LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Oct 14, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
6. 1965 Beatles concert stadium SHEA
The Beatles concert tour of 1965 was the band’s second, after the phenomenal success of their debut appearances in America the prior year. The opening engagement was at Shea Stadium, a concert at which the Beatles only played for 30 minutes. The audience of over 55,000 people set a new record for concert attendance, as did the gate of $304,000 (seems small now, huh?). The amplifiers in the stadium were completely overpowered by the noise of the crowd, and the Fab Four literally couldn’t hear themselves sing. At one point John Lennon just started goofing around as no one could hear the music, and starting playing keyboards with his elbows!

10. FedEx rival DHL
Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn).

13. Sheeplike OVINE
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine”, meaning “like a sheep”.

17. Scout’s motto BE PREPARED (“BE” sounds like “B”)
As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden Powell, in 1907. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, in 1910.

19. Nevada city on the Humboldt River ELKO
The city of Elko, Nevada came into being in 1868 as a settlement built around the eastern end of a railway line that was constructed from California and that was destined for Utah. When that section of the line was completed, the construction crews moved on towards the Nevada/Utah border, and the settlement was left behind to eventually form the city of Elko

The Humboldt River in northern Nevada never makes it to the ocean. Rather, it empties into the Humboldt Sink, a dry lake located about 50 miles northeast of Reno. Eventually named for German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, the river had many names in the past , including “Unknown River”, “Paul’s River”, “Mary’s River”, “Swampy River”, “Barren River” and “Ogden River”.

24. Indian bread NAN
Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

28. Giant slugger Mel OTT
At 5′ 9″, Mel Ott weighed just 170 lb (I don’t think he took steroids!) and yet he was the first National League player to hit over 500 home runs. Sadly, Ott died in a car accident in New Orleans in 1958 when he was only 49 years old.

34. Explorer Sir Francis DRAKE
Sir Francis Drake was a Vice-Admiral in the Elizabethan navy, and second in command when the Royal Navy defeated the Spanish Armada. Drake was also a sanctioned pirate for the Queen and wreaked havoc on the Spanish merchant fleet. His most famous ship was the Golden Hind, in which he circumnavigated the world between 1577 and 1580.

36. Actress who is Dakota’s sister ELLE FANNING (“ELLE” sounds like “L”)
The actress Elle Fanning’s most notable performance to date was playing Aurora in the 2014 movie “Maleficent”. Elle’s older sister is actress Dakota Fanning.

42. “Hooked on Classics” record co. K-TEL
K-Tel was founded in 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by one Philip Kives. K-Tel’s recipe for success was the sale of inexpensive goods with a simple sales pitch and mail-order distribution.

I know that a lot of people detested the “Hooked on Classics” albums, but to be honest, I found them to be a lot of fun. But then again, I liked disco! The original “Hooked on Classics” album was recorded in 1981 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London. The music was a selection of recognizable extracts from the world of classical music played over a continuous, disco beat.

48. Dam-building org. TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has to be one of America’s great success stories when it comes to economic development. Created in 1933, the TVA spearheaded economic development in the Tennessee Valley at the height of the Great Depression. Central to the success was the federally-funded construction of flood-control and electricity-generation facilities.

50. Bela’s “Son of Frankenstein” role YGOR
1939’s “Son of Frankenstein” is the third in the series of classic horror films featuring Boris Karloff as the Monster. The prior titles are “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant Ygor is played by Bela Lugosi.

Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian stage and screen actor, best known for playing the title role in the 1931 film “Dracula” and for playing the same role on Broadway. Lugosi found himself typecast for the rest of his career and almost always played the role of the villain, often in horror movies. When he passed away in 1956, his wife had him buried in the costume he wore playing Count Dracula on Broadway.

51. Thanksgiving veggie YAM
Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the the world than they are in this country, and are especially found in Africa.

52. Former Seattle team now in Oklahoma City, familiarly SONICS
The Seattle SuperSonics were the professional basketball team based in Seattle from 1967 to 2008, at which time the franchise moved to Oklahoma City (and became the Oklahoma City Thunder). There are moves afoot to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, and revive the “Sonics” team name.

54. Where Mandela was pres. RSA
As a young man, Nelson Mandela led the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Mandela was eventually arrested and admitted to charges of sabotage and was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. He remained behind bars for 27 years, mainly in the infamous prison on Robben Island. As the years progressed, Mandela became a symbol of the fight against apartheid. He was released in 1990, and immediately declared his commitment to peace and reconciliation with South Africa’s white minority population. Mandela was elected president of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) in 1994, an office that he held until 1999. Nelson Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013.

56. DOJ division ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is today part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

66. Holders of the sandwich homophonically described by the first words of 17-, 36- and 43-Across TOOTHPICKS
The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

69. __ code AREA
Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then the “clicks” one heard when dialling a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 313.

70. Rocker Joplin JANIS
The singer Janis Joplin was from Port Arthur, Texas. A loose version of Joplin’s wild life is told in the 1979 film “The Rose”, with Bette Midler playing the lead. Famously, Joplin died in 1970 at 27 years of age from an overdose of heroin.

71. Dr. of rap DRE
Dr. Dre is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

Down
2. Chevy hatchback AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile 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.

4. Scandal-plagued energy giant 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).

8. Justice Kagan ELENA
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …

11. Cartoon character with a red bow and whiskers HELLO KITTY
Hello Kitty is a female bobtail cat, a character and a brand name launched in 1974 by the Japanese company Sanrio. Folks can overpay for stationary, school supplies and fashion accessories with the Hello Kitty character emblazoned thereon.

12. Body of water on the Swiss/French border LAKE GENEVA
Lake Geneva straddles the border between France and Switzerland. The lake has a lot of “official” names!

– English: Lake Geneva
– French: Lac Léman or Lac de Genève
– German: Genfersee or Genfer See
– Italian: Lago Lemano or Lago di Ginevra

25. Big primate APE
The tailless primates known as apes are divided into two main branches: gibbons (lesser apes) and hominids (great apes).

The hominids are the great apes, and belong to the family of primates called Hominidae. Extant genera that make up the family Hominidae are:

– chimpanzees
– gorillas
– humans
– orangutans

27. Tall and thin LANK
The term “lank” can describe something that is straight and flat, particularly hair. The usage was extended in the early 1800s (especially in the form “lanky”) to mean “awkwardly tall and thin”.

28. “In memoriam” essay, briefly OBIT
“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

32. TV show about a high school choir GLEE
The TV show called “Glee” has proven to be very popular. The storyline focuses on a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio called New Directions.

33. Like the sordid side of life SEAMY
We’ve used “seamy” to mean “the least pleasant, the worst” since the 1600s. The idea comes from the seamed side of a sewn garment being the less attractive.

38. Glittery rock music genre GLAM
I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in the British Isles during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and Gary Glitter.

40. Anti-mice brand D-CON
“d-Con” is a line of rodent control products that has been around for over 50 years.

44. Oklahoma city ENID
Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because is has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

46. Tulsa-to-Topeka direction NORTH
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.

Topeka is the capital of Kansas, and is located on the Kansas River in the northeast of the state. The name “Topeka” was chosen in 1855 and translates from the Kansa and the Ioway languages as “to dig good potatoes”. The reference isn’t to the common potato but rather to the herb known as the prairie potato (also “prairie turnip”), which was an important food for many Native Americans.

53. Campfire treat S’MORE
S’mores are a treat peculiar to North America, usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

55. Kin of Helvetica ARIAL
Both Helvetica and Arial are fonts.

67. Slumber party attire, for short PJS
Our word “pajamas” comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is “pyjamas”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Puzzles on kid-friendly place mats MAZES
6. 1965 Beatles concert stadium SHEA
10. FedEx rival DHL
13. Sheeplike OVINE
14. Fuse with a torch WELD
15. “Amen to that!” YEAH!
17. Scout’s motto BE PREPARED (“BE” sounds like “B”)
19. Nevada city on the Humboldt River ELKO
20. Ho-hum SO-SO
21. Showed penitence ATONED
23. Gave permission LET
24. Indian bread NAN
26. Like a watch with hands ANALOG
28. Giant slugger Mel OTT
31. Tool-hanging spots PEGS
34. Explorer Sir Francis DRAKE
35. Soap unit BAR
36. Actress who is Dakota’s sister ELLE FANNING (“ELLE” sounds like “L”)
39. “Just teasing” I KID
41. Organ with a canal EAR
42. “Hooked on Classics” record co. K-TEL
43. Japanese ritual including an iron pot TEA CEREMONY (“TEA” sounds like “T”)
48. Dam-building org. TVA
49. By oneself ALONE
50. Bela’s “Son of Frankenstein” role YGOR
51. Thanksgiving veggie YAM
52. Former Seattle team now in Oklahoma City, familiarly SONICS
54. Where Mandela was pres. RSA
56. DOJ division ATF
57. Not-too-bright sort DIMWIT
60. Coarse file RASP
64. Not out SAFE
66. Holders of the sandwich homophonically described by the first words of 17-, 36- and 43-Across TOOTHPICKS
68. Was aware of KNEW
69. __ code AREA
70. Rocker Joplin JANIS
71. Dr. of rap DRE
72. Not as much LESS
73. Took a nap SLEPT

Down
1. Rowdy crowds MOBS
2. Chevy hatchback AVEO
3. Closes a jacket, with “up” ZIPS
4. Scandal-plagued energy giant ENRON
5. “Get my point?” SEE?
6. Whack SWAT
7. Wartime honoree HERO
8. Justice Kagan ELENA
9. Tacked-on sections ADDENDA
10. Turn red, maybe DYE
11. Cartoon character with a red bow and whiskers HELLO KITTY
12. Body of water on the Swiss/French border LAKE GENEVA
16. Fresh from the oven HOT
18. Group of judges PANEL
22. “Phooey!” DARN!
25. Big primate APE
27. Tall and thin LANK
28. “In memoriam” essay, briefly OBIT
29. Make one’s position known TAKE A STAND
30. New-customer incentive TRIAL OFFER
32. TV show about a high school choir GLEE
33. Like the sordid side of life SEAMY
37. Pond croaker FROG
38. Glittery rock music genre GLAM
40. Anti-mice brand D-CON
44. Oklahoma city ENID
45. Pianist’s concert, e.g. RECITAL
46. Tulsa-to-Topeka direction NORTH
47. Many mos. YRS
53. Campfire treat S’MORE
55. Kin of Helvetica ARIAL
56. Request ASK
58. Maladies WOES
59. “Take __ a compliment!” IT AS
61. Skin breakout ACNE
62. Leave out SKIP
63. Hissed “Yo!” PSST!
65. Meadow mom EWE
67. Slumber party attire, for short PJS

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