LA Times Crossword Answers 10 May 14, Saturday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Mitch Komro
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 16m 03s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

7. On-again, off-again SPORADIC
Our word “sporadic”, meaning “occurring at irregular intervals”, has the same root as “spore”. The Greek “spora” is “a sowing”, and something sporadic is scattered, like seeds perhaps.

15. Allure maker CHANEL
Allure is a line of perfumes that was launched by the House of Chanel in 1996.

Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer. Perhaps because I am a man, clothes design is not my forte. However, if I had to pick a designer whose clothes I really liked, it would be Chanel. She had a way of creating simpler designs that looked so elegant on a woman.

16. First of August? CAPITAL A
The first letter in the word “August” is a capital A.

Gaius Octavius Thurinus (often called Octavian) was the adopted son of Gaius Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Octavian came to power in Rome and teamed up with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in what was called the Second Triumvirate. When the triumvirate fell apart, especially after Antony’s defeat at Actium, Octavian became more powerful within the Roman Republic. Several years later he wrested sufficient power from the Roman Senate to end the Republic and begin the Roman Empire. As the first Emperor of Rome, Octavian was given the name Caesar Augustus. The month of August, originally called “Sextilis” in Latin, was renamed in honor of Augustus.

19. 1936 Olympics standout OWENS
Jesse Owens is of course famous for winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, much to the chagrin of Adolph Hitler. Jesse’s real name was James Cleveland Owens, and he went by “JC” as a child. However, his Alabama accent was misconstrued at school when his family moved to Cleveland, so teachers and classmates called him “Jesse” instead of “JC”, and the name stuck.

20. Band with an umlaut on the “n” in its name SPINAL TAP
“This Is Spın̈al Tap” is a rock musical mockumentary about the fictional band Spın̈al Tap, directed by the great Rob Reiner. I love Rob Reiner’s work, but this movie … not so much …

23. “Jabberwocky” creature TOVE
Here are the first two verses of “Jabberwocky”, the famous nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll. It was 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!

31. Sneer at DERIDE
“To deride” is to treat with contemptuous mirth. The term comes into English via Old French from the Latin “deridere” meaning “to ridicule”. In turn, “deridere” comes from the prefix “de-” (down) and “”ridere” (to laugh). So, to ridicule or deride is “to laugh down at”.

39. Taft became its president after his term as U.S. president ABA
American Bar Association (ABA)

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).

44. __ salad COBB
Ty Cobb’s first cousin, Robert H. Cobb, owned the Brown Derby chain of restaurants. One of his regular customers was the famous Sid Grauman, who ran Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Late one night, Grauman asked for a snack, and Cobb came up with a chopped salad simply made from ingredients he happened to have in the refrigerator. Grauman liked it so much that continued to request it, and the Cobb salad was born.

46. Scandinavian bard of yore SKALD
“Skald” is a Scandinavian term for a poet, referring in particular to the poets of the Viking Age and the Middle Ages.

47. __ Harker, heroine in Stoker’s “Dracula” MINA
Mina Harker is the protagonist in Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”.

“Dracula” is a novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and first published in 1897. Dracula wasn’t the first vampire of literature, but he certainly was the one who spawned the popularity of vampires in theater, film and television, and indeed more novels. Personally, I can’t stand vampire fiction …

48. Heading for EN ROUTE TO
“En route” is a French term that means “on the way”.

50. Big Ben sounds BONGS
Big Ben is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster (aka the Houses of Parliament). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day Benjamin Caunt.

54. She beat Midori for the 1992 Olympic gold medal KRISTI
Kristi Yamaguchi is a figure skater, an Olympic champion in 1992. She is quite the dancer too, having won “Dancing with the Stars” in 2008. Yamaguchi started skating and taking ballet as a young child as physical therapy, as she had club feet …

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. Ito was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact she landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old …

Down
2. Order at a mess CHOW LINE
“Chow” is an American slang term for food that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

The word “mess” first came into English about 1300 and described the list of food needed for a meal, from the Old French word “mes” meaning a portion of food or a course at a meal. This usage in English evolved into “mess” meaning a jumbled mass of anything from the concept of “mixed food”. At the same time, the original usage in the sense of a food for a meal surfaced again in the military in the 1500s when a “mess” was a communal eating place.

5. Gig arrangements SETS
Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz.

6. “Don’t Bring Me Down” gp. ELO
ELO stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. Their manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

“Don’t Bring Me Down” was the biggest hit ELO had in the US, and was dedicated to the NASA’s Skylab which reentered the earth’s orbit in the same year the song was released, in 1979.

8. Outcasts PARIAHS
“Pariah” is an anglicized version of the Tamil word “Paraiyar”. The Paraiyar are a social group of about 9 million people found in some Indian states and in Sri Lanka. The term “pariah” came to be a general term for members of the lowest caste in society.

10. Device for un poeta RIMA
In Spanish, a poet (un poeta) might create a rhyme (rima).

12. Robespierre foe DANTON
Georges Danton and Maximilien de Robespierre were two influential figures of the French Revolution. Both men fought to establish a republic after the overthrow of the monarchy, but they were destined to become bitter enemies. Danton envisioned a loose republic based on tradition, nobility and domestic peace, whereas Robespierre favored a strong republic built on virtue, philosophy and justice. During the Reign of Terror, Danton was the first leader the Committee of Public Safety, France’s de facto executive government at that time, and he was soon replaced by Robespierre. Danton was arrested and guillotined, and a few months later Robespierre was deposed and suffered the same fate.

14. Shag, e.g. CARPET
Shag carpet is one with a deep pile, one with a “shaggy” appearance.

20. Mmes., in Mexico SRAS
The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame) and in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora).

22. Gulf War code name DESERT STORM
Many of us tend to use “Operation Desert Storm” as the overall name for the conflict more correctly called the Persian Gulf War. Operation Desert Storm was in fact just the air and land battle that took place between January 17th and April 11th 1991. The buildup of forces was called Operation Desert Shield, and the withdrawal of forces after the liberation of Kuwait was known as Operation Desert Farewell.

25. Ancient Iranians MEDES
The Medes were an ancient people that lived in what is now northwestern Iran. The Medes held sway in the region only for about 60 years, until Cyrus the Great came along and defeated Astyages, the king of Media (not to be confused with Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “king of all media”!).

30. Treat once known as an I-Scream Bar ESKIMO PIE
Russell Stover and a partner started in business in 1921. Their company’s initial product was the world’s first chocolate-dipped ice cream bar that they called an Eskimo Pie. When competition for the ice cream product became too intense, Russell and his wife formed a new company to make boxed chocolates. That enterprise was formed in 1923, and the chocolates were originally known as Mrs. Stover’s Bungalow Candies. They were renamed to Russell Stover Candies in 1943.

33. Lilliputian quality TININESS
The word “lilliputian” meaning “wee” or “very small”, comes from Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. In Swift’s tale, Lilliput and Blefuscu are two island nations that are inhabited by tiny people who are under six inches tall.

35. Like the New York Yankees, historically DYNASTIC
A family or group might be described as “dynastic” if it maintains power or influence over several generations.

37. Break, in Bath TAKE TEA
Bath is a beautiful city in South West England of which I have very fond memories. Bath is an old Roman spa town, and the city’s name comes from the Roman baths that have been excavated and restored.

38. WWII battle site ST LO
Saint-Lô is a town in Normandy that was occupied by Germany in 1940. Saint-Lo stood at a strategic crossroads and so there was intense fighting there during the Normandy invasion of 1944. After a prolonged bombardment, very little of the town was left standing.

40. Turkish Taffy maker BONOMO
Turkish Taffy is chewy candy bar that was invented by Victor Bonomo in the late 1800s. Bonomo was a Turkish immigrant and set up the Bonomo Company to make saltwater taffy and hard candy in Coney Island, New York.

43. Like “Midnight Cowboy,” originally RATED X
The 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy” is a Hollywood adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It’s a pretty depressing story about a young Texan (played by Jon Voight) who heads to New York City to make money as a hustler, hiring himself out to women for sex. Pretty soon the young man ends up selling his body for sex with males as well. Prior to release the MPAA gave the movie an R-rating, but the United Artists studio took advice and decided to release it with an X-rating. When “Midnight Cowboy” won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1969, it became the only X-rated film to be so honored.

45. __ Peak, highest mountain in Idaho BORAH
Up until the early 1900s, it was thought that the highest peak in the state of Idaho was Hyndman Peak (12,009 feet). Then a nameless peak in the Lost River Range was measured at 12,668 feet. The US Geological Survey named the higher mountain Mount Borah or Borah Peak after William Borah, who was a US Senator for Idaho at that time.

49. Combined, in Chartres UNIE
Chartres is a town in north-central France, lying about 60 miles southwest of Paris.

50. Swiss capital BERN
Bern (or Berne) is the capital city of Switzerland. The official language of the city is German, but the language most spoken in Bern is a dialect known as Bernese German.

52. “The Body Snatcher” studio RKO
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 acronym then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

“The Body Snatcher” is a horror movie released in 1945 that is based on the short story of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. “The Body Snatcher” was the last film in which Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi appeared together.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Name ACCUSE
7. On-again, off-again SPORADIC
15. Allure maker CHANEL
16. First of August? CAPITAL A
17. Soup choice TOMATO
18. Metal seeker ORE MINER
19. 1936 Olympics standout OWENS
20. Band with an umlaut on the “n” in its name SPINAL TAP
21. Aggressively promote FLOG
22. It’s all in your head DREAM
23. “Jabberwocky” creature TOVE
24. Opportunity seeker’s words GIVE ME A SHOT
27. Lifesaver, at times NET
28. Not quite as many ONE LESS
29. “You betcha!” SURE!
31. Sneer at DERIDE
32. Conducted a trial TESTED
36. Like some U.S. mail CERT
38. With a quiver SHAKILY
39. Taft became its president after his term as U.S. president ABA
42. Began chastising STARTED IN ON
44. __ salad COBB
46. Scandinavian bard of yore SKALD
47. __ Harker, heroine in Stoker’s “Dracula” MINA
48. Heading for EN ROUTE TO
50. Big Ben sounds BONGS
51. It’s unpleasant to end on one SOUR NOTE
52. Word often seen after rinse REPEAT
53. Not 100 per cent IMPAIRED
54. She beat Midori for the 1992 Olympic gold medal KRISTI
55. Without holding back TO THE MAX
56. “Wait a minute” ONE SEC

Down
1. Unforeseeable event ACT OF GOD
2. Order at a mess CHOW LINE
3. Dropped by CAME OVER
4. Devilish UNANGELIC
5. Gig arrangements SETS
6. “Don’t Bring Me Down” gp. ELO
7. Checks (out) SCOPES
8. Outcasts PARIAHS
9. Visibly awestruck OPEN-MOUTHED
10. Device for un poeta RIMA
11. Leaning ATILT
12. Robespierre foe DANTON
13. Start of a bequest I LEAVE …
14. Shag, e.g. CARPET
20. Mmes., in Mexico SRAS
22. Gulf War code name DESERT STORM
25. Ancient Iranians MEDES
26. __ water TREAD
30. Treat once known as an I-Scream Bar ESKIMO PIE
33. Lilliputian quality TININESS
34. String out ELONGATE
35. Like the New York Yankees, historically DYNASTIC
37. Break, in Bath TAKE TEA
38. WWII battle site ST LO
39. Nails the exam ACES IT
40. Turkish Taffy maker BONOMO
41. Short ABRUPT
43. Like “Midnight Cowboy,” originally RATED X
45. __ Peak, highest mountain in Idaho BORAH
49. Combined, in Chartres UNIE
50. Swiss capital BERN
52. “The Body Snatcher” studio RKO

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