LA Times Crossword Answers 13 Sep 14, Saturday

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

CROSSWORD SETTER: Barry C. Silk
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 14m 25s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Auto discontinued in 1974 and relaunched in 2004 PONTIAC GTO
The Pontiac GTO was was produced by GM from 1964 to 1974, and again by a GM subsidiary in Australia from 2004 to 2006. The original GTO’s design is credited to Pontiac chief engineer at the time John DeLorean, who later was found the DeLorean Motor Company.

11. Short reply RSVP
RSVP stands for “répondez, s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “please, answer”.

19. Bygone boomers SSTS
The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. Concorde was developed and produced under an Anglo-French treaty by France’s Aérospatiale and the UK’s British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Concordes were mainly operated by Air France and British Airways, with both companies buying the planes with substantial subsidies from the French and British governments.

20. __ curls BICEP
The biceps muscle is made up of two bundles of muscle, both of which terminate at the same point near the elbow. The heads of the bundles terminate at different points on the scapula or shoulder blade. “Biceps” is Latin for “two-headed”.

21. Touring the Getty Center Museum, briefly IN LA
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is one of the most visited museums in the country. Like many museums in developed countries these days, the Getty has been embroiled in disputes about ownership of artifacts. The curators of the Getty have gone so far as to repatriate some items in recent years, especially to Greece and Italy. The J. Paul Getty Museum has to locations. The Getty Center is the primary location, and houses are from the Middle Ages to the present. The Getty Villa displays art from ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

22. Arthur with a Tony BEA
Actress Bea Arthur’s most famous roles were on television, as the lead in the “All in the Family” spin-off “Maude” and as Dorothy Zbornak in “The Golden Girls”. Arthur also won a Tony for playing Vera Charles on stage in the original cast of “Mame” in 1966, two years after she played Yente the matchmaker in the original cast of “Fiddler on the Roof”.

37. Range-finding apparatus TELEMETER
A “telemeter” is a rangefinding device, an instrument used to measure distances to objects that are far away.

40. Reproduces, in a way XEROXES
Xerox was founded in 1906 in Rochester, New York and originally made photographic paper and equipment. Real success came for the company in 1959 when it introduced the first plain-paper photocopier. Xerox named Ursula Burns as CEO in 2009, the first African American woman to head up a S&P 100 company. Burn was also the first woman to succeed another female CEO (replacing Anne Mulcahy).

42. Explorer who landed at Calicut in 1498 DA GAMA
Vasco da Gama left on his first voyage of discovery in 1497. da Gama journeyed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, and across the Indian Ocean making landfall in India. Landing in India, his fleet became the first expedition to sail directly from Europe to the sub-continent. Vasco da Gama was well known for acts of cruelty, especially on local inhabitants. One of his milder atrocities was inflicted on a priest whom he labelled as a spy. He had the priest’s lips and ears cut off, and sent him on his way after having a pair of dog’s ears sewn onto his head.

Kozhikode, formerly “Calicut”, is a city on the southwest coast of India. Kozhikode became a major trading point after Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed their in 1498, earning it the nickname “City of Spices”. Calicut was also famous as a cotton-weaving center, and gave its name to Calico cloth.

43. Old platters LPS
The first vinyl records designed to play at 33 1/3 rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first Long Play (LP) 33 1/3 rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

44. Saudi Arabia neighbor OMAN
Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The capital city of Muscat has a strategic location on the Gulf of Oman and has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next one hundred years until finally being ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place in Oman ever since.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saudi family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

45. Thai appetizer SATAY
The dish known as “satay” originated in Java, Indonesia and is marinated pieces of meat served on a skewer in a sauce, often a spicy peanut sauce.

53. Impasse BLIND ALLEY
“Impasse” is a French word for a blind alley or an impassable road, and we use the term to mean “stalemate”.

Down
1. Frat letters PSIS
The Greek letter psi is the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

4. Eastern holidays TETS
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning “Feast of the First Morning”. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

5. Binding agreement I DO
The agreement “I do” binds two people in matrimony.

6. Some brick houses ADOBES
The building material known as adobe has been around a long time, and has been used in dry climates all over the world. The original form of the word “adobe” dates back to Middle Egyptian times, about 2000 BC. The original spelling is “dj-b-t”, and translates as mud (sun-dried) brick.

7. “As You Like It” character CELIA
“As You Like It” is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the tale of Rosalind fleeing from her Uncle’s court along with her cousin Celia and the court jester Touchstone. Rosalind lives in exile in the Forest of Arden, disguised as a male shepherd called Ganymede. The play is perhaps most memorable for an oft-quoted monologue that starts with:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players …

8. Ally Financial Inc., formerly GMAC
GMAC is short for General Motors Acceptance Corporation. General Motors has only a small stake in GMAC now, and indeed the name has been officially changed to Ally Bank. You and me, we are the biggest shareholders in GMAC/Ally today, since the US government gave the bank $12.5 billion to bail it out in 2008-2009.

9. Schlep TOTE
Our word “schlep” means “to carry, drag”. As one might expect, “schlep” comes from Yiddish, with “shlepen” having the same meaning.

10. Heart, in hearts ONE POINT
Hearts is a card game in the Whist family, meaning that it involves the taking of tricks. Other games in the Whist family are Bridge and Spades. The uniqueness of Hearts is that players are trying to avoid winning certain cards which carry penalty points, so often the idea is to avoid winning tricks altogether.

12. 1961 recipient of an Honorary Award Oscar STAN LAUREL
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson), who made a great career for himself in Hollywood. Laurel ended up at the Hal Roach studio directing films, intent on pursuing a career in writing and directing. However, he was a sometime actor and was asked to step in when another comic actor, Oliver Hardy, was injured and couldn’t perform. Laurel and Hardy started to share a stage together during that time and when it was clear they worked so well together, their partnership was born. Oh, and the oft-quoted story that Clint Eastwood is the son of Stan Laurel … that’s just an urban myth.

13. ’80s West Coast stereotype VALLEY GIRL
The original “valley girls” were the young, middle-class females living in San Fernando Valley in Southern California.

22. Deli selection BLT
The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

24. No __: menu notice MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

25. __ ped.: piano music instruction SOST
On a piano with three pedals, the middle pedal is a called a sostenuto pedal. This pedal “sustains” the sound of the notes that are being held down on the keyboard when it is pressed. The instruction to use the sostenuto pedal can be written as “sost. ped.” on a musical score. The sostenuto pedal differs from the sustain pedal in that the latter undamps all the strings at the same time.

28. 1988 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, with “The” LONE RANGER
“The Lone Ranger” was both a radio and television show, dating back to its first radio performance in 1933 on a Detroit station. The line “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” was a device used in the storyline to signal that a riding sequence was starting, so cue the music!

The National Radio Hall of Fame is located on the second floor of the Museum of Broadcast Communication in Chicago.

33. Init. response team EMTS
Emergency medical technician (EMT)

43. Woody Woodpecker’s creator LANTZ
The much-loved cartoon character called Woody Woodpecker came out of the Walter Lantz animation studio. Woody initially appeared in a cartoon called “Knock Knock” released in 1940. Woody was first voiced by the famous Mel Blanc.

46. Jesus of baseball ALOU
Jesus Alou played major league baseball, as did his brothers Matty and Felipe, and as does Felipe’s son, Moises.

47. Long-tailed monkey TITI
Titis are monkeys found in much of South America. Totis have tails that are a little bit longer than the length of their heads and bodies.

48. “__ well …” ALL’S
“All’s Well That Ends Well” is a play by William Shakespeare, one with elements of both tragedy and comedy.

50. Artist Magritte RENE
Belgian artist René Magritte was a surrealist. His most recognized work maybe is “The Son of Man”, a painting he created as a self-portrait. It is the work that shows a man in a bowler hat with his face covered by an apple. The image features prominently in the great movie, the 1999 remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair”.

51. Open hearing, in law OYER
“Oyer” is a term used to describe the reading out loud of a document in court.

54. Chicago-based professional org. AMA
The American Medical Association was founded in 1847, at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The association acquired its first permanent headquarters in 1902, in Chicago. The first female member was allowed to join in 1868, but the first African American members weren’t admitted until one hundred years later, in 1968.

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Auto discontinued in 1974 and relaunched in 2004 PONTIAC GTO
11. Short reply RSVP
15. One pushing the limit SPEED DEMON
16. Space-saving term ET AL
17. Words of resignation IT’S TOO LATE
18. Low area VALE
19. Bygone boomers SSTS
20. __ curls BICEP
21. Touring the Getty Center Museum, briefly IN LA
22. Arthur with a Tony BEA
23. Order with many options OMELET
25. Stain causes SPILLS
29. “Follow me” THIS WAY
31. “… but perhaps I’m mistaken” … OR NOT
32. Weather station instrument RAIN GAUGE
34. Spotted SEEN
35. Sign of availability TO LET
36. Filling limit BRIM
37. Range-finding apparatus TELEMETER
39. Warn ALERT
40. Reproduces, in a way XEROXES
41. Puffs up SWELLS
42. Explorer who landed at Calicut in 1498 DA GAMA
43. Old platters LPS
44. Saudi Arabia neighbor OMAN
45. Thai appetizer SATAY
48. Style involving a pick AFRO
52. Annex WING
53. Impasse BLIND ALLEY
55. Suffix with exist -ENCE
56. Decisive factor BOTTOM LINE
57. Suggestive look LEER
58. One asking a lot of questions QUIZMASTER

Down
1. Frat letters PSIS
2. Accepts, with “in” OPTS
3. Spot for a snake NEST
4. Eastern holidays TETS
5. Binding agreement I DO
6. Some brick houses ADOBES
7. “As You Like It” character CELIA
8. Ally Financial Inc., formerly GMAC
9. Schlep TOTE
10. Heart, in hearts ONE POINT
11. Like some umps’ calls REVIEWABLE
12. 1961 recipient of an Honorary Award Oscar STAN LAUREL
13. ’80s West Coast stereotype VALLEY GIRL
14. Fold PLEAT
22. Deli selection BLT
24. No __: menu notice MSG
25. __ ped.: piano music instruction SOST
26. Go over beforehand PRE-EXAMINE
27. Lack of refinement INELEGANCE
28. 1988 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, with “The” LONE RANGER
29. Lore TALES
30. Yesterday, in Paris HIER
32. Mechanical method ROTE
33. Init. response team EMTS
35. Some slow-cooked cuisine, for short TEXAS BBQ
38. Hockey __ MOM
39. Nursery reactions AWS
41. World of bugs and plants? SPYDOM
42. Wooden peg DOWEL
43. Woody Woodpecker’s creator LANTZ
46. Jesus of baseball ALOU
47. Long-tailed monkey TITI
48. “__ well …” ALL’S
49. Pass quickly FLIT
50. Artist Magritte RENE
51. Open hearing, in law OYER
54. Chicago-based professional org. AMA

Return to top of page

6 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 13 Sep 14, Saturday”

  1. Good morning Saturday Solvers.

    Rather quick solve today.
    1A only took one down letter and it was off to the races.
    Stalled a little in the south with
    some unknowns but in the end I
    have to claim a wrong finish.
    The crossing of Satay & Titi was
    my downfall. If we had them in a puzzle before, I forgot, so I had to guess a letter, Bzzt!

    Have a great Weekend all!

  2. This was not up to the usual level of difficulty that I find most Saturday puzzles present. I admit that I guessed on the final letter for the "t" in telemeter (because I had no idea of the piano music instruction phrase – having escaped all musical instruction unlike my older brother who was tortured by violin -violence?- lessons or my younger sister and her piano etudes).

    Hope everyone has a great weekend. We are getting a new puppy tomorrow to go with our 4 year old little while dog that loves me to pieces. My wife hopes this one bonds to her as the older one has to me. We shall see…

  3. Greetings Bill (and your pint) and everyone –

    Uh oh a Barry Silk puzzle – one of Pookie's Trinity (anti-Trinity?) along with Julian Lim and Gareth Bain.

    Like most Saturday puzzles, this was very slow until some of the long answers started falling.

    My favorite was "spydom" for world of plants and bugs…although if I hadn't gotten it, it would have been my LEAST favorite. Such is life in crossworddom.

    Da Gama still amazes me. Such an amazing explore,r and he changed the world in his own way back then. Yet he has his peccadillos indeed.

    I had a real problem at first with impasse being a clue for blind alley. The definitions of those two things were very different in my head. An impasse is a stalemate. A blind alley is a dead end. I had to read the definition of blind alley about 3 times to see the link between the two. Ultimately it gave me a better understanding of both words/phrases, and that's why we do these things I suppose.

    Have a great weekend everyone

  4. A late good morning to all.

    Jeff, I fell for the "py" in SPYDOM, too. I kept wondering how that went with phylum.

    I wound up going counterclockwise from SW on this one. 38D: I guess soccer MOM would be too obvious. My mother let me play hockey when I was 5, only as a concession to my dad, who wanted me to play football. 20A: I must be hung over, 'cause I kept reading the clue as ____ curia. Duhh.

    Finally 26D: Is this not circular logic? I have heard no one ever use this term. If you examine something, you haven't pre done anything. You just did it. That clue was, like, totally groady. Just gag me with a spoon.

    Now I think I'll have to shuffle off and watch a little "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." 🙂

  5. Xerox did indeed achieve success with the invention of their plain paper copier. But, as I recall, their real (financial) success came from their giving the copiers away relatively free and selling massive amounts of copy paper and toner 🙂

  6. Hi Bill and everyone!
    Went to a quilting class and stayed until 2:30.
    I don't even sew, just trying to support the new business in town.
    Nice people.
    Only cut myself once with the rotary cutter and stuck myself with a flat head pin. Drew blood.
    The instructions should have said "bring band-aids".
    Well, I finished the puzzle when I got back and noticed that I didn't fill in the "T" in telemeter, but didn't know it anyway.
    Total WAG for PONTIAC GTO, but it opened up the NW corner, which was the hardest for me.
    Better than usual for a Silkie.

    Jeff, Barry Silk is just too difficult sometimes for me to be on his wavelength, but Lim and Bain just aggravate me to no end.
    If it's a Lim tomorrow, I'm watching football with my husband.
    See you all later!
    Hot, hot and hotter today in SoCal.

Comments are closed.