LA Times Crossword Answers 25 Jul 14, Friday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
8. Mr. Miyagi’s art KARATE
The 1984 film “The Karate Kid” starred Ralph Macchio in the title role, with Pat Morita playing the enigmatic karate teacher Mr. Miyagi. There is a very entertaining 2010 remake, starring Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) as the Karate Kid himself, with Jackie Chan playing the teacher.

16. Army chopper APACHE
The 4-bladed Apache helicopter was introduced back in 1975 as a replacement for the 2-bladed Cobra. The Apache first entered service in 1986, and is still very much in use, mainly with the US Army, the Israel Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

17. *Beach scuttler SAND CRAB (Rent-a-SAAB)
Sand crabs are also called mole crabs and sand fleas. Sand crabs are a little unusual in that despite having ten legs, they cannot walk. Instead, they use their legs for burrowing into the sand.

SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

19. One concerned with show horses? BETTOR
In the world of betting, “to place” means finishing 1st or 2nd. “To show” means finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

21. “Later” CIAO
“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates better as “goodbye”.

23. Filmmaker Riefenstahl LENI
Leni Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer. She was a noted figure moving in Adolf Hitler’s circle, and her most famous film was a propaganda piece called “Triumph of Will”. “Triumph of the Will” documents the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. We’ve all probably seen many excerpts, shots of huge crowds, Nazis marching with flags, and frenzied speeches from Hitler. Riefenstahl was arrested after the war and detained for a number of years but never found guilty of any crime. She lived a long life, a very long life. She was married for the second time in 2003, at the age of 101 years. She died just a few weeks later, as she had been suffering from cancer.

24. *Platform used when mooring ships DOCKING BRIDGE (Rent-a-Dodge)
A “docking bridge” is a platform that runs from one side of a ship towards the other, towards the stern of a large vessel. The docking platform is used primarily by the ship’s officers to supervise docking operations.

The Dodge brand of automobile started life as the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900. The Dodge Brothers first made parts for the auto industry, and turned to making their own cars in 1915.

31. Selma, to Bart AUNT
In “The Simpsons”, Marge Simpson has two older twin sisters. Their full names are Patricia “Patty” Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Stu-Simpson. Selma acquired that multiple-barreled name through a string of unsuccessful marriages.

34. Shindigs, ultimately? FESTS
“Shindig” is such a lovely word, I think, describing a party that usually includes some dancing. Although its origin isn’t really clear, the term perhaps comes from “shinty”, a Scottish game similar to field hockey.

38. Scandinavian rug RYA
A rya is a traditional Scandinavian rug, originally used as heavy covers by mariners as an alternative to furs. The name “rya” comes from a village in southwest Sweden.

39. *Headwear for a hose user FIRE HAT (Rent-a-Fiat)
Fiat is the largest car manufacturer in Italy, and is headquartered in Turin in the Piedmont region in the north of the country. Fiat was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, when the company’s name was “Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino” (FIAT). A few years ago, Fiat became the majority shareholder in Chrysler.

41. Soc. Sec. supplement IRA
Individual retirement account (IRA)

The Social Security Administration (SSA) was of course set up as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The first person to receive a monthly retirement benefit was Ida May Fuller of Vermont who received her first check for the sum of $22.54 after having contributed for three years through payroll taxes. The New Deal turned out to be a good deal for Ms. Fuller, as she lived to 100 years of age and received a total benefit of almost $23,000, whereas her three years of contributions added up to just $24.75.

44. Victim of Atalanta in the Calydonian Hunt BOAR
The Calydonian Boar was a monster of Greek mythology that was sent by Artemis to wreak havoc in the region of Calydon. There followed the Calydonian Hunt that had the goal of killing the boar. The band of hunters included one woman, a huntress called Atalanta who was the first to wound the quarry. A hunter called Meleager finished off the boar and offered the animal’s skin to Atalanta for drawing first blood. The other men rebelled, being humiliated that a woman should be so honored. There wasn’t a happy ending to the tale …

45. Sixth-day creation ADAM
According to the Book of Genesis, on the sixth day God created the living creatures on the land, including humanity.

46. Verdi motif TEMA
“Tema” is Italian for “motif, theme”.

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer mainly of operas who was active during the Romantic era. Equally as famous as Verdi’s operas, are arias from those operas such as “La donna è mobile” from “Rigoletto”, “The Drinking Song” from “La Traviata” and “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from “Nabucco”.

48. Places to see bowlers ALLEYS
Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

50. *Lego unit BUILDING BLOCK (Rent-a-Buick)
David Dunbar Buick was an inventor working in Detroit, Michigan who founded the Buick Motor Company in 1903. Buick sold his interest in Buick Motors just three years later. He passed away in 1929, practically penniless. Still, over 30 million vehicles have been built that bore the Buick name.

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”.

55. Tolstoy title name ANNA
I have to admit to not having read Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”, but I did see the excellent 1977 British television adaptation starring Nicola Pagett. Most regard the 1935 film starring Greta Garbo in the title role as the definitive big screen adaptation of the novel.

57. Impose fraudulently FOIST
The word “foist”, meaning “to pass off as genuine”, comes from the Dutch word meaning “take in hand”. The original concept came from playing dice, in which one die was held surreptitiously in one hand.

64. Demand upon reaching the other side KING ME
In the game of checkers, when a “man” reaches the other side of the board, it is promoted to “king”.

Checkers is yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland the game is called draughts.

65. Fictional blue bovine BABE
The mythological Paul Bunyan had a sidekick called Babe the Blue Ox. Both Bunyan and Babe were gigantic in size.

66. The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf. KSU
The athletic teams of Kansas State University (KSU) are called the Wildcats. The Wildcats official “colors” are just one: Royal Purple.

67. Rains hard? SLEETS
Apparently “sleet” is a term used to describe two weather conditions. One is a shower of ice pellets, smaller than hail, and the second is a mixture of rain and snow, with the snow melting as it falls. It’s the second definition that I have always used …

68. Dutch town STAD
“Stad” is the Dutch word for “city”.

69. Ella, in the States SHE
“Ella” is Spanish for “she, it”.

Down
1. Fred : William :: Ricky : __ DESI
In the hit television show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The Ricardos’ best friends were also their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Mertz’s were played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.

4. Florid 18th-century style ROCOCO
The Late Baroque is sometimes also called Rococo, and merged with the Rococo era that succeeded the Baroque.

5. The Dnieper flows through it: Abbr. UKR
Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe, a Soviet Republic before the dissolution of the USSR. In English we often call the country “the” Ukraine, but I am told that we should just say “Ukraine”.

The Dnieper River rises in Russia, and travels through Belarus and Ukraine to empty into the Black Sea.

6. Bingham of “Baywatch” TRACI
Actress and model Traci Bingham played Jordan Tate on “Baywatch” from 1996 to 1998.

7. ’50s vaccine pioneer SABIN
Albert Sabin developed the oral polio vaccine. Sabin’s vaccine was a “live” controlled vaccine. The equally famous Salk vaccine was a “killed” vaccine.

8. Skewered fare KABOBS
The name “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

10. Rope ladder rung RATLINE
Shrouds are rope or wire cables that run from high up a mast down to the deck, and are used to support the mast. Sets of ropes are tied between pair of vertical shrouds creating a rope ladder system that can be used to climb up to the top of the mast. The rungs of the ladder are called ratlines.

12. Adventurous beachwear THONG
Let’s assume we’re talking about footwear …

22. Mystery award AGATHA
The Agathas are awarded every year for fiction that is written within guidelines self-imposed by the marvelous detective fiction writer, Agatha Christie. Those characteristics are: a closed setting, no sex or violence, and featuring an amateur detective.

25. River in a 1957 Best Picture title KWAI
The river referred to in the movie (and novel) “The Bridge on the River Kwai” is actually called the Khwae Yai River, and is in western Thailand. The original novel by Pierre Boulle was published in French in 1952, and the wonderful movie released in 1957. Both tell the story of construction of part of the Burma Railway and a bridge over the river, using prisoners of war as laborers. The film stars William Holden, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins.

32. Cosmopolitan URBANE
We use “urbane” today to mean something courteous or refined. Back in the 1500s the term was used in the same way that we now use “urban”. Those townsfolk thought they were more sophisticated than the countryfolk, and so the usage evolved.

33. “The Matrix” hero NEO
Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor whose most celebrated roles were a metalhead in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989), a cop in “Speed” (1994) and the main antagonist Neo in “The Matrix” series of films. Although Reeves is a Canadian national, he was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Reeves has some Hawaiian descent, and the name “Keanu” is Hawaiian for “the coldness”.

The 1999 movie sensation “The Matrix” was meant to be set in a nondescript urban environment. It was actually shot in Australia, as one of the co-producers of the film was the Australian company, Village Roadshow Pictures. You can pick up all sorts of clues about the location when watching the film, including a view of Sydney Harbour Bridge in a background shot. Also, traffic drives along on the left and there are signs for the “lift” instead of an “elevator”.

35. Robin and others SIDEKICKS
Batman and Robin are unique among their superhero compatriots in that they have no special powers, just a whole load of cool gadgets.

37. BJ’s competitor SAM’S
Sam’s Club is owned and operated by Walmart and is named after the company’s founder, Sam Walton.

BJ’s Wholesale Club is a membership-only warehouse club that operates mainly on the East Coast of the US. When BJ’s was founded in 1984, the president of the company was Mervyn Welch. Welch chose the name BJ’s from the initials of his daughter Beverly Jean Welch.

40. Sea once fed by the Amu Darya River ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

45. Metal giant ALCOA
The Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA) is the largest producer of aluminum in the United States. The company was founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where its headquarters are to this day.

50. Luxuriates BASKS
Our verb “to bask”, meaning “to expose one to pleasant warmth”, is derived from the gruesome 14th-century term “basken”, meaning “to wallow in blood”. The contemporary usage apparently originated with Shakespeare, who employed with reference to sunshine in “As You Like It”.

52. Silly INANE
Our word “inane” meaning silly or lacking substance comes from the Latin “inanitis” meaning “empty space”.

61. ER staff member EMT
An emergency medical technician (EMT) often heads to the emergency room (ER).

63. Spurs’ org. NBA
The Spurs are the professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Went through with DID
4. Places to get stuck RUTS
8. Mr. Miyagi’s art KARATE
14. Prefix with hazard ECO-
15. Oft-fried vegetable OKRA
16. Army chopper APACHE
17. *Beach scuttler SAND CRAB
19. One concerned with show horses? BETTOR
20. 101 course, briefly INTRO
21. “Later” CIAO
23. Filmmaker Riefenstahl LENI
24. *Platform used when mooring ships DOCKING BRIDGE
27. “Later” BYE NOW
29. Phrase of clarification AS IN
30. Part ROLE
31. Selma, to Bart AUNT
34. Shindigs, ultimately? FESTS
38. Scandinavian rug RYA
39. *Headwear for a hose user FIRE HAT
41. Soc. Sec. supplement IRA
42. Kind of pain? ROYAL
44. Victim of Atalanta in the Calydonian Hunt BOAR
45. Sixth-day creation ADAM
46. Verdi motif TEMA
48. Places to see bowlers ALLEYS
50. *Lego unit BUILDING BLOCK
55. Tolstoy title name ANNA
56. Secure, in a way SEAL
57. Impose fraudulently FOIST
60. Disconcerting looks STARES
62. Wheels on loan … or, as the circles show, what four puzzle answers have done? RENT-A-CAR
64. Demand upon reaching the other side KING ME
65. Fictional blue bovine BABE
66. The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf. KSU
67. Rains hard? SLEETS
68. Dutch town STAD
69. Ella, in the States SHE

Down
1. Fred : William :: Ricky : __ DESI
2. Positive words I CAN
3. Urgent ad words DON’T DELAY!
4. Florid 18th-century style ROCOCO
5. The Dnieper flows through it: Abbr. UKR
6. Bingham of “Baywatch” TRACI
7. ’50s vaccine pioneer SABIN
8. Skewered fare KABOBS
9. Arboreal critter APE
10. Rope ladder rung RATLINE
11. Pretended to be ACTED
12. Adventurous beachwear THONG
13. Creepy EERIE
18. Go on and on DRONE
22. Mystery award AGATHA
25. River in a 1957 Best Picture title KWAI
26. One may lead to a feud RIFT
27. Cold response BRRR!
28. Fluctuate wildly YO-YO
32. Cosmopolitan URBANE
33. “The Matrix” hero NEO
35. Robin and others SIDEKICKS
36. Room service item TRAY
37. BJ’s competitor SAM’S
39. Bolted FLED
40. Sea once fed by the Amu Darya River ARAL
43. Out there AT LARGE
45. Metal giant ALCOA
47. Air balls, e.g. MISSES
49. Hit in the air LOFTED
50. Luxuriates BASKS
51. Up to UNTIL
52. Silly INANE
53. Clothes GARBS
54. Pasture call BLEAT
58. Ceremonial accessory SASH
59. “Indeed” TRUE
61. ER staff member EMT
63. Spurs’ org. NBA

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