LA Times Crossword Answers 10 Jan 15, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Alan DerKazarian
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 20m 16s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 3 … LOESS (loest!!), PENNSYLTUCKY (Pennsyltacky!!), SUN HELMETS (tan helmets)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

10. Montreal Protocol concerns CFCS
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the propellants that were once used in aerosols. CFCs make their way up into the ozone layer and trigger a chain reaction that converts ozone (O3) into regular oxygen (O2). That conversion creates “holes” in the ozone layer. Regular O2 is good stuff, but we need O3 to absorb harmful UV radiation raining down on us. CFC is not good stuff …

The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to phase out production of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The protocol is actually a great example of international cooperation actually achieving something. The ozone hole over Antarctica is recovering and the levels of ozone are expected to return to 1980 levels in fifity years or so.

14. “Men in Trees” star HECHE
My favorite movie starring the actress Anne Heche is “Six Days Seven Nights”, a romantic comedy in which she plays opposite Harrison Ford. Heche is noted for her difficult private life. She wrote that her father had molested her as a child and gave her a sexually transmitted disease (he later revealed that he was homosexual, and died of AIDS). Heche dated comedian Steve Martin for two years, and then lived with comedian Ellen DeGeneres for three. Soon after breaking up with DeGeneres, she started exhibiting eccentric behavior for a while, claiming that she was the daughter of God, and that she would take everyone back to heaven in her spaceship. Happily, I think things have calmed down for her in recent years.

“Men in Trees” is a comedy-drama show starring Anne Heche. I haven’t seen the show, but it sounds like “Sex and the City” meets “Northern Exposure”. It’s about a relationship coach and author (Heche) from New York who is starting a new life in a fictional Alaska town.

15. Roadside chain, for short HOJO
The Howard Johnson (sometimes “HoJo”) chain of hotels and restaurants was the largest restaurant chain in the US in the sixties and seventies. There are only two HoJo restaurants left now. One is in Bangor, Maine and the other is in Lake Placid, New York. I just realized that I’ve been in both those restaurants …

17. Sean who played Samwise Gamgee ASTIN
Sean Astin is best known for playing the title role in the 1993 film “Rudy” and the character Samwise Gamgee in the “Lord of the Rings” movies. You might also have seen him playing Lynn McGill in the 5th season of “24”. Astin is the son of actress Patty Duke.

18. Dash ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours i.e “style” or “flair”.

19. Arum family tuber TARO
The corm of some taro plants is used to make poi, the traditional Hawaiian dish (that I think tastes horrible). When a taro plant is grown as an ornamental, it is often called Elephant Ears due to the shape of its large leaves.

Arum is a genus of flowering plant native to eastern North America. Arums can be nasty plants though as some contain oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a compound that can be very painful if ingested and can even cause death if taken in sufficient quantities.

20. Egyptian menace ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

21. Quantum theory pioneer MAX PLANCK
Max Planck was a theoretical physicist from Germany who developed quantum theory. Planck won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.

There has always been a conflict between the theory of relativity and quantum theory. Basically, the theory of relativity works for “big stuff” but breaks down when applied to minute things like subatomic particles. On the other hand, quantum theory was developed to explain behavior at the subatomic level, and just doesn’t work on the larger scale. One of the reasons physicists are so excited about string theory is that it works at the macro and micro levels. According to string theory, all particles in the universe are really little “strings”, as opposed to the points or ball-shaped entities assumed by the other theories.

23. Glides SASHAYS
To “sashay” is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

26. Heart part? COCKLE
The word “cockle” can be used for a chamber in a kiln. By extension, the “cockles of the heart” are the four chambers of the heart. When something “warms the cockles of the heart”, it makes the heart beat faster and makes us feel good.

27. Texter’s “… but that may just be me” IMO
IMO In my opinion (IMO)

28. Fertile deposit LOESS
Loess is a wind-blown accumulation of silt. “Loess” is German in origin and was first used to describe silt along the Rhine Valley.

31. Elizabeth of “Martha Marcy May Marlene” OLSEN

“Martha Marcy May Marlene” is a well-received 2011 thriller movie about a young woman suffering from paranoia who returns to her abusive family in the Catskill Mountains. Elizabeth Olsen plays the title role.

Elizabeth Olsen is an actress and singer, and the younger sister of the famed Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley.

32. Facetious Appalachian portmanteau PENNSYLTUCKY
The rural part of Pennsylvania is sometimes referred to as “Pennsyltucky”, a portmanteau of “Pennsylvania” and “Kentucky”. An alternative term for the same area is “the T”, a reference to the shape of rural Pennsylvania outside of the big cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I reckon “the T” is probably a more acceptable term than “Pennsyltucky” …

35. Old blade SNEE
“Snick or snee” is the name given to cut and thrust while fighting with a knife. The phrase is rooted in a pair of Dutch words and it gave its name to a “snee”, a light sword-like knife.

36. Like some grazers OVINE
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine”, meaning “like a sheep”.

37. Span. girl SRTA
Señorita (Srta.) is Spanish and mademoiselle (Mlle.) is French for “Miss”.

41. Smart alecks WISENHEIMERS
A smart Alec or wise guy might be called “Wisenheimer”. The term is mock German or Yiddish and dates back to the very early 1900s.

Apparently the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

47. Inscribed marker STELA
Stelae (singular “stele” or “stela”) were used all over the world, sometimes as territorial markers and sometimes to commemorate military victories. In later times stelae were commonly erected as commemorative markers in graveyards or other religious sites.

48. High-tech worker BOT
A bot is computer program that is designed to imitate human behavior. It might “crawl” around the Web doing searches for example, or it might participate in discussions in chat rooms by giving pre-programmed responses.

53. Rare pro golf feat GRAND SLAM
The grand slam of men’s golf is the winning of the four major golf competitions:

– the Masters Tournament
– the US Open
– the Open Championship (aka “the British Open”)
– the PGA Championship

56. Daughter of Loki HEL
Hel is a being from Norse Mythology who presides over a realm that is also called Hel. The underworld of Hel receives many of the dead, and the term “go to Hel” is used in Norse accounts to mean “to die”.

Loki is a god appearing in Norse mythology. In one story about Loki, he was punished by other gods for having caused the death of Baldr, the god of light and beauty. Loki is bound to a sharp rock using the entrails of one of his sons. A serpent drips venom which is collected in a bowl, and then his wife must empty the venom onto Loki when the bowl is full. The venom causes Loki great pain, and his writhing results in what we poor mortals experience as earthquakes.

57. “We Three Kings” kings MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, magi is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born.

The Christmas carol “We Three Kings” is a favorite of mine. The carol was written in 1857 by the rector of an Episcopal church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania called John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Hopkins composed “We Three Kings” for a Christmas pageant in New York City.

58. Joining device YOKE
A yoke is that wooden beam used between a pair of oxen so that they are forced to work together.

62. Desierto’s lack AGUA
In Spanish, a desert (un desierto) lacks water (agua).

63. Ravel’s “Gaspard de la __” NUIT
“Gaspard de la nuit” is a suite of three solo piano pieces written in 1908 by French composer Maurice Ravel. The final “Scarbo” movement of the work is considered to be one of the hardest pieces to play in the whole piano repertoire.

64. Nice book LIVRE
“Livre” is a French word meaning “book”.

The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera.

65. Treated SEEN
The doctor has treated you, has seen you …

66. Mdse. containers CTNS
Merchandise (mdse.) often comes in cartons (ctns.).

Down
1. Chinese tea CHA
“Cha” is a Chinese word for “tea”.

2. Nessman of WKRP LES
Les Nessman is a character in the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinatti”. Nessman is the shy balding guy who always wears a bow tie.

The sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” was produced by MTM, the production company established by Mary Tyler Moore and her husband for the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. “WKRP” was a successful enough show when it originally aired, but then became a blockbuster in syndication. It became MTM’s most-watched program, even outstripping the original “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”.

4. Turkish skewer SHISH
The name “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

6. “… forswear thin potations and to addict __ to sack”: Falstaff THEMSELVES
“…forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack” is a line from William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part II”. It can be rewritten in more contemporary English as “… avoid weak drinks, and get themselves addicted to wine.”

7. Havana “How do” HOLA
“Hola” is Spanish for the greeting “hi”.

8. Trojan War hero AJAX
Ajax was a figure in Greek mythology, and was the cousin of Achilles. Ajaz is an important figure in Homer’s “Iliad”. According to Homer, Ajax was chosen by lot to meet Hector in an epic duel that lasted a whole day. The duel ended in a draw.

9. Like some rude jokes, briefly NON-PC
Non-politically correct (non-PC)

11. Cookout fare FRANKS
What we call a wiener in this country is known as a Vienna sausage in Germany. It was first produced by a butcher from Frankfurt who was living in Vienna, hence the name “Wiener”, which is German for “of Vienna”. Paradoxically, the same sausage is called a Frankfurter in Vienna, as it was created by someone from Frankfurt. It’s all very confusing …

30. Safari coverings SUN HELMETS
“Safari” is a Swahili word, meaning “journey” or “expedition”.

33. Kind of telescope NEWTONIAN
A Newtonian telescope is a reflecting telescope. Light enters from one end and is focused by a concave mirror. A flat mirror reflects the light into the eye. Sir Isaac Newton made the world’s first reflecting telescope in 1668.

34. Songwriter Green CEELO
CeeLo Green is the stage name of rapper Thomas DeCarlo Callaway. Apparently Green is one of the coaches for the contestants on the singing TV show “The Voice”. That’s all I need to know …

38. 1991 “Favorite Album – Country” American Music Award winner REBA LIVE
“Reb Live” is a the only live album to have been released by country music singer Reba McEntire. It was recorded in 1989 at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California.

39. 1970 sci-fi film starring Joan Crawford in her last big-screen performance TROG
“Trog” is a 1970 sci-fi/horror film that is perhaps only remembered as Joan Crawford’s last appearance in a movie. It seems that Crawford agreed to do the film as producer Herman Cohen was a good friend. The “Trog” in the title is a living troglodyte.

“Troglodyte” is a Greek word that translates literally as “one who creeps into holes”. We use it to mean “a caveman”.

43. 1998 “King Lear” Olivier Award winner IAN HOLM
English actor Sir Ian Holm is very respected on the stage in the UK, but is better known for his film roles here in the US. Holm played the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in two of the “Lord of the Rings” movies, and he also played the character who turns out be an android in the film “Alien”.

44. Doctrines DOGMAS
A dogma is a set of beliefs, with the plural being “dogmata” (or “dogmas”, if you’re not a pedant like me!)

50. “This I Promise You” band NSYNC
NSYNC was a boy band from Orlando, Florida that was formed in 1995. The name of the group came from a comment by the mother of band member Justin Timberlake, who said the boys voices sounded “in sync”. But, it’s also true that the letters of the name NSYNC are the last letters of the given names of the five band members:

– Justin Timberlake
– Chris Kirkpatrick
– Joey Fatone
– Lance “Lansten” Bass
– JC Chasez

52. Bottled-up type? GENIE
The “genie” in the bottle takes his or her name from “djinn”. “Djinns” were various spirits considered lesser than angels, with people exhibiting unsavory characteristics said to be possessed by djinn. When the book “The Thousand and One Nights” was translated into French, the word “djinn” was transformed into the existing word “génie”, because of the similarity in sound and the related spiritual meaning. This “génie” from the Arabian tale became confused with the Latin-derived “genius”, a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. Purely as a result of that mistranslation the word genie has come to mean the “djinn” that pops out of the bottle. A little hard to follow, I know, but still quite interesting …

60. Scrap for Fido ORT
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

61. Video game letters NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was sold in North America from 1985 to to 1995. The NES was the biggest selling gaming console of the era.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Handhold CLASP
6. Part of a comparison THAN
10. Montreal Protocol concerns CFCS
14. “Men in Trees” star HECHE
15. Roadside chain, for short HOJO
16. Take __ at: try to wallop A RIP
17. Sean who played Samwise Gamgee ASTIN
18. Dash ELAN
19. Arum family tuber TARO
20. Egyptian menace ASP
21. Quantum theory pioneer MAX PLANCK
23. Glides SASHAYS
26. Heart part? COCKLE
27. Texter’s “… but that may just be me” IMO
28. Fertile deposit LOESS
31. Elizabeth of “Martha Marcy May Marlene” OLSEN
32. Facetious Appalachian portmanteau PENNSYLTUCKY
35. Old blade SNEE
36. Like some grazers OVINE
37. Span. girl SRTA
41. Smart alecks WISENHEIMERS
44. Complexity DEPTH
47. Inscribed marker STELA
48. High-tech worker BOT
49. Taken out, in a way ON LOAN
51. Back in the day LONG AGO
53. Rare pro golf feat GRAND SLAM
56. Daughter of Loki HEL
57. “We Three Kings” kings MAGI
58. Joining device YOKE
59. Ring material ONION
62. Desierto’s lack AGUA
63. Ravel’s “Gaspard de la __” NUIT
64. Nice book LIVRE
65. Treated SEEN
66. Mdse. containers CTNS
67. Pool events MEETS

Down
1. Chinese tea CHA
2. Nessman of WKRP LES
3. Be a team ACT AS ONE
4. Turkish skewer SHISH
5. Friends you may never see PENPALS
6. “… forswear thin potations and to addict __ to sack”: Falstaff THEMSELVES
7. Havana “How do” HOLA
8. Trojan War hero AJAX
9. Like some rude jokes, briefly NON-PC
10. Disaster CATACLYSM
11. Cookout fare FRANKS
12. Wait to land, perhaps CIRCLE
13. Reserved, with “for” SPOKEN
22. Style LOOK
23. Takes it slow, in a way SIPS
24. “Yes!” AMEN!
25. Chuckleheads YO-YOS
29. Hitch STINT
30. Safari coverings SUN HELMETS
33. Kind of telescope NEWTONIAN
34. Songwriter Green CEELO
38. 1991 “Favorite Album – Country” American Music Award winner REBA LIVE
39. 1970 sci-fi film starring Joan Crawford in her last big-screen performance TROG
40. Regarding AS TO
42. Start of a favorite-meal reminiscence I HAD …
43. 1998 “King Lear” Olivier Award winner IAN HOLM
44. Doctrines DOGMAS
45. Anger ENRAGE
46. Harass PLAGUE
50. “This I Promise You” band NSYNC
52. Bottled-up type? GENIE
54. Boor LOUT
55. Similar AKIN
60. Scrap for Fido ORT
61. Video game letters NES

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11 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 10 Jan 15, Saturday”

  1. Too hard for me. Too many actors/movies/albums etc that I simply did not know. However, a puzzle having WISENHEIMERS and ONION for "ring material" can't be all bad. Google and I eventually finished the puzzle.

    Max Planck doesn't get nearly the credit that Einstein does, but he really should. Planck's constant established the relationship between the energy and frequency of a wave and its associated "particle", a photon. It established the quantum of action proportionality constant that takes place at subatomic levels – meaning even motion and electromagnetic charges are quanta and can only occur in certain quantities. Quantities in between are not possible. It was all amazingly breakthrough stuff when he came up with it, and absolutely counter-intuitive to what we see on a macro level every day. Phenomenal (pun intended) stuff.

    As Richard Feynman said – "Physics is like sex – sure it produces some practical results, but that's not why we do it…"

  2. I finished with a couple of errors in the SE corner.

    The debate over the GRANDSLAM in men's golf will never die. Technically, its winning the Mastersm U.S. Open, Open, and PGA in the same season, which has never been done. Eldrick held all 4 titles at once, over 2 different seasons. Bobby Jones played before the Masters was invented (he invented it after he built Augusta).

    And I agree on SUNHELMET. If it's so darn hot on a safari, why would you wear any kind of helmet? How about just a hat? I also don't get what's "facetious" about 32A. Oh, well.

  3. Also missed Pennsyltucky (had a "t" instead of a "p" to start it which meant I had "sit" instead of "sip" for 23 Down "Takes it slow in a way").

    My high school Spanish kept me from getting "Reba Live" for 43 Down because I put in "libre" instead of "livre" for 64 Across! Doh!

    Fun, but hard Saturday puzzle.

  4. How about a DUN HELMET to blend into the background? Had me fooled for a while. Then tried TAN because
    "facetious" clue had me stuck on PENNSYLTACKY since I didn't find PENNSYLTUCKY amusing nor wry.

    Something tickled the recesses of my brain for LOESS, but I made same errors as Bill there, so I don't feel so dumb. Thanks Bill for not being infallible!

    Same with STELA, took long time, thought stone first, then stile or stele. Aha when IAN HOLM came in.

    "Take A RIP at" is not in my vocabulary, I feel ripped off:)

    I miss Barry Silk, even though his always take me forever (so did this one).
    This was tough & somewhat unsatisfying for me with too many names and too few "aah!clever!" moments.

    I remember having fried clams at a HoJo's about 35 years ago, somewhere scenic between New York and Montreal. They were delicious! First and only time for HoJo. Too bad they're on the endangered list.

    Thanks Bill for your wikies & googlies, saves me the trouble!
    Faithful lurker

  5. I actually knew the answer to 39 down. 🙂 But pretty much nothing else. 🙁 Forced my way through about 1/3 of it then gave up and came here.

  6. Hi Bill and all of you solvers!
    Had Wisenheimers, Clasp, and a lot of wrong answers that led to nowhere.
    Not enough time today to spend staring at the grid. Gave up and went to Mensa and red letters.
    Thanks to all of our regular contributors and mtnwest for staying with us and a special "Welcome!" to Anita!
    You reminded me of my East coast days…fried clams, Lobstah rolls, great pizza and Philly cheese steak subs!!!!
    SoCal is NOT East coast. (sigh)

  7. Howard Johnson's on Long Island: fish fry every Wednesday for dinner, all you can eat. They had waitresses in uniforms pushing the carts through the restaurant like flight attendants with all the fish fry and sides on the carts. It was like $2.99 per person!

  8. Yikes! I got nowhere fast with this puzzle. Cheated my way through. I agree: no such thing as SUN HELMETS. What bothered me more, however, was the clumsy abbreviation CTNS.
    Now I am craving fried clams and cheese steak. That's what I like about this group — you all help take my mind off a cataclysmic grid :-
    Til Monday!

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