LA Times Crossword Answers 23 Mar 2018, Friday

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Constructed by: Samuel A. Donaldson
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Part the Red Sea

Four black squares in today’s grid PART THE RED SEA. Each is a square following an answer ending with -RED, and preceding an answer starting with SEA-. Clever …

  • 1A. Flintstones Vitamins option : FRED
  • 5A. Chicago Eight defendant : SEALE
  • 20A. Turned tail : RAN SCARED
  • 22A. Like some underbellies : SEAMY
  • 51A. Needed an eraser : ERRED
  • 52A. Herbs and spices : SEASONING
  • 62A. Ready to drop : TIRED
  • 63A. Burn a little : SEAR

Bill’s time: 9m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Flintstones Vitamins option : FRED

Flintstones Chewable Vitamins are multivitamin supplements for children that were introduced in 1968. The pills come in the shape of characters from “The Flintstones” cartoon series. The original lineup of characters used included Fred, Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone as well as Barney and Bamm-Bamm Rubble. Barney’s wife Betty was a notable omission from the lineup for over twenty years, which led to a grassroots campaign for her to be included. There is even a rock band named Betty’s Not a Vitamin, which is a reference to the “controversy”. Betty Rubble finally became a multivitamin in 1995.

5. Chicago Eight defendant : SEALE

Bobby Seale is the civil rights activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton. Seale was one of the Chicago Eight, eight people charged as a result of anti-Vietnam war protests that took place during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. The judge ordered Seale severed from the case, reducing the group of defendants to the Chicago Seven. However, Seale’s vehement protests during the trial led to the judge ordering him bound, gagged and chained to his chair, and eventually sentenced him to four years in jail for contempt of court. That conviction was quickly overturned on appeal.

10. B.C. law enforcers : RCMP

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the Mounties, RCMP) is an unusual police force in that it provides all policing for the whole country. The RCMP works on the national level, and right down to the municipal level. The force’s distinctive uniform of red serge tunic, blue pants with a yellow stripe, stetson hat etc. is known internally as “Review Order”. The red uniform dates back to the days of the North-West Mounted Police, which was one of the existing forces that were merged in 1920 to form the RCMP.

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is in the Pacific Northwest. The British referred to the territory drained by the Columbia River as the “Columbia District”. Queen Victoria chose the name “British Columbia” for that section of the Columbia District that fell under British control. The remainder of the Columbia District was referred to as “American Columbia” or “Southern Columbia”, which became the Oregon Territory in 1848.

14. Big name in denim : LEVI

Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.

15. Dental restoration : ONLAY

“Inlay” is another word for a filling in dentistry. An “onlay” is similar to an inlay. An onlay not only fills a hole in the tooth but it is also built up to replace a missing cusp. It’s sort of halfway between a filling and a crown, I suppose.

16. Cause of some bad apples? : ALAR

The chemical name for Alar, a plant growth regulator and color enhancer, is daminozide. Alar was primarily used on apples but was withdrawn from the market when it was linked to cancer.

19. Cyber phenomenon : MEME

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

22. Like some underbellies : SEAMY

The phrase “seamy underbelly” is sometimes used when referring the more sordid elements of perhaps a group or neighborhood.

We’ve used “seamy” to mean “the least pleasant, the worst” since the 1600s. The idea comes from the seamed side of a sewn garment being the less attractive.

31. Latin I word : AMO

“Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

32. Prepared, as eggs for eggs Benedict : POACHED

Eggs Benedict is a dish traditionally served at an American breakfast or brunch. It usually consists of a halved English muffin topped with ham and poached eggs, all smothered in Hollandaise sauce. The exact origin of the dish is apparently debated, but one story is that it is named for a Wall Street stockbroker called Lemuel Benedict. In 1894 in the Waldorf Hotel, Benedict ordered toast, poached eggs, crispy bacon and Hollandaise sauce as a cure for his hangover. The hotel’s maître d’ Oscar Tschirky was impressed by the dish and added the variant that we use today to the hotel’s menu, naming it for the gentleman who had first ordered it.

35. Emulate Moses … and what four black squares do in this puzzle : PART THE RED SEA

The Red Sea (sometimes called the Arabian Gulf) is a stretch of water lying between Africa and Asia. The Gulf of Suez (and the Suez Canal) lies to north, and the Gulf of Aden to the south. According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, God parted the Red Sea to allow Moses lead the Israelites from Egypt.

39. August birthstone : PERIDOT

Here is the “official” list of birthstones by month, that we tend to use today:

  • January: Garnet
  • February: Amethyst
  • March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
  • April: Diamond
  • May: Emerald
  • June: Pearl or Moonstone
  • July: Ruby
  • August: Sardonyx or Peridot
  • September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
  • October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
  • November: Topaz or Citrine
  • December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

40. “How you doin’?” : SUP?

I think that “sup?” is slang for “what’s up?”

42. “The Beauty Myth” author Wolf : NAOMI

Naomi Wolf is an author and noted feminist. Wolf’s most famous work is “The Beauty Myth” published in 1991. Wolf’s thesis is that more prominence women gain in society, the more pressure there is to conform to a standard of physical beauty. Consequences of the added pressure are increasing occurrences of eating disorders and use of elective cosmetic surgery.

50. Greek god of the wild : PAN

In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god, one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.

55. Bill __ Climate Lab: former exhibit at Oakland’s Chabot Space & Science Center : NYES

“Bill Nye’s Climate Lab” is a former exhibition at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. The aim of the exhibit was to make people aware of the effects of climate change on the planet.

58. Nineteenth Amendment campaigner : CATT

Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. Catt was also very close to Susan B. Anthony and succeeded Anthony as head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Women’s suffrage finally came about in the US with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution in 1920. Some women were allowed to vote prior to 1920 depending on location. For example, women could vote in New Jersey from 1790, until 1807 when the right was taken away.

59. Rolex rival : OMEGA

Omega is a manufacturer of high-end watches based in Switzerland. An Omega watch was the first portable timepiece to make it to the moon.

60. Gillette offering : ATRA

Fortunately for crossword constructors, the Atra was introduced by Gillette in 1977, as the first razor with a pivoting head. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.

61. Book of Mormon prophet : ENOS

According to the Book of Mormon, Enos was a son of Jacob, and the author of the Book of Enos.

Down

1. Daisy component : FLORET

An inflorescence is a cluster of flowers seen on a stem of some plants. Individual flowers with an inflorescence are referred to as florets. Examples of plants with inflorescences are snapdragons, geraniums, zinnias, chrysanthemums and dandelions.

4. Ph.D. hurdle : DISS

Dissertation (diss.)

6. Went too far : ENCROACHED

Our verb “to encroach” came into English meaning “to acquire, get”, from the Old French “encrochier” meaning the same thing. The Old French term literally translated as “to catch with a hook”.

7. Protected, in a way : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather.

10. Collegian’s diet staple : RAMEN

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is a also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

12. “Money, Money, Money” musical : MAMMA MIA!

The hit musical “Mamma Mia!” was written to showcase the songs of ABBA. I’m a big fan of ABBA’s music, so I’ve seen this show a couple of times and just love it. “Mamma Mia!” is such a big hit on the stage that on any given day there are at least seven performances going on somewhere in the world. There is a really interesting film version of the show that was released in 2008. I think the female lead Meryl Streep is wonderful in the movie, but the male leads … not so much! By the way, one can tell the difference between “Mamma Mia” the ABBA song and “Mamma Mia!” the musical, by noting the difference in the punctuation in the titles.

“Money, Money, Money” is 1976 hit song for Swedish pop group ABBA. The lyrics are basically a narration by a woman who works hard but struggles to make ends meet, and so deserves a well-off man as a partner. As the song says, “It’s a rich man’s world”.

21. Henry __ Lodge: WWI senator : CABOT

Henry Cabot Lodge was a Republican Senator from Massachusetts. Lodge famously went up against President Woodrow Wilson demanding congressional control over the declaration of war. As a result, the US never ratified the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI, and never joined the League of Nations.

22. Swedish carrier : SAS

SAS was formerly known as Scandinavian Airlines System and is the flag carrier of three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS is based at Stockholm Arlanda Airport located just north of the Swedish capital.

27. Nashville highlight : OPRY

The Grand Ole Opry started out as a radio show in 1925 originally called the WSM “Barn Dance”. In 1927, the “Barn Dance” radio show was broadcast in a slot after an NBC production called “Musical Appreciation Hour”, a collection of classical works including Grand Opera. In a December show, the host of “Barn Dance” announced, “For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on we will present the ‘Grand Ole Opry'”. That name was used for the radio show from then on.

29. “SNL” alumna Oteri : CHERI

Cheri Oteri was the SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

33. How some bonds are purchased : AT PAR

Stocks, and other financial vehicles, may be sold “at par”, meaning at the original price, neither discounted nor at a premium.

34. Movie role for Skippy : ASTA

Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb “The Thin Man” series of films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

35. Speaker after John Boehner : PAUL RYAN

Paul Ryan was a nominee for Vice President in the 2012 election, and was on the Republican ticket with Mitt Romney. Ryan was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2015 after John Boehner resigned. At 45, Ryan then became the youngest Speaker since 1875.

John Boehner elected Leader of the House of Representatives in 2011, and was the House Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011. Boehner is from Reading, Ohio and grew up in modest circumstances in a two-bedroom house with eleven siblings. After Boehner graduated from university in 1977, he joined a small packaging and plastics business. By the time he resigned to serve in Congress, Boehner had risen to become president of the company.

37. Air Force pilot who became a pop star : DON HO

The singer and entertainer Don Ho apparently had a pretty liberal arrangement with his wife. When Ho was touring with his two backing singers, Patti Swallie and Elizabeth Guevara, all three of them shared a room together. He had two children with each of his roommates, giving a total of ten kids including the six he had with his wife. The arrangement was quite open, it seems, with all ten kids visiting each other regularly. To each his own …

43. Morphine, e.g. : OPIATE

Opiates are the narcotic alkaloids found in the opium poppy plant, although some synthetic versions and derivatives of the same alkaloids are also called opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.

44. It’s repeated a lot : MANTRA

A mantra is a word that is used as a focus for the mind while meditating. The term is Sanskrit in origin, and is now used figuratively in English to describe any oft-repeated word or phrase.

47. Kevlar products : VESTS

Kevlar is a remarkably strong synthetic fiber that was introduced by DuPont in 1965. The material was developed as a lightweight substitute for steel. Kevlar fits the bill, as an equal weight of the synthetic fiber is five times stronger than the alloy. One of the downsides of Kevlar is that its strength degrades when exposed to sunlight.

49. Mideast ruling family name : ASSAD

Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman.

52. Rest area heavyweight : SEMI

A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

53. Cabinet dept. : ENER

The US Department of Energy (DOE) came into being largely as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The DOE was founded in 1977 by the Carter administration. The DOE is responsible for regulating the production of nuclear power, and it is also responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons. The official DOE seal features a lightning bolt and symbols denoting five sources of energy: the sun, an atom, an oil derrick, a windmill and a dynamo.

54. Long and Vardalos : NIAS

Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

Nia Vardalos is an actress and screenwriter whose biggest break came with the 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which she wrote and in which she starred. The film tells the story of a Greek-American woman marrying a non-Greek Caucasian American who converts to the Greek Orthodox Church to facilitate the marriage. The storyline reflects the actual experiences of Vardalos and her husband, actor Ian Gomez. Vardalos and Gomez appear together as hosts of the reality competition “The Great American Baking Show”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Flintstones Vitamins option : FRED
5. Chicago Eight defendant : SEALE
10. B.C. law enforcers : RCMP
14. Big name in denim : LEVI
15. Dental restoration : ONLAY
16. Cause of some bad apples? : ALAR
17. Has to pay : OWES
18. Part of a script : SCENE
19. Cyber phenomenon : MEME
20. Turned tail : RAN SCARED
22. Like some underbellies : SEAMY
23. Memphis-to-Atlanta dir. : ESE
24. Big fuss : ADO
25. With “the,” what a boxer doesn’t want to hit? : CANVAS
26. Pulse : THROB
28. High points : ACMES
31. Latin I word : AMO
32. Prepared, as eggs for eggs Benedict : POACHED
34. Votin’ nay : AGIN
35. Emulate Moses … and what four black squares do in this puzzle : PART THE RED SEA
38. Like a breeze? : EASY
39. August birthstone : PERIDOT
40. “How you doin’?” : SUP?
41. Lost patience : HAD IT
42. “The Beauty Myth” author Wolf : NAOMI
46. Chip off the old block? : SLIVER
48. Annoyed exclamation : BAH!
50. Greek god of the wild : PAN
51. Needed an eraser : ERRED
52. Herbs and spices : SEASONING
55. Bill __ Climate Lab: former exhibit at Oakland’s Chabot Space & Science Center : NYES
56. Awaits decision : PENDS
57. Brief refusal to “Are you hungry?” : I ATE
58. Nineteenth Amendment campaigner : CATT
59. Rolex rival : OMEGA
60. Gillette offering : ATRA
61. Book of Mormon prophet : ENOS
62. Ready to drop : TIRED
63. Burn a little : SEAR

Down

1. Daisy component : FLORET
2. Clean some more : REWASH
3. Plane, for one : EVENER
4. Ph.D. hurdle : DISS
5. “I feel your pain” : SO SAD
6. Went too far : ENCROACHED
7. Protected, in a way : ALEE
8. Succeed in getting : LAND
9. Word with private or public : EYE
10. Collegian’s diet staple : RAMEN
11. Rift : CLEAVAGE
12. “Money, Money, Money” musical : MAMMA MIA!
13. Exploits : PREYS ON
21. Henry __ Lodge: WWI senator : CABOT
22. Swedish carrier : SAS
25. Surrendered : CEDED
27. Nashville highlight : OPRY
29. “SNL” alumna Oteri : CHERI
30. Scout’s honor? : MERIT BADGE
33. How some bonds are purchased : AT PAR
34. Movie role for Skippy : ASTA
35. Speaker after John Boehner : PAUL RYAN
36. Shoot for : ASPIRE TO
37. Air Force pilot who became a pop star : DON HO
38. True nature : ESSENCE
41. “__ give you the shirt off his back” : HE’D
43. Morphine, e.g. : OPIATE
44. It’s repeated a lot : MANTRA
45. Ready to go : IN GEAR
47. Kevlar products : VESTS
49. Mideast ruling family name : ASSAD
52. Rest area heavyweight : SEMI
53. Cabinet dept. : ENER
54. Long and Vardalos : NIAS
56. Winner’s gathering : POT

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