quaid, and is also a first cousin, twice removed of actor and singer Gene Autry.

73. Schmoozers HOBNOBBERS
“To hobnob with” means “to rub elbows with, associate with”. The term dates back to the mid 1700s and is derived from “hob and nob”, a phrase meaning to toast each other in turn, or to buy alternate rounds of drinks.

“To schmooze” is to chat intimately, a word that comes from the Yiddish “schmusen” meaning ‘to chat” .

77. 1986 Starship chart-topper SARA
The sixties folk group called Jefferson Airplane gave rise to two spin-off groups that were founded by former Jefferson Airplane band members. The first was Jefferson Starship, and the second was Starship. Confusing, huh?

80. Obi-Wan’s attire ROBE
Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the “Star Wars” characters. Kenobi was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man he is played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man he is played by Alec Guinness.

85. Smooch from Sofía BESO
“Beso” is Spanish for “kiss”.

88. Type of engine or oil TWO-CYCLE
A two-stroke (also “two-cycle”) engine is one that makes a complete power cycle in only two strokes of the piston, and one revolution of the crankshaft. Two-stroke engines are popular in smaller motorcycles, chainsaws and outboard motors. Most automobiles use four-stroke engines.

94. __ garden ZEN
Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

95. What “comes but once in a lifetime”: Longfellow YOUTH
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was famous for his own work of course, like “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Song of Hiawatha”, but he was also the first American to translate Dante’s epic poem called the “Divine Comedy”.

97. “Jamie” reader FOODIE
Jamie Oliver is a celebrity chef from England who has authored a string of successful cookbooks, such as “Jamie’s Kitchen”, “Jamie’s Dinners” and “Jamie’s America”. Oliver has also been known as the Naked Chef since he filmed his first television show in the late nineties. The show’s title, “The Naked Chef”, was a reference to the simplicity of Oliver’s recipes, and not any lifestyle choice …

103. Defense secretary before Panetta GATES
Robert Gates was appointed Director of the CIA by President George H.W. Bush. In taking that position, Gates became the only person in CIA history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. Gates also served in the administration of President George W. Bush, taking over as Secretary of Defense when Donald Rumsfeld resigned.

Leon Panetta was Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and took over as CIA Director in 2009 in the Obama administration. From 2011 to 2013 he also served as Secretary of Defense. Panetta has long been interested in protecting the world’s oceans. As an example, he wrote the legislation that created the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

105. iCal entry APPT
iCal is Apple’s personal calendar application, although it is now referred to simply as “Calendar”.

111. Sgts. and cpls. NCOS
An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

116. “Ghost” psychic __ Mae Brown ODA
Oda Mae Brown is the psychic medium in the movie “Ghost”, played by Whoopi Goldberg.

117. Greek vowel ETA
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:

Across
1. Fads MANIAS
7. They were introduced to Western pop music during the British Invasion SITARS
13. Quantities like mass and volume SCALARS
20. Earth pigment SIENNA
21. Slow movement ADAGIO
22. Hamlet’s friend HORATIO
23. Film monster at a construction site? CRANE OF TERROR (C + “Reign of Terror”)
25. Subject for Dumbledore ALCHEMY
26. Plane staff CREW
27. Kitchen top LID
28. Unrestricted ruler DESPOT
30. Govt. intel org. NSA
31. Co-star of “Suspect” (1987) CHER
32. Author Rand AYN
33. Spanish eye OJO
35. Confine, as on a farm PEN IN
37. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone LIA
38. Civil War prez ABE
39. Peat moss heist? NURSERY CRIME (C + “nursery rhyme”)
44. Double without a seatbelt? UNSECURED CLONE (C + “unsecured loan”)
48. Sticks often with curved tops CANES
49. Ones having a bite EATERS
50. Former “Daily Show” correspondent Samantha BEE
51. Recipe words A DASH
54. Vietnam’s last emperor Bao __ DAI
55. Update the machinery RETOOL
57. Bagel topper LOX
59. Apprehensive of FEARING
61. Art opening? POP
64. Reason to call the landlord NO HEAT
66. Something in the air NITROGEN
67. “Return of the Jedi” dancer OOLA
69. Exclusive editing websites? WIKI CLIQUES (C + “WikiLeaks”)
71. Adored speaker BOSE
72. Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation THE CHAOS
74. Not dressy CASUAL
75. Part of PST: Abbr. STD
76. Historic metropolitan district OLD TOWN
77. Miss piggy? SOW
78. Astronomer Celsius ANDERS
82. Time, e.g., briefly MAG
83. Iraqi port BASRA
85. French pen name BIC
86. Research GO INTO
90. “… __, mean, fightin’ machine!”: John Candy in “Stripes” A LEAN
92. Marx feature? CRAZED EYEBROWS (C + “raised eyebrows”)
96. Garden center bulk purchase? CASE OF SPADES (C + “ace of spades”)
99. Carbohydrate ending -OSE
100. “Dinosaur Train” watcher TOT
101. WWII German minesweeper R BOAT
102. 6, on a phone MNO
103. __ instinct GUT
104. Riot squad spray MACE
105. Munich lament ACH!
108. Tree in a tray BONSAI
110. Breakfast morsel OAT
111. Prying NOSY
112. Go before PRECEDE
114. Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes? CRY ON THE CROCS (C + “rye, on the rocks”)
119. Ursa Minor star POLARIS
120. Interfere MEDDLE
121. “Real love __ me through”: Steve Winwood lyric TO PULL
122. Matching tops worn together TWINSET
123. Franklin writings ESSAYS
124. Large furniture chain ASHLEY

Down
1. Advanced math deg., in Canada MSC
2. Carrier with a Shanghai hub AIR CHINA
3. Qatar locale NEAR EAST
4. __ peace INNER
5. Yet again ANEW
6. Brazil map word SAO
7. Observed, maybe SAT IN
8. Fingered IDED
9. Sailor TAR
10. Cabinet dept. AGR
11. Aldi supermarket juice brand that translates to “river of gold” RIO D’ORO
12. Ticked SORE
13. Machine shop tool SHAPER
14. Groups of bats or beavers COLONY
15. Northernmost freshwater fish ARCTIC CHAR
16. “Well, __-di-dah!” LAH
17. UMass’s conference A-TEN
18. Edges RIMS
19. Tofu source SOYA
24. Handbill FLYER
29. 1994 film set on a bus SPEED
31. Game with a rope CLUE
32. “Perched upon __ of Pallas”: “The Raven” A BUST
33. Fairy tale opener ONCE …
34. Summer mo. JUL
36. Org. for marksmen NRA
38. 43,560 square feet ACRE
40. Junk food, in ads SNAX
41. Dyes used for blue jeans INDIGOS
42. Most Grinch-like MEANEST
43. Digitally endorsed E-SIGNED
45. Bard’s “always” E’ER
46. Nook downloads E-BOOKS
47. Home of Humayun’s Tomb DELHI
52. Off the beaten path AFIELD
53. Puts in rollers SETS
56. Dip ingredients ONIONS
57. Award-winning courtroom drama LA LAW
58. Elevator innovator OTIS
60. Hold up ROB
61. Chesapeake Bay feeder POTOMAC
62. “C’est magnifique!” OOH LA LA!
63. Telethon commitments PLEDGES
65. Maker of Cage golf shoes ECCO
66. Subtlety NUANCE
68. Be on a role? ACT
69. Trumpet sound WA-WA
70. “Brokeback Mountain” actor QUAID
73. Schmoozers HOBNOBBERS
77. 1986 Starship chart-topper SARA
79. Spew out EGEST
80. Obi-Wan’s attire ROBE
81. Title of honor SIR
84. Tax audit needs: Abbr. RCPTS
85. Smooch from Sofía BESO
87. Absolutely no one NOT A SOUL
88. Type of engine or oil TWO-CYCLE
89. Bone: Pref. OSTE-
91. Fizzy prefix AER-
93. Looks up to ADMIRES
94. __ garden ZEN
95. What “comes but once in a lifetime”: Longfellow YOUTH
97. “Jamie” reader FOODIE
98. Most stable SANEST
103. Defense secretary before Panetta GATES
104. Transform, in sci-fi MORPH
105. iCal entry APPT
106. Bad avian omen in much mythology CROW
107. Prefix with port HELI-
109. Peak ACME
110. Just ONLY
111. Sgts. and cpls. NCOS
113. Discharge CAN
115. NFL stat YDS
116. “Ghost” psychic __ Mae Brown ODA
117. Greek vowel ETA
118. Cagey SLY

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4 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 27 Mar 16, Sunday”

  1. Happy Easter everyone – A very tough puzzle that was slow going from the outset. It took me a long time to do this one although I did it faster than yesterday's puzzle. I looked up one google when I just came to a stand still.

    There is a debate whether you can really have a negative scalar value. Mass, volume, speed (velocity is considered the term for the vector of speed). How can you have a negative speed when direction (vector) is not taken into account or unless there is an observer to give the movement perspective? IMHO the second you put a negative number on it, it becomes a vector quantity. When you combine a scalar with a vector, it becomes a vector. There are also those who think that scalar is just a number so it can be negative.

    Truth is it's all semantics. We're just assigning a word to something so it probably just depends on how you're defining it. Also – there are theoretically such things as negative mass in the quantum world, but I don't think the definition applies to those.

    Regardless, it's a fun debate to have as long as you're nerdy enough to appreciate it… There are scalars, vectors as well as something called tensors. Tensors are very difficult to describe unless you have a text on differential equations near you. But just for fun here is the definition: Tensors are geometric objects that describe linear relations between geometric vectors, scalars and other tensors….

    As my Easter present to everyone, I'll stop talking about it now…

    Excellent write up as always, but I suspect the difficulty of the puzzle coincides with the level of interest of a lot of the write up subjects. A lot of new stuff for me today.

    Best –

  2. A Happy Easter to you all.

    I knew this was trouble when I saw "Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation". Whaa?

    Sorry, but these puns didn't justify sitting with this grid.
    CRAZED EYEBROWS? WIKI CLIQUES?
    Enjoy your day and see you all tomorrow.

    @Jeff, Yeah, what you said about what you said. ^0^

  3. Good puzzle. Depends on how the letter substitutions set I suppose, I thought a couple of them were pretty clever.

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