LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Jun 14, Monday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: David W. Cromer
THEME: Closing Time … each of today’s answer starts with a word that is often seen following TIME:

18A. *Mood FRAME OF MIND (giving “time frame”)
37A. *Philatelist’s prize possession STAMP COLLECTION (giving “time stamp”)
3D. *Like a baseball fouled into the seats OUT OF PLAY (giving “time out”)
34D. *Solid baseball hit LINE DRIVE (giving “timeline”)

56A. Store posting, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues could literally be doing CLOSING TIME

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 05s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. “Little Red Book” chairman MAO
During China’s Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party published a book of statements and writings from Chairman Mao Zedong. Here in the West the publication was usually referred to as “The Little Red Book”.

14. School URL ending EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

15. Like most white bears POLAR
Polar bears are close cousins of brown bears, and are thought to have evolved from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation. Most polar bears live north of the Arctic Circle, and live mainly on seals that capture near to the edge of ice floes.

17. Body art, briefly TAT
The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”.

23. One of a Valentine’s Day dozen ROSE
Saint Valentine’s Day was chosen by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saints’ day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

28. Map that may show land subdivisions PLAT
A plat is a map showing actual and planned features, so a town might have a plat showing existing and intended buildings.

31. Conger catcher EELER
Conger eels can grow to be very, very large, perhaps up to 10 feet in length.

33. River through Russia VOLGA
The Volga is the longest river in Europe, and is considered the national river of Russia.

34. Auburn rival in the SEC LSU
The LSU Tigers are the sports teams of Louisiana State University, officially known as the Fightin’ Tigers, with the school mascot of “Mike the Tiger”. The name comes from the days of the Civil War, when two Louisiana brigades earned the nickname the “Louisiana Tigers”.

Southeast Conference (SEC)

37. *Philatelist’s prize possession STAMP COLLECTION (giving “time stamp”)
“Philately” is the more formal name given to the practice of collecting postage stamps. The term “philately” was coined (in French, as “philatélie) in 1864 by French collector Georges Herpin. He came up with it from the Greek “phil-” meaning “loving” and “ateleia” meaning “exemption from tax”. Apparently “exemption from tax” was the closest thing Herpin could find to “postage stamp”.

41. Author Joyce Carol __ OATES
Joyce Carol Oates is a remarkable writer, not just for the quality of her work (her 1969 novel “them” won a National Book Award, for example) but also for how prolific is her output. She published her first book in 1963 and since then has published over fifty novels as well as many other written works.

42. One of India’s official languages HINDI
Officially, the Union Government of the Republic of India has two official languages: Hindi and English.

55. Lass of La Mancha: Abbr. SRTA
Señorita (Srta.) is Spanish and mademoiselle (Mlle.) is French for “Miss”.

La Mancha is a region in Spain, a plateau lying south of Madrid. The area became famous after publication of the novel “Don Quixote de La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes.

61. Waited-for show character who never showed GODOT
An Irishman I may be, but I have sat through so many Samuel Beckett plays (the Irish dramatist) and I have yet to come away feeling satisfied that I spent my time well. Of course I am in the minority, as Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot” was once voted the most significant English language play of the 20th century. Maybe I will try again one day …

62. Pet doc VET
“Vet” is an abbreviation for “veterinarian”, a professional who treat animals for disease and injury. The word “veterinary” comes from the Latin “veterinae” meaning “working animals, beasts of burden”.

65. EMTs’ destinations ERS
An emergency medical technician (EMT) often heads to the emergency room (ER).

Down
4. Tanning lotion letters SPF
In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

6. Greenspan and Ladd ALANS
Alan Greenspan served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, the longest anyone has held that post. He was appointed by President Reagan for a four-year term, and was reappointed by subsequent presidents until Greenspan retired. Outside of the world of economics, Greenspan is married to NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, and back in the seventies he even dated Barbara Walters.

The last few years of Alan Ladd’s life were pretty rough. In 1962 he was found unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound in his chest, an abortive suicide attempt. Two years later he was found dead, apparently having succumbed to an accidental overdose of drugs and sedatives. He was 50 years old.

10. Idiot NIMROD
Nimrod is a character in the Book of Genesis and the Books of Chronicles in the Bible, the great-grandson of Noah. Somehow, the name was adopted as teenage slang for a foolish person by teenagers in the 1980s.

11. Bermuda veggie ONION
Bermuda has been a major producer of onions since the 1880s when seed was brought to the island from the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. Apparently, Ernest Hemingway was a fan of Bermuda onions. While buying some at a market he met a man called Gregorio Fuentes, who Hemingway ended up hiring as the first mate of his boat. Some say that Fuentes was the inspiration for Santiago, the protagonist in “The Old Man and the Sea”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

19. Southern California county ORANGE
Orange County in the Greater Los Angeles Area is the smallest county in Southern California, yet is the sixth most populous county in the US. The county seat is Santa Ana.

21. Witch trials setting SALEM
Salem is a seaport on the Massachusetts coast. It is noted as the location of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, an event that the city commemorates during the run up to Halloween every year in October.

29. Gondola helmsman POLER
The word “gondola” was originally limited to the famous boats that travel along the canals of Venice. When man started to fly through the air in hot air balloons, “gondola” was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.

30. Pandora’s boxful ILLS
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. Pandora is famous for the story of “Pandora’s Box”. In actual fact, the story should be about Pandora’s “Jar” as a 16th-century error in translation created a “box” out of the “jar”. In the story of Pandora’s Box, curiosity got the better of her and she opened up a box she was meant to leave alone. As a result she released all the evils of mankind, just closing it in time to trap hope inside.

31. So-called sixth sense ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

32. Letter after zeta ETA
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the name “zed”, which became “zee”, the pronunciation that we use here in the US.

38. Spot for spelunkers CAVERN
Spelunking is an American term for caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

39. In-and-out ocean phenomena TIDES
Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

43. Gretel’s brother HANSEL
“Hansel and Gretel” is a Germanic fairy tale found in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. It tells of two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, the children of a woodcutter. The youngsters are abandoned in a forest at the behest of an evil stepmother. Clever Hansel hears of the plan and leaves a trail of pebbles so that he and his sister can find their way home, which they do. But the children are abandoned again and this time leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, the crumbs are eaten by birds and so the children do indeed become lost. But eventually they do all live happily ever after …

45. Actor’s prize OSCAR
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

49. Aquatic frolicker OTTER
The fur of the sea otter is exceptionally thick. It is in fact the densest fur in the whole animal kingdom.

53. Frozen waffle brand EGGO
Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.

54. Quark locale ATOM
The three nuclear particles that we all learned about at school were protons, electrons and neutrons. The “big” particles, the protons and neutrons are known collectively as nucleons. Nucleons aren’t fundamental particles, in the sense that nucleons are made up of three smaller particles called quarks. Protons are made from two “up” quarks and one “down” quark, while neutrons are composed of one “up” quark and two “down” quarks.

57. SSNs, e.g. IDS
The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an “identity number” to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So, from 1986 onward, it is a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the ago of 5. Sure enough, in 1987 seven million dependents “disappeared”.

58. UFO crew, supposedly ETS
In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Little Red Book” chairman MAO
4. Hardly enough SCANT
9. Online memo E-NOTE
14. School URL ending EDU
15. Like most white bears POLAR
16. Bedsheet material LINEN
17. Body art, briefly TAT
18. *Mood FRAME OF MIND (giving “time frame”)
20. Self-images EGOS
22. Scornful look SNEER
23. One of a Valentine’s Day dozen ROSE
24. Vandalizes DEFACES
26. Made amends ATONED
28. Map that may show land subdivisions PLAT
29. Longed (for) PINED
31. Conger catcher EELER
33. River through Russia VOLGA
34. Auburn rival in the SEC LSU
37. *Philatelist’s prize possession STAMP COLLECTION (giving “time stamp”)
40. Salary PAY
41. Author Joyce Carol __ OATES
42. One of India’s official languages HINDI
43. Hang in midair HOVER
44. Surrender, as territory CEDE
45. Words that attract shoppers ON SALE
48. Nothing-to-do feeling BOREDOM
51. Planted SOWN
52. Equip with new weapons REARM
55. Lass of La Mancha: Abbr. SRTA
56. Store posting, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues could literally be doing CLOSING TIME
59. “__ now or never” IT’S
60. Put on the radio AIRED
61. Waited-for show character who never showed GODOT
62. Pet doc VET
63. Angling gear REELS
64. Signs of things to come OMENS
65. EMTs’ destinations ERS

Down
1. Doled (out) METED
2. Old saw ADAGE
3. *Like a baseball fouled into the seats OUT OF PLAY (giving “time out”)
4. Tanning lotion letters SPF
5. Constricting garment CORSET
6. Greenspan and Ladd ALANS
7. Title NAME
8. Genealogical chart TREE
9. Santa subordinate ELF
10. Idiot NIMROD
11. Bermuda veggie ONION
12. On edge TENSE
13. Concluded ENDED
19. Southern California county ORANGE
21. Witch trials setting SALEM
25. Commuting convenience CARPOOL
27. One working with pupils TEACHER
29. Gondola helmsman POLER
30. Pandora’s boxful ILLS
31. So-called sixth sense ESP
32. Letter after zeta ETA
33. Go to the polls VOTE
34. *Solid baseball hit LINE DRIVE (giving “timeline”)
35. Ready-to-go lawn starter SOD
36. Prefix with cycle UNI-
38. Spot for spelunkers CAVERN
39. In-and-out ocean phenomena TIDES
43. Gretel’s brother HANSEL
44. Ordinary COMMON
45. Actor’s prize OSCAR
46. “I kid you not!” NO LIE!
47. Took an oath SWORE
48. Woman often followed by a train BRIDE
49. Aquatic frolicker OTTER
50. Sail supports MASTS
53. Frozen waffle brand EGGO
54. Quark locale ATOM
57. SSNs, e.g. IDS
58. UFO crew, supposedly ETS

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