LA Times Crossword Answers 15 Dec 12, Saturday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Neville L. Fogarty
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 13m 41s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. Matter of faith CREDO
Credo is the Latin word for “I believe”.

17. When Othello says to Desdemona, “… would thou hadst ne’er been born!” ACT IV
Desdemona is one of the main characters in William Shakespeare’s play “Othello”. She is the daughter of a Venetian senator called Brabantio whom she vexes by eloping with Othello, a man not of her race and several years older than her.

18. “The Birth of a Nation” period SILENT ERA
“The Birth of a Nation” is a silent movie released in 1915. The film, directed by D. W. Griffith, tells the story of the birth of the post-Civil War United States, and was very controversial even at the time of its release. African American males came off very badly as they were portrayed as sexually aggressive towards white women. Also, those African American characters were played by Caucasian actors in blackface. To add insult to injury, the Klu Klux Klan was depicted in a heroic light. President Woodrow Wilson was given a screening of the film, and it went down in history as the first motion picture to be shown at the White House.

22. Brewer’s need OAST
An oast is a kiln used for drying hops as part of the brewing process. Such a structure might also be called an “oast house”.

23. 1972 Eastwood title role JOE KIDD
“Joe Kidd” is a 1972 western movie starring Clint Eastwood as a former bounty hunter hired to find a Mexican revolutionary.

25. Country with a dragon on its flag WALES
I’ve always thought the Welsh flag to be a magnificent design. At the center of the flag is a red dragon, which was the emblem of Cadwaladr, who was the king of much of what today is known as Wales, from 655 to 682.

26. Medieval poem about fate set to music in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” O FORTUNA
“Carmina Burana” is a cantata by Carl Orff based on a collection of medieval poems that go by the same name. The name translates as “Songs from Beuern”. The best known movement of the cantata by far is the dramatic “O Fortuna” used at the opening and closing of the piece. One study placed “O Fortuna” as the most often played piece of classical music in the UK over the past 75 years, largely due to its use in television commercials. Most famously it appeared in the US in ads for Gatorade and Old Spice aftershave.

28. Whiting cousin COD
Whiting is a food fish that is related to the cod. Both whiting and cod have been used for decades in the British favorite dish of “fish and chips”.

29. Cutting-edge brand since the ’70s GINSU
Ginsu knives are more famous for their hard-sell television ads than they are for their efficacy in the kitchen. The Ginsu phenomenon took off in the seventies when two brothers found a set of knives called “Eversharp” that were being manufactured in Ohio. The brothers changed the brand name to something more exotic, and Japanese in particular (Ginsu), and then produced ads that made references to Japanese martial arts. I think they made a fortune …

30. Highway through Whitehorse ALCAN
The Alaska Highway is also known as the Alaska-Canadian Highway or ALCAN Highway. A highway connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska was proposed in the twenties, but the Canadian authorities didn’t believe the project had much merit as the road would be used by very few of its citizens. The perceived importance of the route increased during WWII and President Roosevelt deemed the road a strategic necessity so he made a deal with Canada. The cost of construction would be born by the US, but the road and related facilities were to be handed over to Canada at the end of the war. The project was accelerated when the Japanese invaded and occupied Kiska and Attu Islands in the Aleutians. The road of course has been improved and is still in use today. The ALCAN Highway forms part of what is popularly known as the Pan-American Highway, which runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the south of Argentina or Chile depending on how the route is defined.

Whitehorse is the capital city of Canada’s Yukon Territory. It sits at the head of the Yukon River and its location made it an important supply center during the Klondike Gold Rush.

32. Show co-hosted by Robin Roberts, briefly GMA
“Good Morning America”.

35. “The Facts of Life” actress RAE
Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties: “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”. Towards the end of the series, the Edna Garrett character operated her own gourmet food shop called “Edna’s Edibles”.

36. Of the 48 states, it has the largest island NEW YORK
Long Island in New York State is the largest island in the 48 contiguous states. It has a population of over 7 million, making it the most populous island in the 50 states. In fact, there are more people living in Long Island than there are in the whole of the island that I come from, namely the country of Ireland.

38. __-en-Provence, France AIX
Aix-en-Provence is a beautiful city in the South of France, located just 30 miles north of Marseille. I had the remarkable privilege of living in Aix for two years, definitely two of the happiest years for our family …

41. Pianist Watts ANDRE
André Watts is a classical pianist who was born in Germany to a Hungarian mother and an American father who was serving with the US military. Watts is a professor at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University.

43. Bossy remark? MOO
“Bossy” is an informal word for a cow or calf. “Bos” is the Latin for “cow”.

44. Weapon outlawed by a 1993 agreement NERVE GAS
Almost every country in the world has joined the Chemical Weapons Convention that was put in place in 1993. The Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, including nerve gas.

50. Street light NEON
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

55. Friend of Uncle Tom LITTLE EVA
Little Eva is a character in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” whose full name is Evangeline St. Clare.

60. Brand of imitation fat OLEAN
Olean is a brand name for the fat substitute, Olestra. Naturally occuring fats are made of a glycerol molecule holding together three fatty acids. Olestra is made of a sucrose molecule, holding together several fatty acid chains. Olestra has a similar taste and consistency as natural fat, but has zero caloric impact on the body. It is too large a molecule to pass through the intestinal wall and passes right out of the body. Personally, I would steer clear of it. Olestra is banned in Britain and Canada due to concerns about side effects, but I guess someone knows the right palms to grease (pun intended!) here in America, so it’s in our food.

62. “Crud!” NERTS
“Nerts!” is a slang term. It is a corruption of “nuts!” and has the same meaning.

Down
1. Future doc’s test MCAT
The acronym MCAT stands for the Medical College Admission Test.

2. Keystone site ARCH
The keystone of an arch is the last piece put in position, the placement of which allows the arch to bear weight. The keystone sits right at the apex.

3. “Chicago” Oscar winner ZETA-JONES
Catherine Zeta-Jones is a movie actress from Swansea in Wales. Her earlier starring roles were in films such as “The Mask of Zorro” and “Entrapment”, followed by much-lauded performances in “Traffic” (2000) and “Chicago” (2002). Zeta-Jones is married to actor Michael Douglas who is exactly 25 years her senior (the pair share the same birthday).

4. Life sentence reducers? EDITORS
I guess editors at “Life” magazine would reduce sentences at times.

5. It was dissolved by the Belavezha Accords SOVIET UNION
The Belavezha Accords is an agreement signed in 1991 that in effect dissolved the Soviet Union. The agreement was signed by representatives of only three of the fifteen soviet republics (Ukraine, Belarus and Russia), so there was resistance to the breakup, but it was the beginning of the end for the former Superpower.

6. Conan’s network TBS
Before Conan O’Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host, he was a writer. O’Brien wrote for both “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons”.

7. “Perform This Way” parodist WEIRD AL YANKOVIC
“Perform This Way” is a parody by Weird Al Yankovic of the Lady Gaga hit “Born This Way”.

9. Adorned mischievously TPED
TPing (toilet papering) is a prank involving the covering of some object or location with rolls and rolls of toilet paper. If you live in Texas or Minnesota that little “prank” is legal, but if you live here in California it is classed as a mischief or vandalism.

10. First name in spy fiction IAN
Ian Fleming is most famous of course for writing the “James Bond” series of spy novels. You might also know that he wrote the children’s story “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, which was made into a cute movie released in 1968 and even a stage musical that opened in 2002.

11. “The Wind in the Willows” amphibian MR TOAD
“The Wind in the Willows” is a classic children’s novel first published in 1908. Featured in the story are characters such as Mole, Ratty, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger. The story’s author was Kenneth Grahame, a man who held the exalted position of Secretary of the Bank of England.

13. Old language that gives us “geyser” NORSE
The Great Geysir in Iceland is the first known geyser to have been discovered and documented. The name “Geysir” comes from the Icelandic and Old Norse word “geysa” meaning “to gush”. It is the Great Geysir that gives us our English word “geyser”.

14. Airborne pests GNATS
Gnats are attracted to the smell of rotting food, and to vinegar. Simple homemade traps using vinegar are often constructed to attract and kill gnats.

20. UPC cousin SKU
Stock-keeping unit (SKU).

UPC stands for Universal Price Code or Universal Product Code. The first UPC-marked item to get scanned in a store was on June 26, 1974 at 08:01 a.m. at Marsh’s supermarket in Troy, Ohio. It was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum …

25. Teleportation device for chocolate, in a 1971 film WONKAVISION
In the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”, one of the children touring the factory is shrunk when he transmits himself by television known as “Wonkavision”.

31. __ Island CONEY
“Cony” (or “coney”) is an old English word for rabbit or rabbit fur, and Coney Island in New York takes its name from the same root. The Dutch used the name “Conyne Eylandt” (Rabbit Island) after the large population of rabbits that was hunted there.

33. Actress Sorvino MIRA
Mira Sorvino is an American actress, winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite”. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

37. Expressive rock genre EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

42. Early WWII prime minister Chamberlain NEVILLE
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was in office at the outbreak of WWII. Chamberlain is remembered most perhaps for signing the 1938 Munich Agreement, and what became known as his appeasement policy. The Munich Agreement ceded Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia to Germany, with the intent that this would put an end to Hitler’s aggression. Of course a few month’s later Hitler invaded Poland, and Chamberlain led Britain into war with Germany. A few months into the war, Chamberlain resigned and was succeeded in office by Winston Churchill.

43. It’s repeated a lot MANTRA
A “mantra” is a word that is used as a focus for the mind while meditating.

45. Dietary no. RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.

47. Roi’s wife REINE
“La reine” (the queen) is the wife of “le roi” (the king), in French.

48. Head shot? BOTOX
Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The toxin is a protein that can cause botulism, an extremely dangerous illness in humans and animals. Botulinum toxin is well known by the trade name Botox. Botox is used therapeutically and in cosmetic applications to weaken muscles, perhaps muscles that are in uncontrollable spasm. The cosmetic application involves the paralyzing of facial muscles in order to eliminate or reduce wrinkles, at least for a few months.

57. “__ du lieber!” ACH
The German exclamation “Ach du lieber” translates as “Oh dear”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Confusing places MAZES
6. Unfaithful TWO-TIMING
15. Matter of faith CREDO
16. “Huh?” BEG PARDON
17. When Othello says to Desdemona, “… would thou hadst ne’er been born!” ACT IV
18. “The Birth of a Nation” period SILENT ERA
19. Clarifying words THAT IS
21. Black’s opposite, financially RED
22. Brewer’s need OAST
23. 1972 Eastwood title role JOE KIDD
25. Country with a dragon on its flag WALES
26. Medieval poem about fate set to music in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” O FORTUNA
28. Whiting cousin COD
29. Cutting-edge brand since the ’70s GINSU
30. Highway through Whitehorse ALCAN
32. Show co-hosted by Robin Roberts, briefly GMA
35. “The Facts of Life” actress RAE
36. Of the 48 states, it has the largest island NEW YORK
38. __-en-Provence, France AIX
39. Martians, e.g. ETS
40. Clarifying words I MEAN
41. Pianist Watts ANDRE
43. Bossy remark? MOO
44. Weapon outlawed by a 1993 agreement NERVE GAS
46. __ renewal URBAN
49. Perform a long jump SKYDIVE
50. Street light NEON
51. Sgt., e.g. NCO
52. If nothing changes AS IT IS
55. Friend of Uncle Tom LITTLE EVA
58. Parting words? I LEFT
59. Branch of chemistry INORGANIC
60. Brand of imitation fat OLEAN
61. Big 12 football team led onto the field by The Masked Rider TEXAS TECH
62. “Crud!” NERTS

Down
1. Future doc’s test MCAT
2. Keystone site ARCH
3. “Chicago” Oscar winner ZETA-JONES
4. Life sentence reducers? EDITORS
5. It was dissolved by the Belavezha Accords SOVIET UNION
6. Conan’s network TBS
7. “Perform This Way” parodist WEIRD AL YANKOVIC
8. Took a good look at OGLED
9. Adorned mischievously TPED
10. First name in spy fiction IAN
11. “The Wind in the Willows” amphibian MR TOAD
12. Optimal IDEAL
13. Old language that gives us “geyser” NORSE
14. Airborne pests GNATS
20. UPC cousin SKU
24. Blown away IN AWE
25. Teleportation device for chocolate, in a 1971 film WONKAVISION
26. Meanie OGRE
27. Royal decree FIAT
28. Ride CAR
31. __ Island CONEY
32. One with the latest gizmos GADGETEER
33. Actress Sorvino MIRA
34. Graph references AXES
37. Expressive rock genre EMO
42. Early WWII prime minister Chamberlain NEVILLE
43. It’s repeated a lot MANTRA
45. Dietary no. RDA
46. Dark UNLIT
47. Roi’s wife REINE
48. Head shot? BOTOX
49. Tantrum result, maybe SCENE
51. In order NEAT
53. “__ first …” IF AT
54. Planned stops: Abbr. STNS
56. Some linemen: Abbr. LGS
57. “__ du lieber!” ACH

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