LA Times Crossword Answers 11 Jul 14, Friday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Often-bracketed word SIC
“Sic” indicates that a quotation is written as originally found, perhaps including a typo. “Sic” is Latin for “thus, like this”.

4. Lot’s uncle ABRAHAM
Lot was a nephew of Abraham, with his story appearing in the Book of Genesis. At one point Lot had to flee the doomed city of Sodom with his wife. God gave instructions that the couple should not look back as they left the city, but Lot’s wife disobeyed and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

11. Put down DIS
“Dis” is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties, and is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.

14. Dotted line? URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

URLs always included a “dot”, as in “dot com” or “dot gov”, for example.

15. One of the halogens BROMINE
The halogens are a group of elements in the periodic table consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine. The term “halogen” was the name that was originally proposed for chlorine when it was first discovered. When it was passed over in favor of chlorine, the name “halogen” was given to the group of elements to which chlorine belonged.

16. Diocletian, e.g.: Abbr. EMP
Diocletian was the 51st Emperor of the Roman Empire, ruling from 284 to 305 CE. He was born in the Roman province of Dalmatia, in what is now the city of Solin, Croatia. He rose to power after serving as a career military officer. After 11 years in office, Diocletian became the first Roman emperor to abdicate. He retired to his palace on the coast of Dalmatia, happily tending to vegetable garden. Diocletian’s palace became the core of what is now called Split, the second largest city in Croatia.

17. 1972 host to Nixon MAO
President Richard Nixon made a famous visit to China in 1972 that marked a thawing in the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was the first time that a US president had visited the PRC, and followed several secret diplomatic missions to Beijing by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. During the week-long visit, President Nixon had talks with Chairman Mao Zedong, and First Lady Pat Nixon was very visible as she toured schools, hospitals and factories.

18. Color in four-color printing MAGENTA
Four-color printing uses four different color inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The black ink is also known as the “key”. The first letters of the colors (with black being”key”) give the more common name for four-color printing, namely CMYK.

20. T or F, maybe ANS
An answer (ans.) to a survey question might be true (T) or false (F).

22. Itinerary abbr. ETA
Expected time of arrival (eta).

29. Bar mitzvah, for one RITE
A Jewish girl becomes a Bat Mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become Bar Mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

30. Pain reliever ANODYNE
Something described as “anodyne” is analgesic, capable of removing pain. “Anodyne” comes from the Greek “an-” meaning “without” and “odyne” meaning “pain”.

36. OPEC member UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 at a conference held in Baghdad, Iraq that was attended by Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Nine more countries joined the alliance soon after, and OPEC set up headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and then Vienna, Austria in 1965. The basic aim of OPEC was to wrench control of oil prices from the oil companies and to put it in the hands of the sovereign states that own the natural resource.

37. Certain clip-on, briefly MIC
Microphone (mic)

47. Galley item OAR
Galleys were large medieval ships mainly found in the Mediterranean. They were propelled by a combination of sails and oars.

49. Big __: Red Sox slugger’s nickname PAPI
The Dominican American baseball player David Ortiz has the nickname “Big Papi”. After each home run that Ortiz scores, he looks upwards and points to the sky, a tribute to his mother who died in a car crash in 2002 when she was only 46 years old.

50. Aquatic birds AUKS
Auks are penguin-like sea birds that live in colder northern waters including the Arctic. Like penguins, auks are great swimmers, but unlike penguins, auks can fly.

51. Stephen King’s “Doctor __” SLEEP
“Doctor Sleep” is a Stephen King novel that was published in 2013. It is a sequel to his bestseller “The Shining”.

53. Orch. section STRS
One section of an orchestra (orch.) is the strings (strs.).

57. “___ not for you to hear what I can speak”: “Macbeth” ‘TIS
There is a superstition in the theatrical world that uttering the name “Macbeth” in a theater will bring disaster of some sort. To avoid this, the euphemism “the Scottish Play” is used instead.

58. Gatekeeping org.? TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after and in response to the 9/11 attacks.

64. Frat letters XIS
The Greek letter “xi”, despite the name, is not the precursor of our letter X. Our X comes from the Greek letter “chi”.

66. One skilled in repartee WIT
“Repartee” is conversation that includes witty remarks. “Repartee” comes from the French “repartie” meaning “answering thrust”, originally a fencing term.

Down
1. Island on the Equator SUMATRA
Sumatra is a very large island in western Indonesia, the sixth largest island in the world and home to 22% of the country’s population.

2. Ahvaz native IRANIAN
Ahvaz is a city in the west of Iran. According to the World Health Organization, in 2011 Ahvaz had the worst levels of air pollution in the whole world.

4. Subj. of a 1972 defense treaty ABMS
An ABM is an anti-ballistic missile, a rocket designed to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile (as one might expect from the name). A ballistic missile, as opposed to a cruise missile, is guided during the initial launch phase but later in flight just relies on thrust and gravity (hence “ballistic”) to arrive at its target. As an aside, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than 3,500 miles.

There were two rounds of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the US and the Soviet Union, and two resulting treaties (SALT I & SALT II). The opening round of SALT I talks were held in Helsinki as far back as 1970, with the resulting treaty signed by President Richard Nixon and General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in 1972.

6. Growth industry brand? ROGAINE
Rogaine is a brand name for the drug Minoxidil. It was developed as an oral medication to treat high blood pressure, but was found to have an exploitable side-effect. It caused an increased in the rate of hair growth. A topical solution was marketed to promote growth of hair especially in balding men. The drug seems to work well, but when the application is stopped, things go back to normal in about 60 days. Wouldn’t dream of touching the stuff myself …

7. Egyptian god AMEN-RA
Amun (also Amon, Amen and Amun-Ra) was a god in Egyptian mythology. Amun lends his name to our word “ammonia”. This is because the Romans called the ammonium chloride that they collected near the Temple of Jupiter Amun, “sal ammoniacus” (salt of Amun).

26. Arm straightener TRICEPS
The triceps brachii muscle is found at the back of the upper arm. The muscle’s name translates to “three-headed arm muscle”, fitting as it is actually made up of three bundles of muscles.

31. Long-haired grazer YAK
The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in the Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.

32. Formerly NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

34. Genre of the band Jimmy Eat World EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

Jimmy Eat World is an alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona.

38. 1992 Jerry Brown campaign proposal FLAT TAX
A true “flat tax” is one in which a single tax rate is applied to all one’s personal income with no deductions. Here in the US, probably the most famous flat tax proposals came from Governor Jerry Brown and candidate Steve Forbes when they were running for president in the 1990s.

39. French king known as “the Stammerer” LOUIS II
The French king Louis II ruled from 846 to 879 CE. Known as Louis the Stammerer, he was said to be physically weak, but also a lover of peace, justice and religion.

41. Circular file? ROLODEX
The name Rolodex is short for “rolling index”, and applies to a device that was invented back in 1956. Even in today’s world that is run by computers, Rolodexes are still popular.

42. It has a safety pin GRENADE
Our word “grenade”, used for a small explosive missile, came via French from the word for the pomegranate fruit. The name reflects the similarity between the appearance of the seed-filled fruit and the powder-filled fragmentation bomb.

43. Whence “salt of the earth” MATTHEW
Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew:

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do [men] light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

44. Like some knowledge 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.

48. Passé rooftop sight AERIAL
We tend to use the term “aerial” and “antenna” interchangeably. Strictly speaking, the aerial is the top part of an antenna. The lead-in is the lower part of the antenna, the part providing the electrical connection between the aerial and the instrument, radio or TV.

52. “For __ sake!” PETE’S
“For Pete’s sake” is a minced oath, meaning it’s a milder version of a less pleasant expression. “For Pete’s sake” probably came from “for God’s sake”, and maybe even refers to St. Peter.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Often-bracketed word SIC
4. Lot’s uncle ABRAHAM
11. Put down DIS
14. Dotted line? URL
15. One of the halogens BROMINE
16. Diocletian, e.g.: Abbr. EMP
17. 1972 host to Nixon MAO
18. Color in four-color printing MAGENTA
19. 1,000 thou MIL
20. T or F, maybe ANS
21. With 55-Across, be punished at school, old-style … and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters STAND IN
22. Itinerary abbr. ETA
23. Knotted TIED
25. Begets SIRES
26. Tea holder TRAY
27. Deserve RATE
28. Family nickname NAN
29. Bar mitzvah, for one RITE
30. Pain reliever ANODYNE
33. Charged, as an account DEBITED
36. OPEC member UAE
37. Certain clip-on, briefly MIC
38. Start to go out FLICKER
42. Lost it GONE MAD
46. Unassisted LONE
47. Galley item OAR
49. Big __: Red Sox slugger’s nickname PAPI
50. Aquatic birds AUKS
51. Stephen King’s “Doctor __” SLEEP
53. Orch. section STRS
54. Hot info? TIP
55. See 21-Across A CORNER
57. “___ not for you to hear what I can speak”: “Macbeth” ‘TIS
58. Gatekeeping org.? TSA
59. Give off RADIATE
60. Prepare for planting HOE
61. Lend a hand AID
62. Like new tires TREADED
63. Directional suffix -ERN
64. Frat letters XIS
65. Neuter SEXLESS
66. One skilled in repartee WIT

Down
1. Island on the Equator SUMATRA
2. Ahvaz native IRANIAN
3. Within reach of CLOSE TO
4. Subj. of a 1972 defense treaty ABMS
5. Regular sources of annoyance BRATS
6. Growth industry brand? ROGAINE
7. Egyptian god AMEN-RA
8. Rear HIND END
9. Naysayers ANTIS
10. Small-minded MEAN
11. Black mark DEMERIT
12. Ape IMITATE
13. Spread out SPLAYED
24. Concludes DEDUCES
26. Arm straightener TRICEPS
31. Long-haired grazer YAK
32. Formerly NEE
34. Genre of the band Jimmy Eat World EMO
35. Storage container BIN
38. 1992 Jerry Brown campaign proposal FLAT TAX
39. French king known as “the Stammerer” LOUIS II
40. Stamp suppliers INKPADS
41. Circular file? ROLODEX
42. It has a safety pin GRENADE
43. Whence “salt of the earth” MATTHEW
44. Like some knowledge A PRIORI
45. Object DISSENT
48. Passé rooftop sight AERIAL
51. Alarm SCARE
52. “For __ sake!” PETE’S
55. Fine __ ARTS
56. They’re often served with spaghetti REDS

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