LA Times Crossword Answers 19 Oct 13, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Doug Peterson & Brad Wilber
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 14m 52s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Italian for “little ribbons” FETTUCCINE
Fettuccine is a popular type of pasta in Italy, particularly in Rome. It is a flat noodle similar to the smaller tagliatelle that is more popular in Bologna. The most common dish made with fettuccine in North America is Fettuccine Alfredo.

11. Site of the Delicate Arch UTAH
Some Utah licence plates feature an image of Delicate Arch, a natural sandstone arch located in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

15. High anxiety? ACROPHOBIA
Our prefix “acro-” comes from the Greek “akros” meaning “at the top”. Examples are “acrophobia” (fear of heights) and “Acropolis” (“city at the top”).

17. Irish folk song that was a Grammy-winning vehicle for Metallica WHISKEY IN THE JAR
“Whiskey in the Jar” is one of the most famous Irish folk songs outside of the country, having been recorded in various styles by several performers. The Irish folk group called “The Dubliners” recorded it several times, making it a signature song for the band. Then the Celtic rock group Thin Lizzy recorded my favorite version in 1972. The Grateful Dead and Metallica also released their own takes on “Whiskey in the Jar”, both releasing tracks in 1999.

19. Montréal label NOM
“Nom” is the French word for “name”.

The original name of Montreal was Ville-Marie, meaning the City of Mary. Ville-Marie is now the name of a borough in the city, the borough which includes the downtown area and “Old Montreal”. The present-day city covers most of the Island of Montreal (in French, Île de Montréal) that is located where the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers meet. The name Montreal comes from the three-headed hill that dominates the island and is called Mount Royal.

21. One of the halogens IODINE
The halogens are a group of elements in the periodic table consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine. The term “halogen” was the name that was originally proposed for chlorine when it was first discovered. When it was passed over in favor of chlorine, the name “halogen” was given to the group of elements to which chlorine belonged.

26. Neurologist’s concern MIGRAINE
The name of the searing headache called a “migraine” comes from the Greek words “hemi” meaning “half”, and “kranion” meaning “skull”.

30. Old autocrat TSAR
The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.

34. Cranky PECKISH
I’ve lived in the US since 1983, and I am still discovering words that have different meanings on each side of the Atlantic. “Peckish” means “ill-tempered” or “irritable” over here in North America, while back in the British Isles it means “a little hungry”. No wonder I confuse so many people …

39. Cave-dwelling princess in Donald Duck comics OONA
Princess Oona is one of the ducks appearing in stories about “Donald Duck”. Created in 1994, Oona lives in a cave and is usually proclaiming her interest in Donald, romantically that is …

40. Mariner’s org. NASA
NASA’s Mariner program was a series of probes launched into space to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury. There were ten Mariner probes launched in all (three were lost, though), and Mariner 11 and 12 evolved into the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

41. Goldbricks GOOF-OFFS
A goldbrick is someone, especially a soldier, who lies down on the job, someone who shirks his or her responsibilities. “Goldbrick” arose as slang during WWII, initially meaning “to swindle, cheat”. This was a play on the old confidence trick of selling fake gold bricks.

46. Great Lakes catch CHUB
There is a whole family of fish called “chubs” including European chubs, lake chubs, hornyhead chub, creek chubs, and a host of others.

47. “Epitaph for a Spy” novelist AMBLER
Eric Ambler was a British author of spy novels, an author that I read voraciously for relaxation as I worked my way through college. One of his books was “The Light of Day”, which provided inspiration for the comic movie adaption called “The Pink Panther”. Ambler also wrote the screenplay for the excellent film “A Night to Remember” which told the story of the fateful maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

49. “The Godfather” Oscar nominee CAAN
James Caan is an actor from the Bronx in New York City. Caan is noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan is quite the sportsman. He plays golf with an 8 handicap, and is a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

50. Union busters of the 19th cen. CSA
The Confederate States of America (CSA) set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.

53. Woolf pack? BLOOMSBURY GROUP
The Bloomsbury Group was a collective of writers, intellectuals and artists who were friends living in or around the Bloomsbury area in Central London in the first half of the 20th century. Famous members of the group included author Virginia Woolf, economist John Maynard Keynes, and novelist E. M. Forster.

56. Venting venue BLOG
“Blog” is a melding of the words “Web” and “log”. My two blogs are “logs” of all the New York Times and Los Angeles Times crosswords published, and I post them on the “Web” at NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com.

57. Iron Man and Captain America, e.g. TITLE ROLES
The “Iron Man” series of films is based on the Marvel Comics superhero. Actor Robert Downey, Jr. stars in the title role. The first movie in the franchise came out in 2008, and I confess to have seeing none of them. However, I have heard that the 2013 release “Iron Man 3” is quite good, with co-star Gwyneth Paltrow playing a more meaty role.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” is a superhero film released in 2011 based on the Marvel Comics character. Chris Evans appears in the title role. This one is set in WWII, so I might take a look one day …

58. __ Martin: cognac brand REMY
Remy Martin is my favorite brand of cognac (remember that when it’s my birthday!). In China, the name Remy Martin is not used, but rather the more colorful moniker “man-headed horse” which describes the centaur logo on the bottle.

Down
1. Play the sycophant to, with “over” FAWN
The verb “to fawn” has a different etymology to that of the noun “fawn”. The Old English “faegnian” meant “to rejoice, be glad”. In particular, the Old English verb applied to a dog wagging its tail. From there “to fawn” came to mean “to court favor, to grovel”.

A sycophant is a selfish person, one who flatters. The term comes from the Greek “sykophantes” which originally meant “one who shows the fig”. This phrase described a vulgar gesture made with the thumb and two fingers.

3. Barber shop request TRIM
Our term “barber” comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin “barba” meaning “beard”. Barbers originally offered a wide range of services, including surgery. Henry VIII restricted barbers to just haircutting … and dentistry!

6. Subcompact that debuted in 1975 CHEVETTE
The Chevrolet Chevette first rolled off the production lines in 1975, destined to become one of the last rear-wheel drive subcompacts built anywhere in the world (other than the VW Beetle, with its rear-mounted engine). The Chevette was the best-selling small car in the US in 1979 and 1980.

8. Winged University of Miami mascot IBIS
The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

The ibis is a native marsh bird in Florida, and so was adopted as the official mascot for the University of Miami in 1926. These days, the mascot is embodied in the lifesize character called Sebastian the Ibis.

9. Writer who said “What I cannot love, I overlook” NIN
Anaïs Nin was a French author, famous for her journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

11. With 33-Across, Saturn or Mercury site USED CAR
Saturn was a brand of car introduced by General Motors in 1985 in response to the success of Japanese imports in North America. Saturn cars were built by a subsidiary of the company that operated relatively independently, with its own assembly plant in Tennessee and its own retailer network.

“Mercury” is a marque used by the Ford Motor Company. The brand was introduced by Edsel Ford, son of Henry, in 1938. Mercury was intended to be a line of vehicles more luxurious than the Ford line of cars yet more affordable vehicles in the Lincoln series.

12. Asian aluminum exporter TAJIKISTAN
The Republic of Tajikistan is a former Soviet Socialist Republic that lies north of Afghanistan and east of China. Most of the country’s people speak Persian and belong to the Tajik ethnic group. Tajikistan is landlocked, with 90% of the republic covered by mountains.

13. Freed from radio music ALAN
Alan Freed was an early disk-jockey, who was known by the nickname “Moondog”. Based in the US, he also recorded radio shows for broadcast in Europe. He earned quite a reputation promoting African-American rhythm and blues music, and ultimately rock and roll. However, Freed’s career came to an abrupt end when it was proven that he was at the receiving end of “payola” payments, profiting from promotion of specific records on his shows.

23. Heineken distributor in Japan KIRIN
Kirin lager is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. The “Kirin” name comes from the Japanese word for a mythical Chinese creature.

Heineken Lager Beer is named for Gerard Adriaan Heineken, the brewer who founded the company in the Netherlands in 1973.

24. Standard Oil offshoot AMOCO
Amoco is an abbreviation for the American Oil Company. Amoco was the first oil company to introduce gasoline tanker trucks and drive-through filling stations. I wonder did they know what they were starting …?

26. Sharks whose teeth were used in Maori jewelry MAKOS
The shortfin mako shark can appear on restaurant menus, and as a result the species is dying out in some parts of the world. The mako gets its own back sometimes though, and attacks on humans are not unknown. And the shark in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, that’s a mako.

28. Gaelic music star ENYA
Enya is a musician from County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. She started out her musical career with her family band called Clannad, before going solo. Now Enya is Ireland’s best-selling solo musician.

34. For now PRO TEM
“Pro tempore” can be abbreviated to “pro tem” or “p.t.” “Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior.

35. Seemed to own the runway, say SASHAYED
“To sashay” is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

38. Focus of an annual festival in New Mexico UFOLOGY
The Amazing Roswell UFO Festival is held annually in Roswell, New Mexico to celebrate the alleged crash of alien spaceship in the area in 1947.

The Roswell UFO Incident took place in 1947. Some people believe that an extraterrestrial spacecraft crashed, with aliens aboard. After the initial reports the public accepted the US Military’s explanation of the crash, that the debris recovered belonged to an experimental high-altitude surveillance balloon. The whole incident was dug up again over 30 years later when a claim was made that there was a cover-up in 1947, and that the armed forces had recovered an alien craft and brought it to Roswell Army Air Field. “The National Enquirer” ran the story, and it has been running ever since.

40. Penpoint NIB
“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

46. “Cheers” role CARLA
Rhea Perlman’s most famous role has to be “Carla Tortelli”, the irascible waitress in the long-running sitcom “Cheers”. Perlman is also a successful children’s author, and has published a series of six books called “Otto Undercover”. She is of course married to Hollywood actor Danny DeVito, and has been so since 1982. I was saddened to hear recently that Perlman and DeVito are splitting up.

48. M.’s counterpart MLLE
In French, “M.” is the abbreviation for Monsieur, and “Mlle.” is the abbreviation for Mademoiselle.

51. Steak-and-kidney-pudding ingredient SUET
Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called “suet”. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be “rendered” or purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call “lard”. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as “tallow”.

52. Abbey nook APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Italian for “little ribbons” FETTUCCINE
11. Site of the Delicate Arch UTAH
15. High anxiety? ACROPHOBIA
16. Cold caller’s reward SALE
17. Irish folk song that was a Grammy-winning vehicle for Metallica WHISKEY IN THE JAR
19. Montréal label NOM
20. Anxious times for some EVES
21. One of the halogens IODINE
22. Pressure source PEER
23. Criticize KNOCK
24. Make some concessions ADAPT
26. Neurologist’s concern MIGRAINE
29. “Get real!” C’MON!
30. Old autocrat TSAR
32. Problematic lighting? ARSON
33. See 11-Down LOT
34. Cranky PECKISH
36. Be a burden to TRY
37. Come about OCCUR
39. Cave-dwelling princess in Donald Duck comics OONA
40. Mariner’s org. NASA
41. Goldbricks GOOF-OFFS
43. Rise to the top SHINE
45. Unifying idea MOTIF
46. Great Lakes catch CHUB
47. “Epitaph for a Spy” novelist AMBLER
49. “The Godfather” Oscar nominee CAAN
50. Union busters of the 19th cen. CSA
53. Woolf pack? BLOOMSBURY GROUP
56. Venting venue BLOG
57. Iron Man and Captain America, e.g. TITLE ROLES
58. __ Martin: cognac brand REMY
59. One who goes out regularly STEADY DATE

Down
1. Play the sycophant to, with “over” FAWN
2. Agree by repeating ECHO
3. Barber shop request TRIM
4. Set-__: rows TOS
5. Homeowner’s concern UPKEEP
6. Subcompact that debuted in 1975 CHEVETTE
7. Not as forthcoming COYER
8. Winged University of Miami mascot IBIS
9. Writer who said “What I cannot love, I overlook” NIN
10. Busy with courses EATING
11. With 33-Across, Saturn or Mercury site USED CAR
12. Asian aluminum exporter TAJIKISTAN
13. Freed from radio music ALAN
14. Present HERE
18. Shout of triumph HOORAH!
22. One-star write-up PAN
23. Heineken distributor in Japan KIRIN
24. Standard Oil offshoot AMOCO
25. Late 1990s Nasdaq phenomenon DOT-COM BOOM
26. Sharks whose teeth were used in Maori jewelry MAKOS
27. Old tongue that gave us “rotten” and “egg” NORSE
28. Gaelic music star ENYA
29. Thick-soled shoe CLOG
31. Speak derisively SCOFF
34. For now PRO TEM
35. Seemed to own the runway, say SASHAYED
38. Focus of an annual festival in New Mexico UFOLOGY
40. Penpoint NIB
42. Ones for the record book FIRSTS
44. Strongly motivated HUNGRY
46. “Cheers” role CARLA
47. 48-Down, e.g. ABBR
48. M.’s counterpart MLLE
49. Clever CUTE
50. It gets flat over time COLA
51. Steak-and-kidney-pudding ingredient SUET
52. Abbey nook APSE
54. Was taken in BIT
55. Fly __ ROD

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