LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Jan 2018, Sunday

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Constructed by: Matt Skoczen
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: On the Road

Each of today’s themed answers contains the letter grouping GEARS, but the order has been SHIFTED:

  • 130A. Unexpectedly changing one’s attitude … and what’s literally hidden in six long puzzle answers : SHIFTING GEARS
  • 23A. One of three presidents who served in 1881 : JAMES GARFIELD
  • 35A. It’s just outside the Oval Office : ROSE GARDEN
  • 44A. Kitchen gadget : CHEESE GRATER
  • 74A. Private company paperwork : STOCKHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT
  • 103A. Certain sci-fi superfan : STAR WARS GEEK
  • 111A. “Awesome!” : THAT’S GREAT!

Bill’s time: 13m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13. 1984 Martin/Tomlin film : ALL OF ME

“All of Me” is a very entertaining 1984 comedy film starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, and directed by Carl Reiner. The storyline is a little fantastic, but hilarious. The Lily Tomlin character ends up occupying the Steve Martin character’s body. Two years after meeting on the “All of Me” film set, Steve Martin ended up marrying supporting actress Victoria Tennant.

20. Wetsuit substance : NEOPRENE

Neoprene is the trade name given by DuPont to polychloroprene, a synthetic rubber made by polymerizing chloroprene. Neoprene is perhaps mostly readily associated with the manufacture of wetsuits. The version used in wetsuits is foamed neoprene, a material containing gas cells that provide heat insulation.

21. Feng __ : SHUI

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese tradition of arranging objects, buildings and other structures in a manner that is said to improve the lives of the individuals living in or using the space. “Feng shui” translates as “wind-water”, a reference to the belief that positive and negative life forces ride the wind and scatter, but are retained when they encounter water.

23. One of three presidents who served in 1881 : JAMES GARFIELD

The US has had three presidents in one year, twice. It first happened in 1841. Martin Van Buren’s single term ended on March 4th, after he lost an election to William Henry Harrison. Harrison was president for only one month, as he died of pneumonia on April 4th. Vice President John Tyler took over the presidency for the rest of the year, and served until March 4th, 1845. The second time we had three presidents was in 1881. The year started with Rutherford B. Hayes in office. He kept his pledge not to run for reelection, and handed over the reins to election victor James A. Garfield on March 4th. Famously, Garfield was shot on July 2nd, and died due to complications from his wounds a few months later on September 19th. Vice President Chester A. Arthur then took over as president.

26. Wife of Wang Lung in “The Good Earth” : O-LAN

Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Good Earth” won a Pulitzer in 1932, and helped Buck win the Nobel Prize for literature a few years later. The novel tells of life in a Chinese village and follows the fortunes of Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan. Although “The Good Earth” has been around for decades, it hit the bestseller list again in 2004 when it was a pick for Oprah’s Book Club.

30. Surprise from a lamp : GENIE

The “genie” in the bottle takes his or her name from “djinn”. “Djinns” were various spirits considered lesser than angels, with people exhibiting unsavory characteristics said to be possessed by djinn. When the book “The Thousand and One Nights” was translated into French, the word “djinn” was transformed into the existing word “génie”, because of the similarity in sound and the related spiritual meaning. This “génie” from the Arabian tale became confused with the Latin-derived “genius”, a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. Purely as a result of that mistranslation the word genie has come to mean the “djinn” that pops out of the bottle. A little hard to follow, I know, but still quite interesting …

31. 1983 Streisand film : YENTL

“Yentl” is a play that opened in New York City in 1975. The move to adapt the play for the big screen was led by Barbra Streisand, and indeed she wrote the first outline of a musical version herself as far back as 1968. The film was eventually made and released in 1983, with Streisand performing the lead role.

35. It’s just outside the Oval Office : ROSE GARDEN

Ellen Axson Wilson was President Woodrow Wilson’s first wife. She was the First Lady of the US for the first fifteen months of President Wilson’s term in office, until she died of Bright’s disease in 1914. It was Ellen Axson Wilson who established the famous White House Rose Garden.

Although there have been several “oval offices” used by US presidents in the White House, the current Oval Office was designed and constructed at the bequest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The room has four doors: one door opens onto the Rose Garden; a second door leads to a small study and dining room; a third opens onto the main corridor running through the West Wing; the fourth door opens to the office of the president’s secretary.

38. Caveman Alley : OOP

“Alley Oop” is a comic strip that ran for four decades starting in 1932. “Alley Oop” was drawn by V. T. Hamlin. The title character lived in the prehistoric kingdom of Moo, although for much of the strip’s life, Alley Oop had access to a time machine. Alley Oop also had a girlfriend called Ooola. I had assumed that Ooola’s name was a play on “hula hoop”, but that wasn’t invented until the 1950s (a kind blog reader informs me) …

40. Mich. NBA team : DET

The NBA’s Detroit Pistons team was founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons of the National Basketball League. The team was owned by Fred Zollner, who supplied pistons to the automotive industry. The Pistons moved from Indiana to Detroit in 1957.

43. “Billy Budd” captain : VERE

“Billy Budd, Sailor” is a novella by American author Herman Melville. However, Melville didn’t actually finish “Billy Budd” before he died in 1891.

50. Subj. for some newcomers : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

53. Biblical name meaning “hairy” : ESAU

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

57. Discipline with poses : YOGA

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word literally meaning “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

59. Sagan’s sci. : ASTR

Carl Sagan was a brilliant astrophysicist, and a great communicator. Sagan was famous for presenting obscure concepts about the cosmos in such a way that we mere mortals could appreciate. He also wrote the novel “Contact” which was adapted into a fascinating 1997 film of the same name starring Jodie Foster.

61. 21st of 24 : PHI

Phi is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet.

62. Fired up : GUNG-HO

“Kung ho” is a Chinese expression meaning “work together, cooperate”. The anglicized version “gung-ho” was adopted by a Major Evans Carlson as an expression of combined spirit for his 2nd Marine Raider Battalion during WWII. From there the term spread throughout the Marine Corps and back to America where it persists to this day.

67. It measures rpm : TACH

The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

69. Pennsylvania railroad town : ALTOONA

Altoona is in central Pennsylvania, and is home to the Ivyside Park Campus of Pennsylvania State University. Altoona is also home to Lakemont Park and Leap-The-Dips, the world’s oldest operating wooden roller coaster.

79. Some bar food : SUSHI

Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If we want raw fish by itself, then we have to order “sashimi”.

80. USA Today owner : GANNETT

The title of widest circulation of any American newspaper is an honor competed for by “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times” and “USA Today”, with each paper selling about 2 million copies each day (including online subscribers). “USA Today” was launched in 1982.

81. Somme spouses: Abbr. : MMES

The Somme is a department in the very north of France, in the Picardy region. The Somme is famous as the site of devastating battles during WWI.

85. “Ozark” actor Morales : ESAI

The actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

“Ozark” is a TV crime show starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple that relocate from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks. The couple fall foul of Mexican drug lord after a money laundering scheme goes awry. The show is set at lake resort in the Ozarks, although filming actually takes place at lakes in the Atlanta area in order to take advantage of tax breaks offered by the State of Georgia.

87. Cartagena cat : GATO

Cartagena is a major port city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The Colombian city was founded in 1553 and was named for Cartagena in Spain. The Spanish city in turn was named for Carthage in Tunisia.

91. Stop one’s horse, in England : DRAW REIN

To draw rein is to curtail one’s speed, to slow down and halt. The phrase comes from horseback riding, in which a rider stops a horse by pulling on the reins.

97. Half a dance : CHA

The cha-cha-cha (often simplified to “cha-cha”) is a Latin dance with origins in Cuba, where it was introduced by composer Enrique Jorrin in 1953.

98. Passion-ate composer? : BACH

During the Baroque Period, many composers composed musical settings for the story of the Passion of Christ. Bach himself wrote four or five, although only two survive today. One is the “St. John Passion”, but the most famous and most often performed is the “St. Matthew Passion”.

106. Dos cubed : OCHO

In Spanish, “dos” (two) cubed is “ocho” (eight).

107. Pinup’s asset : GAMS

The American slang term “gams” is used for a woman’s legs. The term goes back to the 18th century “gamb” meaning the leg of an animal on a coat of arms.

109. Sold-out letters : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

110. 79-Across fish : EEL
(79A. Some bar food : SUSHI)

Anyone going to a sushi restaurant can order all types of raw fish (known collectively as “sashimi”). However, eel is always served cooked, and that’s because the blood of eels contains a protein that cramps muscles if eaten. If the heart muscle “cramps”, the result can be death. The protein is easily rendered harmless by applying heat, i.e. by cooking.

117. Role for Dustin : RATSO

Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo is one of the characters in the groundbreaking 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy”. Rizzo is a down-and-out con man played by Dustin Hoffman.

126. Ostrich cousin : RHEA

The rhea is a flightless bird that is native to South America. The rhea takes its name from the Greek titan Rhea. It’s an apt name for a flightless bird as “rhea” comes from the Greek word meaning “ground”.

127. The Beatles’ last studio album : LET IT BE

“Let It Be” was the last album that the Beatles released as an active group playing together. The title song “Let It Be” was written by Paul McCartney, and it is clearly one of his own favorites. McCartney says that he was inspired to write the song after having had a dream about his mother (who had died some years earlier from cancer). In fact he refers to her (Mary McCartney) in the line “Mother Mary comes to me”. Paul’s first wife, Linda, is singing backing vocals on the song, the only time she is known to have done so in a Beatles recording. 18 years after that 1970 recording was made, Paul, George and Ringo sang “Let It Be” at a memorial service for Linda, who was also lost to cancer. Sad stuff, but a lovely song …

134. Hendryx who was part of the “Lady Marmalade” trio Labelle : NONA

Nona Hendryx is a singer-songwriter known for her solo work and for her performances with the girl group trio Labelle. Nona is a cousin of iconic musician Jimi Hendrix.

“Lady Marmalade” is a song that was most famously recorded by Labelle in 1975. A 2001 cover version by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink was also very successful, released from the soundtrack of the film “Moulin Rouge!”. The song is noted for its suggestive chorus “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”, which translates from French as “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?”

137. Big refs. : OEDS

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

138. Aficionados : DEVOTEES

An aficionado is an enthusiast. Imported from Spanish, “aficionado” was originally used in English to describe a devotee of bullfighting.

Down

2. Author Zora __ Hurston : NEALE

Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Like the author, the main character in the novel is an African American woman, a part played by Halle Berry in a television movie adaptation that first aired in 2005.

3. “__ is an island”: Donne : NO MAN

John Donne wrote a piece of prose called “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”. One passage contains two phrases that are oft-quoted: “No man is an island”, and “for whom the bell tolls”.

5. Abbr. in home sale ads : BRS

Bedroom (br)

7. Related on mom’s side : ENATE

Something that is enate is growing outward, and “enate” is used to describe ancestors related on the mother’s side. Something that is agnate comes from a common source, and “agnate” is used to describe relatives on the father’s side of the family tree.

8. Literature Nobelist Walcott : DEREK

Derek Walcott is a poet, playwright and writer from Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. Remarkably, the tiny island nation of Santa Lucia has produced two Nobel Laureates: Walcott and the economist Arthur Lewis.

9. “__: Cyber”: 2015 spin-off : CSI

The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to have finally wound down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, hung in there until 2015 when it ended with a two-hour TV movie. The youngest show in the series was “CSI: Cyber”. It lasted for two seasons, before being canceled in 2016.

14. Canterbury commode : 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!

A commode is a toilet. Back in the 1700s, a commode was a chest of drawers, a name derived from the French word “commode” meaning “convenient”. In the mid-1800s, the term was applied to a chamber pot, which was regarded as a “convenience”.

Canterbury is a city in the southeast of England in the county of Kent. Canterbury is famous for Canterbury Cathedral where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170, making it a pilgrimage destination for Christians. It was one of these pilgrimages that was the inspiration for Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” written in the 14th century.

15. Half a strait-laced pair? : LONG A

There are two long letters A in the adjective “strait-laced”.

17. Stumble, as a horse : FOUNDER

“To founder”, when applied to a boat, is to fill with water and sink. The term comes from Old French “fond” meaning “bottom”, as in “sink to the bottom of the ocean”. The term is used more generally to mean “to fail”.

18. “L’ecole des femmes” playwright : MOLIERE

“Molière” was the stage name of French actor and playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. It is amazing how well the comedies of Molière, written in the 1600s, entertain us on stage today. Among his best-known plays are “The Misanthrope”, “The School for Wives” and “Tartuffe or the Hypocrite”.

19. Reputed Dead Sea Scrolls transcribers : ESSENES

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered over a period of years, between 1947 and 1956, in eleven caves on the shores of the Dead Sea. The scrolls are believed to have been written by an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although this has been called into question recently. Many of the texts are copies of writings from the Hebrew Bible.

24. “Band of Gold” singer Payne : FREDA

Freda Payne is somewhat of a one-hit wonder as she is mostly known for her fabulous 1970 hit single “Band of Gold”. Freda’s younger sister is Scherrie Payne, who was one of the Supremes.

34. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI

SETI is the name given to a number of projects that are searching for extraterrestrial life. The acronym stands for “search for extraterrestrial intelligence”. One of the main SETI activities is the monitoring of electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) reaching the Earth in the hope of finding a transmission from a civilization in another world.

36. Highland tongue : ERSE

There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be Gaeilge (in Ireland), Gaelg (on the Isle of Man) and Gaidhlig (in Scotland).

37. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, having spent many years in a Gulag labor camp, wrote his famous book “The Gulag Archipelago” that was published in the West in 1973.

39. Passover : PESACH

The Jewish holiday of Passover (also “Pesach”) commemorates the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. In that narrative, God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians, the tenth being the death of their firstborn sons. God instructed the Israelites to mark their doorposts so that the plague would pass over the firstborn Israelites. This “passing over” gives the holiday its name.

41. Sam Spade type : TEC

Private detective Sam Spade is the main character in Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Maltese Falcon”. Famously, Spade was played by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film adaptation directed by John Huston.

44. Great Barrier Reef feature : CAY

A “key” (also “cay”) is a low offshore island, as in the Florida Keys. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is a system of almost three thousand individual reefs, and is the largest such system on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef is also the only living thing on Earth that can be seen from outer space.

46. Heart doc’s readout : EKG

An EKG measures electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

55. Complete, in law : CHOATE

“Choate” has been used by lawyers at least since the 1820s to mean “complete, certain, perfected”. Apparently, the term arose as a perceived antonym of the word “inchoate” meaning “not yet completed, not yet fully developed”. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia once argued that “choate” doesn’t exist as a word. It arose due to a lack of understanding of the Latin etymology of “inchoate”. I guess one could argue that “choate” has been around long enough now, and that the language as evolved. I’m not a fan of the evolution of language due to a lack of comprehension, and so am with Justice Scalia on this one …

56. Paris’s __ Rodin : MUSEE

The Musée Rodin is very special in that the building and garden that hold all of the works were Rodin’s actual home and studio. Well worth a visit if you make it to Paris …

60. Curtin castmate : RADNER

Gilda Radner was a comedian and actress, and one of the original cast members of the hit television show “Saturday Night Live”. Radner left her first husband to marry comedic actor Gene Wilder, whom she met while they were both filming the Sidney Poitier movie “Hanky Panky”.

Comedian and actress Jane Curtin was an original cast member of “Saturday Night Live”. She also had leading roles in the hit comedy series “Kate & Allie” and “3rd Rock from the Sun”, as well as the 1993 movie “Coneheads”.

63. Asian menu assurance : NO MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

64. Masters prog. entrance criterion : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

65. Female lobster : HEN

A male lobster is called a cock, and a female a hen. A lobster weighing less than a pound is called a chicken.

66. Uneaten bit : ORT

Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

68. “There’s __ of Hush”: Herman’s Hermits hit : A KIND

“There’s a Kind of Hush” that was first recorded in 1966, but was a hit for Herman’s Hermits in 1967, and again in 1976 for the Carpenters. Great song …

Herman’s Hermits are a band from Manchester in the north of England that formed in 1964 as “Herman & the Hermits. The band’s list of hits includes “I’m into Something Good” (1964), “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” (1965), “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” (1965) and my personal favorite “There’s a Kind of Hush” (1967).

71. Uno e due : TRE

In Italian, “uno e due” (one and two) is “tre” (three).

72. Philip II’s fleet : ARMADA

The most famous armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England in order to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I in 1588. It failed in its mission, partly due to bad weather encountered en route. Ironically, the English mounted a similar naval attack against Spain the following year, and it failed as well.

King Philip II of Spain ruled from 1556 until his death in 1598. Philip was also King of England from 1554 to 1558, by virtue of his marriage to Queen Mary I of England. When Mary died, Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne. Philip wanted to maintain his ties with England, and went so far as to send a proposal of marriage to the new queen, even though she was a Protestant and he a Catholic. The efforts to maintain peace between England and Spain were fraught with difficulty. Eventually, Philip famously dispatched the Spanish Armada to participate in an invasion of England in 1588, but that didn’t go too well …

74. Bygone cartography initials : SSR

The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

75. Third col., usually : TUE

The name “Tuesday” comes from an Old English word that translates as “Tiw’s Day”. In turn, “Tiw” was the Old English name for the Norse god “Týr”. Týr was the Norse god of single combat, victory and heroic glory.

76. __Kosh B’gosh : OSH

OshKosh B’gosh is a company that produces and sells children’s clothes. The trademark OshKosh bib-overalls remind us of the company’s roots, as it was originally a manufacturer of adult work clothes based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

77. Female nonclericals : LAYWOMEN

Anything described as laic (or “laical, lay”) is related to the laity, those members of the church who are not clergy. The term “laic” ultimately comes from the Greek “laikos” meaning “of the people”.

78. Asylum seeker : EMIGRE

An “émigré” is an emigrant. The term is French in origin, and particularly applies to someone who is a political refugee from his or her native land.

83. Shorthand pioneer : GREGG

Gregg shorthand was developed in 1888 by John Robert Gregg, a native of Ireland who was living in New York City at the time.

88. One may be high or low : ACE

In the card game called Blackjack, an ace has the point value of one or eleven. When one of the two cards dealt to a player is an ace, the hand is called “soft”. This means that the player cannot go bust by taking another card, as the ace can be revalued at “one” if necessary in order to stay under 21.

92. Preserves 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.

94. Buster? : NARC

“Narc” is a slang term for a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. “Narc” is short for “narcotics officer”. Narcs might work for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

96. 1914 battle river : YSER

The Yser is a river that originates in northern France and flows through Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser is often associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war, the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium and across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of their Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

113. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE

Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general, behind the five Great Lakes. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.

116. Parson’s place : MANSE

A manse is a minister’s home in various Christian traditions. “Manse” derives from “mansus”, the Latin for “dwelling”. The term can also be used for any stately residence.

118. __ of Glamis: Macbeth : THANE

Thanes were Scottish aristocrats. The most famous thanes have to be the Shakespearean characters Macbeth (the Thane of Glamis, later Thane of Cawdor, and still later King of Scotland) and MacDuff (the Thane of Fife). Other thanes in “Macbeth” are Ross, Lennox and Angus, as well as Menteith and Caithness.

119. Worsted variety : SERGE

Serge is a type of twill fabric with diagonal ridges on both sides. The name “serge” comes from the Greek word for “silken”.

120. Resting places : OASES

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. We use the term “oasis” more generally to describe a haven, a place of rest.

125. Cable channel for remodelers : HGTV

HGTV first went on air in 1994, as the “Home, Lawn and Garden Channel”. The name was shortened (the lawn was dropped) soon after, but nowadays it’s just known as HGTV.

128. Queen’s subject : BEE

A queen bee has a stinger, just like worker bees. When a worker bee stings, it leaves it stinger in its victim. The worker bee dies after losing its stinger as the loss rips out part of its insides. However, a queen bee can sting with impunity as the stinger’s anatomy is different.

129. French connections? : ETS

“Et” is the French word for “and”.

131. Fourth notes : FAS

The solfa syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la & ti.

132. Miracle-__ : GRO

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 by one Orlando Scott, and initially dols seed to the agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Scotts started to sell to homeowners, and mainly supplied lawn seed. The company merged with the gardening company Miracle-Gro in 1955.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Distinguished : ENNOBLED
9. One in on the deal? : CARD
13. 1984 Martin/Tomlin film : ALL OF ME
20. Wetsuit substance : NEOPRENE
21. Feng __ : SHUI
22. Causes of tots’ tears : BOO-BOOS
23. One of three presidents who served in 1881 : JAMES GARFIELD
25. Dignitaries working abroad : CONSULS
26. Wife of Wang Lung in “The Good Earth” : O-LAN
27. Joke closing? : -STER
28. A fancy one may not include prices : MENU
30. Surprise from a lamp : GENIE
31. 1983 Streisand film : YENTL
33. Scratches (out) : EKES
35. It’s just outside the Oval Office : ROSE GARDEN
38. Caveman Alley : OOP
40. Mich. NBA team : DET
42. Word on a fast food sign : THRU
43. “Billy Budd” captain : VERE
44. Kitchen gadget : CHEESE GRATER
50. Subj. for some newcomers : ESL
51. “__ to you, matey!” : ‘ERE’S
52. Thumbs-up cry : A-OK!
53. Biblical name meaning “hairy” : ESAU
54. Cone filler : ICE CREAM
57. Discipline with poses : YOGA
59. Sagan’s sci. : ASTR
61. 21st of 24 : PHI
62. Fired up : GUNG-HO
67. It measures rpm : TACH
69. Pennsylvania railroad town : ALTOONA
73. More achy : SORER
74. Private company paperwork : STOCKHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT
79. Some bar food : SUSHI
80. USA Today owner : GANNETT
81. Somme spouses: Abbr. : MMES
82. Move, as artwork : REHANG
84. Thumbs-up cry : YES!
85. “Ozark” actor Morales : ESAI
87. Cartagena cat : GATO
91. Stop one’s horse, in England : DRAW REIN
95. Envelope-pushing : EDGY
97. Half a dance : CHA
98. Passion-ate composer? : BACH
102. __ trip : EGO
103. Certain sci-fi superfan : STAR WARS GEEK
106. Dos cubed : OCHO
107. Pinup’s asset : GAMS
109. Sold-out letters : SRO
110. 79-Across fish : EEL
111. “Awesome!” : THAT’S GREAT!
114. Suffix from the Greek for “world” : -COSM
117. Role for Dustin : RATSO
121. King or queen : TITLE
122. Taunting word usually repeated : NYAH!
124. Persian for “king” : SHAH
126. Ostrich cousin : RHEA
127. The Beatles’ last studio album : LET IT BE
130. Unexpectedly changing one’s attitude … and what’s literally hidden in six long puzzle answers : SHIFTING GEARS
133. 50-50 shot : EVEN BET
134. Hendryx who was part of the “Lady Marmalade” trio Labelle : NONA
135. Alienate : ESTRANGE
136. Allergy symptom : RED EYES
137. Big refs. : OEDS
138. Aficionados : DEVOTEES

Down

1. Fancy : ENJOY
2. Author Zora __ Hurston : NEALE
3. “__ is an island”: Donne : NO MAN
4. Sandal feature : OPEN TOE
5. Abbr. in home sale ads : BRS
6. Staying power : LEGS
7. Related on mom’s side : ENATE
8. Literature Nobelist Walcott : DEREK
9. “__: Cyber”: 2015 spin-off : CSI
10. “May I speak?” : AHEM
11. King or queen : RULER
12. Quick denial : DID NOT
13. Pie equivalent, in a simile : ABC
14. Canterbury commode : LOO
15. Half a strait-laced pair? : LONG A
16. Witness : OBSERVE
17. Stumble, as a horse : FOUNDER
18. “L’ecole des femmes” playwright : MOLIERE
19. Reputed Dead Sea Scrolls transcribers : ESSENES
24. “Band of Gold” singer Payne : FREDA
29. Theater work : USHERING
32. Be outscored : LOSE
34. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI
36. Highland tongue : ERSE
37. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG
39. Passover : PESACH
41. Sam Spade type : TEC
44. Great Barrier Reef feature : CAY
45. Boo mate? : HOO
46. Heart doc’s readout : EKG
47. Guzzler on the road : GAS HOG
48. Hard thing to get out of : RUT
49. Share on Facebook, as a picture : REPOST
55. Complete, in law : CHOATE
56. Paris’s __ Rodin : MUSEE
58. “Right back __” : ATCHA
60. Curtin castmate : RADNER
63. Asian menu assurance : NO MSG
64. Masters prog. entrance criterion : GRE
65. Female lobster : HEN
66. Uneaten bit : ORT
68. “There’s __ of Hush”: Herman’s Hermits hit : A KIND
70. They can make things clearer : LENSES
71. Uno e due : TRE
72. Philip II’s fleet : ARMADA
74. Bygone cartography initials : SSR
75. Third col., usually : TUE
76. __Kosh B’gosh : OSH
77. Female nonclericals : LAYWOMEN
78. Asylum seeker : EMIGRE
83. Shorthand pioneer : GREGG
86. Stitch : SEW
88. One may be high or low : ACE
89. With 104-Down, what bosses rule : THE …
90. Wood used to age spirits : OAK
92. Preserves thickener : AGAR
93. “__ a date!” : IT’S
94. Buster? : NARC
96. 1914 battle river : YSER
98. Soft drink manufacturer, e.g. : BOTTLER
99. Get by effort : ACHIEVE
100. Exchanged texts, say : CHATTED
101. Emergency phone link : HOTLINE
104. See 89-Down : … ROOST
105. Quietly show anger toward : GLARE AT
108. Disagrees : SAYS NO
112. Put on ice : SET BY
113. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE
115. Backed (away) : SHIED
116. Parson’s place : MANSE
118. __ of Glamis: Macbeth : THANE
119. Worsted variety : SERGE
120. Resting places : OASES
123. Rear : HIND
125. Cable channel for remodelers : HGTV
128. Queen’s subject : BEE
129. French connections? : ETS
131. Fourth notes : FAS
132. Miracle-__ : GRO

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4 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword Answers 28 Jan 2018, Sunday”

  1. LAT: 30:54 after laboriously finding and correcting an error: the “D” of FREDA/DET was a Natick for me and I first tried FREJA/JET.

    Newsday: 16:33, no errors.

  2. I take issue with founder as answer to stumble as a horse. When a horse ” founders” s/he may indeed stumble but foundering means they have a painful illness of foot called laminitis. They stumble after foundering.

  3. Hey all !✌
    @Connie– good catch! FOUNDER didn’t sound right to me, but I didn’t know why. I miss riding!! ? Must get back in the saddle.
    Not bad for a Sunday, by which I mean not too boring. ?
    Just today I listened to FREDA Payne’s “Band of Gold!!” So I had the spelling right at my fingertips, so to speak. Great song.
    Be well~~™?

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