LA Times Crossword Answers 28 May 14, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Fire Lanes … we have four FIRE LANES in the grid today. The answers in four of the down-columns/lanes are all words that often follow FIRE:

1D. *Rocking good time BALL (giving “fireball”)
5D. *”Holy smokes!” MAN! (giving “fireman”)
10D. *Frighten ALARM (giving “fire alarm”)
14D. *Cyber Monday event SALE (giving “fire sale”)
23D. *Attack forcefully STORM (giving “firestorm”)
25D. *Delivery vehicle TRUCK (giving “firetruck”)
34D. *Authority POWER (giving “firepower”)
37D. *Gem STONE (giving “firestone”)
52D. *Smoking gun, e.g. PROOF (giving “fireproof”)
55D. *Down Under gem OPAL (giving “fire opal”)
62D. *Secret to crack CODE (giving “fire code”)
66D. *Picnic invader ANT (giving “fire ant”)

21D. No-parking areas, four of which are formed, in a way, by the answers to the starred clues FIRE LANES

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 59s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Islands north of Cuba BAHAMAS
The Bahamas is a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, lying in the same island chain as Cuba and Hispaniola. The Bahamas was a British colony for many years but became independent in 1973, although it retains membership in the British Commonwealth.

8. Earl Grey pouches TEA BAGS
The Earl Grey blend of tea is supposedly named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey who was Prime Minister of the UK from 1830 to 1834. Earl Grey tea has a distinctive flavor that is largely due to the addition of oil from the rind of the bergamot orange.

15. Fruit that’s a source of cosmetic oil AVOCADO
The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometime 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.

16. Hay fever drug brand ALLEGRA
Allegra is a brand name for fexofenadine, and antihistamine drug used to treat hay fever. Fexofenadine is considered less dangerous than other antihistamines as is does easily cross into the brain, and so is less likely to cause drowsiness.

17. Beirut’s country LEBANON
Beirut is the capital city of Lebanon. After WWI, Lebanon was placed under administrative control of the French and Beirut flourished as a financial center in the Middle East and as a major world tourist destination. The city was devastated in the Lebanese Civil War that raged from 1975 to 1990, but reconstruction has restored the city to much of its former glory, making it a major cultural center once again.

18. Chicago mayor Rahm EMANUEL
The current Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, was an Illinois representative in the US House before resigning to take up President Obama’s offer to become the White House Chief of Staff.

20. Luftwaffe foes of WWII RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918, a composite of two earlier forces, the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” has to be the Battle of Britain when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to delay his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter the memorable words:
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare arm of the German military forces during WWII. Formed in 1935, the Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1946. The term “luftwaffe” comes from “luft” meaning “air”, and “waffe” meaning “weapon, arm”.

22. Red Cross training course TRIAGE
“Triage” is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on a battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “a sorting”.

Back in 1859, a Swiss businessman called Henri Dunant went to meet French emperor Napoleon III, to discuss making it easier to conduct commerce in French-occupied Algeria. The Emperor was billeted at Solferino, where France and Austria were engaged in a major battle. In one day, Dunant witnessed 40,000 soldiers die in battle and countless wounded suffering on the battlefield without any organized medical care. Dunant abandoned his business agenda and instead spent a week caring for the sick and wounded. Within a few years he had founded the precursor to the Red Cross, and in 1901 he was awarded the first ever Nobel Peace Prize.

23. LPGA star __ Pak SE-RI
Se-Ri Pak is a South Korean golfer playing on the LPGA tour. Having a Korean name, we really should be calling her Pak Se-Ri as she is known in her homeland. Korean names always start with the family name.

24. Veep before LBJ RMN
President Richard Milhous Nixon (RMN) used “Milhous” in his name in honor of his mother Hannah Milhous. Richard was born in a house in Yorba Linda, California. You can visit that house today as it is on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. It’s a really interesting way to spend a few hours if you ever get to Yorba Linda …

President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) is one of only four people to have held all four elected federal offices, namely US Representative, US Senator, US Vice-President and US President (the others being John Tyler, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon). As president, Johnson is perhaps best remembered for escalating involvement in the Vietnam War, and for his “Great Society” legislation.

29. Sushi topper ROE
Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.

31. Snack on the trail GORP
“Gorp” is the name sometimes used for trail mix, particularly by hikers. It’s not really known for sure how this name came about, but some say it stands for “good old raisins and peanuts” or perhaps “gobs of raw protein”.

35. Aptly named laundry soap RINSO
Rinso was a laundry detergent that was first manufactured in England in 1908 by a company called Hudson’s Soap. It was introduced into the US in 1918. In America, Rinso took to radio advertising and sponsorship in the days of “soap operas”. Their most famous program association was with “The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show” in the forties. One of the brand’s slogans was “Solium, the sunlight ingredient”. I have no idea what Solium is, but it certainly did sell a lot of soap!

36. Roman goddess of agriculture CERES
Ceres was a Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility, and was the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter. Our modern word “cereal” comes from the name “Ceres”.

38. Letter after pi RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

40. Birmingham’s st. ALA
The city of Birmingham, Alabama was founded by the Elyton Land Company in 1871. The company’s idea was to build an industrial center taking advantage of the deposits of valuable minerals in the ground and the transportation infrastructure that was planned for the location. Many of the people living in the area at the time were from England, and so the name of Birmingham was chosen, as Birmingham in the English Midlands was and is a huge industrial center.

41. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner TEBOW
Tim Tebow was a quarterback who played mainly for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. Tebow’s relatively short professional career followed a very successful college career during which he became the  first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

46. Zinc __ OXIDE
Zinc oxide is a widely-used compound that does occur naturally, but is mainly produced synthetically. Most of the zinc oxide produced is used in the rubber industry as it is needed for the vulcanization of rubber. It is also one of the two main ingredients in calamine lotion, which is an anti-itching agent. We all see zinc oxide listed as an ingredient in many breakfast cereals, as it is added as a source of nutrient zinc.

49. Harry Potter pal RON
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are the principal characters in the “Harry Potter” series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling.

50. GM security system ONSTAR
The OnStar system started back in 1995, a joint venture between GM, EDS and Hughes. The product itself was launched in 1996. Today, OnStar is only available on GM cars, although it used to be offered on other makes of car through a licensing agreement. OnStar is a subscription service that packages vehicle security, telephone, satellite navigation and remote diagnostics.

51. Therapists’ org. APA
American Psychiatric Organization (APA)

53. Munich article EINE
“Eine” is the German indefinite article, used with feminine nouns.

Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, and is the third largest city in the country (after Berlin and Hamburg). The city is called “München” in German, a term that derives from the Old German word for “by the monks’ place”, which is a reference to the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city in 1158.

58. Home of Absolut Vodka: Abbr. SWE
I must admit, if I ever do order a vodka drink by name, I will order the Absolut brand. I must also admit that I do so from the perspective of an amateur photographer. I’ve been swayed by the Absolut marketing campaign that features such outstanding photographic images. I’m sure you’ve come across examples …

59. Like “le” in Fr. MASC
The definite article in French is “le” for masculine nouns, “la” for feminine nouns, and “les” for plural nouns.

67. Existing independent of experience, in logic A PRIORI
In the world of philosophy, one can have “a priori” knowledge or “a posteriori” knowledge. A priori (“from the earlier) knowledge is independent of experience, it is just known or assumed. For example, one might say that “all boys are males” is a priori knowledge. A posteriori knowledge relies on experience or some empirical evidence. For example, one might say that “boys are more likely to diagnosed with ADD” is a posteriori knowledge.

68. Type of oil LINSEED
Linseed oil is also known as flaxseed oil, as it is extracted from the dried seeds of the flax plant. Linseed oil is described as a “drying oil”, meaning that it can dry out into a solid, polymerized form. This property led to it being used in varnish and oil paints.

69. Visa penalty LATE FEE
Did you know that Visa doesn’t issue any credit cards? Visa just sells the electronic systems and infrastructure to banks who then put the Visa logo on their own cards so that both the customer and merchant know to use the VISA system when making a transaction.

Down
2. Small Chevy model AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.

3. Handbag brand with a bindle-toting icon HOBO
A hobo bag is rather unstructured-looking, a crescent-shaped bag with a long strap and soft sides that tends to slump when set down. It’s called a hobo bag because the shape resembles that of the bundle carried by archetypal hobos on the ends of sticks resting on their shoulders.

7. Echolocation device SONAR
The British developed the first underwater detection system that used sound waves. Research was driven by defence demands during WWI, leading to production of working units in 1922. This new sound detection system was described as using “supersonics”, but for the purpose of secrecy the term was dropped in favor of an acronym. The work was done under the auspices of the Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Division, so ASD was combined with the IC from “superson-ic-s” to create the name ASDIC. The navy even went as far as renaming the quartz material at the heart of the technology “ASDivite”. By the time WWII came along, the Americans were producing their own systems and coined the term SONAR, playing off the related application, RADAR. And so the name ASDIC was deep-sixed …

“Echolocation”, is location of things using echoed signals …

8. __ kwon do TAE
Taekwondo is the national sport of Korea. “Tae” means “to strike or break with foot”; “kwon” means “to strike or break with fist”; “do” means “way” or “art”. Along with judo, taekwondo is one of only two martial arts included in the Olympic Games.

11. Actress Annette BENING
The actress Annette Bening is from Topeka, Kansas. Bening has been married to actor Warren Beatty since 1992. The pair married about a year after starring together in the 1991 film “Bugsy”.

13. 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Maddux GREG
Baseball pitcher Greg Maddux won the Cy Young Award for the four consecutive years of 1992 through 1995, a record that wasn’t matched until Randy Johnson did the same thing in 1999 through 2002.

14. *Cyber Monday event SALE (giving “fire sale”)
“Cyber Monday” is the Monday after Thanksgiving, a day that 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.

27. Typical Sundance film INDIE
The Sundance film festival is the largest independent film event in the country, and takes place every year around the Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. The festival has its roots in the Utah/US Film Festival which started in Salt Lake City in 1978. Management of the festival was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in 1985. The festival has became a bit of a media feeding frenzy in recent years, as a lot of A-list celebrities attend. The Festival organizers introduced a “Focus on Film” campaign in 2007 to try to offset some of the madness.

33. ’70s sitcom spin-off RHODA
The seventies sitcom “Rhoda” was a spinoff of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that starred Valerie Harper. The eighth episode of the show was an hour-long special in which Rhoda married her fiance Joe (played by David Groh). At the time of airing it was the second-most watched television episode in history, second only to the 1953 birth of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy”.

36. “The Censor” of Rome CATO
Cato the Elder was a Roman statesman, known historically as “the elder” in order to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger. Cato the Elder’s ultimate position within Roman society was that of Censor, making him responsible for maintaining the census, and for supervising public morality.

37. *Gem STONE (giving “firestone”)
Firestone is another name for flint or pyrite, a mineral that was commonly used to light fires.

42. Strait’s “All My __ Live in Texas” EX’S
“All My Ex’s Live in Texas” is a song released in 1987 by country singer George Strait. I’m not a big fan of that apostrophe in “Ex’s”, but maybe it’s just me …

48. “House” star Hugh LAURIE
English actor and comedian Hugh Laurie was half of a comedy double act with Stephen Fry called simply “Fry and Laurie”. Fry and Laurie met in Cambridge University through their mutual friend, the actress Emma Thompson.

55. *Down Under gem OPAL (giving “fire opal”)
97% of the world’s opals come from Australia, so it’s no surprise perhaps that the opal is the national gemstone of the country. The state of South Australia provides the bulk of the world’s production, about 80%.

Fire opals are almost transparent, unlike other opals that are richly iridescent. Although almost transparent, fire opals usually have a warm yellow, orange or red color. The most famous fire opals are also called Mexican fire opals, and come from the state of Querétaro in north-central Mexico.

56. Nightclub in a Manilow song COPA
The Copacabana of song is the Copacabana nightclub in New York City (which is also the subject of the Frank Sinatra song “Meet Me at the Copa”). The Copa opened in 1940 and is still going today although it is struggling. The club had to move due to impending construction and is now “sharing” a location with the Columbus 72 nightclub.

Barry Manilow’s real name is Barry Alan Pincus. Barry took his mother’s family name, Manilow, as the time of his Bar Mitzvah. When he was young, Manilow attended the Juilliard performing arts school, and then practiced his craft on the New York City music circuit. He worked in the sixties and seventies writing jingles for advertisements. “Like a good neighbor, Statefarm is there …”, that’s the work of Mr. Manilow!

61. Old-time dagger SNEE
“Snick or snee” is the name given to cut and thrust while fighting with a knife. The phrase is rooted in a pair of Dutch words and it gave its name to a “snee”, a light sword-like knife.

66. *Picnic invader ANT (giving “fire ant”)
Fire ants are stinging ants, many species of which are called red ants. Most stinging ants bite their prey and then spray acid on the wound. The fire ant however, bites to hold on and then injects an alkaloid venom from its abdomen, creating a burning sensation in humans that have been nipped.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Islands north of Cuba BAHAMAS
8. Earl Grey pouches TEA BAGS
15. Fruit that’s a source of cosmetic oil AVOCADO
16. Hay fever drug brand ALLEGRA
17. Beirut’s country LEBANON
18. Chicago mayor Rahm EMANUEL
19. Belt holder LOOP
20. Luftwaffe foes of WWII RAF
22. Red Cross training course TRIAGE
23. LPGA star __ Pak SE-RI
24. Veep before LBJ RMN
25. Plot surprises TWISTS
29. Sushi topper ROE
31. Snack on the trail GORP
35. Aptly named laundry soap RINSO
36. Roman goddess of agriculture CERES
38. Letter after pi RHO
39. Answering to UNDER
40. Birmingham’s st. ALA
41. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner TEBOW
43. Half of CDII CCI
44. It may be precious METAL
46. Zinc __ OXIDE
47. Capsize, with “over” KEEL
49. Harry Potter pal RON
50. GM security system ONSTAR
51. Therapists’ org. APA
53. Munich article EINE
55. Takes place OCCURS
58. Home of Absolut Vodka: Abbr. SWE
59. Like “le” in Fr. MASC
63. Talk openly about, as one’s feelings POUR OUT
65. Emphatic denial I SAID NO!
67. Existing independent of experience, in logic A PRIORI
68. Type of oil LINSEED
69. Visa penalty LATE FEE
70. “Hmm …” LET’S SEE …

Down
1. *Rocking good time BALL (giving “fireball”)
2. Small Chevy model AVEO
3. Handbag brand with a bindle-toting icon HOBO
4. Put __ on: limit A CAP
5. *”Holy smokes!” MAN! (giving “fireman”)
6. Is crazy about ADORES
7. Echolocation device SONAR
8. __ kwon do TAE
9. Shade provider ELM TREE
10. *Frighten ALARM (giving “fire alarm”)
11. Actress Annette BENING
12. Mexican water AGUA
13. 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Maddux GREG
14. *Cyber Monday event SALE (giving “fire sale”)
21. No-parking areas, four of which are formed, in a way, by the answers to the starred clues FIRE LANES
23. *Attack forcefully STORM (giving “firestorm”)
25. *Delivery vehicle TRUCK (giving “firetruck”)
26. React to a shot WINCE
27. Typical Sundance film INDIE
28. Madison-to-Nashville dir. SSE
30. Like much lore ORAL
32. Once around ORBIT
33. ’70s sitcom spin-off RHODA
34. *Authority POWER (giving “firepower”)
36. “The Censor” of Rome CATO
37. *Gem STONE (giving “firestone”)
42. Strait’s “All My __ Live in Texas” EX’S
45. Sign of a changed sheet ERASURE
48. “House” star Hugh LAURIE
50. Tot’s bodysuit ONESIE
52. *Smoking gun, e.g. PROOF (giving “fireproof”)
54. “Consider it done” I WILL
55. *Down Under gem OPAL (giving “fire opal”)
56. Nightclub in a Manilow song COPA
57. Far from chatty CURT
59. Fail to notice MISS
60. Cool drinks at kids’ stands ADES
61. Old-time dagger SNEE
62. *Secret to crack CODE (giving “fire code”)
64. Get even with? TIE
66. *Picnic invader ANT (giving “fire ant”)

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