LA Times Crossword Answers 3 Jan 15, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Brad Wilber
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 13m 09s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Its construction created Lake Nasser ASWAN DAM
From ancient times right up to 1970, the annual flooding of the Nile was a significant event in Egypt. The flooding allowed the deposition of fertile silt far beyond the banks of the river, helping the region’s agriculture. However, the flooding was unpredictable. So the Aswan Dam was built in the sixties and from 1970 the flooding was brought under control.

Lake Nasser is a large artificial lake created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam (initiated by President Nasser). Lake Nasser lies in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Strictly speaking, the section of the lake in Sudan is called Lake Nubia.

15. “Wuthering Heights” backdrop THE MOORS
“Wuthering Heights” is the only novel written by Emily Brontë, one that she published using the pen name Ellis Bell. Her sister Charlotte Brontë had just published her famous book “Jane Eyre” under the name Currer Bell.

17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as “magic” or “dust” MASS NOUN
A mass noun is an uncountable noun, a noun that cannot be directly modified by a numeral (unless a unit of measurement is specified). Also, the indefinite article cannot be used with a mass noun. One example would be “music”. We can’t have “three musics”, but we can have “three sheets of music”. We can’t talk about “a music”, but we can talk about “the music”.

19. Heave-hos OUSTERS
“Ouster” is a noun coming from the verb “to oust”, and means “ejection, expulsion”.

20. Word with level or devil SEA
“Sea devil” is another name for the manta ray.

The manta ray is the biggest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds.

21. Bizarre ODD
“Bizarre” is a French word, with the same meaning in French as English. However, back in the 16th century, “bizarre” used to mean “handsome, brave” in French. So that’s what my wife means when she refers to me as “bizarre” …

22. Snicker follower -SNEE
A “snickersnee” is a knife, a weapon used in a knife fight. The name comes from the phrase “snick or snee”, which describes the cut or thrust while fighting with a knife. The phrase is rooted in a pair of Dutch words.

25. Skyler’s sister on “Breaking Bad” MARIE
Betsy Brandt is an actress best known for playing Marie Schrader on “Breaking Bad”. Brandt has two children, the second of which was born while the second season of “Breaking Bad” was being filmed.

Anna Gunn is an actress from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is best known for playing Skyler White on the TV show “Breaking Bad”.

“Breaking Bad” is a crime drama series that originally aired on AMC from 2008 to 2013. The show was created by Vince Gilligan who had spent many years as producer and writer of “The X-Files”. Fans of “Breaking Bad” might know that there is spin-off show coming to AMC called “Better Call Saul” that focuses on the life of lawyer Saul Goodman.

27. CPA’s concern TAX LAW
Certified public accountant (CPA)

32. It can be used to make gin SLOE
The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin.

33. Carolina bisque tinted orange by roe SHE-CRAB SOUP
She-crab soup is a specialty in coastal Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. The soup is very rich as it is made with cream and so is similar to a bisque. The list of ingredients includes Atlantic blue crab, and crab roe. It is the use of the roe that gives the name “She-crab”, as that’s where the roe comes from!

36. Popular news group MEDIA DARLINGS
A “media darling” is a celebrity who is popular in the media, always seeming to get favorable coverage.

39. It can be used to make gin DISCARD PILE
Gin rummy is a variant of the slower game of standard rummy and was introduced in 1909 by one Elwood Baker and his son.

40. Bobby Darin record label ATCO
Atco Records is an American record label founded in 1955, taking its name from the parent company Atlantic Corporation.

The singer Bobby Darin had a short but eventful life. Darin started in show business as a songwriter for Connie Francis. He then made it big as a performer with huge hits like “Splish Splash”, “Dream Lover”, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”. He was active politically as a supporter of Robert Kennedy, and was present in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Kennedy was assassinated. Soon after that tragic day, Darin found out that the people he thought were his parents, were in fact his grandparents. The woman he knew as his older sister was in fact his mother. Darin died following a heart operation at only 37 years old.

42. Weightlifting technique SNATCH
There are two weightlifting events in the Olympics. One is the “snatch” in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the platform over his or head in one continuous movement. The “clean and jerk” is a two-part lift. The “clean” brings the barbell off the platform mainly using the knees. The “jerk” brings the barbell over the head to complete the lift.

49. Lofty letterhead abbr. ESQ
The title “esquire” is of British origin and is used differently today depending on whether one is in the US or the UK. Here in America the term is usually reserved for those practicing the law (both male and female). In the UK, “esquire” is a term of gentle respect reserved for a male who has no other title that one can use. So a mere commoner like me might receive a letter from the bank say, addressed to W. E. Butler Esq.

52. LAX posting ARR
Arrival time (arr.)

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

53. Smidge TAD
Back in the 1800s “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this morphed into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

Our word “smidgen”, meaning a small amount, might come from the Scots word “smitch” that means the same thing or “a small insignificant person”.

55. Business, informally BEESWAX
The phrase “mind your own business” is sometimes softened to “mind your own beeswax”.

58. Chemical relative ISOMER
In the world of chemistry, isomers are two compounds with chemical formula i.e. the same atomic constituents, but with a slightly different arrangement of the atoms relative to each other. The differing arrangement of atoms often leads to different chemical properties.

61. Deferential bow SALAAM
The word “salaam” is an Anglicized spelling of the Arabic word for “peace”. It can mean an act of deference, in particular a very low bow.

62. Ravel, vis-à-vis “Pictures at an Exhibition” ARRANGER
“Pictures at an Exhibition” is one of my favorite pieces of music. It is a suite of twelve movements originally created for the piano by Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is often performed as an arrangement for orchestra, with Maurice Ravel’s arrangement being the most famous. Most of the movements represent individual paintings (and vividly so!), works by Mussorgsky’s friend, the architect and artist Viktor Hartmann. Hartmann died unexpectedly at only 39, and soon after there was an exhibition of 400 of his paintings in St. Petersburg. Mussorgsky was inspired to write his “Pictures at an Exhibition” after having viewed the show.

Maurice Ravel was a great French composer of the Romantic Era. His most famous piece of music by far is his “Bolero”, the success of which he found somewhat irksome as he thought it to be a trivial work. Personally though, I love minimalism and simplicity …

63. Like Miss Marple’s attire TWEEDY
Tweed is a rough woolen fabric very much associated with Scotland in the UK, and County Donegal in Ireland. The cloth was originally called “tweel”, the Scots word for “twill”. Apparently a London merchant misinterpreted some handwriting in the early 1800s and assumed the fabric was called “tweed”, a reference to the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck …

Miss Jane Marple is a much-loved character in detective stories penned by Agatha Christie. Miss Marple has been played by a number of excellent actresses on the large and small screens, but my favorite has to be Margaret Rutherford. Rutherford starred in very light comedic “Miss Marple” films that were very popular, although Christie herself didn’t care for them at all.

Down
2. “Entourage” publicist played by Debi Mazar SHAUNA
Debi Mazar plays Shauna Roberts on the HBO series “Entourage”. You might have seen her on “Dancing with the Stars” a while back, although she didn’t do so well and was eliminated in the third week.

I haven’t seen the HBO series “Entourage”, but will have to take a look one day as I am a huge fan of HBO productions. “Entourage” is the story of a young movie star from New York City learning about life in Los Angeles. The show is co-produced by the actor Mark Wahlberg and so the storyline is somewhat biographical, based on a few of Wahlberg’s own experiences.

3. “Far From the Madding Crowd” region WESSEX
Wessex was the familiar name of the Kingdom of the West Saxons in the southwest of Great Britain.

“Far From the Madding Crowd” was the novel that brought Author Thomas Hardy wide recognition. First published in 1874, it was Hardy’s fourth novel and appeared initially in serial form in the Victorian literary journal “Cornhill Magazine”.

4. Brewery bought out by Heineken AMSTEL
Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery, founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river which runs through the city.

5. Zilch NONE
We use the term “zilch” to mean “nothing”. Our current usage evolved in the sixties, before which the term was used to describe “meaningless speech”. There was a comic character called Mr. Zilch in the 1930s in “Ballyhoo” magazine. Mr. Zilch’s name probably came from the American college slang “Joe Zilch” that was used in the early 1900s for “an insignificant person”.

8. ISP with a butterfly logo MSN
MSN was originally called The Microsoft Network, and was introduced in 1995 as an integral part of Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system. MSN is a whole bundle of services including email, instant messaging, and the MSN.com portal (which is the 9th most visited site on the Internet).

9. In tandem, musically A DUE
“A due” is a musical term meaning “together”, and literally translates from Italian as “by two”.

11. Pic on a pec TAT
Tattoo (tat).

“Pecs” is the familiar term for the chest muscle, more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is a the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

14. Benchley novel THE DEEP
“The Deep” is novel by Peter Benchley (who also wrote “Jaws”). “The Deep” was adapted into a 1977 film starring Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte and a very attractive Jacqueline Bisset.

20. Shepherd of “The View” SHERRI
Sherri Shepherd is a comedian and television personality who is best known by many as one of the co-hosts of the ABC daytime talk show “The View”. I remember Shepherd as the police officer who was partnered with Robert Barone on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”.

24. Joint risks? ESCAPES
“Joint” is a slang term for “prison” that may only date back to the 1950s. The term can also apply to any location where shady activities take place, and that usage dates back to the 1870s.

26. LPGA part: Abbr. ASSN
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women’s sports professional organization in the US.

28. One side of the Bering Strait ASIA
The Bering Strait lies between Russia and Alaska, and is just below the Arctic Circle. The strait is just 53 miles wide, and only an average of 100-150 feet in depth. It has long been speculated that when sea levels were lower there was a land bridge where the strait is today. This would have allowed humans to walk between Asia and North America, with the assumption being that the original population of the Americas migrated here from Asia.

31. Squash court features WALLS
Squash is a racquet sport that is similar to racquetball (which is more common here in the US, I think). The game is derived from the older sport of racquets. It was originally called squash racquets as the ball used is very, very squashable and much softer than that used in the parent game.

36. Tool for making precise crosscuts MITER SAW
A miter saw is used to make precise crosscuts in a piece of wood, and to make miter cuts in particular. Back in the day, a piece of wood would be put in a miter box which guided the miter saw so that a precise 45-degree (usually) angle was cut.

37. Salad green ESCAROLE
Escarole is another name for endive, the leaf vegetable. Endive belongs to the chicory genus, and is in the daisy family.

38. No View, No Touch Trap maker D-CON
“d-Con” is a line of rodent control products that has been around for over 50 years.

39. Max Ernst, for one DADAIST
Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

Max Ernst was a painter and sculptor, a pioneer in the Dada movement and Surrealism. Ernst was born near Cologne in Germany in 1891 and he was called up to fight in WWI, as were most young German men at that time. In his autobiography he writes “Max Ernst died the 1st of August, 1914” a statement about his experiences in the war. In reality, Ernst died in 1976 having lived to the ripe old age of 85.

46. Bewitching types HEXERS
“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

50. Pyramid hopper in a 1980s arcade game Q*BERT
Q*bert is an arcade game that was introduced in 1982. It’s the game where a character with a big nose (Q*bert) jumps up and down on cubes arranged in a big pyramid.

56. Almond relative ECRU
The shade called ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

57. Sum, in a different form ERAT
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.

59. Novelist Rita __ Brown MAE
Rita Mae Brown is an American author who is best known for her 1973 novel “Rubyfruit Jungle”.

60. Univ. peer leaders RAS
RAs are resident assistants or resident advisers, the peer leaders found in residence halls, particularly on a college campus.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Its construction created Lake Nasser ASWAN DAM
9. Certify ATTEST
15. “Wuthering Heights” backdrop THE MOORS
16. Want DEARTH
17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as “magic” or “dust” MASS NOUN
18. Made up UNTRUE
19. Heave-hos OUSTERS
20. Word with level or devil SEA
21. Bizarre ODD
22. Snicker follower -SNEE
23. [snicker] HEH!
25. Skyler’s sister on “Breaking Bad” MARIE
27. CPA’s concern TAX LAW
30. Darn things SEW
32. It can be used to make gin SLOE
33. Carolina bisque tinted orange by roe SHE-CRAB SOUP
36. Popular news group MEDIA DARLINGS
39. It can be used to make gin DISCARD PILE
40. Bobby Darin record label ATCO
41. “Shame on thee!” FIE!
42. Weightlifting technique SNATCH
47. Academic administrators DEANS
49. Lofty letterhead abbr. ESQ
51. Tolerated BORE
52. LAX posting ARR
53. Smidge TAD
55. Business, informally BEESWAX
58. Chemical relative ISOMER
60. Act out, say RECREATE
61. Deferential bow SALAAM
62. Ravel, vis-à-vis “Pictures at an Exhibition” ARRANGER
63. Like Miss Marple’s attire TWEEDY
64. Speech disruptions STUTTERS

Down
1. No greater than AT MOST
2. “Entourage” publicist played by Debi Mazar SHAUNA
3. “Far From the Madding Crowd” region WESSEX
4. Brewery bought out by Heineken AMSTEL
5. Zilch NONE
6. Access point DOOR
7. Frantic, perhaps, with “in” A RUSH
8. ISP with a butterfly logo MSN
9. In tandem, musically A DUE
10. Brunch hr. TEN AM
11. Pic on a pec TAT
12. Computer self-diagnostics list ERROR LOG
13. Bookish STUDIOUS
14. Benchley novel THE DEEP
20. Shepherd of “The View” SHERRI
24. Joint risks? ESCAPES
26. LPGA part: Abbr. ASSN
28. One side of the Bering Strait ASIA
29. Berth place WHARF
31. Squash court features WALLS
34. Whirled EDDIED
35. __-aimé: beloved, in French BIEN
36. Tool for making precise crosscuts MITER SAW
37. Salad green ESCAROLE
38. No View, No Touch Trap maker D-CON
39. Max Ernst, for one DADAIST
43. Without ABSENT
44. Tugboat’s fee TOWAGE
45. Evidence of major impact? CRATER
46. Bewitching types HEXERS
48. Farm addition? -STEAD
50. Pyramid hopper in a 1980s arcade game Q*BERT
54. Multitude ARMY
56. Almond relative ECRU
57. Sum, in a different form ERAT
59. Novelist Rita __ Brown MAE
60. Univ. peer leaders RAS

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