LA Times Crossword Answers 11 Sep 2017, Monday










Constructed by: Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

Edited by: Rich Norris

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

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Theme: Waterlogged

Each of today’s themed answers ends with a “watery” geographic feature, a feature that is WATERLOGGED:

  • 62A. Saturated like the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 50-Across? : WATERLOGGED
  • 17A. 24-hour broadcaster that keeps you up-to-date : NEWS CHANNEL
  • 23A. Music from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey et al. : BIG BAND SOUND
  • 39A. Ship’s area for medical assistance : SICK BAY
  • 50A. Singer dubbed “King of Country” : GEORGE STRAIT

Bill’s time: 5m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0




Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Evening affair : SOIREE

“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a “soirée” is an “evening party”. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.

14. Clarinet cousin : OBOE

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

The clarinet is a lovely-sounding instrument, isn’t it? The name comes from the Italian word “clarino” meaning “trumpet” with the “-et” suffix indicating “small”.

16. Wall St. specialist : ARB

“Arb” is short for an arbitrageur, one who profits from the purchase of securities in one market and the subsequent sale in another, hence taking advantage of price discrepancies across markets.

19. CBS police series with three spin-offs : CSI

The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to have finally wound down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, hung in there until 2015 when it ended with a two-hour TV movie. The youngest show in the series was “CSI: Cyber”. It lasted for two season before being canceled in 2016.

20. Moog, briefly : SYNTH

In the sixties, Robert Moog invented the Moog Synthesizer, an electronic device that he used to produce music. I used to own a few of his albums, including a Moog version of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. What a great performance that was …

21. Detroit NFLer : LION

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that plays home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

22. Hershey’s toffee bar : SKOR

Skor is a candy bar produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. What shoes have to do with candy, I don’t know …

23. Music from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey et al. : BIG BAND SOUND

Famously, Glenn Miller signed up with the US Air Force Band during World War II, and disappeared while flying from the South of England to entertain troops that had just liberated Paris. Miller is still listed as missing in action …

Tommy Dorsey was a jazz trombonist and bandleader in the Big Band era, and the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. One of Tommy’s singers was Frank Sinatra, whom he hired from bandleader Harry James in 1940. Sinatra claimed that he learned breath control from watching Tommy Dorsey play the trombone.

26. Chintzy : CHEAPO

Chintz is a calico fabric that is very florid, and which originated in India. Indian chintz was in such great demand in Europe in the 17th-century, and so much was sold, that both England and France banned its import. This contributed to the term “chintz” being applied derogatively to a fabric, and from there to anything cheap or gaudy.

29. Type of waste pump : SUMP

A “sump” has been a “pit to collect water” since the middle of the 17th century. Prior to that, a sump was a marsh or a morass.

35. Last Marx brother, alphabetically : ZEPPO

“Zeppo” was the stage name of Herbert, the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Although Zeppo appeared in the first five Marx Brothers movies, always playing the straight man and the romantic lead. After he quit acting, Zeppo owned a company called Marman Products, and developed what’s known today as the Marman Clamp. Marman clamps were used to secure the first atomic bombs used by the US military. They are still used today in spaceflight systems.

41. Spy novelist Deighton : LEN

I used to walk my dog right past author Len Deighton’s house years ago, as we lived in the same village in Ireland (probably my only claim to “fame”). Deighton wrote the excellent espionage thriller “The IPCRESS File”, made into a 1965 movie starring Michael Caine.

42. Bette’s “Divine” nickname : MISS M

One of my favorite singers, and indeed all-round entertainers, is Bette Midler. If you’ve ever seen her live show you’ll know that “camp” is a good word to describe it, as her humor is definitely “out there” and quite bawdy. Early in her career, Midler spent years singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York City. There she became very close friends with her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. While singing in the bathhouse, Bette only wore a white towel, just like the members of her audience. It was in those days that she created her famous character “the Divine Miss M” and also earned herself the nickname “Bathhouse Betty”.

50. Singer dubbed “King of Country” : GEORGE STRAIT

George Strait is a country music singer known as the “King of Country”. The moniker seems to be well deserved, as Strait has had more number-one hits on Billboard’s list of Hot Country Songs than any other artist.

55. Doctor Zhivago’s love : LARA

The heroine of Boris Pasternak’s epic novel “Doctor Zhivago” is Lara. The Lara character was inspired by Pasternak’s mistress Olga Ivinskaya.

56. Island band The __ Men : BAHA

The Baha Men are so called because they hail from the Bahamas. Their big hit was “Who Let the Dogs Out?” That song ranked as third in a list of the world’s most annoying songs!

57. Garlicky mayo : AIOLI

To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.

62. Saturated like the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 50-Across? : WATERLOGGED

The term “waterlog” was coined in the 1750s, when it described a ship that had taken on so much water that she was barely afloat. The vessel was uncontrollable, and behaved like a “log” floating on the surface of the “water”.

65. Exercise pieces : ETUDES

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

66. Russian range or river : URAL

The Ural River rises in the Ural Mountains in Russia and flows for half its length through Russian territory until it crosses the border into Kazakhstan, finally emptying into the Caspian Sea.

67. Symphonic gp. inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 : ELO

The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is a symphonic rock group from the north of England.

69. Start of a choosing rhyme : EENY …

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

Down

1. Pen occupants : CONS

A convict (con) might be incarcerated in the penitentiary (pen).

5. Globe shape: Abbr. : SPH

Sphere (sph.)

6. Dental care brand : ORAL-B

The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

7. Ancient Aegean land : IONIA

Lydia and Ionia were ancient territories in a part of the world now covered by modern-day Turkey. Both territories eventually fell under Greek and then Roman rule.

9. Removes errors from : EMENDS

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

10. Bilingual subj. : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

13. “Fun, Fun, Fun” car in a 1960s song : T-BIRD

“Fun, Fun, Fun” is a 1964 song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the Beach Boys. The English rock band Status Quo released a great cover version of “Fun, Fun, Fun” in 1996, which featured the Beach Boys on backup vocals.

24. Mongolian desert : GOBI

The large desert in Asia called the Gobi lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. The Gobi desert is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This “desertification” is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert’s progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so called “Green Wall of China”. The name “Gobi” is Mongolian for “waterless place, semidesert”.

25. Postwar supermodel Parker : SUZY

Suzy Parker was a remarkably successful model who was at the height of her career in fifties. Reportedly, she was the first fashion model to earn over $100,000 in a year, and the first to appear in a bikini in an American magazine. Parker also had an acting career, and appeared opposite Cary Grant in the 1957 comedy “Kiss Them for Me”. She also has a Beatles song named for her. Although “Suzy Parker” was never released, the Beatles perform it in the 1970 documentary film “Let It Be”.

26. Mollusk in a red or white linguine sauce : CLAM

Linguine is a type of pasta that is similar to spaghetti, except that in cross-section linguine is elliptical whereas spaghetti is round. The correct name for the dish is “linguine” meaning “little tongues” in Italian. That said, the misspelling “linguini” is given in some dictionaries as an acceptable Americanized variant..

27. Arizona native : HOPI

Many of the Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.

33. Calypso cousin : SKA

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of some sound.

The musical style known as calypso originated in Trinidad and Tobago, but there seems to be some debate about which influences were most important as the genre developed. It is generally agreed that the music was imported by African slaves from their homeland, but others emphasize influences of the medieval French troubadours. To me it sounds more African in nature. Calypso reached the masses when it was first recorded in 1912, and it spread around the world in the thirties and forties. It reached its pinnacle with the release of the famous “Banana Boat Song” by Harry Belafonte.

36. Lats relatives : PECS

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

The muscles known as the “lats” are the latissimi dorsi, the broadest muscles in the back. “Latissimus” is the Latin for “broadest” and “dorsum” is Latin for “back”.

40. Singapore’s continent : ASIA

The Asian city-state of Singapore takes its name from the Malay word “Singapura” which means “Lion City”. However, lions in the wild never made it to Singapore, so the city is probably misnamed and perhaps should have been called “Tiger City”.

43. Blood bank supply : SERA

Blood serum (plural “sera”) is the clear, yellowish part of blood i.e. that part which is neither a blood cell or a clotting factor. Included in blood serum are antibodies, the proteins that are central to our immune system. Blood serum from animals that have immunity to some disease can be transferred to another individual, hence providing that second individual with some level of immunity. Blood serum used to pass on immunity can be called “antiserum”.

49. “So long, Paulo!” : CIAO!

“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

51. Painter’s stand : 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.

53. Silents star Bara : THEDA

Theda Bara was a silent film star from Cincinnati, Ohio. Many cite Bara as the first movie sex symbol. She wore very revealing costumes in many of her films and she often played the femme fatale character. As such, Bara’s nickname was “the Vamp”.

63. WWII carrier : LST

“LST” stands for Landing Ship, Tank. LSTs were the large vessels used mainly in WWII that had doors at either ends through which tanks and other vehicles could roll off and onto beaches. The design concept persists to this day in the huge fleet of commercial roll-on/roll-off car ferries, all inspired by the LST.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Amount to : COST

5. Evening affair : SOIREE

11. Cavern critter : BAT

14. Clarinet cousin : OBOE

15. Many charity golf tournaments : PRO-AMS

16. Wall St. specialist : ARB

17. 24-hour broadcaster that keeps you up-to-date : NEWS CHANNEL

19. CBS police series with three spin-offs : CSI

20. Moog, briefly : SYNTH

21. Detroit NFLer : LION

22. Hershey’s toffee bar : SKOR

23. Music from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey et al. : BIG BAND SOUND

26. Chintzy : CHEAPO

29. Type of waste pump : SUMP

30. Buyer’s financing : LOAN

31. Army installation : BASE

35. Last Marx brother, alphabetically : ZEPPO

38. Well-suited : APT

39. Ship’s area for medical assistance : SICK BAY

41. Spy novelist Deighton : LEN

42. Bette’s “Divine” nickname : MISS M

44. Bills at bars : TABS

45. Almanac tidbit : FACT

46. Long-running dispute : FEUD

48. Braggart’s retort : I CAN SO!

50. Singer dubbed “King of Country” : GEORGE STRAIT

55. Doctor Zhivago’s love : LARA

56. Island band The __ Men : BAHA

57. Garlicky mayo : AIOLI

61. Musician’s suffix : -IST

62. Saturated like the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 50-Across? : WATERLOGGED

64. Lawn coating : DEW

65. Exercise pieces : ETUDES

66. Russian range or river : URAL

67. Symphonic gp. inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 : ELO

68. Head out : DEPART

69. Start of a choosing rhyme : EENY …

Down

1. Pen occupants : CONS

2. Do what’s asked : OBEY

3. Scattered, as seeds : SOWN

4. Nuclear restraint topic : TEST BAN

5. Globe shape: Abbr. : SPH

6. Dental care brand : ORAL-B

7. Ancient Aegean land : IONIA

8. Talked nonstop : RAN ON

9. Removes errors from : EMENDS

10. Bilingual subj. : ESL

11. “Just in case” strategy : BACK-UP PLAN

12. Fiery crime : ARSON

13. “Fun, Fun, Fun” car in a 1960s song : T-BIRD

18. Greenside golf shot : CHIP

22. “Win __, lose … ” : SOME

24. Mongolian desert : GOBI

25. Postwar supermodel Parker : SUZY

26. Mollusk in a red or white linguine sauce : CLAM

27. Arizona native : HOPI

28. Consumes enough to nourish mother and unborn child : EATS FOR TWO

32. Play a part : ACT

33. Calypso cousin : SKA

34. Recede, as the tide : EBB

36. Lats relatives : PECS

37. Not fooled by : ONTO

39. Highly self-satisfied : SMUG

40. Singapore’s continent : ASIA

43. Blood bank supply : SERA

45. Exhaustion : FATIGUE

47. Candidates’ face-off : DEBATE

49. “So long, Paulo!” : CIAO!

50. Soar without effort : GLIDE

51. Painter’s stand : EASEL

52. Stopped slouching : SAT UP

53. Silents star Bara : THEDA

54. Not as prevalent : RARER

58. Kid lit monster : OGRE

59. Low-fat : LEAN

60. In an aimless fashion : IDLY

62. Married : WED

63. WWII carrier : LST

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13 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 11 Sep 2017, Monday”

  1. For a Monday, quite daunting – but I enjoyed it and got it done. The theme escaped me – although there were plenty of clues. I kept thinking of ‘pigs’ in a pen …. cons came much later.

    Singapore, appears to me to be an anglisized spelling of Singa – pur(a). A ‘pur’ is a common word for town or city, in India …. like Nagpur, Jaipur etc., The name Singapur would more likely be termed as the City with/of lions …. even if the lions are carved out of stone or marble – as their emblem is. It is more probably a representation, or symbol or logo of the rulers, or their dynasty that ruled the area before the Dutch and the British landed there. Btw, it is known as a ‘fine’ city …. there are fines for everything, including jaywalking, you can be fined $ 500 singapore dollars, for littering on the street !

    As for tigers in Singapore, the city state is certainly a tiger in the asian ( and world – ) , economy …. and Tiger Balm, a world famous ointment for joint aches and pains, is headquartered in the state. Tiger Balm is a menthol and camphor based ‘counter irritant’ like Ben Gay and Sloans liniment – to counteract joint and arthritis pain etc. It may have Aspirin or Salicylic Acid and other NSAIDS, like diclofenac and /or Naproxen and other topical pain relievers/analgesics, in it.

    Have a nice day all.

  2. 7:16, no errors. I also missed the theme – kinda sailing in the fog, I guess … ?

    @Jeff … Thanks for mentioning “brendanemmetquigley.com” over on the NYT blog. I checked it out last night and did the puzzle from last Thursday: 19:04, no errors, but a near-Natick required a lucky guess offered up by that crossword lizard brain you talk about. A good puzzle. I’ll do more of them. (And “Brendan Emmett Quigley” shall henceforth be known here as “BEQ” … ?.)

    1. @David
      They’re fun puzzles. They’re on my puzzle list on the blog and been doing them for several weeks now (when I can). Would have mentioned them to you directly, but wasn’t sure how many more puzzles you’d be up for. Newest ones: Found Paolo Pasco’s (Sunday) and Tim Croche’s puzzles (Tuesdays/Fridays). The latter is one I’m half curious about how you do – I totally DNFed the 4 I tried. I also subscribed to Peter Gordon’s puzzles and been doing those. Stiffer, but they’ve been plenty fun.

      Anyhow I got a big backlog of NYT and the Monday BEQ to look at.

  3. Slogged through the LAT’s Sunday grid this morning before I knocked out today’s grid (which was a typical Monday to me) without too much trouble. I thought Sunday was obtuse enough in terms of cluing that it slowed me down to a significant degree (I would say my speed on the Sunday grid could be compared inversely to the time that Alex Honnold became the first – and only – person in the world to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite Valley on June 3rd of this year – in 3 hours and 56 minutes. That’s 3000 feet straight up, dressed in his favorite red tee shirt and cut off nylon pants, using only his hands and climbing shoes shod feet and a bag of chalk to dry his hands). Now that’s what I call unreal reality!

  4. Sunday’s puzzle was not falling together for me. Didn’t stay with it for long, because I knew I wouldn’t get far. Today’s was little tough, I thought. Couldn’t get the NW to work. “Pro-Ams” was the last to come together.

  5. Today’s Newsday: 6:11, no errors. Today’s WSJ: 8:21, no errors.

    I also did today’s new BEQ (“Brendan Emmet Quigley”) and found it somewhat difficult, but easier than I thought it would be after looking at it for a minute or two. I think it took me about 20 minutes, but I had read quite a few of the clues immediately after printing the puzzle out (something I’m usually careful to avoid), so I didn’t “officially” time myself. Another good puzzle …

    @Tony … Honnold’s feat astonished me, as well. By all accounts, he’s a pretty level-headed guy, but what he did on El Capitan is perilously close to madness: I get sweaty hands just thinking about it … ?

  6. Glad I’m not the only one that had a bit of trouble on this one. The NW corner did me in as well.

    @vidwan – gotta love that tiger balm. It was used a lot in college while playing ultimate frisbee. ?

    Have a great night everyone!

  7. 10 minutes…ish. Nice Monday I’m doing with less than an hour left of Monday here.

    Dave – Good to know BEQ is a nice grid. If nothing else, it spices up Mondays a bit.

    Vidwan – I lived in Singapore for about a year about 13 years ago. I found it a very nice place to live…for a while. Back in the 80’s (I think) there was a famous case of an American teen who had vandalized a car or something in Singapore and had received “caning” as part of his sentence. I’ll admit to being intimidated by that form of punishment. I mentioned it to the head of our division who was from Hong Kong, and he claimed to have never heard of it. Hmmm Nevertheless I went…and never got caned. For obvious reasons, the city is immaculate – at least it was in 2004…

    Best –

  8. OMG I guess I’m the only one who found this puzzle’s theme ill-timed and tasteless…??!! Waterlogged–after Harvey and Irma. I mean… as I was doing it I could only think of ACTUAL waterlogged bays and sounds — and cities and towns. Maybe I’m overreacting…. I just don’t like it.
    Be well~~™?

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