LA Times Crossword Answers 19 Jan 2018, Friday

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Constructed by: Debbie Ellerin
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: Side-Eye

Themed clues are all situated along the SIDE (edge) of the grid. Each needs to be followed by EYE in order to make sense of its clue:

  • 40A. Scornful glance … and a hint to completing 12 aptly placed answers : SIDE-EYE
  • 1A. Type of coordination : HAND-EYE
  • 5A. Wolverine rival : BUCKEYE
  • 9A. Hidden 3-D image : MAGIC EYE
  • 71A. Intuition : THIRD EYE
  • 72A. Batter’s command of the strike zone, in baseball lingo : GOOD EYE
  • 73A. Pacific salmon : SOCKEYE
  • 1D. Iowa athlete : HAWKEYE
  • 13D. Reflective semiprecious stone : CAT’S EYE
  • 26D. Unassisted peeper : NAKED EYE
  • 33D. Physical feature of Peter Falk and Sammy Davis Jr. : GLASS EYE
  • 56D. Z’s : SHUT-EYE
  • 64D. Conjunctivitis : PINK EYE

Bill’s time: 13m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Wolverine rival : BUCKEYE

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

The Wolverines are the sports teams of the University of Michigan.

9. Hidden 3-D image : MAGIC EYE

“Magic Eye” is a series of books featuring autostereograms, images that allow viewers to see 3D images by focusing on 2D patterns. The first autostereogram was created in 1979.

15. “A Hard Road to Glory” author : ASHE

“A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete” is a 1988 book by tennis star Arthur Ashe. Published in three volumes, Ashe researched for almost six years with a team to put the book together. Ashe stated publicly that he valued “A Hard Road to Glory” more than any of his tennis titles.

20. “Roar” singer : KATY PERRY

Katy Perry is an American singer who grew up listening to and singing gospel music, as she was the daughter of two Christian pastors. In fact, her first musical release was a gospel album in 2001. She has branched out since then. Her first successful single was “Ur so Gay”, followed by “I Kissed A Girl”. She was married (for only a year) to the British comedian Russell Brand, until 2012.

23. Malfoy, to Potter : FOE

Draco Malfoy is one of the regular “bad guys” in the “Harry Potter” stories. Malfoy is one of Potter’s fellow students, the one who sneers a lot. Draco’s father is Lucius Malfoy, a character who becomes more and more relevant as the storyline in the series of books progresses.

30. Binging : ON A JAG

The word “jag” is used to describe periods of unrestrained activity, particularly involving alcohol, and has been in use since the 1800s.

34. Order to a sea dog : AVAST!

“Avast” is a nautical term used to tell someone to stop or desist from what they are doing. The word comes from the Dutch “hou vast” meaning “hold fast”.

35. Genesis victim : 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?”

38. Quinnipiac University product : POLL

The respected Quinnipiac University Poll is a polling center based in Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. The polling center employs about 300 interviewers, many of whom are students at the university.

39. “Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved” brand : KIX

Kix cereal has been around since 1937, would you believe? Kix used to be just puffed grains, processed to give the characteristic shape. Then the decision was made to add sugar to get better penetration into the young kid marketplace. Sad really …

40. Scornful glance … and a hint to completing 12 aptly placed answers : SIDE-EYE

“Side-eye” is an informal term describing a disapproving, sidelong glance.

43. Soul seller : KIA

The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …

44. Sooner State city : ENID

Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because is has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

The 1889 Indian Appropriations Act officially opened up the so called Unassigned Lands, land in Oklahoma on which no Native American tribes had settled. Once the Act was signed, those lands became available for settlement. Those people that settled the same lands illegally, prior the date specified, they were termed “Sooners” as their situation was defined in the “sooner clause” of the Act. “Sooner State” is now a nickname for Oklahoma.

46. Jodie Foster title role : NELL

“Nell” is a thoughtful drama film from 1994 starring Jodie Foster in the title role. Nell is a young woman who had been raised by her mother in isolation, away from all human contact. She is discovered as an untamed child and gradually introduced into society. The movie is a screen adaptation of a play by Mark Handley called “Idioglossia”.

The wonderful actress and director Jodie Foster got her big break in movies early in her life, playing a very young prostitute in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film “Taxi Driver”. Sadly, her appearance in “Taxi Driver” led to her being stalked by an obsessed John Hinckley, Jr. Hinckley called Foster on the phone, sent her love letters, and followed her on campus while she was attending Yale. In 1981, Hinckley famously shot and wounded President Reagan, claiming that he believed an assassination of the President would impress Foster.

49. Antarctica, for example : DESERT

On average, Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest of all seven continents. Although Antarctica is very cold, it is essentially a desert, receiving only 8 inches of precipitation annually at the coasts and even less inland.

53. Coop cries : COOS

The Old English word “cypa”, meaning “basket”, evolved in the 14th century to the word “coop” to describe a small cage for poultry. And, we still use that word today.

56. E alternative? : SNAIL

E-mail is an alternative to snail mail.

Snail mail is regular mail delivered by the postal service. The term “snail mail” arose as email gained in popularity, and is a reference to the difference in speed between email and paper mail.

65. Pilot that can’t fly : HONDA

The Honda Pilot is mid-size crossover SUV that was introduced in 2002. The luxury version of the vehicle is sold as the Acura MDX.

67. Halliwell once known as Ginger Spice : GERI

Geri Halliwell was nicknamed Ginger Spice when she was with the Spice Girls, because of her red hair. Halliwell was quite a bit older than the rest of the group and so sometimes she was less charitably referred to as “Old Spice”. After launching her solo career, Halliwell released a fabulous 2001 version of the song “It’s Raining Men”, which was originally recorded by the Weather Girls in 1982. Great song …

68. Rte. that crosses Lake Michigan by ferry : US-TEN

US Route 10 is a highway that used to run from from Detroit, Michigan to Seattle, Washington. Dating back to 1926, interstates have replaced some of it’s length, so that now US-10 runs from Bay City, Michigan to West Fargo, North Dakota. There’s a ferry service connecting Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin across Lake Michigan. That ferry service is an officially designated section of US-10.

71. Intuition : THIRD EYE

The “third eye” is also known as the “inner eye”. The term refers to the concept of an invisible eye that allows one to perceive beyond ordinary sight, to gain insight.

73. Pacific salmon : SOCKEYE

The sockeye salmon is also known as the red or blueback salmon. The name “sockeye” comes from “suk-kegh”, a word from the native language of an indigenous people in British Columbia. “Suk-kegh” means “red fish”.

Down

1. Iowa athlete : HAWKEYE

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the sports teams of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The school’s mascot is Herky the Hawk, who first appeared at n Iowa State football game in 1959.

2. New Balance competitor : AVIA

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

New Balance is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts.

4. Subject of Zola’s “J’Accuse…!” : DREYFUS

The most famous work of French writer Émile Zola is his 1898 open letter “J’Accuse!” written to then French president Félix Faure. The letter was published on the front page of a leading Paris newspaper, and accused the government of anti-Semitism in its handling of the trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish military officer in the French army, falsely accused and convicted of spying for Germany. Even after the error was discovered, the government refused to back down and let Dreyfus rot away on Devil’s Island rather than admit to the mistake. It wasn’t until 1906, 12 years after the wrongful conviction, that Dreyfus was freed and reinstated, largely due to the advocacy of Emile Zola.

5. Whalebone : BALEEN

Our word “baleen” meaning “whalebone” comes from the Latin “balleana”, which in turn comes from the Greek “phallaina” meaning “whale”. “Phallaina” is apparently related the Greek “phallos” meaning “swollen penis”, and is a reference to the shape of a whale.

7. Arctic trout : CHAR

The Arctic char is cold-water fish that is found in freshwater bodies in the very north of our planet, as the name suggests. In fact, no other freshwater fish is found as far north as the Arctic char.

8. “Out of Africa” setting : KENYA

Kenya lies on the east coast of Africa, right on the equator. The country takes her name from Mount Kenya, the second highest peak on the continent (after Kilimanjaro). The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili.

“Out of Africa” is a Sydney Pollack film released in 1985, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The storyline is based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Karen Blixen (written under the pen name Isak Dinesen). Streep plays the author in the movie, and Redford plays big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton, Blixen’s lover.

9. Drama set at an advertising agency : MAD MEN

“Mad Men” was the flagship show on the AMC television channel for several seasons. Set in the sixties, it’s all about an advertising agency located on Madison Avenue in New York (hence the title). “Mad Men” became the first show created by a basic cable channel to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

11. Silk Road desert : GOBI

The large desert in Asia called the Gobi lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. The Gobi desert is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This “desertification” is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert’s progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so called “Green Wall of China”. The name “Gobi” is Mongolian for “waterless place, semidesert”.

The Silk Road was a network of trading routes that crossed North Africa and Asia, connecting Europe to West Asia. The routes get the name from the lucrative trade in silk from China.

13. Reflective semiprecious stone : CAT’S EYE

Cat’s eye is a semiprecious stone also known as cymophane.

21. USB and others : PORTS

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

25. Toledo opening? : HOLY …

The origin of the term “Holy Toledo!” is much debated. My favorite story is that it comes from the days of Vaudeville. Back then the week before Easter, known as Holy Week, was the worst week at the box office. Old Vaudeville entertainers used to quip that any week in Toledo was Holy Week, that ticket sales were always bad there. They referred to the city as “Holy Toledo”.

27. Like Lamb Chop : OVINE

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.

29. One-named Nigerian singer : SADE

The singer Sade’s real name is Helen Folasade Adu. Although she was born in Nigeria, Sade grew up and lives in the UK. She was the lead vocalist for the English group Sade, and adopted the name of the band. The band’s biggest hits were “Smooth Operator” (1984) and “The Sweetest Taboo” (1985).

31. Batman nemesis, with “the” : JOKER

Cesar Romero was an American actor of Cuban descent from New York. He played a wide variety of roles on the big screen, but is remembered by many for playing the Joker on the “Batman” television show in the sixties.

33. Physical feature of Peter Falk and Sammy Davis Jr. : GLASS EYE

Peter Falk was an actor from New York City who became most associated with the title role in the cop show “Columbo”. In addition to his abilities as an actor, Falk was known for his squint. This squint was the result of a glass eye that he wore from the age of three. The young Falk developed a form of cancer that necessitated the original eye’s removal.

Singer, actor and comedian Sammy Davis, Jr. started his showbusiness career in vaudeville as a child as a part of a song and dance trio that included his father. After WWII, Davis became friends with Frank Sinatra, and soon found himself a member of the famed Rat Pack. Along with his fellow Rat Packers, he made movies like “Ocean’s 11” (1960) and “Robin and the 7 Hoods” (1964).

36. “The Fresh Prince of __-Air” : BEL

The sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” originally ran from 1990 to 1996, and starred Will Smith as a teenager from Philadelphia who arrives in Bel Air to live in a mansion with his wealthy aunt and uncle.

37. Charged fish? : EELS

Electrophorus electricus is the biological name for the electric eel. Despite its name, the electric “eel” isn’t an eel at all, but rather what is called a knifefish, a fish with an elongated body that is related to the catfish. The electric eel has three pairs of organs along its abdomen, each capable of generating an electric discharge. The shock can go as high as 500 volts with 1 ampere of current (that’s 500 watts), and that could perhaps kill a human.

41. Van Morrison’s “__ the Mystic” : INTO

Van Morrison is a singer-songwriter from Belfast in Northern Ireland. Back in Ireland we refer to him as “Van the Man”. Some of Morrison’s more famous songs are “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Moondance”, “Gloria” and “Have I Told You Lately”.

45. Bush 43, so he said, with “the” : DECIDER

President George W. Bush first called himself “the decider” in a statement in April, 2006. At that time, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was under political pressure to step down. President Bush responded with:

I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.

48. Goes back (on) : RENEGES

To renege on something is to back out of it. It’s a verb commonly used in card games like bridge and whist. A renege is when a player doesn’t follow suit, even though there may be a card of the suit led in his/her hand.

50. French epic hero : ROLAND

Roland Garros was a French aviator who was noted as a fighter pilot during WWI. Garros is sometimes described as the world’s first fighter ace, but this isn’t true. He shot down four aircraft in total, and five kills are required in order to earn the name “ace”.

57. Nibble : NOSH

Our word “nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”. We use “nosh” as a noun that means snack, or as a verb meaning to eat between meals.

60. Relative of a Yodel : HO HO

Ho Hos snack cakes were first produced in San Francisco in 1967. The “Happy Ho Ho” mascot was created for the brand in the 1970s, and was a cartoon character in a Robin Hood outfit. Ho Hos weren’t the best thing to come out of the sixties I’d say …

61. Big Bird buddy : ELMO

The “Sesame Street” character named Elmo has a birthday every February 3rd, and on that birthday he always turns 3½ years old. The man behind/under Elmo on “Sesame Street” is Kevin Clash. If you want to learn more about Elmo and Clash, you can watch the 2011 documentary “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”.

The man “inside” Big Bird on “Sesame Street” is Caroll Spinney, who has been playing the character since 1969. That’s a long time, so Matt Vogel has been Spinney’s understudy since 1998.

62. Chrysler Building style : DECO

The Chrysler Building in Manhattan is a magnificent Art Deco structure that was opened in 1930. Standing at over 1,000 feet tall, it was the tallest building in the world for almost a year, until the Empire State Building was completed in 1931. The building was constructed for use of the Chrysler Corporation, but the company never owned it. The car manufacturer’s founder decided to pay for the Chrysler Building out if his personal wealth, so that he could pass it on to his children.

63. __-Z: classic Camaro : IROC

The IROC-Z is a model of Camaro that was introduced by Chevrolet in 1978. The IROC-Z takes its name from a famous stock car race, the International Race of Champions.

64. Conjunctivitis : PINKEYE

The conjunctivae are membranes on the outer surface of the eye and in the inner surface of the eyelid. If the conjunctivae get inflamed, due to an infection or perhaps an allergy, then this condition is called conjunctivitis, or more commonly “pinkeye”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Type of coordination : HAND-EYE
5. Wolverine rival : BUCKEYE
9. Hidden 3-D image : MAGIC EYE
14. State as fact : AVER
15. “A Hard Road to Glory” author : ASHE
16. Coffeehouse draw : AROMA
17. Sagacious : WISE
18. Lacking in some way : LEAN
19. Checkout choice : DEBIT
20. “Roar” singer : KATY PERRY
22. Large pipes : MAINS
23. Malfoy, to Potter : FOE
24. Attention getter : AHEM!
26. Sign on a highway : NO TURNS
30. Binging : ON A JAG
34. Order to a sea dog : AVAST!
35. Genesis victim : ABEL
38. Quinnipiac University product : POLL
39. “Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved” brand : KIX
40. Scornful glance … and a hint to completing 12 aptly placed answers : SIDE-EYE
43. Soul seller : KIA
44. Sooner State city : ENID
46. Jodie Foster title role : NELL
47. Slogs : TREKS
49. Antarctica, for example : DESERT
51. Domains : SPHERES
53. Coop cries : COOS
55. Really big stretch : EON
56. E alternative? : SNAIL
59. Chip topper : CHEESE DIP
65. Pilot that can’t fly : HONDA
66. Favorable thing to be on : ROLL
67. Halliwell once known as Ginger Spice : GERI
68. Rte. that crosses Lake Michigan by ferry : US-TEN
69. Sighed line : AH ME
70. Course that may cover a crash: Abbr. : ECON
71. Intuition : THIRD EYE
72. Batter’s command of the strike zone, in baseball lingo : GOOD EYE
73. Pacific salmon : SOCKEYE

Down

1. Iowa athlete : HAWKEYE
2. New Balance competitor : AVIA
3. Incubator site : NEST
4. Subject of Zola’s “J’Accuse…!” : DREYFUS
5. Whalebone : BALEEN
6. Certain surfer : USER
7. Arctic trout : CHAR
8. “Out of Africa” setting : KENYA
9. Drama set at an advertising agency : MAD MEN
10. Hotel handout : AREA MAP
11. Silk Road desert : GOBI
12. “Let’s do it!” : I’M IN!
13. Reflective semiprecious stone : CAT’S EYE
21. USB and others : PORTS
25. Toledo opening? : HOLY …
26. Unassisted peeper : NAKED EYE
27. Like Lamb Chop : OVINE
28. Prepares to take off : TAXIS
29. One-named Nigerian singer : SADE
31. Batman nemesis, with “the” : JOKER
32. Similar : ALIKE
33. Physical feature of Peter Falk and Sammy Davis Jr. : GLASS EYE
36. “The Fresh Prince of __-Air” : BEL
37. Charged fish? : EELS
41. Van Morrison’s “__ the Mystic” : INTO
42. Set of values : ETHOS
45. Bush 43, so he said, with “the” : DECIDER
48. Goes back (on) : RENEGES
50. French epic hero : ROLAND
52. Prepared to eat, as a banana : PEELED
54. Skin-and-bones sort : SCRAG
56. Z’s : SHUT-EYE
57. Nibble : NOSH
58. Fighting : ANTI
60. Relative of a Yodel : HO HO
61. Big Bird buddy : ELMO
62. Chrysler Building style : DECO
63. __-Z: classic Camaro : IROC
64. Conjunctivitis : PINKEYE

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