LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Sep 14, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Cross in some hieroglyphics ANKH
The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world).

5. Guinness of “Star Wars” ALEC
Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered (sadly) for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”.

9. Most of its panhandle is in the Pacific Time Zone IDAHO
The US state of Idaho has a panhandle that extends northwards between Washington and Montana, right up to the border with Canada. Across that border is the Canadian province of British Columbia. Most of Idaho is in the Mountain Time Zone, but Northern Idaho (the Panhandle) is in the Pacific Time Zone.

14. “Star Wars” princess LEIA
Princess Leia is Luke Skywalker’s sister in the original “Star Wars” trilogy and was played by Carrie Fisher. Carrie Fisher has stated that she hated the famous “cinnamon bun hairstyle” that she had to wear in the films, as she felt it made her face look too round. She also had to to sit for two hours every day just to get her hair styled. Two hours to get your hair done? It takes me just two seconds …

15. “Hawaii Five-O” nickname DANO
“Five-O” has become urban slang for a police officer, or the police force in general. The term of course is rooted in the 1970s TV Show “Hawaii Five-O”. Hawaii Five-O was a totally fictional police force created for the television show. The name recognizes that Hawaii was the 50th state to join the union. Steve McGarrett in the original show was played by Jack Lord, and “Danno” Williams was played by James MacArthur.

20. Pond growth ALGAE
Algae are similar to terrestrial plants in that they use photosynthesis to create sugars from light and carbon dioxide, but they differ in that they have simpler anatomies, and for example lack roots.

23. Assets-and-liabilities statement BALANCE SHEET (giving “lose one’s balance”)
The balance sheet of a company is a snapshot (single point in time) view of a company’s financial position. The balance sheet lists all the company’s liabilities, all of its assets, and all of its ownership equity. The assets of a company, less its liabilities equals the ownership equity. The term “balance” is used because assets always balance out with the sum of liabilities and shareholder equity.

45. It’s a gas in Canada ESSO
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

46. Copper-plated coin CENT
The original one-cent coin was introduced in the US in 1793 and was made of 100% copper. The composition varied over time, and was 100% bronze up to the 1940s. During WWII there was a shortage of copper to make bronze, so the US Mint switched to zinc-coated steel for production of one-cent coins in 1943. The steelie is the only coin ever issued by the US mint that can be picked up by a magnet. Today’s one-cent coin is comprised mainly of zinc.

47. Without ice NEAT
The adjective “neat” has been used to describe “straight liquor” since about 1800. Before then, the term applied to wine, when it meant “unadulterated wine”. The term comes from Old French “net” meaning “clear, pure”.

51. 1993 film about a novice Olympic bobsled team COOL RUNNINGS (giving “lose one’s cool”)
The 1993 film “Cool Runnings” was inspired by a true story of the unlikely participation of the Jamaica in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in the bobsled competition. The film was well received, as was the song “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff that features on the soundtrack. John Candy appears in the film as the bobsled team’s coach. This was to be the last John Candy film to be released in his lifetime.

66. Nursery rhyme tart taker KNAVE
“The Queen of Hearts” is a poem that dates back to 1782. The poem starts out:

The Queen of Hearts
She made some tarts,
All on a summer’s day;
The Knave of Hearts
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he’d steal no more.

67. Large cross ROOD
A rood is a crucifix that specifically symbolizes the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

68. Blessing ender AMEN
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

Down
1. __ mater ALMA
The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. “Alma mater” was used in Ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

2. Astronaut Armstrong NEIL
Neil Armstrong was the most private of individuals. You didn’t often see him giving interviews, unlike so many of the more approachable astronauts of the Apollo space program. His famous, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” statement; that was something that he came up with himself while Apollo 11 was making its way to the moon.

3. Checkmate victim KING
In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

6. 2000s first lady Bush LAURA
Laura Bush, wife of President George W. Bush, had her memoir “Spoken from the Heart” published in 2010. Born Laura Lane Welch, the former First Lady has a Master’s degree in Library Science (as does my wife, my own First Lady!). Given that background, it’s not surprising that two causes that Laura Bush focused on while in the White House were education and literacy. She established the annual National Book Festival, first held in Washington, D.C. in 2001, after having co-founded the Texas Book Festival in her home state.

7. 2001 bankruptcy filer ENRON
After all the trials following the exposure of fraud at Enron, several of the key players ended up in jail. Andrew Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer. He plea-bargained and received ten years without parole, and became the key witness in the trials of others. Even Fastow’s wife was involved and she was sentenced to one year for helping her husband hide money. Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO) was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months. Kenneth Lay (CEO) died in 2006 after he had been found guilty but before he could be sentenced. The accounting firm Arthur Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding thousands of pertinent documents and deleting emails and files (a decision that the Supreme Court later overturned on a technicality). But still, Arthur Andersen collapsed under the weight of the scandal and 85,000 people lost their jobs (despite only a handful being directly involved with Enron).

24. “Stormy Weather” singer Horne LENA
Lena Horne was an American jazz singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne started out her career as a nightclub singer and then began to get some meaty acting roles in Hollywood. However, she ended up on the blacklist during the McCarthy Era for expressing left wing political views. One of Horne’s starring roles was in the 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” for which she also performed the title song.

29. Like “The X-Files” cases PARANORMAL
“The X-Files” is a very successful science fiction show that aired on the Fox network from 1993 to 2002. The stars of the show are David Duchovny (playing Fox Mulder) and the very talented Gillian Anderson (playing Dana Scully). By the time the series ended, “The X-Files” was the longest running sci-fi show in US broadcast history.

35. Part of LAPD LOS
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest local law enforcement agency in the country, after New York PD and Chicago PD. Among other things, LAPD is famous for creating the first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the US, in 1965.

38. “Family Guy” creator McFarlane SETH
Seth McFarlane is best known for creating the very successful (although they don’t get my vote!) animated TV shows “Family Guy” and “American Dad”. My kids love ’em …

41. Prom attire GOWN
A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

48. Rear end TUSH
“Tush”, a word for the backside, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

50. “Thick & Fluffy” breakfast brand EGGO
Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.

52. Maine campus town ORONO
The town of Orono is home to the University of Maine, founded in 1862. The college is actually located on an island (Marsh island) lying between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The town of Orono is named after Joseph Orono, a chief of the Penobscot Nation.

53. Bête __ NOIRE
“Bête noire” translates from French as “the black beast” and is used in English for something or someone that is disliked.

54. Verboten things NO-NOS
“Verboten” is the German word for “forbidden”, a word that we have imported into English.

59. Weighty work TOME
“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century “tome” had come to mean “a large book”.

63. First lady? EVE
According to the Bible, Eve was created as Adam’s companion, creating her from Adam’s rib.

64. Actor Danson TED
The actor Ted Danson is noted for in particular for three successful roles that he has played on television. He played Sam Malone on the sitcom “Cheers”, and the title role on the sitcom “Becker”. Danson is currently leading the cast on the drama series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Danson has been married to the lovely actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Cross in some hieroglyphics ANKH
5. Guinness of “Star Wars” ALEC
9. Most of its panhandle is in the Pacific Time Zone IDAHO
14. “Star Wars” princess LEIA
15. “Hawaii Five-O” nickname DANO
16. At lunch, say NOT IN
17. Reminder to be polite MIND YOUR MANNERS (giving “lose one’s mind”)
20. Pond growth ALGAE
21. Churn up ROIL
22. “__-haw!” YEE
23. Assets-and-liabilities statement BALANCE SHEET (giving “lose one’s balance”)
27. Judge at a base UMPIRE
30. Flower pot filler SOIL
31. Something to brag about FEAT
32. Perform perfectly NAIL
36. Dance movements STEPS
39. Rower’s blade OAR
40. “Congratulations!” WAY TO GO! (giving “lose one’s way”)
42. Be a contender VIE
43. Word with whisper or fright STAGE
45. It’s a gas in Canada ESSO
46. Copper-plated coin CENT
47. Without ice NEAT
49. Millionaire’s accumulation WEALTH
51. 1993 film about a novice Olympic bobsled team COOL RUNNINGS (giving “lose one’s cool”)
56. Incoming flight info: Abbr. ARR
57. Any minute now SOON
58. Hop out of bed GET UP
62. What risktakers have … and what the starts of 17-, 23-, 40- and 51-Across can be? SOMETHING TO LOSE
66. Nursery rhyme tart taker KNAVE
67. Large cross ROOD
68. Blessing ender AMEN
69. Repaired, as a shoe SOLED
70. Approximate figs. ESTS
71. Ties the knot WEDS

Down
1. __ mater ALMA
2. Astronaut Armstrong NEIL
3. Checkmate victim KING
4. Tasted, with “of” HAD A BIT
5. “And now, without further __ …” ADO
6. 2000s first lady Bush LAURA
7. 2001 bankruptcy filer ENRON
8. Stand-up individual? COMIC
9. Road trip stopover INN
10. Crime family boss DON
11. Right in front of one’s face AT EYELEVEL
12. New recruit HIREE
13. Beginning ONSET
18. Magazine subscription period YEAR
19. Many microbrews ALES
24. “Stormy Weather” singer Horne LENA
25. “Nothing special” SO-SO
26. Bit of Google success HIT
27. Sci-fi transports UFOS
28. Veggie platter’s lack MEAT
29. Like “The X-Files” cases PARANORMAL
33. Thumbs-up vote AYE
34. For what __ worth IT’S
35. Part of LAPD LOS
37. Ice cream buy PINT
38. “Family Guy” creator McFarlane SETH
40. Wash-and-__ WEAR
41. Prom attire GOWN
44. Hair goo GEL
46. Source of legal precedents CASE LAW
48. Rear end TUSH
50. “Thick & Fluffy” breakfast brand EGGO
51. Big barrels CASKS
52. Maine campus town ORONO
53. Bête __ NOIRE
54. Verboten things NO-NOS
55. Weighty gold bar INGOT
59. Weighty work TOME
60. Pre-owned USED
61. Rollerballs, e.g. PENS
63. First lady? EVE
64. Actor Danson TED
65. QB’s scores TDS

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