LA Times Crossword Answers 31 Oct 2017, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: Patt to Putt

Today’s themed answers start with the prefix PxTT-, where x moves through the vowels from A to U:

  • 18A. “Evita” Tony-winning actress : PATTI LUPONE
  • 25A. Coast Guard rank : PETTY OFFICER
  • 37A. Roberto Clemente, notably : PITTSBURGH PIRATE
  • 48A. Ceramics shaper : POTTER’S WHEEL
  • 59A. Tinker in the workshop : PUTTER ABOUT

Bill’s time: 6m 09s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Capital of Poland : WARSAW

Warsaw is the capital of Poland. The city’s name translates into English as “belonging to Warsz”. Legend has it that Warsz was a fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid called Sawa. It’s a nice story, but actually Warsz was a nobleman from the 12th or 13th century who owned a local village.

7. Actress Moore : DEMI

Demi Moore was born Demetria Guynes and took the name Demi Moore when she married her first husband, Freddy Moore. Moore’s second husband was Bruce Willis. She changed her name to Demi Guynes Kutcher a few years after marrying her third husband, Ashton Kutcher. But, Kutcher and Moore split in 2013.

11. Dick and Jane’s dog : SPOT

In the “Dick and Jane” series of books for children, Spot was a cat back in the thirties, but then became a dog in later editions.

The “Dick and Jane” beginning reader series of books was originally written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and first published in the 1930s. There are claims of plagiarism from an earlier pair of books published throughout the British Commonwealth that featured the characters Dick and Dora. Indeed, I grew up in the British Isles with “Dick and Dora”, and always assumed that “Dick and Jane” were somehow their American cousins!

15. Tropical lizard : IGUANA

An iguana is a lizard, and as such is cold-blooded. There are times when pet iguanas need heat from an IR lamp to maintain body temperature.

17. Vagrant : HOBO

No one seems to know for sure how the term “hobo” originated, although there are lots of colorful theories. My favorite is that “hobo” comes from the first letters in the words “ho-meward bo-und”, but it doesn’t seem very plausible. A kind blog reader tells me that according to Click and Clack from PBS’s “Car Talk” (a great source!), “hobo” comes from “hoe boy”. Hoe boys were young men with hoes looking for work after the Civil War. Hobos differed from “tramps” and “bums”, in that “bums” refused to work, “tramps” worked when they had to, while “hobos” traveled in search of work.

18. “Evita” Tony-winning actress : PATTI LUPONE

The singer Patti LuPone won Tonys for playing Eva Peron in “Evita ” and Rose in “Gypsy”.

22. Fort full of gold : KNOX

Fort Knox is actually a US Army base, but it lends its name to the adjacent facility that is more correctly called the United States Bullion Depository. Most of the US gold reserves are in “Fort Knox”, although it isn’t the biggest gold repository in the US. That honor goes to the vault under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan. Most of the gold stored in the New York vault belongs to foreign nations and banks.

23. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC

Can you believe that the great Eric Clapton only had one chart-topper in the US? In 1974, Clapton released a cover version of the Bob Marley classic “I Shot the Sheriff” and ended up selling more copies of that song than Bob Marley did himself. Clapton is the only person to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: once as a member of the Yardbirds, once as a member of the supergroup Cream, and once as a solo artist.

25. Coast Guard rank : PETTY OFFICER

A Chief Petty Officer (CPO) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Navy (USN) and Coast Guard (USCG). The “Petty” is derived from the French word “petit” meaning “small”.

29. Prefix with sol : AERO-

Strictly speaking, the term “aerosol” defines a suspension of either liquid droplets or solid particles in a gas. A good example of an aerosol is smoke. We tend to use the “aerosol” to describe what comes out of a spray can, even though the liquid droplets usually fall out of the gas and don’t stay suspended.

30. Flight height: Abbr. : ALT

Altitude (alt.)

31. Ambient music pioneer Brian : ENO

Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the “ambient” genre of music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, which was the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks somewhat inventively: 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.

34. Carpal or tarsal lead-in : META-

There are five metacarpal bones in each hand. They make up the framework of the palm and the back of the hand. Each metacarpal is connected to a finger and the wrist. The equivalent bones in the foot are called the metatarsals.

36. Prilosec target : ACID

“Prilosec” is a brand name for the drug omeprazole. It is a “proton-pump inhibitor”, meaning that is reduces the production of gastric acid.

37. Roberto Clemente, notably : PITTSBURGH PIRATE

Roberto Clemente was a Major League Baseball player from Puerto Rico who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 to 1972. Clemente devoted much of his spare time in charity work in Caribbean countries, and in 1972 flew to Nicaragua to deliver aid to to earthquake victims. While en route, Clemente was killed in a plane crash. The Roberto Clemente Award has been presented annually since 1971 to an outstanding baseball player who is known for his personal involvement in community work.

41. “__-daisy!” : UPSY

Upsy-daisy” is an interjection sometimes used when lifting up a child. It’s “baby talk”, words of reassurance.

43. Small fishing boat : DORY

A dory is a small boat, around 20 feet long, with a shallow draft, a flat bottom and a sharp bow. Dories are commonly used for fishing.

44. D.C. United’s org. : MLS

D.C. United is a professional soccer team based in the nation’s capital. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) and plays home games at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

52. 34-Down, in Toledo, Sp. : SRA
(34D. 52-Across, in Toledo, OH : MRS)

The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).

Toledo is a city in central Spain that is located just over 40 miles south of the capital Madrid. Toledo is sometimes called the “City of Three Cultures”, due to the historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions.

Toledo, Ohio lies in the northwest of the state, at the western end of Lake Erie. Toledo was founded as a result of the prosperity that hit the area when the Miami and Erie Canal was constructed in the 19th century connecting Cincinnati to the Great Lakes. Toledo is known as the Glass City as several glass companies originated there, including Owens Corning and Pilkington North America. There is a large exhibition of glass art at the Toledo Museum of Art.

55. Naturalist John : MUIR

John Muir was a famous American naturalist, although he was born in Scotland. Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892. He published “My First Summer in the Sierra” in 1911, which described one of Muir’s favorite places in the country, the Sierra Nevada range in California.

56. “__ Lang Syne” : AULD

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

57. Truant GI : AWOL

The Military Police (MPs) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).

“Truant” is such a lovely word. We have been using it to describe someone who wanders from an appointed place since the mid-1400s. Prior to that, a truant was a beggar or a vagabond.

63. “__, Brute?” : ET TU

It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?). They appear in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life (if anything at all) as he was assassinated on on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

65. Meat safety org. : USDA

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies meat into eight different grades:

  • Prime
  • Choice
  • Select
  • Standard
  • Commercial
  • Utility
  • Cutter
  • Canner

66. Loch with a mystery : NESS

The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs really sparking the imagination.

Down

1. Windshield cleaner : WIPER

You may have seen the 2008 movie “Flash of Genius”, which outlined the troubles Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) had in making money from his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Well, Mary Anderson developed the original (non-intermittent) wiper and received a patent in 1903. She didn’t make any money either …

2. Striped quartz : AGATE

Agate is a micro-crystalline form of quartz (so is related to sand/silica). Some agate samples have deposited layers that give a striped appearance, and these are called “banded agate”.

6. “The Color Purple” author Alice : WALKER

Alice Walker is an author and poet. Walker’s best known work is the novel “The Color Purple”, which earned her the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. “The Color Purple” was adapted into a very successful film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg.

7. Bus terminus : DEPOT

Our term “depot”, meaning a station or warehouse, comes from the French word “dépôt”. The French term translates into English as “deposit” or “place of deposit”.

9. 60 secs. : MIN

The hour is subdivided into 60 parts, each of which was known as a “pars minuta prima” in Medieval Latin, translating as “first small part”. This phrase “pars minuta prima” evolved into our word “minute”. The “pars minuta prima” (minute) was further divided into 60 parts, each called a “secunda pars minuta”, meaning “second small part”. “Secunda pars minuta” evolved into our term “second”.

10. Devils’ playing surface, ironically : ICE

The New Jersey Devils are the professional ice hockey team based in Newark. The club was founded in 1974 in Kansas City, originally as the Mohawks, and then quickly renamed the Scouts. The franchise moved to Denver in 1976, becoming the Colorado Rockies. The move to Newark happened in 1982, when the team was renamed the New Jersey Devils.

11. Puppeteer Lewis : SHARI

Shari Lewis was the original puppeteer behind the PBS children’s show “Lamb Chop”. After Shari Lewis died in 1998, her daughter Mallory took over the role of puppeteer on the show.

13. Target of captioning censorship : OBSCENITY

The original censor was an officer in ancient Rome who had responsibility for taking the “census”, as well as supervising public morality.

19. “Do __ others … ” : UNTO

The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

23. Young salamander : EFT

Salamanders are lizard-like amphibians found in all across the northern hemisphere. They are the only vertebrate animals that can regenerate lost limbs.

26. Inaugural recitation : OATH

Inauguration Day is on January 20th, in the year following the November election of a US President. This date is called out in the twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution, which was ratified by the states in 1933.

36. Retired Yankee slugger, to fans : A-ROD

Baseball player Alex Rodriguez, nicknamed “A-Rod”, broke a lot of records in his career, albeit under a shroud of controversy due to his use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. When he signed a 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers for $252 million in 2000, it was the most lucrative contract in sports history. In 2007, Rodriguez signed an even more lucrative 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, worth $275 million. Rodriguez retired in 2016.

46. One-named soccer great : PELE

“Pelé” is the nickname of Edson de Nascimento, a soccer player who has used the name “Pelé” for most of his life. Pelé is now retired, and for my money was the world’s greatest ever player of the game. He is the only person to have been part of three World Cup winning squads, and is a national treasure in his native Brazil. One of Pele’s nicknames is “O Rei do Futebol” (the King of Football).

50. Light bulb units : WATTS

James Watt was a Scottish inventor. He figured prominently in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, largely due to the improvements he made to the fledgling steam engine. The SI unit of power is called the watt, named in his honor.

51. Many Rwandans : HUTUS

The Hutu are the largest population in Rwanda, with the Tutsi being the second largest. The bloody conflict that has existed between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples dates back to about 1880 when Catholic missionaries arrived in the region. The missionaries found that they had more success converting the Hutus than the Tutsi, and when the Germans occupied the area during WWI they confiscated Tutsi land and gave it to Hutu tribes in order to reward religious conversion. This injustice fuels fighting to this very day.

57. Brother of Cain : ABEL

In the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, Cain murders his brother Abel. Subsequently, God asks Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain replies, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

58. Nittany Lions’ sch. : PSU

The athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University (PSU) are called the Nittany Lions, or in the case of the female teams, the Lady Lions. The Nittany Lion was introduced as a mascot way back in 1904 and is modeled after mountain lions that used to roam Mount Nittany located near the school’s campus.

59. It’s mightier than the 52-Down, so they say : PEN
(52. See 59-Down : SWORD)

Edward Bulwer-Lytton was an English politician and writer. Among his writings, Bulwer-Lytton came up with some phrases that have endured, such as:

  • “the great unwashed”
  • “pursuit of the almighty dollar”
  • “the pen is mightier than the sword”
  • “It was a dark and stormy night …”

60. 4 x 4, for short : UTE

A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sport-utes and crossover-utes.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Capital of Poland : WARSAW
7. Actress Moore : DEMI
11. Dick and Jane’s dog : SPOT
15. Tropical lizard : IGUANA
16. Large-scale : EPIC
17. Vagrant : HOBO
18. “Evita” Tony-winning actress : PATTI LUPONE
20. __-ran : ALSO
21. Diminutive suffix : -ETTE
22. Fort full of gold : KNOX
23. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC
24. Spanish king : REY
25. Coast Guard rank : PETTY OFFICER
29. Prefix with sol : AERO-
30. Flight height: Abbr. : ALT
31. Ambient music pioneer Brian : ENO
32. Rural road surface : DIRT
34. Carpal or tarsal lead-in : META-
36. Prilosec target : ACID
37. Roberto Clemente, notably : PITTSBURGH PIRATE
41. “__-daisy!” : UPSY
42. Approximately : OR SO
43. Small fishing boat : DORY
44. D.C. United’s org. : MLS
45. Sweetie pie : HON
46. Urge : PROD
48. Ceramics shaper : POTTER’S WHEEL
52. 34-Down, in Toledo, Sp. : SRA
55. Naturalist John : MUIR
56. “__ Lang Syne” : AULD
57. Truant GI : AWOL
58. Fatherly nickname : PAPA
59. Tinker in the workshop : PUTTER ABOUT
62. Move a bit : STIR
63. “__, Brute?” : ET TU
64. Not inclined (to) : AVERSE
65. Meat safety org. : USDA
66. Loch with a mystery : NESS
67. Blowtorch user : WELDER

Down

1. Windshield cleaner : WIPER
2. Striped quartz : AGATE
3. Like old wagon trails : RUTTY
4. Appease, as hunger : SATE
5. Smart game-show vowel purchase for “F_LM CR_T_C” : AN I
6. “The Color Purple” author Alice : WALKER
7. Bus terminus : DEPOT
8. Modeling glue : EPOXY
9. 60 secs. : MIN
10. Devils’ playing surface, ironically : ICE
11. Puppeteer Lewis : SHARI
12. Patrol vehicle : POLICE CAR
13. Target of captioning censorship : OBSCENITY
14. “That’s __ bad” : TOO
19. “Do __ others … ” : UNTO
23. Young salamander : EFT
25. Caresses, as a dog : PETS
26. Inaugural recitation : OATH
27. Envelope part : FLAP
28. Used a bike : RODE
29. Superficially cultured : ARTY
32. Embassy workers : DIPLOMATS
33. “What a harebrained idea!” : IT’S STUPID!
34. 52-Across, in Toledo, OH : MRS
35. Self-esteem : EGO
36. Retired Yankee slugger, to fans : A-ROD
37. Gas station machine : PUMP
38. Crude dude : BOOR
39. Catering coffeepots : URNS
40. Big screen star : IDOL
45. Ship’s pronoun : HER
46. One-named soccer great : PELE
47. Change, as map details : REDRAW
49. Sparkly crown : TIARA
50. Light bulb units : WATTS
51. Many Rwandans : HUTUS
52. See 59-Down : SWORD
53. Shake awake : ROUSE
54. Change : ALTER
57. Brother of Cain : ABEL
58. Nittany Lions’ sch. : PSU
59. It’s mightier than the 52-Down, so they say : PEN
60. 4 x 4, for short : UTE
61. Blvd. : AVE

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16 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 31 Oct 2017, Tuesday”

  1. Easy puzzle today. A little disappointed there wasn’t a Halloween theme. On to the WSJ. Maybe I’ll get a nod to the holiday there. ?

    Have a good one everybody!

    -Megan

  2. No errors. Didn’t know MLS (sports). Only knew Nittany Lions cuz my sister got her masters in etching there. The school is surrounded by the Nittany Mtns.

  3. …. typed my moniker out, first …. no problem.

    The puzzle was easier than yesterday’s. Some of the answers were too easy …. didn’t notice the vowel progression. Great !

    I don’t follow much sports, but I thought the concept of a state university in the geographical center of the state, Pennsylvania, is always a great idea !!@! I guess there were some lions there a long time ago …

    Thank you Bill, for the bums, tramps and hobo definitions ! I try to mention your name when I relate my knowledge, on this subject, to my associates, about hobos.

    Regarding gold …. when the World Trade Centers collapsed, …. about a month later, …. they recovered over several humdered tons of gold, in the sub-basements ….. intact. Gold ingots are indestructible.
    Fort Knox would have been a great tourist attraction, except for the fact that you cannot even drive within 15 miles of the place – for security reasons.

    Very Cute long animated Google doodle today – with rousing music !!@!
    In honor of Halloween.

    Have a nice day, and nice evening of Trick or Treat, folks.

  4. FLASH: One of our solvers, Husker Gary, pointed out that the first vowel of the second word is regressive, U thru A. Coincidence, I think not.

    1. @Argyle (and Husker Gary)
      Well, that went completely over my head. Thanks for pointing it out. Coincidence? I too think probably not! 🙂

  5. LAT: 8:52, no errors; theme went right over my head. Newsday: 7:37, no errors. WSJ: 9:23, no errors. CHE: 16:47, no errors.

    Reading the entry about hobos, tramps, and bums triggered a vivid memory. It was 1948, I was 5, and we had recently moved from a small city to a farm (in Iowa). My dad was at work and my older brothers were elsewhere, so my mother and I were the only ones home when a man came shuffling up the road and knocked on the door. He showed my mother some kind of awful sore on his leg (fake?) and said that he was unable to do any chores, but he was terribly hungry. So my mother made him a sandwich, he ate it, and then he walked on down the road. No big deal, I guess, and my mother never talked about it, but I somehow picked up on her unease regarding the situation.

  6. Fun, no peek puzzle. As soon as I found “Patti” I put “Pet, Pit, Pot and Put” in the across spaces… added the second “t” after “Petty.” It takes a little longer to do the puzzle(s) this way, but they seem a lot more challenging (especially for a L.A. Times Tuesday).

  7. Another easy Tuesday even though it was a Wechsler special. Tuesday is still Tuesday. One of these days I’m going to try Fred’s idea of ignoring theme clues and solving that way. Put some spice into early week puzzles.

    @Anon – I think you’re right. A regular blow torch can be used for soldering…maybe…but welding needs the specialized acetylene torches that burn at 6000+ degrees so both metals can melt. I don’t think a standard blow torch burns that hot. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps an acetylene torch is considered a type of blowtorch, but I don’t know how generic a term “blowtorch” is.

    I’m a Halloween Scrooge so I’ll be happy when tonight is over. Then I can look forward to the best holiday of the year – Thanksgiving. 5 days of food, beer and sports on tv. I purposely haven’t traveled over Thanksgiving since 1988 I love the time off so much. But this year my family is pressuring me to go be with them. I’m trying to hold out, but I don’t know how successful I’ll be. Airports over Thanksgiving?? Now that’s scarier than anything having to do with Halloween.

    Best –

  8. Jeff and Anon, though I did not give it much thought, but welding requires some sort of electrode – like a compatible fusible metal alloy ( together with the requisite soldering substrate – ) that joins the two metals composing the joint. As in electro arc welding. I always thought a blowtorch was used for cutting out/ cutting away or maybe some electronic component soldering.

    As for Halloween, what with the aging population in the country, together with clueless immigrants and empty nesters, the festival has grown much more sedate of late. Our City ( popln. 1888 ) had its ‘official’ celebration, at the local City Hall / Fire House last Sunday. So any kids out in our streets tonight are probably those bussed in from other cities. I’ll still be waiting.

  9. I finished today’s Croce in about an hour, with four personal one-letter Naticks that I had to guess at … and the one I was most nearly sure of turned out to be wrong! I’m now working my way back through February’s Croce puzzles and I now seem to have gotten past a relatively difficult stretch at the beginning of March to some easier ones, but I seem to be encountering at least one, and sometimes two, one-square Naticks on many of them. Still enjoying them, though … ?

  10. Nice and easy Wechsler Tuesday; took about 12 minutes with no errors.

    I’ve always thought it was oopsy-daisy, but whatever.

    What a game tonight in the WS! Pretty cool act by Hill to step off the mound and let the crowd express themselves. Kinda lowered the guy’s performance tonight and hopefully tomorrow as well. Only annoying thing was that Dodger fan trying to catch Peterson’s HR(get better glasses.) Boy, now I’m going to hafta go watch tomorrow at a bar, instead of just on the computer/radio.

  11. Hi folks! ?
    No errors; I found this a bit challenging for a Tuesday, just as yesterday’s seemed tricky for a Monday. Hmmm!! Maybe I’m off my game this week. Fred, I did the same thing, tho not till I had the P in POTTER’S WHEEL.
    As for the blowtorch issue: I know nothing about it, but I did initially put SOLDER (thinking noun; one who solders) before WELDER. Maybe subconsciously I’ve learned something about blowtorches at some point??
    Dave! I wound up doing yesterday’s BEQ. Three times I had to hit reveal. Most amusing was my time: 102:44!!! Not the actual time; I just didn’t know how to pause the timer when I left it. Ha! ?
    SO GLAD the Dodgers​ won tonight. Great pitching!! Couldn’t watch at some moments in the early innings, so scary are those Astros.
    And we’ve got a Game Seven!! ⚾
    Be well~~™?

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