LA Times Crossword Answers 31 Dec 13, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. French message-carrying boat AVISO
A dispatch boat is a military vessel designed to carry dispatches to and from ships. In the French navy, a dispatch boat is called an aviso. Nowadays of course, the need for dispatch bats has disappeared, but avisos still exist and are a class of combat vessel usually used in the defense of a coast against encroachment by enemies.

14. __ Cod CAPE
Cape Cod is indeed named after the fish. It was first called Cape Cod by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 as his men caught so many fish there.

15. Toy blocks LEGOS
Lego is manufactured by Lego Group, a privately held company headquartered in Billund, Denmark. The company was founded by a carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1934 and the now-famous plastic interlocking blocks were introduced in 1949. The blocks were originally sold under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks” but I think “Lego” is easier to remember! The name “Lego” comes from the Danish term “leg godt” meaning “play well”.

16. “Bus Stop” dramatist INGE
Playwright William Inge had a run of success on Broadway in the early fifties. Inge’s most celebrated work of that time was the play “Picnic”, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The original 1953 cast of “Picnic” included a young male actor making his debut on Broadway. His name was Paul Newman.

“Bus Stop” is a marvelous play written by William Inge in 1955. The famous 1956 movie of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe is only very loosely based on the play.

23. Jacob’s twin ESAU
Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described, “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

28. One of Scrooge’s four visitors GHOST
In the wonderful Charles Dickens novella “A Christmas Carol”, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by four ghosts:

– Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s deceased partner
– The Ghost of Christmas Past
– The Ghost of Christmas Present
– The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

35. Predatory bird RAPTOR
“Raptor” is a generic term for a bird of prey, one that has talons to grip its victims.

37. College URL ending EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

39. Bird: Pref. AVI-
The prefix “avi-” means “bird-related” as in “aviculture”, the breeding of birds.

44. __ de soie: silk cloth PEAU
“Paduasoy” is a satin-weave silk fabric with a dull finish. The material is sometimes known by its French name “peau de soie”, which translates as “skin of silk”.

46. PBS underwriter NEA
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch the election results coming in with the NewsHour team. PBS’s Big Bird from “Sesame Street” made a bit of a splash in the last election cycle …

47. Lassie chaser LADDIE
In Scotland perhaps, a lassie might be pursued romantically by a laddie.

53. PGA great Sam 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.

54. “__ Grit”: John Wayne classic TRUE
The classic 1969 western movie “True Grit” starring John Wayne is 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 previously played by John Wayne.

John Wayne was called Marion Mitchell Morrison at birth, named after his grandfather who was a Civil War veteran. When young Marion was a little boy, a local fireman used to call him “Little Duke” because he was always seen walking with his large dog called “Duke”. Marion liked the name “Duke” and so he called himself Duke Morrison for the rest of his life. That said, Duke Morrison also used John Wayne as a stage name.

56. Jackie Gleason catchphrase, and a hint to the ends of 20-, 31-, 40- and 49-Across HOW SWEET IT IS!
Jackie Gleason is an icon in the comedic acting world. His most famous role on the small screen was of course Ralph Kramdem on “The Honeymooners”. On the big screen two of his memorable roles were Minnesota Fats in 1961’s “The Hustler” and Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the “Smokey and the Bandit” films. Gleason was also noted for his interest in the paranormal. He built a house in the shape of a UFO that he called “The Mothership”, and he also claimed that President Nixon took him on a secret visit to Homestead AFB in Florida where he saw an alien spaceship and dead extraterrestrials!

67. Partner of Roy or Chip DALE
Dale Evans was the stage name of actress and singer Lucille Wood Smith, famous as the third wife of Roy Rogers. Evans was from Uvalde, Texas, and had a rough start in life. She eloped with her first husband when she was just 14 years old, and had her first child at 15. That first marriage ended in divorce when she was 17 in 1929, the same year she started on her second marriage. Roy Rogers was Evans’ fourth husband and they married in 1947, a marriage that lasted for 51 years, until Rogers passed away in 1998.

Chip ‘n’ Dale are two chipmunk characters created by Disney in 1943. The characters’ names are of course a pun on “Chippendale”, the family name of Thomas Chippendale the noted English furniture designer.

68. Swedish furniture giant IKEA
Did you know that IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943 when he was just 17-years-old??!! IKEA is an acronym that stands 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.

72. Greenhorns TYROS
A tyro (also tiro) is a beginner or a novice. “Tyro” comes into English from Latin, in which “tiro” means “a recruit”.

A “greenhorn” is a young-horned animal, a term that is now applied to any inexperienced person.

Down
1. Union underminer SCAB
We first started calling strikebreakers “scabs” in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word probably comes from the use of “scab” as a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.

5. Ex of Rod Stewart ALANA
Alana Stewart is a former model and actress. She had two famous husbands, but both marriages ended in divorce. Her first husband was actor George Hamilton, and her second was rock star Rod Stewart.

6. Beetle with four wheels, slangily VEE-DUB
“VW” in slang is a “vee-dub”, short for “vee double-u”. The Beetle was the official name of the VW model released in the US, but it was usually referred to as a “bug” over here, and a “beetle” elsewhere.

7. Movie lab helper IGOR
Igor has been the assistant to Dracula, Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein among others. Igor is almost invariably portrayed as a hunchback.

8. Sound measure SONE
In the acoustic world, the “sone” was introduced as a unit of perceived loudness in 1936.

9. Mount near Olympus OSSA
Mt. Ossa in Greece is located between Mt. Pelion in the south, and the famed Mt. Olympus in the north. Mount Ossa is also known as Kissavos.

10. Pageant title since 1952 MISS USA
The Miss USA beauty pageant was founded in 1952 in order to select the American candidate for the Miss Universe competition.

11. Singer Yoko ONO
Yoko Ono was born into a prosperous Japanese family, and is actually a descendant of one of the emperors of Japan. Ono’s father moved around the world for work and Yoko lived the first few years of her life in San Francisco. The family returned to Japan before moving on to New York, Hanoi and back to Japan just before WWII. There Yoko lived through the great fire-bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Immediately after the war the family was far from prosperous. While Yoko’s father was being held in a prison camp in Vietnam, her mother had to resort to begging and bartering to feed her children. When her father was repatriated, life started to return to normal and Yoko was able to attend university. She was the first woman to be accepted into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University.

13. Low card in a royal flush TEN
The poker hand called a royal flush is the highest-ranking hand possible. It consists of a run of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, with all in the same suit.

21. Prevent legally ESTOP
The term “estop” means to block or stop by using some legal device. The word “estop” comes from Old French, in which “estopper” means “to stop up” or “to impede”.

22. Trendy, ’60s-style MOD
“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 …

25. Muscle beach swimwear SPEEDO
Speedo brand swimwear was first produced in Australia in 1928, by a hosiery company that wanted to diversify. The brand name was chosen after a slogan competition among employees was won by “Speed on in your Speedos”. It was a long time ago, I guess …

30. Sleep-inducing drug OPIATE
Opiates are the narcotic alkaloids found in the opium poppy plant, although some synthetic versions and derivatives of the same alkaloids are also called opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs of morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.

33. Actress Lupino IDA
Actress Ida Lupino was also a successful director, in the days when women weren’t very welcome behind the camera. Lupino had already directed four “women’s” short films when she stepped in to direct the 1953 drama “The Hitch-Hiker”, taking over when the original director became ill. “The Hitch-Hiker” was the first film noir movie to be directed by a woman, and represented somewhat of a breakthrough for women in the industry.

42. Shot, as an engine KAPUT
“Kaput” comes to us from French via German. “Capot” means “not having won a single trick” in the French card game called Piquet. We use the term today informally, to mean
incapacitated or destroyed.

48. Hanukkah spinning toy DREIDEL
A dreidel is a spinning top with four sides, often associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each of the four sides on a dreidel bears a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. The four letters form an acronym for the Hebrew phrase “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham” meaning “a great miracle happened there”. According to tradition, children would be taught Torah while hiding in caves away from the Greeks. When Greek soldiers approached, the children would hide their torah scrolls and play with their dreidels instead.

50. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” constable ODO
Odo is a character in the “Star Trek” spin-off “Deep Space Nine”. He is the chief of security on the space station and is a Changeling, meaning that he can assume any shape that he wishes. Odo is played by René Auberjonois, an actor you might remember as Father Mulcahy in the movie version of “M*A*S*H”.

51. Verdi opera based on a Shakespeare play OTELLO
Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” was first performed in 1887 at La Scala Theater in Milan. The opera is based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello” and is considered by many to be Verdi’s greatest work.

55. Enjoys a siesta RESTS
We use the word “siesta” to describe a short nap in the early afternoon, taking the word from the Spanish. In turn, the Spanish word is derived from the Latin “hora sexta” meaning “the sixth hour”. The idea is that the nap is taken at “the sixth hour” after dawn.

58. Like centerfolds SEXY
In the magazine world, a centerfold is large illustration that is folded to form the central spread of a publication. Famously, Hugh Hefner used the centerfold of “Playboy” magazine for a large color photograph of a nude model, and since then the term “centerfold” has been used for a model who has featured in such a layout. Playboy’s first centerfold model was Marilyn Monroe.

61. Ingrid’s “Casablanca” role ILSA
Ilsa Lund was of course played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “she paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

64. Don Ho’s strings UKE
The ukulele originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

Don Ho apparently had a pretty liberal arrangement with his wife. When Ho was touring with his two backing singers, Pattie Swallie and Elizabeth Gevara, all three of them shared a room together. He had two children with each of his roommates, giving a total of ten kids including the six he had with his wife. The arrangement was quite open, it seems, with all ten kids visiting each other regularly. To each his own …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Run-down area SLUM
5. French message-carrying boat AVISO
10. Castle trench MOAT
14. __ Cod CAPE
15. Toy blocks LEGOS
16. “Bus Stop” dramatist INGE
17. Military assistant AIDE
18. Many, many centuries AEONS
19. In a little while SOON
20. Hopes that weren’t meant to be BROKEN DREAMS (giving “sweet dreams”)
23. Jacob’s twin ESAU
24. Dethrones OUSTS
28. One of Scrooge’s four visitors GHOST
31. Concern before changing lanes BLIND SPOT (giving “sweet spot”)
35. Predatory bird RAPTOR
37. College URL ending EDU
38. Nautical opening? AERO-
39. Bird: Pref. AVI-
40. Locker room motivator PEP TALK
43. Be in the wrong ERR
44. __ de soie: silk cloth PEAU
46. PBS underwriter NEA
47. Lassie chaser LADDIE
49. Kids’ game with a quickly passed object HOT POTATO (giving “sweet potato”)
52. Goads PRODS
53. PGA great Sam SNEAD
54. “__ Grit”: John Wayne classic TRUE
56. Jackie Gleason catchphrase, and a hint to the ends of 20-, 31-, 40- and 49-Across HOW SWEET IT IS!
63. Service station job LUBE
66. Dressy footwear HEELS
67. Partner of Roy or Chip DALE
68. Swedish furniture giant IKEA
69. Lift up EXALT
70. Ultimatum ending ELSE
71. Property document DEED
72. Greenhorns TYROS
73. In fighting trim LEAN

Down
1. Union underminer SCAB
2. Hibernation site LAIR
3. Fancy hairstyle UPDO
4. Most submissive MEEKEST
5. Ex of Rod Stewart ALANA
6. Beetle with four wheels, slangily VEE-DUB
7. Movie lab helper IGOR
8. Sound measure SONE
9. Mount near Olympus OSSA
10. Pageant title since 1952 MISS USA
11. Singer Yoko ONO
12. Gone by AGO
13. Low card in a royal flush TEN
21. Prevent legally ESTOP
22. Trendy, ’60s-style MOD
25. Muscle beach swimwear SPEEDO
26. Steaming hot TORRID
27. Retail outlets STORES
28. Board meeting displays GRAPHS
29. Be dressed in HAVE ON
30. Sleep-inducing drug OPIATE
32. Put on the attack LET AT
33. Actress Lupino IDA
34. Void partner NULL
36. Apartment payment RENT
41. Veggie on a vine PEA
42. Shot, as an engine KAPUT
45. In front UP AHEAD
48. Hanukkah spinning toy DREIDEL
50. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” constable ODO
51. Verdi opera based on a Shakespeare play OTELLO
55. Enjoys a siesta RESTS
57. Sharpen WHET
58. Like centerfolds SEXY
59. Be dressed in WEAR
60. Story TALE
61. Ingrid’s “Casablanca” role ILSA
62. Espied SEEN
63. Hinged cover LID
64. Don Ho’s strings UKE
65. Bonnet-dwelling insect? BEE

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