LA Times Crossword Answers 6 Dec 12, Thursday

CROSSWORD SETTER: C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Love that God … each of the theme answers has the word EROS hidden inside:

17A. Typically pink-flowered bloomer CABBAG(E ROS)E
23A. Gateway Arch architect E(ERO S)AARINEN
37A. Key Egyptian artifact unearthed in 1799 TH(E ROS)ETTA STONE
49A. Postwar reception H(ERO’S) WELCOME

60A. Tools of the mischievous god hidden in 17-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across BOW AND ARROW

COMPLETION TIME: 14m 31s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … PLU (PLE), LUANN (Leann)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Sundsvall rollers SAABS
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

Sundsvall is a city on the east coast of Sweden, sitting on the Gulf of Bothnia. The city has burned to the ground four times in all, with the last fire in 1888 being the biggest fire in the history of the country. As a result of this last fire, the city was built with buildings made from stone. It’s no wonder then that Sundsvall has the nickname “the Stone City”.

15. Knighted conductor SOLTI
Sir Georg Solti was a great Hungarian-British conductor, who spent 22 years as music director of the Chicago Symphony, one of many prestigious positions he held in the world of classical music and opera. Solti was awarded 31 Grammy Awards, the most won by any individual in any genre of music.

17. Typically pink-flowered bloomer CABBAGE ROSE
The cabbage rose is particularly associated with the French city of Grasse, which is considered the world’s capital of perfume. The flowers of the cabbage rose are harvested to make rose oil that is used by the local perfume factories.

20. Title words preceding “beneath the milky twilight,” in a 1999 hit KISS ME
“Kiss Me” is a song recorded in 1997 by the Nashville band Sixpence None the Richer. The band’s unusual name comes from a passage in C. S. Lewis’s book “Mere Christianity”.

22. Worrisome engine sound PING
Pinging is also known as “engine knocking”. It is a metallic sound, created when not all of the fuel-air mixture is detonated by the spark plug, with some of it detonated late in the cycle. The late detonation causes the knocking/pinging sound. Additives (anti-knock agents) in gasoline can help reduce the chances of pinging.

23. Gateway Arch architect EERO SAARINEN
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect, renowned in this country for his unique designs for public buildings such as Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Dulles International Airport Terminal, and the TWA building at JFK.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the tallest monument in the United States. It was designed by Eero Saarinenen, with the help of structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel. They did their design work back in 1947, but construction wasn’t started until 1963. In 1980, a daredevil took it upon himself to parachute onto the top of the arch intending to further jump from the apex of the arch and parachute to the ground. He hit the arch alright, and slid all the way down one of the arches to his death. No comment …

30. Breeders’ Cup event RACE
The Breeder’s Cup is a series of horse races for thoroughbreds that have been held since 1984. The track used for the races changes each year, but it is always located somewhere in North America.

37. Key Egyptian artifact unearthed in 1799 THE ROSETTA STONE
Rosetta is a coastal city and port on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact of tremendous importance in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carvings on the stone are actually three translations of the same passage of prose, one in Egyptian hieroglyphics, one in Egyptian Demotic language, and one in classical Greek. The stone was discovered by the French military during Napoleon’s 1798 campaign in Egypt. Before the French could get it back to France, the stone somehow ended up in enemy hands (the British), so it is now on display in the British Museum. Ownership of the stone is very much in dispute. The French want it, and understandably, the Egyptians would like it back.

42. Big name in beer STROH
Bernard Stroh was the son of a German brewer. Stroh immigrated to the US in 1848 and set up his own brewery in 1850 in Detroit. Years later, the Stroh Brewing Company introduced a European process called fire-brewing. This results in higher temperatures at a crucial stage in the brewing process, supposedly bringing out flavor. Stroh’s is the only American beer that still uses this process.

44. Manitoba tribe CREE
The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US most of the Cree nation live in Montana on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

Manitoba is the Canadian province that borders the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota. Even though Manitoba has an area of over 250,000 square miles, 60% of the population resides in the province’s capital city of Winnipeg.

46. Blood sugar regulator INSULIN
The hormone insulin is secreted by structures in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans, named for their island-like appearance under a microscope and for their discoverer Paul Langerhans. The hormone is named for the “islets”, as the Latin for island is “insula”.

53. Neutrogena rival OLAY
Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1949. When Oil of Olay was introduced internationally, it was given slightly different brand names designed to appeal in the different geographies. In Ireland we know it as Oil of Ulay, for example, and in France it is Oil of Olaz.

54. Like “ifs” and “buts”: Abbr. PLU
The words “ifs” and “buts”are both plurals, and a kind blog reader pointed out for me that “plu.” is an abbreviation for “plural”.

60. Tools of the mischievous god hidden in 17-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across BOW AND ARROW
As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male.

62. Cézanne’s summer ETE
Paul Cézanne was a Post-Impressionist artist who was born and worked in the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. Cézanne has the reputation of being the artist who bridged the late 19th century Impressionist movement with the early 20th century Cubist movement. Both Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso are quoted as saying that Cézanne “is the father of us all”.

63. Pad user STENO
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

65. Le counterpart, in Leipzig DER
Leipzig is a city in Germany located just under 100 miles south of Berlin. The name “Leipzig” comes from the Slavic word ”Lipsk” which means “settlement where the linden trees stand”. Linden trees are also called lime trees and basswood trees.

Down
2. Jai __ ALAI
Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, in fact golf balls usually get going at a greater clip.

3. Mass robes ALBS
The alb is the white, neck-to-toe vestment worn by priests, usually with a rope cord around the waist. The term alb comes from “albus”, the Latin word for “white”.

4. Raspy-voiced “Like a Rock” singer BOB SEGER
Bob Seger struggled as a performing artist right through the sixties and early seventies before becoming a commercial success in 1976 with the release of his album “Night Moves”. Since then, Seger has recorded songs that have become classics like, “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Old Time Rock & Roll”.

5. Where the anther is STAMEN
The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther carries the pollen, which is picked up by the bee and transferred from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

7. Wedding dances HORAS
The hora (also “horah”) is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. The hora was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional Israeli folk songs. The dance is a regular sight at Jewish weddings.

8. HI hi ALOHA
The Hawaiian word “Aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.

9. Highest peak in the Calif. Cascades MT SHASTA
Only two volcanoes in the Cascade range have erupted in the 20th century: Mount St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Lassen in 1915. The last significant eruption of Mount Shasta, a third volcano in the Cascades, was about 200 years ago

10. “Sprechen __ Deutsch?” SIE
“Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” is the German for, “Do you speak German?”

18. “Unfaithful” co-star GERE
Richard Gere has played such great roles on the screen, and I find him to be a very interesting character off the screen. Gere has been studying Buddhism since 1978 and is a very visible supporter of the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet.

“Unfaithful” is a 2002 drama film with leads played by Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The Hollywood movie is a remake of a French film called “La Femme infidèle” (The Unfaithful Wife).

25. Soft-spoken painter Bob ROSS
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.

27. 1939 Garland co-star LAHR
Bert Lahr’s most famous role was that of the cowardly lion in “The Wizard of Oz”. Lahr had a long career in burlesque, vaudeville and on Broadway. Remember the catch phrase made famous by the cartoon character Snagglepuss, “Heavens to Murgatroyd!”? Snagglepuss stole that line from a 1944 movie called, “Meet the People” in which it was first uttered by none other than Bert Lahr.

The 1939 classic film “The Wizard of Oz” didn’t do very well at the box office when it was released for its first run. It was the most expensive film ever made at that time, and disappointed the studios by only returning about a million dollars in profit for them. It also failed to win the Best Picture Oscar (losing out to “Gone with the Wind”), but “Over the Rainbow” did win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. But “The Wizard of Oz” gained a lot of ground in subsequent years through re-releases. It is now the most watched movie in history.

40. John Wayne classic TRUE GRIT
The classic 1969 western movie “True Grit” starring John Wayne was a screen adaptation of a 1968 novel by Henry Hathaway. The Coen brothers made another big screen adaption of the novel in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges in the Rooster Cogburn role preivously played by John Wayne.

45. Campanella of Cooperstown ROY
Roy Campanella was a Major League Baseball player considered by many to have been one of the greatest catchers the game has ever seen. Campanella played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the forties and fifties and was a pioneer in breaking the color barrier as he started out playing in the Negro Leagues. Sadly, he was paralyzed in a car accident when in his late thirties and so his career was tragically cut short.

51. Cary of “The Princess Bride” ELWES
Cary Elwes is an English actor, most noted for appearing in the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”. Cary is the son of a celebrated English portrait painter, Dominick Elwes.

“The Princess Bride” is a novel by William Goldman written in 1973. Famously, the book was adapted into a 1987 film of the same name directed by Rob Reiner that has become a cult classic.

52. Blond comic strip teenager LUANN
“Luann” is a newspaper comic strip written and drawn by Greg Evans. The strip centers on the suburban adventures of teenager Luann DeGroot.

56. Secretary of Education Duncan ARNE
Long before Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education he was a professional basketball player, but not in the NBA. He played for the National Basketball League of Australia, for the Eastside Spectres in Melbourne.

60. Org. with Eagles BSA
As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden Powell, in 1907. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, in 1910.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Sundsvall rollers SAABS
6. Trickeries SHAMS
11. Pops DAD
14. Portion out ALLOT
15. Knighted conductor SOLTI
16. Took in ATE
17. Typically pink-flowered bloomer CABBAGE ROSE
19. Paris pronoun TOI
20. Title words preceding “beneath the milky twilight,” in a 1999 hit KISS ME
21. “So relaxing!” AHH
22. Worrisome engine sound PING
23. Gateway Arch architect EERO SAARINEN
26. Set straight ALIGNED
29. Hit, maybe SONG
30. Breeders’ Cup event RACE
31. Loses on purpose DIETS
34. Light touch PAT
37. Key Egyptian artifact unearthed in 1799 THE ROSETTA STONE
41. Coll. applicants SRS
42. Big name in beer STROH
43. Mindless process ROTE
44. Manitoba tribe CREE
46. Blood sugar regulator INSULIN
49. Postwar reception HERO’S WELCOME
53. Neutrogena rival OLAY
54. Like “ifs” and “buts”: Abbr. PLU
55. Throw a feast for REGALE
59. Back talk LIP
60. Tools of the mischievous god hidden in 17-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across BOW AND ARROW
62. Cézanne’s summer ETE
63. Pad user STENO
64. Light wash RINSE
65. Le counterpart, in Leipzig DER
66. Like-minded gps. ASSNS
67. Guide STEER

Down
1. Grain holder SACK
2. Jai __ ALAI
3. Mass robes ALBS
4. Raspy-voiced “Like a Rock” singer BOB SEGER
5. Where the anther is STAMEN
6. Dallas-to-Houston dir. SSE
7. Wedding dances HORAS
8. HI hi ALOHA
9. Highest peak in the Calif. Cascades MT SHASTA
10. “Sprechen __ Deutsch?” SIE
11. Single-and-looking group DATING POOL
12. Do a makeup job? ATONE
13. Stoop DEIGN
18. “Unfaithful” co-star GERE
22. One that stands to prevent a strike PIN
24. More strange ODDER
25. Soft-spoken painter Bob ROSS
26. Liberal subject? ARTS
27. 1939 Garland co-star LAHR
28. Defroster alternative ICE SCRAPER
32. “Who am __ say?” I TO
33. Moral principle ETHIC
35. Con ANTI
36. Summer intern, often TEEN
38. Plural medical suffix -OSES
39. Stock holders? STEWPOTS
40. John Wayne classic TRUE GRIT
45. Campanella of Cooperstown ROY
47. North of Paris NORD
48. Mascara mishaps SMEARS
49. Sank, in a way HOLED
50. High class ELITE
51. Cary of “The Princess Bride” ELWES
52. Blond comic strip teenager LUANN
56. Secretary of Education Duncan ARNE
57. Get whipped LOSE
58. Fancy pitcher EWER
60. Org. with Eagles BSA
61. Hardly shows of support NOS

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