LA Times Crossword Answers 23 Mar 13, Saturday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe DiPietro
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 26m 50s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Brought to ruin SABOTAGED
There is a story that disgruntled textile workers would kick their wooden shoes, called sabots, into the looms in order to disable them so that they didn’t have to work. This act of vandalism was named for the shoe, an act of … sabotage.

10. “Appointment in Samarra” novelist O’HARA
“Appointment in Samarra” was John O’Hara’s first novel, published in 1934. Samarra is a city north of Baghdad in Iraq, although the story itself takes place in a fictional town in Pennsylvania. The novel deals with the last three days in the life of Julian English, describing how he destroys himself with a series compulsive acts leading up to his suicide. This one doesn’t qualify as light reading for the plane …

16. Baking apples ROMES
A Rome apple is a cooking apple. Supposedly, the first Rome apple was planted by Alanson Gillett in 1817 on the banks of the Ohio River near the Rome Township. Originally called “Gillett’s Seedling”, it was eventually given the name “Rome Beauty”.

19. Award estab. by King George V OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

– Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
– Knight Commander (KBE)
– Commander (CBE)
– Officer (OBE)
– Member (MBE)

20. Jeu de mots PUN
“Jeu de mots” is a French term meaning “play on words”.

22. Subterranean storage units, perhaps SILOS
Silo is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English, originally coming from the Greek word “siros” that described a pit in which one kept grain.

27. Toot TEAR
“Toot” and “tear” are slang terms for a drinking binge.

35. Trysting place HOTEL ROOM
In its most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a prearranged meeting between lovers. The term comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting.

40. Brewer Frederick PABST
Frederick Pabst was a brewer from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area who had immigrated to the US from Prussia with his parents. Pabst bought himself into his father-in-law’s small brewery and over the years grew the enterprise into a public company, eventually changing the name from “Best” to “Pabst”. The most famous beer from Pabst is of course Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is the most recognizable brand of beer from the Pabst Brewing Company. There appears to be some dispute over whether or not Pabst beer ever won a “blue ribbon” prize, but the company claims that it did so at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The beer was originally called Pabst Best Select, and then just Pabst Select. With the renaming to Blue Ribbon, the beer was sold with an actual blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle until it was dropped in 1916 and incorporated into the label.

45. Slammer PEN
“Slammer” and “pen” are slang terms for “prison”.

46. Car registration datum YEAR
In most states, the government agency responsible for vehicle registration and the issuing of drivers licenses is called the DMV. This acronym usually stands for the Department of Motor Vehicles, but there are “variations on the theme”. For example, in Arizona the responsible agency is called the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), and in Colorado the familiar acronym DMV stands for “Division” of Motor Vehicles.

47. Dallas quarterback after Bledsoe ROMO
Tony Romo is a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo is also an avid amateur golfer and has even tried (unsuccessfully) to qualify for the US Open golf championship.

Drew Bledsoe is a former NFL quarterback, most famously for the New England Patriots in the 1990s. Today Bledsoe is a partner in the Doubleback Winery in Walla Walla, Washington.

50. “__ chance!” BONNE
“Bonne chance” is French for “good luck”.

51. Stumped ORATED
“To stump” can mean to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign. This peculiarly American term dates back to the 19th century. Back then a “stump speech” was an address given by someone standing on a large tree stump that provided a convenient perch to help the speaker get his or her message across to the crowd.

53. Scent word EAU
Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted town. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

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

56. “Born Yesterday” playwright KANIN
Garson Kanin was a playwright and director. Kanin’s best-known play is “Born Yesterday”, which premiered in 1946. However, Kanin’s most famous works are screenplays that he wrote with his wife, the Oscar-winning actress Ruth Gordon. Together they wrote the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn movie “Pat and Mike” (1952), as well as 1949’s “Adam’s Rib”, which is perhaps my favorite movie of all time.

60. Spitzer who succeeded Pataki as New York governor ELIOT
Eliot Spitzer was the Governor of New York for just over a year before he resigned when it surfaced that he had been a client of a prostitution ring.

61. Mac-based multimedia player QUICKTIME
QuickTime is best known as a video player, which was developed by Apple.

Down
1. Filled Asian appetizers SAMOSAS
A samosa is quite a nice appetizer, usually a triangular-shaped savory that often has a vegetarian filling. The word “samosa” is primarily used on Indian menus, and the name comes from “sanbosag”, the name for the dish in Persia.

2. Foreign Service Officer to the Middle East, say ARABIST
An Arabist is a specialist in the study of the Arabic language and culture, someone who is from outside the Arab World.

3. Fictional Amelia who turns 50 in 2013 BEDELIA
The “Amelia Bedelia” series of children’s books was written by Peggy Parish until she passed away in 1988. Her nephew, Herman Parish took over and has been writing them since 1995. The Amelia character is based on a maid in Cameroon where Parish had lived during her formative years.

6. Bonds manager after Baker ALOU
Felipe Alou is a former professional baseball player and manager. Alou managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001, and the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2006. Alou was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to the US to play for the Giants in 1955. Felipe’s brothers Matty and Jesús followed him to the US, and into Major League baseball.

Dusty Baker is a former baseball player and is currently the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. One of Baker’s claims to fame is that he, along with Glenn Burke, is said to have invented the hand gesture we call a “high five”.

Barry Bonds is a former baseball player who holds numerous records as a batter. He is a controversial figure in the sport, mired for years in baseball’s steroids scandal.

7. Weasley with a crush on Harry Potter GINNY
In the “Harry Potter” series of books, Ginny Weasley is the sister of Harry’s friend, Ron Weasley. Late in the series Harry and Ginny become boyfriend and girlfriend, and in the epilogue it is revealed that the couple eventually get married and have three children.

9. Actress Susan DEY
The actress Susan Dey first appeared on “The Partridge Family” when she was 17-years-old when she had no acting experience. Years later, Dey won a Golden Globe for playing the leading role of Grace Van Owen in “L. A. Law”.

10. Seal threat ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

11. Counter order HOLD THE MAYO
Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” which we use in English today.

12. Play about rival composers AMADEUS
If you’ve seen the brilliant 1984 movie “Amadeus”, you’ll have seen the composer Salieri portrayed as being very envious and resentful of the gifted Mozart. It is no doubt true that two composers fought against each other, at least on occasion, but the extent of the acrimony between the two has perhaps been exaggerated in the interest of theater. Mozart and his wife had six children, but only two survived infancy. The youngest boy was called Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, born just five months before his father died. Franz was to become a gifted composer, teacher, pianist and conductor, helped along the way by lessons from his father’s supposed rival … Antonio Salieri.

21. Topping whose name means “please” PREGO
The Prego brand of pasta sauce is owned by the Campbell Soup Company. It is actually based on the family recipe of one of the company’s chefs. “Prego” literally means “I pray” in Italian, but it translates in English best as “you’re welcome” when it is used after a “thank you” (“grazie”, in Italian).

32. Promulgate SOW
To promulgate is to make known officially, to announce.

33. Haggadah-reading ritual SEDER
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

– Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
– Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

34. Metrosexual FOP
I think it’s generally accepted that the term “metrosexual”, from “metropolitan heterosexual”, refers to a man who lives in an urban environment and puts a fair amount of money and energy into his appearance. That wouldn’t be me, then …

38. Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress,” e.g. CHORALE
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is a hymn composed by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. It has been nicknamed the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation” as it was used to advance the cause of the Reformers.

Martin Luther wrote his “95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of the Indulgences” in 1517, a document that is often seen as the spark that set off the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s main argument was that the Catholic Church’s practice of granting “indulgences”, forgiveness from punishment for sins, was wrong. It was especially wrong when such indulgences were granted in exchange for money.

39. Cluj is its second-most populous city ROMANIA
Cluj-Napoca is the second-most populous city in Romania. Cluj is also considered to be the unofficial capital of the province of Transylvania.

41. Del Toro of “Che” BENICIO
Benicio Del Toro is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is an Academy Award winner, for the role he played in “Traffic”, released in 2000. He also played the title role in the 2008 movie “Che”.

42. Riviera city with an annual music festival SAN REMO
The Italian city of San Remo sits on the Mediterranean, right on the border with France. In Italian the city is named Sanremo, just one word, although the spelling of “San Remo” dates back to ancient times.

49. Step down DEMIT
“To demit” is to relinquish an office, to resign, to abdicate.

50. “Designing Women” actress BURKE
The actress and comedienne Delta Burke is best known for playing Suzanne Sugarbaker in the sitcom “Designing Women”. Burke ending up leaving the cast in 1991 due to her poor relationship with the creators of the show.

52. Strep throat-treating docs ENTS
Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT).

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 a battle with streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) not too long ago 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.

54. Moe who founded Folkways Records ASCH
Moe Asch is the son of Polish-born American novelist Sholem Asch. Moe founded Asch Records in 1986, later changing the name to Folkway Records. Folkway Records specialized in recording folk, world and children’s music.

57. EPA measure of concern to asthma sufferers AQI
The air quality index (AQI).

59. Source of rectangular lettuce? ATM
Lettuce, cabbage, kale, dough, scratch, simoleons and moola are all slang terms for money.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Brought to ruin SABOTAGED
10. “Appointment in Samarra” novelist O’HARA
15. “Is this being broadcast?” ARE WE LIVE?
16. Baking apples ROMES
17. Succeeded, in a way MADE MONEY
18. Hands it to the performer? CLAPS
19. Award estab. by King George V OBE
20. Jeu de mots PUN
21. Water wheel component PADDLE
22. Subterranean storage units, perhaps SILOS
24. “It’s __ turn” YOUR
27. Toot TEAR
28. “Keep dreaming” AS IF
29. Kin of -ian -ITE
30. Quest HUNT
31. Sports figures STATS
33. High-scoring ball games SLUGFESTS
35. Trysting place HOTEL ROOM
37. Like most light bulbs SCREWED IN
40. Brewer Frederick PABST
44. Ending with tele- -THON
45. Slammer PEN
46. Car registration datum YEAR
47. Dallas quarterback after Bledsoe ROMO
48. Spitting nails, so to speak IRED
50. “__ chance!” BONNE
51. Stumped ORATED
53. Scent word EAU
55. Org. with many schedules IRS
56. “Born Yesterday” playwright KANIN
57. Contests with no ultimate winner, hopefully ARMS RACES
60. Spitzer who succeeded Pataki as New York governor ELIOT
61. Mac-based multimedia player QUICKTIME
62. __ list DEAN’S
63. Up for it IN THE MOOD

Down
1. Filled Asian appetizers SAMOSAS
2. Foreign Service Officer to the Middle East, say ARABIST
3. Fictional Amelia who turns 50 in 2013 BEDELIA
4. Be light OWE
5. Fills in TEMPS
6. Bonds manager after Baker ALOU
7. Weasley with a crush on Harry Potter GINNY
8. Big night EVE
9. Actress Susan DEY
10. Seal threat ORCA
11. Counter order HOLD THE MAYO
12. Play about rival composers AMADEUS
13. Tuck into a new bed REPLANT
14. Sets forth ASSERTS
21. Topping whose name means “please” PREGO
23. Inclined to believe OF THE NOTION
25. Engine hose OIL LINE
26. Reversal of policy U-TURN
32. Promulgate SOW
33. Haggadah-reading ritual SEDER
34. Metrosexual FOP
36. Hardly enthusiastic TEPID
37. Buttered up STROKED
38. Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress,” e.g. CHORALE
39. Cluj is its second-most populous city ROMANIA
41. Del Toro of “Che” BENICIO
42. Riviera city with an annual music festival SAN REMO
43. Plaited TRESSED
49. Step down DEMIT
50. “Designing Women” actress BURKE
52. Strep throat-treating docs ENTS
54. Moe who founded Folkways Records ASCH
57. EPA measure of concern to asthma sufferers AQI
58. Head up RUN
59. Source of rectangular lettuce? ATM


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