LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Nov 13, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Barry C. Silk
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 11m 34s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Reaction to flatness ENNUI
“Ennui” is the French word for boredom, a word that we now use in English. It’s one of the few French words we’ve imported that we haven’t anglicized and actually pronounce “correctly”.

17. 1975 Pulitzer winner for criticism EBERT
Roger Ebert was a film critic for “The Chicago Sun-Times” for 50 years. He also co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Ebert was the first film to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, which he did in 1975. He was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in 2002, and finally succumbed to a recurrence of the disease in April 2013.

18. Early German fliers ZEPPELINS
The zeppelin airship was developed by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the design of which was granted a US patent in 1899. When zeppelins went into service, they were operated by the company Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), making that company the world’s first commercial airline. DELAG was operating commercial flights even before WWI. Famously, that big spire at the top of the Empire State Building was designed to be a docking point for zeppelin airships. However, after several attempts to use it as such, the idea was abandoned as the updrafts coming up from the streets below made docking too hazardous a maneuver.

19. Whiskey purchase FIFTH
A “fifth” is an American unit of volume used for liquor. It used to be equal to one fifth of a US gallon. Since the seventies we’ve been using a “metric fifth” which is equal to 750 mL, the standard size for wine bottles around the world.

22. Sanskrit term of respect SRI
“Sri” is a title of respect for a male in India.

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Sanskrit has a rich tradition and is the language in which many historical and religious texts are written. There aren’t many speakers of the language today although efforts are underway to revive spoken Sanskrit.

23. Old Spanish bread PESETA
The peseta is the former currency of Spain, replaced by the euro in 2002.

25. Safe investment choices T-NOTES
A Treasury note (T-Note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-Note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A T-Bill is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-Bond matures in 20-30 years.

33. “Monster” Oscar winner THERON
Charlize Theron is an actress from South Africa who has played leading roles in Hollywood films such as “The Devil’s Advocate”, “The Cider House Rules” and my personal favorite “The Italian Job”.

“Monster” is a pretty disturbing crime drama released in 2003. The film’s storyline is based on the real-life story of Aileen Wuornos (played by Charlize Theron), a serial killer who was eventually caught and executed in 2002.

36. “Shirt Front and Fork” artist 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 …

37. Drum accompanying a fife TABOR
A tabor is a portable snare drum that is played with one hand. The tabor is usually suspended by a strap from one arm, with the other hand free to beat the drum. It is often played as an accompaniment for a fife or other small flutes. The word “tabor” comes from “tabwrdd”, the Welsh word for “drum”.

38. Team nicknamed the Halos, briefly LA ANGELS
The Anaheim Angels are today more correctly called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The “Angels” name dates back to 1961 when the team was founded in the “City of Angels”, Los Angeles. When the franchise moved to Anaheim in 1965 they were known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and most recently the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim. The team’s angelic nickname is “the Halos”.

41. Five-time 30-game winner of early baseball CY YOUNG
Cy Young was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1890-1911. Young is remembered for pitching the first perfect game of baseball’s modern era. Soon after he died in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created and is presented to the best pitcher in each baseball season.

43. Moisture overload results, in plants EDEMAS
Both animals and plants can suffer from edema, a swelling cause by excessive accumulation of fluid.

45. Manhattan part RYE
The cocktail called a Manhattan is made from whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. I make my own version of a Brandy Manhattan, using brandy, sweet vermouth and orange bitters.

47. Door support JAMB
A door or window jamb is the vertical portion of the frame. The term “jamb” comes from the French word “jambe” meaning “leg”.

51. Source of a cc ORIG
I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle?

52. “Lolita” co-star, 1962 MASON
English actor James Mason made a smooth transition to Hollywood after achieving incredible success in British films in the war years. Mason starred in such films as “The Desert Fox”, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, “Lolita”, “North by Northwest” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.

Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” is 1962 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. English actor James Mason stars as a middle-aged man obsessed with a teenage girl, played by 14-year-old Sue Lyon. The cast also included Shelley Winters and Peter Sellers.

58. “The Liberty Bell” composer SOUSA
John Philip Sousa was a composer and conductor from Washington, D.C. Sousa was well known for his patriotic marches and earned himself the nickname “The American March King”. He served as a member of the US Marine Band from 1868 to 1875, and after leaving the Marines learned to conduct and compose. One of the Sousa compositions that is well-known around the world is called “The Liberty Bell”, a tune used as the musical theme for BBC Television’s “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Sousa also wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which is the official march of the US Marine Corps.

60. Serf HELOT
The helots were a population of poorly-treated slaves who served the citizens of Sparta.

Down
1. Gripes BEEFS
A “beef” is a complaint or a grievance. It’s not quite clear how “beef” came to have this meaning, but one suggestion is that derives from the habit of soldiers at the end of the 1800s complaining about the quality or availability of beef in their rations.

2. Event celebrated in “Through the Looking-Glass” UNBIRTHDAY
In Lewis Carroll’s novel “Through the Looking-Glass”, Humpty Dumpty wears a cravat that the White King and Queen gave to him as an “unbirthday present”. The concept of an unbirthday, a celebration of any day that is not one’s birthday, spilled over into the Disney version of “Alice in Wonderland”, even though it is not mentioned in the original book. Alice receives an unbirthday cake from the Mad Hatter in the movie, and the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse sing “The Unbirthday Song”.

3. When “you’re gonna want me for your girl,” in a 1963 hit ONE FINE DAY
“One Fine Day” is a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin that was a 1963 hit for the Chiffons. The title of the song was inspired by the famous aria “Un bel di” (“One Fine Day”) from Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly”.

4. Mongolian dwelling YURT
A yurt is a wood-framed dwelling that is used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Although a yurt is a substantial structure, it is of course extremely portable.

5. Jedi foes SITH
The Sith are characters in “Star Wars” that use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

7. Eye parts UVEAS
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball. The uvea lies between the “fibrous tunic” on the outside of the eyeball, and the “retina” on the inside.

10. Cannon attachment -ADE
A “cannonade” is a bout of very heavy artillery fire. The term can also mean a harsh attack on someone, either verbal or physical.

12. Drama Desk relative OBIE
The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies are presented annually and the recipients are chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper.

The Drama Desk Awards are presented annually in the world of New York theater. What’s unique about the Drama Desk Awards is that all productions (Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway) compete against each other in the same categories.

13. Prismatic bone ULNA
The bone in the arm called the ulna is prismatic in shape, meaning that it is less like a cylinder than it is a prism, having flat sides that are parallel to each other.

23. Parker product PEN
The Parker Pen Company was founded in 1888 in Janesville, Wisconsin by George Safford Parker. Parker had repaired and sold fountain pens as a sideline for many years. With this experience, he created pens that were less likely to leak ink and founded his company based on these patented designs.

24. “The Joy Luck Club” author AMY TAN
Amy Tan lives not too far from here, in Sausalito just north of San Francisco. Tan is an American writer of Chinese descent whose most successful work is “The Joy Luck Club”. “The Joy Luck Club” was made into a movie produced by Oliver Stone in 1993. The novel and movie tell of four Chinese-American immigrant families in San Francisco who start the Joy Luck Club, a group playing Mahjong for money and eating delicious food.

26. Campus town near Bangor ORONO
The town of Orono is home to the University of Maine, founded in 1862. The college is actually located on an island (Marsh island) lying between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The town of Orono is named after Joseph Orono, a chief of the Penobscot Nation.

29. Semi-hard cheeses EDAMS
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

30. Album that includes “Michelle” RUBBER SOUL
“Rubber Soul” is a Beatles album, the sixth one the band released. “Rubber Soul” was listed by “Rolling Stone” magazine as the fifth greatest album in music history.

The elegant and simple ballad “Michelle” was written mainly by Paul McCartney and released by the Beatles in 1965. “Michelle” won the Grammy for Best Song in 1967, beating out such classics as “Born Free”, “Somewhere My Love” and “Strangers in the Night”.

32. London flat? TYRE
The British spelling of “tyre”, for what we call a “tire” here in North America, was indeed the original spelling. The English started to use “tire” spelling in the 17th century, and then shifted back to the current “tyre” in the 19th century.

33. It’s 1 on the Mohs scale TALC
The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. Famously, diamond is at the top of the Mohs scale (10) and talc is at the bottom (1).

36. Constantine native ALGERIAN
Constantine in northeastern Algeria is the third largest city in the country, after Algiers and Oran. Constantine is known as “the City of Bridges”. The city is at elevation and is built on mountains, so these bridges cross ravines rather than rivers.

42. Caught stealing, say TAGGED
In baseball, a player might get tagged while attempting to get a stolen base.

47. Little bits JOTS
A “jot” is something very small, from the Latin “jota”, which in turn is from the Greek “iota”, the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet.

52. Plymouth potato dish MASH
Plymouth is a port city on the coast of Devon in the UK. It was the point of departure of the Mayflower Pilgrims.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Elevates BUOYS
6. Nearly JUST ABOUT
15. Reaction to flatness ENNUI
16. Not predestined AVOIDABLE
17. 1975 Pulitzer winner for criticism EBERT
18. Early German fliers ZEPPELINS
19. Whiskey purchase FIFTH
20. Jolts ZAPS
21. Substantive part MEAT
22. Sanskrit term of respect SRI
23. Old Spanish bread PESETA
25. Safe investment choices T-NOTES
28. Bad mark DEMERIT
33. “Monster” Oscar winner THERON
34. Court service JURY DUTY
35. Accessory ADD-ON
36. “Shirt Front and Fork” artist ARP
37. Drum accompanying a fife TABOR
38. Team nicknamed the Halos, briefly LA ANGELS
40. Risk GAMBLE
41. Five-time 30-game winner of early baseball CY YOUNG
42. Got tight TENSED
43. Moisture overload results, in plants EDEMAS
45. Manhattan part RYE
47. Door support JAMB
51. Source of a cc ORIG
52. “Lolita” co-star, 1962 MASON
54. Side unit ONION RING
56. One way to think ALOUD
57. Court expert TENNIS ACE
58. “The Liberty Bell” composer SOUSA
59. Made more attractive, as a deal SWEETENED
60. Serf HELOT

Down
1. Gripes BEEFS
2. Event celebrated in “Through the Looking-Glass” UNBIRTHDAY
3. When “you’re gonna want me for your girl,” in a 1963 hit ONE FINE DAY
4. Mongolian dwelling YURT
5. Jedi foes SITH
6. Spices (up) JAZZES
7. Eye parts UVEAS
8. Absorbed SOPPED UP
9. Adviser of a sort TIPSTER
10. Cannon attachment -ADE
11. Soother BALM
12. Drama Desk relative OBIE
13. Prismatic bone ULNA
14. Lab work TEST
23. Parker product PEN
24. “The Joy Luck Club” author AMY TAN
26. Campus town near Bangor ORONO
27. Shoe part TONGUE
29. Semi-hard cheeses EDAMS
30. Album that includes “Michelle” RUBBER SOUL
31. Disbeliever’s comeuppance I TOLD YOU SO
32. London flat? TYRE
33. It’s 1 on the Mohs scale TALC
34. Some coll. students JRS
36. Constantine native ALGERIAN
39. Back ENDORSE
40. Some microwaves GES
42. Caught stealing, say TAGGED
44. Chop up MINCE
46. Stop by END AT
47. Little bits JOTS
48. Fresh ANEW
49. Place for a rock group? MINE
50. Something to pick? BONE
52. Plymouth potato dish MASH
53. 11-Down substance ALOE
55. Young louse NIT

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6 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Nov 13, Saturday”

  1. Top of the morning Bill.

    Things I learned today ….
    A fifth was originally, not 750 Cc's but a fifth if a US gallon. Difference 750.00 vs. 757.08 Cc's … About a little less than one percent. Not too bad…..

    I also learnt, thanks to you, that Sanskrit is one of India's scheduled languages ! …. In that nobody actually speaks it or writes in it. Unlike Latin, it is not even used in the court system. It is however the root of 91% of all the indian languages, including Urdu, ( one of the 2 national languages of Pak.). The major language that does not have Sanskrit, as it's root, is the Dravidian language, Tamil, spoken in Tamilnadu state, capital Chennai (Madras).

    Sri, or also Shri, is a formal term of mister, generally used by Hindus. Not so common now.

    The interesting thing about TBills and TNotes is that, …. Since they are sold on a discount, the actual interest rate is higher than the implied/noted interest rate.

    E.g. The 2% coupon rate, on a $ 1,000 note, sold at a discount of $ 988.00 (say) , works out to an actual interest rate of 2.02429% for the period… Six months or the year.

    Finally, the disadvantage of Moh's Hardness scale is that , the numbers are Ordinal rather than Cardinal numbers. Ordinal shows, the order of things in a set, or rank, as first, second , third etc. …… whereas Cardinal numbers show, 'how many', and shows quantity. For a scale to be really useful, it should be ordinal AND cardinal, like all systems of measurement, temp., length, area, volume, time etc.

    BTW, the Richter scale for earthquake magnitude, is a base10- logarithmic scale, in that, a 7.0 reading, is 10 times larger than a 6.0, and a 100 times larger than a 5.0.

    Have a good weekend, all.

  2. To the "so-called" constructor of this puzzle:
    Who ARE you, and what have you done with Barry Silk?!!!
    I can't believe I got the whole darn thing today.
    Started with UnBirthday and One fine day, only to be suspicious of the two "A"s and two "Y"s side by side.
    Either this way too easy for Silk's usual head scratcher or I'm getting used to his mis-directios.
    Anyway, finally finished with only two guesses that turned out right.
    Still don't get "mash"
    Thanks, Bill and always learn from Vidwan's posts too!

  3. @Vidwan
    As always, some lovely nuggets of information in your comment. Thank you!

    @Pookie
    Heartiest congratulations! That's a very nice Saturday clearance for you. The term "mash" is used in the UK for mashed potatoes, as in "bangers and mash". I should have expanded on that in the write-up.

    @Addict
    Once again, you've chosen a great little clip 🙂 You've got to admire Steffi Graf for coming up with a quip like that in the middle of a competitive match.

  4. I am not usually a fst solver and certainly not of Mr. Silk's work, but my time interestingly was 11 min 34 sec

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