Day: February 1, 2015

Frequently Asked Question: Why isn’t the puzzle in my paper the same as the one shown on your blog?
If the puzzle in your paper doesn’t match the one that I solved, it is probably a Sunday crossword. On Sundays, the “LA Times” chooses to publish Merl Reagle’s excellent crossword, and not their own “LA Times” Crossword. The “LA Times” puzzle is still sent out in syndication, and is also published in the “LA Times” online. I’ve been asked to blog about Merl Reagle’s crossword, but frankly I don’t have the time. Sunday puzzles have lots of clues!

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
19. Expressive dance HULA
Hula is the name of the Polynesian dance. The chant or song that the dance illustrates, that’s known as the mele.

20. Taylor of “Six Feet Under” LILI
The actress Lili Taylor had supporting roles in films like “Mystic Pizza”, “The Haunting” and “Rudy”, and she had a recurring role in the HBO series “Six Feet Under”.

“Six Feet Under” is reportedly a great TV drama aired on HBO, one that I fully intend to take a look at one day. The “six feet under” is a reference to the show’s storyline which features a family funeral business.

21. Kind of artery RENAL
“Ren” is the Latin word for “kidney”.

23. David Cameron’s alma mater ETON
The world-famous Eton College is just a brisk walk from Windsor Castle, which itself is just outside London. Eton is noted for producing many British leaders including David Cameron who took power in the last UK general election. The list of Old Etonians also includes Princes William and Harry, the Duke of Wellington, George Orwell, and the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (as well as 007 himself as described in the Fleming novels).

David Cameron is the Prime Minister of the UK, after a cliffhanger of a general election in May of 2010. The Labor Party, led for so many years by Tony Blair, lost the majority of seats in Parliament and the Conservatives emerged with the most seats. The third party, the Liberal Democrats led by Nick Clegg, had enough seats to hold the balance of power. Cameron had to agree to form a coalition government in order to rule, with Nick Clegg holding the office of Deputy Prime Minister.

24. “… the __-coloured ink”: Shak. EBON
The words “I did encounter that obscene and preposterous event, that draweth from my snow-white pen the ebon-coloured ink” are from Shakespeare’s play “Love’s Labour Lost”.

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” is a comedy by William Shakespeare that was first performed in 1597, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth I.

25. Corkers? IRISH
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. Cork has been a major port for many years, and was the last port of call for many, many Irish emigrants to America. When these Irish people reached the US it was common for them to give their point of origin as “Cork”, whereas they may have come from almost anywhere in Ireland. It’s because of this that many descendants of Irish immigrants who had been told they were from a Cork family often find out they were under a misapprehension as their ancestors just sailed from Cork.

31. Oz. sextet TSPS
There are six teaspoons (tsps.) in an ounce (oz.).

33. Blowup: Abbr. ENL
Enlargement (enl.)

34. Mutual respect COMITY
“Comity” is an atmosphere of social harmony and mutual respect. The term derives from the Latin “comitas” meaning “courtesy”.

43. Fundraiser’s call list ALUMS
An “alumnus” (plural … alumni) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural … alumnae). The term comes into English from Latin, in which alumnus means foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or an alumnus.

46. 108-card game UNO
In my youth I remember being taught a great card game, by a German acquaintance of mine, called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that Uno is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.

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

53. Common product in Super Bowl ads BEER
The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, Super Bowl XLV (2011) had an average audience of 111 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.

63. PBS URL ender ORG
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch the election results coming in with the NewsHour team.

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com ) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

64. Blizzard in Birmingham? SNOW FLUKE (from “snowflake”)
A fluke is a chance happening. Getting a blizzard in Birmingham, Alabama would be an example of a fluke.

67. Sault __ Marie STE
Sault Ste. Marie is the name of two cities on either side of the Canada-US border, one in Ontario and the other in Michigan. The two cities were originally one settlement in the 17th century, established by Jesuit Missionaries. The missionaries gave the settlement the name “Sault Sainte Marie”, which can be translated as “Saint Mary’s Falls”. The city was one community until 1817, when a US-UK Joint Boundary Commission set the border along the St. Mary’s River.

72. Faddish gift that has ranged from kittens to crocodiles CHIA PET
Chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. Chia seeds are an excellent food source and are often added to breakfast cereals and energy bars. There is also the famous Chia Pet, an invention of a San Francisco company. Chia Pets are terracotta figurines to which are applied moistened chia seeds. The seeds sprout and the seedlings become the “fur” of the Chia Pet.

76. “Day __”: 1969 Peter, Paul and Mary hit IS DONE
Peter, Paul and Mary were a trio of folk singers who got together in 1961. The group’s members were Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Peter, Paul and Mary’s big hit was 1963’s “Puff, the Magic Dragon”.

77. Motor oil letters SAE
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) sets standards for motor oils, especially with regard to an oil’s viscosity.

89. Colorado-based brewery COORS
Adolph Coors founded the Coors brewing company in 1873, in Golden, Colorado. Coors was originally from the Rhine Province in Prussia, and worked in various brewers around what is today Germany before immigrating to the US in 1868. Despite all of his success as a brewer here in America, Coors ended up taking his own life in 1929, by jumping to his death out of a hotel window.

90. Singer/songwriter Travis TRITT
Travis Tritt is a country singer from Marietta, Georgia.

91. Uses Elmer’s on once more REGLUES
Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

93. “__ Fideles” ADESTE
The lovely hymn “Adeste Fideles” (translated from Latin as “O Come, All Ye Faithful”) was written by one John Francis Wade in the 13th century. Well, he wrote the original four verses, with four more verses being added over time.

97. Quarters ABODE
We use the term “quarters” for a place of abode, especially housing for military personnel. Back in the late 16th century, quarters were a portion (quarter) of a town reserved for a military force.

98. First name in architecture EERO
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect, renowned in this country for his unique designs for public buildings such as Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Dulles International Airport Terminal, and the TWA building at JFK. The list of his lesser-known, but still impressive, works includes several buildings erected on academic campuses. For example, the Chapel and Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus, the Emma Hartman Noyes House at Vassar College, and Yale’s David S. Ingalls Rink.

99. Shack made of aluminum wrap? TIN-FOIL HUT (from “tin-foil hat”)
Someone who is a little paranoid might wear a tin-foil hat, believing that it shields the brain from electromagnetic fields and the risk of mind control and mind reading.

Before thin sheets of aluminum metal was available, thin sheets of tin were used in various application. Tin foil isn’t a great choice for wrapping food though, as it imparts a tinny taste. On the other side of the pond, aluminum foil has a different name. No, it’s not just the different spelling of aluminum (“aluminium”). We still call it “tin foil”. You see, we live in the past …

102. Cowardly lion, once? YELLOW CUB (from “Yellow Cab”)
The original Yellow Cab Company is located in Chicago, and was founded back in 1914.

108. Weeper of myth NIOBE
In Greek mythology, when her children were killed, Niobe fled to Mt. Sipylus where she was turned into stone and wept for eternity. There is in fact a Niobe’s Rock on Mt. Sipylus that resembles a female face, and so is known as “The Weeping Rock”.

110. Raid discovery KILO
A raid by a law enforcement agency might result in the discovery of kilos of illegal drugs.

111. Tough tissue SINEW
Sinew is another name for a tendon. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

112. “The Chew” co-host Hall CARLA
Carla Hall is a chef. She is one of the co-hosts on the ABC talk show “The Chew”, which discusses food.

113. Confirmation, e.g. RITE
In some Christian traditions, Confirmation is a rite of initiation.

114. Peak near Messina ETNA
Mt. Etna is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy. Mt Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius.

Messina is a port, and the third largest city on the Italian island of Sicily. The city’s natural harbor has a curved shape like that of a scythe. When founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, the settlements first name was “Zancle”, from the Greek word for “scythe”.

Down
2. Modern prefix with fill AUTO-
Autofill is a computer function in which some fields of a form are filled out automatically, usually with previously configured information.

4. Punter’s statistic HANG TIME
“Hang time” is the duration that an athlete stays in the air, perhaps when making a slam dunk in basketball. The term is also used for the time that a ball stays in the air, particularly referring to a football that has been kicked.

6. 1970 Poitier title role TIBBS
“In the Heat of the Night” is a 1967 film based on a 1965 novel of the same name by John Ball. Both tell the story of an African American detective from Philadelphia was gets involved in a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. The Oscar-winning film stars Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. The most famous line in the movie is “They call me MISTER Tibbs!” This line was used as the title of a 1970 sequel, with Sidney Poitier reprising his role of police detective Virgil Tibbs.

7. Baseball family name ALOU
Jesus Alou played major league baseball, as did his brothers Matty and Felipe, and as does Felipe’s son Moises.

8. Microsoft search engine BING
Bing is the search engine from Microsoft. Bing is the latest name for an engine that Microsoft used to call Live Search, Windows Live Search and MSN Search.

11. Subway selection ONIONS
The SUBWAY chain of fast food restaurants is the largest single-brand restaurant in the world. I’m a big fan of SUBWAY sandwiches …

13. Inclusive school acronym ELHI
“Elhi” is an informal word used to describe anything related to schooling from grades 1 through 12, i.e. elementary through high school.

14. Where to find stories on Friday? DRAGNET
“Dragnet” was a very successful police drama that developed into quite a franchise. The show started out on radio in 1949, and then also ran on television from 1952. There were even a couple of movies. Star of the show, and the producer, was Jack Webb who played Sgt. Joe Friday.

16. Son of Isaac ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

30. Fresh bean sprout? NEW IDEA
A slang term for a “head” might be “bean” or “noggin”.

34. Caravan mount CAMEL
“Caravan” derives from the Persian “karwan”, a word for a group of desert travelers. Over in the British Isles, “caravan” is the name we give to travel trailers.

35. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony OLIVA
Tony Oliva is a former Major League baseball player who played his whole career for the Minnesota Twins.

38. Washington’s Sea-__ Airport TAC
Sea-Tac Airport is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

39. Rhine tributary AAR
The Aar (also called the “Aare” in German) is the longest river entirely in Switzerland. A famous spot along the Aar is the Reichenbach Falls in the center of the country, actually a series of waterfalls near the city of Meiringen. These falls are renowned in the world of literature as it was here that Sherlock Holmes fell to his supposed doom with his nemesis Professor Moriarty (in “The Adventure of the Final Problem”).

42. Apple polisher TOADY
An “apple polisher” is a sycophant, a toady, a servile flatterer. The term arose in the 1920s as student slang.

49. Virus in 2014 news EBOLA
The Ebola virus causes a very nasty form of hemorrhagic fever. The name of the virus comes from the site of the first known outbreak, in a mission hospital in the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

50. __ d’Alene COEUR
The city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is named for the Coeur d’Alene People, Native Americans who lived in the area when it was first explored by French Canadian fur traders. “Coeur d’Alene” translates from French as “heart of an awl”. The Native American people were given this name as they were perceived as shrewd traders by their Canadian counterparts.

51. Angiogram image AORTA
An angiogram is an x-ray (usually) image taken of the circulatory system, often enhanced by the introduction of a radio-opaque “dye” into the bloodstream.

58. Carefully controlled refrigerant FREON
Freon is a DuPont trade name for a group of compounds used as a refrigerant and also as a propellant in aerosols. Freon is used in the compressors of air conditioners as a vital component in the air-cooling mechanism. Freon used to contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which had a devastating effect on the Earth’s ozone layer. Use of CFCs is now banned, or at least severely restricted.

59. First name in late-night CONAN
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”.

61. Bears’ org. NFC
National Football Conference (NFC)

The Chicago Bears were founded in Decatur, Illinois in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. The Bears are one of only two franchises in the NFL that were around at the time of the NFL’s founding (the other is the Arizona Cardinals, who were also based in Chicago in 1921).

66. Linen shades ECRUS
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”.

69. Rhone tributary ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.

70. Los Angeles-based ISP NETZERO
NetZero was launched in 1998 and was the first free Internet Service Provider (ISP). NetZero’s idea was to provide targeted advertising to users, based on what users liked to view online. It’s a little like Google’s business model, providing advertising based on Internet surfing patterns.

74. Author Wharton EDITH
Edith Wharton was a novelist and designer from New York City. Wharton was a wealthy woman and built her own estate in Lenox, Massachusetts called the Mount. My wife and I had the privilege of touring the Mount a few years ago, and there we saw evidence of what design meant to Wharton.

84. Bloodhound asset NOSE
Bloodhounds have an amazing sense of smell, and are particularly bred to track humans. Bloodhounds have been used to follow humans since the Middle Ages.

88. Dating concerns for teens CURFEWS
Our word “curfew” comes from an Old French word meaning “cover fire”. In medieval days a bell would be ring in the evenings as a signal to bank the hearths in preparation for sleeping. The intent was to prevent uncontrolled fires starting from fireplaces that were not tended during the night.

90. Turf maintenance brand TORO
Toro is a manufacturer of mainly lawn mowers and snow removal equipment based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The company was started in 1914 to build tractor engines.

97. Rap sheet entry ALIAS
A rap sheet is a criminal record. “Rap” is a slang term dating back to the 1700s that means “blame, responsibility” as in “to take the rap” and “to beat the rap”. This usage morphed into “rap sheet” in the early 1900s.

98. Type smaller than pica ELITE
Elite is a type design that was created by Aldo Novarese in 1968.

100. Macbeth’s burial site IONA
Although the small island of Iona lies just off the west coast of Scotland, it was the site of a monastery built in the Middle Ages by a monk from Ireland names Colm Cille (also known as Columba). Colm Cille and his followers were sent into exile from the Irish mainland and settled in Iona, as at that time the island was part of an Irish kingdom. This monastery in Iona expanded its influence over the decades and founded other institutions all over Ireland and Great Britain. It is believed that the famous Book of Kells may have been written, or at least started, at the monastery on Iona. Iona is also the burial site for Macbeth, King of Scotland who was immortalized in Shakespeare’s fictional account of the king’s life.

101. Worshipper of the sun god Inti INCA
Inti was the sun god worshiped by the Incas. Images depicting Inti are featured on the national flags of several nations, including Argentina and Uruguay.

103. Lackawanna’s lake ERIE
Lackawanna is a city in New York State, located on Lake Erie. Lackawanna was in the news relatively recently with the arrest of the “Lackawanna Six” in 2002. The group of six Lackawanna residents were found guilty of providing “material support” to Al-Qaida.

105. Prismatic bone ULNA
The bone in the arm called the ulna is prismatic in shape, meaning that it is less like a cylinder than it is a prism, having flat sides that are parallel to each other.

107. Season opener? ESS
The opening letter in the word “season” is the letter S (ess).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Item worn diagonally SASH
5. Guess STAB
9. Suffix with techno- -PHOBE
14. Hate the thought of DREAD
19. Expressive dance HULA
20. Taylor of “Six Feet Under” LILI
21. Kind of artery RENAL
22. Out of practice RUSTY
23. David Cameron’s alma mater ETON
24. “… the __-coloured ink”: Shak. EBON
25. Corkers? IRISH
26. Taper off ABATE
27. Flea? DOGGIE BUG (from “doggie bag”)
29. Sign of a barbecuer’s inattention? SMOKING BUN (from “smoking ban”)
31. Oz. sextet TSPS
32. Signs up JOINS
33. Blowup: Abbr. ENL
34. Mutual respect COMITY
37. Action film staples STUNTS
39. Ever so slightly A WEE BIT
43. Fundraiser’s call list ALUMS
44. Geometry subject PLANE
45. Manner of moving GAIT
46. 108-card game UNO
47. Wide margin MILE
48. Most miles logged in a pickup, say? TRUCK RECORD (from “track record”)
51. “Breaking Bad” Emmy winner Gunn ANNA
52. Calendrical brink EVE
53. Common product in Super Bowl ads BEER
54. Fluffy accessory BOA
55. Brought out EVOKED
57. Blood work charges LAB FEES
59. Ones that tip a lot CANOES
62. Hang on the line AIR DRY
63. PBS URL ender ORG
64. Blizzard in Birmingham? SNOW FLUKE (from “snowflake”)
67. Sault __ Marie STE
68. Enjoy a home-cooked meal DINE IN
71. Garage capacity ONE CAR
72. Faddish gift that has ranged from kittens to crocodiles CHIA PET
76. “Day __”: 1969 Peter, Paul and Mary hit IS DONE
77. Motor oil letters SAE
78. Dull thing to be in A RUT
79. Flowery tribute ODE
80. Blood line VEIN
81. Vessel that inspires ideas? THINKING CUP (from “thinking cap”)
86. Warts and all AS IS
87. Follower of directions? -ERN
88. Industry mogul CZAR
89. Colorado-based brewery COORS
90. Singer/songwriter Travis TRITT
91. Uses Elmer’s on once more REGLUES
93. “__ Fideles” ADESTE
95. Laudable WORTHY
96. Play the wrong golf ball, say ERR
97. Quarters ABODE
98. First name in architecture EERO
99. Shack made of aluminum wrap? TIN-FOIL HUT (from “tin-foil hat”)
102. Cowardly lion, once? YELLOW CUB (from “Yellow Cab”)
107. Break down slowly ERODE
108. Weeper of myth NIOBE
109. Like Arizona’s typical climate ARID
110. Raid discovery KILO
111. Tough tissue SINEW
112. “The Chew” co-host Hall CARLA
113. Confirmation, e.g. RITE
114. Peak near Messina ETNA
115. Nautical poles SPARS
116. Long-eared equines ASSES
117. Safe document DEED
118. Fiscal __ YEAR

Down
1. Storage spot SHED
2. Modern prefix with fill AUTO-
3. Trudge SLOG
4. Punter’s statistic HANG TIME
5. Yawning, perhaps SLEEPY
6. 1970 Poitier title role TIBBS
7. Baseball family name ALOU
8. Microsoft search engine BING
9. Cell user PRISONER
10. Recluse HERMIT
11. Subway selection ONIONS
12. Enjoys the sun BASKS
13. Inclusive school acronym ELHI
14. Where to find stories on Friday? DRAGNET
15. Debris RUBBLE
16. Son of Isaac ESAU
17. Mail-routing abbr. ATTN
18. Salon supply DYE
28. Followers’ suffix -ISTS
30. Fresh bean sprout? NEW IDEA
32. Basement buildup JUNK
34. Caravan mount CAMEL
35. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony OLIVA
36. Prospector’s close attachment to his helper? MULE BONDING (from “male bonding”)
37. Speak indistinctly SLUR
38. Washington’s Sea-__ Airport TAC
39. Rhine tributary AAR
40. Reservation for an upper berth? BUNK DEPOSIT (from “bank deposit”)
41. Word with circle or city INNER
42. Apple polisher TOADY
44. Defensive hoops tactic PRESS
45. “__ your father” GO ASK
48. Driving need? TEE
49. Virus in 2014 news EBOLA
50. __ d’Alene COEUR
51. Angiogram image AORTA
53. Initiate BEGIN
56. Call on VISIT
58. Carefully controlled refrigerant FREON
59. First name in late-night CONAN
60. Every seven days A WEEK
61. Bears’ org. NFC
65. Respectful reply NO, SIR
66. Linen shades ECRUS
68. Salvage crew member DIVER
69. Rhone tributary ISERE
70. Los Angeles-based ISP NETZERO
73. Military drill syllable HUP
74. Author Wharton EDITH
75. In a mood TESTY
78. Farm fraction ACRE
82. Is down with HAS
83. Pitchers may hold them ICED TEAS
84. Bloodhound asset NOSE
85. Came down with GOT
86. Scrolling convenience ARROW KEY
88. Dating concerns for teens CURFEWS
90. Turf maintenance brand TORO
92. Library, e.g. LENDER
93. Detests ABHORS
94. Bar order DOUBLE
95. Like many metal joints WELDED
97. Rap sheet entry ALIAS
98. Type smaller than pica ELITE
99. Fool, with “up” TRIP
100. Macbeth’s burial site IONA
101. Worshipper of the sun god Inti INCA
102. School attachment? – YARD
103. Lackawanna’s lake ERIE
104. Make mention of CITE
105. Prismatic bone ULNA
106. Animal that doesn’t sound very interesting BOAR
107. Season opener? ESS

Return to top of page