LA Times Crossword Answers 17 Jul 13, Wednesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Bell-Bottoms … each of today’s themed answers is oriented in the down direction and has a “type” of BELL at the BOTTOM:

27D. Popular ’60s-’70s pants, and what can be found in 3-, 9-, 23- and 33-Down? BELL-BOTTOMS

3D. “Ally McBeal” genre COMEDY-DRAMA (giving “Ma Bell”)
9D. Skunk, literally and figuratively REAL STINKER (giving “Tinkerbell”)
23D. Harbor hauler GARBAGE SCOW (giving “cow bell”)
33D. Pachyderm friend of Zephir the monkey BABAR (giving “barbell”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 29s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Pearl Harbor mo. DEC
The pre-determined code word to be used by the Japanese if they managed to achieve surprise in their attack on Pearl Harbor was “tiger”, or “tora” in Japanese. This gave the name to the excellent 1970 movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!”.

4. Pearl Harbor presence NAVY
The USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor sits across the sunken hull of the battleship, the resting place of 1,102 out of 1,117 sailors of the Arizona who were killed during the 1941 attack. After the attack, the superstructure of the Arizona protruded above the surface of the water. This was removed during and after WWII, leaving just a submerged hull. The memorial itself was approved by President Eisenhower in 1958, and the building was opened in 1962. In 1999, the battleship USS Missouri was permanently moored in Pearl Harbor, docked nearby and perpendicular to the Arizona. It was on the Missouri that the Japanese surrendered, marking the end of WWII.

16. League of Nations home GENEVA
Genève (Geneva in English) is the biggest city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I’ve been to Geneva only once and sadly, what I remember most is how expensive it is. It is in fact the fourth or fifth most expensive city in the world.

The First World War formally ended with the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, following the armistices of 1918. The Conference set the peace terms for the defeated powers, and also created the League of Nations. The League of the Nation was the world’s first attempt to maintain peace across the planet. It operated until the 1930s despite inconsistent support from member nations. The League eventually was replaced by the United Nations after it failed to prevent aggression by the Axis powers that led to WWII.

19. Capital on the Dnieper KIEV
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and a beautiful city, from what I’ve heard from friends who have visited.

20. Bay window ORIEL
An oriel window is a bay window that projects from a wall, but does not reach all the way to the ground.

30. Ruler in un palacio REY
In Spanish, a king (rey) might live in a palace (palacio).

32. Story including a time and place ALIBI
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi'”.

36. Almond __: candy ROCA
An Almond Roca is a brand of chocolate-covered toffee.

37. Quran religion ISLAM
The Koran is also known as the Qur’an in English, a transliteration of the Arabic name for the holy text of the Muslim faith. The literal translation of “Koran” is “the recitation”.

38. Antilles native CARIB
The Caribs are an American Indian people that live in the Lesser Antilles islands, part of the West Indies. The Caribbean Sea takes its name from the Carib people.

The Antilles islands are divided into two main groups, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles includes the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles are made up of the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Antilles, and lie just north of Venezuela.

40. Penny prez ABE
The US one-cent coin has borne the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Fifty years later, a representation of the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side.

42. “Affliction” Oscar nominee NOLTE
The actor Nick Nolte got his first big break playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, released in 1976. Prior to that he had worked as a model, and in fact appeared in a magazine advertisement for Clairol in 1972 alongside fellow model, Sigourney Weaver.

“Affliction” is a 1997 drama movie adapted from a novel of the same name by Russell Banks. Nick Nolte plays the starring role, a small-town policeman in New Hampshire.

43. Name on a range AMANA
The Amana Corporation takes its name from the location of its original headquarters, in Middle Amana, Iowa.

44. Berserk AMOK
The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had good reason for that frenzy …

46. __ vivant BON
A bon vivant (plural “bons vivants”) is a person who enjoys the best of food and drink, a person with very refined tastes. The term is French, coming from “good living” in that language.

47. Chinese menu promise NO MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

48. Hag CRONE
“Hag” is a shortened form of the Old English word “haegtesse” meaning, “witch”.

50. Cirque du Soleil staple TRAPEZE
Cirque du Soleil is an entertainment company based in Montreal. The company was founded in 1984 by two former street performers, and stages spectacular shows that are a dramatic mix of circus and street entertainment. I’ve seen several Cirque du Soleil shows over the years, and have thoroughly every single one.

52. Medium’s medium TAROT
Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future.

54. Longtime Chicago Symphony conductor SOLTI
Sir Georg Solti was a great Hungarian-British conductor, who spent 22 years as music director of the Chicago Symphony, one of many prestigious positions he held in the world of classical music and opera. Solti was awarded 31 Grammy Awards, the most won by any individual in any genre of music.

59. Seattle ballpark, familiarly SAFECO
Safeco Field is the home of the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Insurance was the highest bidder when it came to christening the new stadium opened in 1999, paying $40m for a 20-year contract.

66. Sinuous course SLALOM
Slalom is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”.

69. Bygone blade SNEE
“Snick or snee” is the name given to cut and thrust while fighting with a knife. The phrase is rooted in a pair of Dutch words and it gave its name to a “snee”, a light sword-like knife.

Down
1. Frisbee, e.g. DISK
The Frisbee concept started back in 1938 with a couple who had an upturned cake pan that they were tossing between each other on Santa Monica Beach in California. They were offered 25 cents for the pan on the spot, and as pans could be bought for 5 cents, the pair figured there was a living to be earned.

2. Hollywood’s Morales ESAI
Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai).

3. “Ally McBeal” genre COMEDY-DRAMA (giving “Ma Bell”)
Ally McBeal is a very successful television show that aired from 1997 to 2002. It starred Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal, a successful lawyer. I must admit, I never watched it …

The term “Ma Bell” was of course used to describe the monopoly led by the American Bell Telephone Company and AT&T, that controlled telephone service right across the country. The name “Bell” is after Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the first practical telephone.

6. Riverdale High brunette of comics VERONICA
Archie Andrews was the main character in a comic book series introduced in 1941 by Archie Comics. Archie was such a successful character that he went on to appear in a radio series, a syndicated comic strip and two television cartoon shows. Famously, Archie got himself in a love triangle with Betty Cooper, the girl next door, and Veronica Lodge, the only child of the richest man in town.

7. North Sea feeder YSER
The Yser originates in northern France and flows through Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser is often associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war, the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium and across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of their Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

8. Wetlands nester EGRET
At one time the egret species was in danger of extinction due to excessive hunting driven by the demand for plumes for women’s hats.

9. Skunk, literally and figuratively REAL STINKER (giving “Tinkerbell”)
Tinkerbell had a relatively small part to play in J. M. Barrie’s play “Peter Pan”, but her role has expanded over the years due to the character’s popularity with movie audiences.

10. Secretive maritime org. ONI
The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the oldest of the US intelligence services. The ONI was set up in 1882 to determine the state of advancement of foreign naval forces.

15. Strauss of denim LEVI
Levi Strauss was the founder of the first company in the world to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. opened in 1853 in San Francisco. Strauss and his business partner were awarded a patent in 1873 for the use of copper rivets to strengthen points of strain on working pants.

23. Harbor hauler GARBAGE SCOW (giving “cow bell”)
A scow is a flat-bottomed boat with squared-off ends that’s often used for transportation, usually pushed or pulled by a barge. Often a scow can be seen carrying junk or garbage.

24. U.N. anti-child-labor agcy. ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

26. Nodding words AHSO
The slang term “ahso” is used in American English to mean “I see”. The term derives from the Japanese expression “Ah so desu ka” meaning “Oh, that’s how it is”.

28. Henry Clay, for one ORATOR
Henry Clay was a statesman from Kentucky well known for his gift as an orator. He was very persuasive in his arguments in favor of war with Britain resulting in the War of 1812. In 1957, a Senate committee chaired by John F. Kennedy declared Henry Clay one of the five greatest senators in American history.

29. Sana’a citizen YEMENI
Sana (also Sana’a) is the capital city of Yemen. Within the bounds of today’s metropolis is the old fortified city of Sana where people have lived for over 2,500 years. The Old City is now a World Heritage Site.

33. Pachyderm friend of Zephir the monkey BABAR (giving “barbell”)
“Babar the Elephant” originated in France, a creation of Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. The first book was “Histoire de Babar”, a book so successful it was translated into English two years later for publication in Britain and the US. Jean de Brunhoff wrote six more Babar stories before he died in 1937, and then his son Laurent continued his father’s work.

39. Javert’s rank: Abbr. INSP
Inspector Javert is the main antagonist in “Les Misérables”, the great novel by Victor Hugo. There’s a famous scene in the musical version of “Les Miserables”, when Javert commits suicide by jumping into the River Seine. In the days of “special effects” in musical theater, it’s quite clever …

41. 🙁 is one EMOTICON
An emoticon is a glyph created using text characters to represent facial features, and usually oriented sideways. The emoticon is designed to indicate emotion or attitude. The classic example is the smiley face 🙂

48. Animation still CEL
In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

53. Capital formerly named Christiania OSLO
Oslo is an ancient city, founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV and renamed Christiania. In 1877 there was an official change of the name’s spelling to “Kristiania”, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have gone full circle as the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has recently been named Christiania again.

57. __ Day vitamins ONE A
One A Day is a line of multivitamins made by Bayer. One A Day was introduced way back in 1940.

59. Leeds-to-London dir. SSE
I went to school for a while not far from Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was a major center for the production and trading of wool, and then with the onset of mechanization it became a natural hub for manufacture of textiles. These days Leeds is noted as a shopping destination and so has been dubbed “the Knightsbridge of the North”.

62. “Out of the Blue” rock gp. ELO
ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. ELO’s manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

64. Pump part TOE
A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pearl Harbor mo. DEC
4. Pearl Harbor presence NAVY
8. Cuts into ERODES
14. Singles out ISOLATES
16. League of Nations home GENEVA
17. “Right back atcha!” SAME HERE!
18. Came down and delayed the game RAINED
19. Capital on the Dnieper KIEV
20. Bay window ORIEL
22. Prepare for an attack DIG IN
25. Words on some blue balloons IT’S A BOY!
30. Ruler in un palacio REY
32. Story including a time and place ALIBI
34. “Finished!” THERE!
35. Bring down the curtain on END
36. Almond __: candy ROCA
37. Quran religion ISLAM
38. Antilles native CARIB
40. Penny prez ABE
42. “Affliction” Oscar nominee NOLTE
43. Name on a range AMANA
44. Berserk AMOK
46. __ vivant BON
47. Chinese menu promise NO MSG
48. Hag CRONE
49. “Wish you were here—__ were there” OR I
50. Cirque du Soleil staple TRAPEZE
52. Medium’s medium TAROT
54. Longtime Chicago Symphony conductor SOLTI
56. Organ knob STOP
59. Seattle ballpark, familiarly SAFECO
63. Forgo accomplices ACT ALONE
66. Sinuous course SLALOM
67. It bodes well GOOD OMEN
68. Table no-nos ELBOWS
69. Bygone blade SNEE
70. Watched kids SAT

Down
1. Frisbee, e.g. DISK
2. Hollywood’s Morales ESAI
3. “Ally McBeal” genre COMEDY-DRAMA
4. “Forget it!” NAH!
5. Took the cake? ATE
6. Riverdale High brunette of comics VERONICA
7. North Sea feeder YSER
8. Wetlands nester EGRET
9. Skunk, literally and figuratively REAL STINKER
10. Secretive maritime org. ONI
11. Cozy retreat DEN
12. Anticipatory time EVE
13. In a funk SAD
15. Strauss of denim LEVI
21. Sundial number III
23. Harbor hauler GARBAGE SCOW
24. U.N. anti-child-labor agcy. ILO
26. Nodding words AHSO
27. Popular ’60s-’70s pants, and what can be found in 3-, 9-, 23- and 33-Down? BELL-BOTTOMS
28. Henry Clay, for one ORATOR
29. Sana’a citizen YEMENI
30. Eat one’s words RECANT
31. Fill with love ENAMOR
33. Pachyderm friend of Zephir the monkey BABAR
39. Javert’s rank: Abbr. INSP
41. 🙁 is one EMOTICON
45. “Not __ bet!” ON A
48. Animation still CEL
51. Speeds ZOOMS
53. Capital formerly named Christiania OSLO
55. Puts (out) TAGS
57. __ Day vitamins ONE A
58. Cooped (up) PENT
59. Leeds-to-London dir. SSE
60. Without exception ALL
61. “Groovy!” FAB!
62. “Out of the Blue” rock gp. ELO
64. Pump part TOE
65. Lime ending -ADE

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