LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Apr 2018, Saturday

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Constructed by: Daniel Nierenberg
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 16m 17s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Classic dramatic device : FATAL FLAW

In drama, a tragic flaw (sometimes “fatal flaw”) is a weakness or error made by the protagonist that ultimately leads to his or her reversal of fortune. “Tragic flaw” is often referred to as “hamartia”, a similar-meaning term from Greek tragedy.

10. Demonstration of power, perhaps : N-TEST

Nuclear test (N-test)

15. Winter carnival attraction : ICE PALACE

An ice palace is a temporary structure, one made from blocks of ice. The first such structure was built on the order of the Empress Anna in Saint Petersburg, Russia in the winter of 1739. That particular ice palace was an elaborate affair, erected during the celebrations following Russia’s victory over the Ottoman Empire. The palace survived for several months, eventually melting at the start of the following summer.

16. Mythical myrtle-and-roses wreath wearer : ERATO

In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.

18. Cane-carrying 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.

19. Country E of Cyprus : SYR

The modern state that we know as Syria was established after WWI as a French mandate. Syria was granted independence from France in 1946.

Cyprus is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a divided island, with the Republic of Cyprus controlling about 60% of its area. The remaining 40% calls itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and is occupied by Turkish forces.

21. Beauty aisle brand : REVLON

Revlon was founded in the depths of the Great Depression in 1932, by Charles and Joseph Revson. The “S” in the Revson name was replaced by the “L” from Charles “Lachman”, a chemist who partnered with the two brothers.

22. Virus eponym : BARR

The virologists Michael Anthony Epstein and Yvonne Barr discovered what’s now called the Epstein-Barr virus. It is in the herpes family and is one of the most common viruses found in humans. Epstein-Barr causes glandular fever, and is associated with some forms of cancer.

23. Assigns new rankings to : RESEEDS

A seeded player or team in a tournament is one given a preliminary ranking that is used in the initial draw. The intention is that the better competitors do are less likely to meet each other in the early rounds.

24. Narrow types : BIGOTS

“Bigot” is a French word that back in the late 1500s meant “sanctimonious person, religious hypocrite”. We use the term today to describe someone who is biased towards his or her own group, and who is intolerant of those outside of that group.

27. Caravan components : CAMELS

A camel train carrying passengers or goods across a desert can be referred to as a caravan. “Caravan” derives from the Persian “karwan”, which has the same meaning. Over in Britain, “caravan” is the name given to travel trailers.

28. Parting word : ADIOS

The term “adiós” is Spanish for “goodbye”. In the Spanish language, “adiós” comes from the phrase “a Dios vos acomiendo” meaning “I commend you to God”.

29. 1848 classic song about an Alabama-to-Louisiana traveler : OH! SUSANNA

“Oh! Susanna” is a song that was published in 1848, written by Stephen Foster. The song is often called “Banjo on My Knee”, an understandable slip given the words of the chorus. “Oh! Susanna” came to be associated with the Forty-Niners, the miners who traveled to California in the 1849 Gold Rush. The lyrics were changed to suit the Gold rush theme with “Alabama” being replaced by “California”, and “banjo” being replaced by “washpan”.

33. Lingerie specifications : D-CUPS

“Lingerie” is a French term. As used in France, it just means any underwear, worn by either males or females. In English we use “lingerie” to describe alluring underclothing worn by women. The term “lingerie” comes into English via the French word “linge” meaning “washables”, and ultimately from the Latin “linum”, meaning “linen”. We tend not to pronounce the word correctly in English, either here in the US or across the other side of the Atlantic. The French pronunciation is more like “lan-zher-ee”, as opposed to “lon-zher-ay” (American) and “lon-zher-ee” (British).

35. Uris WWII novel : BATTLE CRY

“Battle Cry” is a novel by Leon Uris that was first published in 1953. The story follows men in the US Marines during WWII. “Battle Cry” is somewhat biographical as Uris served with the 6th Marine Regiment during the war. The book was adapted into a 1955 movie of the same name for which Uris wrote the screenplay.

39. Nissan compact : SENTRA

The Nissan Sentra is sold as the Nissan Sunny back in Japan.

44. Territory with a palm tree in its seal : GUAM

Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, and is the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, the territory has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!

45. Onetime JFK arrival : SST

Supersonic transport (SST)

49. Fate of Peter’s father, in kiddie lit : RABBIT PIE

Beatrix Potter was an English author, famous for the children’s books she wrote and illustrated. The most famous character in her stories was Peter Rabbit, whose sisters were Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. Potter put her talent as an artist to good use in the scientific world as well. She recorded many images of lichens and fungi as seen through her microscope. As a result of her work, she was respected as an expert mycologist.

52. Dell gaming brand : ALIENWARE

Alienware is a manufacturer of computer hardware for the gaming community. Founded in 1995 as Sakai of Miami, the “Alienware” name was apparently chosen as a nod to the founders’ fondness of the TV show “The X-Files”. Dell purchased Alienware in 2006.

53. Barista’s offering : LATTE

The person who serves coffee in a coffee shop is often called a “barista”. “Barista” is the Italian for “bartender”.

Down

9. Former NFL receiver Welker : WES

Wes Welker is a former wide receiver who made his NFL debut with the San Diego Chargers in 2004. Welker has built a successful career in football for himself, despite joining the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Notably, he owns a reasonably successful racehorse called “Undrafted”.

10. Sinestro and Professor Zoom, in their respective universes : NEMESES

Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make pay those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant. In modern parlance, one’s nemesis (plural “nemeses”) is one’s sworn enemy, often someone who is the exact opposite in character but someone who still shares some important characteristics. A nemesis is often someone one cannot seem to beat in competition.

Thaal Sinestro is a supervillain in the DC Comics universe, and is an arch-enemy of the Green Lantern.

In the DC Comics Universe, Professor Zoom (aka the “Reverse-Flash) is a supervillain who runs up against the Flash.

21. Important player in the founding-of-Rome story : REMUS

According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born, perhaps instead of “Reme”!

27. Lout : CHURL

A churl is rude, boorish person. The word “churl” comes from the Old English word “ceorl”, meaning a freeman of the lowest class.

29. “Law of parsimony” philosopher : OCCAM

Ockham’s Razor (also “Occam’s Razor”) is a principle in philosophy and science that basically states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. This explanation is a corollary to the more exact statement of the principle, that one shouldn’t needlessly use assumptions in explaining something. The principle is referred to as “lex parsimoniae” in Latin, or “the law of parsimony”. Parsimony is being thrifty with money or resources.

30. Brewer, e.g., briefly : NLER

The Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball (MLB) team was founded in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots only played one season in Seattle before going bankrupt, relocating to Milwaukee and adopting the “Brewers” name. At that time, the Brewers were playing in the American League, and joined the National League in 1998. Only two MLB teams have switched leagues, the other being the Houston Astros.

31. Cinema pooch : ASTA

Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb “The Thin Man” series of films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

33. Waiting room site : DEPOT

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

36. Matisse work featuring hand-holding : LA DANSE

“La Danse” is large painting by Henri Matisse completed 1910 that depicts five dancing figures. I had the privilege of seeing the work in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia quite a few years ago.

Henri Matisse was a French artist renowned for his contribution to modern art. In his early career, Matisse was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts” who emphasized strong color over realism in their works. He was a lifelong friend of Pablo Picasso, and the two were considered to be good-natured rivals so their works are often compared. One major difference between their individual portfolios is that Picasso tended to paint from his imagination, whereas Matisse tended to use nature as his inspiration.

39. Skate home : SEABED

Skates (formally “Rajidae”) are a family of fish in the superorder of rays (formally “batoidea”). Skates look very similar to stingrays but they lack stinging spines.

40. Skimboarding hazard : SHOAL

A shoal is an underwater ridge or bank that is covered with a material such as sand or silt.

A skimboard looks like a small surfboard without fins. A classic skimboarding move is to run from the beach, jump on the board, skim out to a breaking wave, and then use that wave to return to shore.

41. Top prom wear? : TIARA

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

42. Abu Simbel’s region : NUBIA

Nubia is a region shared by Egypt and Sudan that lies along the Nile river. The name “Nubia” comes from the Nuba people who settled in the area in the 4th century.

Abu Simbel is a location in southern Egypt, and the site of two temples carved out of a mountainside. The two rock temples had to be relocated to Abu Simbel in 1968 to save them from being submerged in the water above the Aswan High Dam that was being built across the Nile River.

44. Severe blow : GALE

A gale is a very strong wind, a wind that is defined by Beaufort wind scale as a wind with speeds from 50 to just over 100 kilometers per hour.

45. Filter target : SPAM

The term “spam”, used for unwanted email, is taken from a “Monty Python” sketch. In the sketch (which I’ve seen) the dialog is taken over by the word Spam, a play on the glut of canned meat in the markets of Britain after WWII. So “spam” is used for the glut of emails that takes over online communication. I can just imagine nerdy Internet types (like me) adopting something from a “Monty Python” sketch to describe an online phenomenon …

46. “Game of Thrones” address : SIRE

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is a fantasy television drama that is adapted from a series of novels by George R. R. Martin called “A Song of Ice and Fire”. “Game of Thrones” is actually filmed in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland. I recently binge-watched the show’s first seven seasons, and enjoyed it. There’s no doubt that the production value of “Game of Thrones” is remarkable, but to be honest, I never became riveted by the storyline …

50. Lindbergh Line airline : TWA

Back in 1930, when TWA was known as Transcontinental & Western Air (T&WA), the airline introduced one of the first passenger services between the east and west coasts of the US. Known as the Lindbergh Line, travel took about 36 hours and involved an overnight stay in Kansas City.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Classic dramatic device : FATAL FLAW
10. Demonstration of power, perhaps : N-TEST
15. Winter carnival attraction : ICE PALACE
16. Mythical myrtle-and-roses wreath wearer : ERATO
17. Updated “What a shame!” : THAT BITES!
18. Cane-carrying Mr. : MAGOO
19. Country E of Cyprus : SYR
20. Marsh growth : REED
21. Beauty aisle brand : REVLON
22. Virus eponym : BARR
23. Assigns new rankings to : RESEEDS
24. Narrow types : BIGOTS
27. Caravan components : CAMELS
28. Parting word : ADIOS
29. 1848 classic song about an Alabama-to-Louisiana traveler : OH! SUSANNA
32. Court pros : REFS
33. Lingerie specifications : D-CUPS
34. Hair products : GELS
35. Uris WWII novel : BATTLE CRY
37. Harass : BESET
38. “Help me out, bro” : BE A PAL
39. Nissan compact : SENTRA
40. Actor’s dream : STARDOM
42. Cleverly planned, as a trick : NEAT
43. Warn, in a way : HISS AT
44. Territory with a palm tree in its seal : GUAM
45. Onetime JFK arrival : SST
48. Like some casks : OAKEN
49. Fate of Peter’s father, in kiddie lit : RABBIT PIE
51. Sections : AREAS
52. Dell gaming brand : ALIENWARE
53. Barista’s offering : LATTE
54. Intimidating psychological tactics : HEAD GAMES

Down

1. Makes sense : FITS
2. Hurting : ACHY
3. Run like the wind : TEAR
4. Liable : APT
5. Research subjects : LAB RATS
6. Message disseminators : FLIERS
7. Not as punctual : LATER
8. Justified serious studying for : ACED
9. Former NFL receiver Welker : WES
10. Sinestro and Professor Zoom, in their respective universes : NEMESES
11. Tour coordinator : TRAVEL AGENT
12. Home on a high cliff, perhaps : EAGLE’S NEST
13. Rose : STOOD
14. 18-Across and others : TOONS
21. Important player in the founding-of-Rome story : REMUS
22. Child-raising technique? : BOOSTER SEAT
23. Rough-sounding : RASPY
24. Wire sticker : BARB
25. What a raised index finger may indicate : IDEA
26. Present often mailed : GIFT BASKET
27. Lout : CHURL
29. “Law of parsimony” philosopher : OCCAM
30. Brewer, e.g., briefly : NLER
31. Cinema pooch : ASTA
33. Waiting room site : DEPOT
36. Matisse work featuring hand-holding : LA DANSE
37. Wearing a grin : BEAMING
39. Skate home : SEABED
40. Skimboarding hazard : SHOAL
41. Top prom wear? : TIARA
42. Abu Simbel’s region : NUBIA
44. Severe blow : GALE
45. Filter target : SPAM
46. “Game of Thrones” address : SIRE
47. Screen-printing targets : TEES
49. Sound from a fan : RAH!
50. Lindbergh Line airline : TWA

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