LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Nov 13, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Julian Lim
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 28m 54s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Leafhopper relative CICADA
Cicadas are insects that are found all over the world. Although they resemble locusts, cicadas are an unrelated family. The name “cicada” is Latin and translated as “tree cricket”. However, the name is imitative of the clicking sound the insect makes using parts of its exoskeleton known as “tymbals”.

7. 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel LIFE OF PI
The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy called Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The literary fiction award that we tend to call “the Booker Prize” was inaugurated in 1969 as the Booker-McConnell Prize, named for the UK food wholesaler that was the original sponsor. The British investment company Man Group took over sponsorship in 2002, so that the official name of the award is now the Man Booker Prize.

19. Ad infinitum? PR BLITZ
A public relations (PR) blitz might include a seemingly infinite series of advertisements (ads).

21. Having a dark complexion SWARTHY
Someone described as “swarthy” has a dark complexion or color. The term has the same root as the German word “schwarz” meaning “black”.

24. “Permit Me Voyage” poet AGEE
“Permit Me Voyage” is the only volume of poetry published by American author James Agee.

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

25. Dish prepared hot and served cold ASPIC
Aspic is a dish in which the main ingredients are served in a gelatin made from meat stock. “Aspic” is a French word for “jelly”.

29. Ones, e.g.: Abbr. NOS
Ones, for example, are numbers (nos.).

31. Fonda’s “My Darling Clementine” role EARP
“My Darling Clementine” is a 1946 Western about the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The film was directed by John ford and stars Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp. The title of the movie is taken from its theme song, “Oh My Darling, Clementine”.

“Oh My Darling, Clementine” is a folk ballad that dates back to the 1880s. The song is about a man who loses his lover, the daughter of a miner who took part in the 1849 California Gold Rush. The words seem to be very sad, but are actually quite tongue-in-cheek.

33. Setting for the 2001 film “No Man’s Land” BOSNIAN WAR
“No Man’s Land” is a 2001 war film that won that year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. “No Man’s Land” is set during the Bosnian War of the nineties and tells the tale of three soldiers trapped between the opposing lines in the conflict.

36. Like Singha beer THAI
Singha is a lager beer from Thailand. “Singha” is the name of a powerful mythological lion, which is represented on the label.

39. Astronomical scales LIBRA
The constellation of Libra is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. Libra is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.

40. Tremendous spans EONS
Geological time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

– supereon
– eon (also “aeon”)
– era
– period
– epoch
– age

41. Olympic hurdler Jones LOLO
Lolo Jones is a track and field athlete from Des Moines, Iowa and is the American record holder for the 60m hurdles. Jones is a year-round competitor, as she is also a brakeman on the national bobsled team.

46. Fa follower SOL
The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

47. “I don’t care if you __ again”: The Cars lyric USE ME
“I don’t care if you use me again” is a line from the 1978 song “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” by the Cars.

The Cars are a rock band from Boston that formed in the late seventies.

52. Mr. Peabody’s boy SHERMAN
“Peabody’s Impossible History” is a recurring segment in “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” that originally aired in the fifties and sixties. Mr. Peabody is a dog who travels through time with his pet boy Sherman. Apparently, there is a Dreamworks animated movie called “Mister Peabody and Sherman” scheduled for release in 2014.

60. Balance sheet items PAYABLES
The balance sheet of a company is a snapshot (single point in time) view of a company’s financial position. The balance sheet lists all the company’s liabilities, all of its assets, and all of its ownership equity. The assets of a company, less its liabilities equals the ownership equity. The term “balance” is used because assets always balance out with the sum of liabilities and shareholder equity.

63. Like some decals IRONED ON
A decal is a decorative sticker, short for “decalcomania”. The term is derived from the French “décalquer”, the practice of tracing a pattern from paper onto glass or perhaps porcelain.

65. It’s not charged NEUTRINO
Neutrinos are small subatomic particles that do not carry an electric charge. The term “neutrino” is Italian for “small neutral one”. There are three types of neutrino: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos.

Down
1. Kvetch CARP
The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “carp” so that it came to mean “find fault with”.

The word “kvetch” comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

2. 2011 Best New Artist Grammy winner Bon __ IVER
Bon Iver is a folk band that started up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2007. The band’s name comes from the French “bon hiver” meaning “good winter”. The phrase “bon hiver” was popularized by the fun nineties TV show “Northern Exposure”.

4. Taps absentee, possibly AWOL
Military Police officers (MPs) are concerned with personnel who go absent without leave (AWOL).

“Taps” is played nightly by the US military, indicating “lights out”. It’s also known as “Butterfield’s Lullaby” as it is a variation of an older bugle call named the “Scott Tattoo”, arranged during the Civil War by the Union Army’s Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield. The tune is called “taps”, from the notion of drum taps, as it was originally played on a drum, and only later on a bugle.

5. Renaissance standout DA VINCI
Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps the most diversely talented person who ever contributed to society. He was a gifted painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer and writer. Da Vinci’s mural “The Last Supper” is the most reproduced work of art in the world.

6. Hal Foster’s Queen of the Misty Isles ALETA
Aleta is the the wife of Prince Valiant in the long-running comic strip. Edward, Duke of Windsor, called the “Prince Valiant” comic strip the “greatest contribution to English Literature in the past one hundred years”. I’m not so sure …

7. Author Yutang LIN
Lin Yutang was a Chinese writer who lived much of his life in the US. Among other accomplishments, Yutang is noted for his very popular translations of classic Chinese texts into English.

9. Islamic ruling FATWA
In the Muslim tradition, a fatwā is a religious opinion issued by an Islamic scholar on a matter of Islamic law. There is a common misconception that a fatwā is a death sentence imposed on a person, and although such a drastic directive is a possible component of the opinion, it is a very rare occurrence.

11. Sneaker inserts ODOR EATERS
Odor Eater insoles were first introduced in the early seventies, and are manufactured by Combe. Combe sponsors a national contest held every year in Montpelier, Vermont, called “The Odor Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest”. Very pleasant …

20. Hummingbird attractors ZINNIAS
Zinnias form a genus of about twenty species of plants with bright, colorful flowers. Zinnias are named for the German anatomist and botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn.

25. Genesis son ABEL
Adam and Eve’s children were Cain and Abel, two estranged brothers.

26. Genesis city 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”.

27. “Song based on a letter,” per McCartney PS I LOVE YOU
“P.S. I Love You” was recorded by the Beatles way back in 1962. On the recording, Ringo Starr is playing the maracas, not the drums. A session musician played the drums, replacing Pete Best who had just been fired by Brian Epstein. Ringo had not yet been “anointed” as Best’s replacement.

30. Ball Park Franks owner SARA LEE
In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

32. 2011 ABC show with multiple pilots PAN AM
“Pan Am” is a TV series set in the sixties that features the lives of the pilots and stewardesses working for Pan American Airways. I liked the show, but it was cancelled in the middle of its first season, so what do I know …?

34. The tallest one is nearly 16,000 feet high ALP
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

37. Emerald __ ISLE
Ireland is called the “Emerald Isle” because of all that green grass that grows due to the seemingly non-stop rain.

49. Nita of early filmdom NALDI
Nita Naldi was an silent film actress from New York City who usually played a “femme fatale” type of role.

54. __ Carrot: Crayola color NEON
In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the “Crayola Color Census 2000” in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.

56. Requiem title word IRAE
“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

57. Plant’s stoma, e.g. PORE
Stomata (the usual plural of stoma, not “stomas”) are pores found under almost every leaf, clearly visible under a simple microscope. The stomata take in air rich in carbon dioxide. Through the process of photosynthesis, the plants generate oxygen, which is released back into the air though the same stomata.

58. 1956 crisis site SUEZ
The Suez Crisis of 1956 came about when President Nasser of Egypt decided to nationalize the Suez Canal, a response to a withdrawal of funds by Britain and the US for the building of the Aswan Dam. Egypt then refused to allow any Israeli shipping the use the canal. With British and French support, Israel invaded the Sinai in October 1956, starting the military conflict. Combined British, French and Israeli forces eventually took control of the Suez Canal, which was viewed as a military success but a political disaster. The United Nations, led by the US, pressured the British, French and Israelis to withdraw.

59. French 101 word ETRE
The French for “to be” is “être”.

61. __-Cat SNO
The brand name Sno-Cat is owned by the Tucker company. All “snowcats” are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four, independently-mounted tracks.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Leafhopper relative CICADA
7. 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel LIFE OF PI
15. Oath AVOWAL
16. Show of confidence I CAN DO IT
17. Evict REMOVE
18. Accounting concerns NET COSTS
19. Ad infinitum? PR BLITZ
21. Having a dark complexion SWARTHY
22. Clipper target NAIL
24. “Permit Me Voyage” poet AGEE
25. Dish prepared hot and served cold ASPIC
29. Ones, e.g.: Abbr. NOS
31. Fonda’s “My Darling Clementine” role EARP
33. Setting for the 2001 film “No Man’s Land” BOSNIAN WAR
36. Like Singha beer THAI
38. Correction EDIT
39. Astronomical scales LIBRA
40. Tremendous spans EONS
41. Olympic hurdler Jones LOLO
42. Inexplicable, in a way PARANORMAL
44. Stop wearing down? MOLT
46. Fa follower SOL
47. “I don’t care if you __ again”: The Cars lyric USE ME
48. Coal container VEIN
50. Showed grief WEPT
52. Mr. Peabody’s boy SHERMAN
55. Conic section ELLIPSE
60. Balance sheet items PAYABLES
62. Make less musty AIR OUT
63. Like some decals IRONED ON
64. Easier to see, perhaps NEARER
65. It’s not charged NEUTRINO
66. Cakewalk BREEZE

Down
1. Kvetch CARP
2. 2011 Best New Artist Grammy winner Bon __ IVER
3. Parting aid COMB
4. Taps absentee, possibly AWOL
5. Renaissance standout DA VINCI
6. Hal Foster’s Queen of the Misty Isles ALETA
7. Author Yutang LIN
8. Refreshing treats ICES
9. Islamic ruling FATWA
10. Put behind bars ENCAGE
11. Sneaker inserts ODOR EATERS
12. Short-term residence, usually FOSTER HOME
13. Substance PITH
14. Far from substantial ITSY
20. Hummingbird attractors ZINNIAS
23. Like some humor LOWBROW
25. Genesis son ABEL
26. Genesis city SODOM
27. “Song based on a letter,” per McCartney PS I LOVE YOU
28. Bigoted INTOLERANT
30. Ball Park Franks owner SARA LEE
32. 2011 ABC show with multiple pilots PAN AM
34. The tallest one is nearly 16,000 feet high ALP
35. Took off RAN
37. Emerald __ ISLE
43. Statistical anomaly OUTLIER
45. Building material TIMBER
49. Nita of early filmdom NALDI
51. Backup PLAN B
52. __ doctor SPIN
53. Hopping game? HARE
54. __ Carrot: Crayola color NEON
56. Requiem title word IRAE
57. Plant’s stoma, e.g. PORE
58. 1956 crisis site SUEZ
59. French 101 word ETRE
61. __-Cat SNO

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2 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Nov 13, Saturday”

  1. Commiserations, Pookie. Some of these Saturday puzzles can be hard to work into.

    Yes, we had our delayed Thanksgiving today, and everyone was able to come (no pressure from "competing" TG celebrations!). I hope you had a great holiday as well, and enjoyed some time off.

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