LA Times Crossword Answers 26 Nov 14, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Matt Skoczen
THEME: Outta Here … each of today’s themed answers ends with a verb meaning “departs”.

17A. Titillating passages JUICY PARTS
28A. “You’re the Top” musical ANYTHING GOES
47A. Indulgent desserts BANANA SPLITS
63A. October tourist attraction FALL LEAVES

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 10m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

6. Suffragist Carrie CATT
Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. Catt was also very close to Susan B. Anthony and succeeded Anthony as head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

10. Antelope’s playmate, in song DEER
“Where the deer and the antelope play” is a line from the classic western song “Home on the Range”. There aren’t any antelopes native to North America, so the reference in the song is to the pronghorn, which is sometimes referred to as the pronghorn antelope and is actually related to the horse.

15. Waikiki wingding LUAU
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

A wingding is a wild and enthusiastic celebration.

19. Mouselike critter VOLE
Vole populations can really increase rapidly. Mama vole is pregnant for just three weeks before giving birth to litters of 5-10 baby voles. Then the young voles become sexually mature in just one month! If you have one pregnant vole in your yard, within a year you could have over a hundred of the little critters.

20. Beantown hockey great ORR
Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking …

In the days of sail, the natural trade routes across the Atlantic involved a lot of ships arriving in Boston directly from West Indies. One of the main cargoes carried by these vessels coming from the West Indies was molasses. An abundance of cheap molasses led to an abundance of baked beans in the port city, and all those baked beans gave rise to Boston’s nickname “Beantown”.

28. “You’re the Top” musical ANYTHING GOES
“Anything Goes” is a musical by Cole Porter, and tells of the goings on aboard an ocean liner sailing from New York to London. Some of the famous songs from the show are “Anything Goes”, “You’re the Top”, “I Get a Kick Out of You” as well as “The Gypsy in Me”.

33. “A plague o’ both your houses” speaker MERCUTIO
In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, Mercutio is close friend of Romeo. Mercutio is stabbed in an altercation with Tybalt. As Mercutio dies, he cries out “A plague o’ both your houses!”, hence cursing both the Montagues (Romeo’s family) and Capulets (Juliet’s family).

36. Pianist Gilels EMIL
Emil Gilels was a pianist from the old Soviet Union, born in Odessa (now part of Ukraine). Gilels was one of the first musicians allowed to perform concerts outside of the Eastern Bloc. His debut appearance in Philadelphia with Eugene Ormandy was a resounding success.

37. Mt. Hood locale ORE
Mount Hood is a volcanic peak in northern Oregon. Mount Hood is the highest peak in the state, and is located about 50 miles southeast of Portland. There are six ski areas on the mountain, including a resort called Timberline that has North America’s only lift operating year-round for skiing.

38. Arles approval BON
“Bon” is French for “good”. It can also be used to mean “okay”, especially when placed at the beginning of a sentence.

39. Graffiti signature TAG
“Graffiti” is the plural of “graffito”, the Italian for “a scribbling”. The word was first used to describe ancient inscriptions on the walls in the ruins of Pompeii.

43. Brest friend AMIE
A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

Brest is a port city in northwest France, and is the second largest military port in the country. Brest was an important base for German U-boats during WWII when France was occupied by the Nazis. Brest is the most westerly city in the whole country.

47. Indulgent desserts BANANA SPLITS
The banana split was created in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1904. This particular sundae was the idea of David Stickler, a young apprentice pharmacist at the Tassel Pharmacy’s soda fountain.

52. Friend CHUM
A “chum” is a friend. The term originated in the late 1600s as an alternative spelling for “cham”. In turn “cham” was a shortened form of “chambermate”, a roommate at university.

56. Words from a Latin lover YO TE AMO
In Spanish, one might say “I love you” (yo te amo) with flowers (con flores).

59. “Batman” sound effect POW!
The television show “Batman” aired from 1966-1998. Burt Ward played Robin opposite Adam West’s Batman. Supposedly, Burt Ward was offered the part taken by Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”. Ward couldn’t get out of his contract for the “Batman” television series.

61. Mil. address APO
Army Post Office (APO)

62. “… a Loaf of Bread …” poet OMAR
Omar Khayyam was a Persian with many talents. He was a poet as well as an important mathematician, astronomer and physician. A selection of his poems were translated by one Edward Fitzgerald in a collection called “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam”.

Here are some lines by 11th-century poet Omar Khayyam:

Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse — and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness —
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.

67. Most fit for duty ONE-A
The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System(SS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).

70. “Ratatouille” rat who aspires to be a chef REMY
“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt. The veteran actor Peter O’Toole voiced the character Anton Ego, a restaurant critic.

Down
1. Fatigued action figure? GI JOE
G.I. Joe was the original “action figure”, the first toy to carry that description. G.I. Joe first hit the shelves in 1964. There have been a few movies based on the G.I. Joe figure, but, more famous than all of them I would say is the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane” starring Demi Moore in the title role. I think this movie had some potential, to be honest, but it really did not deliver in the end.

2. Lexus rival ACURA
Acura is a division of the Honda Motor Company, their luxury brand. As an aside, Infiniti is the equivalent luxury brand for the Nissan Motor Company, and Lexus is the more luxurious version of Toyota’s models.

4. “__ 13.5% BY VOL”: wine label phrase ALC
Alcoholic proof is a measure of the alcoholic strength of a beverage. In the US, alcoholic proof is twice the alcohol by volume (ABV), and ABV is simply the volume of alcohol in a the beverage compared to its total volume, and expressed as a percentage. Therefore a liquor that is 50% ABV, is 100 proof. The concept of “proof” dates back to the days of British sailors being paid partly with rations of rum. A “proof spirit” was the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder. Simply stated, if the rum that a sailor was given was so dilute that it doused burning gunpowder, then it was unacceptable to the sailor. The person providing the rum had to give “proof” that the rum would catch light, proving it was strong enough to be used as payment. It was found experimentally that rum of 57.15% ABV was the lowest concentration that could sustain a flame, so this was named as 100 degrees proof. But nowadays we round down to 50% ABV.

5. Leonard __: Roy Rogers SLYE
Cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers’ real name was Leonard Franklin Slye, and his nickname was “King of the Cowboys”. Roy Rogers married Dale Evans in 1947. Evans’ nickname was “Queen of the West”.

6. Bayer allergy relief brand CLARITIN
Claritin is a Bayer brand name for the drug loratadine, which is used to treat allergies.

7. Gold: Pref. AUR-
The prefix “auri-” is used to mean “gold”. “Aurum” is Latin for “gold”.

8. Teahouse floor mat TATAMI
A tatami is a traditional mat used on floors in Japan. The term “tatami” comes from the Japanese word “tatamu” meaning “to fold”, reflecting the fact that the mat is designed to be folded up for storage.

9. Native of Florence, e.g. TUSCAN
Florence is the capital city of the Tuscany region in Italy. The city is known as “Firenze” in Italian.

11. Grandson of Eve ENOS
Enos, as the son of Seth, was the grandson of Adam and Eve.

12. First name in whodunits ERLE
I must have read all of the Perry Mason books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably, he gave up the law once his novels became successful.

25. Center X, in a game TAC
When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

27. Sorority letter RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

31. Where the Shannon flows EIRE
The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland, draining one fifth of the island’s area. It is named for a Celtic goddess named Sionna.

32. “Call of the Wild” vehicle SLED
“The Call of the Wild” is the most widely published novel of writer Jack London. The book tells the story of a dog named Buck that is forced into the hard life of a sled dog in the Yukon. When I was at school in Ireland, we got to read London’s follow-up novel “White Fang”. “White Fang” is a companion novel that the tells the tale of a wolf-dog that is born in the wild but eventually settles into a domesticated life.

33. Ancient kingdom bordering Judah MOAB
In the Bible, Moab was the first son of Lot, and the founder of the Kingdom of Moab. Moab was located on a plateau above the Dead Sea.

34. Witty Bombeck ERMA
Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years, producing more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns describing her home life in suburbia.

40. Photo developing compound AMIDOL
In black and white photography, photographic film and paper both contain tiny silver halide crystals in a layer of emulsion. If the silver ion in the halide is exposed to light then it is converted from an ion into metallic silver. Visually there is no difference at this stage between the light-exposed and unexposed parts of the film/paper. When a liquid developer (such as amidol) is applied, then the metallic silver is reduced, turning the silver into metallic crystals that make up the dark areas of the exposed film or paper. A solution known as a “fixer” is then used to remove unexposed silver halide, hence rendering the image insensitive to further action by light.

44. With gusto EAGERLY
“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in the sense of “with gusto”, with great enjoyment.

45. Lowest-ranking NCO CPL
Corporal (Cpl.)

An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

46. Defense advisory gp. NSC
The National Security Council (NSC) was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1947. The NSC is chaired by the sitting president and meets in the White House Situation Room.

48. Org. that publishes America’s 1st Freedom NRA
The National Rifle Association publishes several periodicals, including “American Rifleman”, “American Hunter” and “America’s 1st Freedom”.

50. Everett of “Citizen Kane” SLOANE
Everett Sloane was an actor from New York City. On the big screen, Sloane is remembered for playing Bernstein in “Citizen Kane”. He also voiced the title character in 130 episodes of “The Dick Tracy Show” cartoon show in the 1960s. Sadly, Sloane committed suicide in 1965, fearing that he was going blind.

55. Three-time NBA MVP Malone MOSES
Moses Malone played in both the ABA and NBA. When he retired in 1995 he was the last former player from the defunct ABA who was still playing professional basketball.

56. It can walk the dog YO-YO
Would you believe that the first yo-yos date back to 500 BC? There is even an ancient Greek vase painting that shows a young man playing with a yo-yo. Centuries later Filipinos were using yo-yos as hunting tools in the 1500s. “Yo-yo” is a Tagalog (Filipino) word meaning “come-come” or simply “return”.

There are many tricks that can be executed with a yo-yo. Some of the more famous ones are “the sleeper”, “walk the dog”, “around the world” and “rock the baby”.

57. Comet, to some OMEN
Comets and asteroids are similar, both being relatively small celestial bodies orbiting the sun. Comets differ from asteroids in that they have a coma or tail, especially when they are close enough to the sun. The coma and tail are temporary fuzzy atmospheres that develop due to the presence of solar radiation.

58. Starbucks size TALL
Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

– Demi … 3 fl oz
– Short … 8 fl oz
– Tall … 12 fl oz
– Grande … 16 fl oz (Italian for “large”)
– Venti … 20 fl oz (Italian for “twenty”)
– Trenta … 30 fl oz (Italian for “thirty”)

64. Apollo vehicle, briefly LEM
In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to the command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy” and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was of course called “Eagle” and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface. Another famous LEM was Apollo 13’s Aquarius. Although Aquarius never landed on the moon, it did serve as a “lifeboat” for the three astronauts after the explosive rupture of an oxygen canister in the Service Module.

65. Kiss guitarist Frehley ACE
Ace Frehley was a founding member of the rock band called Kiss, and played with the group from 1973 until 1982. Frehley did return for a reunion tour in 1996, and stayed until 2002.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Black-tie affairs GALAS
6. Suffragist Carrie CATT
10. Antelope’s playmate, in song DEER
14. “Show your cards” ICALL
15. Waikiki wingding LUAU
16. Concerning INRE
17. Titillating passages JUICYPARTS
19. Mouselike critter VOLE
20. Beantown hockey great ORR
21. Missay, say ERR
22. Courtroom figure ACCUSED
24. Opposite of 60-Down EAST
26. Postal service AIRMAIL
28. “You’re the Top” musical ANYTHINGGOES
33. “A plague o’ both your houses” speaker MERCUTIO
36. Pianist Gilels EMIL
37. Mt. Hood locale ORE
38. Arles approval BON
39. Graffiti signature TAG
42. Wrath IRE
43. Brest friend AMIE
45. Fixed firmly CEMENTED
47. Indulgent desserts BANANASPLITS
51. __ cheese GRILLED
52. Friend CHUM
56. Words from a Latin lover YOTEAMO
59. “Batman” sound effect POW
61. Mil. address APO
62. “… a Loaf of Bread …” poet OMAR
63. October tourist attraction FALLLEAVES
66. Make oneself heard YELL
67. Most fit for duty ONEA
68. All too public spat SCENE
69. Just ONLY
70. “Ratatouille” rat who aspires to be a chef REMY
71. Is inclined TENDS

Down
1. Fatigued action figure? GI JOE
2. Lexus rival ACURA
3. Burrows LAIRS
4. “__ 13.5% BY VOL”: wine label phrase ALC
5. Leonard __: Roy Rogers SLYE
6. Bayer allergy relief brand CLARITIN
7. Gold: Pref. AUR-
8. Teahouse floor mat TATAMI
9. Native of Florence, e.g. TUSCAN
10. Disclose DIVULGE
11. Grandson of Eve ENOS
12. First name in whodunits ERLE
13. Stalk by the swamp REED
18. Seek divine guidance from PRAY TO
23. Oft-mooched item, briefly CIG
25. Center X, in a game TAC
27. Sorority letter RHO
29. Well-used pencil NUB
30. Forget to put in OMIT
31. Where the Shannon flows EIRE
32. “Call of the Wild” vehicle SLED
33. Ancient kingdom bordering Judah MOAB
34. Witty Bombeck ERMA
35. Check REIN
39. Work for the small screen TELEPLAY
40. Photo developing compound AMIDOL
41. Understand GET
44. With gusto EAGERLY
45. Lowest-ranking NCO CPL
46. Defense advisory gp. NSC
48. Org. that publishes America’s 1st Freedom NRA
49. Target AIM FOR
50. Everett of “Citizen Kane” SLOANE
53. Safe harbor HAVEN
54. Flip over UPEND
55. Three-time NBA MVP Malone MOSES
56. It can walk the dog YO-YO
57. Comet, to some OMEN
58. Starbucks size TALL
60. Opposite of 24-Across WEST
64. Apollo vehicle, briefly LEM
65. Kiss guitarist Frehley ACE

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5 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 26 Nov 14, Wednesday”

  1. I found this to be much harder than the usual Wed.

    I had to Google for: CATT, SLYE, AMIDOL, REMY, SLOANE, MOSES (sorry, I know no sports), ACE.

    I never noticed a theme; that may have helped.

    Happy Thanxgiving!

  2. Morning all –

    Sfingi I too had a much harder time with this puzzle than a normal Wednesday – about 30% longer to solve than normal for me.

    I didn't notice the them at all. I even looked for it after I had finished the puzzle. The only thing I could see was all the double letters – anythinGGoes, aCCused, faLLLeaves – even icaLL and yeLL. But JUICY PARTS and BANANA SPLITS messed up that idea.

    Great story on the origin of the word "proof" regarding alcohol content. I hope those poor sailors didn't have to use their own supplies of rum to test the alcohol content by burning it with gunpowder. Now THAT would be alcohol abuse!

    Best –

  3. I found the puzzle rather difficult – so a DNF for this Wednesday.

    I don't generally drink liquor, but I did work in an alchohol distillery and refining plant- for industrial ethanol – bubble cap columns and the like. Two facts:

    1. At 95% ethanol v/v (ethyl alchohol) by volume solution in water, boiling the solution for distillation purposes will not further concentrate the alchohol, because an Azeotrope is formed.

    2. If one fliud ounce of ethanol alchohol is mixed with one fluid ounce of distilled, pure water – you do not get 2 fluid ounces of mixture. You get a somewhat less volume because of miscibility and entropy.

    Happy Thanksgiving all.

  4. I almost hate to chime in here, but this seemed easy for a Wednesday. Maybe I got lucky…
    @Vidwan, color me glad that the word "miscibility" didn't show up here.

    Happy holiday!

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