Bill’s time: 8m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Indian anna, e.g. : COIN

The anna (also “ana”) was a unit of currency used by both India and Pakistan, until India discontinued its use in 1957, and Pakistan in 1961. Introduced in 1938, the anna coin was valued at 1/16 of a rupee.

5 Baked potato topping : CHIVES

Chives are the smallest species of edible onion, and a favorite of mine.

11 Billy the Kid preceder? : AKA

Also known as (aka)

I’m guessing that the notorious Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid was of Irish stock as his family name was McCarty. Although he usually used the alias William H. Bonney, another indication of an Irish connection is that he also went by William Antrim, Henry Antrim and Kid Antrim, as Antrim is one of the six counties in the north of Ireland.

15 Play with Freudian implications : OEDIPUS REX

“Oedipus Rex” (also “Oedipus the King”) is a tragedy penned by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. The play tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes king of Thebes. Famously, Oedipus was destined from birth to murder his father and marry his mother.

An oedipal relationship is one in which a child exhibits sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex. A child exhibiting such behavior is said to have an Oedipus complex, named for the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles.

18 Freudian component of 15-Across : PRIMAL URGE
(15 Play with Freudian implications : OEDIPUS REX)

According to Freudian psychology, we have an instinctive sexual appetite that develops in five phases, named for the erogenous zones that are the source of the drive in each phase. They are:

1. the oral stage (~ 0-2 years)
2. the anal stage (~ 1-3 years)
3. the phallic stage (~ 3-6 years)
4. the latency stage (~ 6 years – puberty)
5. the genital stage ( ~ puberty – adult life)

I’m not so sure …

21 Whale fare : KRILL

Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that live in the oceans. Krill feed on plankton, and in turn, krill are the main part of the diet of larger animals such as whales, seals and penguins. There’s an awful lot of krill in the world, an estimated 500,000,000 tonnes of it. That’s about twice the biomass of humans on the planet!

23 1989-’90 Broadway one-man show : TRU

“Tru” was written by Jay Presson Allen and is a one-man play about Truman Capote that premiered in 1989. There is a classic anachronism in the piece. It is set in Capote’s New York City apartment at Christmas 1975. At one point the Capote character talks about suicide, saying that he has enough pills to stage his own Jonestown Massacre. The Jonestown Massacre didn’t happen until three years later, in 1978.

28 Serial standout : SOAP STAR

The original soap operas were radio dramas back in the fifties. Given the structure of society back then, the daytime broadcasts were aimed at women working in the home as housewives. For some reason the sponsors of those radio shows, and the television shows that followed, were soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. And that’s how the “soap” opera got its name …

30 Short rules? : REGS

Regulation (reg.)

31 Enjoyed a parlor game : SHOT POOL

That would be a billiard parlor.

The more correct name for the game of pool is “pocket billiards”. The designation “pool” arose after pocket billiards became a common feature in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.

33 Market research pioneer : NIELSEN

Arthur Nielsen founded his Nielsen Media Research company to track brand advertising. He quickly moved into market analysis of radio audiences in the thirties, and today the company is famous for tracking television audiences. I remember watching the last episode of the TV series “Becker”, in which Ted Danson played a doctor. Given that the show had been ordered off the air due to declining viewership, there’s a great line in the last episode when Becker asks for the chart of a patient called “Nielsen”. He looks at the lab results and announces “I don’t know what everyone is talking about … these numbers aren’t so bad!” Great stuff …

37 Actress who voiced Duchess in “The Aristocats” : EVA GABOR

Eva Gabor was the youngest of the Gabor sisters, all three of whom were celebrated Hollywood actresses and socialites (her siblings were Zsa-Zsa and Magda). One of Eva’s claims to fame is the unwitting promotion of the game called “Twister”, the sales of which were languishing in 1966. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” she got on all fours and played the game with Johnny Carson. Sales took off immediately, and Twister became a huge hit.

“The Aristocats” is a 1970 Disney animated feature film. Although it was a box office success, my impression is that “The Aristocats” isn’t viewed much anymore …

40 Contemporary of le Carré : DEIGHTON

I used to walk my dog right past author Len Deighton’s house years ago, as we lived in the same seaside village in Ireland (probably my only claim to “fame”). Deighton wrote the excellent espionage thriller “The IPCRESS File”, which was made into a 1965 movie starring Michael Caine.

“John le Carré” is the pen name of David Cornwell, an English author who is famous for his spy novels. Cornwell worked for British Intelligence during the fifties and sixties, even as he was writing his spy thrillers. He left MI6 soon after his most famous 1963 novel “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, became such a great success.

41 Movie character who might say 3-Down : ZORBA
(3D “No clue” : IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME)

The film “Zorba the Greek” and the musical “Zorba” are adaptations of the 1952 novel “Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis. The 1964 film version stars Anthony Quinn in the title role, and Alan Bates. The movie is set and was filmed on location on the island of Crete, the home of author Kazantzakis.

43 Texting nicety : THX

Thanks (thx)

47 Propaganda tactics : BIG LIES

In 1622, Pope Gregory XV established a committee of cardinals charged with “propagating the faith”, with responsibility for missions aimed at growing the Roman Catholic Church. The committee was called “Congregation de Propaganda Fide”, using the Latin word “propaganda”, the feminine gerund of the verb “propagare” meaning “to propagate”. In the 18th century, the word “propaganda” from the committee’s name came to describe dissemination of a doctrine in general. During WWII, the term developed a negative connotation, which exists to this day.

55 “I kissed thee __ I killed thee”: Othello : ERE

“I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.” is a line from Shakespeare’s “Othello”. The words are spoken by Othello as he kisses his wife Desdemona, whom he has just strangled, and then takes his own life in repentance.

56 Govt. savings vehicles discontinued in 1980 : E BONDS

Series E Savings Bonds were introduced in 1941, just before the start of WWII, as “defense bonds”. After the attack on Pearl Harbor they became known as “war bonds”.

57 “Red Balloon” painter : KLEE

Artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. You can see many of Klee’s works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005. Klee’s most celebrated work is his pointillist painting from 1932 called “Ad Parnassum”, which is owned by the Kunstmuseum, also located in Bern.

Down

3 “No clue” : IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME

The phrase “it’s all Greek to me” is used to describe something that is difficult to understand. It’s possible that idiom’s use in English comes from an old Latin phrase “Graecum est; non legitur” (It is Greek; it cannot be read). The first use recorded in English dates back to 1599 when it appears in William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” in lines spoken by Casca:

Nay, an I tell you that, I’ll ne’er look you i’ the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me.

6 German title : HERR

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

7 Forest’s Oscar role : IDI

“The Last King of Scotland” is a 2006 film adaptation of a 1998 novel of the same name by Giles Foden. The story tells of a Scottish doctor (played by James McAvoy) who was employed by Idi Amin (played by Forest Whitaker). The title of the piece comes from the fact that Idi Amin offered his services as King of Scotland, should he ever be needed.

Actor Forest Whitaker’s most celebrated role was playing Idi Amin in the 2006 movie “The Last King of Scotland”. Whitaker has appeared in an awful lot of successful films, including “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982), “Platoon” (1986), “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987), “Panic Room” (2002), and “The Butler” (2013). My personal favorite is “The Crying Game” (1992) …

8 Drive : VIM

“Vim” and “pep” are words that both mean “energy, power”.

9 Acid Rain Program org. : EPA

Acid rain is any precipitation that is unusually acidic. The acidity in rain mainly comes from sulfur dioxide that is discharged into the atmosphere from industrial plants and volcanic eruptions.

11 Carousel location : ARRIVAL TERMINAL

Apparently, the baggage carousel was developed by a French company. The first installation was in Paris Orly Airport in the 1950s.

12 Seeker of turkeys in alleys? : KEGLER

A kegler is a person who plays ten-pin bowling. “Kegel” is a German word meaning “bowling pin”.

There is a suggestion that the use of the term “turkey” to describe three strikes in a row in bowling arose in the late 1700s. Playing conditions back them made it very difficult to bowl one strike, never mind three. Also, prizes awarded were often items of food. A values prize, particularly around Thanksgiving, was a turkey, and it was awarded for bowling three strikes in a row.

13 Eponymous jumps : AXELS

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

20 Hanoi holiday : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

35 “Punch buggy” in a car trip game : VW BEETLE

“VW” stands for “Volkswagen”, which translates from German into “people’s car”. The original Volkswagen design was the Beetle and was built under a directive from Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap car built that ordinary people could afford to purchase. Hitler awarded the contract to engineer Ferdinand Porsche, whose name (paradoxically) would forever be associated with high performance, expensive cars. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in North America, but it was usually referred to as a “Bug” here in the US, and a “Beetle” elsewhere in the world.

“Punch buggy” is a game played by kids riding in a car. The idea is that players punch each in the arm when they spot a Volkswagen Beetle on the road.

38 “25 Words or Less” host Meredith : VIEIRA

Meredith Vieira is journalist and television personality. Vieira had a regular gig on “The View” and NBC’s “Today” show. She also took over from Regis Philbin as host of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.

“25 Words or Less” is a game show that is based on the board game of the same name. Hosted by Meredith Vieira, the show first aired in 2018.

39 Wells predator : MORLOCK

In the 1895 novella by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a domineering race living underground who use the Eloi as food.

40 Who on TV, with “the” : … DOCTOR

The iconic science-fiction television show “Doctor Who” first aired in 1963 on the BBC, and relaunched in 2005. The relaunched series is produced in-house by the BBC in Cardiff in Wales, the location that is the setting of the successful “Doctor Who” spin-off called “Torchwood”. The new show is about the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute which investigates incidents involving extraterrestrials. Why “Torchwood”? Well, “Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who”.

46 Archibald of the NBA : NATE

Nate Archibald is a retired basketball player who played mainly for the Kansas City Kings and the Boston Celtics. Archibald could get the ball in the basket, but was also willing to pass to a teammate when advantageous. He is the only player to lead the league in assists and scoring in the same season.

47 Cowboys’ city, familiarly : BIG D

“Big D” is a nickname for the city of Dallas, Texas.

The Dallas Cowboys play in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the NFL. The Cowboys are famous for a lengthy streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons, from 1966 to 1985. They are the highest-valued sports franchise in the country. The only team in the world that’s worth more money is the UK’s Manchester United soccer team.

51 Taboo : BAN

The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

The post LA Times Crossword 18 Jan 20, Saturday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 20m 10s

Bill’s errors: 2

• CHAKA (Shaka!)
• PCPS (PSPs)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Col. Potter on “M*A*S*H,” to pals : SHERM

Colonel Sherman Potter is a character on the memorable TV series “M*A*S*H”. Potter was played by actor Harry Morgan. Potter replaced Colonel Henry Blake who was killed off in the storyline when actor McLean Stevenson left the show at the end of the third season. Morgan was asked to play Potter largely due to a great guest performance he had delivered in an early episode.

6 Where Biles balances : BEAM

Simone Biles holds the record for the most gold medals won by an American gymnast in a single Olympic Games. She achieved the feat at the 2016 games held in Rio.

10 GQ stat : CIRC

Circulation (circ.)

The men’s magazine known today as “GQ” used to be titled “Gentlemen’s Quarterly”. It was known as “Apparel Arts” when launched in 1931.

14 Jokes around : JAPES

“To jape” means “to joke or quip”. The exact origins of “jape” are unclear, but it does seem to come from Old French. In the mid-1600s, “to jape” was a slang term meaning “to have sex with”. No joke …!

19 Anne of “Psycho” (1998) : HECHE

My favorite movie starring the actress Anne Heche is “Six Days Seven Nights”, a romantic comedy in which she plays opposite Harrison Ford. Heche is noted for her difficult private life. She wrote that her father had molested her as a child and gave her a sexually transmitted disease (he later revealed that he was homosexual, and died of AIDS). Heche dated comedian Steve Martin for two years, and then lived with comedian Ellen DeGeneres for three. Soon after breaking up with DeGeneres, she started exhibiting eccentric behavior for a while, claiming that she was the daughter of God, and that she would take everyone back to heaven in her spaceship. Happily, I think things have calmed down for her in recent years.

The original “Psycho” film from 1960 was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. “Psycho” was remade in 1998. The remake was directed by Gus Van Sant and starred Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche.

20 Something up your sleeve : ULNA

The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinky-side”.

22 Idaho’s Coeur d’__ River : ALENE

The city, lake and river in Idaho called Coeur d’Alene are all named for the Coeur d’Alene People, Native Americans who lived in the area when it was first explored by French Canadian fur traders. “Coeur d’Alene” translates from French as “heart of an awl”. The Native American people were given this name as they were perceived as shrewd traders by their Canadian counterparts.

23 1944 Italian beachhead : ANZIO

The WWII Battle of Anzio is famous for being one of the most terrible blunders in military history. 1944’s Operation Shingle was a surprise amphibious landing at Anzio, 35 miles south of Rome, designed to outflank the Germans and press home an attack on the Italian capital. The element of surprise allowed a safe landing at Anzio, and the allies were able to drive jeeps right into the outskirts of Rome unchallenged. But that element of surprise was lost when Allied commander General John Lucas decided to delay the march on Rome until he had consolidated his position on the beaches, a position that was surrounded by high ground. The Germans used the delay to throw everything they had into the high ground and the allies were pinned down in a bloody battle. As a result, it took four months for the allies to fight their way inland.

25 Broadway lighter : NEON

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

26 Terra __ : COTTA

The tem “terra cotta” comes to us from Latin via Italian and means “baked earth”. Terra cotta is a ceramic made from clay which is left unglazed. Maybe the most famous work in terra cotta is the Terracotta Army, the enormous collection of life-size figures that was buried with the Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China around 210 BC. I had the privilege of seeing some of this collection when it toured the US a few years ago, and just the few pieces on display were so very impressive.

27 Museum piece depicting a songbird battle? : WREN WAR PAINTING (sounds like “Renoir painting”)

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French painter who was very much at the forefront of the Impressionist Movement. Renoir was a prolific artist, with several thousand works attributed to him. The largest collection of Renoirs is actually in the United States. You can see 181 of his paintings at the Barnes Foundation just outside Philadelphia.

30 Tabloid-worthy : LURID

“Tabloid” is the trademarked name (owned by Burroughs Wellcome) for a “small tablet of medicine”, a name that goes back to 1884. The word “tabloid” had entered into general use to mean a compressed form of anything, and by the early 1900s was used in “tabloid journalism”, which described newspapers that had short, condensed articles and stories printed on smaller sheets of paper.

31 Key fruit : LIME

The species of citrus fruit called a key lime is so named due to its association with the Florida Keys.

32 Grafton of mystery : SUE

Sue Grafton wrote detective novels, and her “alphabet series” feature the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and worked her way up to “Y is for Yesterday” before she passed away in 2017.

34 Bayou sound : ZYDECO

Zydeco is a style of folk music that evolved from Creole music in Louisiana. The name “Zydeco” is imitative of the French word for green beans, “les haricots”. The term arose from a popular dance tune called “Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés” (“The Green Beans Ain’t Salty”).

A bayou is a marshy inlet or outlet of a lake or river, usually with stagnant or slow-moving water. The exact origins of the term “bayou” is uncertain, but it is thought perhaps to come from the Choctaw (a Native American people from the southeast) word “bayuk”, meaning “small stream”.

35 Pageant accessories : SASHES

The oldest beauty pageant still operating in the US is the Miss America contest. The Miss America beauty pageant started out as a marketing ploy in the early twenties to attract tourists to the Atlantic City boardwalk after Labor Day. Today, contestants must be between 17 and 24 years of age. Before those limits were introduced, Marian Bergeron won the 1933 title at only 15 years of age.

37 “Hulk” star Eric : BANA

Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

“Hulk” is a 2003 film with Eric Bana starring in the title role, as the Hulk and as the superhero’s alter ego Dr. Bruce Banner. “Hulk” receive a mediocre reception, and so it was remade as “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008.

38 Games go-with : FUN

Fun and games.

39 KFC choice : LEG

“Colonel” Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fame has been portrayed in ads on television by several celebrities. The list includes Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton, Billy Zane, Rob Lowe, Ray Liotta and even Reba McEntire.

44 Ed.’s inbox fillers : MSS

Editors (eds.) might read or edit a manuscript (MS)

45 Oregon city namesake : ASTOR

John Jacob Astor was the patriarch of the famous American Astor dynasty. He was the country’s first multi-millionaire, making his fortune in the trade of fur, real estate and opium. In today’s terms, it has been calculated that by the time of his death he has accumulated a fortune big enough to make him the fourth wealthiest man in American history (in the company of the likes of Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Bill Gates, Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller).

The city of Astoria, Oregon developed around Fort Astoria, which was established in 1810. Fort Astoria was a fur-trading post built by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, hence the “Astoria” name.

48 Bank acct. item : INT

A bank account (acct.) usually earns Interest (int.)

51 “High Hopes” lyricist : CAHN

Sammy Cahn wrote the lyrics for “High Hopes” for the 1959 film “A Hole in the Head”, and the song won an Oscar that year. Frank Sinatra was the star of the movie, and he recorded the most famous version of the song.

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant

But he’s got high hopes
He’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie
In the sky hopes

52 Quietly keeps in the loop : BCCS

A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

54 Dugout sight : MITT

A dugout is an underground shelter. The term was carried over to baseball because the dugout is slightly depressed below the level of the field. This allows spectators behind the dugout to get a good view of home plate, where a lot of the action takes place.

56 Khan of Rufus : CHAKA

Chaka Khan is the stage name of singer Yvette Stevens from Chicago. Chaka Khan was the front woman for the band Rufus before she launched her very successful solo career.

59 Item in a Blackpool boot : TYRE

Here’s another example of terms that change as we cross the Atlantic Ocean. When talking about tires (“tyres” in Britain and Ireland), a defect can cause a “flat” (“puncture” in Britain and Ireland).

In North America we use the word “trunk” for the storage space in the back of a vehicle as that space is reminiscent of the large travelling chest called a “trunk”. Such trunks used to be lashed onto the back of automobiles before storage was integrated. On the other side of the Atlantic, a trunk is known as a “boot”. The original boot was a built-in storage compartment on a horse-drawn carriage on which a coachman would sit.

62 Rockies roamers : WAPITIS

The elk (also “wapiti”) is one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …

68 Cards with pics : IDS

Identity document (ID)

69 Like Purell-treated hands : ASEPTIC

Purell is a hand sanitizer that uses ethanol as the active ingredient. In fact, Purell contains over 60% ethanol, and there have been stories about the sanitizer being ingested to get at the alcohol, even though the manufacturer deliberately adds a bitter-tasting ingredient to scare off potential drinkers.

71 “Archie’s Pals ‘n’ __”: old comic book series : GALS

“Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals” was a series of comic books produced from 1952 until 1991. The list of title characters includes teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Josie and the Pussycats.

72 El Al’s home: Abbr. : ISR

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. El Al is known for its high levels of security, both on the ground and in the air. Reportedly, the airline’s passenger aircraft have been operating with anti-missile technology for several years.

74 World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy : LOPEZ

Nancy Lopez is an American professional golfer and winner of 48 LPGA Tour events. Lopez turned professional in 1977 and retired in 2003. However, she came out of retirement in 2007.

76 __ jure: by the law itself : IPSO

“Ipso jure” is Latin for “by operation of law”. I am informed by a blog reader that the term refers to a legal consequence that takes place without the need for a beneficiary to take action. In other words, the law simply applies. The example given is what happens to a property held in joint tenancy when one person dies. The title passes to the living person, without that person having to do anything . It simply passes “by operation of law”, “ipso jure”.

77 Genetic chains : RNAS

Both DNA and RNA are complex molecules comprising nucleotide bases arranged in chains. Famously, DNA molecules form a double-helix structure, with two chains coiled around each other. RNA chains are single-stranded structures that usually fold onto themselves.

78 Soapbox address : ORATION

Back in the 1650s, a soapbox was just that, a wooden box for holding or transporting soap. Empty soapboxes were easily carried by a potential orator and used as a stand from which to deliver an address.

82 Talks like Daffy : LISPS

Daffy Duck first appeared on the screen in “Porky’s Duck Hunt” in 1937. In the original cartoon, Daffy was just meant to have a small role, but he was a big hit as he had so much sass. Even back then, Daffy was voiced by the ubiquitous Mel Blanc.

83 Knight supporter? : PIP

Gladys Knight & the Pips performed together from 1953 to 1989. The Pips were founded around Gladys Knight, originally featuring her brother, sister and two cousins. The group took its name from yet another cousin, a cousin named “Pip”.

84 Target audience for squawkdates.com? : SINGLE PARROTS (sounds like “single parents”)

Scientists tell us that parrots are some of the most intelligent species of birds. Many of those species are able to imitate the human voice. Such characteristics have led to parrots becoming popular house pets, and a resulting drop in populations of parrots living in the wild.

89 __ star : TIN

In the Old West, a sheriff’s badge was often referred to as a “tin star”.

92 Vital lines : AORTAS

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

99 Lane target : PIN

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

100 Snack with a Green Tea version in China and Japan : OREO

Oreo cookies actually come in a few flavors, but it takes some work to find them. For example, Green Tea Oreos are only available in China and Japan. Many flavors are only available for a limited time. For example, Watermelon Oreos were only sold in the summer of 2013, and Cookie Dough Oreos were only available in March 2014.

103 Troupe of pink entertainers? : FLAMINGO DANCERS (sounds like “flamenco dancers”)

The name “flamingo” comes from the Greek word for “purple wing”. The flamingo’s pink or reddish color comes from the bird’s diet, and in particular the pigments ingested from animal and plant sources.

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

107 Panelist Love of “The Real” : LONI

Loni Love is a comedian and TV personality from Detroit. She was the runner-up in 2003 on the relaunched “Star Search” show. In 2013, Love became one of the hosts of the daytime talk show “The Real”.

108 It’s high in France : ALPE

There are eight Alpine countries:

• Austria
• Slovenia
• France
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein
• Germany
• Monaco
• Italy

109 MGM motto ender : … ARTIS

It seems that the phrase “art for art’s sake” has its origins in France in the nineteenth century, where the slogan is expressed as “l’art pour l’art”. The Latin version “Ars gratia artis” came much later, in 1924. That’s when MGM’s publicist chose it for the studio’s logo, sitting under Leo the lion. Who’d a thunk it?

110 Sleeper’s option : SERTA

Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:

• #1 The Leader of the Flock
• #½ The Tweener
• #13 Mr. Bad Luck
• #53 The Pessimist
• #86 Benedict Arnold

111 “More than a beauty company” company : AVON

In 1886, a young man called David McConnell was selling books door-to-door. To enhance his sales numbers he was giving out free perfume to the ladies of the houses that he visited. Seeing as his perfume was more popular than his books, he founded the California Perfume Company in New York City and started manufacturing and selling across the country. The company name was changed to Avon in 1939, and the famous “Avon Calling” marketing campaign was launched in 1954.

112 Gritty film genre : NOIR

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

113 Persian faith : BAHA’I

The Baha’i Faith is relatively new in the scheme of things, and was founded in Persia in the 1800s. One of the tenets of the religion is that messengers have come from God over time, including Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and most recently Bahá’u’lláh who founded the Baha’i Faith. Baha’i scripture specifies some particular architectural requirements for houses of worship, including that the building have nine-sided, circular shape. It is also specified that there be no pictures, statues or images displayed within a temple.

115 Titanic problem : BERG

The RMS Titanic set off on her tragic maiden voyage in 1912, sailing from Southampton, England bound for New York City. Regulations only required that the ship have lifeboat capacity for 1,178 people, even though a full complement of passengers and crew was 3,547. When the order was given to abandon ship, the captain adhered to the traditional protocol of “women and children first”. As a result, only 20% of male passengers survived the disaster, compared to 75% of the female passengers. Perhaps more telling is that 61% of those in first class survived, and only 25% of those in third class. The crew fared even worse though, with only 24% making it.

Down

2 Matisse and Rousseau : HENRIS

Henri Matisse was a French artist renowned for his contribution to modern art. In his early career, Matisse was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts” who emphasized strong color over realism in their works. He was a lifelong friend of Pablo Picasso, and the two were considered to be good-natured rivals so their works are often compared. One major difference between their individual portfolios is that Picasso tended to paint from his imagination, whereas Matisse tended to use nature as his inspiration.

Henri Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter. He was self-taught, only starting to paint seriously in his forties. He worked as a tax collector until he was 49 years old, when he retired to focus on his art. Rousseau’s most famous painting is “The Sleeping Gypsy”, a celebrated work that depicts a lion standing beside a sleeping woman in the moonlight. You can take a look at it in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

3 Aloe target : ECZEMA

Eczema is a form of dermatitis. The term “eczema” comes from the Greek for “to boil over”.

4 Imitation gem : RHINESTONE

A rhinestone is a colorless, artificial gem made from paste or glass. The original rhinestones were rock crystals that were gathered from the river Rhine in Germany.

6 Plant associated with the infant Moses : BULRUSH

According to the Bible, The Pharaoh issued an edict that all male Hebrew children be drowned in the river Nile soon after birth. Moses’ mother saved her child by placing him in a basket and hiding him among the bulrushes at the edge of the Nile. The baby was found and adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter.

8 “Frozen” princess : ANNA

“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.

12 River at Avignon : RHONE

Avignon is a city in the southeast of France on the Rhône river. Avignon is sometimes called the “City of Popes” as it was home to seven popes during the Catholic schism from 1309 to 1423.

13 D.C. group : CONG

A legislative (legis.) meeting of Congress (Cong.) might be called a session (sess.).

14 She played Kelly on “Charlie’s Angels” : JACLYN

Jaclyn Smith played Kelly Garrett on the hit television show “Charlie’s Angels”. Smith was in fact the only one of the original title characters to stay with the show for its whole run from 1976 to 1981.

16 Where seabirds grab buses? : PETREL STATIONS (sounds like “petrol stations”)

The petrel is a migratory seabird known for hovering just above the waves, with feet barely touching the water. This behavior gives rise to the name “petrel” after the Christian Saint Peter, as “Peter” was said to have walked on the water.

“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”.

34 Last letter in radio lingo : ZULU

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

38 Email abbr. : FWD

Forward (fwd.)

43 N.Y. neighbor : ONT

The Canadian province of Ontario takes its name from the Great Lake. In turn, Lake Ontario’s name is thought to be derived from “Ontari:io”, a Huron word meaning “great lake”. Ontario is home to the nation’s capital of Ottawa as well as Toronto, Canada’s most populous city (and the capital of the province).

44 Half a luau serving? : MAHI

“Mahi-mahi” is the Hawaiian name for the dolphinfish, which is also called the dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

47 Bird skilled at long hoops shots? : THREE-POINT TERN (sounds like “three-point turn”)

Terns are seabirds that are found all over the world. The Arctic Tern makes a very long-distance migration. One Arctic Tern that was tagged as a chick in Great Britain in the summer of 1982, was spotted in Melbourne, Australia just three months later. The bird had traveled over 14,000 miles in over those three months, an average of about 150 miles a day. Remarkable …

50 HMO doctor designations : PCPS

Primary care physician (PCP)

52 Java neighbor : BALI

Bali is both an island and a province in Indonesia. It is a popular tourist spot, although the number of visitors dropped for a few years as a result of terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005 that killed mainly tourists. Bali became more popular starting in 2008 due to a significant and favorable change in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Indonesian rupiah.

Java is a large island in Indonesia that is home to the country’s capital, Jakarta. With a population of over 130 million, Java is the most populous island in the world, with even more people than Honshu, the main island of Japan.

53 H.S. math course : CALC

The Latin word “calculus” was originally used for a reckoning or an account, and originally applied to a pebble that was used to maintain a count. The Latin word came from the Greek for a pebble, “khalix”.

54 Etail alternatives : MALLS

Surprisingly (to me!), our word “mall”, meaning “shady walk” or “enclosed shopping space”, comes from the Italian for “mallet”. All of our shopping-style malls are named for “The Mall” in St. James’s Park in London. This tree-lined promenade was so called as it used to be a famous spot to play the croquet-like game called “pall-mall”. The game derived its name from the Italian for ball (palla) and mallet “maglio”. The London thoroughfare called the Mall still exists, at one end of which is Buckingham Palace. Indeed, parallel to the Mall is a street called Pall Mall.

55 Currier’s partner : IVES

Currier and Ives was a printmaking concern in New York City run by Nathaniel Currier and his partner James Merritt Ives from 1834 to 1907. The firm specialized in making affordable, hand-colored black and white lithographs.

65 Chichén __: Mayan ruins : ITZA

Chichén Itzá is a Mayan ruin located in the Mexican state of Yucatán. It is the second-most visited archaeological site in the country (after the ancient city of Teotihuacan). Chichén Itzá has seen a surge in the number of visitors since the development of nearby Cancún as a tourist destination.

70 APB subject : PERP

Perpetrator (perp)

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

75 Hermione’s guy : RON

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are the principal characters in the “Harry Potter” series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. The three are the best of friends. As the stories progress, the friendship between Ron and Hermione developed to the point that they became husband and wife and had two children together.

76 Nest egg plans : IRAS

Individual retirement account (IRA)

79 Royal until 1917 : TSAR

The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, which was led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

80 “__ for Innocent”: Grafton : I IS

Sue Grafton wrote detective novels, and her “alphabet series” feature the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “A Is for Alibi” in 1982 and worked her way up to “Y is for Yesterday” before she passed away in 2017.

81 Music player with many generations : IPOD NANO

The iPod Nano was the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There were seven versions of the Nano, until it was discontinued in 2017.

82 Ptr. paper size : LTR

Letter (ltr.)

Printer (ptr.)

85 Legendary migrator : LEMMING

Lemmings are small rodents that live in cold climates, usually in or around the Arctic. There is a misconception that lemmings are prone to commit mass suicide. What is true is that like many animal species, lemmings are prone to mass migration, especially when the population in one area gets too great. Lemmings can swim, and will jump into a body of water in order to cross it. However, some lemmings may drown in the attempt. So, the lemmings jump en masse into a body of water to cross it, not to commit suicide. Then there was the famous Disney “White Wilderness” incident. Disney shot footage of lemmings “committing mass suicide” for the 1958 film “White Wilderness”. In fact, the lemmings in the morbid scene were flown to the location of the shoot, and were launched off a cliff using a turntable. Despicable …

86 “Ozark” actor Morales : ESAI

Actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

“Ozark” is an excellent TV crime show starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple who relocate from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks. The couple fall foul of Mexican drug lord after a money laundering scheme goes awry. The show is set at lake resort in the Ozarks, although filming actually takes place at lakes in the Atlanta area in order to take advantage of tax breaks offered by the State of Georgia.

87 2020 Vegas NFLers, if the new stadium is ready : RAIDERS

The Oakland Raiders football team was founded in 1960, and was originally intended to play in Minnesota. Instead, the team played in Oakland from 1960 to 1981 and then spent 12 years in Los Angeles before returning to Oakland in 1995. In 2017, the Raiders announced their plan to relocate to Las Vegas starting in 2020.

88 Chaplin of “Game of Thrones” : OONA

Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

93 “Queen of Soul” : ARETHA

I think that Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, had a tough life. Franklin had her first son when she was just 13-years-old, and her second at 15. In 2008, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked Franklin as number one its list of the greatest singers of all time.

97 Valentine message words : I LOVE

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

101 Actor Davis : OSSIE

Ossie Davis was a very successful actor, but also a director, poet, playwright and social activist. One of Davis’s better known performances was in the 1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men”, in which he played the owner of the bait shop by the lake.

The post LA Times Crossword 19 Jan 20, Sunday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Hoops player : CAGER

In the early days of basketball, when a ball went out of bounds possession was awarded to the player who first retrieved the ball. This led to mad scuffles off the court, often involving spectators. As the game became more organized courts were routinely “caged”, largely because of this out of bounds rule, to limit interaction with the crowd. It’s because of these cages that basketball players are sometimes referred to today as “cagers”.

Basketball is truly a North American sport. It was created in 1891 by Canadian James Naismith at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. His goal was to create something active and interesting for his students in the gym. The first “hoops” were actually peach baskets, with the bottoms of the baskets intact. When a player got the ball into the “net”, someone had to clamber up and get the ball back out again in order to continue the game!

10 Immortal Middle-earth dweller : ELF

Middle-earth is the setting for J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” series.

14 Gladiator’s realm : ARENA

The term “gladiator” means “swordsman”, and comes from “gladius”, the Latin word for “sword”.

15 Henry __, who had six marriages : VIII

Famously, King Henry VIII had six queens consort. There is a rhyme that is commonly used to help remember the fates of each of his wives, which goes:

King Henry the Eighth, to six wives he was wedded. One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.

The use of the term “divorce” isn’t quite accurate though, as in fact Henry had two of his marriages annulled. His wives (and their fates) were:

1. Catherine of Aragon (Annulled),
2. Anne Boleyn (Beheaded),
3. Jane Seymour (Died)
4. Anne of Cleves (Annulled),
5. Catherine Howard (Beheaded),
6. Catherine Parr (Survived).

19 Red sky at morning, to a sailor : OMEN

We often see red in the sky at sunrise and sunset. This is because at those times of day, sunlight travels through the thickest part of the atmosphere and only the red wavelengths of light make it through. Dust and moisture particles in the atmosphere tend to scatter the other wavelengths. These scattering particles are most concentrated in high pressure weather systems, and high pressure is associated with stable air. Weather systems tend to move from west to east, because of westerly trade winds. So, if we see a red sky illuminated by the sun rising in the east, then the red is caused by a high-pressure system to the east i.e. a period of stable air that has passed. If we see a red sky lit by a setting sun in the west, it is likely that the sunlight is coming through a high-pressure system that is on its way. So the old adage has some truth to it:

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning

20 Long. crosser : LAT

Lines of latitude are imaginary horizontal lines surrounding the planet. The most “important” lines of latitude are, from north to south:

• Arctic Circle
• Tropic of Cancer
• Equator
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Antarctic Circle

21 Darjeeling and oolong : TEAS

Darjeeling tea comes from the Darjeeling district of West Bengal in India.

The name for the Chinese tea called “oolong” translates into English as “black dragon”.

24 Writer Wharton : EDITH

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.

26 “Indubitably!” : YES!

Something described as indubitable cannot be doubted.

28 Hawk’s nest : AERIE

An aerie is the nest of an eagle, and is also known as an “eyrie”. The term “aerie” more generally describes any bird’s nest that is located on a cliff or a mountaintop.

34 Greek cross : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter which gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

35 Old PC component : CRT

Cathode ray tube (CRT)

40 Santa __ winds : ANA

The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

42 Convert (hide) into leather : TAN

Leather is made from animal skins. When the flesh, fat and hair is removed from the skin and it is dried, the resulting product is rawhide. Further treatment of the skin with chemicals that permanently alter the protein structure of the skin is known as tanning, and the resulting product is leather.

43 Dada pioneer Jean : ARP

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

44 Roasted holiday birds : TURKEYS

The tradition of the US President “pardoning” a Thanksgiving turkey was only formalized in 1989, during the administration of President George H, W. Bush. The pardoned turkey is taken to a farm where is gets to live out its life. Prior to 1989, the tradition was more focused on the presentation of a turkey to the White House, and less on the fate of the bird. President Eisenhower was presented with a turkey in each year of his two terms, and he ate them all …

47 Clickbait links, e.g. : TEASERS

Clickbait is trickery used by website designers to entice a reader to click on a particular link. That link may be a disguised ad, so that the website owner gets some income from the advertiser.

54 Religious belief : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he holds”.

57 Japanese wrestling : SUMO

Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.

59 Half a Latin dance : CHA

The cha-cha-cha (often simplified to “cha-cha”) is a Latin dance with origins in Cuba, where it was introduced by composer Enrique Jorrin in 1953.

61 Fashion designer Emilio : PUCCI

Emilio Pucci was an Italian fashion designer from Florence. Pucci had served as a torpedo bomber pilot during WWII for the Italian Air Force.

63 Christmas carol : NOEL

“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, and ultimately comes from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). “Noel” has come to be used as an alternative for “Christmas carol”.

64 Toy building block : LEGO

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

• The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
• The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
• The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
• Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
• The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)

65 Sir __ Newton : ISAAC

English polymath Sir Isaac Newton was responsible for so many discoveries in science and philosophy, and is regarded as key to the scientific revolution that led to the birth of what we now call “modern science”. While most of Newton’s discoveries were undisputed, his introduction of the mathematical discipline of calculus was challenged by German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz. It seems that Newton and Leibniz discovered calculus simultaneously, but each claimed that other stile his work. That dispute persisted well past the death of both parties.

68 Chili con __ : CARNE

The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.

Down

2 Video game area : ARCADE

Our word “arcade” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “arc”. The first arcades were passages made from a series of arches. This could be an avenue of trees, and eventually any covered avenue. I remember arcades lined with shops and stores when I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Arcades came to be lined with lots of amusements, resulting in amusement arcades and video game arcades.

4 Sailor’s “Help!” : SOS

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

5 Flowing garb for Batman : CAPE

The DC Comics superhero Batman was created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

7 Sextet after the golden rings : GEESE

The fabulous Christmas carol called “The Twelve Days of Christmas” dates back at least to 1780 when it was first published in England, though it may be French in origin. The concept of twelve days of Christmas comes from the tradition that the three kings came to visit the Christ Child twelve days after he was born. This same tradition is the origin of the title to Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”.

8 USN rank : ENS

Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

US Navy (USN)

11 Funny five-line verse : LIMERICK

No one knows for sure how the limerick got its name, although there does seem to be agreement the name does indeed come from the city or county of Limerick in Ireland. Try this one for size:

There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.

21 Porch pirate, for one : THIEF

“Porch pirate” is a slang term describing one of those despicable people who steal packages delivered to someone’s home and left outside the door. Porch piracy continues to grow, as online shopping increases in volume. In New York City alone, it is estimated that 90,000 packages were stolen in 2019.

30 Southpaw : LEFTY

A southpaw is left-handed. The term “southpaw” arose as baseball slang in the mid-1880s to describe a left-handed pitcher. Back then, baseball diamonds were often laid out with home plate to the west. So, a pitcher’s left hand would be on his “south” side as he faced the batter.

32 Surrounding glows : AURAE

An aura (plural “aurae”) is an intangible quality that surrounds a person or thing, a “je ne sais quoi”. “Je ne sais quoi” is French for “I don’t know what”.

34 Decalogue number : TEN

“Decalogue” is another name for the Ten Commandments. The term comes into English via Latin from the Greek “hoi deka logoi”, which translates literally as “the ten sayings”. The term has been broadened and is sometimes used generically in English to describe a fundamental set of authoritative rules.

36 Rome’s Punic Wars foe : CARTHAGE

The Carthaginian Republic was centered on the city of Carthage, the ruins of which are located on the coast of modern-day Tunisia. The Latin name for the people of Carthage was “Afri”. When the Romans took over Carthage, they created a province they called “Africa”. That name extended over time to include the whole continent.

The Punic Wars were a series of three conflicts fought between ancient Rome and ancient Carthage. With Carthage on the North African coast and Rome on the east coast of Italy, the Punic wars were largely an attempt to control the western Mediterranean Sea and were centered on the island of Sicily.

38 Muse of poetry : ERATO

In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.

39 Church recess : APSE

The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

47 Bird on a Froot Loops box : TOUCAN

The toucan is a brightly-marked bird with a large, colorful bill. The name “toucan” comes into English via Portuguese from the Tupi name “tukana”. The Tupi were an indigenous people of Brazil.

Toucan Sam is the mascot of Kellogg’s Froot Loops breakfast cereal, and he can be seen on the front of every box. Froot Loops have been manufactured by Kellogg’s since 1963. The little loops come in different colors, originally red, orange and yellow, but now there are green, purple and blue loops as well. Notice I said “different colors” not “different flavors”. Each loop tastes the same, so I wonder where the color comes from …?

48 “Sing another one!” : ENCORE!

“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request perhaps another song. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

53 Grouchy Muppet : OSCAR

Oscar the Grouch is the Muppet that lives in a garbage can. Oscar’s persona comes from various sources. He is named after Oscar Brand who was one of the board members of the Children’s Television Workshop, the backers for “Sesame Street” as the Muppets were being developed in the sixties. Oscar’s personality was inspired by an angry waiter that once served Jim Henson (father of the Muppets). The voice was modeled on a grumpy New York cab driver encountered one day by Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who brings Oscar to life.

58 Computer devices bearing little resemblance to their real-life namesakes : MICE

The computer mouse was invented at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963, by one Douglas Engelbart. Sadly for him, his patent ran out before mice became standard equipment on computers, so he never made any money from his amazing invention.

62 Can. neighbor : USA

The world’s longest international borders are:

1. Canada – United States: 5,525 miles
2. Russia – Kazakhstan: 4,254 miles
3. Argentina – Chile: 3,293 miles
4. China – Mongolia: 2,906 miles
5. India – Bangladesh: 2,518 miles

The post LA Times Crossword 20 Jan 20, Monday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Feature of some debit cards : CHIP

Smart payment cards are credit and debit cards that include an integrated circuit chip for security. Smart cards can be categorized into two main types. Here in the US, we use chip and signature cards, meaning that we use a signature to identify the bearer of the card. Most Europeans use chip and PIN cards, which require the bearer to provide a PIN instead of a signature.

9 Ford Fusion, e.g. : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in the UK), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

Ford introduced the Fusion midsize car in 2006. A hybrid version of the Fusion came out in 2010, and a plug-in hybrid in 2012.

14 Latin “others” : ALIA

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names. In fact, “et al.” can stand for “et alii” (a group of males, or males and females), “et aliae” (a group of women) and “et alia” (a group of neuter nouns, or a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

15 __ erectus : HOMO

Homo erectus is an extinct cousin of Homo sapiens, our human species.

17 Wander aimlessly (about) : MILL

To mill about is to move around, usually en masse, in a disorderly fashion. The term “mill” was first used in the 19th century to describe cattle circling in a group, like the action of a mill wheel.

18 Israeli carrier : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”. The company started operations in 1948, with a flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv. Famously, El Al only operates six days a week, not flying on the Sabbath.

19 Pisces follower : ARIES

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

The astrological sign of the zodiac called Pisces is named for the Pisces constellation. “Pisces” is the Latin word for “fish” in the plural (singular “piscis”).

38 Upside-down “e,” in phonetics : SCHWA

A schwa is an unstressed and toneless vowel found in a number of languages including English. Examples from our language are the “a” in “about”, the “e” in “taken” and the “i” in pencil.

39 Dictator Amin : IDI

Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country’s military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.

40 Shenanigan : ANTIC

I suppose one might be forgiven for thinking that “shenanigan” is an Irish term, as it certainly sounds Irish. Usually written in the plural, shenanigans are acts of mischief, pranks. Apparently the word is of uncertain derivation, but was coined in San Francisco and Sacramento, California in the mid-1800s.

42 Gridiron “zebra” : REF

A football referee is sometimes called a “zebra”, a reference to the striped shirt that is part of the official uniform.

43 Chocolate source : CACAO

The flowers of the cacao tree grow in clusters, directly on the trunk and on older branches. The pollinated flowers turn into ovoid cacao pods, each of which contain 20-60 seeds or beans. The seeds are used as the main ingredient in chocolate.

49 Requires Febreze, maybe : SMELLS

The odor-eliminating product we know today as Febreze was developed in England in the early nineties. Febreze is now produced by Procter & Gamble.

51 “Les Misérables” escape route : SEWER

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables” has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

52 Cosmopolitan spirits : VODKA

The distilled beverage vodka takes its name from the Slavic word “voda” meaning “water”, with “vodka” translating as “little water”.

Like so many famous cocktails, the actual origins of the cosmopolitan are disputed. It is a nice drink. One of the standard recipes is 4 parts citrus vodka, 1.5 parts Cointreau, 1.5 parts lime juice and 3 parts cranberry juice.

58 Classic Jaguar : XK-E

XK and XK-E are models of Jaguar motor car.

64 __ Gras : MARDI

“Mardi Gras” translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”, and gets its name from the practice of eating rich foods on the eve of the fasting season known as Lent. Lent starts on the next day, called Ash Wednesday.

66 Chief Asgard god : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

70 Spilled the beans : TOLD

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

71 Online magazine with a “Dear Prudence” advice column : SLATE

“Slate” is an online magazine that was founded in 1996. “Slate” was originally owned by Microsoft and was part of the MSN online offering. The magazine has been available for free since 1999 (it is ad-supported) and has been owned by the Washington Post Company since 2004.

“Dear Prudence” is an advice column that first appeared in the online magazine “Slate” in 1997. The title of the column was inspired by the 1968 Beatles song of the same name.

73 Relaxing resorts : SPAS

The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as “Spa” is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.

Down

1 Ray type : GAMMA

Gamma radiation was discovered by the French chemist Paul Villard, as he studied radiation coming from the chemical element radium. This radiation was called “gamma”, the third letter in the Greek alphabet, as alpha and beta particles had already been identified.

3 Jockey’s apparel : SILKS

The colorful clothing made from silk that is worn by a jockey is known as “racing silks”. The specific colors and pattern of racing silks are registered to particular owner or trainer.

4 Bob Ross accessory : PALETTE

Bob Ross was an artist and art instructor. Ross created and appeared in the long-running PBS show “The Joy of Painting”, a show which provided instructions for budding artists.

5 Singer with a Best Actress Oscar : CHER

“Cher” is the stage name used by singer and actress Cherilyn Sarkisian. Formerly one half of husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher, she is often referred to as the Goddess of Pop. In her acting career, Cher was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar of 1984 for her performance in “Silkwood”. She went further in 1988 and won the season’s Best Actress Oscar for playing Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”.

6 Hi, in Barcelona : HOLA

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. Barcelona is the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

7 Apple desktop : IMAC

The iMac is a desktop computer platform that Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors, that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such as strawberry, blueberry and lime.

8 Music genre with accordions : POLKA

The polka is a dance from central Europe, one that originated in Bohemia in the mid-1800s. It’s thought that “polka” comes from a Czech word meaning “little half”, reflecting the little half-steps included in the basic dance.

9 Easter Island sights : STATUES

Moai are huge human figures carved out of stone by the native people on Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. There are 887 moai in total on the island, the tallest of which is almost 33 feet tall and weighs 82 tons.

“Rapa Nui” is the Polynesian name for what we are more likely to call “Easter Island”. The European name was coined by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who came across the island on Easter Sunday in the year 1722. Chilean-owned Easter Island is inhabited and is a location that is remarkably distant from neighboring civilization. The nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, which is almost 1300 miles away.

10 End of a musket? : -EER

Alexandre Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” are Athos, Porthos and Aramis, although the hero of the novel is the trio’s young protégé D’Artagnan. A musketeer was an infantry soldier who was equipped with a musket. Funnily enough, the three “musketeers” really don’t use their muskets, and are better known for prowess with their swords.

21 Tibet’s continent : ASIA

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.

22 First-responder letters : EMS

Emergency medical services (EMS)

26 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”.

28 Lawyers’ org. : ABA

American Bar Association (ABA)

30 Singers below mezzo-sopranos : ALTOS

A mezzo-soprano is a female singing voice below a soprano but above a contralto. “Mezzo” is Italian for “half”.

34 Minute Maid fruity juice boxes : HI-CS

Hi-C orange drink was created in 1946, and introduced to the market in 1948, initially in the south of the country. The name “Hi-C” was chosen to emphasize the high vitamin C content in the drink, as it contained added ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

35 NBA commissioner Silver : ADAM

Adam Silver was appointed NBA commissioner in 2014. He had served in various posts with the league since 1992, and took over as commissioner on the retirement of David Stern.

36 The other way around : VICE VERSA

“Vice versa” is a Latin phrase meaning “with position turned”. We always pronounce this term “incorrectly”. In Latin, a “c” is a hard sound, and a “v” is pronounced like a “w”. The pronunciation should be something like “wee-kay wehr-sa”.

37 Miller __: beer brand : LITE

The first light beer was produced by Chicago’s Meister Brau brewery in the sixties. Miller took over Meister Brau, reformulated the light beer using the same process and became the first of the big breweries to come out with a light beer, “Lite Beer from Miller” introduced in 1973. There really wasn’t a serious competitor to Miller Lite until Anheuser-Busch finally came up with a process and a product in 1982 that they called Bud Light.

41 “Don’t have a __, man!” : COW

The phrase “don’t have a cow” originated in the fifties, as a variation of the older “don’t have kittens”. The concept behind the phrase is that one shouldn’t get worked up, it’s not like one is giving birth to a cow.

44 Teléfono greeting : ALO!

In Spanish, one might answer “el teléfono” (the telephone) with the word “Aló” (hello).

47 Prefix with pool or pit : CESS-

A cesspit (also “cesspool”) is a covered tank or pit used for the disposal of human waste. The term can be used figuratively to describe a corrupt place or situation.

53 Circumvent : AVOID

To circumvent is to get round, and in particular to evade using cleverness or trickery. “Circumvent” comes from the Latin terms “circum” (around) and “venire” (to come).

56 Throat dangler : UVULA

The uvula is that conical fleshy projection hanging down at the back of the soft palate. The uvula plays an important role in human speech, particularly in the making of “guttural” sounds. The Latin word for “grape” is “uva”, so “uvula” is a “little grape”.

58 Dec. holiday : XMAS

The abbreviation “Xmas” that is used for “Christmas” comes from the Greek letter chi (X), which is the first letter of the Greek word for “Christ” (“Χριστός”).

59 Two-time NBA MVP Malone known as “The Mailman” : KARL

Karl Malone is a retired professional basketball player who was nicknamed “the Mailman”. Malone played most of his career with the Utah Jazz, from 1985 to 2004.

62 Dominoes piece : TILE

White masks with black spots were commonly seen in the old Venetian Carnival. The masks were known as “domini”. The domini lent their name to the game of dominoes, due to the similarity in appearance between the mask and a domino tile.

65 Part of an ellipsis : DOT

An ellipsis is a series of dots (usually three) used to indicate an omission in some text. The term comes from the Greek word “élleipsis”, which means “omission”.

The post LA Times Crossword 21 Jan 20, Tuesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 7m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Bible book that chronicles the conversion of Paul : ACTS

The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the Christian New Testament. It is believed that the author of the Gospel of Luke was the same person who wrote “Acts”.

According to the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Paul the Apostle was not one of the original Twelve Apostles, but an important teacher of the gospel after the death of Jesus. Paul was a Roman citizen who persecuted early followers of Jesus until he had a vision while traveling “The Road to Damascus” that led to his conversion to Christianity.

15 Soprano Fleming : RENEE

Renée Fleming is a marvelous soprano from Indiana, Pennsylvania. Famous for her appearances in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, Fleming is also noted for her willingness to bring her craft to the masses. She was a guest on “Sesame Street” singing “counting lyrics” to an aria from “Rigoletto”, and she has appeared a few times on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion”.

17 500 sheets of paper : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

27 Art Deco icon : ERTE

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian-born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. “Erté” is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

Art Deco is a style of design and architecture of the 1920s that actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of Art Deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of New York City’s Rockefeller Center with the address of “30 Rock”.

34 Penn. neighbor : DEL

The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as “the First State” as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.

36 Lilly of pharmaceuticals : ELI

Eli Lilly is the largest corporation in the state of Indiana. Founder Eli Lilly was a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War, and a failed Mississippi plantation owner. Later in life he returned to his first profession and opened a pharmaceutical operation to manufacture drugs and sell them wholesale. Under Lilly’s early guidance, the company was the first to create gelatin capsules to hold medicines and the first to use fruit flavoring in liquid medicines.

42 Texting format, for short : SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is the name for the text messaging service that many of us still use on our cell phones to contact friends and family.

43 “Boogie Nights” actor Reynolds : BURT

Actor Burt Reynolds is famous for playing Bandit in “Smokey and the Bandit” and Lewis Medlock in “Deliverance”, but his critically acclaimed performance was as Jack Horner in the 1997 movie “Boogie Nights”. Off the screen, Reynolds was quite the man around town, and was romantically linked to the likes of Tammy Wynette, Lucie Arnaz (daughter of Lucille Ball), Sally Field, Dinah Shore and Chris Evert. He was married to Judy Carne, as well as Loni Anderson.

“Boogie Nights” was released in 1997, and deals with the pornographic movie business. Burt Reynolds plays a director in the industry. It’s not exactly exalted subject matter, but the movie does have an impressive cast (including Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman).

45 Night school subj. : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

46 Fashion plate : FOP

A fashion plate is a fashionable person, someone who dresses in the latest fashions. The term “fashion plate” originally applied to illustrations (plates) that were used to disseminate fashionable styles in the 1800s and early 1900s.

48 Red or white unit : BLOOD CELL

Red blood cells are the most numerous of all blood cells, and are responsible for delivering oxygen to the body’s tissues from the lungs. They are also known as erythrocytes, with “erythros” being the Greek for “red”.

White blood cells protect the body against infection and are part of the immune system. They are formed in the bone marrow and are found mainly in the blood and lymphatic systems. White blood cells are also known as leukocytes, from the Greek “leuko-” meaning “white”.

54 Islamic denomination : SUNNI

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

55 Oregon city near the mouth of the Columbia : ASTORIA

The city of Astoria, Oregon developed around Fort Astoria, which was established in 1810. Fort Astoria was a fur-trading post built by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, hence the “Astoria” name.

58 Speaking Spanglish, say … or a hint to what’s hidden in 20-, 28- and 48-Across : CODE-SWITCHING

The linguistic term “code-switching” refers to the practice of a speaker switching between languages while in the same conversation.

64 Suck-up : TOADY

A toady is someone who is very servile, and somewhat of a parasite. Derived from “toad-eater” the term originally applied to the assistant of a quack, a seller of useless potions that had no actual benefit to health. The toady would eat an apparently poisonous toad in front of an audience, so that the charlatan could “cure” him or her with one of the potions for sale.

65 Afrikaans speaker : BOER

“Boer” is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for “farmer”, a word that was used to describe the Dutch-speaking people who settled parts of South Africa during the 1700s.

Afrikaans is a language spoken mainly in South Africa that was introduced there by Dutch settlers in the 18th century. The original settlers were mainly from South Holland, so Afrikaans evolved from the Dutch vernacular that they spoke.

66 Shiraz’s land : IRAN

The Iranian city of Shiraz has long been associated with wine, but there is no proven link between the city and the wine/grape we know today as “Shiraz” (also called “Syrah”). Having said that, some clay jars were found just outside of the city of Shiraz that contained wine; wine that was 7,000 years old!

68 Cupid’s wings : ALAE

In Latin, an “avis” (bird) has “alae” (wings).

Cupid was the god of love in Roman mythology. Cupid’s name comes from the Latin verb “cupere” meaning “to desire”. Cupid’s Latin name was Amor, and his Greek counterpart was Eros.

69 Anti-DUI org. : MADD

Candace Lightner lost her 13-year-old child to a drink-driver in 1980. Soon after, Lightner formed the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

70 Tango moves : STEPS

The dramatic dance called the tango originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires in particular traveled to Europe and beyond in the early twentieth century and brought the tango with them. The tango craze first struck Europe in Paris in the 1910s, and from there spread to London and Berlin, crossing the Atlantic to New York in 1913.

Down

2 Missouri River capital : PIERRE

Here’s an old chestnut of a trivia question for you … what’s the only state capital in the Union for which the name of the capital and the name of its state share no common letters? You guessed it: Pierre, South Dakota …

7 Quote book abbr. : ANON

Anonymous (anon.)

8 Ill-gotten gains : PELF

“Pelf” is money that has been gained by illegal means. The exact origin of the term is unclear, but it is probably related to the verb “to pilfer”.

10 Guacamole ingredient : AVOCADO

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

Guacamole is one of my favorite dishes. It is prepared by mashing avocados and perhaps adding the likes of tomato, onion and lime juice. The guacamole recipe dates back as early as the 16th century, to the time of the Aztecs. “Guacamole” translates as “avocado sauce”.

12 Roman three : TRE

“One, two, three” in Italian is “uno, due, tre”.

13 Many a crossword clue: Abbr. : SYN

Synonym (syn.)

26 Tonsillitis-treating MDs : ENTS

The branch of medicine known as “ear, nose and throat” (ENT) is more correctly called “otolaryngology”.

The suffix “-itis” is used to denote inflammation, as in laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx), otitis (inflammation of the ear), tendinitis (inflammation of a tendon), tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils) and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).

The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the human throat. The exact role that tonsils play isn’t completely understood, but it is known that they are in the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. They provide some level of protection against pathogens that are ingested and inhaled.

29 Former “Entertainment Tonight” co-anchor Nancy : O’DELL

Nancy O’Dell has been the co-anchor of the TV show “Entertainment Tonight” since 2011, replacing Mary Hart. Nancy O’Dell was the woman to whom Donald Trump referred in the infamous recorded conversation with Billy Bush from 2005.

31 Sheet music symbol : CLEF

“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

33 Actor Baldwin : ALEC

Alec Baldwin is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think Alec’s big break was playing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October”, but thank goodness that role was taken over by Harrison Ford for the subsequent Jack Ryan movies. Baldwin also made a name for himself playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey. More recently, he is known for impersonating President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”.

37 Humdinger : LULU

We call a remarkable thing or a person a lulu. The term “lulu” was coined in honor of Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder, who was a stage magician active in the 1880s.

A humdinger or a pip is someone or something outstanding. “Humdinger” is American slang dating back to the early 1900s, and was originally used to describe a particularly attractive woman.

41 Start of civilization? : SOFT C

The starting letter in the word “civilization” is a soft letter C (cee).

47 Bureaucratic bigwig : POOH-BAH

The term “pooh-bah” (also “poobah”), meaning an ostentatious official, comes from the world of opera. Pooh-Bah is a character in the wonderful Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera “The Mikado”. Famously, Pooh-Bah holds many, many offices, including that of “Lord High Everything Else”.

52 Camden Yards player : ORIOLE

Oriole Park is home to the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. The full name of the stadium is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The name “Camden Yards” is used because the ballpark is built on land that was once used as the rail yard for B&O Railroad’s Camden Station.

53 One-dimensional : LINEAR

The dimension of an object is defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify each point in the object. Therefore, a line is one-dimensional, as you only need an x-coordinate to specify a particular point on the line. A surface is two-dimensional, as you need both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate to locate a point on the surface. The inside of a solid object is then three-dimensional, needing an x-, y- and z-coordinate to specify a point, say within a cube.

56 Eye annoyances : STYES

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

59 Share-a-ride pickup hrs. : ETAS

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

60 Microsoft Excel command : SORT

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program included in the Microsoft Office suite of applications. Microsoft’s first spreadsheet program was introduced back in 1982 and called Multiplan. Multiplan’s popularity waned due to the success of the competing product Lotus 1-2-3. Microsoft then introduced Excel, initially just for the Macintosh. When Excel was extended to Windows, Lotus was slow to respond and Microsoft took over the market.

63 Maidenform garment : BRA

Maidenform is a manufacturer of underwear for women that was founded in 1922. The three co-founders were driven to defy the norms of the day that dictated a flat-chested look for women. They produced items that fit the female body, hence the name “Maidenform”.

The post LA Times Crossword 22 Jan 20, Wednesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 8m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Longest-serving Japanese prime minister : ABE

Shinzo Abe first became Prime Minister of Japan in 2006, at which time he was the youngest person to hold the post since WWII and was the first PM born after the war. Abe was in office for less than a year, but was voted in again 2012. At the end of 2019, Abe became the longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Japan.

11 Ave. crossers : STS

By convention, a road is a way connecting two locations. A street is a road with buildings on both sides. An avenue has buildings or trees on both sides, and generally runs perpendicular to streets.

14 Steel foundry input : IRON ORE

Steel is an alloy that is composed mainly of iron, with a small percentage of carbon.

18 Lamaze class attendee : DAD-TO-BE

The Lamaze technique for childbirth was developed by a French obstetrician called Fernand Lamaze. He introduced the technique in the west after observing similar practices in the Soviet Union during a visit there in 1951.

22 About 24% of the U.S. Congress : WOMEN

Jeannette Rankin was a Montana politician and activist who was elected to the House of Representatives in 1916, making her the first woman to hold a US federal office. Ranking, a Republican, was a lifelong pacifist. Along with 49 of her House colleagues, she opposed the 1917 declaration of war against Germany. Decades later, Rankin was the sole member of Congress to vote against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The first woman to serve in the US Senate did so for just one day. That lady was Rebecca Latimer Felton, a prominent member of the women’s suffrage movement. Georgia governor Thomas W. Hardwick got the opportunity to appoint Felton to the US Senate when Senator Thomas E. Watson died prematurely. Hardwick nominated Felton in October of 1922, partly as a ploy to secure as many votes as possible from new women voters. Congress was not in session and the election was imminent, so Hardwick did not expect Felton to be sworn in. However, Hardwick lost the election, and Felton made a deal with election winner Walter F. George that called for her to sworn in, and for George to take his seat the following day. Feltman was just a couple of months shy of 88 years at the time, making her the oldest freshman senator to enter the US Senate.

23 Stations : DEPOTS

Our term “depot”, meaning “station, warehouse”, comes from the French word “dépôt”. The French term translates into English as “deposit” or “place of deposit”.

26 Place for choppers : HELIPORT

“Chopper” is an informal term used for a helicopter.

31 Broadway song that begins, “The most beautiful sound I ever heard” : MARIA

“Maria” is a song from “West Side Story”.

Maria!
Say it loud and there’s music playing,
Say it soft and it’s almost like praying.
Maria,
I’ll never stop saying Maria!

37 Co-tsar with Peter I : IVAN V

Peter I and Ivan V were half-brothers who serves as joint Tsars of Russia between the years 1682 and 1696. Peter was the most influential of the duo by far. After Ivan died, Peter went on to bring Russia into a new age, earning himself the moniker Peter the Great.

39 Missile Command game company : ATARI

Missile Command is a fun arcade game that was introduced by Atari in 1980. Playing the game involves protecting six cities that are being attacked by ballistic missiles. The original game’s design featured six cities in California, namely Eureka, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego.

42 Newcastle Brown __ : ALE

Newcastle Brown Ale is an English beer that was launched in 1927. In the late nineties, it was the most-widely distributed beer in the UK. Its popularity has waned somewhat in its homeland, and now most sales of Newcastle Brown are in the US.

50 Rum drink : DAIQUIRI

Daiquirí is a small village on the coast near Santiago, Cuba and a key location in the American invasion of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Supposedly, the cocktail called a “Daiquiri” was invented by American mining engineers in a bar in nearby Santiago.

54 Competition that includes snowboarding : X GAMES

The X Games are annual events, with a Summer X Games held every year as well as a Winter X Games. It’s very much a commercial venture, with all aspects controlled by the TV station ESPN. The games focus on extreme action sports, like skateboarding and freestyle motocross in the summer and various extreme snowboarding events in the winter.

57 Pianist Rubinstein : ARTUR

The great Arthur (sometimes “Artur”) Rubinstein was a classical pianist from Poland who became a naturalized American citizen in 1946. Rubenstein was particularly respected as a performer of Chopin’s repertoire.

58 California’s __ Gabriel Mountains : SAN

The San Gabriel Mountains are located between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert in California. In 2014, President Obama used the Antiquities Act to protect most of the range by designating it the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

64 Mid-Michigan city : SAGINAW

Saginaw is a city in central Michigan. The city blossomed as a lumber town in the 19th century. Logs were floated down the Saginaw river where they were processed in the town’s many sawmills before being loaded onto ships, and eventually onto railroad cars. Growth in the 20th century was driven by the automotive industry, with GM alone locating 12 manufacturing plants in and around Saginaw. Employment declined sharply in the latter 1900s along with the decline in the number of automotive jobs in the US.

67 Uganda’s capital : KAMPALA

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda. The airport that serves Kampala is in the town of Entebbe. Entebbe airport is well known for the daring hostage-rescue carried out by Israeli Defense Forces in 1976 following a hijacking.

68 Accessory for an Aquaman costume : TRIDENT

Aquaman is a comic book superhero who first appeared in 1941. Aquaman was inspired by a character in a Russian science-fiction novel named “Amphibian Man”.

Down

3 New Year’s Day event in Pasadena : ROSE PARADE (hiding “peso” raised)

The first Rose Parade was staged in 1890 on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. The initial parades were organized by the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club, whose members wanted to highlight the mild winter weather in the area. The initial parades did not feature flowers, but these were added to underscore the favorable climate. It was the inclusion of the flowers that gave rise to the name “Tournament of Roses”. The first Rose Bowl football game was played in 1902.

5 Name in eerie fiction : POE

Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

6 Proper to a fault : PRISSY

The first known use of the word “prissy” in print, meaning “overly prim”, is in the 1895 children’s book “Mr. Rabbit at Home” by Joel Chandler Harris.

[“]Then Mrs Blue Hen rumpled up her feathers and got mad with herself, and went to setting. I reckon that’s what you call it. I’ve heard some call it ‘setting’ and others ‘sitting.’ Once, when I was courting, I spoke of a sitting hen, but the young lady said I was too prissy for anything.”
What is prissy? asked Sweetest Susan.
Mr. Rabbit shut his eyes and scratched his ear. Then he shook his head slowly.
It’s nothing but a girl’s word, remarked Mrs. Meadows by way of explanation. “It means that somebody’s trying hard to show off.”
I reckon that’s so, said Mr. Rabbit, opening his eyes. He appeared to be much relieved.

7 Himalayan legend : YETI

The yeti, also known as the abominable snowman, is a beast of legend. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology, and a cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

The magnificent Himalaya range of mountains in Asia takes its name from the Sanskrit for “abode of snow”. Geographically, the Himalaya separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau to the north.

10 Finish impressively : END WITH A BANG (hiding “baht” raised)

The baht is the currency of Thailand, and is subdivided into 100 satang.

12 River near Vatican City : TIBER

The Tiber is the principal river in Italy in that it runs through the capital of Rome. It is also the third longest river in the country.

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

21 Lamb Chop puppeteer : SHARI LEWIS (hiding “lira” raised)

Shari Lewis was the original puppeteer behind the PBS children’s show “Lamb Chop”. After Shari Lewis died in 1998, her daughter Mallory took over the role of puppeteer on the show.

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.

25 It helps you go places : TRAVEL BUREAU (hiding “ruble” raised)

The ruble (also “rouble”) is the unit of currency in Russia, as well as in several other countries in the former Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into one hundred kopecks (also “kopeks”).

28 Part of LAPD : LOS

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest local law enforcement agency in the country, after New York PD and Chicago PD. Among other things, LAPD is famous for creating the first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the US, in 1965.

31 Pedometer unit : MILE

A pedometer is an instrument worn by a runner or walker that measures the number of steps taken. The name of the device comes from “pes”, the Latin for “foot”.

33 Sport coat : BLAZER

A blazer is a less formal version of a suit jacket, usually one with a less formal cut and often metal buttons. The original “blazer” was a red jacket worn by members of the rowing club at Cambridge University in England. The “blazer” is so called because the Cambridge version was “blazing red” in color.

34 Get support, in a way … and what the puzzle circles do : RAISE MONEY (hiding “yen” raised)

The Korean won, the Chinese yuan, and the Japanese yen (all of which are Asian currencies) take their names from the Chinese written character that represents “round shape”.

35 Writer Gardner : ERLE

I must have read all of the “Perry Mason” books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably perhaps, Gardner gave up the law once his novels became successful.

36 Rock that, oddly, loses to paper : FIST

Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people, at least here in North America. Back in Ireland we called the game “scissors-paper-stone”, and another name encountered around the English-speaking world is “roshambo”. The game is often used as a way to choose between two options or two people.

40 Puccini opera : TOSCA

Unlike so many operas, Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” was a big hit right from day one, when it was first performed in 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Currently, “Tosca” is the eighth-most performed opera in America.

46 Boxer Laila : ALI

Laila Ali is the daughter of the great Muhammad Ali and is a very capable boxer in her own right. Laila’s professional record is an impressive 24 wins, including 21 knockouts. Now retired, she never lost a fight, and nor did she ever draw. One of those victories was against Jackie Frazier-Lyde, daughter of her father’s nemesis Joe Frazier. Laila is not a bad dancer either, coming in third place in the fourth season of “Dancing with the Stars”.

49 Ventura County city : OXNARD

Oxnard is a coastal city in Ventura County in Southern California. Oxnard is famous for its production of strawberries, producing about a third of the states total volume annually. If you’d care to visit Oxnard’s California Strawberry Festival, then you can sample strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos and strawberry champagne. Personally, I’d go for the champagne …

50 German word of gratitude : DANKE

“Thank you” translates to “merci” in French, “gracias” in Spanish, and “danke” in German.

55 Chris of “Captain America” : EVANS

Chris Evans’ Hollywood career really took off when he was cast as the Human Torch in the “Fantastic Four” movies starting in 2005. He portrayed another superhero in 2011, playing the title role in “Captain America: The First Avenger”.

Captain America is a fictional superhero in comics published by Marvel Comics. He is the alter ego of a weak man called Steve Rogers who was given an experimental serum by the US Government during WWII.

59 Wine made from Muscat grapes : ASTI

Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.

Muscat grapes are used to make wine, and are also grown for raisins and table grapes. Muscat is used a lot in Chilean table wines, and relatively rarely in Italian or Californian table wines. However, muscat is used extensively in fortified wines in all wine-growing regions of the world. The sweet dessert wine made from muscat in Spain is called muscatel.

62 Camera type, for short : SLR

The initialism “SLR” stands for “single lens reflex”. Usually, cameras with changeable lenses are the SLR type. The main feature of an SLR is that a mirror reflects the image seen through the lens out through the viewfinder, so that the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees. The mirror moves out of the way as the picture is taken, and the image that comes through the lens falls onto unexposed film, or nowadays onto a digital sensor.

65 USO show audience : GIS

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

66 Wyo. neighbor : IDA

Idaho borders six states, and one Canadian province:

• Montana
• Wyoming
• Nevada
• Utah
• Washington
• Oregon
• British Columbia, Canada

The post LA Times Crossword 23 Jan 20, Thursday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 12m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Draft category : ONE-A

The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).

5 Crisply played, in mus. : STAC

Staccato (stac.) is a musical direction signifying that notes should be played in a disconnected form. The opposite of staccato would be legato, indicating long and continuous notes played very smoothly.

9 Qatar’s capital : DOHA

Doha is the capital city of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The name “Doha” translates from Arabic as “the big tree”.

Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. Qatar has more oil and gas reserves per capita of population than any other country in the world. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry. Qatar is scheduled to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, although the nation’s eligibility to do so is under question after a far-reaching bribery scandal was uncovered at the sport’s governing body.

13 Inflammation treatment : CORTISONE

Cortisone is a type of steroid that is used to reduce inflammation, which can reduce pain caused by some medical conditions. It is usually administered using a syringe, as a shot.

15 Apple product : IPOD

The iPod is Apple’s signature line of portable media players. The iPod first hit the market in 2001 with a hard drive-based device, now known as the iPod Classic. Later models all use flash memory, allowing a smaller form factor. The smallest of the flash-based models is the iPod Shuffle, which was introduced in 2005.

20 Sci-fi helmsman : SULU

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was 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, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

24 Portable chair : SEDAN

A sedan chair was a litter that was used in England. Being a litter, it had no wheels and was powered by humans. Most sedan chairs were built for one passenger, with two men providing the “lift”. Henry VIII had a sedan chair, but towards the end of his opulent life he needed four strong men to carry it.

26 “Uno __”: cantina request : MAS

In Spanish, one might request “uno mas” (one more) in a “cantina” (canteen, café).

27 Fundraising targets : ALUMNI

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

38 He reunited with his fictional ex on Valentine’s Day in 2011 : KEN

Barbie’s male counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. When Ken was introduced in 1959, it was as Barbie’s boyfriend. In 2004 it was announced that Ken and Barbie were splitting up, and needed to spend quality time apart. Soon after the split, Barbie “met” Blaine, a boogie boarder from Australia. Happily, Barbie and Ken reconciled and reunited on Valentine’s Day 2011.

39 Ibuprofen brand : ADVIL

The anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen is sold under the brand names Advil and Motrin.

41 Backboard attachment : RIM

That would be basketball.

42 Place Sundance liked to see : ETTA

Etta Place is the schoolteacher character played by the lovely Katharine Ross in the superb 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

44 Chanoyu ceremony essential : JAPANESE TEA (from “tea service”)

The Japanese tea ceremony is called “chanoyu” in Japanese, and involves the preparation and presentation of powdered green tea. When leaf tea is used, the ceremony is called “senchado”.

47 Kazakhstan, once: Abbr. : SSR

The Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the world’s largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan was also the last of the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) to declare itself independent from Russia.

53 Many an Indian : HINDU

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

57 Green : MOOLA

Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, scratch, cheddar, simoleons, clams and moola(h) are all slang terms for money.

58 Game with two secret passages : CLUE

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

70 Do, for example : NOTE

The sol-fa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

71 Cutty __ : SARK

Cutty Sark Scotch whisky is named for the famous clipper ship. The British ship was built not far from where the Scotch was first blended. The ship in turn is named for the “cutty-sark”, a short skirt mentioned in the poem “Tam o’ Shanter” by Robert Burns.

Down

1 Fall mo. : OCT

October is the tenth month in our calendar but was the eighth month in the old Roman calendar, hence the prefix “octo-”. Back then there were only ten months in the year. “Ianuarius” (January) and “Februarius” were then added as the eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Soon after, the year was reset and January and February became the first and second months.

2 Kabuki kin : NOH

Kabuki is a Japanese form of theater involving dance and drama. In the original Kabuki theater, both male and female parts were played by women. In contrast, the Noh dramas have the male and female parts played by men.

5 IRS IDs : SSNS

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So, from 1986 onward, it is a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987.

7 Musical in which FDR is a character : ANNIE

The Broadway musical “Annie” is based on the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There have been two film adaptations of the musical. Both were really quite successful, including one released in 1982, directed by John Huston of all people. It was his only ever musical.

12 “A Passage to India” heroine : ADELA

“A Passage to India” is a wonderful 1924 novel by E. M. Forster set in the days of the British Raj. There are two excellent adaptations for the screen that I would recommend. There’s a BBC television version from 1965 starring a wonderful cast including Virginia McKenna and Cyril Cusack. There is also an Oscar-winning movie version from 1984 with Alec Guinness and Peggy Ashcroft. Forster had first-hand knowledge of life during the Raj, having worked in India during the twenties.

18 Clear : BUS

A busboy is a person who assists a waiter, mainly by clearing tables. The verb “to bus” arose in the early 1900s and is probably a reference to the wheeled cart that was used to carry dishes.

23 Comforter : DUVET

A duvet is a large flat bag that is filled with down, feathers or a synthetic substitute that is used as a top cover for a bed. Although a duvet is similar to what is called a “comforter” in the US, there is a difference. A duvet is often has an easily removed cover that is usually laundered at the same time as the bottom sheet and pillowcases. We use them a lot in Europe, and generally without a top sheet due to the ease of laundering.

25 It’s often served with nutmeg : NOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

28 “… __ woodchuck could chuck wood?” : IF A

The woodchuck is also known as the groundhog, and is one in a group of large ground squirrels called marmots. Repeat after me:

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

30 Subjects of European trials during the Renaissance : WEREWOLVES

The prefix “were-” as in “werewolf” derives from an old word “wer” meaning “man”. Hence a werewolf is a “man-wolf”.

The persecution of women labeled as witches in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period was relatively widespread. “Witch trials” took place right across Europe as well as in the New World. A parallel labelling of some men as werewolves emerged from the persecution of females. “Werewolf trials” started in the early 15th century in what is now Switzerland, and spread across Europe, lasting until the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

32 Wd. ending in -less : ADJ

Adjective (adj.)

33 FDR power plan : TVA

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has to be one of America’s great success stories when it comes to economic development. Created in 1933, the TVA spearheaded economic development in the Tennessee Valley at the height of the Great Depression. Central to the success was the federally-funded construction of flood-control and electricity-generation facilities.

40 Bloke : LAD

“Bloke” is British slang for “fellow”. The etymology of “bloke” seems to have been lost in the mists of time.

45 Parents, usually : NAMERS

The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of the 1,000 most common baby names for the prior year annually, just before Mother’s Day. The list is compiled using applications for Social Security cards.

46 High __ : TEA

Especially in the UK, high tea is a major meal served in the late afternoon or early evening. Said meal should of course include a pot of tea!

48 P.R. part : RICO

Puerto Rico (PR) is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

52 Blender button : PUREE

A purée is a food that has been made smooth by straining or blending. “Purée” is a French term, which I believe is now used to mean “pea soup” (more completely written as “purée de pois”). The French verb “purer” means “to strain, clean”, from the Latin “purare” meaning “to purify, clean”.

61 Zaire’s Mobutu __ Seko : SESE

Mobutu Sese Seko was the longtime President of Zaire (later to be called the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Mobutu was known to be a very corrupt dictator and it is believed that he embezzled over $5 billion from his country. On a lighter note, Mobutu was the money man behind the famous 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman known as “The Rumble in the Jungle”. Mobutu was anxious to expand the image of Zaire so he used his nation’s funds to entice the fighters to have a go at each other in his homeland.

63 It ends shortly after 1-Down: Abbr. : DST
(1D Fall mo. : OCT)

Daylight saving time (DST)

65 “Bad Moon Rising” band, briefly : CCR

Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) was a rock band from San Francisco that played in a Southern rock style, with hits such as “Proud Mary”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Down on the Corner” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”.

“Bad Moon Rising” is a song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Written by band member John Fogerty, the song was inspired by the composer watching the hurricane scene in the movie “The Devil and Daniel Webster”.

The post LA Times Crossword 24 Jan 20, Friday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 12m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Period that included the Civil War : LINCOLN ERA

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, elected in 1860 as the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln’s electoral support came almost exclusively from the north and west of the country, winning only 2 out of 996 counties in the Southern slave states. Lincoln led the country through the Civil War, and then was assassinated in 1865 just a few days after Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia. President Lincoln was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

16 Place with rolling pins, perhaps : LANE

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

19 Have the chutzpah : DARE

Our word “chutzpah” meaning “nerve, gall, impudence” is derived from the Yiddish “khutspe”, which has the same meaning.

20 Farm structure : 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.

23 Date night convenience : ATM

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)

25 “Femina Cup” (1910s contest) competitor : AVIATRIX

The feminine suffix “-trix” is Latin in origin, and is equivalent to the male suffix “tor”. Examples of usage would be “aviatrix” and “aviator”. Similarly, the feminine suffix “-ette” came into English from French, with the suffix “-et” being the male equivalent. Examples of usage would be “brunette” and “brunet”.

The “Coupe Femina” (Femina Cup) was awarded annually in the early days of aviation to the woman who had made the longest non-stop flight for that year. The “coupe” was established by Pierre Lafitte, who was the publisher of the French women’s magazine “Femina”.

32 Ball, e.g. : GALA

Our use of the word “ball” to mean a round object comes from the Old Norse “bollr” meaning the same thing. However, the usage of “ball” to mean “dancing party” comes from the Late Latin “ballare” meaning “to dance”, which in turn derives from the Greek “ballizein” meaning the same thing.

33 Links legend : SNEAD

Sam Snead was probably the most successful golfer never to win a US Open title, as he won a record 82 PGA Tour events. Snead did win seven majors, but never the US Open. He was also quite the showman. He once hit the scoreboard at Wrigley Field stadium with a golf ball, by teeing off from home plate. Snead’s best-remembered nickname is “Slammin’ Sammy”.

The oldest type of golf course is a links course. The name “links” comes from the Old English word “hlinc” meaning “rising ground”. “Hlinc” was used to describe areas with coastal sand dunes or open parkland. As a result, we use the term “links course” to mean a golf course that is located at or on the coast, often amid sand dunes. The British Open is always played on a links course.

34 It’s above lead on tables : TIN

In the periodic table, tin (Sn) is found above lead (Pb).

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist. When Mendeleev classified elements according to their chemical properties, he noticed patterns and was able to group elements into his famous 1869 Periodic Table. So powerful was his table that he actually predicted the properties of some elements that had not even been discovered in 1869. Element number 101 is mendelevium and was named after Mendeleev.

35 Ring of Saturn? : ORBIT

Saturn is easily visible from Earth with the unaided eye, but we need some help to see the planet’s famous rings. Galileo was the first person to see Saturn’s rings, when he turned his primitive telescope towards the night sky in 1610. However, he misinterpreted what he was observing and assumed that the rings were in fact two smaller planets located at either side of the larger Saturn.

36 Hash ingredient : SPUD

Hash, beef and vegetables mashed together, is a very American dish and one that really surprised me when I first came across it. “Hash” just seems like such an unappetizing item, but I soon found out how delicious it was. The name “hash” in this context comes from the French “hacher” meaning “to chop”. Back in the early 1900s the dish called “hashed browned potatoes” was developed, which quickly morphed into “hash browns”. From there the likes of corned beef hash was introduced.

40 Leo is one : FIRE SIGN

Each of the twelve astrological signs is associated with one of the classical elements:

• Fire signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
• Earth signs: Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo
• Air signs: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
• Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

41 Jalopies : CRATES

The origins of our word “jalopy” meaning “dilapidated, old motor car” seem to have been lost in time, but the word has been around since the 1920s. One credible suggestion is that it comes from Xalapa, Mexico as the Xalapa scrap yards were the destination for many discarded American automobiles.

43 __ wolf : CRY

“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is one of Aesop’s fable, and the tale that gives rise to our phrase “to cry wolf”, which means to give a false alarm. In the fable, a shepherd boy is in the habit of tricking nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock by crying “wolf!”. When an actual attack is made, the villages assume it’s another false alarm and the sheep are are eaten by the wolf.

44 Nasty current : RIP

A rip current (wrongly called a rip “tide” sometimes) is a localized current that flows seaward from near the shore. Rip currents are dangerous as they can pull swimmers out to sea.

47 R&B family name : ISLEY

The Isley Brothers are an R&B group from Cincinnati, Ohio. The original lineup was a vocal trio consisting of three brothers: O’Kelly, Jr., Rudolph and Ronald Isley. The three brothers wrote the fabulous 1959 hit “Shout”, the song which brought the group its first success.

48 Caps on a protective vest : SWAT

“SWAT” is an acronym standing for Special Weapons and Tactics. The first SWAT team was pulled together in the Los Angeles Police Department in 1968.

50 Fundació Joan __: Barcelona museum : MIRO

Joan Miró was a Spanish artist. Miro immersed himself in Surrealism, so much so that Andre Breton, the founder of the movement, said that Miró was “the most Surrealist of us all”. There are two museums dedicated to Miró’s work. The Fundació Joan Miró is in his native Barcelona, and the Fundació Miró Mallorca is in Palma de Mallorca, where he the artist spent much of his life.

52 Blocks off : BARRICADES

A barricade is an obstruction placed across some form of passage that is designed to prevent the advance of an enemy. The term “barricade” comes from the Spanish “barrica” meaning “barrel”, which possibly is a reference to the 1588 Huguenot riots in Paris. Rioters set up barriers in the streets made from barrels filled with earth and stones.

55 Gerald Ford and Glenn Ford, e.g. : FREEMASONS

Gerald Ford was the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the US, without having been elected to those positions. Ford was nominated by President Richard Nixon to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew after he resigned in 1973. Vice President Ford assumed the presidency the following year after President Nixon resigned.

Actor Glenn Ford was born in Quebec, but moved with his family to the US when he was six years old. Ford appeared in many, many notable films over his long career, including “Gilda” (1946), “Blackboard Jungle” (1955) and “Midway” (1976). Ford was married four times, but was a notorious serial cheater. For decades, he used a recording system for decades to tape phone conversations he had with celebrity lovers, as well as some famous politicians. Ironically, one politician secretly caught on tape was President Richard Nixon.

56 Blues first name : ETTA

Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.

Down

4 Estate unit : ACRE

At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. Then, an acre was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one chain wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. An area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

5 __ the line : TOE

The idiomatic expression “to toe the line” means “to obey”. The etymology of the phrase is disputed, although it is likely to come from the Royal Navy. Barefooted sailors were required to stand to attention for inspection lined up along the seams for the wooden deck, hence “toeing the line”.

7 Part of the Enterprise’s power source : ANTIMATTER

In the world of particle physics, antimatter is made up of particles that have the same mass as particles of ordinary matter, but with the opposite charge and quantum spin. Mixing matter and antimatter causes the annihilation of both, with a release of energy equal to the mass of the particles according to Einstein’s equation E=mc².

In the “Star Trek” universe, starships were powered by matter-antimatter reactions. The warp speed achieved by the engines is very much like our real-world Mach number. Just as a plane traveling at Mach 1 is moving at the speed of sound, a starship traveling at warp factor 1 is moving at the speed of light. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound, and warp factor 2 is twice the speed of light. Cool, huh …?

8 Diamond of song : NEIL

I saw Neil Diamond in concert back in the mid-nineties, and I must say he does put on a great show. His voice is cracking a bit, but that didn’t seem to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I’ve also seen Diamond interviewed a few times on television, and I wouldn’t say he has the most scintillating of personalities.

9 Bond classic : DR NO

“Dr. No” may have been the first film in the wildly successful James Bond franchise, but it was the sixth novel in the series of books penned by Ian Fleming. Fleming was inspired to write the story after reading the Fu Manchu tales by Sax Rohmer. If you’ve read the Rohmer books or seen the films, you’ll recognize the similarities between the characters Dr. Julius No and Fu Manchu. By the way, the author Ian Fleming tells us that Julius No attended medical school in Milwaukee.

12 Early code name? : HAMMURABI

The Code of Hammurabi is a code of laws that dates back to 1772 BCE, enacted by the Babylonian king Hammurabi. . Partial copies of the code have been found on stone steles and clay tablets. The most complete copy of the code can be found on a large stele that is on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

13 Alphabetically second on a list of U.S. state capitals : ANNAPOLIS

The first five state capitals in an alphabetical list are:

• Albany, New York
• Annapolis, Maryland
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Augusta, Maine
• Austin, Texas

The city of Annapolis is located on Chesapeake Bay, and is the capital of the state of Maryland. Annapolis also served for almost a year as the capital of the United States, right after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that marked the end of the American Revolutionary War with Britain. The name “Annapolis” was chosen in 1694 by the British Governor of Maryland, honoring Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway who was destined to become Anne, Queen of Great Britain.

21 Curse : HEX

“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

25 Ever so slightly : A TAD

Back in the 1800s, “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this extended into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

29 Like eight Supreme Court justices : ASSOCIATE

The US Constitution doesn’t specify the size of the Supreme Court, but authorizes the Congress to determine the number of justices. The court started with six justices in 1789, and the size of the bench grew with the size of the country and the number of judicial circuits. There were as many as ten justices, from 1863 to 1866. There have been nine justices since 1869.

31 Artificial intelligence framework : NEURAL NET

It used to be that “neural network” was just the name given to a network nerve cells in an organism. In the modern world, the term “neural net” (short for “neural network”) also applies to virtual or electronic devices designed to mimic the function of the human brain, and in particular learning from past experiences.

32 __ Torino: 1970s Ford : GRAN

Ford produced the Torino from 1968 to 1976. The name “Torino” is Italian for “Turin”, a nod to the city that has been dubbed “the Italian Detroit”, as Turin is home to auto manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Ford extended the Torino line’s offering by adding the Gran Torino, and the Gran Torino Sport in 1972. Famously, the Ford Gran Torino was used by the title characters in the seventies cop show “Starsky & Hutch”. Starsky’s Torino was red in color, with a large white vector stripe running along both sides. Ford cashed in on the popularity of the show by producing a thousand replicas of the “Starsky and Hutch” car, although they weren’t much more than the standard vehicle with a specialty paint job.

35 Bacchanalia : ORGY

A bacchanalia is a drunken spree. The term “bacchanalia” derives from the ancient Roman festival held in honor of Bacchus, the god of winemaking.

37 Beneficiaries of a 1944 bill : GIS

What we commonly refer to as the GI Bill is more correctly called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944.

38 PAC’s election season purchase : AIRTIME

A political action committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that PACS that did not make direct contributions to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions. These “independent, expenditure-only committees” are commonly referred to as “super PACs”.

40 “30 Rock” creator : FEY

“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey plays an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.

42 One-third of dodeca- : TETRA-

The prefix “dodeca-” indicates 12, and the prefix “tetra-” denotes 4.

45 Sherlock’s foe Adler : IRENE

The character Irene Adler only appears in one of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.

46 Term in Old West and hip-hop culture : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

48 Indian garb : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

49 Chirpy bird : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

50 Keyword in Newton’s second law : MASS

Newton’s second law of motion tells us that a body accelerates when a force is applied to it, and the greater the mass of the object, the greater the force required to cause that acceleration. Mathematically, the law can be written as Force = mass x acceleration (F=ma).

52 Texting partner, like, srsly! : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

“srsly?” is text-speak for “seriously?”

53 Ford product : CAR

Industrialist Henry Ford was born in Michigan, and was the son of an Irish immigrant from County Cork. Ford’s most famous vehicle was the one that revolutionized the industry: the Model T. Ford’s goal with the Model T was to build a car that was simple to drive, and cheap to purchase and repair. The Model T cost $825 in 1908, which isn’t much over $20,000 in today’s money.

The post LA Times Crossword 25 Jan 20, Saturday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 17m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sent regrets, say, briefly : RSVP’D

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

6 Tank to go under : SCUBA

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

11 Sweater predator : MOTH

The larvae of several types of moth are noted for eating fabrics made from natural fibers such as wool or cotton. Many people store woolens in cedar chests believing that the scent of the wood prevents a moth infestation. In fact, the only known effective repellent is the naphthalene found in mothballs, which might be a health concern for humans. One way to kill moth larvae in fabric is to freeze the garment for several days at a temperature below -8 degrees centigrade.

15 Morsel in a linguine sauce : CLAM

“Linguine alle vongole” is Italian for “linguine with clams”. The dish originated in Naples, but is popular all over Italy, and indeed all over North America.

Linguine is a type of pasta that is similar to spaghetti, except that in cross-section linguine is elliptical whereas spaghetti is round. The correct name for the dish is “linguine” meaning “little tongues” in Italian. That said, the misspelling “linguini” is given in some dictionaries as an acceptable Americanized variant..

21 Twistable treat : OREO

The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912. The Oreo was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …

22 “The Godfather” enforcer __ Brasi : LUCA

Luca Brasi is one of Don Corleone’s most loyal “enforcers” in Mario Puzo’s novel “The Godfather”. Brasi comes to a violent end, garroted while his hand is pinned to a wooden bar with a knife. Famously, the Corleone family learn of his demise when they receive Brasi’s bulletproof vest wrapped around dead fish. The message is that he “sleeps with the fishes”. In the big screen adaptation of “The Godfather”, Luca Brasi is played by ex-wrestler and professional bodyguard Lenny Montana. The role launched a very successful television character-acting career for Montana.

25 Piggy bank? : CENT MIXER (from “cement mixer”)

The word “pig” can be used for earthenware, or an earthenware shard. From this usage there evolved the term “pig jar” that described an earthenware pot that could be filled with water for use as a bed-warmer. Crockery pots were also used to collect coins and these were also termed “pig jars”. By the 1700s, these pig jars had evolved into the first “piggy banks”.

27 High hybrid stat. : MPG

Miles per gallon (mpg)

28 Organization for the 50+ crowd : AARP

“AARP” is now the official name for the interest group that used to be called the American Association of Retired Persons. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired.

31 Musical corps members : FIFERS

A fife is a small flute that is often used in military and marching bands. The name “fife” comes from the German “Pfeife” meaning “pipe”.

32 Feminist poet Lorde : AUDRE

Audre Lorde was and American feminist author and civil rights activists. Lorde spent many years Germany. She was held a visiting professorship at the Free University of Berlin, and while holding that position became a leading light in the Afro-German movement.

44 Historian’s Muse : CLIO

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

• Calliope (epic poetry)
• Clio (history)
• Erato (lyric poetry)
• Euterpe (music)
• Melpomene (tragedy)
• Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
• Terpsichore (dance)
• Thalia (comedy)
• Urania (astronomy)

Before the adoption of the nine muses of Greek mythology, there were originally three muses, the three Boeotian Muses. These were:

• Mneme (memory)
• Melete (meditation)
• Aoede (song)

45 The Emerald Isle : EIRE

Ireland is often referred to as “the Emerald Isle” (and described as “green”) because of all that green grass that grows due to the seemingly non-stop rain.

47 Yemeni port : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

48 App for getting a hip escort? : DIAL-UP MOD (from “dial-up modem”)

“Mod” is short for “modernist”, and describes a subculture that originated in London in the late fifties. Young men who called themselves mods tended to wear tailored suits, listen to pop music and drive around on Italian motor scooters. Mods came into conflict with another subculture that emerged at the same time in the UK called the rockers. Rockers were into rock and roll music, and drove motorcycles I remember as a young kid in school having to declare myself as either a mod or a rocker. I don’t think our “gangs” back then were quite the same as they are today though …

A modem is a device that is used to facilitate the transmission of a digital signal over an analog line. At one end of the line, a modem is used to “modulate” an analog carrier signal to encode digital information. At the other end of the line, a modem is used to “demodulate” the analog carrier signal and so reproduce the original digital information. This modulation-demodulation gives the device its name: a MOdulator-DEModulator, or “modem”.

51 __ Diego : SAN

The name of the California city of San Diego dates back to 1602, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named the area after the Catholic Saint Didacus. Saint Didacus was more commonly referred to as San Diego de Alcalá.

52 What some hounds follow : SCENT

Dogs have an amazing sense of smell, and scientists tell us that it is 10,000 to 100,000 more acute than human olfactory capability. We have about 6 million olfactory receptors in our noses, compared to about 300 million in the nose of a dog. When we breathe in through our noses, all of that air goes straight to the lungs for respiration. In dogs, about 12% of inspired air is directed to a part of the nose that is dedicated to the sense of smell.

59 Kama __ : SUTRA

The “Kama Sutra” is renowned for its descriptions of positions that can be used for sexual intercourse, but the sutra includes many other texts that deal with various matters of a sexual nature, including how to woo a woman, the conduct of a “chief wife”, the conduct of “other wives”, how to make money as a courtesan, and much more.

61 Illinois-to-Washington family : OBAMAS

President Obama served three terms in the Illinois State Senate, from 1997 to 2004. The future President ran unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives in 2000, and then successfully for the US Senate in 2004. Famously, State Senator Obama delivered the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, just a few months before winning that US Senate seat.

63 Early fur trader : ASTOR

John Jacob Astor was the patriarch of the famous American Astor dynasty. He was the country’s first multi-millionaire, making his fortune in the trade of fur, real estate and opium. In today’s terms, it has been calculated that by the time of his death he has accumulated a fortune big enough to make him the fourth wealthiest man in American history (in the company of the likes of Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Bill Gates, Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller).

71 Absinthe flavoring : ANISE

Absinthe is an alcoholic spirit that is distilled from various plants and herbs, including wormwood, anise and fennel. Absinthe was banned in the US in 1915 as it was deemed to be an addictive psychoactive drug. However, the accepted opinion today seems to be that absinthe is no more addictive or dangerous than any other spirit.

73 Sarges’ superiors : LOOIES

A “looie” (lieutenant) has a higher rank than a “noncom” (noncommissioned officer) such as a “sarge” (sergeant).

74 English glam rockers since the ’70s : SLADE

Slade is a favorite band from my youth, a rock band from the north of England who made it big during the seventies. One of Slade’s hallmark marketing techniques was a deliberate misspelling of their song titles. A couple of those titles are “Gudbuy T’Jane” and my personal favorite “Cum On Feel the Noize”.

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

76 Someone to pay? : PIPER

The legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin dates back to medieval times. Recently there have been suggestions that the story is rooted in some truth, that the town of Hamelin did in fact lose many of its children, perhaps to plague. The suggestion is that the tale is an allegory. The use of the word “pied” implies that the piper dressed in multi-colored clothing. Our contemporary idiom “to pay the piper” means “to bear the cost of a poor decision”. It is a reference to townsfolk of Hamelin who refused to pay the Pied Piper for ridding the town of rats. They ultimately paid the cost when the piper lured their children away.

77 Big bomb trials : N-TESTS

Nuclear test (N-test)

83 Cher and Che : ICONS

“Cher” is the stage name used by singer and actress Cherilyn Sarkisian. Formerly one half of husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher, she is often referred to as the Goddess of Pop. In her acting career, Cher was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar of 1984 for her performance in “Silkwood”. She went further in 1988 and won the season’s Best Actress Oscar for playing Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”.

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

84 Big __ : SUR

Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast located south of Monterey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

90 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA

Sarah McLachlan is singer/songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia who lives in Vancouver. In 1997, McLachlan married Ashwin Sood, the drummer in her band. The 1998 hit song “Adia”, which she co-wrote and recorded, was intended as an apology to her best friend … for stealing her ex-boyfriend and then marrying him!

91 Basic diamond trio : OUTS

That would be baseball.

92 Musty sheets? : OFFENSIVE LINEN (from “offensive linemen”)

Something described as “musty” has a stale or moldy odor. The term derives from an obsolete word “moisty”, as in “moist”.

95 Metaphorical incentive : CARROT

There is some debate about the “carrot/stick” metaphor. Some say that a carrot represents an incentive and a stick represents a threat, with the idea being that an incentive is more effective than a threat. Another version of the metaphor is that the carrot is dangled on a stick before a donkey, incentivizing the animal to move forward. There’s no threat, just a reward that never gets any more attainable …

97 Part of TNT : -NITRO-

“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.

98 Crimson rivals : ELIS

“Eli” is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, and a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

Not only is crimson the school color, “Harvard Crimson” is the name given to the athletic teams, and to the school newspaper. The school color was chosen by a vote of the student body in 1875.

99 Writer Sontag : SUSAN

Susan Sontag was a writer and political activist from New York City. Sontag wrote extensively on a number of subjects, including photography. She spent the last decade of her life in a relationship with renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

103 Burt’s Bees product : BALM

Burt’s Bees is a line of personal care products that uses natural ingredients with minimal processing. The company started out in 1984 as a partnership between two entrepreneurs making candles out of excess beeswax from hives owned by one of the partners. Today the company has over $250 million in sales and is a division of Clorox.

105 Neruda wrote one to “things” : ODE

“Odes to Common Things” is a collection of poems by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Included in the list of 25 odes is “Ode to the Table”, “Ode to the Dog”, Ode to the Artichoke” and “Ode to French Fries”.

108 Libertine on screen? : MOVIE RAKE (from “movie remake”)

A “rake” (short for “rakehell”) is a man who is habituated to immoral conduct (isn’t it always the man??!!). The rake is a character who turns up frequently in novels and films, only interested in wine, women and song and not accepting the responsibilities of life. Good examples would be Wickham in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Daniel Cleaver (the Hugh Grant part) in the movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary”. “Rake” comes from the Old Norse “reikall”, meaning “vagrant or a wanderer”.

Someone who is described as “libertine” is free of restraint, sexually immoral. Back in the 14th century a libertine was an emancipated slave, someone given his or her freedom. The term derives from the Latin “libertinus” describing a freed person who was once a slave.

111 Musical works for deep voices? : BASSY SUITES (from “Embassy Suites”)

The first Embassy Suites hotel opened in 1984, in Overland Park, Kansas.

115 Novelist Murdoch : IRIS

Dame Iris Murdoch was an Irish-born British author and philosopher. She was awarded the Booker Prize in 1978 for her novel “The Sea, the Sea”, although her best-known work is probably her first novel “Under the Net”, which was published in 1954.

116 Cyber Monday sector : E-TAIL

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers offer incentives to online shoppers in the hope of boosting sales. The term “Cyber Monday” was coined in 2005 in a press release issued by the website Shop.org. In recent years, consumers have been spending more money online on Cyber Monday than any other day in the year.

118 Performed on karaoke night : SANG

“Karate” is a Japanese word meaning “empty hand”, and the related word “karaoke” translates as “empty orchestra”.

119 ‘Tis the season : XMAS

The music for the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the “f-la-la”) are American in origin, and were recorded in the 19th century.

“’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la!”

Down

1 Copier supply unit : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

2 Freudian __ : SLIP

A Freudian slip is an error that is interpreted as being due to an unconscious wish for the same outcome. Named for psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the “slip” is also called a parapraxis.

3 One with unrefined tastes : VULGARIAN

A “vulgarian” is a person who is vulgar, but who is also wealthy and has good breeding.

4 Peck in the park, briefly : PDA

Public display of affection (PDA)

6 Camping treat : S’MORE

S’mores are treats peculiar to North America that are usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

7 Brilliant stroke : COUP

A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”. We also use the abbreviated “coup” to mean “sudden, brilliant and successful act”.

9 It’s under Wayne Manor : BATCAVE

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

10 French border region : ALSACE

Of the 27 regions of metropolitan France (i.e. the territory of France within Europe), the smallest is Alsace. Alsace sits at the very east of the country, right on the border with Germany. The political status of Alsace was disputed by France and Germany for over three centuries, and was formally handed over to French control after Germany’s defeat in WWII.

11 Oft-beaded footwear : MOCS

“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, a type of shoe. The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.

12 W. state whose largest city is named for a New England city : ORE

Portland is the largest city in Oregon. The city was founded by two claimholders from back East, one from Boston, Massachusetts and one from Portland, Maine. Both of the founders wanted to name the new city after their hometowns, and settled the dilemma with a coin toss. Portland won …

Portland is the largest city in Maine, and home to over a third of the state’s population. The name of Portland was chosen in 1786, a reference to the Isle of Portland, which is the southernmost point in the county of Dorset, England.

16 Swanky : LUXE

“Luxe” is another word for “luxury”. The term came into English via French from the Latin “luxus” meaning “luxury”.

17 Taiwanese tech giant : ACER

Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

18 Rover’s destination : MARS

There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and it is still going. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today.

26 Tick off : MIFF

To miff is to put out, to tee off. “To miff” is a verb that has been around since the early 1600s. Interestingly, in 1824 Sir Walter Scott described the word “miffed” as “a women’s phrase”. That should get him a slap, I’d say …

34 Leapers in a carol : LORDS

The fabulous Christmas carol called “The Twelve Days of Christmas” dates back at least to 1780 when it was first published in England, though it may be French in origin. The concept of twelve days of Christmas comes from the tradition that the three kings came to visit the Christ Child twelve days after he was born. This same tradition is the origin of the title to Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”.

36 Muscat’s land : OMAN

Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

37 “Back in Black” band : AC/DC

The Heavy Metal band known as AC/DC was formed by two brothers Malcolm and Angus Young in Australia. The group is usually called “Acca Dacca” down under.

38 Pelvic bones : ILIA

The sacrum and the two ilia are three bones in the human pelvis.

39 Cristo Redentor city : RIO

The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is known as “Cristo Redentor” (Christ the Redeemer). The statue was constructed between 1922 and 1931. It is the largest Art Deco statue in the world, as it stands at over 30 feet tall.

40 Job application component : RESUME

A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

42 Bleeping official : CENSOR

The original “censor” was an officer in ancient Rome who had responsibility for taking the “census”, as well as supervising public morality.

45 TV chef Lagasse : EMERIL

Emeril Lagasse is an American chef who was born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved celebrity as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

49 Ones taking a lot of interest in their work? : USURERS

Usury used to be the practice of simply lending money at interest, but the term now refers to lending at rates of interest that are excessive.

50 Org. that sued SeaWorld on behalf of orcas : PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a very large animal rights organization, with 300 employees and two million members and supporters worldwide. Although the group campaigns for animal rights across a broad spectrum of issues, it has a stated focus in opposition of four practices:

• Factory farming
• Fur farming
• Animal testing
• Use of animals in entertainment

52 Libel, in speech : SLANDER

The word “libel” describes a published or written statement likely to harm a person’s reputation. It comes into English from the Latin “libellus”, the word for a small book. Back in the 1500s, libel was just a formal written statement, with the more damaging association arising in the 1600s. The related concept of slander is defamation in a transient form, such as speech, sign language or gestures.

55 Comedian Fields : TOTIE

“Totie Fields” was the stage name of comedian Sophie Feldman. “Totie” is a corruption of “Sophie”, and was the nickname she was given as a child.

57 Milwaukee theater named for a brewer, with “the” : PABST

The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin opened in 1895, making it the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the nation (the oldest is the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia). The Pabst was built by brewer Frederick Pabst on the site of Das Neue Deutsche Stadt-Theater (The New German City Theater), after the old theater burned down.

62 One-named Tejano singer : SELENA

Singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, known professionally simply as “Selena”, was murdered in 1995 by the president of her own fan club at the height of her career. In a 1997 biopic about Selena’s life, Jennifer Lopez played the title role. Selena had often been referred to as the “Queen of Tejano” during her career.

“Tejano” is the Spanish word for “Texan”. Tejano music is strongly influenced by Cajun culture, because of the proximity of Texas to Louisiana. The other strong influence came with immigrants from Poland and what is now the Czech Republic. These immigrants brought with them the waltz, polka … and the accordion.

64 Quick, in Quito : RAPIDO

The full name of the capital city of Ecuador is San Francisco de Quito. Quito is the second highest administrative capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia.

65 Peace Prize-winning relief org. : UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund is known by the acronym UNICEF because the organization’s original name when it was founded in 1946 was the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. The original focus of the fund was to provide relief to children in countries that had been devastated by WWII. UNICEF is supported by contributions from governments, but also by individual donors. One of the more successful programs for collecting private donations is the Trick-or-Treat UNICEF box that has been a tradition here in North America since 1950.

75 “Bewitched” witch : ENDORA

In the television sitcom “Bewitched”, Endora is Samantha’s mother. Mother and daughter, and indeed granddaughter, have the magical powers accorded to witches. Endora is played flamboyantly by Agnes Moorehead.

81 “Do __ others … ” : UNTO

The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

82 Sibilant attention-getter : PSST!

“Sibilant” is a lovely word that describes a sound of speech, i.e. the sound of an “s” or “z”, a hissing sound. The word “sissies”, for example, has three sibilant sounds.

86 “Henry & June” diarist : NIN

The 1990 movie “Henry & June” is loosely adapted from the book of the same name by Anaïs Nin. The book is based on diaries written by Nin telling of her part in a love triangle with American author Henry Miller and his wife June. June Miller was played by Uma Thurman in the movie.

“Henry and June” is a 1986 book that is based on unpublished diaries of author Anaïs Nin. The book was commissioned by Nin’s husband Rupert Pole, almost a decade after Nin’s passing. “Henry and June” focuses on the passionate relationship that Nin had with writer Henry Miller’s wife June, and later with Henry Miller himself. The 1990 film “Henry & June” is based on the book, and stars Fred Ward and Uma Thruman in the title roles, and Maria de Medeiros as Nin.

88 French comics series set in Gaul in 50 BC : ASTERIX

“The Adventures of Asterix” is a series of comics originally published in French, starting in 1959. The French version was a very popular choice for us as kids when we were required to read some French “literature” at school.

90 Lively movement : ANIMATO

As one might expect, the Italian word “animato” is used in a musical score to indicate that one should play “spiritedly”.

93 River where down means north : NILE

Depending on definition, the Nile is regarded generally as the longest river on the planet. The Nile forms from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which join together near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. From Khartoum the Nile flows north, traveling almost entirely through desert making it central to life for those living along its length.

96 Per se : AS SUCH

“Per se” is a Latin phrase that translates as “by itself”. We use “per se” pretty literally, meaning “in itself, intrinsically”.

101 Royal Crown, for one : COLA

Claude A. Hatcher ran a grocery store in Columbus, Georgia. He decided to develop his own soft drink formula when he balked at the price his store was being charged for Coca-Cola syrup. Hatcher launched the Union Bottling Works in his own grocery store, and introduced Royal Crown Ginger Ale in 1905. The Union Bottling Works was renamed to Chero-Cola in 1910, the Nehi Corporation in 1925, and Royal Crown Company in the mid-fifties. The first RC Cola hit the market in 1934.

102 “Terrible” leader : IVAN

The Grand Prince of Moscow, and first Tsar of Russia, Ivan IV became known as “Ivan the Terrible”. The name “terrible” is a translation from Russian, and perhaps creates the wrong impression about the man. The Russian word is “Grozny”, which is more akin to “strict” and “powerful” rather than “cruel” or “abominable”.

103 Téa’s “Madam Secretary” role : BESS

“Madam Secretary” is A TV show that first aired in 2014. It is about an ex-CIA analyst who is appointed as US Secretary of State. Téa Leoni plays the title role, ably supported by a favorite actress of mine, Bebe Neuwirth. I like this show …

104 Home to most of the Silk Road : ASIA

The Silk Road was a network of trading routes that crossed North Africa and Asia, connecting Europe to West Asia. The routes get the name from the lucrative trade in silk from China.

106 Ingredient in OFF! : DEET

“DEET” is short for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.

107 Best Upset, e.g. : ESPY

The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes.

110 Soul supplier : KIA

The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …

113 Glass of NPR : IRA

Ira Glass is a well-respected presenter on American Public Radio who is perhaps best known for his show “This American Life”. I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira’s first cousin.

The post LA Times Crossword 26 Jan 20, Sunday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 6m 57s!

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Tibetan monks : LAMAS

“Lama” is a Tibetan word meaning “chief” or “high priest”.

11 U.S. interstate, e.g. : RTE

The US Interstate System is more correctly known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, a nod to President Eisenhower who championed the construction. The President had come to recognise the value of the German autobahn system in his experiences during WWII, and resolved to give the US a similar infrastructure. In real terms, the US Interstate construction project is said to have been the largest public works project since the Pyramids of Egypt.

15 Amazon Echo Dot’s voice service : ALEXA

Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.

17 *Mystery/soap (1956-’84) that ultimately dropped “The” from its title : EDGE OF NIGHT

“The Edge of Night” is a television series that is described as a mystery soap opera. It first aired in 1956, and was intended to a daytime version of the very successful show “Perry Mason”. In fact, “Perry Mason” author Erle Stanley Gardner was in line to write the show, but he pulled out due to creative differences with the producers. In the end, a writer from the “Perry Mason” show was tasked with writing a Perry Mason-ish show instead, and he came up with “The Edge of Night”. CBS canceled “The Edge of Night” in 1975, and ABC immediately picked it up. The name of the show was later shortened to “Edge of Night”, and had continued success until canceled for good in 1986.

19 Pilot-licensing org. : FAA

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

21 Understood by a select few : ESOTERIC

Something described as “esoteric” is meant only for a select few with special knowledge. The term comes from the Greek “esoterikos” meaning “belonging to an inner circle”.

27 Light-circling insects : MOTHS

It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.

34 John Brown’s eulogist Stephen Vincent __ : BENET

Stephen Vincent Benét was an author best known for his lengthy narrative poem “John Brown’s Body” that was first published in 1928, and for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Benét also wrote the story “The Sobbin’ Women” which was later adapted into the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”.

A eulogy is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone who has recently passed away or who is retiring. “Eulogy” comes from the Greek word “eulogia” meaning “praise”.

37 *One of the four Seven Sisters magazines that are still in print : WOMAN’S DAY

The Seven Sisters magazines were a group of publications targeting married women homemakers. There are many of the seven still published in print form, although a few do persist online. The fill list is:

• “Better Homes and Gardens”
• “Good Housekeeping”
• “Woman’s Day”
• “McCall’s”
• “Ladies’ Home Journal”
• “Redbook”
• “Family Circle”

40 H.S. equivalency test : GED

The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a battery of five tests designed to demonstrate that a student has the academic skills of someone who has graduated from an American or Canadian high school.

43 Hopscotch : POTSY

I remember the children’s game called “hopscotch” being a favorite of mine as a young kid. Also known as “potsy” (mainly in New York City), it involves tossing a stone into a pattern of rectangles drawn in chalk on the ground. After tossing the stone into the correct square, the player hops through the rectangular pattern, pausing to retrieve the stone.

44 Sonnet line quintet : IAMBS

An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The lines in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” use five sequential iambs, e.g. “Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum- / -mer’s day?” With that sequence of five iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic pentameter.

A sonnet is a short poem with varying rhyming schemes but always with 14 lines. The sonnet form has been around at least since the 13th century. The Shakespearean sonnet, for example, is composed of three quatrains (4 lines) and a final couplet (2 lines).

48 Chrysler Building architect William Van ___ : ALEN

William Van Alen was an architect who was most famous for leading the design of the Chrysler Building in New York City. When the building was complete, Van Alen sent his bill to Walter Chrysler, a standard fee of 6% of the construction cost. Van Alan hadn’t pre-negotiated his fee for the job, so payment was refused. Van Alen sued and won the case, but his reputation was ruined by the litigation and he never designed another building.

51 Longest river in France : LOIRE

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet.

52 As found : IN SITU

“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”, and we use the term to mean “in the original position”.

54 Cartoon frame : CEL

In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

56 Prefix with gender : CIS-

The term “cisgender” is now used as the opposite of “transgender”. Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

57 Christmas saint : NICHOLAS

Saint Nicholas of Myra is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (now in modern-day Turkey) during the 4th century AD, and was known for being generous to the poor. Centuries after he died, his remains were desecrated by Italian sailors and moved to Bari in Italy. One legend has it that the relics were moved again centuries later and reburied in grounds near Jerpoint Abbey in Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, where you can visit the grave today. I choose to believe that Santa Claus’s relics are indeed buried in Ireland …

63 *Televised panelist shown from the shoulders up : TALKING HEAD

“Talking head” is TV slang for a participant in a talk show. The term arises from the closeup shot of the person contributing to the discussion.

66 Opposite of oui : NON

In French, a response on “un questionnaire” (a questionnaire) might be “oui” (yes) or “non” (no).

67 Under-the-roof room : ATTIC

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

68 Prefix for sun : HELIO-

Helios was the god of the Sun in Greek mythology, and is the reason that we use the prefix “helio-” to mean “sun”. He was the brother of Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn. Helios drove his chariot of the sun across the sky during the day, returning to the East at night be travelling through the ocean. The Roman equivalent to Helios was Sol.

69 Clock-setting std. : GST

Greenwich Sidereal Time (GST)

Astronomers use sidereal time to know where to locate given stars in the night sky. Sidereal time is a time scale that takes into account the Earth’s rotation relative to stars with a fixed location in the night sky.

70 Sierra __, Africa : LEONE

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa that lies on the Atlantic Coast. The capital city of Freetown was originally set up as a colony to house the “Black Poor” of London, England. These people were mainly freed British slaves of Caribbean descent who were living a miserable life in the run-down parts of London. Perhaps to help the impoverished souls, perhaps to rid the streets of “a problem”, three ships were chartered in 1787 to transport a group of blacks, with some whites, to a piece of land purchased in Sierra Leone. Those who made the voyage were granted British citizenship and protection. The descendants of these immigrants, and others who made the journey over the next 60 years, make up the ethnic group that’s today called the Sierra Leone Creole.

71 Prom attendees : TEENS

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

Down

3 Fridge stickers : MAGNETS

Refrigerator magnets … I can’t stand them! But, there is something interesting about them. If we place two fridge magnets back to back, and slide them slowly against each other, then we can feel an alternating attraction and repulsion. This is because they are manufactured with alternating north and south poles on the back side, and do not have two distinct poles. Who knew …?!

4 On the briny : ASEA

The briny is the sea, with “brine” meaning “salty water”. The term “briny” was originally used for “tears”.

7 Nobelist 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.

10 Barista’s creation : LATTE

A barista is a person who serves coffee in a coffee shop. “Barista” is Italian for “bartender”.

11 Browser update button : REFRESH

A web browser is a piece of software used to access the World Wide Web. The first web browser was called “WorldWideWeb” and was invented in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the World Wide Web. The browser known as Mosaic came out in 1993, and it was this browser that drove so much interest in the World Wide Web, and indeed in the Internet in general. Marc Andreessen led the team that created Mosaic, and he then set up his own company called Netscape. Netscape created the Netscape Navigator browser that further popularized the use of the Web starting in 1994. Microsoft responded by introducing Internet Explorer in 1995, which sparked the so-called “browser war”, a war that Microsoft clearly won. As Netscape floundered, the company launched the open-source Mozilla project which eventually led to the Firefox browser. Apple then came out with it’s own Safari browser in 2003. Google’s Chrome browser, introduced in 2008, is by far the most popular way to view the Web today.

18 Miami’s st. : FLA

The city of Miami in Florida takes its name from the nearby Miami River, which is itself named for the Mayaimi Native American people who lived around nearby Lake Okeechobee.

22 Yale student : ELI

“Eli” is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, and a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

23 Med. care plan : HMO

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

30 High-IQ group : MENSA

If you ever learned Latin, “mensa” was probably taught to you in lesson one as it’s the word commonly used as an example of a first declension noun. Mensa means “table”. The Mensa organization, for folks with high IQs, was set up in Oxford, England back in 1946. To become a member, you have to have an IQ that is in the top 2% of the population.

31 Simpatico (like Justin Timberlake’s band?) : IN SYNC

Someone described as simpatico is likable, or like-minded. The term “simpatico” comes into English via Spanish or Italian, from the Latin “sympathia” meaning “community of feeling”.

NSYNC was a boy band from Orlando, Florida that was formed in 1995. The name of the group came from a comment by the mother of band member Justin Timberlake, who said the boys voices sounded “in sync”. But, it’s also true that the letters of the name NSYNC are the last letters of the given names of the five band members:

• Justin Timberlake
• Chris Kirkpatrick
• Joey Fatone
• Lance “Lansten” Bass
• JC Chasez

39 Ex-NBA star Ming : YAO

Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player from Shanghai who played for the Houston Rockets. At 7’6″, Yao was the tallest man playing in the NBA.

41 Weather-changing currents : EL NINOS

When the surface temperature of much of the Pacific Ocean rises more than half a degree centigrade, then there is said to be an El Niño episode. That small temperature change in the Pacific has been associated with climatic changes that can stretch right across the globe. El Niño is Spanish for “the boy” and is a reference to the Christ child. The phenomenon was given this particular Spanish name because the warming is usually noticed near South America and around Christmas-time.

45 “Glee” star Lea __ : MICHELE

Lea Michele is both an actor and a singer and started performing as a child actor on Broadway, including appearances in “Les Miserables” and “Fiddler on the Roof”. More recently, Michele played Rachel Berry on the Fox TV show “Glee”.

46 Great __: London’s island : BRITAIN

The terms “United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” and “England” can sometimes be confused. The official use of “United Kingdom” originated in 1707 with the Acts of Union that declared the countries of England and Scotland as “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”. The name changed again with the Acts of Union 1800 that created the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” (much to the chagrin of most of the Irish population). This was partially reversed in 1927 when the current name was introduced, the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in recognition of an independent Irish Free State in the south of the island of Ireland.

London is the largest metropolitan area in the whole of the European Union (and one of my favorite cities in the world). London has been a major settlement for over 2,000 years and was founded as a town by the Romans who named it Londinium. The name “Londinium” may have existed prior to the arrival of the Romans, and no one seems too sure of its origins. Famously, the City of London is a one-square-mile area at the center of the metropolis, the area that marked old medieval London. “The City”, as it is commonly called, has its own Mayor of the City of London (the Mayor of London is someone else), and it’s own City of London Police Force (the London Metropolitan Police are the police usually seen on the streets, a different force).

47 French possessive : SES

“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”when referring to a group of items or individuals.

49 Medical research org. : NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) organization is made up of 27 different institutes that coordinate their research and services. Examples of member institutes are the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging.

59 Organ that may itch : SKIN

The skin is the second largest organ of the human body in terms of surface area. The largest organ is the small intestine, with an internal surface area that’s 15-20 times than that of skin.

61 Indian butter : GHEE

Ghee is clarified butter used in South Asian cuisines. “Ghee” comes from Sanskrit, and translates as “sprinkled”.

64 __ cream soda : ICE

The world’s first ice cream soda was made in 1874, in Philadelphia. Apparently (according to one story anyway) a gentleman named Robert Green was selling flavored sodas and ran out of ice. He got hold of some ice cream and added that to his sodas to keep them cold, and the new treat was an immediate hit.

65 Spanish two : DOS

“Uno, dos, tres” (one, two, three in Spanish)

The post LA Times Crossword 27 Jan 20, Monday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 6m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 2019 Australian Open winner Naomi : OSAKA

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese-born tennis professional who became the first Asian player to be ranked number-one in singles.

16 King Kong or Donkey Kong : APE

When RKO released the 1933 movie “King Kong”, the promotional material listed the ape’s height as 50 feet. During filming, a bust was created for a 40-foot ape, as well as a full-size hand that went with a 70-foot Kong.

The first video game featuring the ape called Donkey Kong was created in 1981. That same game introduced the world to the character known as Mario, four years before the game Super Mario Bros became such a big hit.

21 Studio stand : EASEL

The word “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

27 Nixon’s older daughter : TRICIA

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon had two daughters. The eldest daughter is Tricia. Tricia married Harvard law student Edward Cox in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden in 1971.

30 Belfast’s province : ULSTER

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, and an important port city. That said, much of Belfast’s success as a port is in the past. In the early 1900s, the Harland and Wolff shipyard was the world’s largest. The most famous vessel built by Harland & Wolff was the RMS Titanic. Belfast was also the largest linen producing center in the world, resulting in the city being nicknamed “Linenopolis”. More recently, Belfast is noted as home to the film studios where “Game of Thrones” was produced.

34 Marquee actor’s honor : STAR BILLING

A marquee is a large sign that is placed over the entrance to a theater. The marquee usually displays the names of the film or play currently showing, as well as the principal actors performing.

39 “Close Encounters” hoverers, briefly : UFOS

A “close encounter” is an occasion when a person witnesses an unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was introduced to us in a 1972 book by Allen Hynek called “The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry”. The public really became aware of the concept with the release of the excellent 1977 Steven Spielberg movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

43 Christie of mystery : AGATHA

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time, having sold about 4 billion copies worldwide in total. The only books to have sold in higher volume are the works of William Shakespeare and the Bible.

48 Life-changing incident for Peter Parker : SPIDER BITE

Spider-Man is a creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and first appeared in comics in 1962. Spider-Man was a somewhat groundbreaking character in that his alter ego was a teenage high school student (Peter Parker), which marked the first time that a young person featured front and center as the superhero.

52 Link to the internet : MODEM

A modem is a device that is used to facilitate the transmission of a digital signal over an analog line. At one end of the line, a modem is used to “modulate” an analog carrier signal to encode digital information. At the other end of the line, a modem is used to “demodulate” the analog carrier signal and so reproduce the original digital information. This modulation-demodulation gives the device its name: a MOdulator-DEModulator, or “modem”.

56 Soufflé need : EGG

A soufflé is a French dish, usually served as a dessert. The verb “souffler” means “to blow, blow up”.

57 One batting cleanup who gets a lot of the stat hidden in 17-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across : POWER HITTER

Run batted in (RBI)

60 Big name in jeans : LEE

The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

62 “__ Jacques” : FRERE

“Frère Jacques” is a children’s song from France. The French lyrics are:

Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous ? Dormez-vous ?
Sonnez les matines ! Sonnez les matines !
Ding, daing, dong. Ding, daing, dong.

The lyrics are usually translated into English as:

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
Brother John? Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

65 Fork-tailed seabirds : TERNS

Terns are a family of seabirds. They are similar to gulls, but are more slender and more lightly built. Many species of tern are known for their long-distance migrations, with the Arctic tern migrating so far that it is believed to see more daylight in a year than any other animal.

Down

4 DIY furniture store : IKEA

Every IKEA store features a restaurant that serves traditional Swedish food, including Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. Each store also has a Swedish Food Market where customers can purchase specialty foods from Sweden.

5 Art community NNE of Santa Fe : TAOS

The town of Taos, New Mexico is named for the Native American village nearby called Taos Pueblo. Taos is famous for its art colony. Artists began to settle in Taos in 1899, and the Taos Society of Artists was founded in 1915.

6 Prolonged battle : SIEGE

Our word “siege” comes from a 13th century word for a “seat”. The military usage derives from the concept of a besieging force “sitting down” outside a fortress until it falls.

7 Scandal-plagued energy giant : ENRON

After all the trials following the exposure of fraud at Enron, several of the key players ended up in jail. Andrew Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer. He plea-bargained and received ten years without parole, and became the key witness in the trials of others. Even Fastow’s wife was involved and she was sentenced to one year for helping her husband hide money. Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO) was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months. Kenneth Lay (CEO) died in 2006 after he had been found guilty but before he could be sentenced. The accounting firm Arthur Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding thousands of pertinent documents and deleting emails and files (a decision that the Supreme Court later overturned on a technicality). But still, Arthur Andersen collapsed under the weight of the scandal and 85,000 people lost their jobs (despite only a handful being directly involved with Enron).

10 Matzo meals : SEDERS

In the Jewish tradition, the Hillel sandwich plays a role in the Passover Seder. The sandwich combines matzo (unleavened flatbread) and maror (“bitter herbs”), with the combination of bitter and non-bitter having symbolic significance.

11 Collie of old TV : LASSIE

The canine character Lassie is the creation of Eric Knight, an author who wrote a short story that he expanded into a novel called “Lassie Come Home” published in 1940. “Lassie Come Home” was turned into a movie three years later, the first of a very successful franchise. The original Lassie (a female) was played by a dog called Pal, a male dog. In fact, all of the dogs that played Lassie over the years were males, because they looked better on camera, retaining a thick coat even during the summer months.

18 “Tom’s Diner” singer Suzanne : VEGA

Suzanne Vega is a singer-songwriter from Santa Monica, California. Her two most famous songs are “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner”, both released in the eighties.

22 NYC dance company : ABT

The American Ballet Theatre (ABT) was founded in New York City in 1939. ABT was officially recognized by the US Congress as “America’s National Ballet Company” in 2006.

26 Airline that doesn’t fly on Shabbat : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”. The company started operations in 1948, with a flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv. Famously, El Al only operates six days a week, not flying on the Sabbath.

28 Op. __: footnote abbr. : CIT

“Op. cit.” is short for “opus citatum”, Latin for “the work cited”. Op. cit. is used in footnotes to refer the reader to an earlier citation. It is similar to ibid, except that ibid refers the reader to the last citation, the one immediately above.

32 Britcom starring Jennifer Saunders : AB FAB

“Absolutely Fabulous” (sometimes shortened to “Ab Fab”) is a cult-classic sitcom produced by the BBC. The two stars of the show are Jennifer Saunders (Edina Monsoon) and Joanna Lumley (Patsy Stone). “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” hit the screens in 2016. I haven’t seen it yet, but my wife did and really enjoyed it. She said that there’s a veritable cavalcade of British stars that make an appearance …

Jennifer Saunders is a remarkable English comedian who is perhaps best known in North America as a lead in the Brticom “Absolutely Fabulous”. She also made guest appearances on the American sitcoms “Roseanne” and “Friends”.

33 __ Grande : RIO

The Rio Grande (Spanish for “big river”) is a waterway that forms part of the border between Mexico and the United States. Although we call the river the Rio Grande on this side of the border, in Mexico it is called the Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte (Spanish for “furious river of the north”).

35 Industrial area of western Germany : RUHR

The Ruhr is a river in Germany that flows into the lower Rhine. The river gives its name to the Ruhr River Valley and the Ruhr district, the largest urban agglomeration in the country.

37 Agency under FDR : NRA

The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was one of the first agencies set up under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program. On the one hand the NRA help set minimum wages and maximum working hours for workers in industry, and on the other hand it helped set minimum prices for goods produced by companies. The NRA was very popular with the public, and businesses that didn’t opt to participate in the program found themselves boycotted. The NRA didn’t survive for long though, as after two years of operation it was deemed to be unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court and so it ceased operations in 1935.

38 Casino regular : GAMESTER

The term “casino” originated in the 1700s, then describing a public room for music or dancing. “Casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

42 Concert extras : ENCORES

“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request perhaps another song. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

43 Orbital high point : APOGEE

In the celestial world, an apsis is a point in an orbit when the orbiting body is at its greatest, or least, distance from it’s center of orbit. The farthest and closest points of orbit are known as the apogee and perigee, when talking about bodies orbiting the Earth. The farthest and closest points for bodies orbiting the sun are known as the aphelion and perihelion.

44 1959 Sandra Dee title role : GIDGET

“Gidget” is an early “beach party film” that was released in 1959. The movie stars Sandra Dee as a teenage girl who falls in love with a young surfer. The surfer’s gang gives the young lass the nickname “Gidget”, a portmanteau of “girl” and “midget”.

Actress Sandra Dee started out as a model before moving into film. After a promising start to her career it seemed to peter out, and the public became more interested in her 7-year marriage to Bobby Darin. And of course she will forever be remembered from the song in the movie and stage-show “Grease” called “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee”.

46 Dangles a carrot in front of : TEMPTS

There is some debate about the “carrot/stick” metaphor. Some say that a carrot represents an incentive and a stick represents a threat, with the idea being that an incentive is more effective than a threat. Another version of the metaphor is that the carrot is dangled on a stick before a donkey, incentivizing the animal to move forward. There’s no threat, just a reward that never gets any more attainable …

47 New Age pianist 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.

New-Age music is created to provide a relaxing and stress-free atmosphere. The New Age movement is often said to have begun with the release of an album called “Spectrum Suite” by Steven Halpern in 1975.

50 Sculpted form : TORSO

“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, and is a term that we imported into English.

55 Basic French verb : ETRE

The verb “to be” is “ser” in Spanish and “être” in French.

The post LA Times Crossword 28 Jan 20, Tuesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 7m 42s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Latina toon explorer : DORA

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases.

15 Bay of Bengal nation : INDIA

The Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean is the largest bay in the world.

16 Ceviche flavoring : LIME

Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that is popular in South and Central America. Ceviche is typically made from fish marinated in lemon or lime juice and spiced with hot peppers.

19 Slavic John : IVAN

The name “John” translates into Scottish as “Ian”, into Russian as “Ivan”, into Italian as “Giovanni”, into Spanish as “Juan”, into Welsh as “Evan”, and into Irish as “Seán”.

21 Tizzy : SNIT

The exact etymology of “snit”, meaning “fit of temper”, isn’t really known. The term was first used in print in the play “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” by Clare Boothe Luce, which dates back to the 1930s and is set in the American South.

29 Cleaver nickname : BEAV

Wally Cleaver and his younger brother Theodore (“the Beaver”) were the children of Ward and June Cleaver on the fifties sitcom “Leave It to Beaver”.

30 Rapper __ Rida : FLO

Tramar Dillard is better known as rapper Flo Rida. As you might have guessed, Flo Rida was born in the state of Florida.

32 Throat condition : STREP

Streptococcus bacteria multiply and divide along a single axis so that they form linked chains. That behavior gives the genus of bacteria its name, as “streptos” is Greek for “easily twisted, like a chain”. I had to battle with streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) twice in the past few years and it was not at all pleasant, I must say. Another species of streptococcus is responsible for that terrible “flesh-eating” infection that makes the news from time to time.

34 Ed who plays Santa in “Elf” : ASNER

Ed Asner is most famous for playing the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spin-off drama “Lou Grant”. Off-screen Asner is noted for his political activism. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and was very involved in the 1980 SAG strike. When “Lou Grant” was cancelled in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was a lot of talk that the cancellation was a move by the network against Asner personally. In fact, one of Asner’s activist colleagues, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever) found that his show “WKRP in Cincinnati” was also canceled … on the very same day.

“Elf” is a comedy movie that was released for the 2003 Christmas season. “Elf” was directed by Jon Favreau and stars Will Ferrell in the title role, with James Caan supporting and Ed Asner playing Santa Claus. It’s all about one of Santa’s elves who finds out he is human and goes to meet his father in New York City.

37 Skeet enthusiast : TRAP SHOOTER

There are three types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports:

• Skeet shooting
• Trap shooting
• Sporting clays

40 Salary : PAY

It has been suggested that out term “salary” comes from the Latin “sal” meaning “salt”. The idea is that a Roman soldier’s “salarium” might have been an allowance to purchase salt.

43 Mary, Queen of __ : SCOTS

Mary, Queen of Scots ruled over Scotland from 1542 until 1567, even though she spent most of that reign in France, where she had grown up. 16-year-old Mary married 9-year-old Francis, the Dauphin of France in 1558, and the following year became queen consort when her husband acceded to the throne. Francis only ruled for a year before dying of natural causes. The young widow returned to Scotland, the country of her birth, in 1561. In 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favor of her one-year-old son James, after an uprising against Mary and her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell. Mary fled south to seek the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. As Mary had once claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own, Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned. Mary was held in confinement for over 18 years and eventually beheaded in 1587, having been found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth.

46 Air quality watchdog: Abbr. : EPA

The air quality index (AQI) is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

49 Big Apple power company : CON EDISON

Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) has its roots in the New York Gas Light Company, founded in 1823. The company changed its name to Consolidated Gas when it merged six gas companies in 1884. Consolidated Gas participated in the electrification of the New York City area, and owned the New York Edison Company. In 1936, as electricity sales dominated Consolidated Gas’s revenues, the company name was changed again, to Consolidated Edison.

53 Big and strong : HEFTY

The heft of something is its weight, heaviness. The term “heft” is derivative of the verb “to heave” meaning “to lift, raise”.

54 Roman who wrote “The History of Rome” : LIVY

Titus Livius (aka “Livy”) was a Roman historian who lived from 59 BC to AD 17. Livy wrote the definitive history of Rome at that time.

57 Unconscious state : COMA

Our term “coma” comes from the Greek “koma” meaning “deep sleep”.

58 Gridiron infraction, and a hint to 17-, 25-, 37- and 49-Across : FALSE START

We never used the word “gridiron” when I was growing up in Ireland (meaning a grill used for cooking food over an open fire). So, maybe I am excused for taking two decades living in the US to work out that a football field gridiron is so called because the layout of yard lines over the field looks like a gridiron used in cooking.

65 Rooms to Go rival : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

Rooms to Go is a chain of furniture stores that was founded in 1990 by Morty and Jeffrey Seaman. The brothers set up the business using funds from the sale of Seaman’s Furniture, a chain of stores founded by their father Julius in 1933.

66 Singer Lovett : LYLE

As well as being famous in his own right, country singer Lyle Lovett is known for his 1993 marriage to actress Julia Roberts. The pair had a whirlwind romance lasting just three weeks before they eloped and were wed. The marriage itself was also relatively whirlwind, lasting less than two years.

67 One with piece offerings? : REESE

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett “H.B.” Reese. Peanut Butter Cups were originally called penny cups, reflecting the price at which they were sold. Then inflation took over, and maybe that’s why they were broken into smaller “Pieces” …

Down

1 Yalta Conf. attendee : FDR

The Yalta Conference was a wartime meeting between WWII leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Held in February of 1945, the conference is most remembered for decisions made on the post-war organization of Europe. To a large extent, the three leaders made decisions carving up political influence around the world, decisions that have profound implications to this day.

2 Mauna __ Observatory : LOA

The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) on the Big Island of Hawaii primarily monitors and collects data about changes in the Earth’s atmosphere. The MLO has been continuously monitoring CO2 levels in the atmosphere longer than any other facility on the planet, with records going back to 1958.

3 Rainbow shape : ARC

Sunlight reflected by airborne water droplets can produce rainbows. The water droplets act as little prisms, dispersing the white light into its constituent colors. Sometimes we see double rainbows. If we look carefully, we can see that the order of the colors in the first and second arcs is reversed.

8 Lucy who voices Master Viper in the “Kung Fu Panda” films : LIU

Lucy Liu is an actress from Queens, New York. Liu’s big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked her in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy the movie “Kill Bill”. I am having fun watching one of Liu’s more recent projects, in which she plays Jane Watson, one of the two lead characters in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.

“Kung Fu Panda” is a 2008 animated film from DreamWorks. It’s all about a panda who is expert in kung fu, as one might guess …

9 It might be opened in a bar : TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

10 Sound of toasts : CLINK

The tradition of toasting someone probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

13 Urge : YEN

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

18 USCG rank : ENS

Ensign (ens.)

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has the distinction of being the country’s oldest continuous seagoing service. The USCG was founded as the Revenue Cutter Service by Alexander Hamilton in 1790.

21 Hybrid apparel : SKORTS

The garment called a “skort” is a hybrid between shorts and a skirt.

22 “Miracle Workers” (2019) network : TBS

“Miracle Workers” is a comedy show based on a 2012 novel by Simon Rich titled “What in God’s Name”. Rich created the show, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as an angel whose job it is to handle all of the prayers of humanity. Steve Buscemi plays God. I haven’t seen this one yet, but it sounds intriguing …

23 “Is it soup __?” : YET

There was a famous TV spot advertising Lipton instant soup in the seventies. Kids would watch as boiling water was added to powdered soup, exclaiming excitedly “Is it soup yet?” Ugh …

27 Geppetto’s goldfish : CLEO

In the 1940 Disney animated feature “Pinocchio”, the woodcarver Geppetto has two pets. He has a tuxedo cat named Figaro and goldfish named Cleo.

28 Angsty rock genre : EMO

The emo musical genre originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. “Emo” is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …

34 Burros : ASSES

Our word “burro”, meaning “donkey”, comes from the Spanish word for the same animal, namely “burrico”.

35 “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE

No one seems to be very certain of the origin of “that’s all she wrote”, meaning “there’s nothing more to be said”. One popular story is that it stems from the unfortunate “Dear John” letters that some soldiers received during WWII.

38 Spa treatment, for short : PEDI

Pedicure (pedi)

40 Upper-bod muscle : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is a the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

51 Skateboard stunt : OLLIE

An ollie is a skateboarding trick invented in 1976 by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand. Apparently it’s a way of lifting the board off the ground, while standing on it, without touching the board with one’s hands. Yeah, I could do that …

53 “__ Dark Materials”: HBO fantasy series : HIS

“His Dark Materials” is a fantasy series based on the epic trilogy of novels of the same name by Philip Pullman. Not for me …

56 Code carrier : GENE

DNA contains nucleotide base sequences called genes, which are blueprints used in the manufacture of proteins needed by the body. Our DNA is also “decorated” with epigenetic markers that modify the activity level of genes, and can even turn genes off. These epigenetic markers respond to environmental conditions, so that organisms with the same DNA can exhibit differences in behavior and appearance, as a result of differing environments. This explains why identical twins develop differences in appearance over time.

57 Animation frame : CEL

In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

59 SweetWater Georgia Brown, e.g. : ALE

SweetWater Brewery was founded in 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia. It is named for the Sweetwater Creek that runs near the brewery.

60 Alias letters : AKA

Also known as (aka)

61 Sleep cycle : REM

“REM” is an acronym standing for rapid eye movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

The post LA Times Crossword 29 Jan 20, Wednesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 10m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Healthful berry : ACAI

Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

5 Sommelier’s concern : NOSE

“Sommelier” is the French word for “wine steward”. If that steward is a female, then the term used in French is “sommelière”.

9 San Antonio cagers : SPURS

The Spurs are the professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967.

In the early days of basketball, when a ball went out of bounds possession was awarded to the player who first retrieved the ball. This led to mad scuffles off the court, often involving spectators. As the game became more organized courts were routinely “caged”, largely because of this out of bounds rule, to limit interaction with the crowd. It’s because of these cages that basketball players are sometimes referred to today as “cagers”.

14 Bananas : LOCO

In Spanish, if one isn’t “sano” (sane) one might be described as “loco” (crazy).

The expression “to go bananas” is one that I would have imagined had a clear etymology but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A further surprise is that we’ve only been “going bananas” since the sixties, in the days of flower power. One apt theory about the hippy roots of the phrase is that there was an unfounded belief that ingesting roasted banana peels had a similar hallucinogenic effect as magic mushrooms.

15 “… the __ blackness of the floors”: Poe : EBON

“… the ebon blackness of the floors …” is a phrase from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” is perhaps the most famous short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839. The story is a Gothic tale, an interview with Robert Usher in his house which literally “falls”, breaks into two and is swallowed up by a lake. Some believe that the story was inspired by events at a real Usher House that once stood on Boston’s Lewis Wharf. When the Usher House was torn down, the bodies of a man and woman were found embracing in a cavity in the cellar, a fact reflected in the story as Robert Usher’s sister is supposedly buried alive in the crypt.

16 “The Fox and the Grapes” storyteller : AESOP

Our expression “sour grapes” is used to describe a negative attitude adopted by somebody towards something just because that person can’t have the thing himself or herself. The phrase alludes to one of Aesop’s fables, the story of “The Fox and the Grapes”. In the fable, a squirrel could climb up to grapes high in a tree that a fox was unsuccessful in getting to. On seeing this, the fox said, “It’s okay, the grapes were sour anyway”.

17 Dutch cheese : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

19 Queen’s milieu : DRAMA

The Ellery Queen series of detective novels was somewhat unique in that Ellery Queen was the hero of the tales, and was also the pen name of the author. Actually, the “author” was a pair of writers; two cousins from Brooklyn, New York.

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

25 “Knives Out” Golden Globe nominee de Armas : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

“Knives Out” is an intriguing murder mystery film released in 2019. There’s a great cast including “Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer. I really enjoyed this one, partly because it’s a clever, contemporary take on a classic whodunit movie …

26 Lansing-to-Flint dir. : ENE

Lansing, Michigan is unique among US state capitals in that it is not a county seat, even though it is located in Ingham County. Ingham County’s seat is Mason, Michigan.

Flint, Michigan is perhaps best known as the original home to General Motors (now headquartered in Detroit). The city of Flint takes its name from the Flint River on which it lies. The local Native Americans called the river, “River of Flint”, hence the name in English.

32 1960s chess champ Mikhail : TAL

Mikhail Tal truly was a chess legend. Tal holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competition chess. And the second longest winning streak? Well, that also was by Tal.

42 Kentucky coach with 876 victories : RUPP

Adolph Rupp was a very successful college basketball coach. A native of Kentucky, Rupp was a reserve player for the University of Kansas basketball team from 1919 to 1923, and then coached the Kansas men’s basketball team from 1930 to 1972.

46 __ avis : RARA

A rara avis is anything that is very rare. The Latin term “rara avis” translates as “rare bird”.

48 Mex. title : SRA

The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).

56 Carnival city : RIO

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

The celebration of carnival comes right before the Lenten period in some Christian traditions. It is thought that carnival perhaps arose from the need to “eat and drink up” any excess food and drink before the beginning of Lent.

63 Polynesian language : MAORI

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

The term “Polynesia” was coined in 1756 by author Charles de Brosses when he used it to describe all the islands in the Pacific. This usage was later restricted to what we now refer to as a subregion of Oceania.

64 Sitar music : RAGA

Raga isn’t really a genre of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners). Western rock music with a heavy Indian influence might be called raga rock.

The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

65 Yemen’s Gulf of __ : ADEN

The Gulf of Aden is the body of water that lies south of the Red Sea, and just north of the Horn of Africa.

70 Feet-first race : LUGE

A luge is a small sled used by one or two people, on which one lies face up and feet first. The luge can be compared to the skeleton, a sled for only one person and on which the rider lies face down and goes down the hill head-first. Yikes!

71 Video chat choice : SKYPE

The main feature of the Skype application when introduced was that it allows voice communication to take place over the Internet (aka VoIP). Skype has other features such as video conferencing and instant messaging, but the application made its name from voice communication. Skype was founded by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and the software necessary was developed by a team of engineers in Estonia. The development project was originally called “Sky peer-to-peer” so the first commercial name for the application was “Skyper”. This had to be shortened to “Skype” because the skyper.com domain name was already in use.

73 MP3 player : IPOD

The iPod is Apple’s signature line of portable media players. The iPod first hit the market in 2001 with a hard drive-based device, now known as the iPod Classic. Later models all use flash memory, allowing a smaller form factor. The smallest of the flash-based models is the iPod Shuffle, which was introduced in 2005.

MP3 is an audio coding format, the most common format used for music stored on digital audio players. MP3 files are compressed and “lossy”, meaning that some audio information is lost when the file is generated. For this reason, MP3 files are about 1/11 of the size of the equivalent music files found on CD.

Down

1 Cream __ : ALE

A cream ale is an American beer that is similar to a pale lager, even though it truly is a top-fermented ale.

2 Fish that’s salted and dried to make bacalao : COD

“Bacalhau” is the Poruguese word for “cod”, and is a term used in cooking for dried and salted cod. The term for unsalted cold in the same cuisine is “bacalhau fresco” (fresh cod).

3 Like Pentatonix numbers : A CAPPELLA

“A cappella” music is sung without instruments accompanying. The name translates from Italian as “in the manner of the chapel”.

Pentatonix (sometimes “PTX”) is an a cappella group that was founded by school chums in Arlington, Texas. The group’s break came with a win in 2011 on the NBC reality show “The Sing-Off”.

4 Flying insect with prominent eyespots : IO MOTH

The Io moth is a colorful moth that is native to North America. It has a large spot on either wing that resembles an eye. The “eyes” work as a disguise, as the moth can look like the face of a mammal, and hence ward off potential moth predators.

6 Wind up on stage? : OBOE

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

9 Hapless sort : SAD SACK

The slang phrase “sad sack” is used for a person who bungles things, someone who is pathetically inept. The phrase was coined in the twenties but gained popularity during WWII when it was used by a cartoon character in the US Armed Forces magazine “Yank”. The term is probably a shortened form of the much ruder phrase “sad sack of ****”.

One’s hap is one’s luck. So, to be hapless is to be out of luck, unfortunate.

10 Ucayali River country : PERU

The Ucayali in Peru is the main river source for the mighty Amazon.

21 “The Caine Mutiny” novelist : WOUK

Herman Wouk won a Pulitzer in 1951 for his novel “The Caine Mutiny”. The story involves mutiny and court-martial aboard a US Navy vessel and reflected, at least partly, the personal experiences of Wouk as he served in the Pacific in WWII aboard a destroyer-minesweeper. The novel was adapted into a marvelous film released in 1954 starring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Queeg, the harsh captain of the USS Caine.

22 Paternity identifier : 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 relatives.

23 Web address letters : HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

24 Atheist activist Madalyn : O’HAIR

Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the president of the American Atheists organization from 1963 to 1986. She was the plaintiff in the lawsuit Murray v. Curlett that in 1963 led to the Supreme Court ruling that ended Bible-reading in American schools. Murray came to a sorry end, as she was kidnapped in 1995 and brutally murdered along with her son and granddaughter. The crime was committed by a co-worker at American Atheists.

29 “When We Were Kings” boxer : ALI

“When We Were Kings” is a documentary by Leon Gast that was released in 1996. It tells of the “Rumble in the Jumble” world heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire. That’s the fight with the famous “rope-a-dope” tactic that tired out Foreman, and perhaps launched his new career selling grills …

30 Pola of the silents : NEGRI

Pola Negri was a Polish actress, and the first star to be invited from Europe to develop a career in Hollywood. Most of her success came in the silent era, but she was able to make the transition to the talkies. Her off-screen life attracted the attention of the gossip columnists who rejoiced in her affairs with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino.

35 Dressed to the nines : GUSSIED UP

To gussy up is to dress showily. The term “gussy” was a slang term that was used to describe an overly-dressed person.

The term “to the nines” means “to perfection”. The first person to use the term in literature was Robbie Burns. Apparently the idea behind the use of “nines” is figurative (pun!), with the number nine considered “ideal” as it is arrived at by multiplying three by three.

38 Uncommon sense : ESP

The so-called “sixth sense” is extrasensory perception (ESP).

40 Actor Holbrook : HAL

Hal Holbrook is an actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Although Holbrook is well known for many roles on the big and small screens, he is best known for a series of plays that he developed called “Mark Twain Tonight!”. Holbrook depicts Twain on stage giving recitations from several of Twain’s writings, varying the script for each performance. “Mark Twain Tonight!” was first performed in 1959, and Holbrook last portrayed Twain in the work in 2017, just before he retired at the age of 92. With well over 2,000 appearances in 58 years, Holbrook portrayed Twain longer than did Samuel Langhorne Clemens himself.

41 Amount past due? : TRE

“One, two, three” in Italian is “uno, due, tre”.

45 Wonder Woman, for one : HEROINE

Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.

52 High-pH compound : ALKALI

The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are alkalis, hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.

62 Candy __ : CANE

Apparently, candy canes were first created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

67 Flanders who inspired the band Okilly Dokilly : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

The post LA Times Crossword 30 Jan 20, Thursday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 10m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Healthful berry : ACAI

Açaí (pronounced “ass-aye-ee”) is a palm tree native to Central and South America. The fruit has become very popular in recent years and its juice is a very fashionable addition to juice mixes and smoothies.

5 Sommelier’s concern : NOSE

“Sommelier” is the French word for “wine steward”. If that steward is a female, then the term used in French is “sommelière”.

9 San Antonio cagers : SPURS

The Spurs are the professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967.

In the early days of basketball, when a ball went out of bounds possession was awarded to the player who first retrieved the ball. This led to mad scuffles off the court, often involving spectators. As the game became more organized courts were routinely “caged”, largely because of this out of bounds rule, to limit interaction with the crowd. It’s because of these cages that basketball players are sometimes referred to today as “cagers”.

14 Bananas : LOCO

In Spanish, if one isn’t “sano” (sane) one might be described as “loco” (crazy).

The expression “to go bananas” is one that I would have imagined had a clear etymology but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A further surprise is that we’ve only been “going bananas” since the sixties, in the days of flower power. One apt theory about the hippy roots of the phrase is that there was an unfounded belief that ingesting roasted banana peels had a similar hallucinogenic effect as magic mushrooms.

15 “… the __ blackness of the floors”: Poe : EBON

“… the ebon blackness of the floors …” is a phrase from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” is perhaps the most famous short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839. The story is a Gothic tale, an interview with Robert Usher in his house which literally “falls”, breaks into two and is swallowed up by a lake. Some believe that the story was inspired by events at a real Usher House that once stood on Boston’s Lewis Wharf. When the Usher House was torn down, the bodies of a man and woman were found embracing in a cavity in the cellar, a fact reflected in the story as Robert Usher’s sister is supposedly buried alive in the crypt.

16 “The Fox and the Grapes” storyteller : AESOP

Our expression “sour grapes” is used to describe a negative attitude adopted by somebody towards something just because that person can’t have the thing himself or herself. The phrase alludes to one of Aesop’s fables, the story of “The Fox and the Grapes”. In the fable, a squirrel could climb up to grapes high in a tree that a fox was unsuccessful in getting to. On seeing this, the fox said, “It’s okay, the grapes were sour anyway”.

17 Dutch cheese : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

19 Queen’s milieu : DRAMA

The Ellery Queen series of detective novels was somewhat unique in that Ellery Queen was the hero of the tales, and was also the pen name of the author. Actually, the “author” was a pair of writers; two cousins from Brooklyn, New York.

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

25 “Knives Out” Golden Globe nominee de Armas : ANA

“Knives Out” is an intriguing murder mystery film released in 2019. There’s a great cast including “Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer. I really enjoyed this one, partly because it’s a clever, contemporary take on a classic whodunit movie …

26 Lansing-to-Flint dir. : ENE

Lansing, Michigan is unique among US state capitals in that it is not a county seat, even though it is located in Ingham County. Ingham County’s seat is Mason, Michigan.

Flint, Michigan is perhaps best known as the original home to General Motors (now headquartered in Detroit). The city of Flint takes its name from the Flint River on which it lies. The local Native Americans called the river, “River of Flint”, hence the name in English.

32 1960s chess champ Mikhail : TAL

Mikhail Tal truly was a chess legend. Tal holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competition chess. And the second longest winning streak? Well, that also was by Tal.

42 Kentucky coach with 876 victories : RUPP

Adolph Rupp was a very successful college basketball coach. A native of Kentucky, Rupp was a reserve player for the University of Kansas basketball team from 1919 to 1923, and then coached the Kansas men’s basketball team from 1930 to 1972.

46 __ avis : RARA

A rara avis is anything that is very rare. The Latin term “rara avis” translates as “rare bird”.

48 Mex. title : SRA

The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).

56 Carnival city : RIO

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

The celebration of carnival comes right before the Lenten period in some Christian traditions. It is thought that carnival perhaps arose from the need to “eat and drink up” any excess food and drink before the beginning of Lent.

63 Polynesian language : MAORI

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

The term “Polynesia” was coined in 1756 by author Charles de Brosses when he used it to describe all the islands in the Pacific. This usage was later restricted to what we now refer to as a subregion of Oceania.

64 Sitar music : RAGA

Raga isn’t really a genre of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners). Western rock music with a heavy Indian influence might be called raga rock.

The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

65 Yemen’s Gulf of __ : ADEN

The Gulf of Aden is the body of water that lies south of the Red Sea, and just north of the Horn of Africa.

70 Feet-first race : LUGE

A luge is a small sled used by one or two people, on which one lies face up and feet first. The luge can be compared to the skeleton, a sled for only one person and on which the rider lies face down and goes down the hill head-first. Yikes!

71 Video chat choice : SKYPE

The main feature of the Skype application when introduced was that it allows voice communication to take place over the Internet (aka VoIP). Skype has other features such as video conferencing and instant messaging, but the application made its name from voice communication. Skype was founded by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and the software necessary was developed by a team of engineers in Estonia. The development project was originally called “Sky peer-to-peer” so the first commercial name for the application was “Skyper”. This had to be shortened to “Skype” because the skyper.com domain name was already in use.

73 MP3 player : IPOD

The iPod is Apple’s signature line of portable media players. The iPod first hit the market in 2001 with a hard drive-based device, now known as the iPod Classic. Later models all use flash memory, allowing a smaller form factor. The smallest of the flash-based models is the iPod Shuffle, which was introduced in 2005.

MP3 is an audio coding format, the most common format used for music stored on digital audio players. MP3 files are compressed and “lossy”, meaning that some audio information is lost when the file is generated. For this reason, MP3 files are about 1/11 of the size of the equivalent music files found on CD.

Down

1 Cream __ : ALE

A cream ale is an American beer that is similar to a pale lager, even though it truly is a top-fermented ale.

2 Fish that’s salted and dried to make bacalhau : COD

“Bacalhau” is the Poruguese word for “cod”, and is a term used in cooking for dried and salted cod. The term for unsalted cold in the same cuisine is “bacalhau fresco” (fresh cod).

3 Like Pentatonix numbers : A CAPPELLA

“A cappella” music is sung without instruments accompanying. The name translates from Italian as “in the manner of the chapel”.

Pentatonix (sometimes “PTX”) is an a cappella group that was founded by school chums in Arlington, Texas. The group’s break came with a win in 2011 on the NBC reality show “The Sing-Off”.

4 Flying insect with prominent eyespots : IO MOTH

The Io moth is a colorful moth that is native to North America. It has a large spot on either wing that resembles an eye. The “eyes” work as a disguise, as the moth can look like the face of a mammal, and hence ward off potential moth predators.

6 Wind up on stage? : OBOE

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

9 Hapless sort : SAD SACK

The slang phrase “sad sack” is used for a person who bungles things, someone who is pathetically inept. The phrase was coined in the twenties but gained popularity during WWII when it was used by a cartoon character in the US Armed Forces magazine “Yank”. The term is probably a shortened form of the much ruder phrase “sad sack of ****”.

One’s hap is one’s luck. So, to be hapless is to be out of luck, unfortunate.

10 Ucayali River country : PERU

The Ucayali in Peru is the main river source for the mighty Amazon.

21 “The Caine Mutiny” novelist : WOUK

Herman Wouk won a Pulitzer in 1951 for his novel “The Caine Mutiny”. The story involves mutiny and court-martial aboard a US Navy vessel and reflected, at least partly, the personal experiences of Wouk as he served in the Pacific in WWII aboard a destroyer-minesweeper. The novel was adapted into a marvelous film released in 1954 starring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Queeg, the harsh captain of the USS Caine.

22 Paternity identifier : 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 relatives.

23 Web address letters : HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

24 Atheist activist Madalyn : O’HAIR

Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the president of the American Atheists organization from 1963 to 1986. She was the plaintiff in the lawsuit Murray v. Curlett that in 1963 led to the Supreme Court ruling that ended Bible-reading in American schools. Murray came to a sorry end, as she was kidnapped in 1995 and brutally murdered along with her son and granddaughter. The crime was committed by a co-worker at American Atheists.

29 “When We Were Kings” boxer : ALI

“When We Were Kings” is a documentary by Leon Gast that was released in 1996. It tells of the “Rumble in the Jumble” world heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire. That’s the fight with the famous “rope-a-dope” tactic that tired out Foreman, and perhaps launched his new career selling grills …

30 Pola of the silents : NEGRI

Pola Negri was a Polish actress, and the first star to be invited from Europe to develop a career in Hollywood. Most of her success came in the silent era, but she was able to make the transition to the talkies. Her off-screen life attracted the attention of the gossip columnists who rejoiced in her affairs with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino.

35 Dressed to the nines : GUSSIED UP

To gussy up is to dress showily. The term “gussy” was a slang term that was used to describe an overly-dressed person.

The term “to the nines” means “to perfection”. The first person to use the term in literature was Robbie Burns. Apparently the idea behind the use of “nines” is figurative (pun!), with the number nine considered “ideal” as it is arrived at by multiplying three by three.

38 Uncommon sense : ESP

The so-called “sixth sense” is extrasensory perception (ESP).

40 Actor Holbrook : HAL

Hal Holbrook is an actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Although Holbrook is well known for many roles on the big and small screens, he is best known for a series of plays that he developed called “Mark Twain Tonight!”. Holbrook depicts Twain on stage giving recitations from several of Twain’s writings, varying the script for each performance. “Mark Twain Tonight!” was first performed in 1959, and Holbrook last portrayed Twain in the work in 2017, just before he retired at the age of 92. With well over 2,000 appearances in 58 years, Holbrook portrayed Twain longer than did Samuel Langhorne Clemens himself.

41 Amount past due? : TRE

“One, two, three” in Italian is “uno, due, tre”.

45 Wonder Woman, for one : HEROINE

Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.

52 High-pH compound : ALKALI

The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are alkalis, hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.

62 Candy __ : CANE

Apparently, candy canes were first created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

67 Flanders who inspired the band “Okilly Dokilly!” : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

The post LA Times Crossword 31 Jan 20, Friday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 10m 21s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Rattletrap : BEATER

“Beater” is slang describing an old car that is in poor condition, and is a term that dates back only to the 1980s.

16 Bond girl Andress : URSULA

Actress Ursula Andress was quite the sex symbol in the sixties, and famously played Honey Ryder in the first James Bond movie “Dr. No”. Andress was born in Switzerland and is fluent in English, French, Italian, German as well as her native Swiss-German.

17 Clapping game : PAT-A-CAKE

“Pattycake” or “Pat-a-Cake” is an old English nursery rhyme that is often accompanied by hand-clapping between two people:

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can;
Roll it, pat it and mark it with a “B”,
Put it in the oven for baby and me.

18 Vitamin B3 : NIACIN

Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. A deficiency of niacin causes the disease pellagra. Pellagra is often described by “the four Ds”, the symptoms being diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death.

21 “Krazy” comics feline : KAT

“Krazy Kat” is a successful comic strip that ran from 1913-1944 and was drawn by George Herriman.

25 Murky milieus : FENS

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

27 Jamaica’s Ocho __ : RIOS

If you ever take a cruise ship to Jamaica, you will likely disembark in Ocho Rios, a major port of call for the cruise lines. “Ocho rios” is Spanish for “eight rivers”.

28 Rocky peaks : TORS

A tor is a high, rocky hill. “Tor” comes from the Old English “torr”, the word for a tower or rock, which in turn comes from the Old Welsh “twrr” meaning a heap or a pile.

29 Coordinate-based calc. : DIR

Direction (dir.)

30 French wine term : CRU

“Cru” is a term used in the French wine industry that means “growth place”. So, “cru” is the name of the location where the grapes are grown, as opposed to the name of a specific vineyard. The terms “premier cru” and “grand cru” are also used, but the usage depends on the specific wine region. Generally it is a classification awarded to specific vineyards denoting their potential for producing great wines. “Grand cru” is reserved for the very best vineyards, with “premier cru” the level just below.

40 Not wing it : PLAN

To wing it is to improvise, to do something without sufficient preparation. There is some debate about the term’s etymology, but I like the idea that it came from the theater. An actor would be described as winging it if he or she learned lines while standing in the wings just before going on stage.

41 “__ giorno!” : BUON

“Buon Giorno” is the Italian for “Good morning”, although the term translates literally as “Good day”.

42 Ship’s post that secures cables : BITT

A bitt is a post mounted on the bow of a boat that is used for fastening lines and cables. It is designed to be strong enough to hold a towline if necessary.

44 Largest Italian automaker : FIAT

Fiat is the largest car manufacturer in Italy, and is headquartered in Turin in the Piedmont region in the north of the country. Fiat was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, when the company’s name was “Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino” (FIAT). A few years ago, Fiat became the majority shareholder in Chrysler.

45 Big name in health care : AETNA

When the healthcare management and insurance company known as Aetna was founded, the name was chosen to evoke images of Mount Etna, the Italian volcano.

46 Big name in home security : ADT

ADT is a home and small-business security company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company was founded back in 1874 by Edward Calahan. Calahan invented the stock ticker several years earlier, and ran the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company. Calahan was awoken one morning by the sound of a burglar in his house, and so he decided to develop a telegraph-based security alarm system. The success of the system led to the founding of American District Telegraph, later known as ADT.

49 Best Actress winner for “The Queen” : MIRREN

Helen Mirren, one of my favorite English actresses, has played three different queens on film and television. She played Queen Elizabeth II on the 2006 film “The Queen”, the title role in the TV drama “Elizabeth I”, and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of the title character in the 1994 film “The Madness of King George”. Mirren won the “Triple Crown of Acting” for playing:

• Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen” (winning Best Actress Oscar)
• Queen Elizabeth II in “The Audience” (winning Best Actress in a Play Tony)
• Detective Jane Tennison in “Prime Suspect” (winning Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy)

The 2006 movie “The Queen” is a great film, and what a superb performance from Helen Mirren in the title role of Queen Elizabeth II. It must have been a difficult film for Queen Elizabeth to watch, as it rehashes the PR disaster that surrounded her following the death of Princess Diana. But, she was gracious enough to invite Helen Mirren around to the Palace for dinner after the film was released. Mirren declined however, citing filming commitments in the US. Mirren was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire back in 2003, an honor presented to her by Prince Charles.

58 Emulated Gene Kelly performing “Singin’ in the Rain” : SLOSHED

In the movie “Singin’ in the Rain”, the wonderful dance sequence to the title song was filmed over 2-3 days. Gene Kelly was splashing through puddles and getting rained on while all the time he was sick, with a fever of 103°F.

Down

1 Copy, as a CD : RIP

Ripping is the process of copying audio or video files onto a hard disk. Ripping isn’t the same as direct copying, as the former involves changing the format of the audio or video content.

2 Santa __ : ANA

Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.

3 Diner order : BLT

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

9 St. Patrick’s home : ERIN

There is a fair amount known about Saint Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as Saint Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.

11 Exhausted : TUCKERED OUT

The exact etymology of the verb “to tucker”, meaning “to tire”, seems to be uncertain. However, it seems to have originated in New England, and at least dates back to the 1830s.

12 __ Sports Bureau, statistics giant : ELIAS

The Elias Sports Bureau has been providing research and statistics for professional sports since 1913. The business was set up in 1913 in New York City by Al Munro Elias and his brother Walter.

13 Diatribes : RANTS

A diatribe is a bitter discourse. The term comes from the Greek “diatribein” meaning “to wear away”.

23 Turkish coins : LIRAS

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

28 She was Lois on “Lois & Clark” : TERI

Teri Hatcher’s most famous role is the Susan Mayer character on the TV comedy-drama “Desperate Housewives”. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of “Housewives” but I do know Teri Hatcher as a Bond girl, as she appeared in “Tomorrow Never Dies”. More recently, she portrayed Lois Lane on the show “Lois & Clark”.

“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” is a television show that aired originally from 1993 to 1997. The storyline focuses as much on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as it does on Kent’s life as Superman. Clark and Lois are played by Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.

29 Clothing : DUDS

“Duds” is an informal word meaning “clothing”. The term comes from the word “dudde” that was used around 1300 as the name for a cloak.

31 Talking trucker : CB’ER

A CB’er is someone who operates a Citizens Band (CB) radio. In 1945, the FCC set aside certain radio frequencies for the personal use of citizens. The use of the Citizens Band increased throughout the seventies as advances in electronics brought down the size of transceivers and their cost. There aren’t many CB radios sold these days though, as they have largely been replaced by cell phones.

32 Many a “Buffy” character : TEEN

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is a TV series that originally aired from 1997 to 2003. “Buffy …” was incredibly successful, especially given that it wasn’t aired on one of the big four networks. The show was created by Joss Whedon and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role.

36 “X-Men” actress Paquin : ANNA

Anna Paquin is an actress from New Zealand who won an Oscar as an 11-year-old for her role in “The Piano”. In the HBO series “True Blood” she plays Sookie Stackhouse, a role for which she won a Golden Globe.

41 Addictive Asian nuts : BETELS

A betel nut is a type of nut that is chewed, especially in parts of Asia. “Betel nut” is a bit of a misnomer, as the nut in question is actually an areca nut from the Areca palm. For chewing, the areca nut is wrapped in betel leaves and the whole thing is called a “betel nut”.

42 Tale of a whitetail : BAMBI

The 1942 Disney classic “Bambi” is based on a book written by Felix Salten called “Bambi, A Life in the Woods”. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

The white-tailed deer (sometimes just “whitetail”) is very common in North America, especially east of the Rocky Mountains. West of the Rockies, whitetails have largely been replaced by black-tailed deer.

45 2019 World Series runner-up : ASTRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

47 Intuit : FEEL

“To intuit” is a verb formed from the noun “intuition”, and means “to know intuitively”.

48 Alike, in Avignon : EGAL

Avignon is a city in the southeast of France on the Rhône river. Avignon is sometimes called the “City of Popes” as it was home to seven popes during the Catholic schism from 1309 to 1423.

50 Itinerary abbr. : RTE

Route (rte.)

52 Tough, elastic wood : ASH

The wood of the ash tree is a hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

53 West of the movies : MAE

Mae West was always pushing the envelope when it came to the “sexy” side of show business, even in her early days in Vaudeville. One of the first plays in which West starred on Broadway was called “Sex”, a work that she penned herself. The show was a sell-out, but city officials had it raided and West found herself spending ten days in jail after being convicted of “corrupting the morals of youth”. She started in movies in 1932, already 38 years old. West used her experience writing plays to rewrite much of the material she was given, and so really she was totally responsible for her own success and on-screen appeal.

54 Reg. : STD

Standard (std.)

The post LA Times Crossword 1 Feb 20, Saturday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 15m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Wilson’s predecessor : TAFT

William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. He was so honored in recognition of his efforts to promote peace around the world, and in particular for the leading role he played in setting up the League of Nations after WWI (despite his failure to gain support for the organization from the US Congress).

10 Eponymous 2000s TV sitcom : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

14 Runs for it : LAMS

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.

18 Chili __: dish with green sauce : VERDE

The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.

19 Early Arizona natives : PIMAS

The Pima people are a group of Native Americans living in what is now central and southern Arizona. The name “Pima” is thought to be an anglicization of the phrase “pi mac”, which members of their tribe often said in their first meetings with Europeans.

20 Tourney format, briefly : ELIM

Elimination (elim.)

“Tourney” is another word for “tournament”. The term comes from the Old French word “tornei” meaning “contest of armed men”, from “tornoier” meaning “to joust, jilt”.

21 Siouan people : OTOE

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

22 Show for which Erika Slezak won six Daytime Emmys : I (ONE) LIFE TO LIVE

“One Life to Live” is a soap opera that aired on ABC for over 43 years, from 1968 until it was removed from the television lineup in 2012. There was an attempt to resurrect that show as a web series in 2013, but recording ceased after just a handful of episodes.

Actress Erika Slezak plays Victoria Lord on the daytime soap opera “One Life to Live”. Slezak has been playing the role since 1971, for 40 years!

24 Amt. rarely charged : MSRP

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP)

25 Lahore tongue : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

Lahore is a large city in Pakistan that is second in size only to Karachi. It is known as the Garden of the Mughals (or in English, Moguls) because of its association with the Mughal Empire. The Mughals ruled much of India from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

31 Hammed it up : EMOTED

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.

33 Border range : URALS

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

38 Home security giant : ADT

ADT is a home and small-business security company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company was founded back in 1874 by Edward Calahan. Calahan invented the stock ticker several years earlier, and ran the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company. Calahan was awoken one morning by the sound of a burglar in his house, and so he decided to develop a telegraph-based security alarm system. The success of the system led to the founding of American District Telegraph, later known as ADT.

39 Tom Joad, e.g. : OKIE

Tom Joad is the protagonist in John Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath”. The role of Joad was played by Henry Fonda in the 1940 film adaptation directed by John Ford. Ford’s movie has a place in history, as it was one of the first 25 movies selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

“Okies” is a derogatory term used during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s for farming families who migrated from Oklahoma (hence the name), Arkansas, Kansas and Texas in search of agricultural jobs in California. The road used by many of these migrant families was Route 66, which is also called “Mother Road”.

41 Kolkata wrap : SARI

Kolkata (formerly “Calcutta”) is the capital of West Bengal, India. Kolkata grew up around a fort that the British built in the area in 1712. Prior to the arrival of the British, there were three villages at the site, one named Kalikata. Kalikata gave its name to the city that eventually developed. This was anglicized to “Calcutta” which became the official name for centuries, until it was changed back to Kolkata in 2001.

42 Heavy marble : STEELIE

A playing marble made from agate is called just that, an agate. Steelies on the other hand, are made from solid steel.

45 Inflation spec : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

48 Capital north of Syracuse : OTTAWA

Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.

54 Scand. country : NORW

Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as the Nordic countries.

56 Gospel singer Winans : CECE

CeCe Winans (real given name “Priscilla”) is a Gospel music singer. She is part of a duo with her brother, BeBe Winans (real name Benjamin).

57 It’s not good to be behind it : VIII (EIGHT)-BALL

To be behind the eight-ball is to be in an extremely difficult situation. The expression “behind the eight-ball” originated in the 1920s in the US, and comes from one of the versions of pool. In the game Eight Ball, pocketing the eight-ball by mistake causes a loss.

63 Former Hanford overseer: Abbr. : AEC

The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was set up right after WWII in 1946, with the aim of promoting the peaceful use of atomic energy. Establishing the AEC was a significant move made by President Truman, as it passed control of atomic energy from the military to the civilian sector. The AEC continued to operate until 1974 when its functions were divided up into two new agencies: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development Administration (NRDA). The NRDA was merged with the Federal Energy Administration in 1977 to form the Department of Energy.

The Hanford Site is a former nuclear production facility located on the Columbia River in Washington State. The Hanford Site was established during WWII as part of the Manhattan Project. Plutonium manufactured in the plant was used in the first nuclear bomb, tested at the Trinity site in New Mexico, and in the bomb that detonated over Nagasaki.

64 Key, perhaps : ISLE

A key (also “cay”) is a low offshore island, as in the Florida “Keys”. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

65 Management deg. : MBA

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

70 La Méditerranée, e.g. : MER

In French, “La Méditerranée” (the Mediterranean) is a “mer” (sea).

71 Hall of Fame pitcher Blyleven : BERT

Bert Blyleven is a former baseball pitcher known for his curveball. Blyleven now works as a color commentator for the Minnesota Twins.

73 One always reaching for the Skyy? : SOT

Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning “fool”. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

74 Certain incumbent’s rally cry : IV (FOUR) MORE YEARS!

Since the days of President George Washington, there was an informal tradition that a US President could hold office for two terms, but would not run for a third. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to break with this tradition. President Roosevelt was elected to office four times, and died a few months after starting his fourth term. It was President Roosevelt’s decision to ignore the term limit tradition that led to the adoption of the Twenty-Second Amendment of the Constitution, which provides that “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice”.

76 1995 Hugh Grant film : IX (NINE) MONTHS

I’d describe “Nine Months” as a pretty average romantic comedy, despite a great cast led by Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore. Also appearing are Tom Arnold, Joan Cusack, Jeff Goldblum and Robin Williams. 1995’s “Nine Months” is a remake of 1994’s French film “Neuf mois” (“Nine Months” in English).

English actor Hugh Grant’s full name is Hugh John Mungo Grant. Grant’s breakthrough came with his leading role in 1994’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. That was a fabulous performance. Sadly, I think Grant has basically been playing the same character ever since …

79 Década components : ANOS

In Spanish, there are ten “años” (years) in “una década” (a decade).

80 Pride and envy : SINS

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Pride
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony

81 Barry Gibb, for one : BEE GEE

Barry Gibb was the oldest of the trio of brothers who made up the Bee Gees. Robin also did a lot of songwriting, both with and without his siblings. He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the second most successful songwriter in history, after Paul McCartney.

82 Wing it : 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.

87 Immigrant’s subj. : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

88 Soup legume : PEA

Plants called legumes are notable in that they work symbiotically with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, microorganisms found in the root nodules that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium ions. As nitrogen is an essential component of proteins, legumes are exceptionally rich sources of plant protein. Examples of legumes are peas, beans, lentils and peanuts.

90 Transmission need : GEAR OIL

In most internal combustion engines the pistons that move up and down are arranged in a line, and connected to a crankshaft that runs along the bottom of the engine. The up and down motion of the pistons turns the crankshaft, which turning motion is “transmitted” (via the “transmission”) to the wheels. The case surrounding the crankshaft is called the crankcase. The crankcase contains a lot of oil that is squirted onto the crankshaft to lubricate it. Excess oil falls to the bottom of the crankcase and into a reservoir called the oil pan.

95 Nevada Northern Railway Museum city : ELY

Ely is a city in eastern Nevada. The city was founded as a Pony Express stagecoach station, and then experienced a mining boom after copper was discovered locally in 1906. One of Ely’s former residents was First Lady Pat Nixon, who was born there in 1912.

99 Stand for a canvas : EASEL

The word “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

106 Set of schools that includes Vassar : VII (SEVEN) SISTERS

The Seven Sisters are a group of (traditionally women’s) colleges in the northeast of the country that were founded to parallel the all-male (as they were then) Ivy League colleges. The seven are:

• Mount Holyoke
• Vassar
• Wellesley
• Smith
• Radcliffe
• Bryn Mawr
• Barnard

108 Sun-Maid product : RAISIN

The Sun-Maid brand of raisins belongs to a cooperative of raisin growers in California. The cooperative was founded in 1912, and the famous Sun-Maid girl shown on each container of raisins was actually a seeder and packer called Lorraine Collett who worked for one of the members of the cooperative.

110 Portland summer hrs., perhaps : EDT

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

Portland is the largest city in Maine, and home to over a third of the state’s population. The name of Portland was chosen in 1786, a reference to the Isle of Portland, which is the southernmost point in the county of Dorset, England.

113 Theta follower : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

114 El __ : PASO

Although there have been human settlements in the El Paso area for thousands of years, the first European settlement was founded in 1659 by the Spanish. That first community was on the south bank of the Rio Grande, and was called El Paso del Norte (the North Pass). Most of the urban development under Spanish rule took place on the south side of the river, with El Paso del Norte acting as the center of governance for the Spanish for the territory of New Mexico. The Rio Grande was chosen as the border between Mexico and the US in 1848, so most of the city of El Paso del Norte became part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (and is now called Ciudad Juárez ). The area north of the river developed as a US military post, eventually becoming the modern city of El Paso, Texas.

115 2000s series set in a funeral home : VI (SIX) FEET UNDER

“Six Feet Under” is reportedly a great TV drama aired by HBO, and one that I fully intend to take a look at one day. The “six feet under” is a reference to the show’s storyline that features a family funeral business.

118 Alaskan island in the Eastern Hemisphere : ATTU

Attu is the westernmost island in the Aleutian chain and so is the westernmost part of Alaska (and is in the Eastern Hemisphere). Japanese forces took the island in October 1942, eventually landing as many as 2,900 soldiers there. In May 1943, the US Army retook the island in twenty days of fighting that is now called the Battle of Attu, the only land battle to take place on US soil during WWII. I am very proud of my father-in-law, who served in the Aleutians during WWII …

120 Barrel racing milieu : RODEO

Barrel racing is an event featured in rodeos. Competitors on horses race around barrels in a cloverleaf pattern, each trying to complete the course in the fastest time. The event tends to be confined to male and female youths, and to women riders.

121 Flag : TIRE

Our verb “to flag” meaning “to tire” was originally used in the sense of something flapping about lazily in the wind. From this it came to mean “to go limp, droop”, and then “to tire”.

122 In the order given: Abbr. : RESP

Respectively (resp.)

Down

2 Seller of dogs : DELI

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

3 Like the Namib : ARID

The Namib Desert is in Namibia, as one might expect, and also stretches into part of Angola. It is thought to be the oldest desert in the world, having been arid for over 55 million years.

4 Adobe file format : PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

5 Disc golf starting point : TEEPAD

Disc golf is also known as Frisbee golf, and sometimes even Frolf. Believe it or not, disc golf predates the introduction of the Frisbee. The first game was played at a school in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1926. The participating schoolkids threw tin lids into circles drawn on a course they created in the school grounds. They named the game “Tin Lid Golf”.

6 Attacks, knight-style : TILTS AT

“Jousting” and “tilting” are synonyms describing the medieval competition in which two horsemen yielding blunted lances attempt to unseat each other. Such an event has been referred to as “jousting” since the 1300s. At some point, the path of the two charging horsemen was separated by a cloth barrier known as a tilt (“tilt” meant “cloth covering”). The term “tilting” was applied to the sport in the 1500s, although by then the cloth barrier had been upgraded to a wooden fence.

8 Green Bay legend : FAVRE

Brett Favre is best known as a former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Favre retired in 2010 after playing with the Minnesota Vikings for a short time. Among the many NFL records held by Favre, he made the most consecutive starts.

9 Mao __-tung : TSE

Mao Zedong (also “Mao Tse-tung”) was born on December 16, 1893 in the Hunan Province of China. As Mao was the son of a peasant farmer, his prospects for education were limited. Indeed he left school at age 13 to work on the family farm but did eventually get to secondary school in Changsha, the provincial capital. In the years following, Mao continued his education in Beijing and actually turned down an opportunity to study in France.

11 Pitcher of milk? : ELSIE

Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

12 Pudelpointer, say : BIRD DOG

The pudelpointer is a German breed of dog that was originally a cross between the poodle (“pudel” in German) the English pointer.

13 Time toggle : AM/PM

The 12-hour clock has been around a long time, and was even used in sundial format in ancient Egypt. Our use of AM and PM dates back to Roman times, with AM standing for Ante Meridiem (before noon) and PM standing for Post Meridiem (after noon). However, the Romans originally used the AM concept a little differently, by counting backwards from noon. So, 2AM to the Romans would be two hours before noon, or 10AM as we would call it today.

14 Site of Pei’s pyramid : LOUVRE

The Musée du Louvre has the distinction of being the most visited art museum in the whole world. The collection is housed in the magnificent Louvre Palace that was the seat of power in France until 1682, when Louis XIV moved to Versailles.

When I. M. Pei became the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in Paris, he not only designed the famous glass and steel pyramid, but also worked on renovations throughout the museum. His design was very controversial, causing a lot of ill feelings among the public. Eventually, when the work was complete, public opinion became more favorable. Personally, I think it is magnificent, both inside and out.

15 Glass-roofed lobbies : ATRIA

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually 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.

17 Grinch creator : SEUSS

The Grinch is the title character in Dr. Seuss’s 1957 children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” He is a grouchy creature who lives as a hermit in a cave outside the town of Whoville. The Grinch’s only companion is his dog Max. Based on Seuss’s hero, we now use the term “grinch” for someone who is opposed to Christmas festivities or who is coarse and greedy in general.

28 One of the halogens : IODINE

The halogens are a group of elements in the periodic table consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine. The term “halogen” was the name that was originally proposed for chlorine when it was first discovered.

30 __ Scurry, 1999 Women’s World Cup championship U.S. team goalkeeper : BRIANA

Briana Scurry is a former professional goalkeeper who played with the US national team when they won the World Cup in 1999. Scurry appeared for the US 173 times, making her the second-most capped female goalkeeper in the world (after Gemma Fay of Scotland).

34 Brandy letters : VSO

Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine. The term “brandy” ultimately comes from the Dutch “gebrande wijn” meaning “burnt wine”. The length of this aging of the spirit defines the various grades of brandy:

• VS: Very Special … at least 2 years storage
• VSOP: Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale … at least 4 years storage
• XO: Extra Old … at least 6 years
• VSO: Very Superior Old … 12-17 years

35 Siamese, e.g. : CAT

The exact origins of the Siamese cat aren’t very clear, but it is believed to be from Southeast Asia. The Siamese takes its name from the sacred temple cats of Thailand (once called Siam).

37 Online program : WEBCAST

A webcast is a modern-day version of a telecast, and is a program or presentation that is “broadcast” over the “Web”.

40 2001 Peace Prize sharer 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.

43 Poem of loss : ELEGY

Perhaps the most famous elegy in the English language is that written by Thomas Gray, which he completed in 1750. His “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is the source of many oft-quoted phrases, including:

• Celestial fire
• Far from the Madding Crowd
• Kindred spirit

45 Hospital supply : PLASMA

Plasma (sometimes “plasm”) is the clear, yellow-colored liquid component of blood and lymph in which cells are suspended.

49 “Star Trek” franchise Klingon : WORF

In the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, Mr. Worf is one of the main characters. He is a Klingon officer on the Enterprise, and is played by Michael Dorn. Worf is a unique character in the “Star Trek” franchise in that he also appeared regularly in another “Star Trek” show: “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.

50 2012 Best Picture : ARGO

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I highly recommend “Argo”, although I found the scenes of religious fervor to be very frightening …

53 DH’s stat : RBI

Runs batted in (RBIs)

Baseball’s American League (AL) allows a designated hitter (DH) in each team’s lineup, whereas the National League (NL) does not.

55 Former 49ers coach Bill : WALSH

Bill Walsh was a professional football coach who served most famously with the San Francisco 49ers, from 1979 to 1988. Prior to his time with the 49ers, Walsh was head coach at Stanford (1977-1978). He returned to Stanford as head coach (1992-1994) after retiring from the NFL.

57 Nix : VETO

The verb “veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The term was used by tribunes of ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

60 Alpine goats : IBEXES

“Ibex” is a common name for various species of mountain goat. “Ibex” is a Latin name that was used for wild goats found in the Alps and Apennines in Europe.

61 Monterey neighbor : CARMEL

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a city located on the Monterey Peninsula in California. Carmel is and has been home to many celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, who served two years as mayor in the 1980s.

62 Old-time cinemas : RKOS

The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO initialism then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

67 French 101 verb : AVOIR

Avoir is French for “to have”.

69 “Auld Lang __” : SYNE

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

72 Dress (up) fancily : TOG

The verb “to tog up”, meaning “to dress up”, comes from the Latin “toga” describing the garment worn in ancient Rome. “Tog” can be also be used as an informal word for a coat or a cloak. Back in Ireland, togs are what we call swimming shorts.

74 Mosaic pieces : INLAYS

In the Middle Ages, mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The term “mosaic” translates as “of the Muses”.

75 Prevents, by law : ESTOPS

The term “estop” means to block or stop by using some legal device. “Estop” comes from Old French, in which “estopper” means “to stop up” or “to impede”.

77 Sherpa, commonly : NEPALI

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

78 Suffix with ump- : TEEN

The word “umpty” was introduced as slang for a Morse code dash. In the early 1900’s, the same term came to mean “of an indefinite number”, and was associated with the numerals divisible by ten, i.e. twenty, thirty, forty, etc. The extended adjective “umpteen” began to appear during WWI as army slang.

79 Astaire and a singer : ADELES

Fred Astaire’s real name was Frederick Austerlitz. Fred was from Omaha, Nebraska and before he made it big in the movies, he was one half of a celebrated music hall act with his sister Adele. The pair were particularly successful in the UK, and Adele ended up marrying into nobility in England, taking the name Lady Charles Cavendish.

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US.

84 Fight stopper, for short : TKO

Technical knockout (TKO)

85 Online response to humor : LOL

Laugh out loud (LOL)

98 Academic job security : TENURE

A job in a university that is described as “tenure-track” is one that can lead to a tenured position. A tenured position is a “job for life”. A person with tenure can only be dismissed for cause.

100 Its name is derived from Provençal words for “garlic” and “oil” : AIOLI

To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.

101 Stringed Asian instrument : SITAR

The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

104 Nonsense : TRIPE

“Tripe” is an informal term meaning “rubbish, of little value”. Tripe is actually the rubbery stomach lining of an animal such as a cow. Tripe is a traditional dish in British cuisine that is prepared by poaching it with onions in milk.

116 Eggy beverage : NOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

The post LA Times Crossword 2 Feb 20, Sunday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Actor Beatty : NED

Actor Ned Beatty is possible best remembered for the rather disturbing “squeal like a pig” scene in the movie “Deliverance”. Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie “Network”.

4 Spirited horse : ARAB

The Arab (also “Arabian”) breed of horse takes its name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. Like any animal that humans have over-bred, the horse falls prey to genetic diseases, some of which are fatal and some of which require the horse to be euthanized.

8 Cold-weather omen on Groundhog Day : SHADOW

Punxsutawney is a borough in Pennsylvania that is located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney Phil is the famous groundhog that lives in the area. Phil comes out of his hole on February 2 each year and if he sees his shadow he goes back into his hole predicting six more weeks of winter weather. February 2 is known as “Groundhog Day”.

14 Prefix with Pen : EPI-

EpiPen is a brand of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, which is a common treatment for an extreme allergic reaction.

17 Getaway car driver : WHEELMAN (giving “pinwheel”)

The firework known as a pinwheel consists of an angled tube(s) attached to a wheel that rotates around a pin when lit. The pinwheel is also known as a Catherine wheel, a reference to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Christian tradition dictates that Catherine was condemned to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but the wheel shattered when she touched it.

19 Flowery Van Gogh painting : IRISES

Van Gogh painted his “Irises” while he was in an asylum in the south of France the year before he committed suicide. The original owner was a French art critic and supporter of van Gogh who paid 300 francs to purchase the painting. “Irises” was bought for $53.9 million in 1987, making it the most expensive painting sold up to that point. But, the buyer didn’t actually have the necessary funds, so it had to be resold in 1990. It was picked up by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where you can see it today.

23 Cheese go-with : MAC

Thomas Jefferson’s name is associated with the dish we known today as “mac ‘n’ cheese”. The future president discovered baked macaroni with Parmesan cheese while in Paris and in northern Italy. He started serving the dish to guests in the US, and even had a machine imported to make the macaroni locally. Whether or not Jefferson was the first to bring mac ‘n’ cheese to America isn’t entirely clear, but it has been popular ever since.

26 Golfer’s dream : HOLE IN ONE (giving “pinhole”)

One well-documented hole in one (ace) was during a round of the British Open in 1973. American golfer Gene Sarazen achieved the feat that day, at the age of 71. A less well-documented series of holes in one was reported by the North Korean press in a story about the Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The report was that Kim Jong-il scored 11 holes in one in his one and only round of golf.

33 Dead __ Scrolls : SEA

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered over a period of years, between 1947 and 1956, in eleven caves on the shores of the Dead Sea. The scrolls are believed to have been written by an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although this has been called into question recently. Many of the texts are copies of writings from the Hebrew Bible.

34 Bank acct. addition : INT

A bank account (acct.) usually earns interest (int.)

36 One of 50 on the U.S. flag : STAR

Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first Stars and Stripes.

43 35-Down relative : LLC
(35D Business name abbr. : INC)

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

44 Land in the Seine : ILE

There are two famous “îles” (islands) in the middle of the River Seine in Paris, one being the Île de la Cité, and the other Île Saint-Louis. Île de la Cité is the most renowned of the two, as it is home to the cathedral of Notre Dame.

45 Lennon’s love Yoko : ONO

John Lennon and Yoko Ono married at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969. The couple decided to use the inevitable publicity surrounding their wedding and honeymoon to promote peace in the world. They honeymooned in the Presidential Suite of the Amsterdam Hilton, inviting the world’s press to join them and to witness their “bed-in”. They spent the week talking about peace, and an end to war. The marriage and bed-in is chronicled by the Beatles in their song “The Ballad of John and Yoko”. A few weeks after the marriage, Lennon adopted the middle name “Ono” by deed poll.

46 Chinese chairman : MAO

Mao Zedong (also “Mao Tse-tung”) was born on December 16, 1893 in the Hunan Province of China. As Mao was the son of a peasant farmer, his prospects for education were limited. Indeed he left school at age 13 to work on the family farm but did eventually get to secondary school in Changsha, the provincial capital. In the years following, Mao continued his education in Beijing and actually turned down an opportunity to study in France.

51 Kit and caboodle : BALL OF WAX (giving “pinball”)

The phrase “whole ball of wax” is probably a corruption of “the whole bailiwick”. “Bailiwick” is a word dating back to the mid-1600s, and originally meant the “district of a bailiff”.

In the idiomatic expression “the whole kit and caboodle”, “caboodle” (sometimes spelled “kaboodle”) is an informal term describing a bunch of people, or sometimes the “the whole lot”.

Our modern game of pinball evolved from an earlier table game called bagatelle which used balls, pins and holes (and I remember playing bagatelle as boy in a pub in Ireland). The first “pinball” machine was made by a British inventor who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. He modified the game of bagatelle, adding a coiled spring and a plunger to introduce balls at the end of the table, a device that is still in use today. From there, manufacturers developed coin-operated versions of pinball, which became popular during the depression as they provided a little entertainment for a few pennies. One distributor of the coin-operated pinball machines started manufacturing them himself as he couldn’t source new games fast enough. He called his pinball game Ballyhoo, and eventually named his company Bally, a brand name well known in the gambling industry to this day.

54 Hundred Acre Wood creator : MILNE

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

Hundred Acre Wood is where Winnie the Pooh lives with his friends. According to a map illustrating the books by A. A. Milne, Hundred Acre Wood is part of a larger forest, with Owl’s house sitting right at the center. Piglet also lives in the Hundred Acre Wood, in a beech tree next to a sign that says “TRESPASSERS W”. Piglet says this is short for Trespassers William, which is his grandfather’s name.

56 Lab safety org.? : SPCA

Unlike most developed countries, the US has no umbrella organization with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814. The breed comes in three registered colors: black, yellow and chocolate.

58 Clinton and Obama, astrologically : LEOS

Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.

65 Ivan or Nicholas : TSAR

The term “czar” (also “tsar”) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.

68 “Family Guy” creator MacFarlane : SETH

Seth MacFarlane is best known for creating the very successful (although they don’t get my vote!) animated TV shows “Family Guy” and “American Dad!”. My kids love ’em …

69 “Cats” monogram : TSE

“Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” is a 1939 collection of poems by T. S. Eliot (TSE). The collection of whimsical poetry was a favorite of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber when he was a child. Webber used Eliot’s poems as inspiration for his megahit musical “Cats”.

Down

1 Genre for Enya : NEW AGE

New-Age music is created to provide a relaxing and stress-free atmosphere. The New Age movement is often said to have begun with the release of an album called “Spectrum Suite” by Steven Halpern in 1975.

Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

2 Screenwriter Nora : EPHRON

Nora Ephron had many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she wrote, she also directed. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame? She wrote an autobiographical novel based on her life with Bernstein, which deals in particular with Bernstein’s affair with the daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan.

3 Low-calorie cola, familiarly : DIET RC

Claude A. Hatcher ran a grocery store in Columbus, Georgia. He decided to develop his own soft drink formula when he balked at the price his store was being charged for Coca-Cola syrup. Hatcher launched the Union Bottling Works in his own grocery store, and introduced Royal Crown Ginger Ale in 1905. The Union Bottling Works was renamed to Chero-Cola in 1910, the Nehi Corporation in 1925, and Royal Crown Company in the mid-fifties. The first RC Cola hit the market in 1934.

5 Most populous città in Italia : ROMA

In Italian, “Roma” (Rome) is a “città” (city) in “Italia” (Italy).

6 Geronimo’s tribe : APACHE

Cochise and Geronimo were perhaps the two most famous Apache leaders to resist intrusions by the European Americans in the 1800s. Both lived lives full of conflict, but both also lived relatively long lives. Cochise eventually entered into a treaty putting an end to the fighting, and retired onto a new reservation. Cochise died of natural causes in 1874, at the age of 69. Geronimo surrendered, and spent years as a prisoner of war. He spent his last years as a celebrity, and even rode in the inaugural parade for President Theodore Roosevelt. Geronimo died of pneumonia in 1909 at the age of 79.

7 Japanese box lunch : BENTO

A bento is a single-person meal that is eaten quite commonly in Japan. A bento can be purchased as a take-out meal, or it may be packed at home. A bento is usually sold as a “bento box”.

8 __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

9 Hardly a social butterfly : HERMIT

The Greek word for “uninhabited” is “eremos”, which is the root for “eremia” meaning both “desert” and “solitude”. The Greek word eremites then means “a person of the desert”. This was absorbed into Latin as “ermita”, meaning someone who lived in solitude or in an uninhabited area. We use “eremite” to mean the same thing, although the derivative term “hermit” is more common.

10 From China, say : ASIAN

The world’s most populous country is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Republic of China (ROC) is the official name of the sovereign state that we usually call Taiwan.

11 “The Simpsons” character named for a dance era : DISCO STU

On “The Simpsons”, the character of Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although the original intent was for him to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Disco Stu is described as “a black, wrinkly John Travolta”.

12 Keats’ “__ on a Grecian Urn” : ODE

English Romantic poet John Keats wrote the famous “Ode on a Grecian Urn” in 1819, and published it anonymously in 1820. The most famous lines of the poem are the last two:

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know

13 Director Craven : WES

Wes Craven was a very successful film director and writer specializing in movies of the horror genre, which means that I don’t watch them! He was responsible for “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the “Scream” films. Craven passed away in August 2015.

27 __ de corps: camaraderie : ESPRIT

Esprit de corps is the morale of a group, and a phrase that best translates from French perhaps as “team spirit”.

29 Pull down, as a salary : EARN

It has been suggested that out term “salary” comes from the Latin “sal” meaning “salt”. The idea is that a Roman soldier’s “salarium” might have been an allowance to purchase salt.

31 Minn. college named for a Norwegian king : ST OLAF

St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota was named for the former king and patron saint of Norway, Olaf II.

35 Business name abbr. : INC

A company that has incorporated uses the abbreviation “Inc.” after its name. By incorporating, a company forms a corporation, which is a legal entity that has legal rights similar to those of an individual. For example, a corporation can sue another corporation or individual. However, a corporation does not have all the rights of citizens. A corporation does not have the Fifth Amendment right of protections against self-incrimination, for example. It is perhaps understandable that the concept of “corporations as persons” is a frequent subject for debate.

38 Charlie Chaplin’s actress granddaughter : OONA

Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

39 Quarantines : ISOLATES

The original use of our word “quarantine”, back in the 1500s, was as a legal term. A quarantine was the 40 days in which a widow had the legal right to reside in her dead husband’s house.

41 K thru 6 : ELEM

Elementary (elem.)

46 The “M” in LEM : MODULE

In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to the command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy” and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was called “Eagle” and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface. Another famous LEM was Apollo 13’s Aquarius. Although Aquarius never landed on the moon, it did serve as a “lifeboat” for the three astronauts after the explosive rupture of an oxygen canister in the Service Module.

47 Type of tax : EXCISE

Excise taxes differ from customs duties. Excise taxes are imposed on goods within a nation’s borders, whereas customs duties are imposed at the border on importation.

48 Phillies’ div. : NL EAST

Philadelphia’s baseball team was founded in 1883 as the Quakers, with the name changing to “Philadelphias” and “Phillies” not long into the team’s history. The Phillies have been based in the same city using the same team name longer than any other team in US professional sports.

49 Voltaic cell terminals : ANODES

A galvanic (also “voltaic”) cell is a device that uses a chemical reaction to create an electrical current. A simple battery is a galvanic cell, with larger batteries being a collection of galvanic cells operating in concert. The cell takes its name from either Luigi Galvani or Alessandro Volta, both of whom were physicists and pioneers in the study of electricity.

52 Detroit NFL team : LIONS

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that play home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

57 Med. school subject : ANAT

Anatomy (anat.)

60 Sister of Zsa Zsa : EVA

Eva Gabor was the youngest of the Gabor sisters, all three of whom were celebrated Hollywood actresses and socialites (her siblings were Zsa-Zsa and Magda). One of Eva’s claims to fame is the unwitting promotion of the game called “Twister”, the sales of which were languishing in 1966. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” she got on all fours and played the game with Johnny Carson. Sales took off immediately, and Twister became a huge hit.

Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress, born in Budapest as Sári Gábor (the older sister of the actress Eva). Zsa Zsa Gabor was married a whopping nine times, including a 5-year stint with Conrad Hilton and another 5 years with the actor George Sanders. One of Gabor’s famous quips was that she was always a good housekeeper, as after every divorce she kept the house!

61 TV’s Burrell and Pennington : TYS

Actor and comedian Ty Burrell is perhaps best known for playing Phil Dunphy on the great sitcom “Modern Family”. Off the screen, Burrell is the co-owner of two bar/restaurants in Salt Lake City. Named Bar-X and Beer Bar, Burrell’s establishments are actually located side-by-side, with connecting doors.

Ty Pennington is a TV personality and carpenter, and the host of the reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. Pennington’s break came when he was cast as the carpenter on the earlier makeover show called “Trading Spaces”.

63 Princely title: Abbr. : HRH

His/Her Royal Highness (HRH)

The post LA Times Crossword 3 Feb 20, Monday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Madeline of “History of the World, Part I” : KAHN

Madeline Kahn was an actress best known for her comedic roles, especially those directed by Mel Brooks. Kahn also had her own TV sitcom, called “Oh Madeline”. But, it only lasted one season, in 1983.

“History of the World, Part I” is a 1981 Mel Brooks film. Mel Brooks is all over this movie, having written, produced and directed it, as well as playing five acting parts. There never was a “History of the World, Part II”, and the original title is a play on Sir Walter Raleigh’s work “The Historie of the World”, for which the author only managed to finish one volume.

15 Jackson 5 hairdo : AFRO

The Jackson 5 singing group was originally made up of brothers Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. The four eldest brothers continued to perform, using the name “The Jacksons”, after Michael went solo.

16 Golden-egg layer : GOOSE

In the Aesop fable “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs”, a couple own a hen that lays a golden egg every day. The greedy pair surmise that there is a lump of gold inside the hen, and so they kill her in search of the precious metal. They find nothing, and are left without their daily windfall of a golden egg.

17 Line on a Yankee uniform : PINSTRIPE

There is an urban legend that the New York Yankees introduced uniforms with pinstripes to make Babe Ruth look slimmer. Not so …

21 Arachnophobe’s worry : SPIDERS

“Arachnophobia” is the fear of spiders, scorpions and other arachnids. The term comes from the Greek “arachne” meaning “spider” and “phobos” meaning “fear”.

26 “Gorillas in the Mist” primate : APE

Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda. She wrote a 1983 autobiographical account of her work titled “Gorillas in the Mist”, which served as a basis for a 1988 film of the same name starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey. Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

27 Youngest “American Idol” winner : JORDIN SPARKS

Singer-songwriter Jordin Sparks won the 2007 season of “American Idol”. Sparks was just 17 years old at the time, making her the youngest winner in the history of the show.

36 Square root of IX : III

In Roman numerals, the square root of IX (9) is III (3).

41 Rule, briefly : REG

Regulation (reg.)

42 Pueblo-dwelling people : HOPI

Many of the Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.

A pueblo is a Native American village found in the American Southwest. The buildings in a pueblo are usually made of stone and adobe mud.

44 Several characters on TV’s “The Americans” : RUSSIAN SPIES

“The Americans” is a very engaging drama series set during the Cold War that features two KGB spies living as a married couple just outside Washington, D.C. The show was created by Joe Weisberg, who is a novelist and former CIA officer. The lead roles in “The Americans” are played by real-life couple Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

50 Morse code word : DAH

Samuel Morse came up with the forerunner to modern Morse code for use on the electric telegraph, of which he was the co-inventor. Morse code uses a series of dots and dashes to represent letters and numbers. The most common letters are assigned the simplest code elements e.g. E is represented by one dot, and T is represented by one dash. When words are spelled aloud in Morse code, a dot is pronounced as “dit”, and a dash is pronounced as “dah”.

53 Portable charcoal grill : HIBACHI

The traditional hibachi in Japan is a heating device, often a ceramic bowl or box that holds burning charcoal. This native type of hibachi isn’t used for cooking, but rather as a space heater (a brazier). Here in the US we use the term hibachi to refer to a charcoal grill used as a small cooking stove, which in Japanese would be called a “shichirin”. “Hibachi” is Japanese for “fire pot” coming from “hi” meaning “fire”, and “bachi” meaning “bowl, pot”.

57 How some chew gum : NOISILY

Chicle is a natural gum or latex that can be extracted from the Manilkara chicle tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. Companies like Wrigley were major users of chicle prior to the sixties as the product was used as the base ingredient in chewing gum. Today chewing gum manufacturers generally use a synthetic rubber that is cheap to manufacture as a replacement for natural chicle. I am so happy I don’t chew gum!

59 Novelist Wharton : EDITH

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.

62 Free-for-all : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

63 “The African Queen” screenwriter James : AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

“The African Queen” is a 1935 novel by C. S. Forester that was adapted into a very successful 1951 film of the same name starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The title refers to a steam-powered launch that travels the Ulanga River. The story is set during World War I. At the climax of the tale, the African Queen is used as a makeshift torpedo to sink a German gunboat (spoiler!).

64 Gas in a sign : NEON

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

65 Burpee buy : SEEDS

The Burpee Seeds company was formed in 1876 by Washington Atlee Burpee.

67 “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is the more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

Down

1 Phi Beta __ : KAPPA

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.

2 Lai or Thai : ASIAN

The Lai are an ethnic group found mainly in India and Myanmar. Some believe that the Lai migrated from China, passing through the mountains of Tibet, and are direct descendants of the Qin Dynasty.

Formerly known as Siam, the Kingdom of Thailand is operating as a military dictatorship following a 2014 coup.

3 Name of eight English kings : HENRY

Henry I of England was a son of William the Conqueror. According to legend, Henry died from eating “a surfeit of lampreys”, or more likely food poisoning. Lampreys look like a cross between a fish and an eel.

Famously, King Henry VIII had six queens consort. There is a rhyme that is commonly used to help remember the fates of each of his wives, which goes:

King Henry the Eighth, to six wives he was wedded. One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.

The use of the term “divorce” isn’t quite accurate though, as in fact Henry had two of his marriages annulled. His wives (and their fates) were:

1. Catherine of Aragon (Annulled),
2. Anne Boleyn (Beheaded),
3. Jane Seymour (Died)
4. Anne of Cleves (Annulled),
5. Catherine Howard (Beheaded),
6. Catherine Parr (Survived).

4 Condé __ : NAST

Condé Nast is a mass media corporation that has a very large portfolio of publications, including “Vogue”, “GQ”, “House and Garden”, “Golf Digest”, “Wired”, “Vanity Fair” and “The New Yorker”.

5 Sharpie, for one : MARKER

Sharpie is a brand of marker pen that has been on sale since 1964.

7 Dadaist Jean : ARP

Jean Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. Arp was sent home …

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement was launched in Zurich, Switzerland by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire. The same group frequently expressed disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

8 “The Simpsons” bar : MOE’S

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 …

9 Marcus __, victorious commander at Actium : AGRIPPA

The Battle of Actium was fought between the forces of Octavian, leader of the Roman Republic, and the combined forces of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. Octavian’s fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The victory helped to consolidate Octavian’s standing in Rome, and soon after he was given the title of Augustus and became the first Roman Emperor.

11 Zilch : NONE

We use the term “zilch” to mean “nothing”. Our current usage evolved in the sixties, before which the term was used to describe “meaningless speech”. There was a comic character called Mr. Zilch in the 1930s in “Ballyhoo” magazine. Mr. Zilch’s name probably came from the American college slang “Joe Zilch” that was used in the early 1900s for “an insignificant person”.

12 44-Across’ land: Abbr. : USSR
(44A Several characters on TV’s “The Americans” : RUSSIAN SPIES)

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”, i.e. USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

13 Levi’s alternatives : LEES

The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

18 Mystic’s deck : TAROT

Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

25 Language that gave us “kvetch” : YIDDISH

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

27 Gatsby of “The Great Gatsby” : JAY

“The Great Gatsby” is a 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that tells of the prosperous life of Jay Gatsby during the Roaring 20s. Gatsby develops an obsessive love for Daisy Fay Buchanan, a girl he met while serving during WWI, and meets again some years later after he has improved his social standing.

29 Run amok : RIOT

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

30 Fuzzy fruit : KIWI

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”.

31 Fodder holder : 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.

“Fodder”, meaning “animal feed”, is an Old English word for “food”.

32 Henry VIII’s last wife Catherine : PARR

Henry VIII was the English King with the most wives. Well, something rubbed off on his last wife Catherine Parr. She was to become the English Queen with the most husbands! By the time she married Henry, she had been widowed twice. After Henry died, Parr married once again, racking up four husbands in all.

33 In __ of: substituted for : LIEU

As one might imagine perhaps, “in lieu” came into English from the Old French word “lieu” meaning “place”, which in turn is derived from the Latin “locum” that also means “place”. So, “in lieu” translates as “in place of”.

34 Energy units : ERGS

An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. it has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.

38 Cook just below a boil : POACH

Our verb “to poach”, meaning “to cook in liquid”, comes from the Old French verb “pochier”, meaning “to put into a pocket”. The idea is that the yolk of a “poached” egg is “pocketed” in the egg white.

39 Network absorbed by The CW : UPN

The United Paramount Network (UPN) was a TV channel that launched in 1995, and shut down in 2006. Some of UPN’s programming was moved to the CW channel at the time of UPN’s demise.

52 “Laughing” scavenger : HYENA

The spotted hyena of Sub-Saharan Africa is also known as the laughing hyena because of the sound it oftens makes, which resembles maniacal laughter.

54 Bordeaux notion : IDEE

Bordeaux is perhaps the wine-production capital of the world. Wine has been produced in the area since the eighth century. Bordeaux has an administrative history too. During WWII, the French government relocated from Paris to the port city of Bordeaux when it became clear that Paris was soon to fall to the Germans. After the Germans took France, the capital was famously moved to Vichy.

55 Gallbladder fluid : BILE

The human gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that mainly helps with the digestion of fat. The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile, which is made in the liver. The bile is released from the gallbladder when fat enters the digestive tract. The bile acts as a surfactant, emulsifying the fat in food so that it can be more easily digested.

56 Part of Caesar’s boast : I SAW

The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BCE and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

58 Holiday song ender : … SYNE

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

61 Ryder Cup co-administrating org. : PGA

The Ryder Cup trophy was donated to the sport of golf by Samuel Ryder, an English entrepreneur. Ryder made his money selling garden seeds in small packets. He only took up golf when he was in his fifties but became quite the enthusiast and eventually donated the trophy in 1927, when it was valued at 100 guineas. The Ryder Cup is a biennial tournament played between teams from the US and Europe.

The post LA Times Crossword 4 Feb 20, Tuesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Twinings products : TEAS

Twinings is a distributor of tea that was founded in England in 1706. That’s a long time ago! The Twinings logo is the oldest continuously-used logo in the world.

14 Hall of Famer Donovan, first woman to coach a WNBA championship team : ANNE

Anne Donovan was a basketball player and coach. She became the first woman to coach a WNBA Championship team when she led the Seattle Storm to the title in 2004. Donovan also represented the US, both as a player and a coach.

15 One-piece dresses : SARIS

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

16 Georgetown athlete : HOYA

The athletic teams of Georgetown University are known as the Hoyas. The name is derived from “Hoya Saxa”, a traditional cheer yelled out at Georgetown games as far back as 1893. The term is a mixture of Greek and Latin, with the Greek word “hoya” meaning “such” or “what”, and “saxa” translating from Latin as “rocks” or “small stones”. The cheer is usually rendered in English as “what rocks!”.

21 Codgers : GEEZERS

“Geezer”, “codger” and “coot” are all not-so-nice terms meaning “old man”.

22 Shorthand writer, for short : STENO

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

23 Haus husband : HERR

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

24 “Apollo 11” org. : NASA

“Apollo 11” is a 2019 documentary film about the famed 1969 moon landing. This remarkable movie consists entirely of archival footage, without any contemporary narration added. Recommended …

27 Solution for contacts : SALINE

The concepts that underpin the technology of contact lenses date back to Leonardo Da Vinci. Although Da Vinci didn’t propose the development of the contact lens, he did write about correcting vision by submerging the eye in a bowl of water. Over a hundred years later, René Descartes made a somewhat impractical suggestion, but along the right lines, of using a glass tube filled with liquid that could be placed in contact with the eye to correct vision. The first real contact lenses were developed by German ophthalmologist Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick in 1887.

38 Fibula neighbor : TIBIA

The tibia is the shin bone, and is the larger of the two bones right below the knee. It is the strongest weight-bearing bone in the human body. “Tibia” is the Roman name for a Greek flute and it is thought that the shin bone was given the same name because flutes were often fashioned out of the shin bones of animals.

The fibula is the calf bone. The fibula lies beside the tibia, with both bones sitting under the femur.

43 Air Quality Index factor : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

The air quality index (AQI) is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

60 Nutritionist’s unit : CALORIE

I wish we’d stop using the term “calorie”, because it is so confusing. In terms of physics, a calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree celsius (at one atmosphere of pressure). The so-called “food calorie” is one thousand times as large, as it is defined in terms of kilograms instead of grams. In attempts to differentiate between these two definitions, the former is sometimes referred to as the “small calorie” and is given the symbol “cal”. The latter is referred to as the “large calorie” and given the symbol “Cal”, with a capital C. If only we’d use the SI system of units, we’d be think in just joules, instead of large and small and food calories.

65 Aptly named 1955 and 2019 Disney dog : TRAMP

“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney that was released in 1955. The title characters are a female American cocker spaniel and a male stray mutt. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date”, and together eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute! Disney made a 2019 live-action adaptation of the original using the same title.

66 Oboe vibrator : REED

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

67 Tupelo, e. g. : TREE

The tupelo is genus of tree in the dogwood family. The tree gives its name to the city of Tupelo, Mississippi.

Down

5 Snakes in hieroglyphics : ASPS

The venomous snake called an asp was a symbol of royalty in ancient Egypt.

The prefix “hiero-” comes from the Greek word “hieros” meaning sacred or holy. The classic use of the prefix is in the term “hieroglyphics” (meaning “sacred carving”), the writing system that uses symbols and pictures.

9 Daisylike fall flowers : ASTERS

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

12 Open hearing, in law : OYER

“Oyer” is a term used to describe the reading out loud of a document in court.

13 “24K Magic” singer Bruno : MARS

Bruno Mars is a singer-songwriter from Honolulu who has been active in the music business since 2006. “Bruno Mars” is a stage name, as Mars was born Peter Hernandez.

23 Word-guessing game : HANGMAN

The word-guessing game called Hangman seems to have been played first in Victorian England. At one time it was known as “Birds, Beasts and Fishes” as the words to be guessed had to be types of animal.

25 Cobbler’s tool : AWL

An awl is a pointed tool used for marking a surface or for piercing small holes. The earliest “awls” were used to pierce ears, apparently. The tool then became very much associated with shoemakers.

28 Margarita garnish : LIME

No one seems to know for sure who first created the cocktail known as a margarita. The most plausible and oft-quoted is that it was invented in 1941 in Ensenada, Mexico. The barman mixed the drink for an important visitor, the daughter of the German ambassador. The daughter’s name was Margarita Henkel, and she lent her name to the new drink. The basic recipe for a margarita is a mixture of tequila, orange-flavored liqueur (like Cointreau) and lime juice.

29 Goat with recurved horns : IBEX

“Ibex” is a common name for various species of mountain goat. “Ibex” is a Latin name that was used for wild goats found in the Alps and Apennines in Europe.

31 Revived Alton Brown cooking show “Good __” : EATS

Alton Brown is a celebrity chef who is behind the Food Network show “Good Eats”, and is the host of “Iron Chef America”.

33 Olympic vaulter’s need : POLE

The pole vault has been an Olympic event for men since the 1896 games. However, women’s pole vaulting was only introduced at the 2000 games.

35 Indecent matter : SMUT

“Smut” means “dirt, smudge” and more recently “pornographic material”. The term comes from the Yiddish “schmutz”, which is a slang word used in English for dirt, as in “dirt on one’s face”.

46 Piano __ : SONATA

48 46-Down, often : SOLO

A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labelled as something lighter and shorter.

52 One leading a charmed life? : COBRA

“Cobra” is the name given to a group of snakes, some of which are in different families. The term is reserved for those snakes that can expand their neck ribs to create a hood. The name “cobra” is an abbreviated form of “cobra de capello” which translates from Portuguese as “snake with hood”.

Snake charmers don’t actually hypnotize their cobras, but they do train them. The snake is trained to “follow” the movement of end of the pungi, the instrument that the charmer uses in the act. The snake presents no danger to the charmer or the audience, as it is typically defanged or has it’s mouth partially stitched up so that only the tongue can be moved in and out. Not a very nice practice …

55 Closing documents : DEEDS

That would be the closing of a house sale.

57 Deity with a bow : AMOR

Cupid was the god of love in Roman mythology. Cupid’s name comes from the Latin verb “cupere” meaning “to desire”. Cupid’s Latin name was Amor, and his Greek counterpart was Eros.

61 Concert gear : AMPS

An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

63 Bit of body ink : TAT

The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”. Tattoos are sometimes referred to as “ink”.

The post LA Times Crossword 5 Feb 20, Wednesday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.

Bill’s time: 5m 50s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Plush carpet : SHAG

Shag carpet is one with a deep pile, one with a “shaggy” appearance.

9 Test versions : BETAS

In the world of software development, the first tested issue of a new program is usually called the alpha version. Expected to have a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, the alpha release is usually distributed to a small number of testers. After reported bugs have been eliminated, the refined version is called a beta and is released to a wider audience, but with the program clearly labeled as “beta”. The users generally check functionality and report further bugs that are encountered. The beta version feeds into a release candidate, the version that is tested just prior to the software being sold into the market, hopefully bug-free.

14 Feminist poet Adrienne : RICH

Adrienne Rich was a poet and feminist. Famously, Rich declined to the National Medal of Arts in 1997 as a protest. She decried the Clinton Administration’s policies towards the arts, and the efforts by Newt Gingrich to shut down the National Endowment for the Arts.

16 Valuable violin : AMATI

The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, the two brothers were succeeded by Girolamo’s son Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

17 Italian wine region : ASTI

Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.

18 Founder of Edom : ESAU

Edom is an ancient Iron Age kingdom located in the south of modern-day Jordan. The area is known for its red-colored sandstone, which gave the kingdom its name. According to the Bible, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau. “Edom” translates from Hebrew as “red”, and was the name given to Esau when he ate the “red pottage”.

19 R2-D2 or BB-8, e.g. : ROBOT

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2 (also “Artoo-Detoo”). R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 ft 8 ins tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

BB-8 (also “Beebee-Ate”) is a droid in the “Star Wars” universe, that first appeared in the 2015 film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. BB-8 is the spherical robot with a free-moving domed head. The “8” in the name “BB-8” was chosen as the robot’s outline resembles a figure-8.

20 Parvenu’s business venture? : UPSTART START-UP

A parvenu is an upstart, someone who has recently achieved wealth or power but who has yet to demonstrate the ability to handle that wealth or power with dignity.

23 Beantown NHL nickname : ESPO

Phil “Espo” Esposito is a former professional hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. Espo scored 126 points in the 1969 season, hence becoming the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season.

In the days of sail, the natural trade routes across the Atlantic involved a lot of ships arriving in Boston directly from West Indies. One of the main cargoes carried by these vessels coming from the West Indies was molasses. An abundance of cheap molasses led to an abundance of baked beans in the port city, and all those baked beans gave rise to Boston’s nickname “Beantown”.

33 Spots for AirPods : EARS

AirPods are Apple’s line of bluetooth earpods. When AirPods were introduced in 2016, the market reacted with some skepticism. The left and right AirPods are not connected by any wire, so there was concern that individual earbuds could fall out of the ear, and possibly get lost. Another concern is Apple’s stated intent to abandon the wired headphone socket on new iPhone models.

34 One may be decorated for the holidays : FIR

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

36 Marmalade bits : RINDS

Marmalade is my favorite fruit preserve. The essential ingredients in a marmalade are fruit juice and peel, and sugar and water. “Marmalade” comes from the Portuguese “marmelada” meaning “quince jam”.

38 __ Ren, “Star Wars” villain : KYLO

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

39 Trig. function : COS

The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio: a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are cosecant, secant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent.

40 Aloha State bird : NENE

The nene is a bird that is native to Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name “nene” is imitative of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful. The nene was named State Bird of Hawaii in 1957.

The official nickname for Hawaii is “The Aloha State”. Hawaii is also referred to as “Paradise of the Pacific” and “The Islands of Aloha”.

41 Plumlike fruit : SLOES

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.

42 Down Under withdrawal? : OUTBACK BACK OUT

In Australia, the land outside of urban area is referred to as the outback or the bush. That said, I think that the term “outback” is sometimes reserved for the more remote parts of the bush.

46 Disney doe : ENA

Ena is Bambi’s aunt in the 1942 Disney film “Bambi”. The movie is based on the novel “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” written by Austrian author Felix Salten and first published in 1923. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

47 It’s just over a foot : SHIN

The tibia is the shin bone, and is the larger of the two bones right below the knee. It is the strongest weight-bearing bone in the human body. “Tibia” is the Roman name for a Greek flute and it is thought that the shin bone was given the same name because flutes were often fashioned out of the shin bones of animals.

48 TSA agent’s perfected search technique? : DOWN PAT PAT-DOWN

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

55 Tropical porch : LANAI

A lanai is a type of veranda, and a design that originated in Hawaii. A kind blog reader tells me that the etymology of “lanai” seems unclear, but that the island name of “Lana’i” is not related.

56 Murdoch who received the 1978 Booker Prize for “The Sea, the Sea” : IRIS

Dame Iris Murdoch was an Irish-born British author and philosopher. She was awarded the Booker Prize in 1978 for her novel “The Sea, the Sea”, although her best-known work is probably her first novel “Under the Net”, which was published in 1954.

61 Zaps : TASES

To tase is to use a taser, a stun gun.

62 Neverland pirate : SMEE

In J. M. Barrie’s play and novel about Peter Pan, Smee is one of Captain Hook’s pirates and is his Hook’s bosun and right-hand man. Smee is described by Barrie as being “Irish” and “a man who stabbed without offence”. Nice guy! Captain Hook and Smee sail on a pirate ship called the Jolly Roger.

Neverland is the fictional location where Peter Pan lives in the works of J. M. Barrie. The name actually evolved in Barrie’s works, starting out as “Peter’s Never Never Never Land”. Also, Barrie used the names “the Never Never Land”, “the Neverland” and “the Neverlands”. Famously, entertainer Michael Jackson renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch as Neverland Valley Ranch when he took ownership in 1988, in a nod to “Peter Pan”.

Down

1 German spouse : FRAU

In German, a “Herr” (Mr.) is married to a “Frau” (Mrs.), and they live together in a “Haus” (house).

4 Plant leaf pest : WHITEFLY

Whiteflies are a large family of insects that can be a real problem for gardeners and farmers. They feed mainly on the underside of leaves, and can transmit several diseases that can devastate crops.

5 Himalayan guide : SHERPA

In the Tibetan language, “Sherpa” means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.

The magnificent Himalaya range of mountains in Asia takes its name from the Sanskrit for “abode of snow”. Geographically, the Himalaya separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau to the north.

6 “Prizzi’s Honor” director or actress : HUSTON

Movie director John Huston was also a prolific screenwriter and an actor. Unusually, Huston directed his father Walter Huston, and his daughter Anjelica Huston. Walter appeared in “The Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948). Anjelica was in “Prizzi’s Honor” (1985).

Anjelica Huston has a great pedigree in the movie business. When she won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the 1985 movie “Prizzi’s Honor”, she became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award. Anjelica is the daughter of director John Huston, and granddaughter of veteran actor Walter Huston.

10 Chewed the scenery : EMOTED

“To chew the scenery” is to overact, to ham it up.

11 Perfume that sounds forbidden : TABU

Tabu is a whole line of cosmetics and perfumes produced by the House of Dana. The company’s brand names were purchased by a Florida company called Dana Classic Fragrances in 1999.

21 Arthur in the International Tennis Hall of Fame : ASHE

The great American tennis player Arthur Ashe spent the last years of his life writing his memoir called “Days of Grace”. He finished the manuscript just a few days before he passed away, dying from AIDS caused by a tainted blood transfusion.

22 Seaweed-based thickeners : AGARS

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

25 Buckeye State sch. : OHIO U

Ohio University was founded well over 200 years ago in 1804 in Athens, the city in which it is still located today.

Ohio is sometimes referred to as the Buckeye State, taking the name from the state tree. In turn, the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch, thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

27 Brightest star in Cygnus : DENEB

Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. The name “Deneb” comes from the Arabic word “dhaneb” meaning “tail”, as it lies at the tail of the swan.

29 “All Because __”: 2005 U2 song : OF YOU

The band known today as U2 was originally called Feedback, and then The Hype. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

30 Steakhouse order : FILET

A fillet is a boneless cut of meat or fish. The term “fillet” comes from the Old French “filet” meaning “small thread, filament”. Apparently, we applied the term to food because the piece of fish or meat was tied up with string after it was boned. Here in the US, we tend to use the French spelling “filet”.

32 Dr Pepper Museum city : WACO

Dr Pepper was introduced in 1885 in Waco, Texas, one year before the competing Coca-Cola was released to the market. I spent an entertaining few hours at the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco a few years ago. And, note the lack of a period after “Dr”.

38 Yukon gold rush region : KLONDIKE

The Klondike is a region in Canada’s Yukon territory that is perhaps most famous for the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s. About 100,000 prospectors migrated to the area, with many coming from Seattle and San Francisco. While a few prospectors did make their fortunes, the vast majority of prospectors endured the long trek and harsh conditions in vain.

40 Au pairs : NANNIES

An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.

41 Burlesque bit : SKIT

“Burlesque” came into English from French, although the word is rooted in the Italian “burla”, the word for a joke, or mockery. A burlesque is work of literature, drama or music that is intended to amuse and cause laughter. Burlesques in the US took on a variety show format and were popular in the US from the 1860s. Over time, the variety acts started to include female striptease, and the term “burlesque” has come to be mainly associated with such entertainment. The derivative verb “to burlesque” means “to imitate mockingly”.

43 “‘__ the Jabberwock, my son!'”: Carroll : BEWARE

Here are the first two verses of “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, probably the one poem that we all just loved learning to recite at school

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

48 Mike’s “Wayne’s World” co-star : DANA

Dana Carvey, along with the likes of Phil Hartman and Kevin Nealon, was part of the new breed of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) comedians credited with resurrecting the show in the late eighties. One of Carvey’s most popular characters was the Church Lady, and he became so associated with her that among fellow cast members Carvey was often referred to simply as “the Lady”. Another favorite Carvey character was Garth Algar who went to feature in the “Wayne’s World” movies. Carvey had open-heart surgery in 1997 to clear a blocked artery, but the surgical team operated on the wrong blood vessel. To recover, he had to have five more procedures. He ended up suing for medical malpractice and donated his $7.5 million compensation payment to charity.

“Wayne’s World” was originally a “Saturday Night Live” sketch starring Mike Myers (as Wayne Campbell) and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar. The sketch was so successful that it was parlayed into two hit movies, released in 1992 and 1993. Not my cup of tea though …

52 Norse god : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

The post LA Times Crossword 6 Feb 20, Thursday appeared first on LAXCrossword.com.