LA Times Crossword Answers 28 May 13, Tuesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Steve Blais
THEME: How Far to the Finish? … each of today’s themed answers ends with a measure of distance:

18A. Eschew punishment, in an old saw SPARE THE (ROD)
29A. Really puzzling HARD TO (FATHOM)
37A. “Toy Story” space ranger BUZZ (LIGHTYEAR)
46A. Athletics group for kids PEEWEE (LEAGUE)

60A. From afar, and how 18-, 29-, 37- and 46-Across literally end AT A DISTANCE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 05m 57s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Popeye’s Olive OYL
“Thimble Theater” was the precursor comic strip to the famous “Popeye” drawn by E. C. Segar. Before Popeye came into the story, the brother and sister characters Castor Oyl and Olive Oyl were the main protagonists. And then along comes a sailor …

18. Eschew punishment, in an old saw SPARE THE (ROD)
A “rod” is a unit of length, the same length as a “perch” or a “pole”. A rod is equal to 5½ yards.

20. With, in France AVEC
In French, one might use the words “sans” (without) and “avec” (with).

22. Movie-rating org. MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) film-rating system (R, PG-17, G etc.) is purely voluntary and is not backed by any law. Movie theaters agree to abide by the rules that come with the MPAA ratings in exchange for access to new movies.

23. Santa __ winds ANA
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

24. Positive particle PROTON
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.

26. Carson’s sidekick MCMAHON
Of course Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show”. McMahon was trained as a fighter in WWII, but did not see action. However, he did fly 85 combat missions in Korea.

29. Really puzzling HARD TO (FATHOM)
Our word “fathom” comes from the Old English word used to describe the length of the outstretched arms. Today a fathom is equal to six feet.

32. Currency-stabilizing org. IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established at the end of 1945 with 29 major economies supporting and funding an effort to stabilize economies across the globe after WWII. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., today the IMF has 187 member countries.

34. Part of Columbus’s fleet NINA

Columbus sailed over the ocean
Columbus sailed over the sea
Columbus discovered America
But Columbus didn’t see me!
Nina
Pinta
the Santa Maria, to-oo-oo
They all sailed over the ocean
Over the ocean blue
Columbus was looking for India
But Columbus missed it you see
Columbus discovered America
But Columbus didn’t see me

37. “Toy Story” space ranger BUZZ (LIGHTYEAR)
1995’s “Toy Story” was the world’s first feature-length computer-animated movie. “Toy Story” was also the studio Pixar’s first production. The main roles in the film are Woody and Buzz, voiced by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen respectively. Hanks was the first choice to voice Woody, Allen was asked to voice Buzz after Billy Crystal turned down the role.

A light-year is a measure of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. The accepted abbreviation for a light-year is “ly”.

43. Luau souvenir LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

44. “I hate it!” UGH!
Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

46. Athletics group for kids PEEWEE (LEAGUE)
The obsolete measure of length known as a league was defined as the distance a person could walk in an hour.

55. Refugees’ subj. ESL
English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

56. Key __ pie LIME
The species of citrus fruit called a key lime is so named due to its association with the Florida Keys.

59. Tornado-riding dog TOTO
Toto is Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz”. Toto was played by a dog called Terry, but Terry’s name was soon changed to Toto in real life, due to the success of the film.

64. “__ Got a Secret” I’VE
“I’ve Got a Secret” was a panel show that originally aired in the fifties and sixties. “I’ve Got a Secret”was a spinoff of the very successful panel show “What’s My Line?”

66. “Rosemary’s Baby” author Ira LEVIN
As well as writing novels, Ira Levin was a dramatist and a songwriter. Levin’s first novel was “A Kiss Before Dying”, and his most famous work was “Rosemary’s Baby” which became a Hollywood hit. His best known play is “Deathtrap”, a production that is often seen in local theater (I’ve seen it a couple of times around here). “Deathtrap” was also was a successful movie, starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. My favorite of Levin’s novels though are “The Boys from Brazil” and “The Stepford Wives”.

67. Perfumer’s compound ESTER
Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol.

69. Amens YESES
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

71. Monopoly quartet: Abbr. RRS
The street names in the US version of Monopoly are locations in or around Atlantic City, New Jersey. Two of the four railroad properties on the board actually served Atlantic City, and two did not. The B&O Railroad never served Atlantic City, and the Short Line Railroad is a fictional facility.

Down
1. Half a tuba sound OOM
Oom-pah-pah.

The tuba is the lowest pitched of all the brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”.

2. Bart Simpson’s “Holy cow!” AY, CARAMBA!
Bart Simpson apparently uses the expression “Ay, caramba!” when he is positively surprised about something, often something related to a female I am told …

4. The Phillie Phanatic, e.g. MASCOT
The Phillie Phanatic is the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. The Phanatic replaced the older mascots Philadelphia Phil and Philadelphia Phillis in 1978.

5. Alsatian dadaist ARP
Hans Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. He was sent home …

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

Of the 27 regions of metropolitan France (i.e. the territory of France within Europe), the smallest is Alsace. Alsace sits at the very east of the country, right on the border with Germany. Someone from Alsace can be called an Alsatian.

6. Linguist Chomsky NOAM
Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguistics at MIT. Chomsky is known as one of the fathers of modern linguistics.

7. O.K. Corral gunfighter EARP
The famous Earp brothers of the Wild West were Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan. All three brothers participated in what has to be the most celebrated gunfight in the history of the Old West, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Strangely enough, the fight didn’t happen at the O.K. Corral, but took place six doors down the street in a vacant lot next to a photography studio.

9. The other half of a tuba sound PAH
Oom-pah-pah.

11. “Adia” singer McLachlan SARAH
Apparently the song “Adia”, co-written by Sarah McLachlan, was intended as an apology to her best friend … for stealing her ex-boyfriend and then marrying him!

13. Car buyer’s choice SEDAN
The American “sedan” car is the equivalent of the British “saloon” car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in the UK), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

19. Dial on a dash TACH
The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

21. Takeoff approx. ETD
Estimated Time of Departure (ETD)

25. “Joy to the World,” e.g. NOEL
“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, ultimately coming from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). Noel has come to be used as an alternative name for a Christmas carol.

The English theologian Isaac Watts was also a celebrated composer of hymns, and is known as the “Father of English Hymnody”. The example of his work that is probably most familiar is the Christmas classic “Joy to the World”, for which he wrote the words. “Joy to the World” is the most-published Christmas Carol in North America.

27. When repeated, a 1987 #1 hit for Billy Idol MONY
“Mony Mony” was a hit for Tommy James and Shondells back in 1968. Billy Idol came out with a successful cover version of the song in 1987. The title of the song apparently was inspired by a MONY sign on the Mutual of New York (MONY) Building in Manhattan.

Billy Idol is an English rock musician, whose real name is William Broad. He started out with the punk band Generation X, and then made it big as a solo artist, helped along by some well received MTV music videos, in the early days of the genre.

28. Lille lady friend AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

Lille is a large city in the very north of France sitting right on the border with Belgium. The name “Lille” is a derivation of the term “l’isle” meaning “the island”.

30. “F” that most school kids look forward to: Abbr. FRI
“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies.

39. Düsseldorf duo ZWEI
“Eins, zwei, drei, vier” is German for “one, two, three, four”.

Düsseldorf lies in the west of Germany, fairly close to the border with France, and sits on the River Rhine.

51. __-mouthed: indirect MEALY
Someone who is described as mealy-mouthed tends not to state opinions directly and simply, and sounds hesitant.

52. Lauder of lipstick ESTEE
Estée Lauder was quite the successful businesswoman, with a reputation as a great salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

53. Some Balkan natives SLAVS
The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

– the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
– the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
– the South Slavic (including Bulgarians and Serbs)

61. Backgammon cube DIE
The oldest known dice found are part of a backgammon set found in Iran that was 5,000 years old!

62. “I know people” people INS
I have some “ins” … I know people …

65. USNA grad ENS
Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is located in Annapolis, Maryland. The USNA was founded in 1845 and educates officers for the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. The motto of the USNA is “Ex Scientia Tridens”, which translates as “From Knowledge, Sea Power”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Clumsy type OAF
4. Like a male lion MANED
9. Sits for a portrait POSES
14. Popeye’s Olive OYL
15. Clamorous AROAR
16. Posthaste APACE
17. Longtime Elton John label MCA
18. Eschew punishment, in an old saw SPARE THE (ROD)
20. With, in France AVEC
22. Movie-rating org. MPAA
23. Santa __ winds ANA
24. Positive particle PROTON
26. Carson’s sidekick MCMAHON
29. Really puzzling HARD TO (FATHOM)
32. Currency-stabilizing org. IMF
33. Geography suffix -ERN
34. Part of Columbus’s fleet NINA
37. “Toy Story” space ranger BUZZ (LIGHTYEAR)
42. What there oughta be A LAW
43. Luau souvenir LEI
44. “I hate it!” UGH!
46. Athletics group for kids PEEWEE (LEAGUE)
51. Not as tidy MESSIER
54. Shaving aid LATHER
55. Refugees’ subj. ESL
56. Key __ pie LIME
59. Tornado-riding dog TOTO
60. From afar, and how 18-, 29-, 37- and 46-Across literally end AT A DISTANCE
64. “__ Got a Secret” I’VE
66. “Rosemary’s Baby” author Ira LEVIN
67. Perfumer’s compound ESTER
68. Yet, poetically E’EN
69. Amens YESES
70. Unfeeling STONY
71. Monopoly quartet: Abbr. RRS

Down
1. Half a tuba sound OOM
2. Bart Simpson’s “Holy cow!” AY, CARAMBA!
3. Likely to evoke yums FLAVORFUL
4. The Phillie Phanatic, e.g. MASCOT
5. Alsatian dadaist ARP
6. Linguist Chomsky NOAM
7. O.K. Corral gunfighter EARP
8. Imagined DREAMT
9. The other half of a tuba sound PAH
10. Uncover, poetically OPE
11. “Adia” singer McLachlan SARAH
12. Prefix appealing to frugality ECONO-
13. Car buyer’s choice SEDAN
19. Dial on a dash TACH
21. Takeoff approx. ETD
24. 21st Greek letter PHI
25. “Joy to the World,” e.g. NOEL
27. When repeated, a 1987 #1 hit for Billy Idol MONY
28. Lille lady friend AMIE
30. “F” that most school kids look forward to: Abbr. FRI
31. It’s measured in degrees ANGLE
35. Less deserving of a Christmas present? NAUGHTIER
36. Have a debate about ARGUE OVER
38. Microwaves ZAPS
39. Düsseldorf duo ZWEI
40. Giggle in an IM HEE
41. Cash drawer TILL
45. Seagoing pronoun HER
47. Skinny swimmers EELS
48. Puts pen to paper WRITES
49. Place to grab a bite EATERY
50. From __ Z A TO
51. __-mouthed: indirect MEALY
52. Lauder of lipstick ESTEE
53. Some Balkan natives SLAVS
57. Sail support MAST
58. Opposite of ecto- ENTO-
61. Backgammon cube DIE
62. “I know people” people INS
63. 100 yrs. CEN
65. USNA grad ENS

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