LA Times Crossword 1 Jan 19, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Derek Bowman
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: J. D. Salinger

Themed answers all refer to author J. D. Salinger. Salinger was born 100 years ago today:

  • 50A. Author born 1/1/1919 : JD SALINGER
  • 21A. With 27-Across, 50-Across classic : THE CATCHER …
  • 27A. See 21-Across : … IN THE RYE
  • 45A. 50-Across work featuring the two youngest Glass siblings : FRANNY AND ZOOEY
  • 68A. Title heroine in one of 50-Across’ “Nine Stories” : ESME

Bill’s time: 7m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Language of southern Africa : BANTU

There are hundreds of Bantu languages, which are mainly spoken in central, east and southern Africa. The most commonly spoken Bantu language is Swahili, with Zulu coming in second.

6. City west of Tulsa : 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.

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma (after Oklahoma City). Tulsa started out as a settlement established by the Loachapoka and Creek Native American tribes in 1836. These early settlers called their new home “Tallasi” meaning “old town”, and this name morphed into “Tulsa” that we use today.

10. Gas station machines : PUMPS

The gas pump was actually around before there were cars on the road. The first gas pump was the invention of one Sylvanus Bowser from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His first pump was designed to pump kerosene for lamps and stoves, and was introduced in 1885. As automobiles became popular, he modified the design to pump gasoline. He introduced the Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump in 1905. He marketed his devices all around the world, and in some parts the name “bowser” is still used sometimes to refer to fuel pumps, and indeed some fuel tankers.

17. Undersea WWII threat : U-BOAT

The term “U-boat” comes from the German “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). U-boats were primarily used in WWII to enforce a blockade against enemy commercial shipping, with a main objective being to cut off the supplies being transported to Britain from the British colonies and the US. The epic fight for control of the supply routes became known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

18. Pre-euro coin : FRANC

The French franc was made up of 100 centimes, before being replaced by the Euro.

21. With 27-Across, 50-Across classic : THE CATCHER …
27. See 21-Across : … IN THE RYE

“The Catcher in the Rye” is the most famous novel from the pen of J. D. Salinger. The main character and narrator in the book is Holden Caulfield, a teenager who gets expelled from a university prep school. Caulfield also makes appearances in several short stories written by Salinger, as do other members of the Caulfield family. The title “The Catcher in the Rye” is a reference to the 1782 poem “Comin’ Thro” the Rye” by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

24. “Star Trek” captain Jean-__ Picard : LUC

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

28. Dean’s list no. : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

32. “Neither snow __ rain … ” : NOR

There is no official creed or motto for the US Postal Service. However, there is the oft-quoted inscription that is posted (pun!) over the entrance to the James Farley Post Office in New York City:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

34. Fishy bagel topper : LOX

Lox is brine-cured salmon fillet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

37. Words repeated after “Whatever” in a Doris Day song : WILL BE

As Doris Day told us, “que será, será” is Spanish for “whatever will be, will be”. Actually, the phrase is “pseudo-Spanish”, and isn’t grammatically correct.

43. With 59-Across, liver delicacy : FOIE …
(59. See 43-Across : … GRAS)

Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made up of a mixture of ground meat and fat, to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, which is made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

45. 50-Across work featuring the two youngest Glass siblings : FRANNY AND ZOOEY

“Franny and Zooey” is a 1961 book by J. D. Salinger, author of “Catcher in the Rye”. Salinger’s 1961 publication is a little unusual in format. It comprises two separate works: a short story titled “Franny” and a novella titled “Zooey”. However, the two title characters are related, the pair being siblings and youngest members of the fictional Glass family.

48. “La Cage aux Folles,” for one : FARCE

A “farce” is a comedy play that features an exaggerated and improbable storyline, with lots of physical humor. I love a good farce …

The musical “La Cage aux Folles” opened on Broadway in 1985. It is an adaptation of the French play of the same name by Jean Poiret that was first staged in 1973. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the stage play nor the musical, but I love the wonderful movie adaptation called “The Birdcage”, which was released in 1996. The film has a very strong cast that includes Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Hank Azaria.

50. Author born 1/1/1919 : JD SALINGER

American author J. D. Salinger is best known for his 1951 novel “Catcher in the Rye”. Salinger garnered a lot of public attention with the success of his masterpiece, and his response was to become somewhat of a recluse. His obsession with privacy led to several court cases, and in one case he successfully stopped the publication of an unauthorized biography by Random House.

58. John Roberts’ group: Abbr. : SCOTUS

Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)
John Roberts is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts was a nominee of President George W. Bush and assumed office in 2005. President Bush first proposed Roberts as an Associate Justice to replace the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor. However, Chief Justice Rehnquist died before Roberts could be confirmed, so President Bush instead nominated Roberts for the vacant Chief Justice seat.

68. Title heroine in one of 50-Across’ “Nine Stories” : ESME

“Nine Stories” is a collection of short stories by J. D. Salinger that was first published in 1953. The two most famous stories in the collection are probably “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “For Esmé—with Love and Squalor”.

72. And/or divider : SLASH

The punctuation mark “/” has been around for a long time, and has been known by several names including “oblique”, “stroke” and “virgule”. The name “slash” is relatively new, arising in the very early 1960s and gaining popularity with the proliferation of computers.

Down

1. Bud 4 life : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

3. Cavs’ org. : NBA

The Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

5. Sea __: spiny critter : URCHIN

Sea urchins are globular, spiny creatures found just about everywhere in the ocean. The “roe” of a sea urchin is eaten as a delicacy in several cuisines around the world. In a sushi restaurant, the sea urchin roe is called “uni”. The term “roe” normally means “fish eggs”, but in the case of the sea urchin it refers to the gonads of both the male and female.

7. “CBS This Morning” co-anchor O’Donnell : NORAH

Norah O’Donnell is a native of Washington, D.C. and served as Chief White House correspondent for MSNBC from 2005 until 2011, and for CBS News from 2011 until 2012. She became co-anchor for “CBS This Morning” in 2017. Along with her husband, restaurateur Geoff Tracy, O’Donnell published what sounds like an interesting cookbook in 2010, namely “Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler”.

10. Baby food options : PUREES

A purée is a food that has been made smooth by straining or blending. “Purée” is a French term, which I believe is now used to mean “pea soup” (more completely written as “purée de pois”). The French verb “purer” means “to strain, clean”, from the Latin “purare” meaning “to purify, clean”.

11. Ride-sharing app : UBER

Uber is a ridesharing service that was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco. The service is somewhat controversial and has been described as an illegal taxicab operation. Central to Uber’s service is the company’s mobile app, which can use the client’s GPS location to help find the nearest available ride. Uber’s main competitor is Lyft.

22. Plenty, in old poems : ENOW

“Enow” is an archaic form of the word “enough”.

23. Jekyll’s bad side : HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published in 1886. There are many tales surrounding the writing of the story including one that the author wrote the basic tale in just three to six days, and spent a few weeks simply refining it. Allegedly, Stevenson’s use of cocaine stimulated his creative juices during those few days of writing.

26. Part of etc. : … CETERA

The Latin phrase “et cetera” translates as “and other things”. The term is usually abbreviated to “etc.”

29. Olive Oyl’s guy : POPEYE

Popeye first appeared in 1929 in a comic strip called “Thimble Theatre”. The strip, created by E. C. Segar, ran for ten years before Popeye made an appearance. Popeye received such a great welcome from readers that he soon “took over” the strip, and eventually even hogged the strip’s title. Before Popeye turned up, Olive Oyl was the main character.

30. Used a hatchet on : AXED

A hatchet is short-handled axe. The name of the axe comes from the Old French “hachete” meaning “small combat-axe”, with “hachete” being the diminutive of “hache” meaning “axe”.

36. Original co-host of “The View” : STAR JONES

Star Jones is a lawyer and television journalist who spent almost a decade as co-host of the talk show “The View”.

38. Hawaii’s Mauna __ : LOA

Mauna Loa on the “Big Island” of Hawaii is the largest volcano on the planet (in terms of volume). The name “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”.

39. “Mary Poppins Returns” actor __-Manuel Miranda : LIN

Lin-Manuel Miranda is composer and playwright from New York City, and the creator and star of the hit Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights”. Miranda also co-wrote the songs for the 2016 Disney animated feature “Moana”. He started composing early, and wrote jingles as a child. One of those jingles was later used by Eliot Spitzer in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

“Mary Poppins Returns” is a 2018 musical movie that is a sequel to the 1964 Disney film “Mary Poppins”. Emily Blunt takes on the title role. Notably, Dick Van Dyke appears in the sequel, having co-starred in the original 56 years earlier.

55. Baghdad’s country : IRAQ

According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BCE (yes, BCE!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh-) and “beloved” (-dad).

56. Japanese pufferfish : FUGU

“Fugu” is the Japanese name for pufferfish, also known as blowfish. Fugu is a notorious dish on a Japanese menu as it can be extremely poisonous. The liver, ovaries and eyes of the pufferfish contain lethal amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin, which paralyses muscles causing death by asphyxiation.

57. Colt’s father : SIRE

There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

  • Foal: horse of either sex that is less than one year old
  • Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
  • Filly: female horse under the age of four
  • Colt: male horse under the age of four
  • Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
  • Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
  • Mare: female horse four years or older

60. Country’s McEntire : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

61. Rental car choice : AVIS

Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.

62. Actor Rogen : SETH

Seth Rogen is a Canadian comedian who got a lot of credit for his supporting role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”. That led to him being cast as the lead in the 1970 film “Knocked Up”. Rogen also co-directed and and co-starred in the movie “The Interview”, which created a huge ruckus in North Korea.

66. Distress letters : SOS

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Language of southern Africa : BANTU
6. City west of Tulsa : ENID
10. Gas station machines : PUMPS
15. Bran benefit : FIBER
16. Traditional teachings : LORE
17. Undersea WWII threat : U-BOAT
18. Pre-euro coin : FRANC
19. Historical times : ERAS
20. Email back : REPLY
21. With 27-Across, 50-Across classic : THE CATCHER …
24. “Star Trek” captain Jean-__ Picard : LUC
27. See 21-Across : … IN THE RYE
28. Dean’s list no. : GPA
31. Number that’s a square of itself : ONE
32. “Neither snow __ rain … ” : NOR
33. Tags on bags : IDS
34. Fishy bagel topper : LOX
35. Play sections : ACTS
37. Words repeated after “Whatever” in a Doris Day song : WILL BE
40. Halloween garb : CAPE
41. Because of : DUE TO
43. With 59-Across, liver delicacy : FOIE …
44. Tear up : SHRED
45. 50-Across work featuring the two youngest Glass siblings : FRANNY AND ZOOEY
48. “La Cage aux Folles,” for one : FARCE
49. Come up : ARISE
50. Author born 1/1/1919 : JD SALINGER
55. “Assuming that’s true … ” : IF SO …
58. John Roberts’ group: Abbr. : SCOTUS
59. See 43-Across : … GRAS
63. Having regrets about : RUING
65. Corn cover : HUSK
66. Kitchen strainer : SIEVE
67. Come to terms : AGREE
68. Title heroine in one of 50-Across’ “Nine Stories” : ESME
69. Trip around the sun : ORBIT
70. Adventurous expedition : QUEST
71. Like pink hair : DYED
72. And/or divider : SLASH

Down

1. Bud 4 life : BFF
2. Broadcast : AIR
3. Cavs’ org. : NBA
4. Camp shelter : TENT
5. Sea __: spiny critter : URCHIN
6. Really amaze : ELECTRIFY
7. “CBS This Morning” co-anchor O’Donnell : NORAH
8. Infuriated : IRATE
9. Gave details of : DESCRIBED
10. Baby food options : PUREES
11. Ride-sharing app : UBER
12. Messy hairdo : MOP
13. Bud : PAL
14. Farmyard pen : STY
22. Plenty, in old poems : ENOW
23. Jekyll’s bad side : HYDE
24. “Get a __ of this!” : LOAD
25. Release from shackles : UNCUFF
26. Part of etc. : … CETERA
28. If-looks-could-kill looks : GLARES
29. Olive Oyl’s guy : POPEYE
30. Used a hatchet on : AXED
36. Original co-host of “The View” : STAR JONES
38. Hawaii’s Mauna __ : LOA
39. “Mary Poppins Returns” actor __-Manuel Miranda : LIN
40. Miss singing on Sunday? : CHOIRGIRL
42. Like some audiobooks : ON CD
44. Irritated : SORE
46. Bitter end? : -NESS
47. Turns abruptly : ZAGS
51. Throbbed : ACHED
52. Crummy : LOUSY
53. “I’m here” : IT’S ME
54. Microwaved : NUKED
55. Baghdad’s country : IRAQ
56. Japanese pufferfish : FUGU
57. Colt’s father : SIRE
60. Country’s McEntire : REBA
61. Rental car choice : AVIS
62. Actor Rogen : SETH
64. Understand : GET
66. Distress letters : SOS

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14 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 1 Jan 19, Tuesday”

    1. @Pat … It was indeed a French film first, and (IMHO) a much better one than the Robin Williams adaptation. (Mind you, both are hilarious!)

  1. LAT: 8:56, no errors. With my home wifi temporarily on the fritz and no way to print a copy, I did this puzzle using “Across Lite” and a “.puz” file that I downloaded on my iPad using its cell connection; my lack of practice with that interface slowed me down. (Later, I did it again, in my usual way, in 4:31, with no errors, proving that pen-and-paper is twice as fast as on-line, right?! 😜) Newsday: 5:56, no errors. Croce to come, if I have time.

    1. Forgot Matt Jones: 11:48, no errors. Had to “guess” at all the theme answers (but that was easy to do). Stared at “LATOVEGAS” for half a minute until I understood it was “LA to Vegas”. And, in the PDF, the clue for 45A has a spelling error. (Or is it an inside joke of some kind?)

    2. Tim Croce: 1:20:03, no errors. Pretty rough one and I had to dig into my crossword lizard brain for a couple of answers, but, eventually, it all made perfect sense.

  2. Always paper and Flair. Can solve it on my back.

    Easy. No Googles, but didn’t know FUGU or NORAH.

    Used to like SALINGER. He’s one of those writers , like Hesse, whose writings don’t survive the reader’s maturity, but who will always have a young adult readership. (My opinion, of course.)

    1. @Jane … I think you missed the words “and no way to print a copy” (which is what I usually do). (And I prefer “Pentel RSVP” pens. 😜)

  3. 0 errors and 0 omissions. No record-breaking time, but we never even
    gave that much thought, anyway. Pretty hard for a Tuesday. The wife was
    busy seeing to everything, so the son-in-law and I did it. I was pleased to
    almost keep up with him and we enjoyed the effort.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR to all.

  4. 10:17. Felt like I knew nothing and had to get everything via crosses at first. Caught on to SALINGER and CATCHER IN THE RYE pretty late in the game. FUGU, NORAH, STAR JONES were 3 I didn’t know at all. I’ve never watched nor paid any attention to The View…or CBS This Morning apparently.

    Happy New Year all.

    Best –

  5. I didn’t know Norah or staR Jones .

    I know of Fugu because I have collected some dead balloon or puffer fish on an Indian beach after the catch was brought in …in 1970 … the fishermen won’t touch them, but the crows will eat them, they are immune to the poison. ( I would later throw them away, as well -)

    A Japanese chef on fugu almost needs something like a medical degree in surgery (!) because of the risk of poisoning is so great !!!?!!

    I have seen a documentary on their seven year apprenticeship.
    But that poisoning risk also excites the food aficionados who order that dish !!?! ( you might just die …)
    To each his own..

    My Jewish neighbor told me that bagels and cream cheese and lox are popular in the Jewish community because ‘fish’ is “neutral”. as far as kosher is concerned…
    while no meat can be eaten with cheese, a dairy product, …. ….fish is perfectly fine to be eaten with dairy or with meat ( separately) ..

    I still have to buy that computer,, Jeff … still using my iPhone… maybe 10 More days . I had so many medical expenses last year … 2018 .. that I used up all my deductibles so I had A ton of tests and procedures done before the year ended …. .yesterday … .. since I had already met my deductible limit. How’s that for planning your life. ?
    But I still plan on living to reduce the estate tax duty on my. heirs … lol. 😉
    Enough of this doom and gloom.

    Have a happy
    and a great new year
    all you folks!!!!

  6. Hello gang !!😃

    No errors. I really liked the theme, although I agree with you, Sfingi — Salinger doesn’t hold up. I still love CATCHER IN THE RYE, but it has lost its luster. Kurt Vonnegut is another author whom I like less than I did as a teenager. How cool we used to feel, carrying around our copies of Slaughterhouse Five and Steppenwolf!! And actually having read them!! (Full disclosure: I didn’t read the whole of Steppenwolf till I was in my late 20s…😶)

    I also loved the Beat writers when I was 20-something, especially Jack Kerouac and Gregory Corso. Somehow I feel they wouldn’t hold up either…

    I’m glad it’s a new year! Clean slate; feeling optimistic!! Hope it lasts!!😍

    Be well~~🎸🌎

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