LA Times Crossword Answers 1 Nov 12, Thursday

CROSSWORD SETTER: David Poole
THEME: CABLE TIES … each of the theme answers is comprised of two words “tied” together by the name of a “cable” television channel shown by the circled letters:

17A. “All Summer Long” singers BEAC(H BO)YS
22A. Ibsen classic A DOLL’(S HO)USE
38A. Early Shakespearean tragedy TIT(US A)NDRONICUS
48A. New England order CL(AM C)HOWDER
61A. Wire fasteners, and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters CABLE TIES

COMPLETION TIME: 12m 44s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … TROMP (tramp), OTARU (Ataru)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
9. Tread heavily TROMP
“Tromp” is a variant of “tramp”, so to tromp all over someone is to give them a shellacking.

14. Name in cosmetics ESTEE
Estée Lauder was quite the successful business woman, with a reputation as a great salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths, while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

15. Droid, e.g. PDA
A device like perhaps an iPhone, Droid, or Treo can be termed a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

16. Sine or secant RATIO
The cosecant is the ratio of the hypotenuse of a triangle to its opposite side, and is the reciprocal of the sine, as we all remember from school, don’t we …?

17. “All Summer Long” singers BEAC(H BO)YS
The Beach Boys are very much a family group. The initial lineup was Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson (brothers), Mike Love (a cousin) and Al Jardine (a family friend). The Beach Boys had more Top 40 hits than any other American rock band, a grand total of 36.

19. Name of two presidents ADAMS
John Adams was the second President of the United States. I must admit that I learned much of what I know about President Adams in the excellent, excellent HBO series “John Adams”. Having said that, I also visited his home in Quincy, Massachusetts not too long ago. He was clearly a great man, with a great intellect …

John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams, was the 6th President. Like his father, John Quincy worked for many years as a diplomat representing the young United States. After leaving office, Adams served in Congress as Representative from Massachusetts, the only president ever to enter the House after leaving the office as President.

21. Egyptian underworld boss? OSIRIS
Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld. He was the son of Geb, the Earth god, and Nut, the sky goddess. His wife, Isis, was also his sister …

22. Ibsen classic A DOLL’(S HO)USE
“A Doll’s House” is probably the most famous play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play deals with the feminist awakening of the lead character, Nora Helmer. “A Doll’s House” is sometimes referred to as the “first true feminist play”.

28. Available without an Rx OTC
There seems to some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

30. Paraphernalia GEAR
Back in the 17th century, “paraphernalia” was a woman’s property, above and beyond that which was classified as her dowry. Nowadays we tend to use the word to mean just “personal belongings”.

33. Tough watchdog AKITA
The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, the Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.

38. Early Shakespearean tragedy TIT(US A)NDRONICUS
“Titus Andronicus” is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies, perhaps even the first that he wrote. I’ve never seen the play and apparently it is very gory, perhaps the reason why it was quite popular in Shakespeare’s own lifetime. Over the decades, sensibilities have changed and a result “Titus Andronicus is performed less often today than his other works.

44. Wire service abbr. UPI
United Press International (UPI) was one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists but with only a handful of employees.

46. Fairlady automaker DATSUN
Nissan is the second largest car manufacturer in its home market of Japan, surpassing even Honda in 2011, but still behind Toyota. Nissan used to sell under the brand name “Datsun”.

48. New England order CL(AM C)HOWDER
The type of soup known as “chowder” may be named for the pot in which it used to be cooked called a “chaudière”, a French term.

62. Indian yogurt dip RAITA
Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants, made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

63. Rhyming boxer ALI
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta? Ali was presented with a gold medal during those ’96 Games, a replacement for the medal he won at the 1960 Olympics. He had thrown the original into the Ohio River as a gesture of disgust after being refused service at a “whites only” restaurant.

65. __ & Bacon: textbook publisher ALLYN
Allyn & Bacon publishes college textbooks.

Down
1. Friday on the air WEBB
Jack Webb played Sergeant Joe Friday on “Dragnet” on both TV and radio … and what a voice he had! Off the screen Webb was a lover of jazz, and he played the cornet. It was within the world of jazz that he met and fell in love with Julie London, the famous singer with “the smoky voice”. The couple married and had two kids together.

3. Getz of jazz STAN
Stan Getz was a jazz saxophonist. Getz’s playing style earned him the nickname “The Sound”.

5. Imam Khomeini International Airport locale TEHRAN
Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of about 8.5 million. Iran has been around an awful long time and Tehran is actually the country’s 31st national capital. We really are only babies over here in the US …

6. Speed skater __ Anton Ohno APOLO
Apolo Ohno has won more Winter Olympics medals than any other American. Ohno also did a great job winning the 2007 season of television’s “Dancing with the Stars”.

8. Marx’s “__ Kapital” DAS
“Das Kapital” (entitled “Capital” in English versions) is a book about political economy written by Karl Marx, first published in 1867. The book is in effect an analysis of capitalism, and proffers the opinion that capitalism relies on the exploitation of workers. Marx concludes that the profits from capitalist concerns come from the underpaying of labor.

9. Oscar’s place TRASH CAN
Oscar the Grouch is the Muppet that lives in a garbage can. His persona comes from various sources. He is named after Oscar Brand who was one of the board members of the Children’s Television Workshop, the backers for Sesame Street as the Muppets were being developed in the sixties. Oscar’s personality was inspired by an angry waiter that once served Jim Henson (father of the Muppets). And the voice was modeled on a grumpy New York cab driver encountered one day by Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who brings Oscar to life.

10. Fireside chat medium RADIO
President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a total of thirty evening radio addresses that were termed “fireside chats”. President Roosevelt had used similar addresses to further his political agenda while he was Governor of New York. In New York he faced opposition from a Republican legislature so Roosevelt appealed directly to voters to apply pressure for him.

11. Hokkaido seaport OTARU
The Japanese city and port of Otaru is just a 25-minute drive northwest from Sapporo. Just like Sapporo, Otaru has a famous beer that shares the city’s name.

12. Actress Rogers et al. MIMIS
Mimi Rogers is a favorite actress of mine, although she hasn’t really had the starring roles in big movies. Off screen. Rogers is famous for her association with her second husband, Tom Cruise, and it was Mimi who introduced Tom to Scientology. Mimi Rogers can also be seen playing a lot of so-called “celebrity poker”, and she is on the board of directors of the World Poker Tour.

13. Western party POSSE
Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century: “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

18. Barrio food store BODEGA
“Bodega” is the Spanish term for a winery, or these days for a grocery store.

21. München-to-Wien heading OST
In German, Vienna (Wien) is east (ost) of Munich (München).

23. “The Maltese Falcon” actor LORRE
The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. Lorre’s real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. Lorre found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.

The classic detective novel “The Maltese Falcon” was written by Dashiell Hammett and first published in 1930. The main character if of course Sam Spade, famously played by Humphrey Bogart in the third movie adaptation of the book, released in 1941.

31. Film composer Morricone ENNIO
Ennio Morricone is an Italian composer best known for writing music for films and television shows. It was Morricone who wrote the fabulous scores for the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone, including the theme for “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.

34. Tartan wraparound KILT
Tartan is sometimes called “plaid” over here in the US, a word not used in the same sense outside of this country. In Scotland a “plaid” is a blanket or a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder.

36. “Fantasia” hippo’s wear TUTU
The word “tutu”, used for a ballet dancer’s skirt, is actually a somewhat “naughty” term. It came into English from French in the early 20th century. The French “tutu” is an alteration of the word “cucu”, a childish word for “cul” meaning the “bottom,” or “backside”.

“Fantasia” was Disney’s third feature length movie, released in 1940. The film had a disappointing critical reception and pushed the Disney company into financial difficulties. RKO took over the film’s distribution in 194. The folks at RKO cut a full hour off the running time and relaunched the movie into a successful run. If you haven’t seen “Fantasia”, I urge you to do so. It’s a real delight …

45. High deg. PHD
PhD is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”.

48. One of California’s Santas CLARA
The Santa Clara Valley, just a few miles from me at the south of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

52. Pequod sinker WHALE
The Pequod is the ship that figures in Herman Melville’s classic, “Moby Dick”. The ship is owned by a consortium of the citizens of Nantucket Island, including Captains Ahab, Bildad and Peleg.

57. Credit card name with a red arc over it CITI
When Citicorp and Travelers Group merged in 1998, so did the company logos. The “Citi” name was retained and the Travelers umbrella became a red arc over the “citi” name.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. That-funny link WASN’T
6. Assistance AID
9. Tread heavily TROMP
14. Name in cosmetics ESTEE
15. Droid, e.g. PDA
16. Sine or secant RATIO
17. “All Summer Long” singers BEAC(H BO)YS
19. Name of two presidents ADAMS
20. Foot the bill for BANKROLL
21. Egyptian underworld boss? OSIRIS
22. Ibsen classic A DOLL’(S HO)USE
24. Steep-sided valley RAVINE
28. Available without an Rx OTC
29. Electron home ATOM
30. Paraphernalia GEAR
33. Tough watchdog AKITA
38. Early Shakespearean tragedy TIT(US A)NDRONICUS
41. Process start STEP A
42. Not e’en once NE’ER
43. “Sure!” LET’S!
44. Wire service abbr. UPI
46. Fairlady automaker DATSUN
48. New England order CL(AM C)HOWDER
54. Imposed LEVIED
55. Bothersome type HEADACHE
60. Visibly stunned AGASP
61. Wire fasteners, and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters CABLE TIES
62. Indian yogurt dip RAITA
63. Rhyming boxer ALI
64. Tag line? NOT IT!
65. __ & Bacon: textbook publisher ALLYN
66. Favorite PET
67. “Fun, Fun, Fun” ride for the 17-Across T-BIRD

Down
1. Friday on the air WEBB
2. On a steamer, say ASEA
3. Getz of jazz STAN
4. Get romantic, in a way NECK
5. Imam Khomeini International Airport locale TEHRAN
6. Speed skater __ Anton Ohno APOLO
7. Pastoral poem IDYLL
8. Marx’s “__ Kapital” DAS
9. Oscar’s place TRASH CAN
10. Fireside chat medium RADIO
11. Hokkaido seaport OTARU
12. Actress Rogers et al. MIMIS
13. Western party POSSE
18. Barrio food store BODEGA
21. München-to-Wien heading OST
23. “The Maltese Falcon” actor LORRE
24. Stinkers RATS
25. Working away AT IT
26. Swing __ VOTE
27. “Hand me a bat!” I’M UP
31. Film composer Morricone ENNIO
32. Country Time suffix -ADE
34. Tartan wraparound KILT
35. Works on a cake ICES
36. “Fantasia” hippo’s wear TUTU
37. Professional org. ASSN
39. Kitchen utensil SAUCEPAN
40. Tough row to hoe ORDEAL
45. High deg. PHD
47. Hot-blooded ARDENT
48. One of California’s Santas CLARA
49. Sanctioned LEGAL
50. Prove useful AVAIL
51. Teary-eyed MISTY
52. Pequod sinker WHALE
53. Payment option DEBIT
56. Short range A TO B
57. Credit card name with a red arc over it CITI
58. One who gets what’s coming HEIR
59. Business sign abbr. ESTD
61. Uniform item, perhaps CAP

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