LA Times Crossword 29 Nov 18, Thursday

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Study of Clues

Themed answers are each a field of study that has been reinterpreted in the clue with reference to the opening syllable in the name of the field:

  • 16A. Study of a portentous woodchuck? : PHILOLOGY (from “Punxsutawney Phil”)
  • 23A. Study of tears? : CRYOLOGY (from “crying, shedding tears”)
  • 51A. Study of common articles? : THEOLOGY (from “‘the’ definite article”)
  • 62A. Study of hiking choices? : PATHOLOGY (from “hiking path”)
  • 9D. Study of literary tools? : PENOLOGY (from “penned literature”)
  • 38D. Study of lids and caps? : TOPOLOGY (from “lids and caps, tops”)
  • Bill’s time: 6m 57s

    Bill’s errors: 0

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    Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

    Across

    1. Goat quote : MAA!

    “Maa” is the call of a goat.

    9. Driving range instructors : PROS

    That would be golf.

    13. Central cooling systs. : ACS

    Air conditioner (AC)

    15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner : MEARA

    Anne Meara married fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller in 1954. The couple’s children are actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spin-off from “All in the Family”.

    16. Study of a portentous woodchuck? : PHILOLOGY (from “Punxsutawney Phil”)

    Philology is the study of literature, and language used in literature. The Greek “philologia” translates as “love of words, speech”.

    The woodchuck is also known as the groundhog, and is one in a group of large ground squirrels called marmots. Repeat after me:

    How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

    Punxsutawney is a borough in Pennsylvania that is located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney Phil is the famous groundhog that lives in the area. Phil comes out of his hole on February 2 each year and if he sees his shadow he goes back into his hole predicting six more weeks of winter weather. February 2 is known as “Groundhog Day”.

    20. Prevents legally : ENJOINS

    In legal terms, “to enjoin” means “to prohibit”, to issue an injunction prohibiting a specific act.

    22. Hoppy brew, for short : IPA

    India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

    23. Study of tears? : CRYOLOGY (from “crying, shedding tears”)

    Cryology is the study of snow and ice. An alternative term for the same study is “glaciology”.

    24. Humanities maj. : SOC

    Sociology (soc.)

    The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.

    26. Dash gauge : TACH

    The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer in a car measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

    Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a board placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hoofs of the horses.

    29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC : CRO

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses its own set of three-letter abbreviations for country names, e.g. HUN (Hungary) and CRO (Croatia).

    The Republic of Croatia is a Balkan country. The Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia became a member of NATO in 2009, and a member of the European Union in 2013.

    The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that is bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.

    30. Player of The Bride in “Kill Bill” films, familiarly : UMA

    Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s “moll” in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from acting from 1998 until 2002 following the birth of her first child. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.

    “Kill Bill” is a 3-part Quentin Tarantino movie (I haven’t seen it, as I really don’t do Tarantino). “Kill Bill” started off as one film, but as the running time was over four hours, it was split into two “volumes”, released several months apart in 2003 and 2004. There has been a lot of talk about making “Kill Bill: Volume 3”.

    39. Fuzzy fruit : KIWIS

    What we call kiwifruit today used to be called a Chinese gooseberry. Marketing folks in the fifties decided to call it a “melonette”, and then New Zealand producers adopted the name “kiwifruit”.

    41. Exercise in a studio : YOGA

    In the West we tend to think of yoga as a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.

    42. Android operating system named for a cookie : OREO

    The successive versions of the Android mobile operating system use confectionery-themed names:

    • Cupcake
    • Donut
    • Eclair
    • Froyo
    • Gingerbread
    • Honeycomb
    • Ice Cream Sandwich
    • Jelly Bean
    • KitKat
    • Lollipop
    • Marshmallow
    • Nougat
    • Oreo
    • Pie

    46. “American Experience” network : PBS

    “American Experience” is a documentary television program that has aired on PBS since 1988. Most of the shows in the “American Experience” collection are produced WGBH-TV in Boston.

    49. Bart’s bus driver : OTTO

    Otto Mann drives the school bus on the TV show “The Simpsons”. Otto is a Germanic character voiced by Harry Shearer, and his name is a play on “Ottoman Empire”. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets Otto with the words “Otto, man!”

    51. Study of common articles? : THEOLOGY (from “‘the’ definite article”)

    Theology is the study of religious faith. The term comes from the Greek “theos” meaning “god” and “-logia” meaning “study”.

    57. Echo Dot-waking words : HI, ALEXA

    Amazon’s Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.

    58. Cornell’s home : ITHACA

    The city of Ithaca sits right at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in New York State. Named for the Greek island, Ithaca is famous as home to Cornell University, which is located just south of the city.

    61. Others, in Cuba : OTROS

    In Spanish, when answering a survey, one “opción” (option) might be “otro” (other).

    62. Study of hiking choices? : PATHOLOGY (from “hiking path”)

    Pathology is the study of disease and its causes. The term ultimately comes from the Greek “pathos” meaning “suffering” and “-logia” meaning “study”.

    66. “At the Movies” co-host : EBERT

    The film review TV show “At the Movies” has been around since 1988 in various forms with various hosts, most famously Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert. Siskel and Ebert used the iconic “thumbs up and thumbs down” rating system from the very first show.

    67. Shepherd’s pie piece : PEA

    Shepherd’s pie, also known as “cottage pie”, is one of my favorite dishes. It is a meat pie (although my wife makes a vegetarian version), with a crust made from mashed potato.

    68. Craftsy website : ETSY

    Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

    69. Brother in Roman lore : 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”!

    Down

    5. Romeo or Juliet : ROLE

    William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t end well for the title characters. Juliet takes a potion as a ruse to fool her parents, to trick them into thinking she is dead. The potion puts her in a death-like coma for 24 hours, after which Juliet plans to awaken and run off with Romeo. Juliet’s sends a message to Romeo apprising him of the plan, but the message fails to arrive. Romeo hears of Juliet’s “death”, and grief-stricken he takes his own life by drinking poison. Juliet awakens from the coma, only to find her lover dead beside her. She picks up a dagger and commits suicide. And nobody lives happily ever after …

    6. “A Sorta Fairytale” singer Tori : AMOS

    Tori Amos is an American pianist and singer. Amos started playing the piano at two years old, and was composing piano pieces by age five. She was playing in piano bars (chaperoned by her father) when she was 14. I’m going to have to find some of her music …

    7. New car stat : MPG

    Miles per gallon (mpg)

    9. Study of literary tools? : PENOLOGY (from “penned literature”)

    “Penology” is the study of the punishment of crime and the management of prisons.

    15. The Masters, e.g. : MAJOR

    Golf’s Masters Tournament is the first of the four major championships in the annual calendar, taking place in the first week of April each year. It is played at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, and has a number of traditions. One is that the winner is awarded the famous “green jacket”, but he only gets to keep it for a year and must return it to the club after twelve months.

    17. Carmex target : LIP

    Carmex is a lip balm that was introduced in 1937. It is available in the usual stick form, but also in a jar and tube.

    21. MoMA location : NYC

    The founding of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was very much driven by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller, son of the oil magnate. Working with two friends, Abby managed to get the museum opened in 1929, just nine days after the Wall Street Crash. The MoMA’s sculpture garden bears the name of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and has done so since 1949.

    24. Heavyweight fight? : SUMO

    Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.

    25. “Rubáiyát” poet : OMAR

    Omar Khayyam was a Persian with many talents. He was a poet as well as an important mathematician, astronomer and physician. A selection of his poems were translated by one Edward Fitzgerald in a collection called “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam”. Here are some famous lines from that collection:

    Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
    A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse — and Thou
    Beside me singing in the Wilderness —
    And Wilderness is Paradise enow.

    27. First rescue boat : ARK

    The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

    28. Football Hall of Famer Carter : CRIS

    Cris Carter is a retired NFL wide receiver. At the time of his retirement, Carter was second only to Jerry rice in terms of career receptions and touchdowns.

    36. Christian of “The Big Short” : BALE

    Christian Bale is an actor from Wales in the UK, although he is better known for his work on this side of the Atlantic. Bale’s big break in movies came in 1987 with the starring role in Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun” at only 13 years of age. He has also played Batman three times, in “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012).

    “The Big Short” is a 2015 film based on a 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, both of which reveal the main players behind the creation of the credit default swap market that profited so heavily from the financial crisis of 207-2008.

    38. Study of lids and caps? : TOPOLOGY (from “lids and caps, tops”)

    Topology is a field of mathematics concerned with the study of surfaces, and properties that are preserved when surfaces are deformed. It’s all beyond me …

    44. Throw back some Absolut, say : DO SHOTS

    I must admit, if I ever do order a vodka drink by name, I will order the Absolut brand. I must also admit that I do so from the perspective of an enthusiastic amateur photographer. I’ve been swayed by the Absolut marketing campaign that features such outstanding photographic images.

    48. Chi __ : SOX

    The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation “Sox” for “Stockings” was regularly used in newspaper headlines.

    56. Evil film computer : HAL

    In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer. Even though, Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.

    60. Screenwriter James : AGEE

    James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

    63. Wartime prez : ABE

    Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, elected in 1860 as the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln’s electoral support came almost exclusively from the north and west of the country, winning only 2 out of 996 counties in the Southern slave states. Lincoln led the country through Civil War, and then was assassinated in 1865 just a few days after Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia. President Lincoln was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

    64. Veer off course : YAW

    The word “yaw” means to deviate from the line of a course and is used mainly at sea and in the air. “Yaw” is derived from the Old Norse word “jaege” which means “to drive, chase”. As such, “yaw” is etymologically related to our word “yacht”.

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    Complete List of Clues/Answers

    Across

    1. Goat quote : MAA!
    4. Monorail users : TRAMS
    9. Driving range instructors : PROS
    13. Central cooling systs. : ACS
    14. Kick : OOMPH
    15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner : MEARA
    16. Study of a portentous woodchuck? : PHILOLOGY (from “Punxsutawney Phil”)
    18. Opposition group : ANTIS
    19. Submits returns online : E-FILES
    20. Prevents legally : ENJOINS
    22. Hoppy brew, for short : IPA
    23. Study of tears? : CRYOLOGY (from “crying, shedding tears”)
    24. Humanities maj. : SOC
    26. Dash gauge : TACH
    29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC : CRO
    30. Player of The Bride in “Kill Bill” films, familiarly : UMA
    31. Made a blunder : ERRED
    33. Take suddenly : GRAB
    37. Small store : MART
    39. Fuzzy fruit : KIWIS
    41. Exercise in a studio : YOGA
    42. Android operating system named for a cookie : OREO
    43. Trusty mount : STEED
    45. Shaving cream type : GEL
    46. “American Experience” network : PBS
    49. Bart’s bus driver : OTTO
    50. Draw upon : USE
    51. Study of common articles? : THEOLOGY (from “‘the’ definite article”)
    55. That woman : SHE
    57. Echo Dot-waking words : HI, ALEXA
    58. Cornell’s home : ITHACA
    61. Others, in Cuba : OTROS
    62. Study of hiking choices? : PATHOLOGY (from “hiking path”)
    65. Tells all : SINGS
    66. “At the Movies” co-host : EBERT
    67. Shepherd’s pie piece : PEA
    68. Craftsy website : ETSY
    69. Brother in Roman lore : REMUS
    70. Give a darn : SEW

    Down

    1. It may have an “X” : MAP
    2. Physical discomfort : ACHE
    3. “Whatever!” : AS IF I CARE!
    4. “Missed your chance!” : TOO LATE!
    5. Romeo or Juliet : ROLE
    6. “A Sorta Fairytale” singer Tori : AMOS
    7. New car stat : MPG
    8. More timid : SHYER
    9. Study of literary tools? : PENOLOGY (from “penned literature”)
    10. 7:11, e.g. : RATIO
    11. Circular gasket : O-RING
    12. Impertinent : SASSY
    15. The Masters, e.g. : MAJOR
    17. Carmex target : LIP
    21. MoMA location : NYC
    23. Puppy plaything : CHEW TOY
    24. Heavyweight fight? : SUMO
    25. “Rubáiyát” poet : OMAR
    27. First rescue boat : ARK
    28. Football Hall of Famer Carter : CRIS
    32. Count calories : DIET
    34. Officers who follow their own code : ROGUE COPS
    35. Many months : AGES
    36. Christian of “The Big Short” : BALE
    38. Study of lids and caps? : TOPOLOGY (from “lids and caps, tops”)
    40. Matching group : SET
    44. Throw back some Absolut, say : DO SHOTS
    47. Sanctify : BLESS
    48. Chi __ : SOX
    51. “All __ in favor … ” : THOSE
    52. Bandleader’s cue : HIT IT
    53. Works for : EARNS
    54. Rubbernecker : GAPER
    56. Evil film computer : HAL
    58. Thing : ITEM
    59. Dead-end sign word : THRU
    60. Screenwriter James : AGEE
    63. Wartime prez : ABE
    64. Veer off course : YAW

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