LA Times Crossword 28 Apr 19, Sunday

Bill’s time: 31m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Some old Eur. republics : SSRS

The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

5 Brownstone-front hangout : STOOP

A stoop is a raised platform at the door of a house. “Stoop” came into American and Canadian English in the mid-1700s from the Dutch “stoep” meaning “flight of steps”.

10 Homer’s “rosy-fingered” time : DAWN

In Greek mythology, Eos was the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. The Roman equivalent of Eos was Aurora. Rather delightfully, Homer referred to Eos as “rosy-fingered dawn” in both “Iliad” and “Odyssey”.

20 Aquatic predators : ORCAS

The taxonomic name for the killer whale is “Orcinus orca”. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

21 “Nasty” Nastase of tennis : ILIE

I think that Ilie Nastase was the most entertaining tennis player of the 1970s, the days of Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. No matter how much pressure there was in a match, Nastase always had time to give the crowd a laugh. After retiring from the sport, he had a few novels published (in French) during the eighties. Then Nastase went into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the mayorship of Bucharest in 1996. He made a successful run for the Romanian Senate though, and was elected senator in 2014.

23 “__ la Douce” : IRMA

“Irma la Douce” is a wonderful Billy Wilder movie that was released in 1963. It stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays a maligned Parisian policeman, and MacLaine is the popular prostitute Irma la Douce (literally “Irma the Sweet”). Don’t let the adult themes throw you, as it’s a very entertaining movie …

24 Grinch victim in the Wasatch Range? : ROCKY MOUNTAIN WHO (from “Rocky Mountain High”)

The Whos live in Whoville in Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”

The Wasatch Range is at the western edge of the Rocky Mountains and runs through Utah. “Wasatch” is a Ute word meaning “mountain pass”.

“Rocky Mountain High” is a song by John Denver. Since 2007, “Rocky Mountain High” has been one of the two official state songs of Colorado. The song may not have received that honor had there not been a clarification of the meaning of some of the words. Some radio stations actually banned it for a while, assuming that the “high” in the title was a drug reference.

28 College domain : EDU

A domain name is basically the address of a website on the Internet. For example, the addresses of my crossword blogs, the domain names, are LAXCrossword.com and nyxcrossword.com.

29 Large wardrobe : ARMOIRE

“Armoire” is the French word for “wardrobe”, and is used in English for a standing closet that stores clothes.

30 College dorm figs. : RAS

A resident assistant or resident adviser (RA) is a peer leader found in a residence hall, particularly on a college campus.

31 Legal memo phrase : IN RE

The term “in re” is Latin, and is derived from “in” (in) and “res” (thing, matter). “In re” literally means “in the matter”, and is used to mean “in regard to” or “in the matter of”.

32 Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin __ : OLSEN

Merlin Olsen played in the NFL with the LA Rams. Olson was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 14 times (a record shared with Bruce Matthews). After retiring from the game, his career continued to flourish. He worked as a sports broadcaster for many years, and then landed a major role on television’s “Little House on the Prairie”, playing Jonathan Garvey. In one episode, Garvey was to help coach a boy’s football team, so the writers gave Olsen’s character the tongue-in-cheek line “I don’t know nothin’ about football!” Olsen was also the commercial face of FTD florists for many years. Olson passed away in March 2010, aged 69.

35 Modigliani subject : NUDE

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who spent most of working life in France. Modigliani’s sculpture called “Tête” is an elongated female head made from limestone that he created between 1910 and 1912. The piece was acquired in auction in 2010 for almost $55 million, making it the fifth-most expensive sculpture ever sold.

37 Bilks corporate bigwigs? : TAKES IN THE SUITS (from “takes in the sights”)

The verb “to bilk”, meaning “to defraud”, comes from the card game of cribbage. “To bilk” in cribbage is to spoil someone’s score.

41 Airhead : DUNCE

John Duns Scotus was a theologian and scholar in the Middle Ages, responsible for many writings that were used as textbooks in British universities of the day. New ideas developed during the English Renaissance, but Duns Scotus and his followers resisted the changes. The word “dunse” came into use as a way of ridiculing those refusing to learn anything new. “Dunse”was a precursor to our modern usage of “dunce”.

43 Chris of “American Pie” films : OWEN

Chris Owen is an actor who is most famous for playing Chuck “the Sherminator” Owen in the “American Pie” series of films.

44 Urn turner, perhaps : POTTER

That would be an urn turning on a potter’s wheel.

45 Puff’s ailment? : DRAGON FLU (from “dragonfly”)

“Puff the Magic Dragon” is a song released in 1963 by Peter, Paul and Mary. It was written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow (the “Peter” of the singing trio). The lyrics tell the story of a dragon named Puff, and a little boy named Jackie Paper. There is an urban myth that the lyrics refer to the use of drugs. In fact, the words are based on a poem that Lipton wrote when he was 19-years-old in 1959, and which was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem called “Custard the Dragon”.

Dragonflies are predatory insects and love to feed on flies, bees, ants, wasps and mosquitoes. When dragonflies are in their aquatic larval stage, they are known as nymphs or naiads, and live beneath the water’s surface.

50 Real-estate holding account : ESCROW

One type of escrow account is held by a trusted third party for two parties who have some contractual arrangement, an arrangement that is often in dispute. The third party only releases the funds when both parties have fulfilled their contractual obligations.

54 D.C. VIPs : REPS

A member of the US House of Representatives is referred to either as a representative, a congressman, or a congresswoman.

55 __-B: hygiene brand : ORAL

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

56 Nickname for a seafaring Smurf? : CAPTAIN BLUE (from “Captain Bligh”)

The Smurfs are little blue people created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist who went by the pen name Peyo. The Smurfs became famous in the US when Hanna-Barbera used them in a children’s cartoon series. The characters are largely a group of males. The original lineup included just one “Smurfette”, who is wooed by almost all of the boy Smurfs. Later, another female was introduced into the mix called Sassette, and still later along came Granny Smurf.

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.

61 __-Locka, Fla. : OPA

Opa-Locka is a rather interesting city in Florida. Located near Miami, Opa-Locka has a themed city plan that is based on “One Thousand and One Nights”. The city hall has a very Arabian look, and some examples of street names are Ali Baba Avenue and Sesame Street.

63 In cahoots : AS ONE

To be in cahoots with someone is to in partnership with that person. The exact etymology is unclear, but one suggestion is that it comes from the French “cohorte”, which was used in the US to mean “companion, confederate”.

64 Swahili honorific : BWANA

“Bwana” is a Swahili word meaning “important person” or “leader of a safari”.

67 “Ghosts” playwright : IBSEN

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote “Ghosts” in 1881, although he disputed the popular English translation of his original title. His title of “Gengangere” really means, “The Ones Who Return”, or “Again Walkers”.

76 2000 Richard Gere title role : DR T

The 2000 movie “Dr. T & the Women” is a pretty good film, and stars Richard Gere in the title role. It’s a romantic comedy about a gynecologist, and the women in his private and public life. The list of actresses playing those women is impressive, and includes Helen Hunt, Farrah Fawcett, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler.

77 Amphibian College curriculum? : NEWT COURSES (from “night courses”)

Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

79 Way back when, once : ERST

“Erst” is an archaic way of saying “formerly, before the present time”. The term is mostly seen as part of the word “erstwhile”, an adjective meaning “of times past”.

80 Alone, in Arles : SEUL

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and was where he painted many of his most famous works, including “Cafe Terrace at Night” and “Bedroom in Arles”.

81 Two-time Pulitzer Prize for Fiction awardee : UPDIKE

The novelist John Updike’s most famous work is the Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom series of books. Updike is one of only three authors who has won more than one Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and he did so for two of his “Rabbit” books.

82 Inspiration for “The Hulk”? : BRUTE IDEA (from “bright idea”)

The comic book hero named “the Hulk” first made an appearance in 1962. The Hulk is the alter ego of reserved and withdraw physicist Bruce Banner. Banner mutates into the Hulk when he gets angry.

84 Bering, e.g. : STRAIT

Vitus Bering was a Danish navigator who worked for the Russian Navy. He was the first European to discover Alaska, which he did in 1741. Bering died on the same voyage of discovery and was buried on the largest of the Commander Islands, now called Bering Island in his honor. He also gave his name to the Bering Sea and the Bering Strait.

88 Arp’s art : DADA

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

92 Coat of arms element : CREST

Back in the mid-1300s, a coat of arms literally was a coat, a tunic tunic embroidered with heraldic symbols that was often worn over armor. This usage also gave us the term “turncoat”, which described someone who turned his coat inside-out in order to hide his badge of loyalty.

93 Exceptional wind? : FIRST-CLASS FLUTE (from “first class flight”)

A flute is a woodwind instrument that doesn’t have a reed. Instead, sound is produced by blowing air across an opening. A flute player is often referred to as a flautist (sometimes “flutist”). Flutes have been around a long, long time. Primitive flutes found in modern-day Germany date back 43,000 to 35,000 years, which makes the flute the oldest known musical instrument.

104 Egyptian deity : ISIS

Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, as well as the protector of the dead and the goddess of children. She was the personification of the pharaoh’s power. The name “Isis” translates as “throne”, and she is usually depicted with a headdress shaped like a throne.

105 Charlottesville sch. : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who then sat on the original Board of Visitors alongside former US Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. In fact, the original UVA campus was built on land near Charlottesville that was once a farm belonging to President Monroe.

108 Friend of Eeyore : ROO

In A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” collection of stories, Pooh has many friends in Hundred Acre Wood. Besides Christopher Robin, who doesn’t actually live in the wood, the list includes Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger and Owl.

110 Bygone depilatory brand : NEET

The hair removal product “Neet” was launched in Canada in 1901, and was also sold as “Immac”. Today, it is sold under the name “Veet”.

A depilatory agent is something capable of removing hair. The root of the term is “pilus”, the Latin for “hair”, and the same word that gives us “pile” (as in a carpet).

115 Canadian gas : ESSO

The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

118 Actress Delta : BURKE

Actress and comedian Delta Burke is best known for playing Suzanne Sugarbaker in the sitcom “Designing Women”. Burke ending up leaving the cast in 1991 due to her poor relationship with the creators of the show.

120 Billiards slab : SLATE

A good pool table has a very flat surface, usually one made from 2-3 ground slabs of slate sourced from quarries in Italy, Brazil or China.

121 Gucci of fashion : ALDO

Gucci was founded in Rome, in 1921, by Guccio Gucci. Guccio’s son Aldo took over the company after his father’s death in 1953. It was Aldo who established the international presence for the brand and opened the company’s first overseas store, in New York City.

122 Motel 6 visits : STAYS

The ubiquitous Motel 6 is the largest owned-and-operated hotel chain in North America. The chain was founded in Santa Barbara, California in 1962 by two building contractors. Their idea was to offer budget accommodation for just $6 per night, hence the name Motel 6.

123 Tokyo electronics giant : SONY

Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The two partners met in the Japanese Navy during WWII.

Down

2 Sister of Venus : SERENA

Serena Williams is the younger of the two Williams sisters playing professional tennis. Serena has won more prize money in her career than any other female athlete.

Venus Williams is the older of the two Williams sisters playing professional tennis. In 2002, Williams became the first African-American woman to earn the World No. 1 ranking by the Women’s Tennis Association in the Open Era.

4 Whence some garters? : SNAKE EGGS

The garter snake is found right across the continent, It is in fact the most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America, being found anywhere from the Southeast Alaska to Central America.

7 Like Hogwarts lore : OCCULT

The adjective “occult” means “secret, beyond the realm of human comprehension”. The term derives from the Latin “occultus” meaning “hidden, concealed”.

In J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe, The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four most brilliant witches and wizards of their time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the founders lent their name to a House in the school, i.e. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

9 101 class involving Freud: Abbr. : PSY

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist, and founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychiatry. One of Freud’s tenets was that our dreams are a necessary part of sleep as they prevent the dreamer from awakening due to desire for unfulfilled wishes. The dream’s content represents those unfulfilled wishes and satisfies the desire.

10 Chanel competitor : DIOR

Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. As WWII approached, Dior was called up by the French military, drawing a temporary halt to his career in fashion. He left the army in 1942 and for the duration of the war designed clothes for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. After the war his designs became so popular that he helped re-establish Paris as the fashion center of the world.

14 Tony’s cousin : OBIE

The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

25 Minister’s house : MANSE

A manse is a minister’s home in various Christian traditions. “Manse” derives from “mansus”, the Latin for “dwelling”. The term can also be used for any stately residence.

38 __ Paulo : SAO

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

44 Pasty food : POI

I am a big fan of starch (being an Irishman I love potatoes). That said, I think that poi tastes horrible! Poi is made from the bulbous tubers (corm) of the taro plant by cooking the corm in water and mashing it until the desired consistency is achieved.

47 “Trainwreck” director Judd : APATOW

Judd Apatow is known for producing the TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared”. Those shows aren’t my cup of tea, but he also collaborated with Lena Dunham to create the show “Girls”. I could drink that tea all day long. “Girls” is a very entertaining series …

“Trainwreck” is a romantic comedy released in 2015 that brings together the talents of Judd Apatow as director and Amy Schumer as writer. Schumer also stars.

52 UPS unit : CTN

United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky. UPS often goes by the nickname “Brown”, because of its brown delivery trucks and brown uniforms.

53 Actress Issa : RAE

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

57 Airport near D.C. : BWI

There are three airports serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area:

• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)

Of the three, BWI handles the most passengers.

59 Like perjured testimony : UNTRUE

An act of perjury is the wilful giving of false testimony under oath. The term “perjury” ultimately comes from the Latin “per” meaning “away” and “iurare” meaning “to swear”.

60 Cal. locale of the Latino Walk of Fame : EAST LA

The Latino Walk of Fame is located on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles. Modeled on Hollywood’s famous Walk of Fame, it was inaugurated in 1997 with the mission of honoring Latino celebrities. Each name is engraved in a “Sun Plaque”.

69 Beetle relatives : JETTAS

“Jetta” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

72 NW Penn. airport : ERI

Erie International Airport (ERI) is located five miles from the city of Erie, Pennsylvania.

74 Hockey legend : ORR

Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking. While still 31 years old, in 1979, Orr became the youngest person inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

75 Columbus campus: Abbr. : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

85 Hard work : TRAVAIL

A travail is a really difficult task or burden. “Travail” is the French word for “work”.

86 Sailing competition : REGATTA

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.

89 Expiate, with “for” : ATONE

To expiate is to make amends for something. The term comes from the Latin verb “expiare”, which has the same meaning.

90 Rank of Brit. TV sleuth Morse : DCI

Detective chief inspector (DCI)

“Inspector Morse” is a series of detective novels penned by English crime writer Colin Dexter. The novels were adapted into a very successful television show that occasionally appears in the US on PBS. Morse’s given name is Endeavor, which is also the title of a prequel series “Endeavor” about Morse as a rookie detective. Morse is a very colorful character with a penchant for classical music, real ale and crosswords. I can identify with that …

93 Indiana Jones’ hat : FEDORA

A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …

In the “Indiana Jones” series of films, Dr. Henry “Indy” Jones is played by Harrison Ford. Dr. Marcus Brody is played by the veteran English actor Denholm Elliott.

96 Dawn goddess : AURORA

Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn, and was equivalent to the Greek goddess Eos. According to myth, Aurora renewed herself each and every morning and then flew across the sky to announce the rising of the sun.

97 Goosebump-inducing : SPOOKY

The terms “goose bumps” and “goose flesh” come from the fact that skin which is cold can look like the flesh of a plucked goose.

100 Editing app on Google Play : E-STORY

E-Story is a smartphone app used to make storybooks for kids. I think the idea is to use an existing paper-version of a storybook, photograph it, and then add text or your voice using your phone or computer. The main intent seems to be providing a child with a “tell me a story” experience when a parent is absent.

102 Orbiter for 15 years : MIR

The Russian Mir space station was a remarkably successful project. It held the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at just under 10 years, until the International Space Station eclipsed that record in 2010. Towards the end of the space station’s life however, the years began to take their toll. There was a dangerous fire, multiple system failures, and a collision with a resupply ship. The Russian commitment to the International Space Station drained funds for repairs, so Mir was allowed to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in 2001. “Mir” is a Russian word meaning “peace” or “world”.

106 Philosopher Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

109 Wordsworth works : ODES

The great English poet William Wordsworth is intrinsically linked with the Lake District in the north of England, where he lived from much of his life. The Lake District is a beautiful part of the country, and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere a couple of times, where Wordsworth lived with his sister Dorothy …

113 Small ammo : BBS

A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.070″ in diameter) to size FF (.230″). Birdshot that is size BB (0.180″ in diameter) gives the airgun its name.

114 Tedious situation : RUT

One can get “stuck in a rut”, perhaps while solving a crossword.