LA Times Crossword

Angling need : ROD We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” is an Old English word meaning “hook”.

Disney CEO since 2005 : IGER Robert Iger took over from Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005. Iger worked for ABC when it was taken over by Disney in 1996, and in 1999 he was named president of Walt Disney International. Iger is doing okay for himself; he earned more than $29 million in 2009.

Cluster of sunflowers : SEEDS The common sunflower is so called because it has a flower head that looks like the Sun. Famously, young sunflowers exhibit heliotropism, tilting during the day to face the sun. As the sunflowers mature and bloom, they generally face east and no longer track the movement of the Sun across the sky.

Maker of the Mighty Dump : TONKA The toy manufacturer today known as Tonka started out as a manufacturer of garden implements in Mound, Minnesota in 1946. By 1955, toys had become the main product line for the company. At that time the owners decided to change the company name and opted for “Tonka”, a Dakota Sioux word meaning “great, big”.

Prefix with gram : PENTA- A pentagram is a star-shape with five points that has been drawn using five straight lines. The name “pentagram” comes from the Greek for “five line”. The shape is sometimes also called a “pentacle”, “pentalpha” or “pentangle”. The pentagram is used as a prominent symbol in several religions and movements, notably in modern occultism.

Some Gen Z-ers : TEENS Definitions vary, but it seems that the term “Generation Z” is reserved for the children of “Generation X”, and for the generations that follows the “Millennials” (Generation Y). The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

Constitution bigwigs : FRAMERS By one definition, the Founding Fathers were the leaders of the American Revolution against the British Crown. By another, they were the individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The term “Framers” is sometimes confused with “Founding Fathers”. According to the National Archives, the Framers were the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, those who played a key role in drafting the Constitution of the United States. The phrase “Founding Fathers” is a relatively recent term, and one coined by future US president Warren D. Harding in 1916.

Asian beef source : KOBE Kobe is a city on the island of Honshu in Japan. Here is North America, the city of Kobe is perhaps most famous for its beef. And yes, basketball star Kobe Bryant is named after that very same beef.

Eau de vie counterpart : AQUA VITAE “Aqua vitae” is Latin for “water of life”. The original use of the term was for a concentrated solution of ethanol. Over time “aqua vitae” became the term used for distilled spirits and also wine. “Water of life” translates into Scots Gaelic as “uisge-beatha” and into Irish as “uisce beatha”. These terms give rise to our modern word “whiskey”. Eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy. “Eau de vie” is French for “water of life”.

Tilter’s milieu : JOUST “Jousting” and “tilting” are synonyms describing the medieval competition in which two horsemen yielding blunted lances attempt to unseat each other. Such an event has been referred to as “jousting” since the 1300s. At some point, the path of the two charging horsemen was separated by a cloth barrier known as a tilt (“tilt” meant “cloth covering”). The term “tilting” was applied to the sport in the 1500s, although by then the cloth barrier had been upgraded to a wooden fence. We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

The Italians call it Mongibello : MOUNT ETNA Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcano in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” in Sicilian.

1953 John Wayne film : HONDO The 1953 western movie “Hondo” stars John Wayne and is based on the novel “The Gift of Cochise”, written by Louis L’Amour. John Wayne was named Marion Mitchell Morrison at birth, after his grandfather who was a Civil War veteran. When young Marion was a little boy, a local fireman used to call him “Little Duke” because he was always seen walking with his large dog called “Duke”. Marion liked the name “Duke” and so he called himself Duke Morrison for the rest of his life. That said, Duke Morrison also used John Wayne as a stage name.

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Likelihood of success : PROSPECTS 10. __ change : CHUMP 15. Ritz offering : HOTEL ROOM 16. Award, say : HONOR 17. Confides in : OPENS UP TO 18. Invest, as with a quality : ENDUE 19. Word reportedly coined in Seuss’ “If I Ran the Zoo” : NERD 20. Glimpse : PEEK 21. Ideal places : EDENS 22. Puts on the right track : ORIENTS 24. Trade talk subjects : EXPORTS 26. Qtr. components : MOS 27. 1991 political thriller with eight Oscar nominations : JFK 28. It may be flat : FEE 29. Latin 101 word : AMAT 31. Sensitive subjects : SORE SPOTS 34. It doesn’t require a long answer : QUICK QUESTION 36. One may include three kings : FULL HOUSE 37. Official records : ACTA 38. Chinese zodiac critter : RAT 39. Hit in a box : BAT 40. Cartoonist Browne : DIK 41. Flies : AVIATES 44. Party store stock : PINATAS 48. British bishop’s topper : MITRE 49. Hustles : HIES 51. Essence : CORE 52. Conservatory exercise : ETUDE 53. Strength, in

“Scary Movie” actress Cheri : OTERI Cheri Oteri was the SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders. “Scary Movie” is one of those parody movies, and is a film released in 2000 that pokes fun at famous horror films. It was advertised with the tagline “No mercy. No shame. No sequel”. The “no sequel” reference was a parody in itself, making fun of the fact that slasher movies in particular were made into strings of sequels. But there was in fact to be a sequel to “Scary Movie”, in fact three of them with one more on the way. “Scary Movie 2” came out in 2001, with the tagline “We lied”.

Player of singles : PHONO Famously, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, which was a device that recorded sound onto wax phonograph cylinders. The flat disc phonograph record was developed by Emile Berliner, a German-born American inventor. Berliner called his flat disc record player a “gramophone”, and started selling Berliner Gramophone records in 1894.

Clairvoyants : SEERS We’ve been using the term “clairvoyant” to describe a psychic since the nineteenth century. Prior to that, a clairvoyant was a clear-sighted person. The term comes from French, with “clair” meaning “clear” and “voyant” meaning “seeing”.

Connected on LinkedIn, say : NETWORKED LinkedIn is a website used by professionals wishing to network with other professionals. From what I’ve heard, LinkedIn is mainly used by folks looking for a job, and other folks looking for suitable candidates to hire.

Gas that glows when condensed : RADON The element radon (Rn) is a radioactive gas, and a byproduct produced when uranium decays naturally in the earth. Radon gas can collect and accumulate in buildings and rooms that are particularly well insulated with very little air exchange. The danger is very real, as radon is listed as the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoke.

Strength, in a “1984” slogan : IGNORANCE In George Orwell’s 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Party famously touts three slogans: “War is peace” “Freedom is slavery” “Ignorance is strength”

Conservatory exercise : ETUDE An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

British bishop’s topper : MITRE A miter is a traditional headdress worn by bishops in some Christian traditions. The name “miter” comes from a Greek word for “headband, turban”.

Party store stock : PINATAS Piñatas originated in Mexico, probably among the Aztecs or Mayans. Today piñatas are usually made from cardboard that is brightly decorated with papier-mâché. Traditionally a piñata was made out of a clay pot, adorned with feathers and ribbons and filled with small treasures. During religious ceremonies the clay pots would be suspended and broken open so that the contents would spill out onto the ground at the feet of a god as an offering.

Flies : AVIATES Our word “aviation” is a relatively new term. It was coined in 1863 by French aviation pioneer Guillaume Joseph Gabriel de La Landelle in a book titled “Aviation ou Navigation Aérienne” (Aviation or Air Navigation). He used the Latin “avis”, meaning “bird”, as the stem for his new word “aviation”.

Cartoonist Browne : DIK New York cartoonist Dik Browne was best known for the comic strips “Hagar the Horrible” and “Hi and Lois”.

Chinese zodiac critter : RAT The Chinese Zodiac is a scheme that relates each year to the attributes of a particular animal, in a 12-year cycle. So, the Chinese Zodiac has one sign for each of twelve years, whereas the Western Zodiac has one sign for each of the twelve months.

Official records : ACTA Actum (plural “acta”) is the Latin word for “deed”. “Acta” is used in English to describe many official records, including minutes, proceedings etc.

Latin 101 word : AMAT “Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

1991 political thriller with eight Oscar nominations : JFK “JFK” is a 1991 Oliver Stone movie, and a controversial one I’d say. I suppose any work that deals with the tragic death of President Kennedy is bound to create a stir these days.

Qtr. components : MOS There are three months (mos.) in a quarter (qtr.).

Word reportedly coined in Seuss’ “If I Ran the Zoo” : NERD “If I Ran the Zoo” is a book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1950. Apparently this book is famous for using the word “nerd”, which was the first time it had been seen in print.

Ritz offering : HOTEL ROOM César Ritz was a Swiss hotelier, who had a reputation for developing the most luxurious of accommodations and attracting the wealthiest clientèle. He opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris in 1898 and the second of his most famous hotels, the Ritz Hotel in London, in 1906. Ritz was lucky in his career, as before starting his own hotel chain he had been dismissed from the Savoy Hotel in London, implicated in the disappearance of a substantial amount of wine and spirits. Today’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company was founded in 1983, although the chain has its roots in the properties developed by César Ritz.

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Old gas station freebie : MAP 4. One holding all the cards? : WALLET 10. “__ run!” : GOTTA 15. Texter’s cautioning letters : IMO 16. Take to the skies : AVIATE 17. “The Phantom of the Opera” setting : PARIS 18. Indigent ones hiding among bales? : NEEDY IN A HAYSTACK (from “needle in a haystack”) 21. Like much ordinary history : UNTOLD 22. Japanese volcano : ASO 23. Long walk : HIKE 24. Author Jong : ERICA 25. Ascended : GONE UP 28. Stark in “Game of Thrones” : NED 29. Holders of poor-taste gifts? : TACKY BOXES (from “tackle boxes”) 31. Must : HAS TO 33. Presidential nickname : ABE 34. Type of pitcher : RELIEF 35. Result of smashing a piñata during a hurricane? : CANDY IN THE WIND (from “candle in the wind”) 41. Food industry headgear : TOQUES 42. Barrel contents : OIL 43. __ cuisine : HAUTE 44. Script for an absurdist play? : BATTY LINES (from “battle lines”) 51. PHL stat : ETA 52. Calls : PHONES 54. Lavender a

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Online shopping units : ORDERS 7. 8 Series automaker : BMW 10. Comics possum : POGO 14. Eagerly accept : LEAP AT 15. Dinner table boors : REACHERS 17. Pinch pennies : SCRIMP 18. Strictly religious : ORTHODOX 19. __ out a living : EKE 20. “My bad” : I ADMIT IT 22. “Kidding!” : NOT! 23. Toklas’ life partner : STEIN 24. Cupid cohort : COMET 28. “The Hunger Games” president Coriolanus __ : SNOW 30. Flaps : ADOS 32. “A Little Nightmare Music” composer P.D.Q. __ : BACH 33. Hot under the collar : IRATE 36. Canadian coin : LOONIE 38. Lowbrow stuff : KITSCH 40. 58-Across type meaning “black dragon” : OOLONG 41. Disney’s Montana : HANNAH 42. Lamb’s lament : BLEAT 43. See 27-Down : … URGE 44. Whole lot : SCAD 46. Hamburger’s home : HAUS 50. Hallowed : BLEST 52. Starters : A-TEAM 55. Durham sch. : UNH 56. ’70s-’90s Pontiacs : SUNBIRDS 58. See 40-Across : TEA 59. Common campaign promise, and what four black squares in

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Fall sign : LIBRA 6. Medic : DOC 9. 6-Across’s “Pronto!” : STAT! 13. Keep clear of : AVOID 14. Sorta cousin : -ISH 15. “Leaving on a Jet __” : PLANE 16. *”Righto!” : YOU BETCHA! 18. “Nick of Time” singer Bonnie : RAITT 19. Enters the wrong area code, say : ERRS 20. *Big boss : HEAD HONCHO 22. Unburdened (of) : RID 23. “Mean Girls” screenwriter Tina : FEY 24. Coder’s conditional construct : IF-THEN 25. Navy builder : SEABEE 27. Ink spot? : TAT 29. Uses Google Hangouts, briefly : IMS 30. Apple’s virtual assistant : SIRI 31. Lose one’s shirt : GO BUST 34. *2005 Emma Thompson magical role : NANNY MCPHEE 37. Hurricanes and blizzards : STORMS 38. Enjoy, as benefits : REAP 40. Mauna __ : KEA 43. Mattel product : TOY 44. Tippi of “The Birds” : HEDREN 46. Parkway feature : ON-RAMP 49. Spring sign : BUD 50. Con’s opponent : PRO 51. *Cold-water salmon-like fish : ARCTIC CHAR 54. Summer sign? : PLUS 55. High-tech eye

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Winter warm spell : THAW 5. Simon & Garfunkel’s “El Condor __” : PASA 9. Sneer (at) : SCOFF 14. Texas home of Baylor University : WACO 15. CPR pros : EMTS 16. Jazz clarinetist Shaw : ARTIE 17. National Portrait Gallery, e.g. : ART MUSEUM 19. Ugh-inducing : NASTY 20. Observes secretly : SPIES ON 21. 67-Across exile : ADAM 23. Dollar bills : ONES 24. Freebies for tourists : AREA MAPS 28. Soda container : CAN 30. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL 31. The Emerald Isle : EIRE 32. Ideology suffix : -ISM 33. Little fluid holder : VIAL 35. Altered, as voting districts : REDREW 37. Merged labor org. : CIO 38. Medium for many talk shows … and an apt place to discuss six puzzle answers? : AM RADIO 40. “Give __ break” : ME A 41. Soldiers’ support gp. since 1944 : AMVETS 43. Sign gas : NEON 44. “Life of Pi” director Lee : ANG 45. “How ya __?” : DOIN’ 46. Not __ snuff: unsatisfactory : UP TO 48. “Cats” poet’s monogram : TS

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. “Forever” mail attachment : STAMP 6. Time travel destination : PAST 10. __ and chips : FISH 14. Deed holder : OWNER 15. Drink with a polar bear mascot : ICEE 16. “The __ Ranger” : LONE 17. Specialized vocab : LINGO 18. Workers with antennae : ANTS 19. Had bills to pay : OWED 20. Psych 101 subject : EGO 21. Sommelier : WINE STEWARD 24. Range above tenor : ALTO 25. ’60s pop singer __ Lee : BRENDA 26. Court spot for giving testimony : WITNESS STAND 31. “The Gift of the Magi” author : O HENRY 32. Years and years : EONS 33. Litter cry : MEW 36. Organic smoke detector : NOSE 37. Uppercut target : JAW 38. Bavaria-based automaker : AUDI 39. Adorns with Angel Soft, briefly : TPS 40. Sandler of “Hotel Transylvania” films : ADAM 42. Bit of corn : KERNEL 44. One constantly fretting : WORRYING KIND 46. Major road : ARTERY 49. Strips of developed film, briefly : NEGS 50. Lightweight jacket, and a hint to 21-, 26- and 44-Ac

Complete List of Clues/Answers   Across 1. Ohm reciprocal : SIEMENS 8. With 123-Across, speaker of the quip : STEVEN … 14. Hybrid tableware : SPORK 19. Black Sea country : ROMANIA 20. Poke holes in, as a lawn : AERATE 21. Judge of the Yankees : AARON 22. Start of a quip : I WENT TO … 23. Beauty goddesses : GRACES 24. Crunchy snack : FRITO 25. Big Apple restaurateur : SARDI 26. Chef’s amts. : TBSPS 28. Dexterity : SLEIGHT 30. “Wedding Bell Blues” soloist Marilyn : MCCOO 32. Org. with an Acid Rain Program : EPA 35. Three before kappa : ETA 36. Quip, part 2 : … A MUSEUM WHERE THEY HAVE … 45. Monotony metaphor : RUT 46. Heads of the Sorbonne : TETES 47. Sticker : THORN 48. Evil Luthor : LEX 49. Bring out : ELICIT 52. NYC line that stops at Yankee Stadium, familiarly : IRT 53. Truce : CEASEFIRE 55. Quip, part 3 : … ALL THE HEADS AND … 58. Glee club member : TENOR 59. Expected results : NORMS 60. “__ so you!” : IT’S 61. Out of shape : BENT 62. Boise’s st.