LA Times Crossword Answers 24 Mar 15, Tuesday

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Quicklink
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: John R. O’Brien
THEME: Masked Man … each of today’s themed answers is a MAN who often is seen wearing a MASK:

64A. Lone Ranger epithet, or what each answer to a starred clue often is MASKED MAN

17A. *One harvesting honey BEEKEEPER
25A. *One planning a job BANK ROBBER
40A. *One calling strikes HOME-PLATE UMPIRE
50A. *One working at a low level SCUBA DIVER

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 44s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Mythical bird ROC
The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published of his travels through Asia.

4. Spanish hero played by Heston EL CID
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar was known as El Cid Campeador, which translates as “The Champion” or perhaps “The Lord, Master of Military Arts”. El Cid was a soldier who fought under the rule of King Alfonso VI of Spain (among others). However, he was sent into exile by the King in 1080, after acting beyond his authorization in battle. El Cid then offered his services to his former foes, the Moorish kings, After a number of years building a reputation with the Moors, he was recalled from exile by Alfonso. By this time El Cid was very much his own man. Nominally under the orders of Alfonso, he led a combined army of Spanish and Moorish troops and took the city of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast, making it is headquarters and home. He died there, quite peacefully in 1099.

“El Cid” is an epic film released in 1961 that tells the story of the Castilian knight, El Cid. The two big names at the top of the cast were Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, but just who was the biggest star? When Loren discovered that a huge billboard promoting the movie in Times Square showed that her name was below Heston’s, she sued the movie’s producers.

9. Bush successor OBAMA
By tradition, the Secret Service code names used for the US President and family all start with the same letter. For the current First Family, that letter is R:

– Barack Obama: Renegade
– Michelle Obama: Renaissance
– Malia Obama: Radiance
– Sasha Obama: Rosebud

For the previous First Family, the code names starts with the letter T:

– George W. Bush: Tumbler (later “Trailblazer”)
– Laura Bush: Tempo
– Barbara Bush: Turquoise
– Jenna Bush: Twinkle

14. Oktoberfest gripe ACH!
The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve been there twice, and it really is a great party …

16. Purple Heart, e.g. MEDAL
The Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded by the President to members of the US military forces who have been wounded or killed while serving. Today’s Purple Heart was originally called the Badge of Military Merit, an award that was established by George Washington 1782 while he was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal with a gold border bearing a profile of President Washington, and a purple ribbon.

19. Freezing cold GELID
“Gelid” is such a lovely word, with the meaning “icy cold”. “Gelid” derives from the Latin “gelum” meaning “frost, intense cold”.

20. Count in music BASIE
“Count” Basie’s real given name was “William”. Count Basie perhaps picked up his love for the piano from his mother, who played and gave him his first lessons. Basie’s first paying job as a musician was in a movie theater, where he learned to improvise a suitable accompaniment for the silent movies that were being shown. Basie was given the nickname “Count” as he became lauded as one of the so-called “Jazz royalty”. Others so honored are Nat “King” Cole and Duke Ellington.

21. Nothing, in Normandy RIEN
The Normans were the people from the north of France, from the region that bears the name Normandy. The Normans are descended from Viking stock, so the name “Norman” derives from a translation of “North Men”.

24. MIT part: Abbr. INST
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

30. Mom-and-pop org. PTA
The National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA) was founded back in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers. The PTA uses the slogan “everychild. onevoice” (sic).

43. Cara or Castle IRENE
Irene Cara (as well as acting in “Fame”) sang the theme songs to the hit movies “Fame” and “Flashdance”.

Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-wife team of ballroom dancers who regularly performed on Broadway at the start of the 20th century. The Castles have been credited with creating or at least popularizing the dance called the “foxtrot”.

46. Westminster show org. AKC
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the organization that handles registration of purebred dogs The AKC also promotes dog shows around the country including the famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held in 1877, which makes it the second oldest sporting event in the country (narrowly beaten out by the Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875). The show was originally limited to gun dogs and was established by a group of hunters who routinely met at the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan, New York.

50. *One working at a low level SCUBA DIVER
The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

56. Dench of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” JUDI
Dame Judi Dench is an outstanding English actress, known for decades in her home country mainly as a stage and television actress. Dench’s film career took off in the nineties with a relatively trivial role as “M” in the James Bond series of films. Since then she has played leading roles in several excellent movies including “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mrs. Brown” and “Notes on a Scandal”.

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a fabulous comedy-drama film released in 2012. The movie’s screenplay was adapted from a 2004 novel called “These Foolish Things” by Deborah Moggach. It’s all about a group of British pensioners moving into a retirement hotel in India. The cast is outstanding, and includes Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton. Highly recommended …

59. Biceps exercise CURL
The biceps muscle is made up of two bundles of muscle, both of which terminate at the same point near the elbow. The heads of the bundles terminate at different points on the scapula or shoulder blade. “Biceps” is Latin for “two-headed”.

60. Genesis brother CAIN
As Cain was the first murderer according the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

62. Bird that lays blue eggs ROBIN
The American robin has a reddish-orange breast. This coloring gave the bird its name, due to the similarity to the European robin. The two species are not in fact related. It is the American robin that famously lays light-blue eggs.

64. Lone Ranger epithet, or what each answer to a starred clue often is MASKED MAN
“The Lone Ranger” was both a radio and television show, dating back to its first radio performance in 1933 on a Detroit station. The line “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” was a device used in the storyline to signal that a riding sequence was starting, so cue the music!

66. Muscat resident OMANI
Muscat is the capital of Oman,and lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

68. Yale Bowl rooter ELI
Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

The Yale Bowl football stadium is home to the Yale Bulldogs.

70. River to the Rhone ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.

The Rhône river rises in Switzerland and flows through the southeast of France.

Down
3. Competition with knights CHESS GAME
It is believed that the game of chess originated in northwest India, evolving from a 6th-century game called “chaturanga”, a Sanskrit word meaning “four divisions”. These four (military) divisions were represented in the game:

– Infantry (now “pawns”)
– Cavalry (now “knights”)
– Elephants (now “bishops”)
– Chariots (now “rooks”)

5. Novelist Harper LEE
Nelle Harper Lee is an author from Monroeville, Alabama. Lee wrote only one novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, and yet that contribution to the world of literature was enough to earn her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Pulitzer Prize. Harper Lee was a close friend of fellow author Truman Capote who was the inspiration for the character named “Dill” in her novel. Lee is all over the news right now as she announced in February 2015 that she will publish a second novel in July 2015. The title is “Go Set a Watchman”, and is a work that she wrote before “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

6. “It’s a Wonderful Life” director CAPRA
I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra was the first person to win three directorial Oscars: for “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “You Can’t Take It With You”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

The Christmas Classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” was released in 1946, and is a Frank Capra movie starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. The film’s screenplay was adapted from a short story called “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Remember the famous swimming pool scene? That was shot in Beverly High School gym, and the pool is still in use today.

8. Yankee shortstop Jeter DEREK
Derek Jeter played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees, and was the team’s captain. Jeter is the all-time career leader for the Yankees in hits, games played, stolen bases and at bats. He is also the all-time leader in hits by a shortstop in the whole of professional baseball. Jeter retired from the game in 2014.

9. Online “Wow!” OMG
OMG is text-speak for Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! or any other G words you might think of …

11. Wing it at the lectern AD LIB
“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage the concept of an “ad lib” is very familiar. For example, an actor may substitute his or her own words for forgotten lines using an ad lib, or a director may instruct an actor to use his or her own words at a particular point in a performance to promote a sense of spontaneity.

12. Augusta’s home MAINE
As well as being the easternmost, Augusta, Maine is the third smallest US state capital, with a population of under 20,000.

13. Birch family tree ALDER
Alder trees are deciduous (i.e. not evergreen), and the fruit of the tree is called a “catkin”. The tree carries both male and female catkins that look very similar to each other, but the male catkin is longer than the female. Alders are pollinated by wind usually, although bees can play a role.

22. Gun lobby gp. NRA
National Rifle Association (NRA)

25. False idol BAAL
The name “Baal” was used for several gods and sometimes human officials by ancient Semitic peoples. In the Hebrew Bible, Baal is notably cited as a false god. As a result, we sometimes use the term “baal” today to mean a false god or an idol.

26. “Grumpy” movie heroes OLD MEN
1993’s romantic comedy “Grumpy Old Men”, was the sixth film that paired the great Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. It was also the first film that starred Lemmon and Matthau since 1981’s “Buddy Buddy”. The romantic interest in “Grumpy Old Men” was played by the lovely Ann-Margret.

28. Sunflower State capital TOPEKA
Topeka is the capital of Kansas, and is located on the Kansas River in the northeast of the state. The name “Topeka” was chosen in 1855 and translates from the Kansa and the Ioway languages as “to dig good potatoes”. The reference isn’t to the common potato but rather to the herb known as the prairie potato (also “prairie turnip”), which was an important food for many Native Americans.

The official nickname of Kansas is the Sunflower State. One of Kansas’s major crops is the sunflower. The sunflower is the state symbol, and Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas.

30. __ Beta Kappa PHI
Phi Beta Kappa was the first collegiate Greek fraternity in the US, founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. The organization served as a model for future collegiate fraternities and sororities, although in the 19th century Phi Beta Kappa distanced itself from the fraternal focus and transformed into the honor society that it is today, recognizing academic excellence. The initials Phi Beta Kappa stand for “philosophia biou kybernētēs”, which translates into “philosophy is the guide of life”. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key.

31. A.L. East team TOR
The Toronto Blue Jays baseball franchise was founded in 1977. The Blue Jays are the only team based outside the US to have won a World Series, doing so in 1992 and 1993. And since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, the Blue Jays are the only Major League Baseball team now headquartered outside of the US.

33. Cul-de-__ SAC
Even though “cul-de-sac” can indeed mean “bottom of the bag” in French, the term cul-de-sac is of English origin (the use of “cul” in French is actually quite rude). The term was introduced in aristocratic circles at a time when it was considered very fashionable to speak French. Dead-end streets in France are usually signposted with just a symbol and no accompanying words, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”.

35. 50-Across milieu SEA
We use the French word “milieu” to mean an environment, surroundings. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

37. Season in a Shakespeare title MIDSUMMER
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of William Shakespeare’s comedies. One of the interesting characteristics of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is that it features a play-within-a-play. The cast of characters includes an troupe of six actors called the Mechanicals who perform a play called “Pyramus and Thisbe”.

39. “Game of Thrones” patriarch Stark NED
Ned Stark is the protagonist in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novel “A Game of Thrones”, although his character doesn’t exactly come out on top by the end of the story. Stark is played by actor Sean Bean in the HBO television adaptation of the novel.

47. Epidemic-fighting agcy. CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC started out life during WWII as the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities. The CDC worries about much more than malaria these days …

49. Kept the party hopping, briefly DJED
The world’s first radio disk jockey (DJ) was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his debut broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, Newby started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

50. Cape Cod catch SCROD
Scrod is the name given to fish that has been “scrawed” i.e. split open, dried and then broiled.

Cape Cod is indeed named after the fish. It was first called Cape Cod by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 as his men caught so many fish there.

51. New York governor Andrew CUOMO
Andrew Cuomo won the gubernatorial election for the State of New York in 2010. Andrew is the son of former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo. Andrew was also married for 13 years to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.

53. Poetic feet IAMBI
An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” consists of lines made up of four sequential iambs e.g. “Whose woods / these are / I think / I know”. With a sequence of four iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic tetrameter.

57. Way to get info, on retro phones DIAL O
Dial “0” for operator assistance.

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

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Mythical bird ROC
4. Spanish hero played by Heston EL CID
9. Bush successor OBAMA
14. Oktoberfest gripe ACH!
15. Protest sign word PEACE
16. Purple Heart, e.g. MEDAL
17. *One harvesting honey BEEKEEPER
19. Freezing cold GELID
20. Count in music BASIE
21. Nothing, in Normandy RIEN
23. Floor cleaner scent PINE
24. MIT part: Abbr. INST
25. *One planning a job BANK ROBBER
27. Words before grip or life GET A
29. Pub offering ALE
30. Mom-and-pop org. PTA
32. Havens OASES
36. Exorcism target DEMON
40. *One calling strikes HOME-PLATE UMPIRE
43. Cara or Castle IRENE
44. Pursue CHASE
45. Pop DAD
46. Westminster show org. AKC
48. Wraps up ENDS
50. *One working at a low level SCUBA DIVER
56. Dench of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” JUDI
59. Biceps exercise CURL
60. Genesis brother CAIN
61. Surround HEM IN
62. Bird that lays blue eggs ROBIN
64. Lone Ranger epithet, or what each answer to a starred clue often is MASKED MAN
66. Muscat resident OMANI
67. Not as happy BLUER
68. Yale Bowl rooter ELI
69. Class-ending sounds DONGS
70. River to the Rhone ISERE
71. Fish eggs ROE

Down
1. Synagogue official RABBI
2. It has a floor but no ceiling OCEAN
3. Competition with knights CHESS GAME
4. Olympian’s blade EPEE
5. Novelist Harper LEE
6. “It’s a Wonderful Life” director CAPRA
7. Strand during a blizzard, say ICE IN
8. Yankee shortstop Jeter DEREK
9. Online “Wow!” OMG
10. “Hey, the light is green!” BEEP BEEP!
11. Wing it at the lectern AD LIB
12. Augusta’s home MAINE
13. Birch family tree ALDER
18. Flier usually shorter than its tail KITE
22. Gun lobby gp. NRA
25. False idol BAAL
26. “Grumpy” movie heroes OLD MEN
28. Sunflower State capital TOPEKA
30. __ Beta Kappa PHI
31. A.L. East team TOR
33. Cul-de-__ SAC
34. Biblical suffix -ETH
35. 50-Across milieu SEA
37. Season in a Shakespeare title MIDSUMMER
38. “Chopsticks __ fork?” OR A
39. “Game of Thrones” patriarch Stark NED
41. Making possible ENABLING
42. __-friendly USER
47. Epidemic-fighting agcy. CDC
49. Kept the party hopping, briefly DJED
50. Cape Cod catch SCROD
51. New York governor Andrew CUOMO
52. Like city folk URBAN
53. Poetic feet IAMBI
54. Lab containers VIALS
55. Follow ENSUE
57. Way to get info, on retro phones DIAL O
58. Kind of navel INNIE
61. “Present!” HERE!
63. Grafton’s “__ for Noose” N IS
65. Lead-in for plunk or flooey KER-

Return to top of page