LA Times Crossword 14 Mar 20, Saturday

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Constructed by: Debbie Ellerin
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Project that led to the first moonwalk : APOLLO

Famously, President Kennedy launched the Apollo space program in 1961. The Mercury program had been the project that put Americans into space, and NASA decided that more development work was needed to bridge the gap in capabilities needed between what was known from Mercury and what was needed to land a man on the moon, the objective of the Apollo program. So, the Gemini program was born, in which astronauts learned to spend extended periods in orbit, rendezvous and dock spacecraft, walk in space, and improve the reentry and landing stage of a space flight.

17 Rounds of shots : SALVOS

A salvo is a simultaneous discharge of guns. Ironically, “salvo” comes from the Latin “salve” meaning “be in good health”. Salvo was originally the name given to the firing of guns in the air as a sign of respect or greeting for an important visitor. Good health!

18 Meditation goal : ZEN STATE

Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

19 Money in music : EDDIE

“Eddie Money” was the stage name of musician Edward Mahoney from New York City. Money was a rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter.

20 “__: a Dog”: 1962 film based on a 1919 novel : LAD

“Lad: A Dog” is a 1962 film based on a 1919 Albert Payson novel of the same name. It sounds like a pretty syrupy heroic dog story …

21 Fruit with a Medjool variety : DATES

The medjool variety of date originated in Morocco, with most medjool dates now coming from Israel.

23 Portable Asian dwellings : YURTS

A yurt is a wood-framed dwelling that is used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Although a yurt is a substantial structure, it is also extremely portable.

25 “Live at Red Rocks” musician John : TESH

John Tesh is a pianist and composer, as well as a radio and television presenter. For many years Tesh presented the show “Entertainment Tonight”. For “ET” he once covered the filming of an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. As part of the piece, he volunteered to act as a Klingon warrior. If you see the “Star Trek: TNG” episode called “The Icarus Factor” in reruns, watch out for John Tesh engaging in ritual torture with Mr. Worf as his victim.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an open-air venue for the performing arts near Morrison, Colorado.

27 Tiny resistance unit : MICROHM

A microhm is one millionth part of an ohm, the unit of electrical resistance. The microhmis also known as a micro-ohm.

29 Petrol measure : ONE LITRE

“Petrol” is the chiefly British-English term used for gasoline. “Petrol” comes via French from the Latin “petroleum”, itself derived from “petra” meaning “rock” and “oleum” meaning “oil”.

31 Start of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

36 Galleria degli Uffizi city : FIRENZE

Florence is the capital city of the Tuscany region in Italy. Something from or related to Florence is described as “Florentine”. The city is known as “Firenze” in Italian.

The Uffizi Gallery (“Galleria degli Uffizi” in Italian) is one of the oldest art museums in the western world and is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. The Palazzo was built in 1560, intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates. This original usage gave the gallery its name, as “uffizi” is Italian for “offices”.

37 Range in which 7 is neutral : PH SCALE

As we all recall from chemistry class, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Anything less than 7 is an acid, and anything above 7 is a base.

38 “Swords into plowshares” prophet : ISAIAH

The concept of turning “swords into plowshares” is spoken about in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. The idea expressed is to convert destructive tools into similar tools that can have useful and peaceful applications.

40 Maker of many jets : JACUZZI

“Jacuzzi” is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925 when one the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.

42 Fields of cookies : MRS

The Mrs. Fields brand of snack foods was founded in the late seventies by Debbi Fields. Fields opened her first store in Palo Alto, California.

47 Plant that has become invasive in much of the Eastern U.S. : KUDZU

Kudzu is a climbing vine that is native to southern Japan and southeast China. “Kudzu” is derived from the Japanese name for the plant, “kuzu”. Kudzu is a vigorously growing weed that chokes other plants by climbing all over them and shielding them from light. Kudzu was brought to the US from Asia for the Japanese pavilion in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was marketed as an ornamental, especially in the southeast of the country, and now is all over the region. Kudzu earned itself the nickname “the vine that ate the South”.

48 One acting badly : HAM

The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

49 “Swan Lake” maiden : ODILE

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “Swan Lake” tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

51 Vitamin bottle abbr. : RDA

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.

52 Marathoners’ sources of energy : CARBS

Only relatively small amounts of carbohydrate can be stored by the human body, but those stores are important. The actual storage molecule is a starch-like polysaccharide called glycogen, which is found mainly in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a quick source of energy when required by the body. Most of the body’s energy is stored in the form of fat, a more compact substance that is mobilized less rapidly. Endurance athletes often eat meals high in carbohydrates (carbo-loading) a few hours before an event, so that their body’s glycogen is at optimum levels.

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

54 Telemarketing tactic : ROBOCALL

Robocalls; why can’t they be stopped, why not, why not …?

56 “Scream” scream : SHRIEK

I don’t do horror films, so I haven’t seen any of the “Scream” movies …

57 Rule that keeps you from spelling weirdly? : I BEFORE E

“I before E, except after C”. With so many exceptions, I think this is one rule that’s not taught in schools anymore …

60 Dr. Scholl’s product : INSOLE

William Scholl worked part time as a cobbler and then in a shoe retailer in Chicago. Noting that many people had similar foot problems he went to night school and qualified as a podiatrist in 1904. Soon after he started his own company making footcare products, giving us the brand name Dr. Scholl’s.

Down

2 Apples since 2012 : IPAD MINIS

The iPad mini is a line of smaller iPads that was introduced by Apple in 2012. The iPad mini has a screen size of 7.9 inches, whereas the regular iPad’s screen is 9.7 inches.

4 Harmonica-playing chipmunk : ALVIN

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a cartoon musical group that was created for the recording of a novelty song in 1958 called “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. The three Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) were all voiced by singer Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. but with a speedy playback to create high-pitched voices.

5 Gin flavoring : SLOE

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

6 Ring decisions : KOS

Knockout (KO)

7 Off-the-wall : BIZARRE

“Bizarre” is a French word, one with the same meaning in French as English. However, back in the 16th century, “bizarre” used to mean “handsome, brave” in French. So that’s what my wife means when she refers to me as “bizarre” …

9 Time meas. : MIN

The hour is subdivided into 60 parts, each of which was known as a “pars minuta prima” in Medieval Latin, translating as “first small part”. This phrase “pars minuta prima” evolved into our word “minute”. The “pars minuta prima” (minute) was further divided into 60 parts, each called a “secunda pars minuta”, meaning “second small part”. “Secunda pars minuta” evolved into our term “second”.

10 VA concern : PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was formed in 1930 to manage pre-existing government benefits for war veterans. Some of those benefits dated back to the Continental Congress. Today, the most visible benefit is probably the network of VA medical centers that provide comprehensive healthcare services to veterans.

12 Kiwi-shaped : OVATE

What we call kiwifruit today (and sometimes just “kiwi”) used to be called a Chinese gooseberry. Marketing folks in the fifties decided to call it a “melonette”, and then New Zealand producers adopted the name “kiwifruit”.

20 Riches : LUCRE

Our word “lucre” meaning “money, profits” comes from the Latin “lucrum” that means the same thing.

23 1994 co-Nobelist with Yasser and Shimon : YITZHAK

Yitzhak Rabin was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, and the first Prime Minister to have been born in the relatively young state of Israel. Rabin was a signatory of the Oslo Accords in 1993, along with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, and US President Bill Clinton. Sadly, this led to his death as he was assassinated two years later by a right-wing radical who opposed the Accords.

Yasser (also “Yasir”) Arafat was born in Cairo in 1929, the son of two Palestinians and the second-youngest of seven children. Arafat was beaten by his father as a child and so did not have a good relationship with him. Arafat did not attend his father’s funeral, nor did he visit his grave. The beatings were apparently administered because the young Arafat was repeatedly attending religious services in the Jewish quarter of Cairo. Arafat’s explanation was that he wanted to “study the mentality” of the Jewish people.

Shimon Peres was an Israeli statesman who was born in Poland, in a township that is now part of Belarus. Peres served as President of the State of Israel from 2007 to 2014. Born Szymon Perski, Peres was the oldest head of state in the world while he served as president of Israel. While serving as foreign minister, he represented Israel in the secret negotiations that led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. For that work, Peres was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

24 Fluffy toy : SHIH TZU

The Shih Tzu is one of the oldest breeds of dog, and a breed that originated in China. Shih Tzus have long hairy coats but they don’t shed.

The toy group of dogs is made up of the smallest breeds. The smallest of the small breeds are sometimes called teacup breeds.

26 Ex-U.N. chief Annan : KOFI

Kofi Annan was a diplomat from Ghana who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan was born into an aristocratic family, and had a twin sister named Efua Atta. Efua and Kofi shared the middle name “Atta”, which means “twin” in the Akan language of Ghana. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, winning jointly with the United Nations organization itself.

27 “Anaconda” rapper Nicki : MINAJ

Nicki Minaj is a rapper from the New York borough of Queens who was born in Trinidad.

28 Kenyan tribe : MASAI

The Masai (also “Maasai”) are a semi-nomadic people found in Kenya and Tanzania. They are semi-nomadic in that over the years they have been migrating from the Lower Nile Valley in northwest Kenya, and are moving into Tanzania.

30 Worn welcome symbol : LEI

“Lei” is a Hawaiian word meaning “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

32 Game show VIPs : MCS

The term “emcee” comes from “MC”, an initialism used for a Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.

33 Enclave in Italy : SAN MARINO

San Marino is a small enclave in northern Italy with an area of just under 25 square miles. It is the oldest sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, and has the world’s oldest constitution (dating back to 1600). What is most impressive to me is that San Marino has no national debt and a budget surplus. One can only dream …

35 High-tech capacity units : MEGS

In the world of computing, a bit is the basic unit of information. It has a value of 0 or 1. A “byte” is a small collection of “bits” (usually 8), the number of bits needed to uniquely identify a character of text. The prefix mega- stands for 10 to the power of 6, so a megabyte (meg) is 1,000,000 bytes. The prefix giga- means 10 to the power of 9, and so a gigabyte (gig) is 1,000,000,000 bytes. Well, those are the SI definitions of megabyte and gigabyte. The purists still use 2 to the power of 20 for a megabyte (i.e. 1,048,576), and 2 to the power of 30 for a gigabyte.

37 Pie sometimes topped with pineapple : PIZZA

Pizza was invented in Naples, where it has a long tradition that goes back to ancient Rome. During an 1889 visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Savoy was served a special pizza that was created with toppings designed to mimic the colors of the Italian flag. The ingredients of tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) can still be found together on menus today, on a pie usually named Pizza Margherita after the queen. I do love basil on my pizza …

39 Gatherings before snaps : HUDDLES

That would be football.

43 Day of films : DORIS

Actress and singer Doris Day was born Doris Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio. Day made more than 650 recordings as a singer with Columbia Records, and also appeared in 39 movies. Outside the world of entertainment, she was an ardent supporter of animal rights. She lived in retirement in Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, along with her many pets and stray animals that she adopted over the years.

44 Brick of the Southwest : ADOBE

The building material known as adobe has been around a long time, and has been used in dry climates all over the world. The original form of the word “adobe” dates back to Middle Egyptian times, about 2000 BC. The original spelling is “dj-b-t”, and translates as mud (sun-dried) brick.

45 High land : TIBET

Tibet is a plateau region that is part of China, and is located northeast of the Himalayas. Tibet declared its independence from China in 1913, but fell back under Chinese control after the Invasion of Tibet in 1951. The Tibetan leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled the country during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion. Since then, he has led the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India.

48 Long-eared critters : HARES

Hares belong to the genus Lepus. Young hares under one-year-old are called leverets.

50 Biol. branch : ECOL

Ecology (ecol.) is a branch of biology (biol.).

52 “Big Brother” host Julie __ Moonves : CHEN

As well as co-anchoring “The Early Show”, Julie Chen has been host of the American version of “Big Brother” since it graced our screens in the year 2000.

Leslie Moonves had many senior positions in the television industry, especially with CBS and Viacom. Early in his career he was an actor and played tough guys on “Cannon” and “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Moonves is the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and is married to TV news personality Julie Chen.

The “Big Brother” television franchise started out in 1999 in the Netherlands. The term “Big Brother” comes from George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”.

53 Terrier breed from Scotland : SKYE

The Skye terrier is a breed of dog that is actually under threat of extinction. A few years ago, there were only 30 Skye terriers born in the breed’s native land of the UK. The breed was named for the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Hardly a routine favor : BIG ASK
7 Rubs out : BUMPS OFF
15 Project that led to the first moonwalk : APOLLO
16 “And how!” : IS IT EVER?
17 Rounds of shots : SALVOS
18 Meditation goal : ZEN STATE
19 Money in music : EDDIE
20 “__: a Dog”: 1962 film based on a 1919 novel : LAD
21 Fruit with a Medjool variety : DATES
22 Fathers and sons : MEN
23 Portable Asian dwellings : YURTS
25 “Live at Red Rocks” musician John : TESH
26 Fathers and sons, say : KIN
27 Tiny resistance unit : MICROHM
29 Petrol measure : ONE LITRE
31 Start of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM
36 Galleria degli Uffizi city : FIRENZE
37 Range in which 7 is neutral : PH SCALE
38 “Swords into plowshares” prophet : ISAIAH
39 Had difficulty : HIT A SNAG
40 Maker of many jets : JACUZZI
42 Fields of cookies : MRS
43 __ entry : DATA
47 Plant that has become invasive in much of the Eastern U.S. : KUDZU
48 One acting badly : HAM
49 “Swan Lake” maiden : ODILE
51 Vitamin bottle abbr. : RDA
52 Marathoners’ sources of energy : CARBS
54 Telemarketing tactic : ROBOCALL
56 “Scream” scream : SHRIEK
57 Rule that keeps you from spelling weirdly? : I BEFORE E
58 With great intensity : KEENLY
59 Colonists : SETTLERS
60 Dr. Scholl’s product : INSOLE

Down

1 Stalwart political group : BASE
2 Apples since 2012 : IPAD MINIS
3 The best of times : GOLDEN ERA
4 Harmonica-playing chipmunk : ALVIN
5 Gin flavoring : SLOE
6 Ring decisions : KOS
7 Off-the-wall : BIZARRE
8 No longer fazed by : USED TO
9 Time meas. : MIN
10 VA concern : PTSD
11 Mount an attack on : SET AT
12 Kiwi-shaped : OVATE
13 Bashes : FETES
14 Just baked, say : FRESH
20 Riches : LUCRE
23 1994 co-Nobelist with Yasser and Shimon : YITZHAK
24 Fluffy toy : SHIH TZU
26 Ex-U.N. chief Annan : KOFI
27 “Anaconda” rapper Nicki : MINAJ
28 Kenyan tribe : MASAI
30 Worn welcome symbol : LEI
32 Game show VIPs : MCS
33 Enclave in Italy : SAN MARINO
34 Warning signal : ALARM BELL
35 High-tech capacity units : MEGS
37 Pie sometimes topped with pineapple : PIZZA
39 Gatherings before snaps : HUDDLES
41 Salon device : CURLER
43 Day of films : DORIS
44 Brick of the Southwest : ADOBE
45 High land : TIBET
46 Up in the air : ALOFT
48 Long-eared critters : HARES
50 Biol. branch : ECOL
52 “Big Brother” host Julie __ Moonves : CHEN
53 Terrier breed from Scotland : SKYE
55 “What __ the odds?!” : ARE
56 Go downhill fast : SKI