LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Jun 13, Friday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Victor Barocas
THEME: 8, 9 & 10 … three of today’s answers have 8, 9 and 10 letters in them as well as letters EIGHT, NINE & TEN at the end of the corresponding answer:

18A. With 33- and 52-Across, what 23-, 42- and 61-Across have in common EACH OF THEM
33A. See 18-Across ENDS WITH
52A. See 18-Across ITS LENGTH

42A. How some veggies are sold BY WEIGHT (EIGHT letters in “by weight”)
23A. Intermediate level MEZZANINE (NINE letters in “mezzanine”)
61A. Creator of Emma Woodhouse JANE AUSTEN (TEN letters in “Jane Austen”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 09m 37s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Pooh-pooher of the provincial SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

10. Barclays Center team NETS
The New Jersey Nets NBA team used to play in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The franchise relocated to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York that opened for business recently. The team’s name has now changed to the Brooklyn Nets.

14. Irish pop group family name CORR
The Corrs are a Celtic rock band from Dundalk, Ireland (the town in which I happen to be right now as I write this post). The band is made up of three sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline and their brother Jim. In the late nineties, the Corrs held the number one and number two spot on the UK charts simultaneously, something that only the Beatles had ever been able to achieve.

16. Overseas “other” OTRA
In Spanish, the other (otra) is neither this (esta) not that (esa).

20. B-boy link AS IN
B as in BOY …

21. Foofaraw ADO
“Foofaraw” is excessive or flashy ornamentation, or a fuss over something that is unimportant.

22. It’s often grated ROMANO
“Romano” is actually an American term, and is used for a selection of hard and salty cheeses that are typically grated. One of these cheeses is the Italian Pecorino Romano, from which we get the more generic term “Romano”.

23. Intermediate level MEZZANINE (NINE letters in “mezzanine”)
A mezzanine in a building is a low story between two taller ones. The term came to be used for the lowest balcony in a theater in the 1920s.

27. Skye writing ERSE
There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be Gaeilge (in Ireland), Gaelg (on the Isle of Man) and Gàidhlig (in Scotland).

The Isle of Skye is off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. It is the second largest island in the country, and has been linked to the mainland by a road bridge since 1995. I’ve never been there, but I hear the views are spectacular.

28. Tree sacred to the Druids OAK
Druids were priests in Celtic Europe during the Iron Age.

30. Wheel man? SAJAK
Pat Sajak took over the hosting of “Wheel of Fortune” back in 1983 and has been doing the job ever since. Sajak had a short run as a talk show host in 1989/1990 and used to sub quite often for Larry King and Regis Philbin.

38. Force on Earth, for short ONE G
The force of gravity that we all feel is referred to as “one G”. As gravity is a actually an accelerating force, acceleration is measured relative to that force of gravity. So, if we are sitting in a vehicle that accelerates at 3G, then we are experiencing a force that is three times that which we feel from the gravitational pull of the earth. Zero-G is weightlessness that is experienced when in space, outside the influence of the earth’s gravity.

39. “__ of Identity”: Conan Doyle story A CASE
“A Case of Identity” is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 56 “Sherlock Holmes” short stories.

The Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is most closely associated with his wonderful character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle also wrote a series of science fiction stories featuring the character Professor Challenger. The first book in which Challenger appears is the famous “The Lost World”, a story about prehistoric creatures that are found living in the modern age on an isolated plateau in South America.

41. __ Cakesters OREO
Oreo Cakesters are a soft version of the Oreo cookie, introduced by Nabisco in 2007.

44. Get value out of, in a way SMELT
Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and of course, a greenhouse gas).

45. Firing org.? NRA
The National Rifle Association (NRA) used the slogan “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands”. These words became quite famous when they were used at an NRA convention in 2000 by Charlton Heston, who was then president of the NRA. Heston ended a speech he made with the words “From my cold, dead hands!” while holding up into the air a replica of a Sharps rifle.

57. 1972 self-titled pop album OLIVIA
Olivia Newton-John is an Australian singer and actress, although she was born in Cambridge, England. Newton-John’s father was an officer in the British Security Services and worked on the Enigma code-breaking project during WWII. Through her mother, Olivia is also the granddaughter of Max Born, the atomic physicist and Nobel Prize winner.

59. Service support gp. USO
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

61. Creator of Emma Woodhouse JANE AUSTEN (TEN letters in “Jane Austen”)
Jane Austen is a favorite author of mine, and I have been lucky enough to have visited many of the sites in England that have been associated with her life. Favorite of these is a large cottage in the village of Chawton in Hampshire, England. Austen moved to Chawton from Bath, and there wrote and published her most famous novels, including “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park”.

I just listened to one of my favorite Jane Austen novels on Audio Book recently, “Emma”, the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the tale Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel!

65. Sierra __ LEONE
The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, lying on the Atlantic Coast. The capital city of Freetown was originally set up as a colony to house the “Black Poor” of London, England. These people were mainly freed British slaves of Caribbean descent who were living a miserable life in the run-down parts of London. Perhaps to help the impoverished souls, perhaps to rid the streets of “a problem”, three ships were chartered in 1787 to transport a group of blacks, with some whites, to a piece of land purchased in Sierra Leone. Those who made the voyage were guaranteed British citizenship and protection. The descendants of these immigrants, and others who made the journey over the next 60 years, make up the ethnic group that’s today called the Sierra Leone Creole.

66. Connecticut’s State Composer IVES
Charles Ives was one of the great classical composers, probably the first American to be so recognized. Sadly, his work largely went unsung (pun intended!) during his lifetime, and was really only accepted into the performed repertoire after his death in 1954.

68. Game with doubles and triples DARTS
Darts is a wonderful game often played in British and Irish pubs, even over here in America. The scoring in a traditional game of darts is difficult to describe in a sentence or two, but the game of darts called “Round the Clock” is simply hitting the numbers 1 through 20 in sequence.

69. “Sesame Street” roommate BERT
I’ve always believed that the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie were named after two roles played in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In the movie, the policeman’s name is Bert and his taxi-driving buddy is named Ernie. However, the “Sesame Street” folks have stated that the use of the same names is just a coincidence.

Down
2. Image on a poster for Eastwood’s “Hang ‘Em High” NOOSE
“Hang ‘Em High” is a Clint Eastwood western. Eastwood plays the lead, and Eastwood’s production company funded the movie.

3. 2006 A.L. home run champ ORTIZ
The Dominican American baseball player David Ortiz has the nickname “Big Papi”. After each home run that Ortiz scores, he looks upwards and points to the sky, a tribute to his mother who died in a car crash in 2002 when she was only 46 years old.

4. Period marked by copper use BRONZE AGE
Ancient societies can be classified by the “three-age system”, which depends on the prevalence of materials used to make tools. The three ages are:

– The Stone Age
– The Bronze Age
– The Iron Age

The actual dates defined by each age depend on the society, as the timing of the transition from the use of one material to another varied around the globe.

5. Title word with eleven, twelve or thirteen OCEAN’S
“Ocean’s 11” is a great film from 1960, starring Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean. The original storyline is updated for the excellent 2001 remake, with George Clooney playing the lead. The 2001 remake (Called “Ocean’s Eleven”) spawned two sequels: “Ocean’s Twelve” in 2004 and “Ocean’s Thirteen” in 2007.

6. Tour toter ROADIE
A “roadie” is someone who loads, unloads and sets up equipment for musicians on tour, on the road.

7. Quiche Lorraine ingredient BACON
The classic dish called quiche is made with eggs (“oeufs” in French). Even though the quiche is inextricably linked to French cuisine, the name “quiche” comes from the German word for cake, “Kuchen”. The variant called “quiche lorraine” includes bits of smoked bacon as an ingredient.

9. Title foe of Loki in a 2011 film THOR
The 2011 movie “Thor” is yet another film based on a comic book hero. Even though I won’t be seeing it (I don’t do comics), I must admit it does have an impressive cast. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, supported by Natalie Portman, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins. And to crown it all, the magnificent Kenneth Branagh is the director.

11. Wharton’s Frome ETHAN
“Ethan Frome” is a novel by Edith Wharton, first published in 1911.

Edith Wharton was a novelist and designer from New York City. Wharton was a wealthy woman and built her own estate in Lenox, Massachusetts called the Mount. My wife and I had the privilege of touring the Mount a few years ago, and there we saw evidence of what design meant to Wharton.

13. Birthplace of Pythagoras SAMOS
Samos is an island in the eastern Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. Samos is the birthplace of the famed mathematician Pythagoras, the philosopher Epicurus, and the astronomer Aristarchus of Samos. The latter was the first person known to have proposed that the Earth revolves around the sun.

Pythagoras of Samos is remembered by most these days for his work in mathematics, and for his famous Pythagorean theorem that states that in any right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Although there is very little of Pythagoras’s own work that survives, much has been written by his successors that shows how great his influence was above and beyond mathematics, in the fields of philosophy and religion in particular. In fact, it is believed that Pythagoras coined the word “philosophy”, coming from the Greek for “loving wisdom or knowledge”. On a “timeline” of famous Greek philosophers, Pythagoras was doing his work over a hundred years before Socrates, who was followed by Plato and then Aristotle.

24. Ship with two zebras on it ARK
Genesis 6:19-20 states that Noah was instructed to take two animals of every kind into the ark. Later, in Genesis 7:2-3 Noah was instructed to take on board “every clean animal by sevens … male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth”. Apparently “extras” (7 rather than 2) were needed for ritual sacrifice.

The name “zebra” comes from an old Portuguese word “zevra” meaning “wild ass”. Studies of zebra embryos show that zebras are basically black in color, with white stripes that develop with growth. Before this finding, it was believed they were white, with black stripes.

32. Shylock, e.g. JEW
Shylock is a character in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”. Shylock is a moneylender and he gives a loan which is to be secured by “a pound of flesh”. When the money cannot be repaid, Shylock demands his pound of flesh, the collection of which would kill the poor victim of his scheme.

35. Spleen IRE
The spleen has a couple of functions in the human body. It removes old red blood cells, and recycles the iron contained therein. The waste product of this recycling is bile. It also holds a reserve of blood that can be released when necessary (if the body goes into “circulatory shock”). Greek and Roman physicians ascribed to the theory that the body had four basic substances, the so-called four humors. All diseases were caused by these four substances getting out of balance. The four humors were:

– Black bile (melancolia)
– Yellow bile (cholera)
– Phlegm (phlegma)
– Blood (sanguis)

Out terms “splenetic” and “venting one’s spleen”are derived from this concept of have the humors out of balance.

36. Rolodex no. TEL
The name Rolodex is short for “rolling index”, and applies to a device that was invented back in 1956. Even in today’s world that is run by computers, Rolodexes are still popular.

37. __ pants HOT-
Hot-pants were quite the fad. They were introduced in fashion shows in the winter of 1970/71, and became a huge sensation in the summer of ’71. By the end of the year, hot pants were “gone”.

39. Dept. with a plow on its seal AGR
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) actually dates back to 1862 when it was established by then-president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln referred to the USDA as the “people’s department” as our economy had such a vast agrarian base back then.

40. Spiced tea CHAI
Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

43. Columbus’s elusive destination INDIA
Christopher Columbus set off on four voyages of exploration from Spain. The initial intent of the expeditions was to establish an ocean link with the Indian subcontinent, by sailing westward. Columbus reached the Americas instead of India, yet insisted on calling the natives “indios”, the Spanish word for “Indians”.

44. Ella’s English counterpart SHE
“Ella” is the Spanish word for “she”.

47. “Star Wars Episode II” soldiers CLONES
“Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” was the fifth film to be released in the “Star Wars” franchise. It is also the longest movie in the series, with a running time of 2 hours 22 minutes.

48. Schools where boards may be used to measure ability DOJOS
The Japanese word dojo literally means “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

49. Where Davy Crockett died ALAMO
The pioneer Davy Crockett is often referred to as “King of the Wild Frontier”. Crockett was from East Tennessee. After serving in the local militia he entered politics and represented his state in the US House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831. Crockett disapproved of many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, which led to his defeat in the 1834 election for the House. The defeat prompted Crockett to leave Tennessee for Texas. Famously, he died there in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

53. Seneca, to Nero TUTOR
Seneca the Younger was a playwright as well as a tutor and advisor to the Emperor Nero of Ancient Rome. Although maybe innocent, Seneca was forced to commit suicide by Nero as it was alleged that Seneca participated in a plot to kill the emperor. To kill himself, Seneca cut into a number of veins in order to bleed to death.

55. It’s a stunner TASER
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”. Interesting, eh?

56. Operation Redwing event, 1956 H-TEST
Operation Redwing was a series of nuclear tests in the South Pacific conducted by the US. Included in the series of tests was the world’s first airdrop of a hydrogen bomb.

58. “__ Lang Syne” AULD
The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve, the words of which were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

62. Black or Labrador SEA
The Black Sea is in southeastern Europe just south of Ukraine. In the north of the Black Sea is the Crimean Peninsula.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pooh-pooher of the provincial SNOB
5. Round trip? ORBIT
10. Barclays Center team NETS
14. Irish pop group family name CORR
15. How most fly COACH
16. Overseas “other” OTRA
17. Start to till? ROTO-
18. With 33- and 52-Across, what 23-, 42- and 61-Across have in common EACH OF THEM
20. B-boy link AS IN
21. Foofaraw ADO
22. It’s often grated ROMANO
23. Intermediate level MEZZANINE (NINE letters in “mezzanine”)
26. Lets use for now LENDS
27. Skye writing ERSE
28. Tree sacred to the Druids OAK
30. Wheel man? SAJAK
33. See 18-Across ENDS WITH
38. Force on Earth, for short ONE G
39. “__ of Identity”: Conan Doyle story A CASE
41. __ Cakesters OREO
42. How some veggies are sold BY WEIGHT (EIGHT letters in “by weight”)
44. Get value out of, in a way SMELT
45. Firing org.? NRA
46. Massage target ACHE
48. Not now? DATED
52. See 18-Across ITS LENGTH
57. 1972 self-titled pop album OLIVIA
59. Service support gp. USO
60. Blind element SLAT
61. Creator of Emma Woodhouse JANE AUSTEN (TEN letters in “Jane Austen”)
63. Drop LOSE
64. Eclipse, to some OMEN
65. Sierra __ LEONE
66. Connecticut’s State Composer IVES
67. Puts turf on SODS
68. Game with doubles and triples DARTS
69. “Sesame Street” roommate BERT

Down
1. “Out!” SCRAM!
2. Image on a poster for Eastwood’s “Hang ‘Em High” NOOSE
3. 2006 A.L. home run champ ORTIZ
4. Period marked by copper use BRONZE AGE
5. Title word with eleven, twelve or thirteen OCEAN’S
6. Tour toter ROADIE
7. Quiche Lorraine ingredient BACON
8. German I ICH
9. Title foe of Loki in a 2011 film THOR
10. “Sorry, wrong guy” NOT ME
11. Wharton’s Frome ETHAN
12. Vogue TREND
13. Birthplace of Pythagoras SAMOS
19. People FOLKS
24. Ship with two zebras on it ARK
25. Long periods EONS
29. Lemon attachment -ADE
30. Blubber SOB
31. One or more ANY
32. Shylock, e.g. JEW
33. Get down EAT
34. Movement that fought stereotypes WOMEN’S LIB
35. Spleen IRE
36. Rolodex no. TEL
37. __ pants HOT-
39. Dept. with a plow on its seal AGR
40. Spiced tea CHAI
43. Columbus’s elusive destination INDIA
44. Ella’s English counterpart SHE
46. Nod, say ASSENT
47. “Star Wars Episode II” soldiers CLONES
48. Schools where boards may be used to measure ability DOJOS
49. Where Davy Crockett died ALAMO
50. Pointed at the dinner table? TINED
51. Ties EVENS
53. Seneca, to Nero TUTOR
54. Boxer’s protection GLOVE
55. It’s a stunner TASER
56. Operation Redwing event, 1956 H-TEST
58. “__ Lang Syne” AULD
62. Black or Labrador SEA

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2 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Jun 13, Friday”

  1. The clue to 32 down "shylock" and the answer asked for, "Jew", is extremely demeaning, and has no place in a crossword puzzle in any newspaper. It is as bad as using the "N" word. It was disgusting!!!!
    A pox on Victor Barocas. Shame on the Tribune.

  2. Bill, Again I thought this an easier than a normal Friday puzzle but I was at 30 minutes. Love that second cup o'coffee.
    Anon@8:44, There was nothing demeaning about 32 down. It has been used before and as Bill explained, Shylock is the name of a character who happens to be a Jew. In that context there is no bigotry to be inferred.
    Call me, Addict, a Christian, I take no offense. PC can go too far some times if thinned skinned.
    ( Sorry Bill, Had to comment. Delete me if you want. I can take it )

Comments are closed.