LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Nov 2017, Thursday

Advertisement

[ad_above_grid]

Constructed by: Morton J. Mendelson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Advertisement

Advertisement

Today’s Theme: Pap to Pup

Today’s themed clues are in the format “Pxp”, where x is a vowel progression. So, we have Pap, Pep, Pip, Pop and Pup:

• 17A. Pap : MUSHY FOOD
• 24A. Pep : GET-UP-AND-GO
• 38A. Pip : DIE SPOT
• 49A. Pop : MUSIC GENRE
• 60A. Pup : YOUNG SEAL

Bill’s time: 5m 42s

Bill’s errors: 0

Advertisement

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. WC : LAV

Our word “lavatory” (sometimes “lav”) originally referred to a washbasin, and comes from the Latin “lavatorium”, a place for washing. In the 1600s, “lavatory” came to mean a washroom, and in the 1920s a toilet.

When I was growing up in Ireland, a “bathroom” was a room that had a bath and no toilet. The separate room with the commode was called “the toilet” or sometimes the W.C. (the water closet). Apparently the term closet was used because in the 1800s when homeowners started installing toilets indoors they often displaced clothes and linens in a “closet”, as a closet was the right size to take the commode.

4. Cardiff-born : WELSH

Cardiff, located on the country’s south coast, has been the capital of Wales since 1955. “Cardiff” is an anglicized form of “Caerdydd”, the city’s name in Welsh.

9. Many Dickens kids : WAIFS

Charles Dickens was an English novelist who achieved great notoriety in his own time, and is still regarded as perhaps the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Many of his novels explored the plight of the poor in Victorian society, perhaps driven by his own experiences as a child. Dickens had to leave school to work in a factory after his father was thrown into a debtor’s prison. As a result, Dickens had to educate himself, and did so with great success. He is said to have pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, with his first success coming with the 1835 serial publication of “Pickwick Papers”. And, everyone’s favorite has to be his 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol”.

14. Action film gun : UZI

The first Uzi submachine gun was designed in the late 1940s by Major Uziel “Uzi” Gal of the Israel Defense Forces, who gave his name to the gun.

15. Kauai greeting : ALOHA

Because the Hawaiian island of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, all the rainfall has helped to carve out magnificent canyons and left superb waterfalls. The island is often used as a backdrop for movies. The facilities at the island’s Lihue Airport reflect the pleasant climate enjoyed by the Hawaiian Islands. Check-in takes place completely outdoors!

16. Northern home : IGLOO

The Inuit word for “house” is “iglu”, which we usually write as “igloo”. The Greenlandic (yes, that’s a language) word for “house” is very similar, namely “igdlo”. The walls of igloos are tremendous insulators, due to the air pockets in the blocks of snow.

17. Pap : MUSHY FOOD

One meaning of “pap” is soft or semi-liquid food for babies and small children. “Pap” comes into English via French, from the Latin word used by children for “food”. In the 1500s, “pap” also came to mean “an oversimplified” idea. This gives us a usage that’s common today, describing literature or perhaps TV programming that lacks real value or substance. Hands up those who think there’s a lot of pap out there, especially on television …

23. Mountain legend : YETI

The yeti, also called the abominable snowman, is a beast of legend. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology.

24. Pep : GET-UP-AND-GO

Our contemporary term “pep”, meaning “vigor, energy”, is a shortened version of “pepper” that used to have the same meaning.

32. 1976 Dylan song about his first wife : SARA

Bob Dylan’s 1976 song “Sara” is a tribute to his then-wife Sara Dylan née Noznisky. In the song, Bob describes Sara as a “radiant jewel, mystical wife”. Sadly, the couple divorced the following year.

33. Like FM radio, typically : IN STEREO

Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

36. Old lab heaters : ETNAS

“Etna” (named for the volcano) is another name for a Bunsen Burner that is used in a laboratory.

The Bunsen burner is common piece of lab equipment that is used for heating and combustion. The device was invented in 1854 by Robert Bunsen at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

37. Playa __ Rey: L.A. community : DEL

Playa del Rey is a beachside neighborhood and district of the City of Los Angeles. “Playa del Rey” translates from Spanish as “King’s Beach”.

38. Pip : DIE SPOT

A pip is a dot on a die or a domino, or a mark on a playing card.

42. Places to find stacks : IHOPS

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests!

46. Little dipper? : OREO

There is an “official” competition involving Oreo cookies, in case anyone is interested in participating. A competitor has to take several steps to finish an OREO Lick Race:

1. Twist open the cookie.
2. Lick each half clean of creme.
3. Show the clean cookie halves to the fellow competitors.
4. Dunk the cookie halves in a glass of milk.
5. Eat the cookie halves.
6. Drink the milk.
7. Ready, set, go …

55. __ beer : NEAR

“Near beer” is slang term for a malt liquor that doesn’t contain enough alcohol to be labelled as “beer”. An example would be “O’Doul’s”, a beverage that I tend to consume in a glass full of ice when I am the designated driver.

56. Legendary moralist : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

57. Angiogram image : AORTA

An angiogram is an x-ray (usually) image taken of the circulatory system. The image is often enhanced by the introduction of a radio-opaque “dye” into the bloodstream.

60. Pup : YOUNG SEAL

Male seals are called bulls, females are cows, and babies are pups.

65. The life of Paris? : LA VIE

The French capital of Paris is named for the Parisii, a Celtic Iron Age people that lived in the area on the banks of the River Seine.

66. Tre meno due : UNA

In Italian, “tre meno due” (three minus two) is “uno” (one).

Kind readers have pointed out that the masculine form of the indefinite article is used for the number “one”. I should have spotted that …

68. Stingray kin : SKATE

Skates (formally “Rajidae”) are a family of fish in the superorder of rays (formally “batoidea”). Skates look very similar to stingrays but they lack stinging spines.

Down

1. Like poorly made Cream of Wheat : LUMPY

Cream of Wheat is a breakfast food that was introduced at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Looking similar to grits, it is a porridge mix known as “farina”, made from wheat semolina. Nowadays, we can also buy the similar product called Cream of Rice.

2. Clear blue : AZURE

The term “azure” came into English from Persian via Old French. The French word “l’azur” was taken from the Persian name for a place in northeastern Afghanistan called “Lazhward” which was the main source of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The stone has a vivid blue color, and “azure” has been describing this color since the 14th century.

5. “The Hobbit” being : ELF

“The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” is a children’s fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien that was popular from the time of its first publication in 1937. Included in the early awards for “The Hobbit” was a prize for best juvenile fiction from “The New York Herald Tribune”. Tolkien adapted his succeeding novel “The Lord of the Rings” to incorporate elements in “The Hobbit”, so that the two tales are very much related.

6. WC : LOO

It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from Waterloo (water closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo”, in which the pot was called the loo!

7. “Homeland” channel, for short : SHO

“Homeland” is a psychological drama shown on Showtime about a CIA officer who is convinced that a certain US Marine is a threat to the security of the United States. The show is based on a series from Israeli television called “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War”). I saw the first season of this show and highly recommend it …

9. Contemporary pagan religion : WICCA

Wicca is a relatively new phenomenon. It is a Neopagan religion that developed in the twentieth century. Typically, followers of Wicca worship one goddess and one god, namely the Moon Goddess and the Horned God. A follower of Wicca is called a Wiccan or a Witch.

12. A Capulet, to a Montague : FOE

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

24. “Deadwood” actress Jewell : GERI

Geri Jewell’s appearances on the TV show “The Facts of Life” were remarkable in that she was the first actor with a disability to have a regular role on a prime time show. Jewell was born with cerebral palsy. More recently, Jewell had a recurring role in the western drama “Deadwood”.

27. Lenox china brand : DANSK

Despite the name, “Dansk” was actually an American company that manufactured and distributed tableware and cookware. Dansk founded in 1954 by a couple in the garage of their home in Great Neck, New York after a visit to Denmark where they found a unique design of cutlery that they arranged to fabricate here in the US. The company was founded to showcase the flatware created by Danish designer Jens Quistgaard. The Dansk brand is now owned by Lenox. The name “Dansk” is Danish for “Danish”!

The Lenox Corporation is a manufacturer of tableware and collectibles in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox, the company is the only producer of bone china in the US. Lenox has made tableware for six US presidents, from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush.

28. Word with period or note : GRACE

In musical notation, a grace note calls for an ornament or embellishment, a musical flourish. Grace notes look like regular notes, but are written in a smaller print size.

29. It might be a mirage : OASIS

An isolated area of vegetation in a desert is called an oasis (plural “oases”). As water is needed for plant growth, an oasis might also include a spring, pond or small lake.

A mirage occurs when light rays are bent by passing say from cold air to warmer air. The most often cited mirage is a “lake” seen in a desert, which is actually the blue of the sky and not water at all. The word “mirage” comes to us via French from the Latin “mirare” meaning “to look at in wonder”. “Mirage” has the same root as our words “admire” and “mirror”.

31. Koppel and others : TEDS

The broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is most associated with his long run as anchor for the “Nightline” program on ABC. Koppel was actually born in England, to a Jewish family that had fled from Germany. He emigrated with his family to the US when he was 13 years old. Koppel is great friends with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who was a frequent guest on his television show.

34. Indira Gandhi’s father : NEHRU

Jawaharlal Nehru was the very first prime minister of India, serving from 1947-64. Nehru was basically the heir to his mentor Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru’s only daughter Indira, also became prime minister (known as Indira Gandhi through marriage, though she was no relation to Mahatma).

35. Plumlike fruits : SLOES

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

43. Laser device : POINTER

The term “laser” is an acronym standing for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation” (LASER). It has been pointed out that a more precise name for laser technology is “Light Oscillation by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”, but the resulting acronym isn’t quite so appealing, namely LOSER.

48. Ice dancing Olympic gold medalist Davis and Oscar winner Streep : MERYLS

Meryl Streep has had more nominations for an Academy Award than any other actor, a tribute to her talent and the respect she has earned in the industry. I am not a huge fan of her earlier works but some of her recent movies are now on my list of all-time favorites. I recommend “Mamma Mia!” (you’ll either love it or hate it!), “Julie & Julia”, “It’s Complicated” and ”Hope Springs”.

American Ice dancer Meryl Davis won Olympic gold with her partner Charlie White in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. Davis also competed on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” in 2014, and won that too.

53. 2016 Disney film set in the South Seas : MOANA

“Moana” is a 2016 animated feature film and the 56th animated Disney movie. The title character is the daughter of a Polynesian chief who heads off in search of the demigod Maui, hoping that he can save her people.

56. Tommie of ’60s-’70s baseball : AGEE

Tommie Agee was a Major League Baseball player who played mainly with the Indians, White Sox and Mets. He was one of the “Amazin’ Mets”, and was famous for making two phenomenal catches in game three of the 1969 world series, potentially saving five runs. Agee was also the first Mets outfielder to win a Gold Glove, doing so in 1970.

59. Narrow inlet : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, with both formed as sea level rises. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

62. The Cavaliers of the ACC : UVA

The University of Virginia sports teams are known officially as the Cavaliers. The unofficial nickname is the Wahoos.