LA Times Crossword Answers 4 Sep 13, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Victor Barocas
THEME: Swingers … each of today’s themed answers is a famous person associated with the word SWING:

17A. Legend with an ax PAUL BUNYAN
23A. Legend with a clarinet BENNY GOODMAN
36A. Legend with a vine TARZAN OF THE APES
46A. Legend with a bat MICKEY MANTLE
57A. Legend with a bathrobe HUGH HEFNER

65A. Important word for 17-, 23-, 36-, 46- and 57-Across SWING

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 07m 36s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. Prenatal exam, for short AMNIO
Amniocentesis is the prenatal test which involves the removal of a small amount of the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus using a hypodermic needle. The fluid naturally contains some fetal cells, the DNA of which can then be tested to determine the sex of the child and to check for the presence of genetic abnormalities.

16. Jump in a skater’s short program AXEL
An Axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. It was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

17. Legend with an ax PAUL BUNYAN
Paul Bunyan is a giant of American myth, a skilled lumberjack.

19. Actress Hayworth RITA
Rita Hayworth was born in Brooklyn as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Rita’s father was a flamenco dancer from Spain and so his daughter fell naturally into dancing. The family moved to Hollywood where Hayworth’s father set up a dance studio, and there worked with the likes of James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The young Hayworth had a slow start in movies, finding herself typecast because of her Mediterranean features. When she underwent extensive electrolysis to change her forehead and dyed her hair red, she started to get more work (how sad is that?). In 1941 she posed for that famous pin-up picture which accompanied GIs all over the world.

20. Dinner pair? ENS
There are two letters N (en) in the word “dinner”.

22. Indigenous New Zealander MAORI
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Māori are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting sometime in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities.

23. Legend with a clarinet BENNY GOODMAN
Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman was known as the King of Swing.

30. “Let’s Get __”: Marvin Gaye hit IT ON
“Let’s Get It On” is a song by Marvin Gaye, first recorded in 1973. The song’s lyrics have to be among the most sexually charged in the popular repertoire, and helped to earn Gaye a reputation as a sex icon.

33. Jamaican genre SKA
Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of some sound.

36. Legend with a vine TARZAN OF THE APES
“Tarzan” is the title character in the series of books created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The line “Me Tarzan, you Jane” never appeared in the books, and indeed doesn’t even figure in the movies. Apparently Johnny Weissmuller (who played Tarzan in the thirties and forties) saw Maureen O’Sullivan (“Jane”, to Weissmuller’s “Tarzan”) struggling with a suitcase in the parking lot during filming. He grabbed the bag from her, jokingly saying “Me Tarzan, you Jane”, and people have been quoting those words ever since.

40. Animal on Michigan’s state flag ELK
The Michigan state flag features the state’s coat-of-arms on a blue background. The coat-of-arms features a shield supported by an elk on one side and a moose on the other.

41. Coffee shop cupful LATTE
The term “latte” is an abbreviation of the Italian “caffelatte” meaning “coffee (and) milk”. Note that in the correct spelling of “latte”, the Italian word for milk, there is no accent over the “e”. An accent is often added by mistake when we use the word in English, perhaps meaning to suggest that the word is French.

43. “Your Majesty” SIRE
“Sire” is derived from the Latin word “senior” and was an honorific for a knight dating back to about 1200 (Sire Lancelot, for example). Within a few years, the term came to be used as a standalone alternative for “Your Majesty”.

44. It includes a bit of France IBERIA
The Iberian Peninsula in Europe is of course largely made up of Spain and Portugal. However, also included is the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees, a small part of the south of France, and the British Territory of Gibraltar.

46. Legend with a bat MICKEY MANTLE
Mickey Mantle only played professional baseball for the one team, spending 18 years with the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle memorabilia is highly prized, especially since he retired from the game in 1969, and even more so since he died in 1995. The only other player memorabilia said to command a higher price is Babe Ruth’s.

56. Charlatan, e.g. LIAR
A charlatan is someone who makes false claims of skill or knowledge. It is a word we imported from French, although the original derivation is the Italian “ciarlatano”, the term for “a quack”.

57. Legend with a bathrobe HUGH HEFNER
Hugh Hefner is from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own publication that he called “Playboy”, which first hit the newsstands in 1953. “Playboy” has been around ever since.

61. Actor 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).

62. Dutch pianist Egon who taught Victor Borge PETRI
Egon Petri was a classical pianist who was born and raised in Germany. Petri’s family was Dutch, and he was actually born a Dutch citizen. That said, he never once visited the Netherlands. Petri lived in Poland in the 1920s and 1930s, and escaped the day before the German invasion in 1939. He moved the US, and became an American citizen in 1955.

Victor Borge was such a talented entertainer. He was nicknamed “The Great Dane” as well as “The Clown Prince of Denmark”. Borge was a trained concert pianist, but soon discovered that the addition of a stand up comedy routine to his musical presentations brought him a lot of work. He toured Europe in the 1930s, and found himself in trouble for telling anti-Nazi jokes, so when Germany occupied Denmark during WWII Borge escaped to America.

64. Holiday song 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.

Down
2. Arab League member OMAN
Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The capital city of Muscat has a strategic location on the Gulf of Oman and has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next one hundred years until finally being ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place in Oman ever since.

The Arab League was formed in 1945 in Cairo with six founding members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. As a result of events during the 2011 Arab Spring, the Arab League has suspended Syria’s membership.

5. Bindle carriers HOBOES
No one seems to know for sure how the term “hobo” originated, although there are lots of colorful theories. My favorite is that “hobo” comes from the first letters in the words “ho-meward bo-und”, but it doesn’t seem very plausible. A kind blog reader tells me that according to Click and Clack from PBS’s “Car Talk” (a great source!), “hobo” comes from “hoe boy”. Hoe boys were young men with hoes looking for work after the Civil War. Hobos differed from “tramps” and “bums”, in that “bums” refused to work, “tramps” worked when they had to, while “hobos” traveled in search of work.

“Bindle” is the name given to that bag or sack that the stereotypical hobo carried on a stick over his shoulder. “Bindle” is possibly a corruption of “bundle”.

6. Former U.N. chief ANNAN
Kofi Annan is a diplomat from Ghana who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree.

8. Life-cabaret link IS A
“Life is a cabaret, old chum” is a line from the title song of the musical “Cabaret”.
The musical “Cabaret” is based on “I Am a Camera”, a 1951 play written by John Van Druten, which itself was adapted from a novel “Goodbye to Berlin” written by Christopher Isherwood. “Cabaret” is a great musical, although the 1972 film of the musical isn’t one of my favorites.

12. Flashy tank swimmer TETRA
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish, native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

22. Dashing inventor? MORSE
Samuel Morse was a very accomplished and reputable painter (he was engaged to paint a portrait of President John Adams, for example). In 1825 Morse was in Washington working on a commissioned painting when he received a one-line letter by horse messenger telling him that his wife was ill. He left immediately for his home in New Haven, Connecticut but by the time that Morse arrived his wife had already died and had been buried. This single event spurred him to move from painting to the development of a rapid means of long distance communication, leading to the single-wire telegraph and Morse code.

23. 1885 Motorwagen maker BENZ
It is generally accepted that Karl Benz invented the internal combustion engine, although others were doing similar work around the same time. He certainly was awarded the first patent for an automobile, in 1886. His first automobile, the Patent-Motorwagen, couldn’t get up hills unaided so his wife, Bertha Benz, suggested the introduction of gears. Sure enough, the next model had two gears. Behind every successful man …

25. Inauguration Day pledge OATH
Inauguration Day is on January 20th, in the year following the November election of a US President. This date is called out in the twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution, which was ratified by the states in 1933.

27. Reference list abbr. ET AL
Et alii (et al.) is the equivalent of et cetera (etc.), with et cetera being used in place of a list of objects, and et alii used for a list of names. In fact “et al.” can stand for et alii (for a group of males, or males and females), aliae (for a group of women) and et alia (for a group of neuter nouns, or for a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

31. Icon on a pole TOTEM
Totem poles are large sculptures that have been carved from trees. Totem poles are part of the culture of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

32. Immature newt EFT
Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

34. “Felicity” star Russell KERI
Actress Keri Russell got her big break on television when she was cast in the title role in the drama show “Felicity” that ran from 1998 from 2002. The lead character in the show is Felicity Porter, a young lady introduced to the audience with a head of long curly blonde hair. Famously, Russell cut her hair extremely short at the start of the second season, an action that was associated with a significant drop in the show’s viewership. Russell had to grow out her hair over the season. I haven’t seen “Felicity”, but I really do enjoy Russell playing one of the leads in the entertaining Cold War drama called “The Americans” that is aired by FX.

35. Like the Flying Dutchman ASEA
The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship of legend that is doomed to sail the oceans, never being able to come into port.

37. “In space no one can hear you scream” film ALIEN
The 1979 sci-fi horror movie “Alien” was the big break for Sigourney Weaver as it was her first lead role, and her character ended up as central to a whole set of sequels. The movie’s producers made a very conscious decision to cast a female in the lead role so as to have the film stand out in the male-dominated genre of science fiction. Famously, the film was publicized with the tagline “In space no one can hear you scream”.

38. Not, quaintly NARY
The adjective “nary” means “not one”, as in “nary a soul”.

39. On the safer side ALEE
“Alee” is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing “aweather”.

44. Chickenpox symptom ITCH
Chickenpox is a viral infection, a classic disease of childhood most commonly caught by 4-10 year olds. There is a complication that can arise later in life as the virus sometimes reactivates to cause shingles.

46. Sicily neighbor MALTA
The island state of Malta is relatively small, but its large number of inhabitants makes it one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. Malta’s strategic location has made it a prized possession for the conquering empires of the world. Most recently it was part of the British Empire and was an important fleet headquarters. Malta played a crucial role for the Allies during WWII as it was located very close to the Axis shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The Siege of Malta lasted from 1940 to 1942, a prolonged attack by the Italians and Germans on the RAF and Royal Navy, and the people of Malta. When the siege was lifted, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta collectively in recognition of their heroism and devotion to the Allied cause. The George Cross can still be seen on the Maltese flag, even though Britain granted Malta independence in 1964.

In the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, the “boot” is the mainland of Italy, and the “ball” being kicked by the boot is the island of Sicily.

47. Epic that ends with Hector’s funeral ILIAD
The Iliad is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, which tells the story of the siege of Ilium (also known as Troy) during the Trojan war.

As described in Homer’s “Iliad”, Hector was a Trojan prince and a great fighter. During the war with the Greeks, in order avoid a bloody battle, Hector challenged any one of the Greek warriors to a duel. Ajax was chosen by the Greeks, and the two fought for an entire day before they declared a stalemate.

48. County on the River Shannon CLARE
One of my favorite counties in Ireland is Clare, home of the Burren, a beautiful, desolate landscape, as well as the world-famous Cliffs of Moher that greet the Atlantic Ocean.

49. Pond plants ALGAE
Algae are similar to terrestrial plants in that they use photosynthesis to create sugars from light and carbon dioxide, but they differ in that they have simpler anatomies, and for example lack roots.

50. Zero, to Nero NIHIL
“Nihil” is the Latin word for “nothing, and is a term we’ve absorbed into English. “Nihil” is also the root from which we get our term “nil”.

The Roman emperor Nero had quite the family life. When Nero was just 16-years-old he married his stepsister, Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and stepbrother executed.

54. Forest floor flora FERN
Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

58. Club for GIs 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.

The initials “G.I.” stand for “Government Issue” and not “General Infantry” as is often believed. GI was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

59. “… but __ are chosen” FEW
“For many are called, but few are chosen” is a concluding line in a parable quoted in the Gospel of Matthew in the Christian New Testament.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Saw point TOOTH
6. Etching fluid ACID
10. Touches affectionately PATS
14. Prenatal exam, for short AMNIO
15. Body part that smells NOSE
16. Jump in a skater’s short program AXEL
17. Legend with an ax PAUL BUNYAN
19. Actress Hayworth RITA
20. Dinner pair? ENS
21. Like cough syrup ORAL
22. Indigenous New Zealander MAORI
23. Legend with a clarinet BENNY GOODMAN
26. Alcove RECESS
29. Not at all well-done RARE
30. “Let’s Get __”: Marvin Gaye hit IT ON
31. Udder parts TEATS
33. Jamaican genre SKA
36. Legend with a vine TARZAN OF THE APES
40. Animal on Michigan’s state flag ELK
41. Coffee shop cupful LATTE
42. Fishing tool LURE
43. “Your Majesty” SIRE
44. It includes a bit of France IBERIA
46. Legend with a bat MICKEY MANTLE
51. Betting every last chip ALL IN
52. Hat-borne parasites LICE
53. Toward the rudder AFT
56. Charlatan, e.g. LIAR
57. Legend with a bathrobe HUGH HEFNER
60. Sour TART
61. Actor Morales ESAI
62. Dutch pianist Egon who taught Victor Borge PETRI
63. Lime beverages ADES
64. Holiday song NOEL
65. Important word for 17-, 23-, 36-, 46- and 57-Across SWING

Down
1. Packer’s need TAPE
2. Arab League member OMAN
3. Burden ONUS
4. Up to, briefly TIL
5. Bindle carriers HOBOES
6. Former U.N. chief ANNAN
7. How some flirt COYLY
8. Life-cabaret link IS A
9. Place to relax DEN
10. Where to see floats PARADE
11. Self-evident truth AXIOM
12. Flashy tank swimmer TETRA
13. Like many characters in Shakespeare’s dramas SLAIN
18. Catering hall dispensers URNS
22. Dashing inventor? MORSE
23. 1885 Motorwagen maker BENZ
24. Reduce to small pieces GRATE
25. Inauguration Day pledge OATH
26. Customary observance RITE
27. Reference list abbr. ET AL
28. Bulletin board material CORK
31. Icon on a pole TOTEM
32. Immature newt EFT
33. Goad SPUR
34. “Felicity” star Russell KERI
35. Like the Flying Dutchman ASEA
37. “In space no one can hear you scream” film ALIEN
38. Not, quaintly NARY
39. On the safer side ALEE
43. Bypasses SKIRTS
44. Chickenpox symptom ITCH
45. Expletive replacements BLEEPS
46. Sicily neighbor MALTA
47. Epic that ends with Hector’s funeral ILIAD
48. County on the River Shannon CLARE
49. Pond plants ALGAE
50. Zero, to Nero NIHIL
53. Prefix with war or hero ANTI-
54. Forest floor flora FERN
55. High school math class TRIG
57. Feathery layer HEN
58. Club for GIs USO
59. “… but __ are chosen” FEW

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