LA Times Crossword Answers 8 Oct 13, Tuesday

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

CROSSWORD SETTER: Clive Probert
THEME: How to Address … using the starting word in each themed answer, we list the elements of an address we might put on an envelope:

17A. Shows off one’s connections NAME-DROPS
21A. Top of the charts NUMBER ONE
32A. Modernized pre-1949 auto STREET ROD
45A. Metropolitan distance unit CITY BLOCK
58A. Aptly named Nevada border community known for its casinos STATELINE
64A. Lunchbox sandwich protector ZIPLOC BAG

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 05m 47s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Big bird of myth ROC
The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants.

9. Bathysphere’s domain OCEAN
A bathysphere is a submersible used in exploring the deep sea. The bathysphere is spherical in shape, so as to better resist the high pressure of deep waters. The term “bathysphere” comes from the Greek “bathus” and “sphaira” meaning “deep” and “sphere”. The vessel is simply lowered into the water on a strong cable.

14. Thurman of “Batman & Robin” UMA
Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

“Batman & Robin” is a 1997 superhero movie, with George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell in the title roles. Helping out the good guys in the film is Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone). The villains of the piece are Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). I think it’s fair to say that “Batman & Robin” bombed at the box office …

25. “Buzz off!” SCAT!
Our word “scat”, meaning “get lost!” comes from a 19th-century expression “quicker than s’cat”, which meant “in a great hurry”. The original phrase probably came from the words “hiss” and “cat”.

32. Modernized pre-1949 auto STREET ROD
A “hot rod” is an American car that has been modified for speed by installing a larger than normal engine. A “street rod” is generally a more comfortable type of “hot rod”, with the emphasis less on the engine and more on custom paint jobs and interiors. By definition, a street rod must be based on an automobile design that originated prior to 1949.

38. Stat for Mariano Rivera ERA
Earned run average (ERA)

Mariano Rivera is a professional baseball pitcher from Panama City. Rivera played for the New York Yankees from 1995 until his retirement at the end of the 2013 season.

39. No-no TABOO
The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

42. Mag with relationship quizzes COSMO
“Cosmopolitan” magazine was first published way back in 1886! It started out life as a family magazine, then as a literary publication. “Cosmo” took its present form as a women’s magazine in the sixties.

51. Wild Australian dog DINGO
The dingo is a wild dog of Australia. The dingo is thought to have originated from domesticated dogs that were brought to Australia with humans that settled the land centuries ago.

58. Aptly named Nevada border community known for its casinos STATELINE
Stateline, Nevada sits right beside the town of South Lake Tahoe, California on the east shore of the lake and on the Nevada/California border. Stateline is home to several large casinos.

62. Powerful explosive, familiarly NITRO
Nitroglycerin (also known as “nitro”) is a very unstable, oily, colorless liquid. It is usually used as the explosive ingredient in a stabilized product like dynamite or cordite. Nitroglycerin is also used medically, as a vasodilator. Right after it hits the bloodstream is causes the blood vessels to dilate to that the heart has less work to do. I had occasion to take it a couple of times, and boy, what a speedy and fundamental effect it has.

63. Three-time Tony winner Uta HAGEN
Uta Hagen was a German-born American actress. Hagen married Jose Ferrer in 1938, but they were divorced ten years later after it was revealed that she was having a long-running affair with Paul Robeson. Her association with Robeson, a prominent civil rights activist, earned her a spot on the Hollywood Blacklist during the McCarthy Era. This forced her away from film, but towards a successful stage career in New York City.

66. Eyeball-bending pictures OP ART
Op art is also known as optical art, and puts optical illusions to great effect.

68. Physician’s org. AMA
American Medical Association (AMA)

69. Wavy dos PERMS
“Perm” is the name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls. I don’t worry about such things, as it’s a number-one all over for me …

Down
1. Litters’ littlest RUNTS
Back around 1500. a runt was an old or decayed tree stump, and by the early 1600s “runt” was being used to describe animals that were similarly old and decayed. Ultimately “runt” came to mean the smallest and often sickest in a litter.

2. Nebraska city on the Missouri OMAHA
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.

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

5. Congo’s cont. AFR
The African nation once called Zaire is a neighbor of Rwanda. The genocide and war in Rwanda spilled over into Zaire in 1996, with the conflict escalating into what is now called the First Congo War. As part of the war’s fallout there was a regime change, and in 1997 Zaire became the Democratic Republic of Congo.

6. Ring-tailed critter, to Crockett COON
The raccoon is native to North America. In captivity, raccoons can live to over 20 years of age, but in the wild they only live two or three years. The main causes for the shorter lifespan are hunting and road traffic.

The pioneer Davy Crockett is often referred to as “King of the Wild Frontier”. Crockett was from East Tennessee. After serving in the local militia he entered politics and represented his state in the US House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831. Crockett disapproved of many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, which led to his defeat in the 1834 election for the House. The defeat prompted Crockett to leave Tennessee for Texas. Famously, he died there in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

9. Hamlet’s love OPHELIA
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia is courted by Hamlet, the man himself. Ophelia is the daughter of nobleman Polonius. She dies …

11. Cyprus currency EURO
Cyprus is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a divided island, with the Republic of Cyprus controlled about 605 of its area. The remaining 40% calls itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and is occupied by Turkish forces.

13. Wall St. institution NYSE
The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement.

22. “Big” London attraction BEN
Big Ben is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster (aka the Houses of Parliament). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day, Benjamin Caunt.

26. ABA dues payer ATT
American Bar Association (ABA)

27. Gillette’s __ II razor TRAC
Gillette introduced the Trac II in 1971, the world’s first twin-blade razor.

29. Wyo. neighbor COLO
The state of Colorado is named for the famed river. In turn, the river was named “Río Colorado” by Spanish explorers. “Colorado” is a Spanish word meaning “ruddy”, and was a reference to the color of the water as it picked up silt from the mountains.

30. Idle of Monty Python ERIC
Eric Idle was one of the founding members of the Monty Python team. Idle was very much the musician of the bunch, and is an accomplished guitarist. If you’ve seen the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian”, you might remember the closing number, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It was sung by Idle, and was indeed written by him. That song made it to number 3 in the UK charts in 1991.

The zany comedy show called “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” was first aired in 1969 on the BBC. The show ran for four seasons and finished up soon after John Cleese decided to leave the team and move onto other projects.

34. Tabula __: blank slate RASA
Tabula rasa (plural: tabulae rasae) is the idea that people are born with a “blank slate”, and that knowledge comes from experience and perception.

35. Japanese sash OBI
The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.

36. Two lowercase letters have them DOTS
Those would be the letters “i” and “j”.

40. Olive __ OYL
“Thimble Theater” was the precursor comic strip to the famous “Popeye” drawn by E. C. Segar. Before Popeye came into the story, the brother and sister characters Castor Oyl and Olive Oyl were the main protagonists. And then along comes a sailor …

49. NBC show that launched many comics’ careers SNL
The list of entertainers whose career were launched on Saturday Night Live (SNL) is impressive. Included are Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, John Belushi, Dana Carvey, Chevy Chase, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, Phil Hartman, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Amy Poehler. Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Martin Short.

52. Doodad GIZMO
The word “gizmo” (also “gismo”) was originally slang used by both the US Navy and the Marine Corps, but the exact origin seems unknown. Nowadays, “gizmo” is a general term used for a device or a part when the correct name escapes one (so I use it a lot!). Oh, and Gizmo is the name of the dog belonging to my son and his fiancee …

53. French __ soup ONION
To cook “au gratin” is to prepare something in a shallow dish with a crust of bread or cheese on top. In America we tend to think mainly of potatoes prepared this way, but the technique can be used for many different dishes. Notably, what we call French onion soup is called a “gratinée” in France, an onion soup with some bread and cheese baked on top.

57. Frat party wear TOGAS
In Ancient Rome the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

60. Ice cream thickener AGAR
Agar is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

65. Baton Rouge sch. LSU
LSU’s full name is Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.

Baton Rouge is the capital city of the state of Louisiana. The name “Baton Rouge” is French for “red stick or staff”. The exact reason why such a name was given to the city isn’t really clear.

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Big bird of myth ROC
4. Spiny desert plants CACTI
9. Bathysphere’s domain OCEAN
14. Thurman of “Batman & Robin” UMA
15. Underway AFOOT
16. Like one in the sulks POUTY
17. Shows off one’s connections NAME-DROPS
19. What the truth sometimes does HURTS
20. When repeated, soothing words THERE
21. Top of the charts NUMBER ONE
23. Tanning site SALON
24. Strips off PEELS
25. “Buzz off!” SCAT!
28. Next-generation relatives NIECES
32. Modernized pre-1949 auto STREET ROD
37. Hold dear ADORE
38. Stat for Mariano Rivera ERA
39. No-no TABOO
41. Tell a whopper LIE
42. Mag with relationship quizzes COSMO
45. Metropolitan distance unit CITY BLOCK
48. Way up or down STAIRS
50. Do in, as a dragon SLAY
51. Wild Australian dog DINGO
54. Pub order DRAFT
58. Aptly named Nevada border community known for its casinos STATELINE
62. Powerful explosive, familiarly NITRO
63. Three-time Tony winner Uta HAGEN
64. Lunchbox sandwich protector ZIPLOC BAG
66. Eyeball-bending pictures OP ART
67. Somewhat wet MOIST
68. Physician’s org. AMA
69. Wavy dos PERMS
70. At exactly the right time ON CUE
71. Agreeable response YES

Down
1. Litters’ littlest RUNTS
2. Nebraska city on the Missouri OMAHA
3. Caravan beast CAMEL
4. Rhythmic flow CADENCE
5. Congo’s cont. AFR
6. Ring-tailed critter, to Crockett COON
7. Refill to the brim TOP UP
8. “Who’s there?” response IT’S ME
9. Hamlet’s love OPHELIA
10. Flowed swiftly COURSED
11. Cyprus currency EURO
12. “To whom it actually does concern” letters ATTN
13. Wall St. institution NYSE
18. Uneven, as a leaf’s edge EROSE
22. “Big” London attraction BEN
26. ABA dues payer ATT
27. Gillette’s __ II razor TRAC
29. Wyo. neighbor COLO
30. Idle of Monty Python ERIC
31. Hide’s partner SEEK
32. “In a few __” SECS
33. Equine gait TROT
34. Tabula __: blank slate RASA
35. Japanese sash OBI
36. Two lowercase letters have them DOTS
40. Olive __ OYL
43. Heavily weighted exam MIDTERM
44. Points in the right direction ORIENTS
46. It’s unpleasant when things end on one BAD NOTE
47. Like some poetry LYRIC
49. NBC show that launched many comics’ careers SNL
52. Doodad GIZMO
53. French __ soup ONION
55. Held in check AT BAY
56. Picture holder FRAME
57. Frat party wear TOGAS
58. Look for bargains SHOP
59. Weak-ankle support TAPE
60. Ice cream thickener AGAR
61. Spectacular EPIC
65. Baton Rouge sch. LSU

Return to top of page