LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Mar 14, Friday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Paul Hunsberger
THEME: Cockney-Speak … today’s themed answers are well-known phrases in which a “th-” sound at the start of one word has been replaced by a “f-” sound, rather like a Cockney would pronounce the phrases:

17A. Guys with plenty of time for child care? FREE MEN AND A BABY (from “Three Men and a Baby”)
26A. Lament following an Elizabethan wardrobe malfunction? THE FRILL IS GONE (from “the thrill is gone”)
41A. Like Barney with his pal? HANGING BY A FRED (from “hanging by a thread”)
53A. Got locked out of a Finnish sauna during winter? FROZE IN THE TOWEL (from “throws in the towel”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 9m 00s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

6. Food on a stick KEBAB
The name “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

11. Olympus OM-2, briefly SLR
SLR stands for “single lens reflex”. Usually cameras with changeable lenses are the SLR type. The main feature of an SLR is that a mirror reflects the image seen through the lens out through the viewfinder, so that the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees. The mirror moves out of the way as the picture is taken, and the image that comes through the lens falls onto unexposed film, or nowadays onto a digital sensor.

The Japan-based Olympus Corporation is probably most famous as a manufacturer of cameras and lenses. Olympus was founded in 1919 as a supplier of microscopes and thermometers. Today, the company supplies about 70% of the world’s gastrointestinal endoscopes, which is equivalent to about $2 billion in sales.

14. Templo Mayor builder AZTEC
The Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan was one of the main temples. Tenochtitlan is now Mexico City, and we can only see excavated ruins today as the Spanish destroyed the site in 1521.

15. Home to some mollusks ATOLL
An atoll is a coral island that is shaped in a ring and enclosing a lagoon. There is still some debate as to how an atoll forms, but a theory proposed by Charles Darwin while on his famous voyage aboard HMS Beagle still holds sway. Basically an atoll was once a volcanic island that had subsided and fallen into the sea. The coastline of the island is home to coral growth which persists even as the island continues to subside internal to the circling coral reef.

17. Guys with plenty of time for child care? FREE MEN AND A BABY (from “Three Men and a Baby”)
“Three Men and a Baby” is a comedy about three men who end up taking care of a baby. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, the film is an adaptation of a 1985 French film called “Trois hommes et un couffin” (“Three Men and a Cradle”).

20. Stirling topper TAM
A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap traditionally worn by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”), but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of Robert Burns’ poem “Tam O’Shanter”.

Stirling is a city in Central Scotland located at the mouth of the River Forth. At one point in history, Stirling was the capital of the country.

21. One in Marseille UNE
Marseille (often written “Marseilles” in English) is the second largest city in France, after Paris. Marseille is also the largest commercial port in the country. I used to live nearby, and it’s a lovely, lovely place.

31. Hei-tiki wearers 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.

A hei-tiki is an ornamental pendant traditionally worn by the Māori people of New Zealand.

32. Passes between peaks COLS
The lowest point on mountain ridge between two peaks is called a col, or perhaps a notch, gap or saddle.

33. “Stat!” NOW!
The exact etymology of “stat”, a term meaning “immediately” in the medical profession, seems to have been lost in the mists of time. It probably comes from the Latin “statim” meaning “to a standstill, immediately”. A blog reader has helpfully suggested that the term may also come from the world of laboratory analysis, where the acronym STAT stands for “short turnaround time”.

34. Pop star John ELTON
Elton John’s real name is Reginald Dwight. Sir Elton was knighted in 1998, not for his music but for his charitable work. He founded his own Elton John AIDS Foundation back in 1992.

35. Sched. producer IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

38. Island R&B derivative 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.

39. “Dragonwyck” author Seton ANYA
Anya Seton was the pen name of Ann Seton, an author of historical romances from New York City. Seton’s 1944 novel “Dragonwyck” was released into theaters in 1946 and starred Gene Tierney and Walter Huston.

41. Like Barney with his pal? HANGING BY A FRED (from “hanging by a thread”)
Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are pals on “The Flintstones” cartoon series.

45. “Twisted” actress Richards DENISE
Denise Richards is an actress from Downers Grove, Illinois. Richards was a Bond girl opposite Pierce Brosnan in “The World Is Not Enough”. Famously, Richards was married to actor Charlie Sheen, which was very much on display in her reality TV show “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated”.

“Twisted” is a teen drama TV show that follows a 16-year-old just released from juvenile detention for killing his aunt.

50. Banff Upper Hot Springs, e.g. SPA
Banff Upper Hot Springs is a commercial spa operated in Banff National Park in Canada.

Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada is located high in the Canadian Rockies and is a popular tourist destination. The town of Banff and the surrounding park were given their name in 1884 by then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, George Stephen. He named Banff for his birthplace of Banffshire in Scotland.

53. Got locked out of a Finnish sauna during winter? FROZE IN THE TOWEL (from “throws in the towel”)
The expression “to throw in the towel” means “to give up”, and of course comes from the world of boxing. In boxing, when someone in the corner feels that a fight needs to be stopped, he or she throws a towel into the ring and accepts the loss. Back in the 1700s, it wasn’t a towel that was thrown into the ring, but rather a sponge.

As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is correctly pronounced “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).

60. Gnarly relative RAD
“Gnarly” and “rad” are slang expressions meaning “cool, fantastic” (apparently).

61. Greek salad features FETAS
Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

Down
1. Slew RAFT
The terms “slew” and “raft” can be used to mean “large amount”.

2. University founder Cornell EZRA
Ezra Cornell was an associate of Samuel Morse and made his money in the telegraph business. After Ezra retired he co-founded Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He provided a generous endowment and donated his farm as a site for the school, and was then rewarded by having the institute named after him.

5. Nationwide sandwich debut of 1972 MCMUFFIN
The McMuffin breakfast sandwich was introduced, without the knowledge of the corporate office, by the operator of a Santa Barbara, California franchise in 1972. Back then, McDonald’s only offered food for lunch and dinner. The initial reaction of the corporate office on hearing about the McMuffin was to reprimand the Santa Barbara franchise operator, before embracing the concept. Apparently, McMuffins are only offered at breakfast because the grill temperature is different for cooking beef patties and eggs.

6. Citizen of Little Salem, Colorado KANE
“Citizen Kane” was the first film made by Orson Welles, one considered by many to be the finest film ever made. It’s a remarkable achievement by Wells, as he played the lead, and also produced and directed. Despite all the accolades for “Citizen Kane” over the decades, the movie was far from a commercial success in its early run and actually lost money at the box office.

7. Flight stat ETA
Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

8. It’s good for Michel BON
“Bon” means “good” in French, when describing a masculine noun.

9. NFL owner who moved the Oakland Raiders to L.A. and back AL DAVIS
Al Davis was the principal owner and general manager of NFL’s Oakland Raiders from 1972 until his death in 2011. Davis was noted for the stands that he took on civil rights. Back in 1963, he refused to allow the Raiders to play a preseason game in Mobile, Alabama as local segregation laws demanded that black and white players stay in different hotels.

11. Show founded as a vehicle for Scott Hamilton STARS ON ICE
“Stars on Ice” is a touring figure skating show that was founded in 1986 and built around Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton. Family-oriented ice shows like “Ice Capades” and “Disney on Ice” already existed at that time, so “Stars on Ice” was aimed more at an adult audience. The original cast included, in addition to Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamill, Toller Cranston and Rosalynn Sumners.

13. Acuff and Orbison ROYS
Roy Acuff was a country music singer and fiddle player. He founded the group known as the Smoky Mountain Boys.

Roy Orbison had to be one the sickliest looking performers I’ve ever seen. Orbison had a very sallow complexion, pock-marked from teenage acne. The yellowish skin tone came from a severe bout of jaundice as a child. Perhaps poor nutrition affected him and his siblings, because all of them had very poor eyesight, with Roy almost blind and wearing very thick lenses from a very young age. He was also very ashamed of his head of hair, which was almost a ghostly white, and so he dyed it jet black even when he was young. Despite all this, he was immensely popular in his heyday with teenage girls, particularly in Canada and Ireland for some reason. On a tour of Ireland in 1963, the Irish police had to stop one of his performances in order to pull a bevy of local lasses off poor Mr. Orbison …

18. __’acte ENTR
“Entr’acte” comes to us from French, and is the interval between two acts (“entre” deux “actes”) of a theatrical performance. The term often describes some entertainment provided during that interval.

19. Big Ben sound BONG
Big Ben is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster (aka the Houses of Parliament). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day Benjamin Caunt.

30. Milk sources for Pecorino cheese EWES
Pecorino is a family of hard cheeses from Italy. The most famous variety here in North America is Pecorino Romano, which we often refer to simply as “Romano”.

36. Outdoor camera user’s accessory UV FILTER
Many photographers use UV filters on their lenses, especially when shooting with photographic film as it is very sensitive to UV light. Digital cameras are insensitive to UV light, but photographers still use UV filters, mainly to protect the coating on the lens.

37. Actor Robert De __ NIRO
Robert De Niro is noted for his longtime and highly successful collaboration with the director Martin Scorsese. He is also noted for his commitment as a method actor. Famously he gained a full 60 pounds in order to play Jake Lamotta in the 1980 movie “Raging Bull”.

39. Dye compound ANILINE
Aniline is a relatively simple organic compound, mostly used in dyes. Hopefully the compound’s strong smell warns one to stay away, as aniline is a poison.

44. Willing cohort? ABLE
Willing and able …

50. Sibelius’ “The __ of Tuonela” SWAN
“The Swan of Tuonela” is a lovely tone poem by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece is part of the larger work “Four Legends from the Kalevala”, better know as “the Lemminkäinen Suite”. “Tuonela” is the realm of the dead in Finnish mythology.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Dominion REALM
6. Food on a stick KEBAB
11. Olympus OM-2, briefly SLR
14. Templo Mayor builder AZTEC
15. Home to some mollusks ATOLL
16. Plus TOO
17. Guys with plenty of time for child care? FREE MEN AND A BABY (from “Three Men and a Baby”)
20. Stirling topper TAM
21. One in Marseille UNE
22. Is gaga over ADORES
23. Astern AFT
24. They’re established GIVENS
26. Lament following an Elizabethan wardrobe malfunction? THE FRILL IS GONE (from “the thrill is gone”)
31. Hei-tiki wearers MAORI
32. Passes between peaks COLS
33. “Stat!” NOW!
34. Pop star John ELTON
35. Sched. producer IRS
36. Tie together UNITE
38. Island R&B derivative SKA
39. “Dragonwyck” author Seton ANYA
40. Resolution targets VICES
41. Like Barney with his pal? HANGING BY A FRED (from “hanging by a thread”)
45. “Twisted” actress Richards DENISE
46. Short life story? BIO
47. Small power source AA CELL
49. The lot ALL
50. Banff Upper Hot Springs, e.g. SPA
53. Got locked out of a Finnish sauna during winter? FROZE IN THE TOWEL (from “throws in the towel”)
57. Feel rotten AIL
58. End of __ AN ERA
59. Remove ERASE
60. Gnarly relative RAD
61. Greek salad features FETAS
62. Lets RENTS

Down
1. Slew RAFT
2. University founder Cornell EZRA
3. “Up and __!” AT ‘EM!
4. Sheltered side LEE
5. Nationwide sandwich debut of 1972 MCMUFFIN
6. Citizen of Little Salem, Colorado KANE
7. Flight stat ETA
8. It’s good for Michel BON
9. NFL owner who moved the Oakland Raiders to L.A. and back AL DAVIS
10. 11-Down supporters BLADES
11. Show founded as a vehicle for Scott Hamilton STARS ON ICE
12. Ear piece LOBE
13. Acuff and Orbison ROYS
18. __’acte ENTR
19. Big Ben sound BONG
23. Prefix with ballistic AERO-
24. “Hallelujah!” GLORY BE!
25. “That’s for sure!” I’LL SAY!
26. __ blue streak TALK A
27. Inconsistent way to run HOT AND COLD
28. Baker’s creations ICINGS
29. Pointed out NOTED
30. Milk sources for Pecorino cheese EWES
31. Fit together well MESH
36. Outdoor camera user’s accessory UV FILTER
37. Actor Robert De __ NIRO
39. Dye compound ANILINE
42. “Holy moly!” GEEZ!
43. Greening up IN LEAF
44. Willing cohort? ABLE
47. Way out there AFAR
48. Musical highlight ARIA
49. Cries of discovery AHAS
50. Sibelius’ “The __ of Tuonela” SWAN
51. Unwanted visitor PEST
52. Some pints ALES
54. Fishing aid NET
55. Musical syllable TRA
56. Profitable rock ORE

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