LA Times Crossword Answers 29 Nov 13, Friday

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

CROSSWORD SETTER: Mark Feldman
THEME: Sounds Like a Letter … today’s themed answers sound like common terms that start with a letter:

17A. Call from a collection agency? OWE-RING (sounds like “O-ring”)
18A. Questionable alliance? WHY AXIS (sounds like “Y-axis”)
23A. Social attire? TEA SHIRT (sounds like “T-shirt”)
39A. Sheep transport? EWE BOAT (sounds like “U-boat”)
41A. Message from the captain? SEA NOTE (sounds like “C-note”)
49A. Suggestion from one waiter to another? QUEUE TIP (sounds like “Q-Tip”)
61A. Hive workers? BEE TEAM (sounds like “B-team”)
63A. Lasik ray? EYE BEAM (sounds like “I-beam”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 12m 24s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Avant-garde neighborhood BOHEMIA
Bohemia covers most of the Czech Republic. Centuries ago, it was wrongly believed that gypsies came from Bohemia, giving rise to the term “Bohemian” meaning a “gypsy of society”.

People described as being avant-garde are especially innovative. “Avant-garde” is French for “advance guard”.

22. “You __!”: Ren, to Stimpy EEDIOT
“The Ren and Stimpy Show” is an animated television show that ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. The title characters are Marland “Ren” Höek, a scrawny Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a rotund Manx cat. Not my cup of tea …

29. Eastern priest LAMA
“Lama” is a Tibetan word, meaning “chief” or “high priest”.

39. Sheep transport? EWE BOAT (sounds like “U-boat”)
U-boat stands for the German “Unterseeboot” (undersea boat). Notably, a U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania in 1915, an event that helped propel the US into WWI.

41. Message from the captain? SEA NOTE (sounds like “C-note”)
“C-note” is slang for a $100 bill.

42. Internal device on most cellphones ANTENNA
An antenna’s job is to convert electrical power into radio waves, and radio waves into an electrical signal. The first antennas were built by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1888.

43. German port BREMEN
Germany is divided into 16 states, the smallest of which is Bremen. The state of Bremen is actually made up of two port cities, Bremen and Bremerhaven, and is completely surrounded by the much larger state of Lower Saxony.

48. Stamp of approval letters USDA
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies meat into eight different grades:

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

49. Suggestion from one waiter to another? QUEUE TIP (sounds like “Q-Tip”)
Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”, but this was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

53. Agamemnon’s father ATREUS
In Greek mythology, Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. It was Menelaus who married Helen of Troy who was abducted by Paris, and Agamemnon who led the Greeks in the resulting Trojan War.

58. Stranded stuff DNA
Francis Crick and James Watson discovered that DNA had a double-helix, chain-like structure, and published their results in Cambridge in 1953. To this day the discovery is mired in controversy, as some crucial results collected by fellow researcher Rosalind Franklin were used without her permission or even knowledge.

63. Lasik ray? EYE BEAM (sounds like “I-beam”)
LASIK surgery uses a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye to improve vision. The LASIK acronym stands for “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis”.

67. Always-open merchant ETAILER
“Etail” is the term used these days for online shopping. Etail is often compared to regular shopping in the “real world” by juxtaposing it with a “brick and mortar” store.

68. New York tribe ONEIDAS
The Oneida people originally lived in the area that is now Central New York. The Oneida were one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Five Nations (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca).

Down
2. Intimidates COWS
The verb “to cow” means to intimidate, to scare. The exact etymology of the term seems unclear.

3. Enjoy some Trident CHEW
Trident chewing gum was introduced in 1960, and was marketed as a gum that aided in dental health. The original formula included three enzymes that were thought to soften dental tartar. This trio of enzymes gave rise to the name “Trident”.

4. Anthem preposition O’ER
The words “o’er the rampart we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key.

The lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” were written first as a poem by Francis Scott Key, inspired by the bombarding by the British of the American forces at Fort McHenry that he witnessed during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814. The words were then set to the tune of a popular British drinking song penned by John Stafford Smith called “The Anacreontic Song”, with the Anacreontic Society being a men’s club in London.

6. Skin woe TINEA
The skin condition known as tinea is more usually referred to as ringworm. Tinea pedis is commonly known as athlete’s foot.

7. Most like a guru SAGEST
“Guru” is a Hindi word meaning “teacher” or “priest”.

8. Avian cry CAW
“Avis” is the Latin word for a bird, giving rise to our adjective “avian” meaning “relating to birds”.

9. With “The,” 1971 best-seller about an evil twin OTHER
“The Other” is the first novel actor turned novelist Thomas Tryon, and was originally published in 1971. “The Other” tells the story of two identical twins, one who is a normal teenager and the other who is a sociopath. The novel was adapted into scary 1972 film of the same name, starring Uta Hagen.

11. Dutch town STAD
“Stad” is the Dutch word for “city”.

12. Sitcom set in a garage TAXI
“Taxi” is a sitcom that aired in the late seventies and early eighties. “Taxi” was the big break for a host of great comic actors including Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman.

13. Japanese wrestler Sato AKIO
Ako Sato is a retired professional wrestler. Sato appeared in World Wrestling Federation bouts, often with Pat Tanaka in the tag team known as the Orient Express.

14. “__ we forget” LEST
“Lest we forget” is an oft-quoted phrase, one that comes from a poem by Rudyard Kipling called “Recessional”. Kipling wrote the piece on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and used it to express sadness at the waning of the British Empire. The phrase “lest we forget” is used in this context, a warning that the empire will decline. Ever since WWI we’ve been using the words on memorials as a plea not forget the sacrifices made by others in the past.

21. Greek consonant RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

23. Ancient city whose ruins are in modern Luxor THEBES
Thebes was a city in Ancient Egypt located on the river Nile, the ruins of which are now found with the bounds of the modern city of Luxor. The ruins of Ancient Thebes include the famous Luxor Temple and and Karnak Temple, as well as the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

24. Wall St. debuts IPOS
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

27. Land of the Minotaur CRETE
Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands. Crete figures heavily in Greek mythology. Zeus was born in a cave at Mount Ida, the highest peak on the island. Crete was also home to the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was slain by Theseus. Icarus and Daedalus, after having crafted the Labyrinth, escaped from the island using wings that they crafted.

30. Proton carriers ATOMS
A proton is a subatomic particle, with at least one found in the nucleus of every atom. A proton is not a “fundamental particle” though, as it itself is made up of three quarks; two up quarks and one down quark.

32. Amphitheater ARENA
An “amphitheater” is a large oval or round arena. The term comes from Greek, with “amphi-” meaning “on both sides” and “theatron” meaning “theater”. The original Greek amphitheaters included two semi-circular seating areas so that audience members sat “on both sides” of the stage.

34. “Arrested Development” narrator Howard RON
“Arrested Development” is a sitcom that originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. Ron Howard was heavily involved in the show behind the camera, serving as executive producer and also as the show’s narrator. Fifteen new episodes of “Arrested Development” were filmed specifically for release on Netflix in 2013, and there may even be a movie on the way.

35. __ Miguel: Cozumel city SAN
San Miguel is the largest town on the Caribbean island of Cozumel in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a major destination for cruise ships, and for scuba divers. I spent a fun week diving in Cozumel with my teenage son many moons ago …

38. Musical measure BAR
Musical scores are divided into “measures”, although on the other side of the Atlantic the term “bar” is used instead of “measure”.

40. Zap, in a way TASE
Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym TASER stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

47. Contract adverb HERETO
The word “hereto” is legalese for “to here”, as in “attached hereto” meaning “attached to here”.

52. Rhone feeder ISERE
The Isère river gives its name to the French Department of Isère, located partly in the French Alps. In turn, Isère gave its name to a somewhat famous ship called the Isère, which in 1885 delivered the Statue of Liberty from France to America in 214 shipping crates.

53. Rose’s Broadway beau ABIE
“Abie’s Irish Rose” was originally a Broadway play by Anne Nichols that opened in 1922 and ran for over five years, which back then was the longest run for any show in New York. The show then went on tour, and stayed on tour for an amazing 40 years.

55. Prynne’s stigma RED A
Hester Prynne is the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter”. When Hester is convicted by her puritanical neighbors of the crime of adultery, she is forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life, hence the novel’s title, “The Scarlet Letter”.

56. Holder of needles and such ETUI
An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui” from France. The French also have a modern usage of “etui”, using the term to depict a case for carrying CDs.

58. Bit of derring-do DEED
As one might expect, “derring-do” comes from the phrase “daring to do”, which back in the 14th century was written as “dorrying don”.

62. Côte d’Azur view MER
“Mer” is the French word for “sea”.

The Côte d’Azur is on the Mediterranean coast of France and stretches from Saint Tropez in the west and to the Italian border in the east. In English we often refer to the area as the French Riviera. It’s a little crowded for me (okay … expensive!), especially in the summer.

64. Ratio involving ht. and wt. BMI
The body mass index (BMI) is the ratio of a person’s height to his or her mass.

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Approaches aggressively ACCOSTS
8. Like some scenic highways COASTAL
15. Avant-garde neighborhood BOHEMIA
16. On the line AT STAKE
17. Call from a collection agency? OWE-RING (sounds like “O-ring”)
18. Questionable alliance? WHY AXIS (sounds like “Y-axis”)
19. Compass pt. WSW
20. Malicious look LEER
22. “You __!”: Ren, to Stimpy EEDIOT
23. Social attire? TEA SHIRT (sounds like “T-shirt”)
25. Rash symptom ITCH
28. Best TOP
29. Eastern priest LAMA
33. Playground troublemakers DARERS
36. Something that’s going around ORBITER
39. Sheep transport? EWE BOAT (sounds like “U-boat”)
41. Message from the captain? SEA NOTE (sounds like “C-note”)
42. Internal device on most cellphones ANTENNA
43. German port BREMEN
44. Strong cleaners LYES
45. “Keep it down!” SHH!
48. Stamp of approval letters USDA
49. Suggestion from one waiter to another? QUEUE TIP (sounds like “Q-Tip”)
53. Agamemnon’s father ATREUS
57. Flubs the shot, e.g. ERRS
58. Stranded stuff DNA
61. Hive workers? BEE TEAM (sounds like “B-team”)
63. Lasik ray? EYE BEAM (sounds like “I-beam”)
65. Humor INDULGE
66. Tease mercilessly TORMENT
67. Always-open merchant ETAILER
68. New York tribe ONEIDAS

Down
1. Take __ A BOW
2. Intimidates COWS
3. Enjoy some Trident CHEW
4. Anthem preposition O’ER
5. Facial arc SMILE
6. Skin woe TINEA
7. Most like a guru SAGEST
8. Avian cry CAW
9. With “The,” 1971 best-seller about an evil twin OTHER
10. So far AS YET
11. Dutch town STAD
12. Sitcom set in a garage TAXI
13. Japanese wrestler Sato AKIO
14. “__ we forget” LEST
21. Greek consonant RHO
23. Ancient city whose ruins are in modern Luxor THEBES
24. Wall St. debuts IPOS
25. Perfect IDEAL
26. Yellowish-brown TAWNY
27. Land of the Minotaur CRETE
29. Get in position for the parade, as a band LINE UP
30. Proton carriers ATOMS
31. Rationed (out) METED
32. Amphitheater ARENA
34. “Arrested Development” narrator Howard RON
35. __ Miguel: Cozumel city SAN
37. Confederate REB
38. Musical measure BAR
40. Zap, in a way TASE
46. Tint HUE
47. Contract adverb HERETO
49. Put down QUELL
50. Custom USAGE
51. Test, in a way TRY ON
52. Rhone feeder ISERE
53. Rose’s Broadway beau ABIE
54. Simple shelter TENT
55. Prynne’s stigma RED A
56. Holder of needles and such ETUI
58. Bit of derring-do DEED
59. Granny NANA
60. Qts. and pts. AMTS
62. Côte d’Azur view MER
64. Ratio involving ht. and wt. BMI

Return to top of page