LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Jun 2018, Saturday

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Constructed by: Neville Fogarty & Andy Kravis
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 13m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Weight-training equipment : SQUAT RACKS

A power rack (also “squat rack”) is a piece gym equipment that acts as a mechanical spotter for someone lifting weights.

In a gym, a “spotter” is a person who watches and guards someone who is training or performing, in order to prevent injury.

11. Cotton cleaner : Q-TIP

Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”. This was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

15. Traditional November race : TURKEY TROT

Turkey trots are long-distance fun runs held around Thanksgiving here in the US, and around Christmas over the UK. The “turkey” reference is to the traditional dish served at both holidays.

18. One in Berlin : EINS

“Eins, zwei, drei, vier” is German for “one, two, three, four”.

Berlin is the capital and largest city in Germany, and is the second most populous city in the European Union (after London).

19. G8 member : USA

The G6 was a group of six industrialized nations that formed in 1975 and whose governments met on a periodic basis. The founding members were France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. The membership expanded in 1976 with the addition of Canada, forming the G7. Russia was given representation in the group in 1997, forming the G8. Russia’s membership was suspended in 2014 after she annexed Crimea.

22. Needle holder : TONEARM

On a record player turntable, the tonearm is the free-swinging bracket that holds the phonograph pickup. The pickup is the magnetic cartridge that converts vibrations of the needle as it travels in the groove of the record, into an electrical signal that can be amplified and converted into sound.

27. Sharon of Israel : ARIEL

Ariel Sharon was a former Prime Minister of Israel. While still in office in 2005, Sharon suffered two debilitating strokes that left him in a permanent vegetative state from early 2006, until he finally passed away in early 2014.

28. Rewards for a big promotion? : CLIOS

The Clio Awards are the Oscars of the advertising world and are named after Clio, the Greek Muse of History. Clio was also the recorder of great deeds, the proclaimer and celebrator of great accomplishments and a source of inspiration and genius. The Clio Awards were first presented in 1959.

30. Laker teammate of Magic : KAREEM

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s name at birth was Ferdinand Lewis “Lew” Alcindor. Alcindor changed his name when he converted to Islam.

Magic Johnson’s real name is Earvin Johnson. Johnson was born and grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Earvin earned the nickname “Magic” when playing basketball in high school, after one particularly great performance on the court.

38. Zaragoza’s river : EBRO

The Ebro is the longest river in Spain. The river was known by the Romans as the Iber, and it is the “Iber” river that gives the “Iberian” Peninsula its name.

Zaragoza is the capital city of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. The city’s name evolved from the name used by the ancient Romans, i.e. “Caesaraugusta”.

39. Fabulous fellow? : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

42. Motel arrival? : ROACH

Figuratively speaking, a roach motel is a low-priced lodging facility that is in a pretty dilapidated state. There is also a Roach Motel trademarked brand of cockroach traps that is owned by Black Flag. Despite the trademark protection, the term “roach motel” is commonly applied to any device that uses bait to lure cockroaches into a compartment fitted with a sticky trap.

46. Role for Heston or Huston : BEN-HUR

The celebrated Charlton Heston movie “Ben-Hur” is a dramatization of a book published in 1880 by Lew Wallace titled “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ”. The 1959 epic film won a record 11 Academy Awards, a feat that has been equaled since then but has never been beaten. The other winners of 11 Oscars are “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Rings”.

The 2016 epic “Ben-Hur” is an adaptation of the Lew Wallace novel of the same name, rather than a remake of the celebrated 1959 Charlton Heston vehicle. English actor Jack Huston has the title role in the 2016 film, which really bombed at the box office.

48. Weasel relative : OTTER

Male and female otters are known as dogs and bitches, with the offspring called pups. Males and females are are sometimes referred to as boars and sows. A collection of otters is a bevy, family, lodge or perhaps a romp. When in water, a collection of otters can be called a raft.

Weasels are small mammals with long, thin bodies that are an advantage in chasing their prey into narrow burrows.

49. “Fuller House” actor : SAGET

Bob Saget is a real enigma to me. Saget made a name for himself playing very sugary roles in TV shows like “Full House” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, and yet in the world of stand-up comedy he is known for very blue and raunchy routines.

“Fuller House” is a Netflix original series that first aired in 2016. It is a sequel to the hit sitcom “Full House” that aired on network television in the eighties and nineties. Both shows were created by Jeff Franklin. Many of the original cast appear in the sequel, with the notable exception of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The now-famous Olsen twins played young Michelle Tanner on “Full House”.

51. Chords are part of them : SECANTS

In geometric terms, a secant is a straight line that intersects a curve at two points. The term “secant” comes from the Latin “secare” meaning “to cut”, in the sense that secants “cut” a curve. The section of the secant line that is bounded by the two intersecting points is known as a chord.

55. Cannes Film Festival award : PALME D’OR

The “Palme d’Or” (or “Golden Palm” in English) is the highest award given at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or goes to the director of the film selected as the best shown at the festival that year. The palm was selected as an emblem for the award as there is a palm featured on the coat of arms of the Commune of Cannes.

59. Many a Syrian : ARAB

The modern state that we know as Syria was established after WWI as a French mandate. Syria was granted independence from France in 1946.

60. Booted, in old football : DROP-KICKED

A drop kick involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it right after it bounces off the ground. Drop kicks are rarely seen now in American football, but are a required element in some situations in a rugby match.

68. 1999 Pacino/Crowe film about a whistleblower : THE INSIDER

Jeffrey Wigand was once vice president of research and development at the tobacco company Brown & Williamson. Famously, Wigand gave a “tell all” interview for television’s “60 Minutes” in which he described deliberate actions by his employers to increase the level of addiction of cigarette smokers. Wigand’s fascinating story was told in the 1999 movie “The Insider”, with Russell Crowe playing the whistle-blower.

Down

2. Nacho cheese : QUESO

“Queso” is Spanish for “cheese”.

The dish known as “nachos” was supposedly created by the maître d’ at a restaurant called the Victory Club in the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The maître d’’s name was Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya.

3. Name of eight popes : URBAN

There have been eight popes named Urban who have led the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Urban I was in office from 222 to 230 and is the only one of the eight to have been sanctified. Urban VII’s papacy was the shortest in the history of the church. He died from malaria just 13 days after having been chosen as Pope in September 1590.

4. Handle letters : AKA

Also known as (aka)

5. Vietnamese holiday : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

6. Deli selection : RYE

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

7. DOJ division : ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is today part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

8. Bird that’s hard to eat? : CROW

The phrase “eat crow”, an alternative to “eat humble pie”, perhaps refers to the fact that cooked crow may be edible, but is not a great food choice.

9. Peninsula partly defined by the Yalu River : KOREA

A large section of the border between China and North Korea runs down the center of the Yalu River. Yalu is the Chinese name for the river, whereas it is known as the Amnok in Korean. The valley through which the western part of the river flows was the site of many, many dogfights during the Korean War, and was famously known as “MiG Alley”.

10. Gospel writer : ST MARK

Saint Mark the Evangelist was the author of the Gospel of Mark. He was also the founder of the Church of Alexandria in Egypt, the first bishop of Alexandria and the founder of Christianity in Africa.

11. Subtitle of #48 in AFI’s “100 Years…100 Songs” : QUE SERA, SERA

As Doris Day told us, “que será, será” is Spanish for “whatever will be, will be”. Actually, the phrase is “pseudo-Spanish”, and isn’t grammatically correct.

The 1956 song “Que Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” was first performed by Doris Day in the Hitchcock film “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Day later used the same tune as the theme song for the sitcom “The Doris Day Show” that aired in the late sixties and early seventies.

Here are the top five titles in the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Songs”.

  1. “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz”
  2. “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca”
  3. “Singin’ in the Rain” from “Singin’ in the Rain”
  4. “Moon River” from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
  5. “White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn”

12. Cosmopolitan essential : TRIPLE SEC

Triple sec is liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet oranges. I tend to use it in cocktails calling for Grand Marnier or Cointreau, as it is a cheaper alternative and tastes very similar …

Like so many famous cocktails, the actual origins of the cosmopolitan are disputed. It is a nice drink. One of the standard recipes is 4 parts citrus vodka, 1.5 parts Cointreau, 1.5 parts lime juice and 3 parts cranberry juice.

21. Souls, e.g. : KIAS

The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …

24. __ king : A LA

A dish prepared “a la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is food prepared in a cream sauce, with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.

25. British vocalist __ Ora : RITA

Rita Ora is a British singer who was born in Pristina, Yugoslavia. She was born “Rita Sahatçiu” to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, they moved from “watchmaker” to “Ora”, the Albanian word for “time”.

26. Law recipient : MOSES

Moses is an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, and the most important prophet in Judaism. It fell to Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt across the Red Sea. He was given the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and then wandered the desert with his people for forty years. Moses then died within sight of the Promised Land.

29. “Thong Song” singer : SISQO

“SisQó” is the stage name of R&B singer Mark Andrews. As well as being a solo artist, SisQó is the lead singer of the group Dru Hill.

31. Genesis brother : ESAU

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

32. Classic PC adventure game : MYST

In the days when I played the occasional video game, the best of the bunch was undoubtedly Myst. It is a game full of puzzles with the player wandering through a beautifully-designed (for its day) interactive world.

33. President Aleksandar Vucic, for one : SERB

President Aleksandar Vucic was twice Prime Minister of Serbia before becoming Serbian President in 2017.

34. It has a brief solo in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth : OBOE

If I had to name which of Beethoven’s symphonies I listen to most often, at the top of the list comes the 7th followed closely by the 9th, and then the 5th a little further down. But that four-note opening of the 5th; that is superb …

47. Social news website : REDDIT

Reddit.com is a networking and news website that started up in 2005. It is essentially a bulletin board system with posts that are voted up and down by users, which determines the ranking of posts. The name “Reddit” is a play on “read it”, as in “I read it on Reddit”. One popular feature of the Reddit site is an online forum that is similar to a press conference. Known as an AMA (for “ask me anything”), participants have included the likes of President Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, Stephen Colbert and Gordon Ramsay. President Obama’s AMA was so popular that the high level of traffic brought down many parts of the Reddit site.

50. Jewish authority : TORAH

The Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, are traditionally believed to have been written by Moses. As such, they are sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses, or Mosaic Law.

53. Quaint contraction : ‘TWERE

“‘Twere” is quaint contraction for “it were”.

54. Jewish meal : SEDER

The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

55. Campaign donation orgs. : PACS

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”.

56. Grammy winner India.__ : ARIE

India.Arie is an American soul and R&B singer who was born India Arie Simpson in Denver, Colorado.

57. “Quo Vadis” setting : ROME

“Quo Vadis” is an epic drama made in 1951, an film adaptation of the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. At the top of the bill are Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr, with Peter Ustinov playing the Emperor Nero. There was also an uncredited extra making her first appearance on the screen, a young lady by the name of Sophia Loren.

61. Letter with a silent letter : PSI

Psi is the 23rd letter in the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

62. “__-Tiki” : KON

The Kon-Tiki is a raft used by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands. The original raft used in the voyage is on display in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway (Heyerdahl was a native of Norway).

63. Cousin of hers : ITS

The word “it’s” is a contraction for “it is”, as in “it’s a fun crossword”. The spelling “its”, without an apostrophe, is used in all other cases, most commonly as the possessive form of the pronoun “it”. In that sense, “its” is akin to the pronouns his, hers, ours, etc., as in “the newspaper is known for its great crosswords”.

64. City with two MLB teams : CHI

The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation “Sox” for “Stockings” was regularly used in newspaper headlines.

The Chicago Cubs is one of only two charter members of the baseball’s National League who are still playing, the other being the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time since 1908, which is a long time ago. In fact, the Cubs had the longest championship drought of any professional sports team in North America.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Weight-training equipment : SQUAT RACKS
11. Cotton cleaner : Q-TIP
15. Traditional November race : TURKEY TROT
16. Social containers : URNS
17. Something a customer is happy to send back : REBATE FORM
18. One in Berlin : EINS
19. G8 member : USA
20. What an enemy exploits : WEAK SPOT
22. Needle holder : TONEARM
27. Sharon of Israel : ARIEL
28. Rewards for a big promotion? : CLIOS
30. Laker teammate of Magic : KAREEM
33. “Aha!” : SO THAT’S IT!
37. Flip : SASSY
38. Zaragoza’s river : EBRO
39. Fabulous fellow? : AESOP
41. Map’s blue areas : SEAS
42. Motel arrival? : ROACH
44. Like some diamonds : SQUARE CUT
46. Role for Heston or Huston : BEN-HUR
48. Weasel relative : OTTER
49. “Fuller House” actor : SAGET
51. Chords are part of them : SECANTS
55. Cannes Film Festival award : PALME D’OR
58. Leave slack-jawed : AWE
59. Many a Syrian : ARAB
60. Booted, in old football : DROP-KICKED
65. Give credit to : CITE
66. “Count me in!” : I AM SO THERE!
67. Visionary : SEER
68. 1999 Pacino/Crowe film about a whistleblower : THE INSIDER

Down

1. Runway gait : STRUT
2. Nacho cheese : QUESO
3. Name of eight popes : URBAN
4. Handle letters : AKA
5. Vietnamese holiday : TET
6. Deli selection : RYE
7. DOJ division : ATF
8. Bird that’s hard to eat? : CROW
9. Peninsula partly defined by the Yalu River : KOREA
10. Gospel writer : ST MARK
11. Subtitle of #48 in AFI’s “100 Years…100 Songs” : QUE SERA, SERA
12. Cosmopolitan essential : TRIPLE SEC
13. __ way, shape or form : IN NO
14. Covert call : PSST!
21. Souls, e.g. : KIAS
23. Place where it all comes back to you? : ECHO CHAMBER
24. __ king : A LA
25. British vocalist __ Ora : RITA
26. Law recipient : MOSES
29. “Thong Song” singer : SISQO
31. Genesis brother : ESAU
32. Classic PC adventure game : MYST
33. President Aleksandar Vucic, for one : SERB
34. It has a brief solo in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth : OBOE
35. Interpret : TRANSLATE
36. Talks up : TOUTS
40. Crown : PATE
43. Very significant : HUGE
45. Remote button : REC
47. Social news website : REDDIT
50. Jewish authority : TORAH
52. Blunt, as truth : NAKED
53. Quaint contraction : ‘TWERE
54. Jewish meal : SEDER
55. Campaign donation orgs. : PACS
56. Grammy winner India.__ : ARIE
57. “Quo Vadis” setting : ROME
61. Letter with a silent letter : PSI
62. “__-Tiki” : KON
63. Cousin of hers : ITS
64. City with two MLB teams : CHI

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