LA Times Crossword Answers 8 Jul 2017, Saturday

Constructed by: Samuel A. Donaldson

Edited by: Rich Norris

Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

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Theme: None

Bill’s time: 10m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

7. Elegant pool entrance : SWAN DIVE

A swan dive is one in which the diver holds the arms outspread until just before hitting the water. Over on the other side of the Atlantic, the same dive is often called a swallow dive. Sometimes we use the verb “to swan-dive” to describe something that plummets, suddenly decreases. The stock markets swan-dives every so often …

15. Jet Ski competitor : SEA-DOO

Sea-Doo is a brand name of personal watercraft (PWC). Other well-known brands are Jet Ski and WaveRunner.

16. NFLer from 1982-’94 : LA RAIDER

The Oakland Raiders football team was founded in 1960, and was originally intended to play in Minnesota. Instead, the team played in Oakland from 1960 to 1981 and then spent 12 years in Los Angeles before returning to Oakland in 1995.

18. Last of Sophocles’ Theban plays : ANTIGONE

“Antigone” is a tragedy written by Greek playwright Sophocles and first performed in 442 BC. Antigone is the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes, and was born out of the incestuous relationship of the king with his mother Jocasta.

21. Midway game : RING TOSS

Back at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago there were rides and amusements that were all concentrated in one place, away from the exhibition halls. The rides included the world’s first Ferris wheel, and one could also see Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show. All these attractions were located in the mile-long linear park on the South Side of Chicago known as Midway Plaisance. Ever since then, the attractions at any fair have been located at “the midway”.

23. Number of hills di Roma : SETTE

In Italian, “Roma” (Rome) was built on “sette” (seven) hills.

Prior to the founding of the city of Rome, supposedly there were seven separate settlements located atop of seven hills east of the River Tiber. Tradition dictates that Romulus founded Rome on one of these hills, Palatine Hill. As the city grew, it came to encompass all seven existing settlements. The most famous hill in modern-day Rome is probably Vatican Hill, but it lies outside of the walled ancient city.

24. “30 for 30” documentary series airer : ESPN

“30 for 30” is a series of ESPN documentary films that has aired since 2009. The series originated as a celebration of the ESPN’s 30th birthday. To recognize that anniversary, the network commissioned 30 filmmakers to make 30 one-hour films covering the big stories in ESPN’s 30-year history. The series was so well received that ESPN continues to make similar documentaries using the “30 for 30” umbrella title.

30. Riding in the far-left lane, perhaps : CARPOOLING

In some parts of the country one sees high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes). Out here in California we refer to them as carpool lanes.

34. NYSE debut : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

The roots of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) go back to 1792 when a group of 24 stock brokers set up the New York Stock & Exchange Board. They did so in an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree outside 68 Wall Street. That document became known as the Buttonwood Agreement. Today, the NYSE is located in National Historic Landmark building with the address 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

35. “Ciao Italia” chef Esposito : MARY ANN

Mary Ann Esposito is celebrity chef. Her PBS show “Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito” has been on the air since 1989, making it the longest-running cooking program in the US.

36. Cable co. that was acquired by AT&T : TCI

Tele-Communications, Inc (TCI) was the largest provider of cable television service in the US for a while. The company was founded in 1968 and was headquartered in Denver. TCI was bought by AT&T in 1999.

37. Producer who developed “The Jeffersons” : NORMAN LEAR

Norman Lear wrote for and produced some great television shows, including “All in the Family”, Sanford and Son” and “The Jeffersons”. He also did some film work, including writing and producing the great 1967 movie “Divorce American Style”.

The very popular sitcom called “The Jeffersons” ran from 1975 until it came to an abrupt end in 1985. CBS cancelled the show without even allowing a series finale that “wrapped things up”. In fact the lead actor, Sherman Hemsley, first learned of the show’s cancellation in the newspaper.

40. Unalaska native : ALEUT

Unalaska Island is one of the Aleutian chain of islands off the coast of Alaska. Dutch Harbor, located within the city of Unalaska, is the largest fisheries port in the whole of the United States.

41. Blocking action : VETO

The verb “veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The term was used by tribunes of Ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

45. Braised chicken dish : 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”.

49. Runner with big eggs : OSTRICH

The ostrich is a flightless bird that is native to Africa. It is extensively farmed, mainly for its feathers but also for its skin/leather and meat. Famously, the ostrich is the fastest moving of any flightless bird, capable of achieving speeds of over 40 mph. It is also the largest living species of bird, and lays the largest eggs.

51. Final syllable : ULTIMA

In the world of linguistics, the last syllable in a word is called the ultima. The second last syllable is known as the penult.

53. Otis of elevators : ELISHA

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

56. Decorative herbs : PARSLEYS

In Britain, parsley is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

Down

1. Michaelmas daisy : ASTER

Michaelmas is the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, a day in the Western Christian calendar. Michaelmas is September 29th every year, and is associated with the beginning of fall.

2. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI

Terri Gibbs is a country music singer. Gibbs had thirteen singles that made the Billboard country singles charts in the eighties. Gibbs was born blind.

3. Memorial rocks : CAIRN

A cairn is a man-made pile of stones that can have various uses. A cairn might be a prosaic trail marker, or a distinctive landmark or monument. Our term “cairn” derives from the Gaelic “carn” meaning “rocky hill, heap of stones”.

6. Coke holder : POP-TOP CAN

The term “pop top” refers to a whole family of designs for opening the top of a soda can. The oldest method is the “pull tab” or “ring pull”, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived, but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to less injuries and eliminated all those used pull tabs that littered the streets.

7. High-fives, e.g. : SLAPS

The celebratory gesture that we call a “high five” is said to have been invented by former baseball players Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke when they were both playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the later 1970s.

9. Crafts in Cancún : ARTES

Cancún is a city and island on the east coast of Mexico, on the other side of the Yucatan Channel from Cuba. The city is growing rapidly due to its booming tourist business. Cancún is the center of what’s often called “The Mexican Caribbean” or the “Mayan Riviera”.

26. “What a long week!” : TGIF

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that apparently originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used first by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies. That said, one blog reader wrote me to say that he had been using the phrase in the fifties.

27. Turner of music : TINA

Tina Turner is the stage name used by Anna Mae Bullock, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Turner has always loved Europe and moved there in the eighties. She now splits her time between her homes in England, France and Switzerland.

28. Michael Corleone’s first wife : APOLLONIA

In the 1972 film “The Godfather”, Michael Corleone’s first wife is Apollonia Vitelli. Apollonia was played by Italian actress Simonetta Stefanelli.

In the Mario Puzo novel “The Godfather”, the story’s central character is Michael Corleone. Michael’s girlfriend, and eventually his second wife, is Kay Adams. In the 1972 film adaptation, Michael Corleone was played by Al Pacino, and Kay Adams-Corleone was played by Diane Keaton.

29. Big storm : NOR’EASTER

A nor’easter is a storm that blows from the northeast.

31. Reuben setting : RYE

There are conflicting stories about the origin of the Reuben sandwich. One is that it was invented around 1914 by Arnold Reuben, an immigrant from Germany who owned Reuben’s Deli in New York.

32. Finnish distance runner Nurmi : PAAVO

Paavo Nurmi was one of a group of Finnish runners to earn the nickname “the Flying Finn”. Nurmi dominated middle and long distance running in the 1920s. He was the most successful athlete at the 1924 Paris Olympics, winning five gold medals.

45. Musical whose plot involves a two-person tournament : CHESS

The musical “Chess” is a very enjoyable show, with music written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (of ABBA fame) and lyrics by Tim Rice (of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita” fame). The story is about two chess masters, one American and one Russian, who face off against each other during the Cold War. Much of the action takes place in Bangkok at a World Championship Tournament, and there’s a woman, and a love triangle. I saw the show decades ago in the north of England, and recommend it …

46. Windows 7 precursor : VISTA

Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, 8 and 10; they’re all based on the Windows NT operating system. There is a common perception that Windows NT (WNT) takes its name from VMS, an earlier operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. “WNT” is what’s called a “Caesar cypher” of “VMS”, as you just augment the letters of VMS alphabetically by one to arrive at WNT. Bill Gates disputes this derivation of the name, and in a 1998 interview stated that the NT originally stood for N-Ten and that the marketing folks at Microsoft revised history by changing it to “New Technology”.

48. Asian breads : NAANS

Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

52. Novak Djokovic’s org. : ATP

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is an organization that looks out for the interests of male tennis professionals. The equivalent organization for women is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player and former world No. 1 ranked player. Djokovic is quite the character off the court it seems and he is very popular on the talk-show circuit, all around the world. It helps that Djokovic is fluent in several languages.

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Complete List of Clues and Answers

Across

1. Gone for the summer, perhaps : AT CAMP

7. Elegant pool entrance : SWAN DIVE

15. Jet Ski competitor : SEA-DOO

16. NFLer from 1982-’94 : LA RAIDER

17. Trick : TRIP UP

18. Last of Sophocles’ Theban plays : ANTIGONE

19. Off-base : ERRANT

20. Post-sunburn phase : PEELING

21. Midway game : RING TOSS

23. Number of hills di Roma : SETTE

24. “30 for 30” documentary series airer : ESPN

25. Touch with gauze : DAB AT

27. They may be fake : TANS

30. Riding in the far-left lane, perhaps : CARPOOLING

34. NYSE debut : IPO

35. “Ciao Italia” chef Esposito : MARY ANN

36. Cable co. that was acquired by AT&T : TCI

37. Producer who developed “The Jeffersons” : NORMAN LEAR

39. Ocean hazard : REEF

40. Unalaska native : ALEUT

41. Blocking action : VETO

43. Performs surgery on, in a way : LASES

45. Braised chicken dish : COQ AU VIN

49. Runner with big eggs : OSTRICH

51. Final syllable : ULTIMA

52. Lobster sensors : ANTENNAE

53. Otis of elevators : ELISHA

54. Men’s department fixtures : TIE RACKS

55. Forwarded : SENT ON

56. Decorative herbs : PARSLEYS

57. Training aids : TREATS

Down

1. Michaelmas daisy : ASTER

2. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI

3. Memorial rocks : CAIRN

4. Much magazine content : AD PAGES

5. Goes up : MOUNTS

6. Coke holder : POP-TOP CAN

7. High-fives, e.g. : SLAPS

8. Ebb : WANE

9. Crafts in Cancún : ARTES

10. Attached by pounding : NAILED ON

11. Technology catchall : DIGITAL

12. “No need to be scared of me” : I DON’T BITE

13. Retaliation : VENGEANCE

14. Word of relative time : ERE

22. Jam : SNARL

26. “What a long week!” : TGIF

27. Turner of music : TINA

28. Michael Corleone’s first wife : APOLLONIA

29. Big storm : NOR’EASTER

31. Reuben setting : RYE

32. Finnish distance runner Nurmi : PAAVO

33. For the asking : ON REQUEST

35. __ instinct : MATERNAL

38. Summons (up) : MUSTERS

39. Dancer’s program : ROUTINE

42. Like one looking down on his neighbor? : TALLER

44. On account of : SINCE

45. Musical whose plot involves a two-person tournament : CHESS

46. Windows 7 precursor : VISTA

47. Cry from one on a streak : I’M HOT!

48. Asian breads : NAANS

50. Like dried mud : CAKY

52. Novak Djokovic’s org. : ATP

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