LA Times Crossword Answers 26 Oct 13, Saturday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Wedding reception fare HOT HORS D’OEUVRES
An hors d’oeuvre is the first course in a meal. “Hors d’oeuvre” translates from French as “apart from the work”, really meaning “not the main course”.

19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name WHAM!
I just found out that the eighties pop duo that we knew on the other side of the Atlantic as Wham! were better known as Wham! UK in North America. Apparently there already was a band called Wham! here in the US. Wham! UK was composed of singers George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. George Michael made it big as a solo artist after the pair broke up, but Ridgeley kind of faded into obscurity, relatively speaking.

20. Stowe novel DRED
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s first novel ended up being her most famous, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Stowe followed it up with an 1856 novel called “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp”.

21. Chanel competitor COTY
Coty is a producer of beauty products that was founded in 1904 in Paris.

Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer. Perhaps because I am a man, clothes design is not my forte, however, if I had to pick a designer whose clothes I really liked, it would be Chanel. She had a way of creating simpler designs that looked so elegant on a woman.

22. Chihuahua chatter ARFS
Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico that shares a border with Texas and New Mexico. Chihuahua is the largest state in the country, so has the nickname “El Estado Grande”. The state takes its name from the Chihuahuan Desert which lies largely within its borders. And of course the Chihuahua breed of dog takes its name from the state.

28. Jolly Roger crewman SMEE
In J. M. Barrie’s play and novel about Peter Pan, Smee is one of Captain Hook’s pirates and is Hook’s right-hand man. Smee is described by Barrie as being “Irish” and “a man who stabbed without offence”. Nice guy! Captain Hook and Smee sail on the pirate ship called the Jolly Roger.

29. Desperate letters SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the “Moonlight” PASTORALE SONATA
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major was given the name “Pastorale” when it was published in 1801. Beethoven had nothing to do with the naming, and rather it was the idea of the publisher. That said, the first and last movements do have a sense of serenity, calm and simplicity.

39. Cobb and others TYS
Ty Cobb was one of the richest baseball players of all times. When he retired, Cobb was a major stockholder of the Coca-Cola Corporation. By the time he passed away in 1961, Cobb had an even bigger investment in General Electric. He left an estate after his death worth about $86m (in 2008 dollars).

41. Scrapes (out) EKES
To “eke out” means to “make something go further or last longer”. For example, you could eke out your income by cutting back on expenses. I always have a problem with the commonly cited definition of “eke out” as “barely get by”. Close but no cigar, I say …

43. One may be zapped TV AD
Nowadays a lot of TV ads get “zapped” by skipping them using the technology available on a digital video recorder (DVR).

46. Deuce follower AD IN
In tennis, if the score reaches “deuce” (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the “advantage”. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. If the one of the players is calling out the score then if he/she has the advantage then that player announces “ad in” or more formally “advantage in”. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

50. One of Can.’s Maritime provinces PEI
Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a maritime Canadian province. The island at the center of the province was named for Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria.

53. Have a considerably negative effect on MILITATE AGAINST
“To militate” is to have forceful influence. Back in the 1600s, the term meant “to serve as a soldier”.

Down
1. Crones HAGS
“Hag” is a shortened form of the Old English word “haegtesse” meaning, “witch”.

2. “Dallas” actor Katz OMRI
Omri Katz played John Ross Ewing, the son of J. R. and Sue Ellen Ewing on “Dallas”. Katz retired from acting in 2006.

The TV soap “Dallas” revolved around the Ewings family. The series that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby’s brother J. R., became so popular with audiences that the series as extended with J. R. at the center of the story.

3. Bootleggers’ foes T-MEN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (T is for Treasury).

“To bootleg” is make or smuggle alcoholic drinks illegally. The term arose in the late 1800s as slang for the practice of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. The term has been extended to mean the illegal production and sale of just about anything.

4. ’70s Chinese leader HUA
Hua Guofeng was man whom Mao Zedong designated as his successor as paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China. Hua came to power in 1976 and within a few month’s brought Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution to an end. However, Hua was deemed to be moving too slowly with his reforms, and so he was forced into early retirement after just a few years in power and Deng Xiaoping took control.

9. Suffix with bass -OON
Our modern bassoon first appeared in the 1800s and has had a place in the concert orchestra ever since.

11. “Buffy” airer after The WB UPN
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is a TV series that originally aired from 1997 to 2003. “Buffy …” was incredibly successful, especially given that it wasn’t aired on the one of the big four networks. The show was created by Joss Whedon and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role.

14. Old Roman cry ECCE!
“Ecce!” is Latin for “look!” or “behold!”

24. Alloy prefix FERRO-
The Latin word for “iron” is “ferrum”, which gives us “Fe” for the metal’s chemical symbol.

30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección OESTE
“Oeste” (west) is a “dirección” (direction), in Spanish.

Montevideo is the capital and main port of Uruguay. Famously, Montevideo featured in the Battle of the River Plate in WWII that resulted in the scuttling of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, located on the estuary of the Ria de la Plata. As a port city, the people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (“people of the port”).

31. Sp. lasses SRTAS
Señorita (Srta.) is Spanish and mademoiselle (Mlle.) is French for “Miss”.

42. Marsh bird SNIPE
Snipes are wading birds with very long and thin bills that they use to search for small invertebrates in mud.

45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon AMANA
The Amana Corporation takes its name from the location of its original headquarters, in Middle Amana, Iowa.

47. Skinny DIRT
The use of the word “skinny” meaning information, comes from WWII military slang for “the truth”, probably a derivative of the expression “the naked truth” (and skinny-dipping).

48. Robert of “The Sopranos” ILER
The actor Robert Iler’s most famous role was A.J., son of mob leader Tony Soprano in HBO’s “The Sopranos”. Apparently Iler’s screen persona has spilled over into his personal life, as he was arrested for armed robbery of two tourists in 2001 (and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge).

49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel BETH
Beth Daniel is professional golfer from Charleston, South Carolina.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women’s sports professional organization in the US.

50. Nabokov novel PNIN
“Pnin” is a novel written in English by Vladimir Nabokov, and published in 1957. The title character is Timofey Pnin, a Russian-born professor living in the US. “Pnin” raised some money for Nabokov, as it was published in installments in “The New Yorker” magazine. He needed the money while he worked hard to find someone to publish his more edgy novel, “Lolita”.

51. Edward’s adoptive mother in the “Twilight” series ESME
I don’t do vampires. The reference, is to a character in “The Twilight” series of books by Stephenie Meyer. “The Twilight Saga” is a series of films based on the books.

52. Anatomical passage ITER
An “iter” is an anatomical passageway, from the Latin word for “journey”.

54. A spray might be used for one TAN
The most effective fake tans available today are not dyes or stains. Instead, they are sprays with the active ingredient dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA reacts chemically with amino acids in the dead layer of skin on the surface of the body. Sounds a little risky to me …

55. Uru. neighbor ARG
Argentina is the second largest country in South America (after Brazil), and geographically is the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation. The name “Argentina” of course comes from the Latin “argentum”, the word for “silver”. It is thought that the name was given by the early Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who also named the Rio de la Plata (the “Silver River”). Those early explorers got hold of lots of silver objects that they found among the native population.

The official name of Uruguay is the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, reflecting the countries location on the eastern coast of South America. It is a relatively small country, the second smallest on the continent, after Suriname. In 2009, Uruguay became the first country in the world to provide a free laptop and Internet access to every child. Now there’s a thought …

56. Parlor work, briefly TAT
One can get a “tat” in a tattoo parlor.

57. “Lord, is __?”: Matthew IT I
At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him that day. According to the Gospel of Matthew:

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Wedding reception fare HOT HORS D’OEUVRES
16. Hunter’s accessory AMMUNITION POUCH
17. Fourth-generation relative GREAT-GRANDNIECE
18. Wrong SIN
19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name WHAM!
20. Stowe novel DRED
21. Chanel competitor COTY
22. Chihuahua chatter ARFS
25. Rent-__ A-CAR
28. Jolly Roger crewman SMEE
29. Desperate letters SOS
32. Certain cohabitant DOMESTIC PARTNER
37. Anglican leader EPISCOPAL PRIEST
38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the “Moonlight” PASTORALE SONATA
39. Cobb and others TYS
40. Get up RISE
41. Scrapes (out) EKES
42. Moments SECS
43. One may be zapped TV AD
46. Deuce follower AD IN
49. Cup part BRIM
50. One of Can.’s Maritime provinces PEI
53. Have a considerably negative effect on MILITATE AGAINST
58. Recipe datum PREPARATION TIME
59. Fitness specialist STRENGTH TRAINER

Down
1. Crones HAGS
2. “Dallas” actor Katz OMRI
3. Bootleggers’ foes T-MEN
4. ’70s Chinese leader HUA
5. Huddle directive ON TWO
6. In order RIGHT
7. Cattle drive concern STRAY
8. Spherical meas. DIAM
9. Suffix with bass -OON
10. Close END
11. “Buffy” airer after The WB UPN
12. Cancels VOIDS
13. Penitent RUER
14. Old Roman cry ECCE!
15. Discard SHED
21. Peak CREST
22. Liberal AMPLE
23. Takes in REAPS
24. Alloy prefix FERRO-
25. Pro ADEPT
26. Pharmacy figure COPAY
27. Not in order AMISS
28. Bygone pharmacy fixture SCALE
29. Preview opener? SNEAK
30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección OESTE
31. Sp. lasses SRTAS
33. Tie, perhaps SCORE
34. Like doughnuts TORIC
35. “Not for me” I PASS
36. Pointed, in a way TINED
42. Marsh bird SNIPE
43. It may be inherited TRAIT
44. Bounce VIGOR
45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon AMANA
46. Intensifies, with “up” AMPS
47. Skinny DIRT
48. Robert of “The Sopranos” ILER
49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel BETH
50. Nabokov novel PNIN
51. Edward’s adoptive mother in the “Twilight” series ESME
52. Anatomical passage ITER
54. A spray might be used for one TAN
55. Uru. neighbor ARG
56. Parlor work, briefly TAT
57. “Lord, is __?”: Matthew IT I

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