LA Times Crossword Answers 22 Nov 12, Thursday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel
THEME: CATWALK … there are 10 types of cat sitting all around the perimeter of today’s grid:

38A. Fashion runway, or, in a way, what this puzzle’s 10 perimeter answers comprise CATWALK

1A. Float on a wave BOB (bobcat)
4A. Provide with shelter HOUSE (housecat)
9A. Child seat? LAP (lap cat)
63A. Pool KITTY (kitty cat)
64A. Pitcher Seaver TOM (tom cat)
65A. Wander off course STRAY (stray cat)
1D. Language spoken in Yangon BURMESE (Burmese cat)
11D. Valuable carpet PERSIAN (Persian cat)
48D. Coffee preference BLACK (black cat)
51D. Passageway ALLEY (alley cat)

COMPLETION TIME: 9m 06s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Float on a wave BOB (bobcat)
A lynx is a wild cat, of which there are four species. These are:

– The Eurasian Lynx: the biggest of the four species.
– The Canada Lynx: well-adapted to life in cold environments.
– The Iberian Lynx: a native of the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and the most endangered cat species in the world.
– The Bobcat: our North American wildcat, the smallest of the four species.

12. Colorful card game UNO
In my youth I remember being taught a great card game by a German acquaintance of mine called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that Uno is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.

15. Ginger __ ALE
The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. “Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale” was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced homemade liquor.

16. Early initials in American cars REO
The REO Motor Company was founded by Ransom E. Olds (hence the name REO). The company made cars, trucks and buses, and was in business from 1905 to 1975 in Lansing, Michigan.

17. Longtime pop group with mostly self-named albums CHICAGO
“Chicago” is a rock band founded in the city of Chicago in 1967. Chicago have had singles and albums in the charts than almost any other American band (only the Beach Boys have done better).

22. NV might be one REBUS
NV is the abbreviation that we use for the state of Nevada.

A rebus is a representation of a word in the form of symbols, letters or perhaps a picture. A rebus crossword is one in which some squares are replaced with a symbol or picture (although we often use multiple letters when solving).

26. Rich ice creams GELATI
Gelato is the Italian version of American ice cream, differing in that it has a lower butterfat content than its US counterpart.

29. North African country TUNISIA
Tunisia is the most northerly country in Africa. The country takes its name from the capital city, Tunis.

31. Classification between family and species 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

33. “South Park” kid STAN
“South Park” is an adult-oriented cartoon series on Comedy Central. I don’t do “South Park” …

34. Tiny amt. of time NSEC
A nanosecond is more correctly abbreviated to “ns”, and really is a tiny amount of time … one billionth of a second.

41. “Holberg Suite” composer GRIEG
Edvard Grieg is Norway’s best known composer, active in the Romantic Era. His most famous works are the gorgeous Piano Concerto in A minor, and his incidental music for the play “Peer Gynt” by Henrik Ibsen.

Edvard Grieg composed his “Holberg Suite” at the time of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Danish-Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg.

55. Hood’s honey MOLL
The slang term “moll” is a used for the female companion of a gangster. “Moll” is short for “Molly”, which is a nickname for “Mary”. In 17th century England a moll was a prostitute.

58. eBay action BID
eBay is an auction site with a twist. If you don’t want to enter into an auction to purchase an item, there’s a “Buy It Now” price. Agree to pay it, and the item is yours …

60. Perfume with myrrh, say CENSE
To cense is to perfume with incense. Such a lovely word …

Frankincense and myrrh are both tree resins, exuded when certain species of tree are damaged. The harvested resins are used to make essentials oils for perfumes, and are also burned to give off a pleasant fragrance.

61. Canteen gp. USO
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

63. Pool KITTY (kitty cat)
The “pot” in a card game has been referred to as the kitty since the 1880s. It’s not certain how the name “kitty” evolved but possibly it came from “kit”, the necessary equipment for the game.

64. Pitcher Seaver TOM (tom cat)
Tom Seaver is a former baseball pitcher, noted for his ten-year stint with the New York Mets from 1967 to 1977. Seaver earned the nickname “Tom Terrific”, and is the only Met player to have his jersey number retired. When he quit baseball he moved out here to California and opened up a small winery in Calistoga. Keep an eye out for the vineyard’s name, “Seaver Family Vineyards”, and their cabernets “Nancy’s Fancy” and “GTS”.

Down
1. Language spoken in Yangon BURMESE (Burmese cat)
Most Burmese cats today can be traced back to a single ancestor, a female cat given the name Wong Mau that was brought from Burma to America in 1930. Amazing …

Yangon is a former capital city of Burma, now known as Myanmar. Yangon is sometimes called Rangoon in English.

6. Bars on many bottles UPCS
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 …

8. Neurologist’s printout, briefly EEG
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. An EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

9. Excoriate LAMBASTE
“To excoriate” is to abrade or chafe. It also means to strongly denounce something or someone.

10. Like Attu or Unalaska ALEUTIAN
Attu is the westernmost island in the Aleutian chain, and so is the westernmost part of Alaska. Japanese forces took the island in October 1942, eventually landing as many as 2,900 soldiers there. In May 1943, the US Army retook the island in twenty days of fighting that is now called the Battle of Attu, the only land battle to take place on US soil during WWII. I am very proud of my father-in-law, who served in the Aleutians in WWII …

Unalaska is a city on Unalaska Island, one of the Aleutian chain of islands off the coast of Alaska. Within the bounds of the city is Dutch Harbor, the largest fisheries port in the whole of the United States.

11. Valuable carpet PERSIAN (Persian cat)
The Persian is that long-haired cat with a squashed muzzle. The breed takes its name from its place of origin, namely Persia (Iran).

14. Deep thinker Kierkegaard SOREN
Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and theologian, and I never really understood anything he wrote!

23. Dedicatee of Beethoven’s “Bagatelle in A Minor” ELISE
“Fur Elise” is a beautiful piece of music written by Beethoven, and is also known as “Bagatelle in A Minor”. “Fur Elise” means simply “For Elise”, but sadly no one knows the identity of the mysterious Elise.

25. Wrinkly faced canine PUG
The pug is a breed of dog of Chinese origin. Our current dog is a boxer/pug cross, a good-looking mutt!

35. Used an email option CCED
I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy the carbon paper was to handle?

37. Vodka brand SKOL
Skol Vodka was produced by Barton Brands, a company now owned by the Sazerac Coompany of New Orleans.

40. Wall St. deals LBOS
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is a transaction in which an investor acquires a controlling volume of stock in a company, but buys that stock with borrowed funds (hence “leveraged”). Often the assets of the acquired company are used as collateral for the borrowed money. There is a special form of LBO known as a management buyout (MBO) in which the company’s own management team purchases the controlling interest.

41. Seat cushions? GLUTEI
There are three gluteal muscles in the human body, the largest of which is the gluteus maximus. It’s the gluteus maximus which really dictates the shape and size of the human buttocks. In evolutionary terms, the human “glutes” are larger than those in related species because they play a big role maintaining our erect posture.

42. University officer REGENT
A regent is a member of the governing body of a university.

46. President between Chester and Benjamin GROVER
Grover Cleveland is the only person to have served as US President in two non-consecutive terms, and is sometimes referred to as our 22nd and 24th president.

Chester Arthur was the 21st President, and came to power after the assassination of James Garfield in 1881. President Arthur was known to be socially adept, and was very conscious of his role in society. He was always immaculately attired, apparently even changing his pants several times in a day. He was called “Chet” by family and friends, and sometimes answered to his middle name, Alan. However, he insisted that Alan be pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, Al-an.

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States. President Benjamin Harrison is the only president to be the grandson of a former president. Benjamin was the grandson of the 9th president: William Henry Harrison. One of the things that President Benjamin Harrison’s administration is remembered for is bringing the level of federal spending to one billion dollars for the first time.

47. Glassmaker’s material SILICA
Glass is made up of about 75% silica, another name for sand.

50. City destroyed by fire and brimstone SODOM
The two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Admah and Zeboim, were destroyed by God for the sins of their inhabitants, according to the Bible. The name Sodom has become a metaphor for vice and homosexuality, and gives us our word “sodomy”.

54. Soybean soup MISO
Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes the soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus (!) to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

57. Napoleonic Wars marshal NEY
Michel Ney was one of the first 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon. When Bonaparte was eventually defeated for the last time, Ney was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed in Paris by firing squad. Nay refused to wear a blindfold, and demanded that he himself be allowed to give the order to fire.

59. Unassisted MLB coups DPS
Double plays (DPs).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Float on a wave BOB (bobcat)
4. Provide with shelter HOUSE (housecat)
9. Child seat? LAP (lap cat)
12. Colorful card game UNO
13. Sales tools SAMPLES
15. Ginger __ ALE
16. Early initials in American cars REO
17. Longtime pop group with mostly self-named albums CHICAGO
18. La Méditerranée, e.g. MER
19. El cheapo MISER
21. Med. amount TSP
22. NV might be one REBUS
24. Lure into lawbreaking ENTRAP
26. Rich ice creams GELATI
27. Make foggy STEAM UP
29. North African country TUNISIA
30. Plural suffix with slogan -EERS
31. Classification between family and species GENUS
33. “South Park” kid STAN
34. Tiny amt. of time NSEC
36. Heir, often SON
37. In the public eye SEEN
38. Fashion runway, or, in a way, what this puzzle’s 10 perimeter answers comprise CATWALK
41. “Holberg Suite” composer GRIEG
44. Deep bell tones BONGS
48. Like some whiskey BLENDED
50. Sun porches SOLARIA
52. Blockheads LUGS
53. Some garage-made CDs DEMOS
55. Hood’s honey MOLL
56. Brought something home, perhaps ATE IN
58. eBay action BID
59. Someone not to deal with DEVIL
60. Perfume with myrrh, say CENSE
61. Canteen gp. USO
62. Prelude or étude PIECE
63. Pool KITTY (kitty cat)
64. Pitcher Seaver TOM (tom cat)
65. Wander off course STRAY (stray cat)

Down
1. Language spoken in Yangon BURMESE (Burmese cat)
2. Not much of a chance ONE IN TEN
3. Second shots BOOSTERS
4. “Told ya!” HAH
5. Forget to say OMIT
6. Bars on many bottles UPCS
7. High-five, e.g. SLAP
8. Neurologist’s printout, briefly EEG
9. Excoriate LAMBASTE
10. Like Attu or Unalaska ALEUTIAN
11. Valuable carpet PERSIAN (Persian cat)
13. “Buzz off!” SCRAM
14. Deep thinker Kierkegaard SOREN
20. Remove evidence ERASE
23. Dedicatee of Beethoven’s “Bagatelle in A Minor” ELISE
25. Wrinkly faced canine PUG
26. Gloomy fellow GUS
28. Nuisance PEST
29. Fish in a can TUNA
32. Demanding word NOW
35. Used an email option CCED
37. Vodka brand SKOL
39. Like some whiskey AGED
40. Wall St. deals LBOS
41. Seat cushions? GLUTEI
42. University officer REGENT
43. Demand INSIST
45. “Whatever you want” NAME IT
46. President between Chester and Benjamin GROVER
47. Glassmaker’s material SILICA
48. Coffee preference BLACK (black cat)
49. Coming-out DEBUT
50. City destroyed by fire and brimstone SODOM
51. Passageway ALLEY (alley cat)
54. Soybean soup MISO
57. Napoleonic Wars marshal NEY
59. Unassisted MLB coups DPS

Return to top of page