LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Apr 2018, Monday

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Constructed by: Jake Braun
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Out

Themed answers start with a word that often precedes OUT, giving a term used in baseball:

  • 70A. One of an inning’s three, which can follow the first word of 17-, 29-, 47- and 63-Across : OUT
  • 17A. Angling method using hand-tied lures : FLY FISHING (giving “flyout”)
  • 29A. One doing the Electric Slide, e.g. : LINE DANCER (giving “lineout”)
  • 47A. Hamburger meat : GROUND BEEF (giving “groundout”)
  • 63A. Beatles’ Shea Stadium performance, e.g. : POP CONCERT (giving “popout”)

Bill’s time: 5m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4. Actress Winger : DEBRA

When Debra Winger was a young woman she was involved in a terrible car accident that resulted in a cerebral hemorrhage. She was left partially paralyzed and blind, and was told that she would never see again. Given so much time to think after the accident, she decided that if she did indeed recover she would leave her home in Ohio and move to California to take up acting. After ten months of blindness Winger recovered, and off she headed.

13. Speedy shark : MAKO

The shortfin mako shark can appear on restaurant menus, and as a result the species is dying out in some parts of the world. The mako gets its own back sometimes though, as attacks on humans are not unknown. It is the fastest-swimming shark that we know, and has been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles/hour. And the shark in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, that’s a mako. “Mako” is the Maori word for “shark” or “shark tooth”.

17. Angling method using hand-tied lures : FLY FISHING (giving “flyout”)

We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” was an Old English word for a hook.

20. City recaptured from ISIL by Iraq in 2017 : MOSUL

Mosul is located in northern Iraq and is the third largest city in the country, after Baghdad and Basra. It is located on the west bank of the Tigris river, opposite the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh in the east bank. Mosul was captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2014. Those residents of Mosul who did not escape suffered under the rule of ISIL until the city’s liberation following the Battle of Mosul in 2016/2017.

ISIS is an extremist Sunni rebel group, with the acronym standing for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The organization is also referred to as ISIL, standing for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or simply IS, for the Islamic State.

25. Tic-tac-toe diagram : GRID

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

29. One doing the Electric Slide, e.g. : LINE DANCER (giving “lineout”)

The Electric Slide is a line dance that purportedly dates back to 1976. It’s a dance often associated with the 1983 song “Electric Boogie” performed by Marcia Griffiths.

34. Brian of ambient music : 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.

35. DDE’s WWII command : ETO

General Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) was in command of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WWII.

39. Complains : CARPS

The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.

42. Like the Magi : WISE

“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, “magi” is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born. In Western Christianity, the three Biblical Magi are:

  • Melchior: a scholar from Persia
  • Caspar: a scholar from India
  • Balthazar: a scholar from Arabia

45. Sellout letters : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

46. Brit. pilots’ squad : RAF

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918, a composite of two earlier forces, the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” was the Battle of Britain, when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to delay his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter the memorable words

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

50. Beach or Backstreet follower, in music : BOYS

When the Beach Boys formed in 1961, they were very much a family concern. Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson were three brothers, Mike Love was their cousin, and the fifth member of the band was family friend Al Jardine. Back then, the manager of the group was Murry Wilson, the father of the three Wilson brothers.

The Backstreet Boys (BSB) are a male vocal group that formed in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. In fact, the group’s first performance was in SeaWorld Orlando in May of that year. They’ve come a long way since SeaWorld, and have sold more records than any other boy band in history.

54. Mark McGwire rival : SAMMY SOSA

Both Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were named Sportsperson of the Year in 1998 by “Sports Illustrated” magazine.

58. IHOP handouts : MENUS

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests!

63. Beatles’ Shea Stadium performance, e.g. : POP CONCERT (giving “popout”)

The Beatles concert tour of 1965 was the band’s second, after the phenomenal success of their debut appearances in America the prior year. The opening engagement was at Shea Stadium, a concert at which the Beatles only played for 30 minutes. The audience of over 55,000 people set a new record for concert attendance, as did the gate of $304,000 (seems small now, huh?). The amplifiers in the stadium were completely overpowered by the noise of the crowd, and the Fab Four literally couldn’t hear themselves sing. At one point, John Lennon just started goofing around as no one could hear the music, and starting playing keyboards with his elbows!

65. Casino card game : FARO

Faro is a card game somewhat akin to Baccarat that was popular in England and France in the 18th century. Faro made it to the Old West, where it became a favorite of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. The origin of the name “Faro” is unclear. One popular theory is that Faro is a contraction of ‘pharaoh’ given that Egyptian motifs used to be common on playing cards of the period. There’s another theory involving the usual suspects: Irish immigrants and famines …

66. Steinbeck migrants : OKIES

“Okies” is a derogatory term used during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s for farming families who migrated from Oklahoma (hence the name), Arkansas, Kansas and Texas in search of agricultural jobs in California. The road used by many of these migrant families was Route 66, which is also called “Mother Road”.

John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” is set during the Great Depression. The novel tells the story of the Joad family from Oklahoma, farmers who had to leave their home and head for California due to economic hardship.

67. Jekyll’s alter ego : 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.

Down

2. Angel’s overhead circle : HALO

The Greek word “halos” is the name given to the ring of light around the sun or moon, which gives us our word “halo” that is used for a radiant light depicted above the head of a saintly person.

4. Prosecutors: Abbr. : DAS

District Attorney (DA)

6. Russian pancake : BLIN

A blintz (also “blin”, plural “blini”) is a thin pancake similar to a crêpe although unlike a crêpe, a blintz may contain yeast.

7. Back out : RENEGE

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.

8. Home of primary 30-Down gods : ASGARD
(30D. Like Odin and Thor : NORSE)

Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds of Norse religions. It is where the Norse gods live, and is also home to Valhalla, the enormous hall ruled over by the god Odin.

12. __ Virginia : WEST

The state of West Virginia (WVA) was formed during the civil war when the western counties in the old state of Virginia (VA) voted to secede from the Confederate state.

18. Down with the flu : ILL

Influenza (flu) is an ailment that is caused by a virus. The virus is readily inactivated by the use of soap, so washing hands and surfaces is especially helpful in containing flu outbreaks.

22. Yemeni money : RIAL

“Rial” is the name of the currency of Yemen (as well as Iran, Oman, Cambodia and Tunisia). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in a rial.

24. Knighted Guinness : ALEC

Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered (sadly, I think) for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”.

28. Human trunk : TORSO

“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, and is a term that we imported into English.

30. Like Odin and Thor : NORSE

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

In Norse mythology, Thor was the son of Odin. Thor wielded a mighty hammer and was the god of thunder, lightning and storms. Our contemporary word “Thursday” comes from “Thor’s Day”.

31. Egypt’s capital : CAIRO

Cairo is the capital city of Egypt. It is nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets” because of its impressive skyline replete with Islamic architecture. The name “Cairo” is a European corruption of the city’s original name in Arabic, “Al-Qahira”.

32. Op-ed piece, say : ESSAY

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

38. Lunar symbol for a very long time : BLUE MOON

As there is a full moon once every four weeks, approximately monthly, there are usually twelve full moons in any given year. However, every 2-3 years, depending on the phase of the moon at the beginning of the calendar year, there may be a thirteenth full moon. The “extra” full moon is called a “blue moon”, although no one seems to really know why the term “blue” is used, as far as I can tell. Which of the thirteen full moons that is designated as the blue moon varies depending on tradition. My favorite definition is from the Farmer’s Almanac. It states that as each of the seasons normally has three full moons (one for each calendar month), then the season with four full moons is designated as “special”, then the third (and not the fourth) full moon in that “special” season is the blue moon. Complicated, huh?

40. Books’ opening sections : PREFACES

A “preface” is a book’s introduction that is written by the author himself or herself. A “foreword” is an introduction written by a different person, and precedes the author’s preface. Note the spelling of “foreword”, as opposed to the spelling of the relative direction “forward”. A book may also have an “afterword”, a commentary that may or may not be written by the author.

41. Couch : SOFA

“Sofa” is a Turkish word meaning “bench”.

44. Green-eyed monster : ENVY

William Shakespeare was one of the first to associate the color green with envy. He called jealousy the “green-eyed monster” in his play “Othello”.

48. Absolute ruler : DESPOT

A despot is a ruler with absolute power, often one who wields that power oppressively. “Despot” is an old French term from the 14th century, ultimately derived from the Greek “despotes” meaning “master of a household, absolute ruler”.

49. Actress Shields : BROOKE

Actress Brooke Shields started working as a child model when she was just 11 months old, appearing in an ad for Ivory soap in 1966. At 14, Shields became the youngest fashion model to ever appear on the cover of “Vogue” magazine. She was 12 years old when she had her first acting role, a leading part in 1978’s “Pretty Baby”. Her big break in films came with the 1980 film “The Blue Lagoon”, when she played alongside Christopher Atkins, portraying two teenagers marooned on a tropical island. Shields was married to tennis star Andre Agassi from 1997 to 1991.

50. Tree that sounds like a summer vacation spot : BEECH

The small triangular nuts of the beech tree are edible, but are very bitter. The nuts are called “beechmast” or simply “beechnuts”.

53. Pres. pardoned by Ford : RMN

Facing almost certain impeachment, President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in September 1974. One month later, President Gerald Ford granted Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon”.

56. Car sticker fig. : MSRP

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)

59. “So Sick” R&B artist : NE-YO

“Ne-Yo” is the stage name of R&B singer Shaffer Chimere Smith.

60. Pakistani language : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

61. “Cancel that deletion” : STET

“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

64. Sugar suffix : -OSE

Sugars are usually named using the “-ose” suffix e.g., glucose, fructose, sucrose.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Sounds showing revelation : AHS
4. Actress Winger : DEBRA
9. Beer, casually : BREW
13. Speedy shark : MAKO
15. Bars between wheels : AXLES
16. Travel aimlessly : ROVE
17. Angling method using hand-tied lures : FLY FISHING (giving “flyout”)
19. Bar orders : ALES
20. City recaptured from ISIL by Iraq in 2017 : MOSUL
21. Sincerely : IN EARNEST
23. Hunk of concrete : SLAB
25. Tic-tac-toe diagram : GRID
26. Memorization technique : ROTE
29. One doing the Electric Slide, e.g. : LINE DANCER (giving “lineout”)
34. Brian of ambient music : ENO
35. DDE’s WWII command : ETO
36. Renter’s document : LEASE
37. Stinging comment : BARB
39. Complains : CARPS
42. Like the Magi : WISE
43. What the beverage cart blocks : AISLE
45. Sellout letters : SRO
46. Brit. pilots’ squad : RAF
47. Hamburger meat : GROUND BEEF (giving “groundout”)
50. Beach or Backstreet follower, in music : BOYS
51. At any point : EVER
52. Subway charge : FARE
54. Mark McGwire rival : SAMMY SOSA
58. IHOP handouts : MENUS
62. Furthermore : ALSO
63. Beatles’ Shea Stadium performance, e.g. : POP CONCERT (giving “popout”)
65. Casino card game : FARO
66. Steinbeck migrants : OKIES
67. Jekyll’s alter ego : HYDE
68. Little League airer : ESPN
69. Nervous : TENSE
70. One of an inning’s three, which can follow the first word of 17-, 29-, 47- and 63-Across : OUT

Down

1. Bedside toggle switch : AM/FM
2. Angel’s overhead circle : HALO
3. “The __ the limit!” : SKY’S
4. Prosecutors: Abbr. : DAS
5. Prosecutor’s first piece of evidence : EXHIBIT A
6. Russian pancake : BLIN
7. Back out : RENEGE
8. Home of primary 30-Down gods : ASGARD
9. Fresh from the factory : BRAND NEW
10. Part in a play : ROLE
11. Nights before : EVES
12. __ Virginia : WEST
14. Handy : OF USE
18. Down with the flu : ILL
22. Yemeni money : RIAL
24. Knighted Guinness : ALEC
26. Pack again, as groceries : REBAG
27. “We’re live!” studio sign : ON AIR!
28. Human trunk : TORSO
30. Like Odin and Thor : NORSE
31. Egypt’s capital : CAIRO
32. Op-ed piece, say : ESSAY
33. Often submerged shipping dangers : REEFS
38. Lunar symbol for a very long time : BLUE MOON
40. Books’ opening sections : PREFACES
41. Couch : SOFA
44. Green-eyed monster : ENVY
48. Absolute ruler : DESPOT
49. Actress Shields : BROOKE
50. Tree that sounds like a summer vacation spot : BEECH
53. Pres. pardoned by Ford : RMN
54. Jewelry protector : SAFE
55. “Sadly … ” : ALAS …
56. Car sticker fig. : MSRP
57. Whirl around : SPIN
59. “So Sick” R&B artist : NE-YO
60. Pakistani language : URDU
61. “Cancel that deletion” : STET
64. Sugar suffix : -OSE

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