LA Times Crossword 25 Feb 19, Monday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Ed Sessa
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Where’s the Fire?

Themed answers each include the hidden word “FIRE”:

  • 50A. “What’s your hurry?” … and a literal hint to what’s hiding in 20-, 27- and 42-Across : WHERE’S THE FIRE?
  • 20A. Tricolor flier in Dublin : FLAG OF IRELAND
  • 27A. Quality sound reproduction : HI-FI RECORDING
  • 42A. “And suppose my answer is no?” : WHAT IF I REFUSE?

Bill’s time: 5m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Sources of nuclear energy : ATOMS

President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his “Atoms for Peace” speech in December, 1953 to the UN General Assembly. Ostensibly, the speech announced a new US policy, the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes around the world.

To the making of these fateful decisions, the United States pledges before you–and therefore before the world–its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma–to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life.

10. Banned pollutants, briefly : PCBS

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were banned with good reason. Apart from their link to cancer and other disorders in humans and animals, they are extremely persistent in the environment once contamination has occurred. Among other things, PCBs were used as coolants and insulating fluids in electrical gear such as transformers and large capacitors, as well as a transfer agent in carbonless copy paper.

14. Exodus mount : SINAI

According to the Bible, Mount Sinai is the mountain on which Moses was given the Ten Commandments. The Biblical Mount Sinai is probably not the mountain in Egypt that today has the same name, although this is the subject of much debate. The Egyptian Mount Sinai has two developed routes that one can take to reach the summit. The longer gentler climb takes about 2 1/2 hours, but there is also the steeper climb up the 3,750 “steps of penitence”.

15. Author Wiesel : ELIE

Elie Wiesel was a holocaust survivor, and is best known for his book “Night” that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was also the first recipient of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Award, which was later renamed the Elie Wiesel Award in his honor.

17. Tavern mug : STEIN

A stein is a type of beer glass. The term is German in origin, and is short for “Steinkrug” meaning “stone jug”. “Stein” is German for “stone”.

19. Noncurrent currency of Italy : LIRA

The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

20. Tricolor flier in Dublin : FLAG OF IRELAND

One interpretation of the colors of the tricolor Irish flag of Ireland are that the green represents the Irish Nationalist movement striving for independence from Britain, and that the orange represents the Orange movement concentrated in the north of the country (now Northern Ireland) that favors British rule. The white is a hopeful representation of peace between the two ideals. The flag’s design dates back to 1848 when it was presented to Irish Nationalist Thomas Francis Meagher by a small group of sympathetic French women. It was likely inspired by the French tricolor, although it might also have derived from the Newfoundland Tricolour, as Meagher’s father was born there.

The city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is known as “Baile Átha Cliath” in Irish (“town of the hurdled ford”). The English name “Dublin” is an anglicized form of the older Irish name for the city “Dubh Linn”, meaning “black pool”.

23. Longtime forensic drama : CSI

The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but has finally wound down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, hung in there until 2015 when it ended with a two-hour TV movie. The youngest show in the series was “CSI: Cyber”. It lasted for two seasons, before being canceled in 2016.

25. The first “T” in TNT : TRI-

“TNT” is an abbreviation for “trinitrotoluene”. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.

26. Bitcoin, notably : E-MONEY

Bitcoins are digital units of currency that are used on some Internet sites. Bitcoins are the most popular alternative currency used on the Web today. More and more reputable online retailers are accepting bitcoins, including Overstock.com, Expedia, Dell and Microsoft.

27. Quality sound reproduction : HI-FI RECORDING

Hi-fi systems were introduced in the late forties. A hi-fi is a piece of audio equipment designed to give a much higher quality reproduction of sound than cheaper systems available up to that point. “Hi-fi” stands for “high fidelity”.

31. Prefix with violet : ULTRA-

At either end of the visible light spectrum are the invisible forms of radiation known as infrared (IR) light and ultraviolet (UV) light. IR light lies just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, and UV light lie just below the violet end.

33. Mineral hardness scale : MOHS

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest.

34. “The game is __”: Sherlock Holmes : AFOOT

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in writing the “Sherlock Holmes” stories, had his hero use the phrase “the game is afoot” on more than one occasion. Holmes first uttered the expression in “The Adventures of the Abbey Grange”. However, the phrase was used long before Conan Doyle put pen to paper. In William Shakespeare’s “King Henry IV Part I” there is the line “Before the game is afoot, thou let’st slip”.

41. Hit that barely gets over the infield : BLOOP

In baseball, a bloop single is more usually called a blooper. It’s a fly ball that drops for a single between and infielder and an outfielder.

46. Panini cheese : ASIAGO

Asiago is a crumbly cheese that is named for the region in northeastern Italy from where it originates.

In Italy, a sandwich made from sliced bread is called a “tramezzino”, while sandwiches made from non-sliced breads are called “panini” (singular “panino”). We’ve imported the term “panini” into English to describe a pressed and toasted sandwich.

48. “Alice” diner owner : MEL

The sitcom “Alice” is set in Mel’s Diner, which is supposedly frequented by locals and truckers on the outskirts of Phoenix. There is a real Mel’s Diner in Phoenix, and the restaurant’s sign is used in the opening credits. The real-world Mel’s was called “Chris’ Diner”, but the owner agreed to a temporary change in name for the purposes of the show. But, “Chris” never came back, and “Mel’s” is still serving customers today.

49. “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE

No one seems to be very certain of the origin of the phrase “that’s all she wrote”. One popular story though is that it stems from the unfortunate “Dear John” letters that some soldiers received during WWII.

54. Stereo preceder : MONO

Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

59. Blue dye : ANIL

“Anil” is another name for the indigo plant, as well as the name of the blue indigo dye that is obtained from it. The color of anil is relatively close to navy blue. The main coloring agent in indigo dye is a crystalline powder called indigotin.

61. Wharton’s Ethan : FROME

“Ethan Frome” is a novel by New York and Massachusetts author Edith Wharton, first published in 1911. Wharton started “Ethan Frome” as a composition in French that she wrote while studying the language in Paris. The novel was adapted into a 1993 film of the same name starring Liam Neeson in the title role, opposite Patricia Arquette.

Edith Wharton was a novelist and designer from New York City. Wharton was a wealthy woman and built her own estate in Lenox, Massachusetts called the Mount. My wife and I had the privilege of touring the Mount a few years ago, and there we saw evidence of what design meant to Wharton.

63. Crafter’s website : ETSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

64. Brown-toned photo : SEPIA

Sepia is that rich, brown-grey color so common in old photographs. “Sepia” is the Latinized version of the Greek word for cuttlefish, as sepia pigment is derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish. Sepia ink was commonly used for writing and drawing as far back as Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. The “sepia tone” of old photographs is not the result of deterioration over time. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate preservation process which converts the metallic silver in the photographic image to a more stable silver sulfide. Prints that have been sepia-toned can last in excess of 150 years.

Down

2. Chickadee relative : TIT

Chickadees are a group of birds in the tit family, with some species within the group called chickadees and some called tits. The name chickadee is imitative of the bird’s alarm call “chick-dee dee dee”.

5. “New York, New York” crooner : SINATRA

Frank Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants living in Hoboken, New Jersey. Like so many of our heroes, Sinatra had a rough upbringing. His mother was arrested several times and convicted of running an illegal abortion business in the family home. Sinatra never finished high school, as he was expelled for rowdy conduct. He was later arrested as a youth on a morals charge for carrying on with a married woman, which was an offence back then. But Sinatra straightened himself out by the time he was twenty and started singing professionally.

The classic Frank Sinatra hit “New York, New York” is actually the theme song from a 1977 Martin Scorsese film of the same name. Liza Minnelli performed the song for the movie

These little town blues
Are melting away
I’ll make a brand new start of it
In old New York

7. Disney snowman : OLAF

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

8. User-edited site : WIKI

A wiki is a website on which users are allowed to create and edit content themselves. The term “wiki” comes from the name of the first such site, introduced in 1994 and called WikiWikiWeb. “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word for “quick”, and is used because comprehensive content is created very quickly a there are so many collaborators contributing to the site.

11. China’s __ Kai-shek : CHIANG

Chiang Kai-Shek was the leader of the Nationalist Movement in China right through to the end of WWII. The Nationalists lost out in a Civil War to the Communists backed by the Soviet Union after war, and Chiang Kai-Shek and his government were forced to flee to Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek claimed rule over China from Taiwan until his death in 1975.

21. College sr.’s exam : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

23. Buddy : CHUM

A chum is a friend. The term “chum” originated in the late 1600s as an alternative spelling for “cham”. In turn, “cham” was a shortened form of “chambermate”, a roommate at university.

24. Grain storage area : SILO

“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “siros”, which described a pit in which one kept corn.

28. Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

30. Classic roadster : REO

The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom Eli Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan. Among the company’s most famous models were the REO Royale and the REO Flying Cloud.

35. The “F” in TGIF: Abbr. : FRI

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that apparently originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used first by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies. That said, one blog reader wrote me to say that he had been using the phrase in the fifties.

36. Furry sitcom ET : ALF

“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.

38. Dance in a pit : MOSH

Moshing (also “slam dancing”) is the pushing and shoving that takes place in the audience at a concert (usually a punk or heavy metal concert). The area directly in front of the stage is known as the mosh pit. When a performer does a “stage dive” it is into (or I suppose “onto”) the mosh pit. It doesn’t sound like fun to me. Injuries are commonplace in the mosh pit, and deaths are not unknown.

39. Olympic fencing event : EPEE

There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, with each distinguished by the weapon used:

  • Foil
  • Épée
  • Sabre

42. Dog at a cookout : WIENIE

“Wienie” and “weenie” are informal variants of “wiener”.

What we call a wiener in this country is known as a Vienna sausage in Germany. It was first produced by a butcher from Frankfurt who was living in Vienna, hence the name “Wiener”, which is German for “of Vienna”. Paradoxically, the same sausage is called a Frankfurter in Vienna, as it was created by someone from Frankfurt. It’s all very confusing …

43. Ramis of “Ghostbusters” : HAROLD

Harold Ramis was a real all-rounder; a very successful actor, director and writer. Indeed, in both “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes” he was a co-writer as well as playing a lead character. Ramis worked as writer-director on “Caddyshack”, “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, “Groundhog Day” and “Analyze This”.

1984’s “Ghostbusters” really is an entertaining movie. It stars Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, and was directed by Ivan Reitman (a trio that also worked together on 1981’s “Stripes”). The first draft of the screenplay was written by another star of the movie, Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd originally envisioned “Ghostbusters” as a vehicle for himself and John Belushi, but sadly Belushi passed away before the project could be realized.

45. NFL official : REF

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring to” a book, archive etc.

57. Mate, across the Channel : AMI

A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

58. Tazo product : TEA

The Tazo Tea Company was founded in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. Tazo was purchased in 1999 by Starbucks. Starbucks now runs tea shops that are fully dedicated to Tazo teas.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Sources of nuclear energy : ATOMS
6. Wolf call : HOWL
10. Banned pollutants, briefly : PCBS
14. Exodus mount : SINAI
15. Author Wiesel : ELIE
16. “I smell trouble” : UH-OH
17. Tavern mug : STEIN
18. Get off the lawn, as leaves : RAKE
19. Noncurrent currency of Italy : LIRA
20. Tricolor flier in Dublin : FLAG OF IRELAND
23. Longtime forensic drama : CSI
25. The first “T” in TNT : TRI-
26. Bitcoin, notably : E-MONEY
27. Quality sound reproduction : HI-FI RECORDING
31. Prefix with violet : ULTRA-
32. Shipshape : NEAT
33. Mineral hardness scale : MOHS
34. “The game is __”: Sherlock Holmes : AFOOT
36. “Alas!” : AH ME!
40. Waves to ride on : SURF
41. Hit that barely gets over the infield : BLOOP
42. “And suppose my answer is no?” : WHAT IF I REFUSE?
46. Panini cheese : ASIAGO
48. “Alice” diner owner : MEL
49. “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE
50. “What’s your hurry?” … and a literal hint to what’s hiding in 20-, 27- and 42-Across : WHERE’S THE FIRE?
54. Stereo preceder : MONO
55. Length times width : AREA
56. Erode : EAT AT
59. Blue dye : ANIL
60. Storm-producing weather systems : LOWS
61. Wharton’s Ethan : FROME
62. Must have : NEED
63. Crafter’s website : ETSY
64. Brown-toned photo : SEPIA

Down

1. Stubborn animal : ASS
2. Chickadee relative : TIT
3. 20% expressed as a fraction : ONE FIFTH
4. Snail or junk follower : … MAIL
5. “New York, New York” crooner : SINATRA
6. Valiant : HEROIC
7. Disney snowman : OLAF
8. User-edited site : WIKI
9. Eyed wolfishly : LEERED AT
10. Don, as boots : PULL ON
11. China’s __ Kai-shek : CHIANG
12. Carried : BORNE
13. Shielded from the sun : SHADY
21. College sr.’s exam : GRE
22. Send out : EMIT
23. Buddy : CHUM
24. Grain storage area : SILO
28. Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS
29. Like most light switches : ON/OFF
30. Classic roadster : REO
34. Used car lot event : AUTO SALE
35. The “F” in TGIF: Abbr. : FRI
36. Furry sitcom ET : ALF
37. Landing site for Santa’s sleigh : HOUSETOP
38. Dance in a pit : MOSH
39. Olympic fencing event : EPEE
40. Wise one : SAGE
41. Opinions : BELIEFS
42. Dog at a cookout : WIENIE
43. Ramis of “Ghostbusters” : HAROLD
44. “Doesn’t bother me at all” : I’M EASY
45. NFL official : REF
46. “Oh, no, bro!” : AW, MAN!
47. Dazzled : SHONE
51. Relaxed running pace : TROT
52. Fells with an ax : HEWS
53. Steak order : RARE
57. Mate, across the Channel : AMI
58. Tazo product : TEA