LA Times Crossword Answers 1 Oct 14, Wednesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Lollobrigida of film GINA
Gina Lollobrigida is an Italian actress, and also a photojournalist and sculptor. After her career in movies started to slow down in the seventies, she turned to photojournalism. She has photographed many of the greats, including Paul Newman, Salvador Dali, Audrey Hepburn and even the German national soccer team. In fact, she was also able to arrange an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro, much to the chagrin of the world’s professional journalists.

10. Stand watch for, say ABET
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

14. Kosher food carrier EL AL
El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”.

According to Jewish dietary law, “kosher” food is “fit” to eat, and food that is not kosher is called “treif” (or tref).

15. Half a classic comedy team MEARA
Anne Meara has been married to fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller since 1954. Anne and Jerry are the parents of actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spinoff from “All in the Family”.

16. Sound from an Abyssinian PURR
The Abyssinian is a popular short-haired breed of domestic cat. The name “Abyssinian” would seem to indicate that the breed originated in Ethiopia (formerly “Abyssinia”), but most stories suggest that the Abyssinian comes from Egypt.

17. Twice-monthly tide NEAP
Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

18. System with a Porte de Versailles station PARIS METRO
The Paris Métro is the busiest underground transportation system in western Europe, carrying about 4.5 million passengers a day, about the same as the New York City Subway. The system took its name from the company that originally operated it: “La Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris”, which was shorted to “Métro”. The term “Metro” was then adopted for similar systems in cities all over the world.

The Porte de Versailles is a station in the Paris Métro system. It is named for a gate in the 19th-century defensive wall around the city, a gate that led to the town of Versailles.

23. Flower part SEPAL
In a flower, the sepals are those green, leaf-like structures that are “interleaved” with the petals, providing support. Prior to acting as support for the petals, the sepals protect the flower in bud.

33. Acapulco dough PESO
The coin called a “peso” is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

The Mexican city of Acapulco is on the southwest coast of the country, in the state of Guerrero. The name “Acapulco” translates from the local language into “at the big reeds”.

37. Six-Day War statesman EBAN
Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician, born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban in Cape Town, South Africa. While working at the United Nations after WWII, Eban changed his given name to “Abba”, the Hebrew word for “father”. He made this change as reportedly as he could see himself as the father of the nation of Israel.

The Six-Day War took place from June 5th to June 10th, 1967, and was fought between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Jordan and Syria. By the time the ceasefire was signed, Israel had seized huge swaths of land formerly controlled by Arab states, namely the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Golan Heights. The overall territory under the control of Israel grew by a factor of three in just six days.

38. Ending for bobby SOXER
Bobby socks (or “bobby sox”) are so called because they are shorter than knee socks, they are “bobbed”, shortened, as in a bob haircut. Bobby soxers were young women who were fans of pop music in the 1940s, and who often wore poodle skirts and bobby socks, hence the name.

40. Long Island airport town ISLIP
The town of Islip is on the south shore of Long Island. It is home to Islip Airport, now known as Long Island MacArthur Airport, used by many as a viable alternative to JFK and LaGuardia.

43. NFLer until 1994 LA RAM
The St. Louis Rams have only won the Super Bowl once, in 1999, against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams were based in Cleveland from 1936-45, Los Angeles from 1946-94 and St. Louis from 1995 to the present day.

45. Colorado natives UTES
The Ute are a group of Native American tribes that now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups.

47. In the U.S., it has more than 950 stations PUBLIC RADIO
National Public Radio (now just called NPR) was launched in 1970 after President Johnson signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The intent of the act was to provide funding for radio and television broadcasting that wasn’t simply driven by profit. As a longtime fan of the state-funded BBC in the UK, I’d have to agree with that intent …

60. Vegas hotel known for its fountains BELLAGIO
The Bellagio is a hotel and casino in Las Vegas that is named for the Italian town of Bellagio located on Lake Como. Famously, the hotel features its own artificial lake that covers 8 acres on the front of the property in which there is a large dancing water fountain.

66. Longfellow’s “The Bell of __” ATRI
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote “The Sicilian’s Tale; The Bell of Atri”, a narrative poem set in the small town of Atri in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

67. Knighted golf analyst FALDO
Nick Faldo is an English golfer, a winner of six major tournaments and a former World No. 1. For some years now Faldo has been the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In 2009 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, so if you’re chatting with him, don’t forget to address him as Sir Nick …

68. Fictional submariner NEMO
In the 1954 movie version of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, Captain Nemo goes down with his ship. In the novel by Jules Verne the fate of Nemo and his crew isn’t quite so cut and dry, although the inference is perhaps that they did indeed head for Davy Jones’ Locker.

70. Impose unjustifiably 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.

71. Cereal “for kids” TRIX
Trix is a corn-based breakfast cereal that has been around since 1954, produced by General Mills. Ads for the cereal featured Trix Rabbit, who would try hard to get hold of bowls of the cereal. He would always get caught though, and be admonished with, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” With 46% sugar content, the rabbit probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway …

Down
1. Biological group GENUS
Biological classification is a method used to group organisms by biological type. The method uses a hierarchy of nested classes, with an organism being classified with reference to evolutionary traits. The major taxonomic ranks used are:

– Life
– Domain
– Kingdom
– Phylum
– Class
– Order
– Family
– Genus
– Species

2. Graff of “Mr. Belvedere” ILENE
Ilene Graff is an American actress, probably best known for playing Marsha Owens, the wife of George in the TV series “Mr. Belvedere”.

3. Anti-discrimination org. NAACP
The full name of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is remarkable in that it actually still uses the old offensive term “colored people”. The NAACP was founded in 1909, by a group that included suffragette and journalist Mary White Ovington, wealthy socialist William English Walling, and civil rights activist Henry Moscowitz. Another member of the founding group was W. E. B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University.

8. Ocean State coll. URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was first chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets.

9. Daytona 500 org. NASCAR
The Daytona 500 is the event with the largest purse on the NASCAR calendar.

13. “Iliad” setting TROY
“Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, which tells the story of the siege of Ilium (also known as Troy) during the Trojan war.

19. Childhood ailment, typically MUMPS
Mumps is a painful viral disease that causes swelling of the salivary glands. The disease is a little more serious for males than females as there can also be a swelling of the testes, which can lead to infertility.

21. Wildspitze, for one ALP
Wildspitze is a mountain in the Alps, the second highest peak in Austria (after the Grossglockner).

26. Aromatic garland LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

28. 1945 conference city YALTA
The Yalta Conference was a wartime meeting between WWII leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Held in February of 1945, the conference is most remembered for decisions made on the post-war organization of Europe. To a large extent, the three leaders made decisions carving up influence around the world that has had implications to this day.

29. Home to Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids IOWA
Cedar Falls is a city in Iowa that is home to the University of Northern Iowa. The city was established in 1845 as Sturgis Falls, after the founder William Sturgis. When the Sturgis family left the area a few years later, the city was renamed for the nearby Cedar River.

Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in the state of Iowa. The city is named for rapids on the Cedar River on which it is located. The river itself was named for the red cedars that grew along the river’s banks.

31. “I, Claudius” role NERO
The Roman emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.

“I, Claudius” is a 1934 novel penned by Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of Emperor Claudius of Rome. Graves wrote a sequel in 1935 called “Claudius the God”. Both books were adapted by the BBC into a fabulous television series that went by the name of the first book “I, Claudius”.

34. Son of Isaac ESAU
Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described, “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

35. Belgrade native SERB
Serbs are an ethnic group native to the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Although Serbs exist as a minority group in many countries in the region, they are the majority ethnic group in Serbia, in Montenegro and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia. The name Belgrade translates into “White City”.

41. Letters on tires PSI
Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

54. Biscayne Bay city MIAMI
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon in South Florida on the Atlantic coast. The main city located on Biscayne Bay is Miami.

57. Middle harmony choral part ALTO
In choral music, an alto is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

58. Doctor Zhivago YURI
“Doctor Zhivago” is an epic novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957. I haven’t tried to read the book, but the 1965 film version is a must-see, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif in the title role. The story centers on Yuri Zhivago, a doctor and poet, and how he is affected by the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War.

59. Jannings of “The Blue Angel” EMIL
Emil Jannings, an actor from Switzerland, was the first person to receive an Oscar. He was the star of the 1928 silent movie called “The Last Command”.

“The Blue Angel” is a fabulous 1930 film from Germany starring Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich. One of the film’s claim to fame is that it introduced the world to the song “Falling in Love Again”, with which Dietrich will forever be associated.

60. Indonesian resort island BALI
Bali is the most important tourist destination in Indonesia and is an island lying east of Java. In recent years, Bali’s tourist industry has been badly hit in the aftermath of two terrorist bombings. The first one, in 2002, killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists in a nightclub.

61. LAX data ETDS
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

64. “Little Red Book” writer MAO
During China’s Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party published a book of statements and writings from Chairman Mao Zedong. Here in the West the publication was usually referred to as “The Little Red Book”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Lollobrigida of film GINA
5. Just for laughs IN FUN
10. Stand watch for, say ABET
14. Kosher food carrier EL AL
15. Half a classic comedy team MEARA
16. Sound from an Abyssinian PURR
17. Twice-monthly tide NEAP
18. System with a Porte de Versailles station PARIS METRO
20. Not pure UNCHASTE
22. Respectful bow CURTSY
23. Flower part SEPAL
24. River blocker DAM
25. Instrument using rolls PLAYER PIANO
33. Acapulco dough PESO
37. Six-Day War statesman EBAN
38. Ending for bobby SOXER
39. Tech support caller USER
40. Long Island airport town ISLIP
42. “What __ you thinking?” WERE
43. NFLer until 1994 LA RAM
45. Colorado natives UTES
46. Fusses ADOS
47. In the U.S., it has more than 950 stations PUBLIC RADIO
50. Defective firecracker DUD
51. Defeat decisively WHOMP
56. Most joyful GAYEST
60. Vegas hotel known for its fountains BELLAGIO
63. Pasta sauce ingredient PLUM TOMATO
65. Bacon buy SLAB
66. Longfellow’s “The Bell of __” ATRI
67. Knighted golf analyst FALDO
68. Fictional submariner NEMO
69. Nursery supply SOIL
70. Impose unjustifiably FOIST
71. Cereal “for kids” TRIX

Down
1. Biological group GENUS
2. Graff of “Mr. Belvedere” ILENE
3. Anti-discrimination org. NAACP
4. Dominant, among animals ALPHA
5. Rascals IMPS
6. In order NEAT
7. Cab __ FARE
8. Ocean State coll. URI
9. Daytona 500 org. NASCAR
10. One making impressions APER
11. Intrude, with “in” BUTT
12. Blunders ERRS
13. “Iliad” setting TROY
19. Childhood ailment, typically MUMPS
21. Wildspitze, for one ALP
24. Didn’t allow DENIED
26. Aromatic garland LEI
27. Ridiculous ABSURD
28. 1945 conference city YALTA
29. Home to Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids IOWA
30. Chopped down AXED
31. “I, Claudius” role NERO
32. Unrefined finds ORES
33. Juicer refuse PULP
34. Son of Isaac ESAU
35. Belgrade native SERB
36. Like some presentations ORAL
41. Letters on tires PSI
44. Center MIDST
48. Discontinued CUT OFF
49. Nocturnal bird of prey OWL
52. Lacks HASN’T
53. Obvious flirt OGLER
54. Biscayne Bay city MIAMI
55. Many a bus. address, and a literal hint to 18-, 25-, 47- and 63-Across PO BOX
56. Data in coll. transcripts GPAS
57. Middle harmony choral part ALTO
58. Doctor Zhivago YURI
59. Jannings of “The Blue Angel” EMIL
60. Indonesian resort island BALI
61. LAX data ETDS
62. Burglar’s haul LOOT
64. “Little Red Book” writer MAO

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