LA Times Crossword Answers 18 Dec 14, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Ed Sessa
THEME: Descending Order … each of today’s themed answer is an ORDER of sorts. As each is down-answer, it might be called a DESCENDING ORDER:

11D. What sports stats are usually shown in … or what 3-, 5- and 9-Down each represents? DESCENDING ORDER

3D. Diner’s breakfast request EGGS, SUNNYSIDE UP
5D. Baseball manager’s decision STARTING LINEUP
9D. Cop’s command PUT YOUR HANDS UP!

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 15s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Many Pindar poems ODES
Pindar was an Ancient Greek poet, best known perhaps for composing a series of Victory Odes that celebrated triumph in competition, most notably the Olympian Games of the day.

5. Philatelist’s find STAMP
“Philately” is the more formal name given to the practice of collecting postage stamps. The term “philately” was coined (in French, as “philatélie) in 1864 by French collector Georges Herpin. He came up with it from the Greek “phil-” meaning “loving” and “ateleia” meaning “exemption from tax”. Apparently “exemption from tax” was the closest thing Herpin could find to “postage stamp”.

10. Mt. Rushmore locale SDAK
The four presidents whose faces are carved in the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for the presidents to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

14. “Rich & Meaty” brand RAGU
The Ragu brand of pasta sauce is owned by Unilever. The name ” Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is off a little. In Italian the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the Unilever sauce, it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

15. “I should have made my way straight __ long ago”: Whitman TO YOU
“To You” is a poem by Walt Whitman. Here are some lines:

O I have been dilatory and dumb,
I should have made my way straight to you long ago,
I should have blabb’d nothing but you, I should have chanted nothing
but you.

Walt Whitman is considered to be one of the greatest American poets. He was born in 1819 on Long Island, and lived through the American Civil War. Whitman was a controversial character, even during his own lifetime. One view that he held was that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were not actually written by the Bard of Avon, but rather by someone else, or perhaps a group of people.

17. Joule fractions ERGS
An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, as there are 10 million ergs in one joule. it has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosqito to take off.

James Joule was an English physicist who spent much of his life working in the family brewing business. Joule used his work in the brewery to study the relationship between heat and mechanical work. In honor of his achievements, his name is used for the unit of energy in the International System of Units (i.e. the joule).

18. Explosive trial A-TEST
The first detonation of a nuclear weapon was code named “Trinity”, and was conducted on July 16, 1945 as part of the Manhattan Project. The detonation took place at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range located about 25 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico.

20. Old Buick LESABRE
The Buick Special was a car produced by General Motors in various forms from 1936, making a final brief appearance in 1975. The Buick Special was given the name “LeSabre” in 1959, and a “Skylark” option was introduced in 1961. The engine was changed from a V8 in 1962, making the Buick Special the first American production car to use a V6.

25. Chaps can be seen in one OATER
The term “oater” that is used for a western movie comes from the number of horses seen, as horses love oats!

Chaps are leather leggings that are worn when riding a horse. The purpose of the garment is provide protection for the legs when riding through bushy terrain, perhaps a heavy thicket. The name “chaps” comes from the Spanish name for the leggings, which is “chaparejos” or “chaparreras”. The Spanish term comes from chaparro, a Spanish word that can be used for a low-growing thicket.

26. Like boxed matches UNLIT
Our word “match”, in the sense of the object used to light say a cigarette, derives from the Old French “meiche” meaning “wick of a candle”.

28. Jackson successor Van __ BUREN
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the US, and also served as Vice President and Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson. Although Van Buren was the first president who was born a US citizen, he was the only president whose first language wasn’t English, having grown up speaking Dutch.

Like many of the earlier US presidents, Andrew Jackson was a career military man. Jackson distinguished himself as commander of American forces during the War of 1812, particularly in the defense of New Orleans. He had a reputation of being fair to his troops, but strict. It was during this time that he was described as “tough as old hickory”, giving rise to the nickname “Old Hickory” that stuck with him for life.

29. Predatory seabird ERN
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle, and the sea-eagle.

36. Broadway’s __-Fontanne Theatre LUNT
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a Broadway theater that originally opened in 1910 as the Globe Theatre, named for the London playhouse used by William Shakespeare. The theater was named in honor of actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in 1958.

39. Young hombre NINO
In Spanish, a boy (niño) turns into a man (hombre).

40. Shout before Silver HI-YO
“The Lone Ranger” was both a radio and television show, dating back to its first radio performance in 1933 on a Detroit station. The line “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” was a device used in the storyline to signal that a riding sequence was starting, so cue the music!

41. Patterson who played the singing flight attendant in “Airplane!” LORNA
The actress Loran Patterson is best known for playing the title role on the sitcom “Private Benjamin”. On the big screen, Patterson played Randy, the singing airline attendant in the 1980 film “Airplane!”

43. Pancreatic hormone INSULIN
The hormone insulin is secreted by structures in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans, named for their island-like appearance under a microscope and for their discoverer Paul Langerhans. The hormone is named for the “islets”, as the Latin for island is “insula”.

45. Blue hues INDIGOS
The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

49. One of a fiver’s fifty DIME
The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

53. Freedom, in Swahili UHURU
The Uhuru Movement is an organization that works for the cause of all native Africans and Africans and their descendants around the world. While focused mainly on the welfare and development of native Africans on the continent itself, another goal is the release of all African-American prisoners in US prisons. “Uhuru” is the Swahili word for “freedom”.

57. “The Country Girls” novelist O’Brien EDNA
Edna O’Brien is an Irish novelist and playwright who is known for her works that shine a light on the problems of women relating to men and society in general. O’Brien’s first novel, “The Country Girls”, was banned, burned and denounced by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. As a result, O’Brien left the country and now lives in London.

64. Part of REM EYE
REM is an acronym standing for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

Down
1. City about 225 miles from Moscow OREL
Orel (also Oryol) is a city lying on the Oka River, just over 200 miles SSW of Moscow. Orel was one of the cities occupied by Germany during WWII. It was liberated in 1943, but had been almost completely destroyed.

4. “Valley of the Dolls” author Jacqueline SUSANN
Jacqueline Susann’s novel “Valley of the Dolls” was first published in 1996 and was a runaway success. The word “dolls” in the title is slang for barbiturate drugs, so-called “downers” or sleep aids. The book was adapted into a film that was nominated for a number of Oscars. There have been plans announced by NBC for a TV series based on the book, which would air as a daytime drama.

9. Cop’s command PUT YOUR HANDS UP!
“To cop” was northern British dialect for “to seize, catch”. This verb evolved in the noun “copper”, describing a policeman, someone who catches criminals. “Copper” is often shortened to “cop”.

10. Many an Iraqi Muslim SHIITE
The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family.

21. Barn dance neckwear BOLO
I’ve never worn a bolo tie, and was surprised to discover that it is a relatively recent invention. The first bolo tie was apparently produced in Wickenburg, Arizona in the late 1940s by a silversmith. The bolo takes its name from the boleadora, an Argentine lariat.

27. Mortise inserts TENONS
One simple type of joint used in carpentry is a mortise and tenon, basically a projection carved at the end of one piece of wood that fits into a hole cut into the end of another. In a dovetail joint, the projecting tenon is not rectangular but is cut at a bias, so that when the dovetails are joined they resist being pulled apart. You’ll see dovetail joints in drawers around the house.

28. Sarajevo’s region BOSNIA
Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is famous for many historical events. In 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated there, the single event that sparked off WWI. More happily, Sarajevo was the host of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Just over a decade later the city was the center of the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, lasting almost four years from 1992 to 1996.

29. K-12 ELHI
“Elhi” is an informal word used to describe anything related to schooling from grades 1 through 12, i.e. elementary through high school.

30. Roman holiday attractions RUINS
According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born!

34. Pizza topping ONION
Pizza was invented in Naples where it has a long tradition that goes back to Ancient Rome. During an 1889 visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Savoy was served a special pizza that was created with toppings designed to mimic the colors of the Italian flag. The ingredients of tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) can still be found together on menus today on a pie usually named Pizza Margherita after the queen. I do love basil on my pizza …

44. Moon lander, briefly LEM
In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to the command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy” and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was of course called “Eagle” and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface. Another famous LEM was Apollo 13’s Aquarius. Although Aquarius never landed on the moon, it did serve as a “lifeboat” for the three astronauts after the explosive rupture of an oxygen canister in the Service Module.

46. Prohibited insecticide DDT
DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (don’t forget now!). DDT was used with great success to control disease-carrying insects during WWII, and when made available for use after the war it became by far the most popular pesticide. And then Rachel Carson published her famous book “Silent Spring”, suggesting there was a link between DDT and diminishing populations of certain wildlife. It was the public outcry sparked by the book, and reports of links between DDT and cancer, that led to the ban on the use of the chemical in 1972. That ban is touted as the main reason that the bald eagle was rescued from near extinction.

54. Charlemagne’s realm: Abbr. HRE
Pepin the Short (aka Pepin the Younger, Pepin III) was Duke of the Franks from 751 to 768. Pepin expanded the Frankish Empire and then law dictated that he had to leave the Empire divided between his two sons, Carloman I and Charlemagne. Carloman I was given lands that were centered around Paris, and Charlemagne was given lands that completely surrounded his brothers territory. So it fell to Charlemagne to defend and extend the borders of the empire. It is because of this division of power that it’s Charlemagne who we read about today, not Carloman I. It was Emperor Charlemagne who in effect founded the Holy Roman Empire (HRE).

55. Turn that’s hung UEY
Hang a left, a right or perhaps a uey.

56. Canapé topping ROE
A canapé is a finger food, usually small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original “canapés” were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny “couch”.

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

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Many Pindar poems ODES
5. Philatelist’s find STAMP
10. Mt. Rushmore locale SDAK
14. “Rich & Meaty” brand RAGU
15. “I should have made my way straight __ long ago”: Whitman TO YOU
16. “Try this” HERE
17. Joule fractions ERGS
18. Explosive trial A-TEST
19. “Makes sense to me” I SEE
20. Old Buick LESABRE
22. Not surprising TYPICAL
24. Schoolyard comeback IS NOT!
25. Chaps can be seen in one OATER
26. Like boxed matches UNLIT
28. Jackson successor Van __ BUREN
29. Predatory seabird ERN
31. “Hit me” ONE MORE
33. Speckle DOT
36. Broadway’s __-Fontanne Theatre LUNT
38. Grind, as teeth GNASH
39. Young hombre NINO
40. Shout before Silver HI-YO
41. Patterson who played the singing flight attendant in “Airplane!” LORNA
42. Handling the situation ON IT
43. Pancreatic hormone INSULIN
45. Blue hues INDIGOS
47. Chase scene sounds SIRENS
48. Annexes ADDS ON
49. One of a fiver’s fifty DIME
50. Recipe word STIR
51. Flock females EWES
53. Freedom, in Swahili UHURU
57. “The Country Girls” novelist O’Brien EDNA
60. Big oaf LOUT
61. Surgical holding area PRE-OP
62. Go slowly (through) SEEP
63. Hard-to-do dos MOPS
64. Part of REM EYE
65. See 51-Down TREE

Down
1. City about 225 miles from Moscow OREL
2. “__ say it?” DARE I
3. Diner’s breakfast request EGGS, SUNNYSIDE UP
4. “Valley of the Dolls” author Jacqueline SUSANN
5. Baseball manager’s decision STARTING LINEUP
6. Carry TOTE
7. Word to a captain AYE
8. Greatest amount MOST
9. Cop’s command PUT YOUR HANDS UP!
10. Many an Iraqi Muslim SHIITE
11. What sports stats are usually shown in … or what 3-, 5- and 9-Down each represents? DESCENDING ORDER
12. Toward the stern AREAR
13. Boat base KEEL
21. Barn dance neckwear BOLO
23. Remove the skin from PARE
27. Mortise inserts TENONS
28. Sarajevo’s region BOSNIA
29. K-12 ELHI
30. Roman holiday attractions RUINS
32. Dent or scratch MAR
34. Pizza topping ONION
35. Wee ones TOTS
37. Busload at a resort, probably TOURISTS
39. Loud to the max NOISIEST
44. Moon lander, briefly LEM
46. Prohibited insecticide DDT
51. With 65-Across, source of shade ELM
52. Act the suitor WOO
54. Charlemagne’s realm: Abbr. HRE
55. Turn that’s hung UEY
56. Canapé topping ROE
58. Wedding page word NEE
59. Oaf APE

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