LA Times Crossword Answers 26 Nov 13, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Stuffed Shirts … today’s themed answers are types of SHIRT (spelled out by circled letters) that are split and have been STUFFED with a string of letters:

20A. Marinade for many Japanese dishes TE(RIYAKI SAUC)E (stuffed TEE shirt)
36A. Bovine Old Testament idol GO(LDEN CA)LF (stuffed GOLF shirt)
44A. UPS alternative D(HL EXP)RESS (stuffed DRESS shirt)

57A. Pompous sorts … and what can be seen in this puzzle’s circles? STUFFED SHIRTS

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 6m 30s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

9. Myopic cartoon Mr. MAGOO
Mr. Quincy Magoo is a wonderful cartoon character voiced by Jim Backus. Backus is probably equally well-known for playing Mr. Magoo as well as Thurston Howell, III on “Gilligan’s Island”. Mr. Magoo first appeared on the screen in a short called “The Ragtime Bear” in 1949. His persona was at least in part based on the antics of W. C. Fields. Backus originally used a fake rubber nose that pinched his nostrils in order to create the distinctive voice, although in time he learned to do the voice without the prop. My absolute favorite appearance by Mr. Magoo is in “Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol”, a true classic from the sixties. There was a movie adaptation of “Mr Magoo” released in 1997, with Leslie Nielsen playing the title role.

16. Say “bo’s’n,” say ELIDE
“To elide” is to pass over, omit or slur a syllable when speaking.

A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. A boatswain is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel. He or she has charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. Boatswain is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bo’s’n” is also very popular.

18. Take the elevator to the penthouse GO UP
Originally, the term “penthouse” was used to describe a modest building attached to a main structure. In fact, in centuries past, the manger in which Jesus was born was often referred to as a penthouse. The modern, more luxurious connotation dates back to the early twenties.

20. Marinade for many Japanese dishes TE(RIYAKI SAUC)E (stuffed TEE shirt)
Teriyaki is a Japanese technique of cooking in which the foods are grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade. The marinade sometimes includes ginger.

23. Cartoon frame CEL
In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

25. Sr.’s income source IRA
Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

28. Blast furnace product PIG IRON
“Pig iron” is crude iron that has been cast in blocks. The traditional molds produce ingots attached to a central runner. The configuration resembles a sow (the runner) with piglets (the ingots) suckling. This similarity gave rise to the name “pig iron”.

35. Oklahoma city ADA
Back in 1889, Jeff Reed was hired to carry the mail between the two communities of Stonewall and Center in what was then called the Indian Territory. Reed had moved to the area from Texas and he bought some land in between the two limits of his mail route and built himself a log cabin. Pretty soon other settlers built homes nearby and in 1891 the settlement got its own post office. As postman, Reed got to name the new post office and he called it Ada, after his oldest daughter. Ada is now a county seat and has over 17,000 residents. One of the sons of the city of Ada was the televangelist Oral Roberts.

36. Bovine Old Testament idol GO(LDEN CA)LF (stuffed GOLF shirt)
According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, Aaron made a golden calf as an idol for the Israelites to worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned, he became angry on seeing the calf and destroyed it.

39. “Little Rascals” girl DARLA
Alfalfa’s love interest in “Our Gang” was Darla, whose real name was Darla Hood. Hood became quite a successful singer after she grew out of the “Our Gang” role.

Alfalfa was one Hollywood’s “Little Rascals”, also known as “Our Gang”. Alfalfa’s real name was Carl Switzer. He and his brother were quite the young performers around his hometown in Illinois, singing and playing instruments. On a trip to California, the Switzer family were touring the Hal Roach movie studio and were fooling around in the studio cafeteria, basically giving an impromptu performance. Hal Roach happened to be there at the time, and signed both brothers up for roles in “Our Gang”. Carl was to play “Alfalfa”, and brother Harold played “Slim” (aka “Deadpan”).

43. Lite cigarette claim NO TAR
The partially combusted particulate matter, produced as a cigarette burns, forms a resinous material called “tar”. Cigarette tar is different than the tar used on roads, but is very toxic. Marijuana smoke produces a very similar tar to cigarette smoke, and is just as dangerous.

44. UPS alternative D(HL EXP)RESS (stuffed DRESS shirt)
Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn).

United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky.

56. Tibetan ox YAK
The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in the Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.

67. Paltry MERE
The adjective “paltry” comes from an older use of “paltry” as a noun meaning a “worthless thing”.

68. 7-Down house IGLOO
The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar: “igdlo”.

69. Exile isle ELBA
I had a lovely two-week vacation in Tuscany once, including what was supposed to be a two-night stay on the island of Elba. I had envisioned Elba as a place full of history, and maybe it is, but it is also overrun with tourists who use it as a beach getaway. We left after one day and we won’t be going back again …

70. Sour trumpet note BLAT
“To blat” is a make a raucous sound or to speak in a raucous way.

Down
3. Amazon visitor USER
Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …

4. Noble Florentine family MEDICI
The House of Medici was a dynasty from the the Italian Republic of Florence. The Medici family went into the world of finance and built the largest bank in Europe in the 15th century. Significantly, the Medicis produced four Popes around this time, and then the family moved from the status of common citizens to become hereditary Dukes of Florence. By the middle of the 18th century the family ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, but ended up fiscally bankrupt.

5. Language of the Philippines TAGALOG
Tagalog, officially known as “Filipino”, is one of the two official languages of the Philippines, the other being English. The name “Tagalog” translates as “river dweller”.

6. Corner chess piece ROOK
The corner piece in the game of chess is a called a rook, a word coming from the Persian word “rokh” meaning a “chariot”. The rook has also been called, perhaps incorrectly, the castle, tower, marquess and rector.

7. Alaska native INUIT
The Inuit peoples live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada.

8. Cola choice PEPSI
The Pepsi-Cola formulation was developed by one Caleb Bradham who made the drink at home and sold it as “Brad’s Drink”. Bradham’s aim was to provide a drink that was pleasant to taste, that would aid digestion and boost energy. Included in the formula were pepsin (a digestive enzyme) and kola nuts. These two ingredients inspired the Pepsi Cola brand name that is used today.

10. Novelist Waugh ALEC
Alec Waugh was the older brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh. Both were successful novelists (Evelyn of “Brideshead Revisited” fame), but what I like about Alec is that he supposedly invented the cocktail party. He invited his friends around “for tea” in the twenties, and served them all rum swizzles instead!

12. Shelley’s “__ to the West Wind” ODE
Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote “Ode to the West Wind” in 1819 when he was living in Florence, Italy. One interpretation of the work is that it expresses his dismay at not being home in England, while another is that it is a lament for the loss of his son who died earlier in the same year.

13. Above, to Shelley O’ER
The English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley had strong views on vegetarianism. He was dedicated to the cause of all sentient beings, believing that the slaughter of animals by humans for the use of food was a barbaric practice. He wrote a famous essay on the subject called “A Vindication of Natural Diet” in 1813.

22. Top ACME
The “acme” is the highest point, coming from the Greek word “akme” which has the same meaning.

27. Dynamite inventor Nobel ALFRED
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and businessman. Nobel is famous for the invention of dynamite during his lifetime, as well as for instituting the Nobel Prizes by providing the necessary funds in his will.

28. Ping-Pong need PADDLE
Ping-pong is called table tennis in the UK, where the sport originated in the 1880s. Table tennis started as an after-dinner activity among the elite, and was called “wiff-waff”. To play the game, books were stacked in the center of a table as a “net”, two more books served as “”rackets” and the ball used was actually a golf ball. The game evolved over time with the rackets being upgraded to the lids of cigar boxes and the ball becoming a champagne cork (how snooty is that?). Eventually the game was produced commercially, and the sound of the ball hitting the racket was deemed to be a “ping” and a “pong”, giving the sport its alternative name.

29. Some spuds IDAHOS
Idaho has the nickname the Gem State, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state.

The word “spud” is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

31. Grim film genre NOIR
The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

33. Raggedy __ ANN
Raggedy Ann is a rag doll, created by Johnny Gruelle in 1915 for his daughter, Marcella. He decided to name the doll by combining the titles of two poems by James Whitcomb Riley, “The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphan Annie”. Gruelle introduced Raggedy Ann in a series of books three years later. Sadly, Marcella died at 13 years of age with her father blaming a smallpox vaccination she was given at school. Gruelle became very active in the movement against mass vaccination, for which Raggedy Ann became a symbol.

34. Sgt., e.g. NCO
An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

38. Ph.D. hurdle DISS
Dissertation (diss.)

51. With hands on hips AKIMBO
Akimbo is such a lovely word, I think (as in “arms akimbo”). TI failed to dig up anything too exciting about the term’s etymology. It seems to stem from Middle English, “in kekbowe” or “on kenbow” meaning “bend in a curve”.

55. Bub FELLA
“Bub” is American slang, a term used to address males, and is possibly a variation of bud.

58. Counselor to Captain Picard TROI
Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

When Gene Roddenberry was creating the “Star Trek” spin-off series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, I think he chose a quite magnificent name for the new starship captain. The name “Jean-Luc Picard” is imitative of one or both of the twin-brother Swiss scientists Auguste and Jean Felix Piccard. The role of Picard was of course played by the wonderful Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart.

59. Noodle bar order UDON
Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisine like tempura.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Grimy residue SCUM
5. Stumble TRIP
9. Myopic cartoon Mr. MAGOO
14. Lessen, as pain EASE
15. Excellent A-ONE
16. Say “bo’s’n,” say ELIDE
17. Got wiser, hopefully AGED
18. Take the elevator to the penthouse GO UP
19. “When pigs fly!” NEVER!
20. Marinade for many Japanese dishes TE(RIYAKI SAUC)E (stuffed TEE shirt)
23. Cartoon frame CEL
24. Nervous mannerism TIC
25. Sr.’s income source IRA
28. Blast furnace product PIG IRON
32. Fireplace shelf MANTEL
35. Oklahoma city ADA
36. Bovine Old Testament idol GO(LDEN CA)LF (stuffed GOLF shirt)
39. “Little Rascals” girl DARLA
42. Jr.’s jr. III
43. Lite cigarette claim NO TAR
44. UPS alternative D(HL EXP)RESS (stuffed DRESS shirt)
47. Numbered rd. RTE
48. Hang around LOITER
49. Doused with a hose SPRAYED
52. PC backup key ESC
53. Punch reaction OOF!
56. Tibetan ox YAK
57. Pompous sorts … and what can be seen in this puzzle’s circles? STUFFED SHIRTS
64. Father Time feature BEARD
66. Defect FLAW
67. Paltry MERE
68. 7-Down house IGLOO
69. Exile isle ELBA
70. Sour trumpet note BLAT
71. Was admitted GOT IN
72. Rough file RASP
73. “I screwed up!” OOPS!

Down
1. Plane reservation SEAT
2. Batting practice area CAGE
3. Amazon visitor USER
4. Noble Florentine family MEDICI
5. Language of the Philippines TAGALOG
6. Corner chess piece ROOK
7. Alaska native INUIT
8. Cola choice PEPSI
9. List of courses MENU
10. Novelist Waugh ALEC
11. “Just taste some!” GIVE IT A TRY!
12. Shelley’s “__ to the West Wind” ODE
13. Above, to Shelley O’ER
21. “__ out!”: ump’s call YER
22. Top ACME
26. Tell RELATE
27. Dynamite inventor Nobel ALFRED
28. Ping-Pong need PADDLE
29. Some spuds IDAHOS
30. Blended seasoning GARLIC SALT
31. Grim film genre NOIR
33. Raggedy __ ANN
34. Sgt., e.g. NCO
37. Commit perjury LIE
38. Ph.D. hurdle DISS
40. Ping-Pong do-over LET
41. Can AXE
45. Faculty VIP PROF
46. Covert agent exchange SPY SWAP
50. Pep rally cry RAH!
51. With hands on hips AKIMBO
54. Good news at a job fair OFFER
55. Bub FELLA
58. Counselor to Captain Picard TROI
59. Noodle bar order UDON
60. Applies gently DABS
61. Move, in real estate lingo RELO
62. Lint collector TRAP
63. Hollywood workplaces SETS
64. Popular BIG
65. Self-regard EGO

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