LA Times Crossword Answers 24 Aug 2017, Thursday










Constructed by: Peg Slay

Edited by: Rich Norris

Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

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Theme: Indoors

Today’s answers all lie WITHIN DOORS, in that the answers around the border of the grid are all DOORS:

  • 38A. Not alfresco, and what this puzzle is vis-à-vis its border answers : INDOORS and IN DOORS
  • 1A. Support financially : BACK (door)
  • 5A. Hurricane, e.g. : STORM (door)
  • 10A. Drainpipe section : TRAP (door)
  • 66A. Caboose place : REAR (door)
  • 67A. Broadway platform : STAGE (door)
  • 68A. Fries, for instance : SIDE (door)
  • 1D. Silo neighbor : BARN (door)
  • 13D. Kennel guest : PET (door)
  • 28D. Pita feature : POCKET (door)
  • 29D. Tech company’s origin, perhaps : GARAGE (door)
  • 57D. Cause for alarm : FIRE (door)
  • 58D. Honda or Hyundai : CAR (door)

Bill’s time: 7m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Hurricane, e.g. : STORM (door)

Hurricanes are given names primarily to help the public keep track of dangerous systems. The names are decided ahead of the hurricane season, with the first system given a name beginning with A, the second, B etc. The names are alternated between male and female names throughout the season. Also, if the first storm of the season is male, then the following year a female name is chosen. For hurricanes in the North Atlantic, names are assigned for every letter, except Q, U, X, Y and Z. The most frequently used name is Arlene, which was used for ten different storms from 1959 to 2011.

10. Drainpipe section : TRAP (door)

Most sinks in a home have a P trap in the outlet pipe that empties into the sewer line. This P trap has at its heart a U-bend that retains a small amount of water after the sink is emptied. This plug of water serves as a seal to prevent sewer gases entering into the home. By virtue of its design, the U-bend can also capture any heavy objects (like an item of jewelry) that might fall through the plughole. But the “trapping” of fallen objects is secondary to the P trap’s main function of trapping sewer gases.

15. Medicare component : PART A

Medicare is divided into four parts:

  • A: Hospital Insurance
  • B: Medical Insurance
  • C: Medicare Advantage Plans
  • D: Prescription Drug Plans

20. Word on really bright Crayolas : NEON

In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the “Crayola Color Census 2000” in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.

21. Jazz great Montgomery : WES

Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist from Indianapolis.

22. Helen Reddy’s “__ Woman” : I AM

The successful singer Helen Reddy was born in Melbourne, Australia. In 1966, Reddy won a talent contest, and earned herself a trip to New York City for an audition. The 25-year-old single mother decided to stay in the US, and a few years later was able to launch a successful singing career. Her hit song “I Am Woman”, released in 1972, was the first recording by an Australian artist to reach #1 in the US charts.

23. Commentary page : OP-ED

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

34. Comic Johnson : ARTE

Arte Johnson, as well being a frequent judge on “The Gong Show”, played the German soldier on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. Johnson’s character’s famous catchphrase was, “Very interesting, but …”

36. Big __ : MAC

The iconic Big Mac sandwich was introduced nationally by McDonald’s in 1967. It was the creation of a Pittsburgh franchisee who offered it on the menu as a response to the very similar “Big Boy” sandwich offered by the competing Big Boy restaurant chain.

38. Not alfresco, and what this puzzle is vis-à-vis its border answers : INDOORS and IN DOORS

Our word “alfresco” means outdoors, in the fresh air. The term derives from the Italian “al fresco”, which translates as “in the fresh (air)”.

We can use the French phrase “vis-à-vis” as a preposition meaning “compared with”. When used as an adverb or adjective, it means “face-to-face”, which is a more literal translation from French.

41. Craft built in the 2014 film “Noah” : ARK

The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

The 2014 epic film “Noah” stars Russell Crowe in the title role, and is based on the biblical story of “Noah’s Ark”. The film was largely shot in Southern Iceland. Scenes that included the ark itself were shot in Upper Brookville, New York at the Planting Fields Arboretum.

43. Yemeni seaport : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

49. Vampire’s bed? : CASKET

Legends about vampires were particularly common in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans in particular. The superstition was that vampires could be killed using a wooden stake, with the preferred type of wood varying from place to place. Superstition also defined where in the body should be staked. Most often, the stake was driven through the heart, but Russians and northern Germans went for the mouth, and northeastern Serbs for the stomach.

50. Painter Manet : EDOUARD

Édouard Manet was a French painter whose works are mainly classified as Realist. Manet was friends with Impressionists masters like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and greatly influenced the Impressionist movement. The list of Manet’s marvelous paintings includes “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”, “Le Repose” and “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”.

52. Commuter org. in the Loop : CTA

The historic commercial center of Chicago is known as the Loop. One theory is that the “loop” got its name from the cable loops in the city’s old cable car system.

53. __ Butterworth : MRS

Mrs. Butterworth is a brand of syrups and pancake mixes.

54. “Wild Blue Yonder” mil. group : USAF

The official song of the US Air Force (USAF) is entitled “The US Air Force”, and was written in 1938 by Robert MacArthur Crawford. The original title was “Army Air Corps”, and this was changed to “Army Air Force” during WWII when the service changed its name. The current title was adopted in 1947, when the USAF became a separate service. Regardless of the official name, the song is commonly referred to as “Wild Blue Yonder”.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder
At ’em boys, Give ‘er the gun!
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

58. Waterway between the major islands of New Zealand : COOK STRAIT

Cook Strait is the narrow waterway between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The South Pacific Ocean lies to the north of the strait, and the Tasman Sea lies to the south. It is named for British explorer James Cook, who in 1769 was in command of the first European vessel to pass through.

63. Green Gables heroine : ANNE

“Anne of Green Gables” is a 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery that she set in the fictional Prince Edward Island community of Avonlea. Montgomery wrote several sequels to “Anne”, with them all being set on Prince Edward Island (PEI), from where the author hailed.

64. Boardroom prop : EASEL

The word “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey” would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

65. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER

Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

66. Caboose place : REAR (door)

The word “caboose” originally came from Middle Dutch and was the word for a ship’s galley. When the last car in a train in North America was given a stove for the comfort of the crew, it took on the name “caboose”. The term has also become slang for a person’s backside.

Down

1. Silo neighbor : BARN (door)

“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English, originally coming from the Greek word “siros” that described a pit in which one kept corn.

2. Toward protection, at sea : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather.

3. Great Sand Dunes National Park st. : COLO

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado is home to the tallest sand dunes on the continent, with some rising about 750 feet. It is a spectacular and very special location …

4. Pinnacle of a lecture series : KEYNOTE

The “keynote” is the lowest note in a musical scale, as one might imagine. The term started to be used to mean a leading idea in the late 1700s, and the expression “keynote address” dates back to 1905.

7. Tolkien henchmen : ORCS

Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien’s use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction and in fantasy games.

8. GPS suggestion : RTE

Route (rte.)

10. Motifs : THEMES

A motif is a recurring element in an artistic work or design.

11. “Far out, dude!” : RAD!

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, Easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

12. Notre Dame’s Parseghian : ARA

Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.

25. Big name in stationery : EATON

Eaton Cards and Stationery is a company that specializes in supplying stationery for weddings.

26. Ornamental fabric : DAMASK

Damask was originally a weaving technique associated with the Byzantine and Islamic weaving centers of the Middle Ages. “Damask” comes from the name of Damascus which was a major trading city at that time.

27. Lorre’s “Casablanca” character : UGARTE

Signor Ugarte is a wonderful character in the classic 1942 film “Casablanca”. Ugarte is played by Peter Lorre, and is the man who has possession of the crucial letters of transit that were obtained by murdering two German couriers.

28. Pita feature : POCKET (door)

Pita is a lovely bread in Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Pita is usually round, and has a “pocket” in the center. The pocket is created by steam that puffs up the dough during cooking leaving a void when the bread cools.

40. Layered do : SHAG

A shag cut is a layered hairstyle. Actress Meg Ryan famously sported a shag cut for many years.

47. Lollipop : SUCKER

A lollipop is piece of candy on a stick. The name “lollipop” surfaced in 1908, and was taken from a prominent race horse of the day name Lolly Pop.

49. Once-per-player chess move : CASTLE

In the notation used to record moves in games of chess, castling with the kingside rook can be recorded as O-O, and with the queenside rook as O-O-O.

51. “Norwegian Dances” composer : GRIEG

Edvard Grieg is Norway’s best known composer, some who was active in the Romantic Era. Grieg’s most famous works are the gorgeous “Piano Concerto in A minor”, and his incidental music for the play “Peer Gynt” by Henrik Ibsen.

53. Tamale dough : MASA

A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made from a corn husk or banana leaf. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese fruit and vegetables.

55. Scandinavian language : SAMI

Lapland is a geographic region in northern Scandinavia, largely found within the Arctic Circle. Parts of Lapland are in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The people who are native to the region are called the Sami people. The Sami don’t like to be referred to as “Lapps” and they regard the term as insulting.

59. Pepsi product that’s also its calorie count : ONE

Pepsi ONE is so called as it has one calorie per eight-ounce serving. The artificial sweetener known as Ace-K was approved by the FDA for use in our food in 1998, and one hour after the approval was given, PepsiCo announced the introduction of Pepsi ONE …

60. Springsteen’s “Working __ Dream” : ON A

Bruce Springsteen is a rock singer and songwriter, famously from New Jersey. A lot of Springsteen’s works are centered on his home state and the American heartland. His most famous album is “Born in the USA”, which was released in 1984. Springsteen lives in New Jersey, with his wife Patti Scialfa and their children.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Support financially : BACK (door)

5. Hurricane, e.g. : STORM (door)

10. Drainpipe section : TRAP (door)

14. Face cream additive : ALOE

15. Medicare component : PART A

16. Leaping critter : HARE

17. Depend (on) : RELY

18. Had superior skills in : EXCELLED AT

20. Word on really bright Crayolas : NEON

21. Jazz great Montgomery : WES

22. Helen Reddy’s “__ Woman” : I AM

23. Commentary page : OP-ED

25. Turned out to be : ENDED UP

29. Blew hard : GUSTED

32. Way back when : AGES AGO

33. Helped start the pot : ANTED

34. Comic Johnson : ARTE

36. Big __ : MAC

37. Regret : RUE

38. Not alfresco, and what this puzzle is vis-à-vis its border answers : INDOORS and IN DOORS

41. Craft built in the 2014 film “Noah” : ARK

42. Nile snake : ASP

43. Yemeni seaport : ADEN

44. Speed : HASTE

46. Become resentful : GET SORE

49. Vampire’s bed? : CASKET

50. Painter Manet : EDOUARD

51. Sketch material : GAGS

52. Commuter org. in the Loop : CTA

53. __ Butterworth : MRS

54. “Wild Blue Yonder” mil. group : USAF

58. Waterway between the major islands of New Zealand : COOK STRAIT

62. Leg-covering skirt : MAXI

63. Green Gables heroine : ANNE

64. Boardroom prop : EASEL

65. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER

66. Caboose place : REAR (door)

67. Broadway platform : STAGE (door)

68. Fries, for instance : SIDE (door)

Down

1. Silo neighbor : BARN (door)

2. Toward protection, at sea : ALEE

3. Great Sand Dunes National Park st. : COLO

4. Pinnacle of a lecture series : KEYNOTE

5. Erupted : SPEWED

6. Strained : TAXED

7. Tolkien henchmen : ORCS

8. GPS suggestion : RTE

9. Feign illness to avoid work : MALINGER

10. Motifs : THEMES

11. “Far out, dude!” : RAD!

12. Notre Dame’s Parseghian : ARA

13. Kennel guest : PET (door)

19. Put on board : LADE

24. Spa treatment : PEDI

25. Big name in stationery : EATON

26. Ornamental fabric : DAMASK

27. Lorre’s “Casablanca” character : UGARTE

28. Pita feature : POCKET (door)

29. Tech company’s origin, perhaps : GARAGE (door)

30. On the shelf : UNUSED

31. Move in the direction of : STEP TO

34. Threw in : ADDED

35. Sushi roll topping : ROE

39. Tells a story : NARRATES

40. Layered do : SHAG

45. Takes for granted : ASSUMES

47. Lollipop : SUCKER

48. Feed bag feed : OATS

49. Once-per-player chess move : CASTLE

51. “Norwegian Dances” composer : GRIEG

53. Tamale dough : MASA

55. Scandinavian language : SAMI

56. Used a hatchet on : AXED

57. Cause for alarm : FIRE (door)

58. Honda or Hyundai : CAR (door)

59. Pepsi product that’s also its calorie count : ONE

60. Springsteen’s “Working __ Dream” : ON A

61. Scoundrel : RAT

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