LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Aug 15, Friday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Mark McClain
THEME: Georgia on My Mind … each of today’s themed answers is a common phrase, but with GA inserted. And, GA is the postal abbreviation used for the state of Georgia:

57A. Carmichael/Gorrell classic, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme GEORGIA ON MY MIND

17A. Missed the bird’s nest under the eaves? FLEW INTO A GARAGE (from “flew into a rage”)
26A. Red army unit? BLUSHING BRIGADE (from “blushing bride”)
44A. Druid baker’s recipe? PAGAN CAKE BATTER (from “pancake batter”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 11m 13s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

5. Barnyard cries MAAS
“Maa” is the call of a goat.

13. Scheduled 2022 FIFA World Cup host QATAR
Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. Qatar has more oil and gas reserves per capita of population than any other country in the world. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry. Qatar is scheduled to who the 2022 FIFA World Cup, although the nation’s eligibility to do so is under question after a far-reaching bribery scandal was uncovered at the sport’s governing body.

15. “As Time Goes By” requester ILSA
The movie “Casablanca” was released in January of 1943, timed to coincide with the Casablanca Conference, the high-level meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill. The film wasn’t a box-office hit, but gained critical acclaim, winning three Oscars including Best Picture. The signature song “As Time Goes By” was written many years earlier for a 1931 Broadway musical called “Everybody’s Welcome”, and was a hit in 1931 for Rudy Vallee. But today we all remember the Casablanca version, sung by Dooley Wilson (who played “Sam” in the film). Poor Dooley didn’t get to record it as a single, due to a musician’s strike in 1943, so the 1931 Rudy Vallee version was re-released that year and became an even bigger hit second time round.

There is a famous exchange in the movie “Casablanca” that results in the piano player Sam singing “As Time Goes By”.

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake.
Sam: I don’t know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.
Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.”
Sam: Oh, I can’t remember it, Miss Ilsa. I’m a little rusty on it.
Ilsa: I’ll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum…
Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.

An equally famous exchange takes place a little later in the film, resulting in a reprise of the song:

Rick: You know what I want to hear.
Sam: No, I don’t.
Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me!
Sam: Well, I don’t think I can remember…
Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!

Great stuff!

16. Procter & Gamble cosmetics brand OLAY
Oil of Olay was developed in South Africa in 1949. When Oil of Olay was introduced internationally, it was given slightly different brand names designed to appeal in the different geographies. In Ireland we know it as Oil of Ulay, for example, and in France it is Oil of Olaz.

20. Toon cat TOM
“Tom and Jerry” is a series of cartoons produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera starting in 1940. These short films feature Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse, who are always going at it with Jerry usually emerging victorious.

21. Farm shelter COTE
The Old English word “cote” was used for a small house. Our modern word “cottage” comes from “cote”. We now use “cote” to mean a small shelter on a farm for sheep or birds.

22. Records, nowadays TIVOS
TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful DVR (Digital Video Recorder).

24. City SW of Le Havre CAEN
Caen, on the River Orne, lies in the Calvados department of France in the northwest of the country. Caen is famous for the WWII Battle of Caen that left the town practically destroyed. Caen is also the burial place of the Norman King William I of England, also known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Le Havre is a city on the mouth of the river Seine on the northwest coast of France. The city’s name translates as “the haven”.

26. Red army unit? BLUSHING BRIGADE (from “blushing bride”)
In an army, a brigade is made up of three to six battalions. Three or more brigades go to make up a division.

34. Bit attachment REIN
“Tack” is the term used for equipment used in riding or working horses. Examples of tack are saddles, stirrups, bridles, reins, bits and halters.

35. Luau dish POI
Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

37. Barber’s “Vanessa,” for one OPERA
“Vanessa” is an opera by Samuel Barber that was first performed in 1958, in New York.

Samuel Barber was one of the most respected composers of 20th-century classical music. Barber’s most famous work is probably “Adagio for Strings”, a piece that has been used a lot in television and movies, including a memorable scene in the movie “Platoon”.

42. Musical lament DIRGE
A “dirge” is a slow and mournful musical piece, like a funeral hymn.

44. Druid baker’s recipe? PAGAN CAKE BATTER (from “pancake batter”)
A pagan is someone who holds religious beliefs that are different from the main religions of the world. In classical Latin “paganus” was a villager, a rustic.

Druids were priests of Celtic Europe during the Iron Age.

48. Future execs, perhaps MBAS
The world’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

50. It was removed from the Dow 30 the same year Nike was added ALCOA
The Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA) is the largest producer of aluminum in the United States. The company was founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where its headquarters are to this day.

Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, often referred to as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, which is based on the goddess’s wing.

Dow Jones & Company was founded as a publishing house in 1882 by three newspaper reporters, Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Today, the company’s most famous publication has to be “The Wall Street Journal”. In 1884, Charles Dow started reporting the average dollar value of the stock of eleven companies, an index which spawned a whole host of metrics that carry the Dow Jones name to this day, including the renowned Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), also known as the “Dow 30”.

The list of DOW 30 companies was shaken up in September 2013. Bank of America was dropped in favor of Goldman Sachs Group; Visa replaced Hewlett Packard, and Alcoa made way for Nike.

54. Court WOO
“To court” someone is to woo them, to offer homage, as one might do at court, hence the use of the term.

57. Carmichael/Gorrell classic, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme GEORGIA ON MY MIND
“Georgia on My Mind” is a song composed in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Gorrell’s lyrics refer to the state of Georgia, although there is a common assertion that the reference is instead to Hoagy’s sister Georgia Carmichael. Hoagy himself assures us that the former is the case, in his second autobiography “Sometimes I Wonder”. Hoagy Carmichael himself made the first recording, in 1930, but most famous is the 1960 cover version by Ray Charles. “Georgia on My Mind” was made the official state song of Georgia in 1979.

61. Nike competitor AVIA
The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

64. Tiny stream RILL
Rill, meaning a small brook or rivulet, has German roots, the same roots as “Rhine”, the name of the major European river.

Down
2. “Symphonie espagnole” composer LALO
Édouard Lalo was a classical composer from France. Lalo’s most famous work is probably the complex opera “Le roi d’Ys”, which is based on a Breton legend.

Édouard Lalo’s “Symphonie espagnole” may be called the “Spanish Symphony”, but it is actually a violin concerto.

3. Couple in the news ITEM
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as “an item” in the papers, led to the use of “item” to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.

4. Dog’s dog PAW
“Dogs” is a slang term for “feet”, as in “my dogs are killing me”.

10. Norwegian saint OLAV
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

11. “It is the green-eyed monster …” speaker IAGO
Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. He hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. By the end of the play it’s Iago himself who is discredited and Othello (before committing suicide) apologizes to Cassio for having believed Iago’s lies. Heavy stuff …

William Shakespeare was one of the first to associate the color green with envy. He called jealousy the “green-eyed monster” in his play, “Othello”.

12. Strong cleaners LYES
What we call “lye” is usually sodium hydroxide, although historically the term was used for potassium hydroxide. Lye has many uses, including to cure several foodstuffs. Lye can make olives less bitter, for example. The chemical is also found in canned mandarin oranges, pretzels and Japanese ramen noodles. More concentrated grades of lye are used to clear drains and clean ovens. Scary …

14. Some copiers RICOHS
Ricoh is a Japanese company that started out in 1936 and by the year 2000 was the biggest manufacturer of copiers in the world. The company is also well known as a supplier of cameras. The most successful of Ricoh’s lines of cameras is the compact model called a Caplio.

23. Ore. setting PST
Oregon (Ore.) is on Pacific Standard Time (PST) for much of the year.

24. Speaker of words like alpha and bravo CBER
A CBer is someone who operates a Citizens’ Band radio. In 1945, the FCC set aside certain radio frequencies for the personal use of citizens. The use of the Citizens’ Band increased throughout the seventies as advances in electronics brought down the size of transceivers and their cost. There aren’t many CB radios sold these days though, as they have largely been replaced by cell phones.

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alpha, Bravo, Charlie … Zulu.

25. It’s frequently in Italian ARIA
Arias, from operas, are frequently sung in Italian.

26. Aerial view provider BLIMP
There is an important difference between a “blimp” (like “The Goodyear Blimp”) and an airship (like a Zeppelin). An airship is a rigid structure with an internal framework that helps maintain the shape of the airbag, whereas a blimp uses the pressure of the helium gas inside the airbag to give it shape. Also, blimps are usually heavier than air and so will float naturally to the ground. They maintain their lift with forward motion and by raising the nose slightly.

27. Saint __: Caribbean island nation LUCIA
The Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia has a population of less than 200,000. Remarkably, Saint Lucia has produced two Nobel Laureates: economist Arthur Lewis and poet Derek Walcott.

29. Like alpha, but not bravo GREEK
The Greek alphabet starts off with the letters alpha, beta, gamma …

32. Where to get down EIDER
Eiders are large sea ducks. Their down feathers are used to fill pillows and quilts, giving the name to the quilt called an “eiderdown”.

37. Ocean predator ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

38. Two of Rory McIlroy’s major wins, familiarly PGAS
Rory McIlroy is an incredibly successful golfer from Northern Ireland. McIlroy is a relatively young man and the current world number one on the circuit, so folks can’t help but compare him to Tiger Woods. He is first European to win three different majors. Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, McIlroy is one of the only three people win three majors before the age of 25.

The grand slam of men’s golf is the winning of the four “majors”, major golf competitions:

– the Masters Tournament
– the US Open
– the Open Championship (aka “the British Open”)
– the PGA Championship 

42. Beat address DADDY-O
“Daddy-o” was a slang term used in the fifties by Beatniks.

The term “beatnik” was coined by journalist Herb Caen in 1958 when he used it to describe the stereotypical young person of the “beat generation” that was oft associated with the writer Jack Kerouac. That stereotypical beatnik would be playing the bongos and rolling his or her own cigarettes. Male beatniks also tended to sport goatees and wear berets.

46. Sousaphone, for one EPONYM
An eponym is a name for something derived from the name of a person, as in the “sandwich” named for the Earl of Sandwich.

The sousaphone is a kind of tuba that was specifically designed to send the sound upward and over the rest of the orchestra, with a warm tone, achieved with a large bell that pointed upwards. The instrument was developed at the request of the composer John Philip Sousa, hence the name. The design proved to be more suitable than its predecessors for use in marching bands, and that is how it is used most frequently today.

50. Food thickener AGAR
Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

51. Son of Jacob LEVI
In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob had twelve sons, six with each of his concurrent wives Leah and Rachel. The sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The sons were:

– Reuben
– Simeon
– Levi
– Judah
– Dan
– Naphtali
– Gad
– Asher
– Issachar
– Zebulun
– Joseph
– Benjamin

52. Stamp purchase COIL
Postage stamps may be purchased in a coil, on a strip of paper that is coiled up.

53. Icy coating HOAR
The Old English word “har” meant “gray, venerable, old”, and came into English as “hoar” (and later “hoary”) with the same meaning. The term “hoar-frost” dates back to the 13th century, and reflects the similarity of the white feathers of frost to the gray/white of an old man’s beard.

54. Lush WINO
“Lush” is a slang term for a heavy drinker. Back in the 1700s, “lush” was slang for “liquor”.

55. “The Sea of Faith / Was __, too, at the full … “: “Dover Beach” ONCE
“Dover Beach” is a poem by Englishman Matthew Arnold that was first published in 1867. The title is a reference to a beach near the English ferry port of Dover that lies across the English Channel from the French port of Calais. Arnold spent his honeymoon in the area in 1851. The fourth stanza of “Dover Beach” is:

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl’d.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

58. Berlin pronoun ICH
“Ich” is the German for “I”, as in “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner), the famous words of support uttered by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 in a speech in West Berlin. The supposed translation of “Ich bin ein Berliner” as “I am a jelly doughnut” … that’s just an urban myth. President Kennedy’s use of German was perfectly correct.

Berlin is the capital and largest city in Germany, and is the second most populous city in the European Union (after London).

59. In the fashion of A LA
The phrase “in the style of” can be translated in “alla” in Italian and “à la” in French.

60. Actor’s exaggeration MUG
The verb “to mug” means to make an exaggerated facial expression. The term comes from mugs used to drink beer (called Toby mugs) that are the made in the shape of heads with grotesque expressions. “Mug” can also be a noun meaning “face”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Goof SLIP
5. Barnyard cries MAAS
9. Cook, in a way BOIL
13. Scheduled 2022 FIFA World Cup host QATAR
15. “As Time Goes By” requester ILSA
16. Procter & Gamble cosmetics brand OLAY
17. Missed the bird’s nest under the eaves? FLEW INTO A GARAGE (from “flew into a rage”)
20. Toon cat TOM
21. Farm shelter COTE
22. Records, nowadays TIVOS
23. Study intently, with “over” PORE
24. City SW of Le Havre CAEN
26. Red army unit? BLUSHING BRIGADE (from “blushing bride”)
33. Thirsts LUSTS
34. Bit attachment REIN
35. Luau dish POI
36. Here, in 24-Across ICI
37. Barber’s “Vanessa,” for one OPERA
39. Throw in ADD
40. Time meas. MIN
41. Drive URGE
42. Musical lament DIRGE
44. Druid baker’s recipe? PAGAN CAKE BATTER (from “pancake batter”)
48. Future execs, perhaps MBAS
49. They’re full of beans PODS
50. It was removed from the Dow 30 the same year Nike was added ALCOA
53. Protective cover HOOD
54. Court WOO
57. Carmichael/Gorrell classic, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme GEORGIA ON MY MIND
61. Nike competitor AVIA
62. Art medium CLAY
63. Shred OUNCE
64. Tiny stream RILL
65. Damage HARM
66. Hits the road GOES

Down
1. Real estate ad no. SQ FT
2. “Symphonie espagnole” composer LALO
3. Couple in the news ITEM
4. Dog’s dog PAW
5. Winter warmer MITTEN
6. Natural soother ALOE
7. “__ rule …” AS A
8. Subside SAG
9. Likely to elicit a nod? BORING
10. Norwegian saint OLAV
11. “It is the green-eyed monster …” speaker IAGO
12. Strong cleaners LYES
14. Some copiers RICOHS
18. “Me neither” NOR I
19. Canceled a reservation, maybe ATE IN
23. Ore. setting PST
24. Speaker of words like alpha and bravo CBER
25. It’s frequently in Italian ARIA
26. Aerial view provider BLIMP
27. Saint __: Caribbean island nation LUCIA
28. Via USING
29. Like alpha, but not bravo GREEK
30. Split APART
31. Sidestep DODGE
32. Where to get down EIDER
37. Ocean predator ORCA
38. Two of Rory McIlroy’s major wins, familiarly PGAS
41. Put away, as groceries UNBAG
42. Beat address DADDY-O
43. “__ a trick!” IT’S
45. Unscrupulous AMORAL
46. Sousaphone, for one EPONYM
47. Loud noise BOOM
50. Food thickener AGAR
51. Son of Jacob LEVI
52. Stamp purchase COIL
53. Icy coating HOAR
54. Lush WINO
55. “The Sea of Faith / Was __, too, at the full … “: “Dover Beach” ONCE
56. Laudatory verses ODES
58. Berlin pronoun ICH
59. In the fashion of A LA
60. Actor’s exaggeration MUG

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9 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Aug 15, Friday”

  1. No comments yet ? Not surprising, considering how utterly difficult this puzzle was. The word I would venture to suggest, would be diabolical. ( …. What do I know ? ).

    If male goats bleat 'Maa', do female goats go 'Paa' ?

    FWIW, goat meat is by far the overwhelming meat of choice, in all the world…

    Qatar ( 'Cut-ter' ) has a higher per capita GDP than Norway or Leichtenstein. I wonder if the quality of human life there is any more 'edenic' than the scandinavian countries.

    Could somebody, anybody, tell me why Roosevelt and Churchill had to have a "high level conference" in Casablanca, of all places, during the midst of a terrifing, dangerous, all encompassing, world war ? Why couldn't they have met anywhere in the US or the UK ? Thats just inviting trouble ….. IMHO. Its not as if they desperately needed a Club Med vacation.

    Ok, ok I'll end. Have a nice weekend all.

  2. I found this to be a pretty straight forward Friday puzzle, all things considered. I did get hung up for a while with 26 and 27 Down, mostly because I had the wrong answer for 33 Across "Thirsts" but once I got "lusts" then the down answers fell into place. Never got the theme until I came to Bill's blog (Thanks, Bill!).

    Hope you all have a great weekend. Let's see how horrible Saturday is!

  3. Definitely ore difficult than Thursday. But when the first theme answer presented itself, the rest went down quickly. MAA is utter dreck. CBERs do not really use the phonetic alphabet, though they do have a language all their own.

    Vidwan, my only thought on your question is: North Africa had been retaken by then, and German U-boats were still patrolling off Iceland and all over shipping lanes in the North Atlantic, which would be a geographically convenient spot, but also risky.

  4. I finally finished this puzzle but only with the aid of the theme. Once I got PAGAN CAKE BATTER, I figured out the GA, the song, and then kept looking for that letter combo to get the other long answers. I had to go on faith that people refer to a coil of stamps (I say roll) and RILL. Then at the last munute I changed BITTENS to MITTENS because MAAS made more sense than BITTENS, but that's not saying much.

    The end result is that it's the return of Smugday! This puzzle was tricky enough that I might upgrade to insufferable from merely smug. We'll see.

    @Vidwan
    Churchill and Roosevelt simply had the wrong directions. Their people had arranged a meeting at the White House, but someone got cute, referred to it as the Casablanca, and so completely as the result of that misunderstanding they met in Morocco…. 🙂

    If only I could ever master Saturday puzzles….

    Best –

  5. Thanks, Bill, for mentioning William the Conqueror in your note on CAEN — we crossword puzzlers owe him a big debt. All those "great men" biographies claiming that their guy "changed the course of history" are usually bunk, but in William's case it's true: before Hastings England was pretty much part of Scandinavia, but after Hastings it became tied to France and Europe. For hundreds of years the kings and nobility of England spoke Norman French, and it was the eventual mix of this with the common tongue that gave us the rich English vocabulary we use today. So thanks again to the two Bills!

  6. Close, but no cigar.
    To show you how old school I am I was UNBOXing the groceries. ^0^
    I confidently put in St. CROIX
    Did not understand the theme until I read Bill's explanation.
    Duh, and having IND at the end of the reveal,GONE WITH THE WIND fit, having NOTHING to do with Hoagy Carmichael.
    It's amazing how far wrong my mind can go doing these puzzles.
    Must HIT THE ROAD. Hope the traffic doesn't stink.
    @Carrie- don't know the Foo Fighters' music, so I'm not qualified.
    Later, DADDY-Os!

  7. @Pookie – You can still "unbox" the groceries. All you have to do is buy your food at Costco!

  8. TRAFFIC! Stink, stank stunk. (Insert Grinch) OMG, I don't know how I even justify the time I spend fighting this.
    @Tony Michaels, thanks for the boost! Yes, we shop at Costco, but remember when they were called "box boys"?
    Over and OUT.

  9. This was HARD!! DNF, cheated a lot. I don't see myself getting another Friday finish for awhile. I did get GEORGIA ON MY MIND, tho, with only a coupla letters to help. What a gorgeous song. Oh well…It seems that the motivation really to work these Fridays comes in waves. Every coupla weeks I'm inspired, and maybe even kinda successful.
    I guess I'm calling in sick yet again for Saturday's puzzle…:-

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