LA Times Crossword Answers 6 Aug 14, Wednesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Jeff Stillman
THEME: NASA Programs … each of today’s answers starts with the name of a NASA program:

20A. Car that replaced the Marquis MERCURY SABLE
33A. 1981 Moody Blues hit GEMINI DREAM
40A. Rocky Balboa foe who became his friend APOLLO CREED

55A. What 20-, 33- and 40-Across begin with NASA PROGRAMS

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 00s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

6. “Dark Chords on a Big Guitar” folksinger BAEZ
“Dark Chords on a Big Guitar” is a 2003 album recorded by Joan Baez. The album’s title is a line from “Rexroth’s Daughter”, a song by Greg Brown.

Joan Baez is an American folk singer and a prominent activist in the fields of nonviolence, civil rights, human rights and environmental protection. Baez has dated some high-profile figures in her life including Bob Dylan, Steve Jobs (of Apple) and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead.

10. Alpine transport T-BAR
A T-bar is a type of ski lift in which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, a similar device, but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

14. Tester of Job’s faith SATAN
The story of “the patience of Job” is told in the Book of Job in the Bible. Job exhibits great patience in refusing to condemn God after Satan was allowed to destroy his family and property.

15. Uma’s role in “The Producers” ULLA
The sex kitten married to Leo Bloom in the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers” is called Ulla, although her full name is Ulla Inga tor Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson Bloom!

“The Producers” is a 1968 satirical movie written and directed by Mel Brooks, the first film he ever directed. Brooks adapted the movie into a hugely successful Broadway musical that won a record 12 Tony Awards. The original leads in the stage show, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, then appeared in a 2005 movie adaptation of the musical version of the original film!

Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

17. Agreements from the pews AMENS
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

18. Isl. of Australia TASM
The island state of Tasmania is the southernmost state in Australia.

20. Car that replaced the Marquis MERCURY SABLE
The Mercury Sable is basically the same car as the very successful Ford Taurus.

24. Like a lummox OAFISH
The word “lummox” comes from East Anglian slang (northeast of London). The term is probably a contraction of “lumbering ox”.

29. Moderately slow, in music ANDANTE
Andante is a tempo marking in a musical score and means “at a walking pace”.

30. Bit of work ERG
An erg is a unit of energy or mechanical work. “Erg” comes from the Greek word “ergon” meaning “work”. A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”. Ergs and dynes are related to each other in that one erg is the amount of energy needed to move a force of one dyne over a distance of one centimeter.

33. 1981 Moody Blues hit GEMINI DREAM
The Moody Blues are an English rock band that was first formed in 1964. The Moody Blues were noted in the early days for fusing classical musical with rock and released a famous 1967 album in that style called “Days of Future Passed”.

38. Guggenheim display ART
The Guggenheim art museum on Fifth Avenue in New York opened in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The museum was funded by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that had been set up by the American businessman and philanthropist for whom the foundation was named. When Guggenheim died in 1952, the New York museum was renamed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

39. Carpal or tarsal starter META-
There are five metacarpal bones in each hand. They make up the framework of the palm and the back of the hand. Each metacarpal is connected to a finger and the wrist. The equivalent bones in the foot are called the metatarsals.

40. Rocky Balboa foe who became his friend APOLLO CREED
In the “Rocky” series of films, Rocky Balboa was given the ring name “The Italian Stallion”. Rocky’s first real opponent was Apollo Creed, known in the ring as “The Master of Disaster” and “The Count of Monte Fisto”.

47. Roy G __: rainbow mnemonic BIV
“Roy G. Biv” is an acronym for the colors in a rainbow:

– Red
– Orange
– Yellow
– Green
– Blue
– Indigo
– Violet

55. What 20-, 33- and 40-Across begin with NASA PROGRAMS
President Kennedy famously launched the Apollo space program in 1961. The Mercury program had been the project that put Americans into space, and NASA decided that more development work was need to bridge the gap in capabilities needed between what was known from Mercury and what was needed to land a man on the moon, the objective of the Apollo program. So, the Gemini program was born, in which astronauts learned to spend extended periods in orbit, rendezvous and dock spacecraft, walk in space, and improve the re-entry and landing stage of a space flight.

60. Solo, in a way STAG
Back where I come from, bachelor parties are called stag parties, and bachelorette parties are hen parties. And in Ireland the fairer sex usually isn’t welcome at a stag party, not even for entertainment purposes. We tend to focus on the drink …

61. “Middlemarch” novelist ELIOT
George Eliot was the pen name of English novelist Mary Anne Evans. As one might think, Evans chose a male pen name in order that her work might be best appreciated in the Victorian era. Eliot wrote seven novels including “Adam Bede” (1859), “The Mill on the Floss” (1860), “Silas Marner” (1861) and “Middlemarch” (1871-72).

63. Fish-eating flier ERNE
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle or sea-eagle.

65. Where the River Liffey flows EIRE
The Liffey is the river flowing through Dublin, Ireland’s capital city. The Liffey is named for the plain through which it originally ran, called “Liphe” or “Life”.

66. Shaggy Tibetans YAKS
The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in the Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.

Down
1. “Ditto” AS AM I
“Ditto” was originally used in Italian (from Tuscan dialect) to avoid repetition of the names of months in a series of dates. So “ditto” is just another wonderful import from that lovely land …

2. Japanese bowlful RAMEN
Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed.

3. Cheri of comedy OTERI
Cheri Oteri was the SNL cast member who regularly appeared with Will Farrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

4. Inviolable havens SANCTA
“Sancta” is the plural of “sanctum”, a private place where one can hide away without fear of intrusion. I love my sanctum …

6. Rubber used in inner tubes BUTYL
Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber that is similar to polypropylene. Butyl rubber is particularly useful in that it is very flexible yet is impermeable to air. So, butyl is the material of choice for the bladders of sporting balls and the inner tubes of tires.

7. “There was __, they ca’d her Meg”: Burns A LASS
Here’s the first line of Robert Burns’ 1788 poem called “Duncan Davison”.

There was a lass, they ca’d her Meg,
And she held o’er the moors to spin;
There was a lad that follow’d her,
They ca’d him Duncan Davison.
The moor was dreigh, and Meg was skeigh,
Her favour Duncan could na win;
For wi’ the rock she wad him knock,
And aye she shook the temper-pin.

Robert Burns is a cultural icon in Scotland and for Scots around the world. As a poet, Burns was a pioneer in the Romantic movement in the second half of the 18th century. One of his most famous works is the poem “Auld Lang Syne”, which has been set to the tune of a traditional Scottish folk song and is used to celebrate the New Year in the English-speaking world.

8. Movie lioness ELSA
The life story of Elsa the lion was told by game warden Joy Adamson, who had a very close relationship with the lioness from when Elsa was orphaned as a young cub. Adamson wrote the book “Born Free” about Elsa, and then “Living Free” which tells the story of Elsa and her three lion cubs. In the 1966 film based on “Born Free”, Adamson is played by the talented actress Virginia McKenna.

9. Big name on the ice ZAMBONI
The first ice resurfacing machine was developed in 1949 by one Frank Zamboni. The machine works by simultaneously executing a number of tasks. First, the surface of the ice is scraped off by a sharp blade. Next the ice is “washed” with water sprayed from the front of the Zamboni, and that wash water is vacuumed back up and filtered to remove impurities. Water is then reapplied to the scraped ice by a wet towel dragging behind the machine, forming a new skating surface.

10. Pre-Christmas destination for many TREE FARM
The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

11. Jack’s hiding place BOX
A Jack-in-the-box is child’s toy. It’s a box with a crank handle at the side. Turning the crank causes a tune to play (usually “Pop Goes the Weasel”), and at the right moment the lid pops open and a spring loaded clown character jumps up out of the box.

12. Court org. ABA
American Bar Association (ABA)

13. “Man on the Moon” band REM
“Man on the Moon” is a song released by the American rock band R.E.M. in 1992. The song is a tribute to comedian and comic actor Andy Kaufman (Latka on “Taxi”) who died in 1984. The title is an oblique reference to rumors that Kaufman had faked his own death, as there are also persisting conspiracy theories that the moon landings were also faked. The subsequent 1999 film about Kaufman’s life was titled “Man on the Moon”, after the song.

22. Cheryl of “Charlie’s Angels” LADD
Cheryl Ladd’s most famous role was that of Kris Monroe in television’s “Charlie’s Angels”. Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett-Majors when the latter opted out of the show. Cheryl Ladd was the daughter-in-law of famed Hollywood actor Alan Ladd, as she was married to Ladd’s son, David. After the couple divorced, Cheryl retained the Ladd name.

When the TV show “Charlie’s Angels” started airing in the mid-seventies it was a little unusual in that it featured three women playing private detectives, a role usually reserved for men. The name first chosen for the show was “The Alley Cats”, then “Harry’s Angels”, before finally settling on “Charlies Angels”.

25. “__ a drink!” I NEED
… said he, after doing the crossword.

27. Macho dude HE-MAN
A man described as “macho” shows pride in his masculinity. “Macho” is a Spanish word for “male animal”.

29. Pre-deal payment ANTE
One antes up into the pot, before being dealt a hand in a card game.

30. Take off the DVR ERASE
DVR (Digital Video Recorder)

34. Nutmeg spice MACE
The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

35. Like some vbs. IRR
Some verbs (vbs.) are irregular (irr.)

37. “Hamlet” castle ELSINORE
Elsinore is the castle that William Shakespeare used as the setting for his play “Hamlet”. Elsinore is based on the actual Kronborg castle in the Danish city of Helsingør (hence “Elsinore”).

41. “Kiss Me Deadly” rocker Ford LITA
Lita Ford was the lead singer for The Runaways, later becoming famous for her solo work (never heard of her, outside of crosswords!).

42. Homeric journey ODYSSEY
“The Odyssey” is one of two epic poems from ancient Greece that is attributed to Homer. “The Odyssey” is largely a sequel to Homer’s other epic, “The Iliad”. “The Odyssey” centers on the heroic figure, Odysseus, and his adventures on his journey home to Greece following the fall of Troy.

43. River through Spain EBRO
The Ebro is the longest river in Spain. The river was known by the Romans as the Iber, and it is the “Iber” river that gives the “Iberian” Peninsula its name.

44. Round-trippers DINGERS
“Dinger” and “round trip” are familiar terms for a home run in baseball.

48. Shakespearean attendant VARLET
A “varlet” was an attendant or servant, perhaps a knight’s page. The term comes from the Old French “vaslet”, which also gave us our contemporary word “valet”.

52. Kennebunkport locale MAINE
Kennebunkport is a coastal town in the southern part of Maine. The port town is named for the Kennebunk River on which it sits. Kennebunkport is the location of the summer home of former President George H. W. Bush.

54. Red giant S STAR
Stars are usually classified based on the color of the light that they emit. These classifications are, from hottest to coolest, O, B, A, F, G, K and M. One way to remember the order of these letters is to use the mnemonic “Oh, be a fine girl, kiss me”. The colors of these stars range from blue (class O) to red (class M). Our sun is class G, a yellow star, but I think we all know that …

Red giants are very large stars with a relatively low mass. The atmosphere of a red giant is also very inflated and extends a long way into space so the surface of that atmosphere that we see is relatively cool, which gives it a red color. Stars are classified by their spectral characteristics, basically the color of the light they emit. As such, red giants are classified as M stars. Cool red giants are of a color beyond the usual range, and are classified as S stars.

56. Gillette brand ATRA
Fortunately for crossword setters, the Atra razor was introduced by Gillette in 1977. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.

57. Blackjack 11-pointer ACE
In the card game called Blackjack, an ace has the point value of one or eleven. When one of the two cards dealt to a player is an ace, the hand is called “soft”. This means that the player cannot go bust by taking another card, as the ace can be revalued at “one” if necessary in order to stay under 21.

The game of “twenty-one” was first referred to in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “veintiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

58. Israeli weapon UZI
The first Uzi submachine gun was designed in the late 1940s by Major Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces who gave his name to the gun.

59. Pit goo TAR
A tar pit is an unusual geological feature, leakage of bitumen from below ground to the earth’s surface creating a pool of natural asphalt. One of the most famous of these occurrences is the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirsts. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Cropped up AROSE
6. “Dark Chords on a Big Guitar” folksinger BAEZ
10. Alpine transport T-BAR
14. Tester of Job’s faith SATAN
15. Uma’s role in “The Producers” ULLA
16. Spa amenity ROBE
17. Agreements from the pews AMENS
18. Isl. of Australia TASM
19. Class struggle? EXAM
20. Car that replaced the Marquis MERCURY SABLE
23. Approves, in a way INITIALS
24. Like a lummox OAFISH
28. Six-legged scurrier ANT
29. Moderately slow, in music ANDANTE
30. Bit of work ERG
33. 1981 Moody Blues hit GEMINI DREAM
36. Irritate but good RILE
38. Guggenheim display ART
39. Carpal or tarsal starter META-
40. Rocky Balboa foe who became his friend APOLLO CREED
45. Animal house DEN
46. Boardwalk locale SEASIDE
47. Roy G __: rainbow mnemonic BIV
49. Thing ENTITY
50. Brown and Green, e.g. SURNAMES
55. What 20-, 33- and 40-Across begin with NASA PROGRAMS
57. One for the road AUTO
60. Solo, in a way STAG
61. “Middlemarch” novelist ELIOT
62. Industry big shot CZAR
63. Fish-eating flier ERNE
64. __-car RENT-A
65. Where the River Liffey flows EIRE
66. Shaggy Tibetans YAKS
67. Herd member STEER

Down
1. “Ditto” AS AM I
2. Japanese bowlful RAMEN
3. Cheri of comedy OTERI
4. Inviolable havens SANCTA
5. Sequentially following ENSUING
6. Rubber used in inner tubes BUTYL
7. “There was __, they ca’d her Meg”: Burns A LASS
8. Movie lioness ELSA
9. Big name on the ice ZAMBONI
10. Pre-Christmas destination for many TREE FARM
11. Jack’s hiding place BOX
12. Court org. ABA
13. “Man on the Moon” band REM
21. Give stars to RATE
22. Cheryl of “Charlie’s Angels” LADD
25. “__ a drink!” I NEED
26. 52-Down, for one STATE
27. Macho dude HE-MAN
29. Pre-deal payment ANTE
30. Take off the DVR ERASE
31. Go from green to red, perhaps RIPEN
32. Rub it in GLOAT
34. Nutmeg spice MACE
35. Like some vbs. IRR
37. “Hamlet” castle ELSINORE
41. “Kiss Me Deadly” rocker Ford LITA
42. Homeric journey ODYSSEY
43. River through Spain EBRO
44. Round-trippers DINGERS
48. Shakespearean attendant VARLET
50. Hit the bottom of SPANK
51. Hard-to-ignore impulses URGES
52. Kennebunkport locale MAINE
53. Chew the scenery EMOTE
54. Red giant S STAR
56. Gillette brand ATRA
57. Blackjack 11-pointer ACE
58. Israeli weapon UZI
59. Pit goo TAR

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8 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 6 Aug 14, Wednesday”

  1. And a good Wednesday to you!

    Pretty straightforward puzzle, althout I did stop a second and tell myself, "Wait…T.S. Eliot didn't write Middlemarch." Terrible confession for an English major.

    "Eire" in the bottom left corner sent me on a wild thought process. I knew Bill would seize on this immediately. So would Robert Hanssen, who is an avid crossworder, and insists that any legitimate solver stars in the bottom left corner. Hanssen has plenty of time to practice–he's doing life in SuperMax for dealing mountains of intelligence data to the Soviets. In an odd twist, the NYT published an e-book of its articles on Hanssen. Its compiler: Will Shortz (yeah, him).

    I HAD to see if Tasmania was the sounthernmost state. At 42S, only the South Sandwich Islands at 54S. Here lies Sir Ernest Shackleton. His birthplace? See 65-across in the lower left corner.

  2. Hello Bill, and friends, Late, as usual – had to read all about The Producers. I must see the 1967 movie.

    Willie D. – I have the definitive book on Robert Hansen, the ex-FBI dpty. Director of Counter espionage, who with Aldrich Ames, Dpty. Director of the CIA were the biggest turncoats in American history.

    The puzzle was quite challenging. I couldn't remember so many easy answers, but finally I got it done. Not familiar with Ulla, Satan ( in that context – ! ), Eliot ( familiar with her name though) or Andante.

    The Marquis was a much bigger car than the Sable. That was the last Ford/Mercury car I ever owned. Nevermore again ! That car had more 'lemons' than a ton of Citric Acid.

    I know Roy. G. Biv as VIBGYOR, for the mnemonic for the colors of the rainbow.

    I wanted to protest the use of BUTYL – which is (also) an Alkyl radical, being clued as a rubber. I remember having studied, among other polymers, — ABS rubber used in WW II, Acrylo-nitrile, Butadiene, Styrene rubber. I was unfamiliar with Butyl rubber ( poly isobutylene) and poly isoprene. The world has moved a marathon from where my knowledge stood.

    Also, I should mention that, in the USA, a 'rubber' is never a synonym for an eraser. I learned that to my discomfort …

    Have a nice day, all.

  3. I loved Tazmania. I went to the Featherdale Animal Park and they let me pet a Tasmanian devil. They are marsupials and carry their young in pouches which face outward toward the back unlike other marsupials.

  4. Great puzzle. Got it all except the "I" in dingers. I'm usually a NYT puzzle guy but I find the LA Times has improved quite a bit and sometimes have the same constructors as the NYT. Hooray! You've made me a 2puzz guy.

    Ron Diego (La Mesa, CA)

  5. @Willie
    And a Good Wednesday to you, too 🙂 That's a surprising and interesting tale you tell about Robert Hanssen (I remember the case). The link with Will Shortz is also surprising and interesting. I am going to delete my speculation about Tasmania being the southermost state in the world, as it is … speculative!

    @Vidwan
    I hesitated when I saw "butyl" as well, as I think of it primarily as the alkyl radical too, from the days when I used to know what I was talkng about when discussing chemistry (those days are long gone!). I just read that "Butyl" is also a trademarked brand name for butyl rubber. As for rubbers and erasers, yet another quagmire for me when trying to speak English.

    @RestMyCase
    Lucky you, visiting Australia. My perception of Tasmanian devisl is all based on the cartoon character, so I wouldn't have thought that petting them was an option 🙂

    @Ron
    Welcome to the dark side. I think there's a twelve-step program for us "two puzzles a day" types 🙂

  6. The Tasmanian Devil must have been tame – in the wildlife sanctuary. I've read that they are fierce carrion feeders and also predators of small birds, snakes etc. They have a very cantankerous and high adrenaline levels, and have a very mean disposition and their bite, if bitten for self defense or if riled, can be very dangerous. Their jaws are meant for crushing bones, hides and tendons in the dead animals. They unfortunately are prone to some sort of Devil Facial Tumor disease (DFTD) a virus that has killed a lot of them.

  7. Hi Bill and friends. (sorry to borrow your greeting, Vidwan, kind of in a hurry)
    Sorry for the absence yesterday, 6a.m. wake-up to 8:30 getting home.
    Today was a DNF.
    My two brothers played baseball and I went to all the games. Been listening to Vin Scully since I was a kid. Never heard of DINGERS or Round trippers.
    VARLET,BIV,ULLA,BUTYL S STAR. too much for me.
    Husband came down with a hum DINGER of a cold and I'm making the WBCS.
    Yes I make the World's Best Chicken Soup.
    So there.
    See y'all tomorrow.

  8. @Red Buttons
    And they are really scary in cartoons! 🙂

    @Pookie
    Hope hubby is feeling better. Bound to be, getting the world's best chicken soup 🙂

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