LA Times Crossword Answers 18 Oct 13, Friday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jack McInturff
THEME: Busy Bees … today’s themed answers are well-known words and phrases with a letter B inserted to suit the clue:

18A. Hipsters who prefer old-school programming languages? COBOL CATS (from “cool cats”)
23A. Tiny Timex? BABY WATCH (from “Baywatch”)
35A. Golf club used as a dance pole? LIMBO DRIVER (from “limo driver”)
50A. Furrier’s assessment? SABLES TAX (from “sales tax”)
57A. R2D2’s bar order? ROBOT BEER (from “root beer”)

59D. Busy one that has made its mark in this puzzle’s five longest answers BEE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 09m 04s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

10. Minute Rice instruction STIR
Minute Rice is a brand of “instant rice”, rice that has been pre-cooked and dehydrated. Using instant rice saves about ten minutes and cooking time, but many of the rice’s natural nutrients have been lost in the factory dehydration process.

15. Title lover in a 1920s Broadway hit ABIE
“Abie’s Irish Rose” was originally a Broadway play by Anne Nichols that opened in 1922 and ran for over five years, which back then was the longest run for any show in New York. The show then went on tour, and stayed on tour for an amazing 40 years.

16. Cartoonist Peter ARNO
Peter Arno was a cartoonist from New York who had his work published mainly in “The New Yorker” magazine from 1925 until he passed away in 1968. Arno’s real name was Curtis Arnoux Peters.

17. Camp Granada chronicler Sherman ALLAN
Allan Sherman was a comedy writer and producer who made a name for himself singing song parodies in the sixties. Sherman’s most famous novelty song was called “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, which became a hit single in 1963. The tune of the song is Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours”. The lyrics are a letter written home by a boy away at summer camp, which start out with:

Hello Muddah,
Hello Fadduh.
Here I am at
Camp Granada.
Camp is very
entertaining.
And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining.

18. Hipsters who prefer old-school programming languages? COBOL CATS (from “cool cats”)
COBOL is one of the oldest computer programming languages, with the acronym standing for COmmon Business-Oriented Language. COBOL was developed by “the mother of the COBOL language”, programmer Grace Hopper.

Grace Hopper wasn’t only a computer programmer, she was a rear admiral in the US Navy. She was quite a lady apparently, and earned herself the nickname of “Amazing Grace”. She even has a Navy destroyer named after her, the USS Hopper. Back in 1947 she noticed some colleagues who fixed a piece of equipment by removing a dead moth from a relay, so she remarked that they were “debugging” the system, and so she has been given credit for popularizing the term.

21. “Knots Landing” actress __ Park Lincoln LAR
Actress Lar Park Lincoln’s real name is Laurie Jill Park. Lincoln’s first big role was playing Linda Fairgate on “Knots Landing”, a gig that lasted for five years.

22. Mythical transport CARPET
The magical flying carpet is a mode of transportation in one of the stories in “One Thousand and One Nights”.

23. Tiny Timex? BABY WATCH (from “Baywatch”)
The Timex Group, the manufacturer of watches, evolved from the Waterbury Clock Company that was founded in 1854 in Waterbury, Connecticut. The company achieved tremendous success in the early sixties largely due to an innovative marketing campaign. Advertisements featured the memorable tagline “Timex – Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”. In 1962, one out of every three watches sold in the US was a Timex.

“Baywatch” is TV series starring David Hasselhoff that is about lifeguards patrolling the beaches of Los Angeles County. Over the life of the show, the lifeguards not only had to rescue swimmers, they also had to deal with earthquakes, shark attacks, serial killers and even nuclear bombs. The trademark “look” on the show was provided by slow motion shots of the lifeguards running to someone’s rescue in those red bathing costumes.

26. Challenger, for one DODGE
The current generation Dodge Challenger is car made by Chrysler to compete with the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro.

28. One was written to Billie Joe ODE
“Ode to Billie Joe” is a hit song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry in 1967. It tells the tale of a family talking about the day that “Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

34. British bombshell Diana DORS
I remember Diana Dors in the movies of my youth. Dors was considered the English equivalent of the “blonde bombshell” of Hollywood in the fifties. She was so successful early in her career that at the age of 20 she became the UK’s youngest registered owner of a Rolls Royce car.

35. Golf club used as a dance pole? LIMBO DRIVER (from “limo driver”)
The limbo dance originated on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. The name “limbo” is an alteration of our word “limber”, which isn’t surprising given what one has to do to get under that bar!

38. Literary __ LION
A “literary lion” is a noted author, one who has achieved celebrity status.

43. Friday is one: Abbr. SGT
Sgt. Joe Friday may have said “No, ma’am” a lot on “Dragnet”, but he never actually said the oft-quoted, “Just the facts, ma’am”.

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.

44. Boxers’ org.? AKC
American Kennel Club (AKC)

50. Furrier’s assessment? SABLES TAX (from “sales tax”)
Sables are small mammals about two feet long, found right across northern Europe and northern Asia. The sable’s pelt is highly prized in the fur trade. Sable is unique among furs in that it feels smooth no matter which direction it is stroked.

53. Latin catchall ET ALIA
Et alii (et al.) is the equivalent of et cetera (etc.), with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names. In fact “et al.” can stand for et alii (for a group of males, or males and females), aliae (for a group of women) and et alia (for a group of neuter nouns, or for a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

56. __ bene NOTA
“Nota bene” is the Latin for “note well”, and is usually abbreviated to “NB”.

57. R2D2’s bar order? ROBOT BEER (from “root beer”)
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stands just 3 ft 8 ins tall, has been the man inside the R2-D2 droid for all six of the “Star Wars” movies.

Root beer is a beverage that is very “North American”, as it is rarely found elsewhere in the world. Root beer originated in the 1700s and was made from the root of the sassafras plant. The traditional root beer was a beverage with a very low alcohol content, and of course today there are many versions that contain no alcohol at all. The sassafras root was used as the primary flavor ingredient right up until 1960, when the FDA banned its use as tests determined that it was a carcinogen.

59. Kind of acid BORIC
Boric acid is a weak acid that usually comes as a white powder for domestic use. The powder can be dissolved in water and used as an antiseptic.

61. Part of Q.E.D. ERAT
QED is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. The QED acronym stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

62. “A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length” author EBERT
Film critic Roger Ebert used the words “a horrible experience of unbearable length” to describe the 2009 movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. He then used the phrase as the title of his last book, published in 2012. “A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length” lists movies released after 2006 that received less-than-two star reviews.

Down
3. Goes off script AD LIBS
“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage the concept of an “ad lib” is very familiar. For example, an actor may substitute his or her own words for forgotten lines using an ad lib, or a director may instruct an actor to use his or her own words at a particular point in a performance to promote a sense of spontaneity.

4. 2006 World Cup champion ITALY
The 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament was held in the Germany. The two teams making it to the final were France and Italy, with Italy winning in a penalty shootout.

5. Colleague of Boris LON
Lon Chaney, Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as an actor, and most famously played the werewolf in the “The Wolf Man” series of films, starting in 1941. The young actor started his career using his real name, Creighton Chaney, but later adopted the name “Lon Chaney, Jr.” getting a boost from his father’s reputation. Chaney, Jr. also played Lennie Small in the 1939 film adaptation of the Steinbeck novel “Of Mice and Men”.

Boris Karloff was the stage name of English actor William Henry Pratt. Karloff famously played the monster in a series of “Frankenstein” movies in the 1930s. Karloff also played the Grinch, and the narrator, in the oft-seen 1966 animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” that was made for television.

8. Pointed end NIB
“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

9. Org. created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act EEOC
Equal Opportunity Employment is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act.

10. Iliac lead-in SACRO-
The sacrum and the two ilia are three bones in the human pelvis.

21. Aphid predator LADYBUG
The insect we know as a ladybug has seven spots on the wing covers. These seven spots gave rise to the common name “ladybug”, as in the Middle Ages the insect was called the “beetle of Our Lady”. The spots were said to symbolize the Seven Joys and Seven Sorrows, events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary called out in the Roman Catholic tradition.

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in the British Isles where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids in my experience is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called ladybirds in Ireland!).

24. Type of malware WORM
A computer worm is form of malware that replicates itself to spread to other computers, usually over a computer network. A worm differs from a virus in that a virus is transmitted as an attachment to say an email, whereas a worm can do its nasty deed all on its own.

37. Viva __ VOCE
“Viva voce” translates literally from Latin as “with living voice”, and we use the phrase today to mean “by word of mouth”.

38. Like some files LATERAL
There are two basic designs of filing cabinet. The most common is a vertical file, in which the drawers open out from the short side of the cabinet (so the drawers are deep). A second design is a lateral file, in which the drawers open out from the long side of the cabinet (so the drawers are wide).

39. Carbon-14, e.g. ISOTOPE
An isotope is a variant of an element. All isotopes of an element have the same number of protons and electrons, but not the same number of neutrons. This means that isotopes of an element have differing atomic weights.

Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is found in nature in small amounts. Carbon-14 is used in the technique known as radiocarbon dating, a relatively accurate way of determining the age of something up to about 60,000 years old. When an organism is alive, the amount of radioactive carbon-14 it has compared to the amount of regular carbon-12, is a fixed ratio. After the organism dies, it is no longer exchanging carbon with the atmosphere through metabolism. So, the stable carbon-12 stays in the body as it rots but the radioactive carbon-14 gradually decays, causing the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 to fall. Scientists can determine the age of remains by measuring this carbon-14/carbon-12 ratio.

44. Scrubs ABORTS
The use of “to scrub”, in the sense of aborting a mission, dates back to the early 1800s. The term probably comes from the act of rubbing out or erasing an entry on a board.

46. Ricky Gervais’ forte SATIRE
I’d say that in North America, comedian Ricky Gervais is best known as the writer and lead actor in the original version of the TV show “The Office”. Gervais’s role was taken on by Michael Scott in the US rendition of the sitcom. “The Office” finished its original run here in the US, but there is a German version that is still going strong and there is a Chinese version in the works.

49. “Zut __!”: French exclamation ALORS
“Zut alors!” is a relatively mild exclamation that translates from French as maybe “oh no!” or “oh dear!”. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Frenchman use the expression …

52. Hoity-toity types SNOBS
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

Believe it or not, the word “hoity-toity” has been in the English language since the 1660s, but back then it meant “riotous behavior”. It began to mean “haughty” in the late 1800s, simply because the two terms sounded familiar.

54. “Great Expectations” convict Magwitch ABEL
Abel Magwitch is an important character in the Charles Dickens novel “Great Expectations”. The protagonist in the tale is Pip, who runs into the escaped convict Magwitch when Pip is about six years old. Pip helps Magwitch, although the convict is eventually recaptured. Years later, Pip discovers that the Magwitch has been his anonymous benefactor, as the old convict had been touched by Pip’s kindness.

58. Stat for Clayton Kershaw ERA
Clayton Kershaw is a pitcher for the LA Dodgers. Outside of baseball, Kershaw is noted for his charitable work, especially his efforts to raise money for an orphanage in Zambia.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Hardly hardy FRAIL
6. Wind instrument VANE
10. Minute Rice instruction STIR
14. Caused LED TO
15. Title lover in a 1920s Broadway hit ABIE
16. Cartoonist Peter ARNO
17. Camp Granada chronicler Sherman ALLAN
18. Hipsters who prefer old-school programming languages? COBOL CATS (from “cool cats”)
20. Minute Rice instruction BOIL
21. “Knots Landing” actress __ Park Lincoln LAR
22. Mythical transport CARPET
23. Tiny Timex? BABY WATCH (from “Baywatch”)
26. Challenger, for one DODGE
27. NFL gains YDS
28. One was written to Billie Joe ODE
29. Bolted, say ATE
31. Not ‘neath O’ER
32. Shot TRY
33. It’s inspired AIR
34. British bombshell Diana DORS
35. Golf club used as a dance pole? LIMBO DRIVER (from “limo driver”)
38. Literary __ LION
40. Hikes UPS
41. Scam CON
42. Pack animal ASS
43. Friday is one: Abbr. SGT
44. Boxers’ org.? AKC
45. Memphis-to-Mobile dir. SSE
48. Register button TOTAL
50. Furrier’s assessment? SABLES TAX (from “sales tax”)
53. Latin catchall ET ALIA
55. Garden tool HOE
56. __ bene NOTA
57. R2D2’s bar order? ROBOT BEER (from “root beer”)
59. Kind of acid BORIC
60. Mime APER
61. Part of Q.E.D. ERAT
62. “A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length” author EBERT
63. “We should!” LET’S!
64. Mates LADS
65. Two-part curves ESSES

Down
1. Carrying extra weight FLABBY
2. Another round, perhaps RELOAD
3. Goes off script AD LIBS
4. 2006 World Cup champion ITALY
5. Colleague of Boris LON
6. Get out VACATE
7. Options above “none of the above” A, B OR C
8. Pointed end NIB
9. Org. created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act EEOC
10. Iliac lead-in SACRO-
11. Magician’s way out, maybe TRAPDOOR
12. Whole number INTEGER
13. Team lists ROSTERS
19. Fill the hold LADE
21. Aphid predator LADYBUG
24. Type of malware WORM
25. Bristle HAIR
30. Slow flow TRICKLE
32. Western star makeup TIN
33. Pop-ups, e.g. ADS
34. Cozy retreat DEN
35. Had to wear the winning team’s jersey, say LOST A BET
36. Decides OPTS
37. Viva __ VOCE
38. Like some files LATERAL
39. Carbon-14, e.g. ISOTOPE
43. Narrow cut SLIT
44. Scrubs ABORTS
45. Puts away STORES
46. Ricky Gervais’ forte SATIRE
47. Demands, as payment EXACTS
49. “Zut __!”: French exclamation ALORS
51. In front AHEAD
52. Hoity-toity types SNOBS
54. “Great Expectations” convict Magwitch ABEL
58. Stat for Clayton Kershaw ERA
59. Busy one that has made its mark in this puzzle’s five longest answers BEE

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5 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 18 Oct 13, Friday”

  1. Bill – very interesting blog and lots of trivia.

    I had a tough time with puzzle, but finally completed it. Phew !

    I actually met Adm. Grace Hopper, in Cleveland. She was quite old, and very modest. My COBOL skills have deteriorated over the years…. But the language ranks right up there with BASIC, and FORTRAN …. And SNOBOL, . Algol etc.

    Are the sables, used for black or white fur, depending on the season …. when they are harvested ?

    I must read all the lyrics to the song "camp Granada" …. I faintly remember the first words ….

    Enrico Fermi got the Nobel prize for the supposed discovery of a new element. Except that, the element, turned out to be a isotope of an existing element…. So rather, than the Nobel committee confessing to a boo boo, he got to keep the prize anyway.

    Since his wife was Jewish, the Nobel prize actually came in very handy and at the right time …. He knew he had to leave Italy, because of increasing antisemitism in the government and the country, …. But he did not have enough money to emigrate, for the passage …. so he asked the Nobel comm. to send the prize to England, which he used as travel and passage money, to come to the US. One of the worlds greatest experimental and theoretical atomic physicists, of all time.

    Have a nice day, and a nice weekend.

  2. Done in again by one letter!
    Sales tag? nope.
    Wind instrument: Oboe, Horn, ah, Vane!
    Cobol I got, but didn't "get" it.
    Anyway, fun puzzle.
    Thanks Bill.

  3. @Vidwan
    Re COBOL
    It sounds like you've done you fair share of computer coding over the years. My son is working as a computer scientist, a job he really enjoys. I've dabbled in the higher (easier) end of programming over the years, but still remember punching cards with FORTRAN commands so many years ago. Congrats on meeting Grace Hopper. An honor, I'd say.

    Re SABLES
    Yes, I think the poor sables are scheduled for execution by season, depending on the demand for black or white fur.

    Re Fermi
    I corresponded for a while with a reader of my NYTCrossword blog who was a kid in Los Alamos during the war. He shared some very interesting memories of security measures, and saying "hi" to Mr Fermi and others at the grocery store while shopping with his mother.

    I wasn't aware of the back story to the Nobel Prize win. Very interesting.

    Have a good weekend, Vidwan!

    @Pookie
    Doing the old one-letter shuffle again, eh? It's so very common 🙂

    I thought that the "wind instrument" misdirection was quite elegant and fun. I probably would have popped in the ubiquitous OBOE if the HORN possibility hadn't existed too. All would have been in "vain" of course 🙂

    And I do think COBOL qualifies as an esoteric answer. Then again, so do rap artists, as far as I am concerned!

    Enjoy your weekend, Pookie.

  4. First time reader. I love all the factual tidbits you include.
    Pookie I also goofed on that same letter.
    I'll be back again. Thanks, Hoyt

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