LA Times Crossword Answers 22 Oct 12, Monday

CROSSWORD SETTER: David Steinberg
THEME: Colorful Candy … each of the theme answers is a three-word expression in the format M&M:

17A. Versatile, as clothes outfits MIX AND MATCH
24A. Auto title data MAKE AND MODEL
38A. Toon mouse couple MICKEY AND MINNIE
49A. All one’s strength MIGHT AND MAIN
60A. Gentle MEEK AND MILD
69A. Colorful candy purchase, or what 17-, 24-, 38-, 49- and 60-Across all are M AND MS

COMPLETION TIME: 7m 06s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Capt. Kirk’s Asian lieutenant MR SULU
Mr. Sulu was of course played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film about President Kennedy’s WWII career called “PT-109”? Not only did Takei play the helmsman on the Starship Enterprise, he played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat.

7. Big name in elevators 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.

11. Eng. majors’ degrees BAS
I didn’t go to school here in the US, but I would have thought it more common for an engineer to get a BS degree rather than a BA.

14. Aid from a road travel org. AAA MAP
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago, and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

15. Calamine mineral ZINC
Calamine is mainly zinc oxide, with a small percentage of iron (III) oxide. Calamine is incorporated into a lotion that is used for many things, including treatment of sunburn and itching.

19. N.Y. engineering sch. RPI
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a private school in Troy, New York. The university is named after its founder Stephen Van Rensselaer who set up the school in 1824. The goal of RPI has always been the “application of science to the common purposes of life”, an objective set by the founder. Given that, the name for the school’s sports teams is quite apt: the Engineers.

22. Tom of “The Seven Year Itch” EWELL
“The Seven Year Itch” is a 1955 movie by Billy Wilder, based on a stage play of the same name by George Axelrod. “The Seven Year Itch” stars Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Ewell as the guy with “the itch”. Perhaps the most famous scene in the film is the one with Monroe standing over a subway grate allowing the updraft to billow the skirt of her white dress above her knees. The manoeuvre was meant to cool her down, but I think it had the opposite effect on some in the audience! The phrase “seven year itch” had been used by psychologists to describe declining interest in staying monogamous after seven years of marriage.

30. Wine: Pref. OENO-
In Greek mythology, Oeno was the goddess of wine, giving us “oen-” as a prefix meaning “wine”. For example, oenology is the study of wine and an oenophile is a wine-lover.

31. Actress Rene RUSSO
The lovely and very talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to highschool (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modelling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting. I am so glad she did, as Rene Russo is one of my favorite actresses …

35. Iraq War concern: Abbr. WMD
The first recorded use of the term “Weapon of Mass Destruction” (WMD) was in 1937. The words were used by Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, in reference to the bombardment of Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil War by the German Luftwaffe. He said, “Who can think without horror of what another widespread war would mean, waged as it would be with all the new weapons of mass destruction?”

38. Toon mouse couple MICKEY AND MINNIE
Minnie and Mickey Mouse were both introduced to the world in 1928. Minnie was originally known as Minerva, and sometimes still is.

42. __ dye: chemical colorant AZO
Azo compounds have very vivid colors and so are used to make dyes, especially dyes with the colors red, orange and yellow.

43. High-pitched woodwind OBOE
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”. Oh, and if you want to read a fun book (almost an “exposé”) about life playing the oboe, you might try “Mozart in the Jungle” by oboist Blair Tindall. I heard recently that the folks at HBO are working towards a pilot based on the book, and I can’t wait to see it!

45. Old OTC watchdog NASD
The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) no longer exists per se. Since 2007, it’s functions are carried out by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) since 2007. These functions include regulation of trading in equities, bonds, futures and options. In 1971, the NASD set up a new computerized trading system, the NASD Automated Quotations stock market, a system we know better by the acronym NASDAQ.

48. Borneo sultanate BRUNEI
The official name of Brunei is the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace. Brunei is situated in the island of Borneo, almost completely surrounded by Malaysia. Brunei’s government is dictated by the constitution adopted in 1959, and is ruled by a sultan with full executive authority.

49. All one’s strength MIGHT AND MAIN
Apparently “with might and main” means “with all one’s strength”. New to me, though …

54. Skylit rooms ATRIA
In modern architecture an atrium is a large open space, often in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

64. Chicago transports ELS
The Chicago “L” is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The “L” is also the second oldest, again with the New York City Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the “L” (originally short for “elevated railroad”), although the term “El” is also in common use (especially in crosswords as “ELS”). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

67. Baseball’s Cobb et al. TYS
Ty Cobb was one of the richest baseball players of all times. When he retired, Cobb was a major stockholder of the Coca-Cola Corporation. By the time he passed away in 1961 Cobb had an even bigger investment in General Electric. He left an estate worth about $86m (in 2008 dollars).

69. Colorful candy purchase, or what 17-, 24-, 38-, 49- and 60-Across all are M AND MS
Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that gives the name to the candy.

Down
3. __-Coburg: former German duchy SAXE
Saxony was the name given at different times in history to states along the Elbe river in central Europe. As the various states broke up, they spawned many duchies that retained the name “Saxe”. The most famous of these duchies was probably Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two united duchies in Germany that ceased to exist after WWII. A notable branch of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House is the British Royal Family, as Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha  King George V of the United Kingdom changed the name of the family to the House of Windsor in a politically sensible move during WWI.

4. Actress Thurman UMA
Uma Thurman’s father, Robert Thurman, was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.

5. PC-to-PC system LAN
You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.

6. “Rabbit at Rest” author UPDIKE
The 1960 novel by John Updike called “Rabbit Run” tells the story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom as he tries to escape from his constraining, middle-class life. “Rabbit Run” is the first in a series of novels from Updike that feature the “Rabbit” character, the others being:

– “Rabbit Redux”
– “Rabbit is Rich”
– “Rabbit at Rest”
– “Rabbit Remembered”

7. Conductor Seiji OZAWA
Seiji Ozawa is most famous for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, although he is also the principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera. Ozawa is renowned for wearing a white turtleneck under his dress suit when he conducts, rather than the traditional starched shirt and white tie.

8. Giant TITAN
The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology. In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, twelve younger gods.

12. iLife producer APPLE
iLife is a suite of applications from Apple for managing photos, movies and music. Components included are:

– iPhoto
– iMovie
– iDVD
– GarageBand
– iWeb
– MobileMe Web Gallery

18. “The Simpsons” bartender MOE
Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender and owner of Moe’s Tavern in “The Simpsons” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the Moe character … him I like …

27. Humorist Bombeck ERMA
Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years, producing more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns describing her home life in suburbia.

33. Yoko from Tokyo ONO
Yoko Ono was born into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Ono’s father moved around the world for work and Yoko lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII. There Yoko lived through the great fire-bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko’s father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.

37. Arnaz who played Ricky DESI
Desi Arnaz was of course famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolt led by Batista.

39. Luke Skywalker’s mentor YODA
Yoda is one of the most beloved characters in the “Star Wars” series of films. Yoda’s voice was provided by the great modern-day puppeteer Frank Oz of “Muppets” fame.

40. Cross inscription INRI
The letters written on the cross on which Jesus died were “INRI”. INRI is an acronym for the Latin “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum”, which translates into English as “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”.

46. Yellowfin tuna AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. It’s one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

47. Pollen-producing flower part STAMEN
The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther carries the pollen, which is picked up by the bee and transferred from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

48. Showman who teamed with Bailey BARNUM
Phineas Taylor Barnum was one of the great American showmen, famous for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. By some measures, Barnum was the first ever “show business” millionaire. Beyond the world of entertainment, Barnum was also a politician for a while and served two terms in the Connecticut legislature, and was mayor of the city of Bridgeport. Barnum was a very successful author as well. One of his most famous books was “The Humbugs of the World”, an exposé of deceptions in the world of entertainment. He was a believer in illusions, providing they gave value for money in terms of entertainment. However, Barnum had an intense dislike of fraudulent deception and came down hard on spiritualist mediums in particular.

49. Painter Édouard MANET
The French painter Édouard Manet is responsible for many great works including “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe”, a work you can see in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

51. H-bomb trial, e.g. N-TEST
The first test of a hydrogen bomb was in 1954 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The test may have been a technical success but it was an environmental disaster because the actual yield of 15 megatons was unexpected (the military anticipated only 4-6 megatons). The resulting nuclear fallout caused many deaths and led to birth defects in generations to come.

53. __ culpa MEA
Roman Catholics are very familiar with the Latin phrase “mea culpa” meaning “my fault”, as it is used in the Latin Mass. The additional term “mea maxima culpa” translates as “my most grievous fault”.

61. New Haven Ivy Leaguer ELI
Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

62. Genetic material DNA
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.

63. Rainier, e.g.: Abbr. MTN
Mount Rainier is an active volcano in the state of Washington in the Cascade Mountain Range. Native Americans first called the peak “Tacoma” meaning “mother of waters”. When Captain George Vancouver discovered Puget Sound in 1792, he named the peak in honor of his friend Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. There have been movements to change the name back to Tacoma, but these seem to have petered out (pun intended!).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Capt. Kirk’s Asian lieutenant MR SULU
7. Big name in elevators OTIS
11. Eng. majors’ degrees BAS
14. Aid from a road travel org. AAA MAP
15. Calamine mineral ZINC
16. Make a decision OPT
17. Versatile, as clothes outfits MIX AND MATCH
19. N.Y. engineering sch. RPI
20. Stein filler ALE
21. Hawkeye State IOWA
22. Tom of “The Seven Year Itch” EWELL
24. Auto title data MAKE AND MODEL
27. Represent as identical EQUATE
30. Wine: Pref. OENO-
31. Actress Rene RUSSO
32. Way in or out DOOR
35. Iraq War concern: Abbr. WMD
38. Toon mouse couple MICKEY AND MINNIE
42. __ dye: chemical colorant AZO
43. High-pitched woodwind OBOE
44. Breakfast corners NOOKS
45. Old OTC watchdog NASD
48. Borneo sultanate BRUNEI
49. All one’s strength MIGHT AND MAIN
54. Skylit rooms ATRIA
55. Wedding cake layer TIER
56. Dean’s list no. GPA
59. Highland refusal NAE
60. Gentle MEEK AND MILD
64. Chicago transports ELS
65. End of a threat ELSE
66. Like many rumors UNTRUE
67. Baseball’s Cobb et al. TYS
68. Small complaints that are “picked” NITS
69. Colorful candy purchase, or what 17-, 24-, 38-, 49- and 60-Across all are M AND MS

Down
1. Papa’s mate MAMA
2. Skateboard park fixture RAIL
3. __-Coburg: former German duchy SAXE
4. Actress Thurman UMA
5. PC-to-PC system LAN
6. “Rabbit at Rest” author UPDIKE
7. Conductor Seiji OZAWA
8. Giant TITAN
9. Business name abbr. INC
10. Connive SCHEME
11. Approached rapidly BORE DOWN ON
12. iLife producer APPLE
13. Not moving a muscle STILL
18. “The Simpsons” bartender MOE
23. Came out ahead WON
24. Face hider MASK
25. Stub __ A TOE
26. College housing DORM
27. Humorist Bombeck ERMA
28. Quick classroom test QUIZ
29. Amer. lawmaking group US CONGRESS
32. Gently applied amount DAB
33. Yoko from Tokyo ONO
34. Dedicatory poem ODE
36. Voice amplifier MIKE
37. Arnaz who played Ricky DESI
39. Luke Skywalker’s mentor YODA
40. Cross inscription INRI
41. Subject of a sentence, typically NOUN
46. Yellowfin tuna AHI
47. Pollen-producing flower part STAMEN
48. Showman who teamed with Bailey BARNUM
49. Painter Édouard MANET
50. Peninsular Mediterranean country ITALY
51. H-bomb trial, e.g. N-TEST
52. Flood stoppers DIKES
53. __ culpa MEA
56. Encircle GIRD
57. Prune, before drying PLUM
58. Fruity beverages ADES
61. New Haven Ivy Leaguer ELI
62. Genetic material DNA
63. Rainier, e.g.: Abbr. MTN

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