LA Times Crossword Answers 3 Oct 13, Thursday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Pancho Harrison
THEME: Twists … each of today’s themed answers is clued by the word TWIST:

17A. See 49-Down O HENRY SPECIALTY
27A. See 49-Down DRINK GARNISH
43A. See 49-Down SIXTIES DANCE
56A. See 49-Down OLIVER OF FICTION

49D. Diving rotation, and the clue for four puzzle answers TWIST

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 48s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Like bars in noir films SMOKY
The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

6. Brouhaha FLAP
“Brouhaha” was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow!

14. Salsa singer Cruz CELIA
Celia Cruz was born and bred in Cuba, but spent most of her working life in the United States, playing out her salsa singing career in New Jersey. Around the world she was known as the “Queen of Salsa”.

15. BMW competitor AUDI
The Audi name has an interesting history. The Horch company was founded by August Horch in 1909. Early in the life of the new company, Horch was forced out of his own business. He set up a new enterprise and continued to use his own name as a brand. The old company sued him for using the Horch name so a meeting was held to choose something new. Horch’s young son was studying Latin in the room where the meeting was taking place. He pointed out that “Horch” was German for “hear” and he suggested “Audi” as a replacement, the Latin for “listen”.

17. See 49-Down O HENRY SPECIALTY
O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

20. Platte River settler OTO
The Platte River used to be called the Nebrakier, which is an Oto word meaning “flat river”. Indeed, the state of Nebraska takes its name from “Nebrakier”. For a while it was also called the River Plate as “plate” is the French word “flat”. Later this became “Platte”, the phonetic spelling of the French “plate”.

22. “Cagney & Lacey” Emmy winner GLESS
On the eighties police drama “Cagney & Lacey” Christine Cagney was played by Sharon Gless. A few years after “Cagney & Lacey” ended its run, Gless married the show’s executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig.

25. “I am just __ boy, though my story’s seldom told”: “The Boxer” A POOR
Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 hit “The Boxer” is remarkable for several reasons, I think, not least of which is the lovely chorus that simply uses the lyrics “lie-la-lie”. Paul Simon tells us that he originally intended to come up with words, and just used “lie-la-lie” as a placeholder, a temporary measure. Well, sometimes we don’t need to hear the words …

31. ’60s-’70s “Fearsome Foursome” NFL team LA RAMS
“Fearsome Foursome” was the nickname given in the early sixties to the defensive linemen of the Los Angeles Rams (but also the New York Giants, and the San Diego Chargers). In the case of the Rams, the four were Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, and Rosey Grier.

38. Peak in a Trevanian title EIGER
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is a noted peak for mountain climbing, with its treacherous north face being the most famous approach to the summit. Over sixty climbers have died since 1935 on that north face.

“The Eiger Sanction” is a very entertaining action film that was released in 1975, which stars and was directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is all about assassins and mountain climbers, and is based on a 1972 novel of the same name by Trevanian (a pen name of author Rodney William Whitaker).

40. Capri crowd? TRE
In Italian, three (tre) is a crowd.

The island of Capri off the coast of Southern Italy has been a tourist resort since the days of ancient Rome. Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto, a sea cave that is illuminated with sunlight that’s colored blue as it passes through the seawater into the cave.

41. “The Birdcage” wrap BOA
“The Birdcage” is a very entertaining movie from 1996, an English-language adaptation of the Franco-Italian film “La Cage aux Folles”. The movie has an exceptionally strong cast that includes Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Hank Azaria.

43. See 49-Down SIXTIES DANCE
The Twist is a dance that was born in the sixties, and was inspired by the Chubby Checker hit of 1960 called “The Twist”. Chubby Checker sang the song live in front of a crowd in Deland, Florida in October 2012. About 40,000 people danced along to the music, setting a new Guinness World Record for the most people “twisting” at the same time.

47. Cosmetician Elizabeth ARDEN
Elizabeth Arden was the business name used by Canadian-American Florence Nightingale Graham. Arden built a cosmetics empire that made her one of the wealthiest women in the world.

48. Governor who opened the Erie Canal CLINTON
The Erie Canal runs from Albany to Buffalo in the state of New York. What the canal does is allow shipping to proceed from New York Harbor right up the Hudson River, through the canal and into the Great Lakes. When it was opened in 1825, the Erie Canal had immediate impact on the economy of New York City and locations along its route. It was the first means of “cheap” transportation from a port on the Atlantic seaboard into the interior of the United States. Arguably it was the most important factor contributing to the growth of New York City over competing ports such as Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was largely because of the Erie Canal that New York became such an economic powerhouse, earning it the nickname of “the Empire State”. Paradoxically, one of the project’s main proponents was severely criticized. New York Governor DeWitt Clinton received so much ridicule that the canal was nicknamed “Clinton’s Folly” and “Clinton’s Ditch”.

52. Jazz pianist Ahmad __ JAMAL
Ahmad Jamal is an American jazz pianist who often played with Miles Davis.

54. Moscow news acronym ITAR
International Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR)

56. See 49-Down OLIVER OF FICTION
“Oliver Twist” is of course a novel by Charles Dickens. It is a popular tale for adaptation to the big screen. There were two silent film versions, in 1909 and 1922, and the first talkie version was released in 1933, with many to follow. The latest “Oliver” for the big screen was a 2005 Roman Polanski production.

61. Exxon forerunner ESSO
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

62. Hosiery thread LISLE
Lisle is a cotton fabric that has been through an extra process at the end of its manufacture that burns off lint and the ends of fibers leaving the fabric very smooth and with a clean edge.

Down
2. Conductor Zubin MEHTA
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music, from Mumbai. Mehta studied music in Vienna, where he made his conducting debut in 1958. In 1961 he was named assistant director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, creating a fuss with the music director designate of the orchestra, Georg Solti. Solti resigned as a protest, and Mehta took his job. In 1978 Mehta took over as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, eventually becoming the longest holder of that position.

3. Spreads on the table OLEOS
Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France announced a competition to develop a substitute for butter, a substitute that would be more accessible to the lower classes and more practical for the armed forces. In 1869, a French chemist called Hippolyte Mege-Mouries came up with something that he called oleomargarine, which was eventually manufactured under the trade name “margarine”. The name “oleomargarine” also gives us our generic term “oleo”.

5. Sail supports YARDARMS
Yards are the horizontal spars that are attached to a mast and used to support square sails on older sailing vessels. Each end of a yard is known as a yardarm.

7. Rapper __ Fiasco LUPE
Lupe Fiasco is the stage name of rap artist Wasalu Muhammad Jaco. Jaco uses his real name when performing with rock band Japanese Cartoon.

8. Gator chaser? -ADE
Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida by a team of researchers at the request of the school’s football team. And so, Gatorade is named after the Gators football team.

9. Paparazzo’s prize, briefly PIC
Paparazzi are photojournalists who specialize in taking candid shots of celebrities. The name comes from the famous Fellini movie, “La Dolce Vita”. One of the characters in the film is a news photographer called Paparazzo.

10. Land of Arthurian legend AVALON
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legends. The name Avalon probably comes from the word “afal”, the Welsh word for “apple”, reflecting the fact that the island was noted for its beautiful apples. Avalon is where King Arthur’s famous sword (Excalibur) was forged, and supposedly where Arthur was buried.

11. “Kubla Khan” poet COLERIDGE

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is my wife’s favorite poem. Coleridge wrote his masterpiece one night in 1797 after a vivid dream heavily influenced by opium.

13. “Grand” ice cream brand EDY’S
Dreyers’ ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyers in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dryer and Joseph Edy.

18. Hindu mystics YOGIS
A yogi is a practitioner of yoga.

In the West we tend to think of yoga as a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.

19. Operatic prince IGOR
“Prince Igor” is an opera by the Russian composer, Alexander Borodin. Borodin died before he had finished “Prince Igor”, so it was completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. Music from “Prince Igor” and other Borodin works was used in the American musical “Kismet”.

30. Bierce defines it as “His” HERS
Ambrose Bierce was, among other things, an American satirist. He wrote a satirical lexicon called “The Devil’s Dictionary” published in 1911. The book is still popular today, with an updated version released in 2009. It includes “new” definitions from Bierce that were not included in his original work. Roy Morris, Jr. wrote a biography about Bierce called “Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company”.

31. WWII carriers LSTS
LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank. LSTs were the large vessels used mainly in WWII that had doors at either ends through which tanks and other vehicles could roll off and onto beaches. The design concept persists to this day in the huge fleet of commercial roll-on/roll-off car ferries, all inspired by the LST.

37. Deck department supervisor, briefly BOS’N
A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. A boatswain is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel. He or she has charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. Boatswain is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bos’n” is also very popular.

39. Santa Monica-to-Jacksonville hwy. I-TEN
I-10 is the most southerly of the interstate routes that crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I-10 stretches from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida.

41. Scripps competition BEE
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is sponsored and managed by the E. W. Scripps Company.

E. W. Scripps was a newspaper publisher. In 1878 Scripps founded the E. W. Scripps Company media conglomerate that is still around today, operating newspapers and TV channels like the Food Network, the DIY Network and the Travel Channel. Famously, Scripps also founded the United Press News Service, now know as United Press International (UPI).

42. Zhou __ ENLAI
Zhou Enlai (also Chou En-Lai) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

44. Retirees often do it TRAVEL
Yes, we do …

50. Alley Oop’s girl OOOLA
“Alley Oop” is a comic strip that ran for four decades starting in 1932. “Alley Oop” was drawn by V. T. Hamlin. The title character lived in the prehistoric kingdom of Moo and had a pet dinosaur called Dinny. Alley Oop also had a girlfriend called Ooola. I had assume that Ooola’s name was a play on “hula hoop”, but that wasn’t invented until the 1950s (a kind blog reader informs me) …

51. Large jazz combo NONET
A nonet is group composed of nine instruments or voices.

52. Prom king, often JOCK
A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

57. Lee follower REB
Robert E. Lee is of course renowned as a southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state.

58. Granada bear OSO
In Spanish, “osa” is a female bear, and “oso” is a male.

Granada is a city and province in Andalusia in the south of Spain. Granada should not to be confused with Grenada (different spelling), the island nation in the Caribbean that was invaded by the US in 1983.

59. __ Maria: liqueur TIA
Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur that was invented just after WWII in Jamaica, using Jamaica coffee beans. The name of course translates to “Aunt Maria”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Like bars in noir films SMOKY
6. Brouhaha FLAP
10. Workout woe ACHE
14. Salsa singer Cruz CELIA
15. BMW competitor AUDI
16. Invalidate VOID
17. See 49-Down O HENRY SPECIALTY
20. Platte River settler OTO
21. Spoil, with “on” DOTE
22. “Cagney & Lacey” Emmy winner GLESS
23. Scripture section PASSAGE
25. “I am just __ boy, though my story’s seldom told”: “The Boxer” A POOR
27. See 49-Down DRINK GARNISH
31. ’60s-’70s “Fearsome Foursome” NFL team LA RAMS
34. Reported for the first time NEW
35. Payable now DUE
36. Is after SEEKS
37. Oyster’s spot BED
38. Peak in a Trevanian title EIGER
40. Capri crowd? TRE
41. “The Birdcage” wrap BOA
42. Emerges from the wings ENTERS
43. See 49-Down SIXTIES DANCE
47. Cosmetician Elizabeth ARDEN
48. Governor who opened the Erie Canal CLINTON
52. Jazz pianist Ahmad __ JAMAL
54. Moscow news acronym ITAR
55. Court WOO
56. See 49-Down OLIVER OF FICTION
60. 1-Down holder CONE
61. Exxon forerunner ESSO
62. Hosiery thread LISLE
63. Bottom of the sea? KEEL
64. Hardly a sophisticate BOOR
65. Really worry EAT AT

Down
1. Ice cream serving SCOOP
2. Conductor Zubin MEHTA
3. Spreads on the table OLEOS
4. Flesh and blood KIN
5. Sail supports YARDARMS
6. Get together FASTEN
7. Rapper __ Fiasco LUPE
8. Gator chaser? -ADE
9. Paparazzo’s prize, briefly PIC
10. Land of Arthurian legend AVALON
11. “Kubla Khan” poet COLERIDGE
12. Pop radio fodder HITS
13. “Grand” ice cream brand EDY’S
18. Hindu mystics YOGIS
19. Operatic prince IGOR
24. Mont. neighbor S DAK
25. Elderly AGED
26. Claw holder PAW
28. Massage KNEAD
29. Plaintiff SUER
30. Bierce defines it as “His” HERS
31. WWII carriers LSTS
32. Gaseous: Pref. AERI-
33. Go over more carefully RE-EXAMINE
37. Deck department supervisor, briefly BOS’N
38. Surround ENCIRCLE
39. Santa Monica-to-Jacksonville hwy. I-TEN
41. Scripps competition BEE
42. Zhou __ ENLAI
44. Retirees often do it TRAVEL
45. Between jobs IDLE
46. Represent officially ACT FOR
49. Diving rotation, and the clue for four puzzle answers TWIST
50. Alley Oop’s girl OOOLA
51. Large jazz combo NONET
52. Prom king, often JOCK
53. Sunburn soother ALOE
54. In that case IF SO
57. Lee follower REB
58. Granada bear OSO
59. __ Maria: liqueur TIA

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6 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 3 Oct 13, Thursday”

  1. Bill. Your blog was very important for me today, because I had a tough time even understanding the answers I dud get.

    This puzzle slammed my brakes and brought me to reality. I had a rough time. Oh well. If only I had known the theme was TWIST, it would have been so much easier….

    O Henry is one of my most favorite authors! and amongst other books I have of his stories! a 1927 edition, is always at my bedside.

    My favorites among his stories is

    1. Friends in San Rosario …. I love it. I am a CPA and used to be an auditor, so the story moves me to tears.

    2. Jeff Peters as a personal magnet …. Is so much fun, and so funny.

    O Henry was jailed in a OHio pENitentiaRY, for embezzlement, and some people say that's how he got his alias . I personally feel in my bones, that he was innocent…. And he gave himself up to be with his dying wife.

    I had so more to write, but I've taken up too much space already. Have a nice day, and thanks again.

  2. Hi there, Vidwan.

    That's a tough puzzle without the TWIST answer/clue, no doubt.

    I have to admit that I haven't read very much O. Henry at all. I am sure my librarian wife has something of his around here somewhere. I will have to go search him out, and expand my literary horizons. And, it sounds like I need to read more about his life. The Ohio Penitentiary link to his name … amazing how someone would notice that!

  3. You are of course kidding about the connection between Ooola and Hulu Hoop right?
    The Hula Hoop wasn't invented until the mid 1950s, long after Ooola Had been created.

  4. Hi Bill. This one stumped me. Only got two of the theme answers.
    You skipped an explanation for 6 down I don't get the fasten/ get together link.???
    Missed Act for, Lupe and many others.
    But,it was an enjoyable puzzle, I just couldn't get it done.
    I never knew Prom was short for Promenade!

  5. @Anonymous re Hula Hoop
    I'm afraid i wasn't kidding … just made an assumption, a wrong one. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll do a little editing 🙂

    @Pookie
    A lot of people had trouble with today's puzzle, so you can take comfort in that fact. to answer your question about "FASTEN", I think the idea is that if say you got together the two sides at the front of a shirt, you would be fastening the shirt. It's not a great clue, in my opinion, but it does work. And, Pookie, I hope you made it to your promenade 🙂

    @Stephanie
    I didn't notice it until you pointed it out, but I think you're right. More than an average number of proper names in this puzzle.

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