LA Times Crossword Answers 12 Aug 14, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Ellen Leuschner & Jeff Chen
THEME: Circle of Friends … the circled letters in today’s grid, when read clockwise, are a series of words meaning “friend”:

AMI
PAISANO
COMRADE
BRO

Also, a couple of answers are synonyms of the phrase CIRCLE OF FRIENDS:

39A. Close associates, and a hint to this puzzle’s highlighted squares CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
1D. 39-Across, in slang PEEPS
57D. 39-Across, in slang POSSE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 06s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Aerospace giant __ & Whitney PRATT
Pratt & Whitney is a huge manufacturer of aircraft engines, a competitor with General Electric and Roll-Royce. The company is headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut.

6. Oft-mispunctuated word IT’S (or “ITS”)
“It’s” is short for “it is” or “it has”, as in:

– It’s a long way to Tipperary
– It’s been a great vacation

The possessive form of “it” is “its”, without an apostrophe, as in:

– The dog already ate its dinner

15. Letters in a graveyard RIP
Rest in peace (RIP)

17. Name on a WWII bomber ENOLA
The Enola Gay was the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima in August 1945. Enola Gay was the name of the mother of pilot Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.

18. Brewpub offering, for short IPA
India Pale Ale is a style of beer that comes from England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

19. Actress Watts NAOMI
The actress Naomi Watts was born in the UK and moved to Australia when she was 14 years of age. It was in Australia that Watts got her break in television and movies. Probably her most acclaimed role was in the 2003 film “21 Grams” with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro. Watts is best friends with fellow Australian actress Nicole Kidman.

20. Garden mulch PEAT MOSS
Peat moss is actually Sphagnum moss that has partially decayed and has been dried. The term “peat moss” is used as Sphagnum moss is often found in peat bogs. Sphagnum moss has the ability to store large quantities of water, so the dried form is used by gardeners to condition soil, to increase the soil’s capacity to retain moisture.

Mulch is a layer of material applied by gardeners over the top of soil. The intent can be to retain moisture, to add nutrients, to reduce weed growth, or just to improve the look of the garden.

22. Monkeylike SIMIAN
“Simian” means “pertaining to monkeys or apes”, from the Latin word “simia” meaning “ape”.

23. Evening in Parma SERA
Parma is a city in northern Italy, famous for its ham (prosciutto) and cheese (parmesan).

24. Like shrinking violets SHY
Someone who is very shy might be described as a “shrinking violet”. The violet in this case is the flower, and not the girl’s name. The plant Viola odorata has been called “shrinking violet” because of its habit of hugging the ground as it grows.

25. Fashion-designing twins OLSENS
I know very little about the Olsen twins, but I am told that folks believe Mary-Kate and Ashley to be identical twins. They look very much alike, but are in fact fraternal twins. The sisters were cast as Michelle Tanner on the eighties sitcom “Full House”, taking turns playing the role.

26. “Conan” channel TBS
Before Conan O’Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host, he was a writer. O’Brien wrote for both “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons”.

28. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo ISLA
In Spanish, Puerto Rico for example (por ejemplo), is an island (isla).

Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

29. Musical genre related to punk EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

32. Actor Quinn AIDAN
Aidan Quinn is an Irish-American actor. Quinn was born in Chicago but spent some years growing up in Ireland. Mainly known as a movie actor, Quinn is currently playing the role of Captain Tommy Gregson on the excellent TV series “Elementary” that is centered on a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.

43. Hard to startle STOIC
Someone who is “stoic” is indifferent to pleasure or pain, is relatively impassive.

Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher famous for teaching at the Stoa Poikile, the “Painted Porch”, located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens. Because of the location of his classes, his philosophy became known as stoicism (from “stoa”, the word for “porch”). And yes, we get our adjective “stoic” from the same root.

44. Granola grain OAT
The name “Granola” (and “Granula”) were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.

45. Brest beast BETE
Brest is a port city in northwest France, and is the second largest military port in the country. Brest was an important base for German U-boats during WWII when France was occupied by the Nazis. Brest is the most westerly city in the whole country.

47. Eponymous guitarist Paul LES
Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

52. Vino opener? VEE
The first letter in the word “vino” (Italian for “wine”), is the letter V (vee).

59. Legendary city of gold EL DORADO
The original El Dorado was a Muisca chief who was covered with gold dust in a tribal ritual and then dove into Lake Guatavita in present-day Colombia. Later, “El Dorado” was adopted as the name for a mythical “Lost City of Gold” that became a quest from many Spanish Conquistadors who explored the Americas.

61. Heaven-sent food MANNA
According to the Book of Exodus, manna was a food eaten by the Israelites as they traveled out of Egypt. It “fell” to Earth during the night six days a week, and was gathered in the morning before it had time to melt.

63. Angler’s bucketful WORMS
We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” was an Old English word for a hook.

65. Pennsylvania, for one: Abbr. AVE
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. is sometimes called “America’s Main Street”, as it runs between the White House and the US Capitol. The exact reason why this important thoroughfare was given the name “Pennsylvania” seems to be unclear. One favored theory is that it was a gesture to the state of Pennsylvania after moving the nation’s capital from Philadelphia.

66. Singer Costello ELVIS
Elvis Costello is an English singer and songwriter whose real name is Declan MacManus. Although Costello is more associated with the punk rock music scene, he is very active with the Jazz Foundation of America. He does a lot of work with the foundation to help jazz and blues musicians in need, especially after Hurricane Katrina.

67. Slow-moving arboreal critter SLOTH
“Sloth”, meaning “indolence, sluggishness”, comes from the Middle English word “slowe”, the same root for our contemporary word “slow”. The animal, the sloth, is named for its slow-moving behavior.

68. “On __ Majesty’s Secret Service” HER
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is the sixth of the James Bond films, and the only one to star George Lazenby in the leading role. He wasn’t a great choice for 007 …

Down
1. 39-Across, in slang PEEPS
“Peeps” is a slang term for one’s associates or friends, one’s “people”.

2. Three-time Golden Globe winner Zellweger RENEE
Renée Zellweger’s big break came in the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire”. A few years later she followed that up with a string of successes in “Bridget Jones Diary” (2001), “Chicago” (2002) and “Cold Mountain” (2003). My wife and I love watching her play Bridget Jones, and as someone coming from the British Isles I have to say she does a remarkable job with the accent. She worked hard to perfect that accent, and of course she had a voice coach. She also went “undercover” and worked as a temp in an office for three weeks fine-tuning her skills.

4. Charge, in a joust TILT AT
Tilting is the most recognized form of jousting. Jousting can involve the use of a number of different weapons, but when lances are used the competition is called “tilting”. Jousting took place in a roped-off enclosure that was called the lists, or list field. In later medieval times, some castles and palaces had purpose-built “tiltyards” that were used for jousting. London’s famous Horse Guards Parade is the former tiltyard for the Palace of Whitehall that was used in the time of King Henry VIII.

6. From Donegal, say IRISH
Donegal is the name of the most northerly county in Ireland, and is also the name of the town that gave the county its name. “Donegal” is the anglicized form of the Irish “Dún na nGall” meaning “fort of the foreigners”. County Donegal is a really beautiful part of the country …

8. Place to chill SPA
The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as Spa is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.

9. Rapper whose name sounds like a dessert VANILLA ICE
Vanilla Ice is the stage name of rapper Robert Van Winkle. Van Winkle used to breakdance with a band of friends when he was a young teenager and, as he was the only Caucasian in the group, he was given the nickname “Vanilla”.

10. Water, facetiously ADAM’S ALE
I suppose water was all that Adam had available to him to drink, so that’s how the expression “Adam’s ale” arose (I am guessing … can’t find anything definitive anywhere). The phrase “Adam’s Ale” makes a nice juxtaposition with “the demon drink”!

11. Sarge’s superior LOOIE
A lieutenant (looie) is higher in rank than a sergeant (sarge).

12. Finance guru Suze ORMAN
Suze Orman is a financial advisor who has gotten her message out on television, in books and on the speaking circuit. She often appears on PBS, and indeed is the most successful fundraiser public television has ever had.

13. Buckboard controls REINS
A buckboard is simple horse-drawn wagon with four wheels. The actual “buckboard”, from which the vehicle gets its name, is the board right at the front of the wagon. The buckboard acted as a footrest for the driver, and also as protect in case the horse “bucked”, hitting the driver with its rear hooves.

21. Davis who was married to Ruby Dee OSSIE
Ossie Davis was a very successful African-American actor, but also a director, poet, playwright and social activist. One of Davis’s better known performances was in the 1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men”, in which he played the owner of the bait shop by the lake.

Ruby Dee was an actress and civil rights activist. On the big screen she is perhaps best remembered for co-starring in “A Raisin in the Sun” alongside Sidney Poitier, “Do the Right Thing” alongside her husband Ossie Davis, and “American Gangster” in which she played Denzel Washington’s mother.

22. Letters in the sand, perhaps 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.

27. “Horsefeathers!” BALDERDASH!
“Balderdash” means a senseless jumble of words, and was originally (back before the late 1600s) a jumbled mix of liquids, like maybe beer and wine, or even beer and milk!

The term “horsefeathers” is probably a euphemism for a similar word that’s a little more rude. The term is said to have been coined by cartoonist Billy DeBeck in 1928. DeBeck’s most famous strip is called “Barney Google”.

29. Heart chart: Abbr. ECG
An EKG measures electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

30. “O Sole __” MIO
“‘O sole mio” is a famous Italian song from Naples, written in 1898. The song’s lyrics are usually sung in the original Neapolitan, as opposed to Italian. The title translates from Neapolitan into “My Sun” (and not into “O, My Sun” as one might expect). It’s a love song of course, sung by a young man declaring that there is a sun brighter than that in the sky, the sun that is his lover’s face. Awww …

31. Mars or Venus ORB
The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty!

The planet Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky, after our Moon.

37. Nutritional qty. RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII and are a set of recommendations for the standard daily allowances of specific nutrients. RDAs were effectively absorbed into a broader set of dietary guidelines in 1997 called Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs). RDIs are used to determine the Daily Values (DV) of foods that are printed on nutrition fact labels on most food that we purchase.

38. Hours in Tempe, Ariz. MST
Mountain standard time (MST)

Tempe is a city in the metropolitan area of Phoenix. The city is named for the Vale of Tempe in Greece.

40. Popular wine grape CABERNET
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has been around since the 17th century, and is the result of a chance crossing in southwestern France of the Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc grapes.

46. Lao Tzu’s “path” TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

Lao Tse (also Lao-Tzu) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism.

51. __ Park, N.J. MENLO
Menlo Park, New Jersey is noted as the home to Thomas Edison’s laboratory where he made so many of his inventions. We also have a pretty well-known Menlo Park out here in California, home to many of the venture capital companies that tend to make a lot of money out of Silicon Valley businesses.

53. Toon hunter who has twouble with some wanguage ELMER
Elmer Fudd is one of the most famous of all the Looney Tunes cartoon characters, the hapless nemesis of Bugs Bunny. If you have never seen it, check out Elmer and Bugs in the marvelous “Rabbit of Seville”, a short cartoon that parodies Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. Wonderful stuff …

55. Immature insect LARVA
The larva is an intermediate stage in the development of an insect. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago.

57. 39-Across, in slang POSSE
“Posse” is a slang term for a group of friends or followers, particularly of a rap star.

In the context of the Wild West, a “posse” is a group of people who aided a sheriff in enforcing the law. “Posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th-century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Aerospace giant __ & Whitney PRATT
6. Oft-mispunctuated word IT’S (or “ITS”)
9. Bravery in battle VALOR
14. Like a foggy graveyard EERIE
15. Letters in a graveyard RIP
16. Love a lot ADORE
17. Name on a WWII bomber ENOLA
18. Brewpub offering, for short IPA
19. Actress Watts NAOMI
20. Garden mulch PEAT MOSS
22. Monkeylike SIMIAN
23. Evening in Parma SERA
24. Like shrinking violets SHY
25. Fashion-designing twins OLSENS
26. “Conan” channel TBS
28. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo ISLA
29. Musical genre related to punk EMO
32. Actor Quinn AIDAN
35. Startle ALARM
39. Close associates, and a hint to this puzzle’s highlighted squares CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
42. Become sour GO BAD
43. Hard to startle STOIC
44. Granola grain OAT
45. Brest beast BETE
47. Eponymous guitarist Paul LES
49. Smartphone feature CAMERA
52. Vino opener? VEE
54. Show appreciation, in a way CLAP
58. Exaggerate OVERDO
59. Legendary city of gold EL DORADO
61. Heaven-sent food MANNA
62. Usher’s offering ARM
63. Angler’s bucketful WORMS
64. Heaps PILES
65. Pennsylvania, for one: Abbr. AVE
66. Singer Costello ELVIS
67. Slow-moving arboreal critter SLOTH
68. “On __ Majesty’s Secret Service” HER
69. Blue-gray SLATE

Down
1. 39-Across, in slang PEEPS
2. Three-time Golden Globe winner Zellweger RENEE
3. Riotous, as a crowd AROAR
4. Charge, in a joust TILT AT
5. Jets, Mets or Nets TEAM
6. From Donegal, say IRISH
7. A bit buzzed TIPSY
8. Place to chill SPA
9. Rapper whose name sounds like a dessert VANILLA ICE
10. Water, facetiously ADAM’S ALE
11. Sarge’s superior LOOIE
12. Finance guru Suze ORMAN
13. Buckboard controls REINS
21. Davis who was married to Ruby Dee OSSIE
22. Letters in the sand, perhaps SOS
27. “Horsefeathers!” BALDERDASH!
28. Facts and figures, for short INFO
29. Heart chart: Abbr. ECG
30. “O Sole __” MIO
31. Mars or Venus ORB
33. Two pills, e.g. DOSE
34. Toward the back of the boat AFT
36. “It’s __-brainer” A NO
37. Nutritional qty. RDA
38. Hours in Tempe, Ariz. MST
40. Popular wine grape CABERNET
41. Hot under the collar RILED
46. Lao Tzu’s “path” TAO
48. Move with a mouse wheel SCROLL
49. Freebies COMPS
50. Be of help to AVAIL
51. __ Park, N.J. MENLO
52. Enthusiasm VERVE
53. Toon hunter who has twouble with some wanguage ELMER
55. Immature insect LARVA
56. Let in or let on ADMIT
57. 39-Across, in slang POSSE
60. Is in the red OWES
62. “Yeah, that’s the spot!” AAH!

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4 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 12 Aug 14, Tuesday”

  1. Hello Bill, and friends,

    Still fairly easy, couldn't figure out the circles till the end – didn't really need them.

    When I got 'Sera' ( as in Bueno Sera, good evening – ), I wondered if "Que sera, sera" – a lovely song by Doris Day, in 'The man who knew too much', Alfred Hitchcock … and the song, itself, was a hit. How could that translate as 'Whatever, will be, will be ' … ? That, as I read, is because the language is not Italian, but Spanish or even in the Portuguese, where 'sera' means, 'will be'….

    Bete, I got from 'Bete noire'.

    Too bad, about the death of Robin Williams, yesterday. What a tragedy. R I P.

    Todays Google Doodle has the Perseid Meteor Shower, going on these few days.

    Balderdash is one of my most favorite games. It's so intelligent and so much fun. I have 6 copies of the board game.

    Have a nice day, all.

  2. Given the spate of lackluster Tuesday runs, this was quite entertaining.

    -Letters spelled phonetically are a cop out to me. How about teen heartthrob Bobby Vee? Or the Hy-Vee grocery chain in the Midwest?

    -Vidwan, será is also the present future of one of the Spanish verbs "to be"–ser and estar. Technically, ¿qué será? means "what (how) will it be?" To arrive at "whatever will be" would require use of the reflexive subjunctive, more like "lo que sea." JM2C 😉

    -We've had Stoic and Cynic philosophy in recent days, a veritable history of Roman philosophy. Fun to note that Stoci Seneca was an adviser to Nero, whose behavior was rarely stoic.

    -Bill stuck the landing on El Dorado. Think of it as a portmanteau of de oro "of gold."

    -Speaking of portmanteaus, one of my favorite "Elvis" clues is not Costello, but Tortelvis. Tortelvis(invoking the legal concept) is the lead of a band called Dread Zeppelin, who play slowed down Zeppelin songs to a reggae rhythm. Among their "Hits:" No Quarter Pounder and Jah & Roll.

    -Won't go into the Monty Python angle on "sloths" in The Holy Grail. Google is your friend.

    Hope everyone enjoyed this too!

  3. Hello everyone –

    Wow I had a rough time with this. My time to complete this was more similar to a Thursday puzzle.

    Sfingi – from yesterday, yes I'm aware that the Sara Lee ad is technically correct. I was just saying I didn't like the usage – i.e. I was just being a grouch.

    Simian caught me a little off guard. I always thought it just meant apelike, but I looked it up and the meaning includes monkeys as well.

    IPA's are wonderful beers. I had never really had much of them until recently. Now whenever I occasionally make it into a brew pub, I seek them out. Very hoppy. More to the point, I never knew what the letters stood for. Now I can pretend I always knew… 🙂

    Best –

  4. @Vidwan
    I watched "The Man Who Knew Too Much" for the first time only in the last year or two. I can never pass up Doris Day, Jimmy Stewart or Alfred Hitchcock when the opportunity presents. And, I also was shocked and saddened to hear about Robin Williams' demise.

    @Willie
    Dread Zeppelin … brand new info for me! Great stuff 🙂

    @Jeff
    My son has become the real beer connoisseur in our family, and has made quite a few batches of his own that have been very tasty. His favorite style of beer is IPA, but I find it way too hoppy for my taste. I am a wimp, I guess 🙂

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