LA Times Crossword Answers 15 Dec 13, Sunday

Frequently Asked Question: Why isn’t the puzzle in my paper the same as the one shown on your blog?
If the puzzle in your paper doesn’t match the one that I solved, it is probably a Sunday crossword. On Sundays, the “LA Times” chooses to publish Merl Reagle’s excellent crossword, and not their own “LA Times” Crossword. The “LA Times” puzzle is still sent out in syndication, and is also published in the “LA Times” online. I’ve been asked to blog about Merl Reagle’s crossword, but frankly I don’t have the time. Sunday puzzles have lots of clues!

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jeff Chen
THEME: And 100 More! … today’s themed answers are well-known phrases with a letter C inserted as a prefix to a word:

22A. Big tips on cruises? LINER C-NOTES (from “liner notes”)
32A. Beginning piano student’s first scale? C-MAJOR DISASTER (from “major disaster”)
49A. Shockproof battery? PADDED C-CELL (from “padded cell”)
63A. Channel for channel surfers? SHORT-ATTENTION C-SPAN (from “short attention span”)
79A. Food problem at the front? C-RATIONS OUT (from “rations out”)
93A. Tech news site’s nefarious plan? NOTHING BUT C|NET (from “nothing but net”)
107A. Painfully out-of-tune note? RAZOR C-SHARP (from “razor sharp”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 22m 06s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Brief regrets, maybe RSVPS
“To RSVP” is to give a reply to an RSVP, maybe an acceptance or maybe a “regrets”.

RSVP stands for “Répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “please, answer”.

10. Order from on high FIAT
A “fiat” is an arbitrary rule that is imposed, and is the Latin for “let it be done”.

14. DJIA stock IBM
IBM was founded as the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. The company changed its name to the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) in 1911 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916. The name of International Business Machines (IBM) was given first to the company’s Canadian subsidiary, and then its South American subsidiary. In 1924, it was decided to adopt the International Business Machines name for the whole company. Good choice …

Dow Jones & Company was founded as a publishing house in 1882 by three newspaper reporters, Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Today, the company’s most famous publication has to be “The Wall Street Journal”. In 1884, Charles Dow started reporting the average dollar value of the stock of eleven companies, an index which spawned a whole host of metrics that carry the Dow Jones name to this day, including the renowned Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

17. Nobelist Root ELIHU
Elihu Root was an American statesman, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912 for his diplomatic work that brought “nations together through arbitration and cooperation”. Root served as Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt.

19. It’s for the dogs ALPO
Alpo is a brand of dog food first produced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

22. Big tips on cruises? LINER C-NOTES (from “liner notes”)
“C-note” is slang for a $100 bill.

These days, the term “liner notes” is used for the informational booklet which comes with a music CD. The original liner notes were the informational text printed on the inner sleeve (“liner”) of a 12-inch vinyl record.

24. Chicken __ KIEV
Chicken Kiev may indeed be a Ukrainian dish, named for the capital city of Kiev. It is a boneless chicken breast rolled around garlic, herbs and butter, breaded and deep fried. It was my Dad’s favorite …

27. Peace Nobelist Wiesel ELIE
Elie Wiesel is a holocaust survivor, best known for his book “Night” that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

29. Tubular carb source PENNE
Cylindrical pasta is known in general as “penne”, and there are many variants. For example, ziti is a particularly large and long tube with square-cut ends.

30. Green sage of films YODA
Yoda is one of the most beloved characters in the “Star Wars” series of films. Yoda’s voice was provided by the great puppeteer Frank Oz of “Muppets” fame.

36. Stars and Stripes squad TEAM USA
Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first stars and stripes.

39. They’re noted for their neutrality SWISS
Switzerland established herself as a neutral country in 1815 as part of the Treaty of Paris that followed the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. That makes Switzerland the oldest neutral country in the world.

40. Civil offenses TORTS
The word “tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. Tort law is generally about negligence, when the action of one party causes injury to another but that action falls outside of the scope of criminal law.

41. LAX listing ARR
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently the “X” has no significant meaning.

44. Fútbol cheer OLE!
“Fútbol” is the Spanish word for football, soccer.

45. Panther’s color? PINK
A lot of people think that the Inspector Clouseau character (played originally by Peter Sellers) is “The Pink Panther”. It’s actually the jewel that was stolen in the original movie. Would you believe there are eleven “Pink Panther” movies in the whole series?

46. Nigerian people IBO
The Igbo (or Ibo) people are an ethnic group living in southeastern Nigeria.

54. Latin 101 verb ESSE
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am” and “erat” means “he, she was”.

57. Capital of Belarus MINSK
Minsk is the capital of Belarus, formerly known as the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

58. __ Aires BUENOS
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, located on the estuary of the Ria de la Plata. As a port city, the people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (“people of the port”).

61. Twosome in the news, or the news itself ITEM
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

63. Channel for channel surfers? SHORT-ATTENTION C-SPAN (from “short attention span”)
C-SPAN is a privately-funded, non-profit cable channel that broadcasts continuous coverage of government proceedings.

67. Sitcom lover of Chachi JOANIE
Erin Moran is the lovely actress most famous for playing Joanie Cunningham on “Happy Days” and the resulting (short-lived) spin-off sitcom called “Joanie Loves Chachi”. Long before she got her big break in “Happy Days”, Moran played Jenny Jones on the children’s drama “Daktari” from the late sixties.

69. Start of a balcony delivery O ROMEO
In the balcony scene in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet utters the famous line:
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Every school kid must have commented with a giggle “he’s down in the garden!” Of course, “wherefore” isn’t an archaic word for “where”, but rather an old way of saying “why”. So Juliet is asking, “Why art thou Romeo, a Montague, and hence a sworn enemy of the Capulets?”

70. Queen __ lace ANNE’S
What we call “Queen Anne’s Lace” over here in the US is known by many in the British Isles as “wild carrot”. The roots of Queen Anne’s Lace are indeed edible, just like carrots, but only when they are very young because later in life they get very woody. The wild carrot was given the name Queen Anne’s Lace when it was introduced into America as the flowers do resemble white lace. There is one small red flower in the center of the plant that is said to be a drop of blood that Queen Anne spilled when she pricked herself as she was making the lace.

73. City on the Arno PISA
The city of Pisa is located right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

79. Food problem at the front? C-RATIONS OUT (from “rations out”)
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) comes in a lightweight package that’s easy to tote around. The MRE replaced the more cumbersome Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1981, a meal-in-a-can. In turn, the MCI had replaced the C-ration in 1958, a less sophisticated meal-in-a-can with a more limited choice.

83. Black Friday event SALE
In the world of retail, “Black Friday” is the day after Thanksgiving in the US. Black Friday is when many stores start the holiday shopping season, and so offer deep discounts to get ahead of the competition.

84. Owing SHY
To be “shy” is to be short, lacking. The term originated as gambling slang, meaning to owe money to the pot.

87. Hugo title word NOTRE
Quasimodo is the title character in the Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”. There is some recent evidence that a hunchbacked stone carver, working at Notre-Dame at the same time Hugo was alive, may have been the inspiration for the Quasimodo the bellringer.

89. Deliveries at Lincoln Center ARIAS
The Lincoln Center takes its name from the neighborhood in which it is situated, Lincoln Square in New York City.

91. “CHiPs” co-star ESTRADA
Erik Estrada got his big break in the movie “Airport 1975”, before playing Poncherello on the television show “CHiPs” from 1977-81.

93. Tech news site’s nefarious plan? NOTHING BUT C|NET (from “nothing but net”)
c|net is an excellent technology website. c|net started out in 1994 as a television network specializing in technology news. The host of “American Idol”, Ryan Seacrest, started off his career as a host on a c|net show.

“Nothing but net” is a phrase used in basketball to describe a “clean basket”. A clean basket is a score in which the ball doesn’t touch the backboard or even the ring, and touches only the net.

97. Sorority letters PHIS
Phi is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet.

99. “Born Free” lioness ELSA
The life story of Elsa the lion was told by game warden Joy Adamson, who had a very close relationship with the lioness from when Elsa was orphaned as a young cub. Adamson wrote the book “Born Free” about Elsa, and then “Living Free” which tells the story of Elsa and her three lion cubs. In the 1966 film based on “Born Free”, Adamson is played by the talented actress Virginia McKenna.

100. Skye of film IONE
Ione Skye is an American actress who was born in Hertfordshire in England. Skye is best known for portraying the character Diane Court in the 1989 high school romance movie “Say Anything …”, starring opposite John Cusack. Skye is the daughter of the Scottish folk singer Donovan.

102. Classic muscle cars GTOS
The acronym GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato.

105. URI’s hoops conference A-TEN
Today’s Atlantic 10 (A-10) collegiate athletic conference was founded in 1975 as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League. Despite the “A-10” name, the conference actually has 13 full-time members.

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was first chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

106. “Sometimes you feel like __ …” A NUT
Hershey’s used a famous jingle in a seventies ad campaign for the Mounds candy bar”
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t
Almond Joy’s got nuts
Mounds don’t

I think my favorite candy growing up was an Almond Joy, although in my part of the world it was a little different formulation and was called a Bounty Bar (and was more like a Mounds bar). The Almond Joy bar has been around since 1946.

110. Hamburger man HERR
“Herr” is German for “Mister”.

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (after Berlin), and the third largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam and Antwerp).

111. Miller __ LITE
The first light beer was produced by Chicago’s Meister Brau brewery in the sixties. Miller took over Meister Brau, reformulated the light beer using the same process and became the first of the big breweries to come out with a light beer, “Lite Beer from Miller” introduced in 1973. There really wasn’t a serious competitor to Miller Lite until Anheuser-Busch finally came up with a process and a product in 1982 that they called Bud Light.

112. John Paul’s Supreme Court successor ELENA
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …

John Paul Stevens retired as an associate justice on the US Supreme Court in 2010 after having served for over 34 years. That made him the third longest serving justice in the history of the court. Stevens had been nominated by President Gerald Ford to replace Justice William O. Douglas, who had been the longest serving justice in the court (at over 36 years).

114. Playa del __: L.A. coastal region REY
Playa del Rey is a beachside neighborhood and district of the City of Los Angeles. “Playa del Rey” translates from Spanish as “King’s Beach”.

117. Arnold’s art POESY
I am guessing that the most famous poet with “Arnold” as a family name was Englishman Matthew Arnold. Alfred was active during the reign of Queen Victoria and is sometimes called the third great Victorian poet, after Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.

Down
3. Oenophile’s vacation destinations VINEYARDS
In Greek mythology, Oeno was the goddess of wine, giving us “oen-” as a prefix meaning “wine”. For example, oenology is the study of wine and an oenophile is a wine-lover.

5. California’s Big __ SUR
Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast, south of Monterey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

6. Vulcan in demeanor STOIC
I think the reference here is to the demeanor of natives of the planet Vulcan in the “Star Trek” universe, like Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock is quite stoic.

7. Tribal emblems TOTEMS
Totem poles are large sculptures that have been carved from trees. Totem poles are part of the culture of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

9. Director Craven WES
Wes Craven is a very successful film director and writer specializing in movies of the horror genre, which means I don’t watch them! Craven is responsible for “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the “Scream” films.

10. Muslim ascetics FAKIRS
A fakir (also faqir) is an ascetic in the Muslim tradition. The term “fakir” is derived from “faqr”, an Arabic word for “poverty”.

11. Homer classic ILIAD
The Iliad is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, which tells the story of the siege of Ilium (also known as Troy) during the Trojan war.

12. Appetite stimulants APERITIFS
An apéritif is an alcoholic drink served before a meal, to stimulate the palate. A digestif is an alcoholic drink served after a meal, to aid digestion.

13. “Mazel __!” TOV
“Tov” is the Hebrew word for “good”, as in “mozel tov”, meaning “good luck”.

15. Color in the original “Crayola 48” BURNT SIENNA
In the year 2000 the Crayola company, very cleverly I think, held the “Crayola Color Census 2000” in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.

16. It was admitted as a free state as part of the Missouri Compromise MAINE
The Missouri Compromise was an arrangement made in the US Congress to maintain a balance in representation in the US Senate between slave state and free states. Missouri was added as a slave state, while at the same time the state of Maine was created as a free state when it seceded from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

18. NBC staple SNL
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL)

21. Shaker, so to speak DOER
“Movers and shakers” are doers.

28. Get shellacked, say LOSE
“To shellac” is a slang term meaning “to defeat decisively, to strike severely”.

29. Part of PRNDL PARK
PRNDL … that would be Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low.

31. Pigeon DUPE
“Pigeon” is a slang term for someone who is easily swindled.

33. Delinquents of a sort, briefly AWOLS
Absent without leave (AWOL)

34. Memorable climber JILL
The “Jack and Jill” nursery rhyme dates back at least to the 1700s:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

35. George Foreman’s five Georges SONS
George Foreman is a former World Heavyweight Champion boxer and Olympic gold medalist. Famously, Foreman lost his title to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 title fight that was billed as “the Rumble in the Jungle”. Foreman is also known for promoting the George Foreman Grill, and for naming all five of his sons “George”.

38. Things known to a select few ARCANA
Arcana are deep secrets or mysteries. “Arcana” is from the Latin adjective “arcanum” meaning “secret, hidden”.

43. Knickknack TCHOTCHKE
“Tchotchke” is a slang term for a cheap and showy trinket.

45. He played Arnold on “Happy Days” PAT MORITA
Pat Morita was a Japanese-American actor, born in Isleton, California. Morita’s most noted roles were playing “Arnold” on TV’s “Happy Days”, and Mr. Miyagi in “The Karate Kid” movies. Morita was just a child during WWII and spent most of it in the Gila River internment camp in Arizona with his family

47. Short deck hand? BOSUN
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.

48. Doing mil. drudge work ON KP
KP is a US military slang term that stands for either “kitchen police” or “kitchen patrol”.

51. Hunters’ holidays EASTERS
Children hunt for Easter Eggs at Easter.

52. A smidgen ONE IOTA
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

56. Long-distance letters ATT
The original AT&T Corporation was known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

59. “Exodus” novelist URIS
“Exodus” is a wonderful novel written by American writer Leon Uris, first published in 1947. The hero of the piece is Ari Ben Canaan, played by Paul Newman in the 1960 film adaptation directed by Otto Preminger.

60. Hot time in Quebec ETE
One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in French-speaking countries.

62. Airer of vintage films TCM
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels, delivering just what its name promises: classic movies.

63. NBAer until 2008 SONIC
The Seattle SuperSonics were the professional basketball team based in Seattle from 1967 to 2008, at which time the franchise moved to Oklahoma City (and became the Oklahoma City Thunder).

65. URL tag EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

67. Steel-toothed Bond villain JAWS
Jaws is a character who turns up in two “James Bond” films: “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker”. Jaws is a tall and scary villain with steel-capped teeth. In both movies, Jaws is played by actor Richard Kiel.

71. Like some anchors TELEGENIC
To be “telegenic” is to have qualities that are deemed appealing by a television audience. The term is analogous to “photogenic”.

72. Early Indo-European ARYAN
The term Aryan can be used to describe the Indo-European languages or the peoples who speak them. The underlying assumption in this grouping is that Indian languages (based on Sanskrit) and the major European languages all have the same root.

74. Big 12 wrestling powerhouse IOWA STATE
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (ISU) is located in Ames, Iowa. Among many other notable events, ISU created the country’s first school of veterinary medicine, in 1879. The sports teams od ISU are known as the Cyclones.

79. In CHIC
“Chic” is a French word meaning “stylish”.

81. Belg. neighbor NETH
Some Dutch people can get a little annoyed if one refers to their country as “Holland”, as the correct name is “the Netherlands”. North and South Holland are two of the country’s twelve provinces. The use of “Holland” instead of “the Netherlands” is analogous to the former Soviet Union being referred to as “Russia” and the United Kingdom being called “England”. That said, sometimes even the Dutch people themselves refer to the country as Holland, especially at a soccer match!

83. The cooler STIR
The slang word “stir”, meaning a prison, probably has its roots in Start Newgate prison in London, where it was a nickname for the establishment.

88. Writer with an award named for him O HENRY
The O. Henry Award has been given annually since 1919 and honors exceptional short stories. O. Henry was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

89. “Pride and Prejudice” novelist AUSTEN
Jane Austen is a favorite author of mine, and I have been lucky enough to have visited many of the sites in England that have been associated with her life. Favorite of these is a large cottage in the village of Chawton in Hampshire, England. Austen moved to Chawton from Bath, and there wrote and published her most famous novels, including “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park”.

93. Father of Shem, Ham and Japheth NOAH
According to the Book of Genesis, Noah fathered his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth when he was 500 years old. The Great Flood took place when he was 600.

95. Belushi’s “Animal House” role BLUTO
John Belushi was one of the original members of the “Saturday Night Live” cast. On the occasion of Belushi’s 30th birthday in 1979, he had the number one film in the country (“Animal House”), the number one album (“The Blues Brothers: Briefcase of Blues”) and he was a star of the highest-rated late night TV show (“Saturday Night Live”). Belushi died in 1982 from a “speedball”, a combined injection of cocaine and heroin.

The very funny 1978 movie “Animal House” has the prefix “National Lampoon’s …” because the storyline came out of tales that had already appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine. “Animal House” was to become the first in a long line of successful “National Lampoon” films. The main pledges in the movie are Tom Hulce (Pinto), who later played a magnificent “Amadeus”, and Stephen Furst (Flounder), later played a regular role on television’s “Babylon 5”.

96. Cel mates? TOONS
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.

106. Frazier’s Fight of the Century foe ALI
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had three memorable fights. The first was billed as the “Fight of the Century” and took place in 1971 in Madison Square Garden. It was a fight between two great boxers, both of whom were undefeated up till that point. Frazier won in a unanimous decision after fifteen rounds. A couple of years later, in 1973, Frazier lost his title to George Foreman. Ali and Frazier had a non-title rematch in 1974, with Ali coming out ahead this time, also in a unanimous decision. Later that year, Ali grabbed back the World Heavyweight Title in “The Rumble in the Jungle”, the famous “rope-a-dope” fight against George Foreman. That set the stage for the third and final fight between Ali and Frazier, “The Thrilla in Manila”. Ali won the early rounds, but Frazier made a comeback in the middle of the fight. Ali took control at the end of the bout, so much so that Frazier wasn’t able to come out of his corner for the 15th and final round. He couldn’t come out of his corner because both of his eyes were swollen shut, giving Ali a victory due to a technical knockout (TKO).

109. Slangy “How’s things?” SUP
I think “sup” is slang for “what’s up?”

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Brief regrets, maybe RSVPS
6. Agitated state STEW
10. Order from on high FIAT
14. DJIA stock IBM
17. Nobelist Root ELIHU
18. Source of heat STOVE
19. It’s for the dogs ALPO
20. Campus center QUAD
22. Big tips on cruises? LINER C-NOTES (from “liner notes”)
24. Chicken __ KIEV
25. Many a jazz combo TRIO
26. Willing to listen OPEN
27. Peace Nobelist Wiesel ELIE
28. One good at stretching? LIAR
29. Tubular carb source PENNE
30. Green sage of films YODA
32. Beginning piano student’s first scale? C-MAJOR DISASTER (from “major disaster”)
36. Stars and Stripes squad TEAM USA
39. They’re noted for their neutrality SWISS
40. Civil offenses TORTS
41. LAX listing ARR
42. Sassy PERT
44. Fútbol cheer OLE!
45. Panther’s color? PINK
46. Nigerian people IBO
49. Shockproof battery? PADDED C-CELL (from “padded cell”)
52. Stumblebums OAFS
53. Multiple millennia AEON
54. Latin 101 verb ESSE
55. Code breakers’ cries AHAS
56. Sugar bowl fans ANTS
57. Capital of Belarus MINSK
58. __ Aires BUENOS
61. Twosome in the news, or the news itself ITEM
62. Appear eventually TURN UP
63. Channel for channel surfers? SHORT-ATTENTION C-SPAN (from “short attention span”)
67. Sitcom lover of Chachi JOANIE
68. Give up CEDE
69. Start of a balcony delivery O ROMEO
70. Queen __ lace ANNE’S
71. Via, informally THRU
72. Locking horns AT IT
73. City on the Arno PISA
77. Manufactured locks WIGS
78. Startled cries EEKS
79. Food problem at the front? C-RATIONS OUT (from “rations out”)
82. One of several H.S. subjects SCI
83. Black Friday event SALE
84. Owing SHY
85. Rough patch? ACNE
86. Slick, perhaps WET
87. Hugo title word NOTRE
89. Deliveries at Lincoln Center ARIAS
91. “CHiPs” co-star ESTRADA
93. Tech news site’s nefarious plan? NOTHING BUT C|NET (from “nothing but net”)
97. Sorority letters PHIS
98. Nonspecific checkbox OTHER
99. “Born Free” lioness ELSA
100. Skye of film IONE
102. Classic muscle cars GTOS
105. URI’s hoops conference A-TEN
106. “Sometimes you feel like __ …” A NUT
107. Painfully out-of-tune note? RAZOR C-SHARP (from “razor sharp”)
110. Hamburger man HERR
111. Miller __ LITE
112. John Paul’s Supreme Court successor ELENA
113. Out-and-out UTTER
114. Playa del __: L.A. coastal region REY
115. Pic to click ICON
116. Binds WEDS
117. Arnold’s art POESY

Down
1. HR dept. concern RELO
2. Err SLIP
3. Oenophile’s vacation destinations VINEYARDS
4. Promising whiz PHENOM
5. California’s Big __ SUR
6. Vulcan in demeanor STOIC
7. Tribal emblems TOTEMS
8. Holiday preceder EVE
9. Director Craven WES
10. Muslim ascetics FAKIRS
11. Homer classic ILIAD
12. Appetite stimulants APERITIFS
13. “Mazel __!” TOV
14. Measure of brightness IQ TEST
15. Color in the original “Crayola 48” BURNT SIENNA
16. It was admitted as a free state as part of the Missouri Compromise MAINE
18. NBC staple SNL
21. Shaker, so to speak DOER
23. Quit CEASED
28. Get shellacked, say LOSE
29. Part of PRNDL PARK
31. Pigeon DUPE
33. Delinquents of a sort, briefly AWOLS
34. Memorable climber JILL
35. George Foreman’s five Georges SONS
36. Record, in a way TAPE
37. Historical periods ERAS
38. Things known to a select few ARCANA
43. Knickknack TCHOTCHKE
45. He played Arnold on “Happy Days” PAT MORITA
47. Short deck hand? BOSUN
48. Doing mil. drudge work ON KP
50. Fillets DE-BONES
51. Hunters’ holidays EASTERS
52. A smidgen ONE IOTA
53. Preps for a snack, as corn AIR POPS
56. Long-distance letters ATT
57. Ponder MUSE
59. “Exodus” novelist URIS
60. Hot time in Quebec ETE
61. Like Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 109 IN E
62. Airer of vintage films TCM
63. NBAer until 2008 SONIC
64. Motto on an inspirational cat poster HANG IN THERE
65. URL tag EDU
66. Observe NOTICE
67. Steel-toothed Bond villain JAWS
71. Like some anchors TELEGENIC
72. Early Indo-European ARYAN
74. Big 12 wrestling powerhouse IOWA STATE
75. Went after SUED
76. “__ boy!” ATTA
78. Make EARN
79. In CHIC
80. Without a buyer lined up ON SPEC
81. Belg. neighbor NETH
83. The cooler STIR
84. Span. miss SRTA
88. Writer with an award named for him O HENRY
89. “Pride and Prejudice” novelist AUSTEN
90. Grabbed SEIZED
92. “You betcha!” RIGHTO!
93. Father of Shem, Ham and Japheth NOAH
94. Aquatic frolicker OTTER
95. Belushi’s “Animal House” role BLUTO
96. Cel mates? TOONS
101. Org. that sticks to its guns NRA
103. Metal refinery input ORES
104. Nimble SPRY
106. Frazier’s Fight of the Century foe ALI
107. Clicker button REW
108. Microbrew selection ALE
109. Slangy “How’s things?” SUP

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4 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 15 Dec 13, Sunday”

  1. Sacramento successfully outbid Seattle for the NBA Kings franchise with a promise of a new stadium. So it looks like the name Sonics will be retired for a few more years 🙂

  2. Hi Bill!
    I finished Reagle's puzzle and didn't peek at today's.
    I'm saving it and the NYT for tomorrow, as it will be a VERY long day, and lots of time to kill.
    Glad you enjoyed the 6 chansons and yes, atonal music can be very trying. Phillip Glass por ejemplo.
    Thanks for all you do.

  3. Hi there, Pookie.

    Hope you have a wonderfully puzzling day tomorrow 🙂

    I had to cringe a little when you placed my beloeved Philip Glass in the "atonal club". I think of him more as a minimalist. My wife surprised me with tickets to a Philip Glass recital a couple of years ago and I must say that it was one of the most enjoyable musical performances that I have ever attended. We were in a very small venue so it was a very intimate experience, with just Philip Glass playing at the piano and chatting with us about each piece beforehand. He is my hero 🙂

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