LA Times Crossword Answers 3 Jun 15, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Ed Sessa
THEME: Sounds Like Hamlet at the End … the last words in each of today’s themed answers when strung together sound like the famous words spoken by Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

48D. Speaker of the ends of the answers to starred clues HAMLET
19A. *Split apart IN TWO (sounds like “to”)
20A. *Working, working, working AS BUSY AS BEE (sounds like “be”)
35A. *1967 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy recipient BOBBY ORR (sounds like “or”)
41A. *Half-hitch kin SLIPKNOT (sounds like “not”)
56A. *”And it took long enough!” ABOUT TIME TOO! (sounds like “to)
59A. *Backup option PLAN B (sounds like “be”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 22s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Gothic literature middle name ALLAN
Edgar Allan Poe lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious from either drugs or alcohol. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

14. Olympus competitor LEICA
Leica is a German optics company, famous for production of lenses and cameras. The 1913 Leica was the first practical camera that could use 35mm film, a size chosen because it was already the standard for film used in motion pictures.

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.

15. Lobster __ Diavolo FRA
Fra diavolo is a spicy sauce used for pasta and seafood, usually made with chili peppers in a tomato base. The name “Fra diavolo” translates to “Brother devil”. The sauce may be named for the Italian revolutionary Michele Pezza who was also known as Fra Diavolo.

17. Violent whirlpool MAELSTROM
A maelstrom is a violent or turbulent situation, or a very large whirlpool. “Maelstrom” is derived from the name of a notorious whirlpool located off the northwest coast of Norway.

24. Pinch DASH
In cooking, a “dash” is a very small measure, one that is often undefined. However, you can in fact buy some measuring spoons that define not only a dash but also a “pinch” and a “smidgen”, as follows:

– a dash is 1/8 teaspoon
– a pinch is 1/16 teaspoon
– a smidgen is 1/32 teaspoon

28. Part of Q.E.D. QUOD
QED is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. The QED acronym stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

29. Asian holiday TET
The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

31. Transcript fig. GPA
Grade point average (GPA)

Here in the US, an official report from a school listing classes taken and grades received is called a “transcript”.

32. Géorgie, to Georgette ETAT
In French, Georgia (Géorgie) is a state (état).

35. *1967 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy recipient BOBBY ORR (sounds like “or”)
The Calder Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually since 1937 to most proficient player that year in the NHL. The trophy is named for former President of the NHL Frank Calder.

43. With 64-Across, tax shelter since 1998 ROTH
(64A. See 43-Across IRA)
Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.

45. Updike’s “Rabbit Redux,” e.g.: Abbr. SEQ
The 1960 novel by John Updike called “Rabbit Run” tells the story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom as he tries to escape from his constraining, middle-class life. “Rabbit Run” is the first in a series of novels from Updike that feature the “Rabbit” character, the others being:

– “Rabbit Redux”
– “Rabbit is Rich”
– “Rabbit at Rest”
– “Rabbit Remembered”

The adjective “redux” means “returned, brought back”, and is derived from the Latin “reducere” meaning “to lead back, to bring back”.

46. Longtime Saudi king FAHD
King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was the head of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia until he passed away in 2005. King Fahd was somewhat of a titular head of state since 1995 when he suffered a stroke. In his heyday, the king was fond of a luxurious lifestyle, especially when outside of the kingdom. His 482 ft yacht sported two swimming pools, a garden, a hospital with two operating rooms, and four Stinger missiles. His personal Boeing 747 aircraft even had its own fountain.

49. Tater SPUD
The word “spud” is used as a slang term for a potato and was first recorded in the mid-1800s, in New Zealand would you believe?

51. Ancient Israeli fortress MASADA
The name Masada comes from the Hebrew word for fortress, and is a plateau in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is home to the ruins of ancient palaces and fortifications that date back to the days of Herod the Great, father of Herod who figured in the lives of Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist. After the Romans invaded Jerusalem, Jewish extremists settled on the mountaintop using it as a base to harass the invaders. Eventually Romans mounted an attack on the elevated fortress, building an elaborate wall and rampart to get to the encampment with some cover. After months of preparation, the Romans breached the walls only to discover the inner buildings all ablaze, and the 1,000 rebels and their families dead after a mass suicide.

62. Vibrator in the larynx VOCAL CORD
The vocal cords are also known as the vocal folds. The vocal cords are two folds of mucous membrane that project into the larynx. The folds vibrate when air passes through the larynx, allowing sounds to be made.

63. Public opening? JOHN Q
We sometimes use the term “John Q. Public” for the man in the street, the common man. The original John Q. Public was a cartoon character created by Vaughn Shoemaker for the “Chicago Daily News”.

68. Carved emblem 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.

Down
1. Soprano Gluck and composer Mahler-Werfel ALMAS
Alma Gluck was the stage name of Romanian-born American soprano Reba Feinsohn. Gluck’s second marriage was to violinist Efrem Zimbalist. Gluck and Zimbalist’s son was Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. the noted actor and star of television’s “77 Sunset Strip”.

Alma Schindler wed the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler in 1902 and was married until he died in 1911. While with Mahler, Alma had an affair with architect Walter Gropius, who later founded the Bauhaus School. After Gustav’s passing, Alma and Gropius married, although that marriage ended in divorce in 1920. While still married to Gropius, Alma had an affair with novelist Franz Werfel, and a third marriage resulted that lasted from 1929 until Franz died in 1945.

2. Chihuahua lead LEASH
Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico that shares a border with Texas and New Mexico. Chihuahua is the largest state in the country, so has the nickname “El Estado Grande”. The state takes its name from the Chihuahuan Desert which lies largely within its borders. And of course the Chihuahua breed of dog takes its name from the state.

4. Censorship-fighting org. ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors.

5. Bahamas port NASSAU
Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, used to be called Charles Town. After having been burnt to the ground by the Spanish in 1684, it was rebuilt and named Nassau in honor of King William III of England, a Dutchman from the House of Orange-Nassau (aka William of Orange). Nassau is a favored location for the James Bond series of movies. The city and surroundings feature in “Thunderball”, “Never Say Never Again”, “Casino Royale” and “For Your Eyes Only”.

8. Poor choice to play 48-Down HAM ACTOR
The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is apparently a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

9. Creamy cheese BRIE
Brie is a soft cheese, named after the French region from which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) camembert.

13. __-Cat: winter vehicle SNO
The brand name Sno-Cat is owned by the Tucker company. All “snowcats” are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four, independently-mounted tracks.

21. U.K. network, with “the” BEEB
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”. The BBC was founded in 1922, and was the world’s first national broadcasting organization.

25. Disco phrase A GOGO
Go-go dancing started in the early sixties. Apparently, the first go-go dancers were women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City who would spontaneously jump up onto tables and dance the twist. It wasn’t long before clubs everywhere started hiring women to dance on tables for the entertainment of their patrons. Out in Los Angeles, the “Whisky a Go Go” club on Sunset Strip added a twist (pun intended!), as they had their dancers perform in cages suspended from the ceiling, creating the profession of “cage dancing”. The name “go-go” actually comes from two expressions. The expression in English “go-go-go” describes someone who is high energy, and the French expression “à gogo” describes something in abundance.

26. Nursery rhyme surname SPRAT
Jack Sprat was a nickname given in the 16th century to people of small stature. Jack featured in a proverb of the day:

Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane. Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.

Over time, this mutated into a nursery rhyme that is still recited in England:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.

28. Cotton swab brand Q-TIP
Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”, but this was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

30. “Conan” channel TBS
Before Conan O’Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host he was a writer. He wrote for both “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons”.

33. Cup-shaped bloom TULIP
Tulip festivals are held in a few cities around the world. The largest of these is the Canadian Tulip Festival that is held every year in the capital city of Ottawa. The tradition of growing tulips in Ottawa really started at the end of WWII. The Dutch royal family presented the city with 100,000 tulip bulbs as an act of thank for having sheltered Princess Juliana and her children while the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. The first Canadian Tulip Festival took place in 1953.

34. “Cheers,” across the Channel ADIEU
“Adieu” is the French for “goodbye” or “farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

39. Chicken-in-wine stew COQ AU VIN
The French word “coq” actually means rooster, but a more tender bird is usually chosen for the classic French dish “coq au vin”. The most common wine used for the “vin” is burgundy, but sometimes another red wine is chosen, and you can also find on a menu “coq au Champagne” and “coq au Riesling”.

42. Movie clownfish NEMO
“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

Clownfish are very colorful, attractive-looking fish. They are orange and often have broad strips of white and black on their bodies depending on species. Clownfish spend their lives in a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones.

47. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song ADIA
Sarah McLachlan is singer/songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia who lives in Vancouver. In 1997, McLachlan married Ashwin Sood, the drummer in her band. Apparently the 1998 hit song “Adia”, that she co-wrote and recorded, was intended as an apology to her best friend … for stealing her ex-boyfriend and then marrying him!

48. Speaker of the ends of the answers to starred clues HAMLET

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous fortune;
Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles …

There has been centuries of debate about how one interprets Hamlet’s soliloquy that begins “To be or not to be …”. My favorite opinion is that Hamlet is weighing up the pros and cons of suicide (“to not be”).

50. Boy in an Irish song DANNY
“Danny Boy” is a famous ballad associated with Ireland. The song’s lyrics were written by Englishman Frederick Weatherly and put to an existing tune called “Londonderry Air” (also “Derry Air”). Although heard quite often in Ireland, “Danny Boy” has been adopted as an unofficial anthem by people with Irish roots in North America.

52. Target, for one STORE
Target Corporation was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 in Minneapolis, Minnesota as Dayton Dry Goods Company. Dayton developed into a department store, and the company opened up a discount store chain in 1962, calling it Target. Today Target is the second-largest discount retailer in the country, after Walmart.

53. On __: reveling A TOOT
“Toot” and “tear” are slang terms for a drinking binge.

55. City destroyed in Genesis SODOM
The two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Admah and Zeboim, were destroyed by God for the sins of their inhabitants, according to the Bible. The name Sodom has become a metaphor for vice and homosexuality, and gives us our word “sodomy”.

57. Tailgaters’ cookers, for short BBQS
It is believed that our word “barbecue” (often shortened to “BBQ”) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

58. __ Domani: Italian wine brand ECCO
Ecco Domani is an Italian wine that is distributed by E & J Gallo.

59. Sleepover attire PJS
Our word “pajamas” (“PJs” for short) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. In the British Isles the spelling is “pyjamas”.

60. Cyberyuk LOL
Yuk, yuk, yuk … LOL (laugh out loud)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Gothic literature middle name ALLAN
6. Sound of relief AAH
9. Tells BLABS
14. Olympus competitor LEICA
15. Lobster __ Diavolo FRA
16. Talked a blue streak RAN ON
17. Violent whirlpool MAELSTROM
19. *Split apart IN TWO (sounds like “to”)
20. *Working, working, working AS BUSY AS BEE (sounds like “be”)
22. Bashful SHY
23. Per person APIECE
24. Pinch DASH
28. Part of Q.E.D. QUOD
29. Asian holiday TET
31. Transcript fig. GPA
32. Géorgie, to Georgette ETAT
35. *1967 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy recipient BOBBY ORR (sounds like “or”)
37. Sound AUDIO
39. Game show prize CAR
40. Long tales SAGAS
41. *Half-hitch kin SLIPKNOT (sounds like “not”)
43. With 64-Across, tax shelter since 1998 ROTH
44. “Power” accessory TIE
45. Updike’s “Rabbit Redux,” e.g.: Abbr. SEQ
46. Longtime Saudi king
49. Tater SPUDFAHD
51. Ancient Israeli fortress MASADA
53. Workout “washboards” ABS
56. *”And it took long enough!” ABOUT TIME TOO! (sounds like “to)
59. *Backup option PLAN B (sounds like “be”)
62. Vibrator in the larynx VOCAL CORD
63. Public opening? JOHN Q
64. See 43-Across IRA
65. Low-price prefix ECONO-
66. Really cracks up SLAYS
67. Volleyball barrier NET
68. Carved emblem TOTEM

Down
1. Soprano Gluck and composer Mahler-Werfel ALMAS
2. Chihuahua lead LEASH
3. Stretch out next to LIE BY
4. Censorship-fighting org. ACLU
5. Bahamas port NASSAU
6. Hiding under the covers AFRAID
7. Tossed off the covers AROSE
8. Poor choice to play 48-Down HAM ACTOR
9. Creamy cheese BRIE
10. Like Olympic pools LANED
11. Picnic invader ANT
12. Moment of stage gratitude BOW
13. __-Cat: winter vehicle SNO
18. Proofer’s find TYPO
21. U.K. network, with “the” BEEB
25. Disco phrase A GOGO
26. Nursery rhyme surname SPRAT
27. Strident HARSH
28. Cotton swab brand Q-TIP
30. “Conan” channel TBS
32. Bridge positions EASTS
33. Cup-shaped bloom TULIP
34. “Cheers,” across the Channel ADIEU
35. Ball striker BAT
36. Play area YARD
38. Endorsements OKS
39. Chicken-in-wine stew COQ AU VIN
42. Movie clownfish NEMO
46. One with money to burn FAT CAT
47. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song ADIA
48. Speaker of the ends of the answers to starred clues HAMLET
50. Boy in an Irish song DANNY
52. Target, for one STORE
53. On __: reveling A TOOT
54. Carried BORNE
55. City destroyed in Genesis SODOM
57. Tailgaters’ cookers, for short BBQS
58. __ Domani: Italian wine brand ECCO
59. Sleepover attire PJS
60. Cyberyuk LOL
61. “Just as I thought!” AHA!

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