LA Times Crossword Answers 30 Apr 2018, Monday

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Constructed by: Matt McKinley
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Thirty Days

Themed answers start with an abbreviation for each of the months that have exactly THIRTY DAYS:

  • 58A. Feature of the time periods hinted at by the starting letters of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across : THIRTY DAYS
  • 17A. Fruity 12-Down topping : APRICOT JAM
  • 23A. Craftsperson using scrap metal, glass, etc. : JUNK ARTIST
  • 38A. Tax filing option for married couples : SEPARATE RETURNS
  • 47A. Restriction for quarantined patients : NO VISITORS

Bill’s time: 5m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Harley rider : BIKER

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was founded in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, . Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn’t generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson’s house. In 1906, the partners built their first factory, located where the company’s headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Famously, Harley motorcycles are nicknamed “hogs”.

6. Approved : OK’ED

Back in the late 1830s, there were some slang abbreviations coined mainly in Boston. The craze called for two-letter abbreviations of deliberately misspelled phrases. For example “no use” became “KY” from “know yuse”, and “enough said” became “NC” from “nuff ced”. Fortunately (I say!), the practice was short-lived. But, one of those abbreviations persists to this day. “All correct” was misspelled to give “oll korrect”, abbreviated to “OK”.

10. “The lady __ protest … “: “Hamlet” : DOTH

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” is a line spoken by Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother in the play by William Shakespeare.

15. Golfer’s warning : FORE!

No one seems to know for sure where the golfing term “fore!” comes from. It has been used at least as far back as 1881, and since then has been called out to warn other golfers that a wayward ball might be heading their way. My favorite possibility for its origin is that it is a contraction of the Gaelic warning cry “Faugh a Ballagh!” (clear the way!) which is still called out in the sport of road bowling. Road bowling is an Irish game where players bowl balls along roads between villages, trying to reach the end of the course in as few bowls as possible, just like in golf!

20. The “S” in “CBS”: Abbr. : SYST

CBS used to be known as the Columbia Broadcasting System. CBS introduced its “eye” logo in 1951. That logo is based on a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign.

23. Craftsperson using scrap metal, glass, etc. : JUNK ARTIST

The term “found object” describes art created from objects not normally classified as art. Perhaps the most famous example of the genre is Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” (1917), which is simply a porcelain urinal that was signed “R. Mutt”. A subgenre of found object art is trash art or junk art. A trash artist uses many discarded items to create a more complex piece, rather simply displaying the found object as is.

26. “400 Richest Americans” magazine : FORBES

The Forbes 400 is a list published annually by “Forbes Magazine”, a list of the 400 Americans with the largest net worth. Top of the list for the 17 years up to 2010 was Bill Gates. In the year 2000, the 400 wealthiest people controlled 12.2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. That’s 12.2%! I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have thought of that …

34. “Bye, Luigi!” : CIAO!

“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

42. “On Golden __” : POND

“On Golden Pond” was originally a play, written by Ernest Thompson. It was adapted into the famous movie in 1981, with Henry Fonda playing Norman Thayer, and Katherine Hepburn as his wife Ethel, and Henry’s real-life daughter Jane Fonda playing the screen couple’s daughter. There was also a television adaptation of the play released in 2001, with another distinguished cast that included Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer as the leads.

43. Rodeo lasso : RIATA

A riata is a lariat or a lasso. “Riata” comes from “reata”, the Spanish word for lasso.

44. Film critic Pauline : KAEL

Pauline Kael was a film critic who wrote for “The New Yorker” magazine from 1968 to 1991.

46. “Town Without Pity” singer Gene : PITNEY

Gene Pitney had some success as a singer, mainly in the 1960s, with songs such as “Town without Pity”, “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance” and “Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa”. Songs written by Pitney and recorded by other artists had perhaps even more success. Pitney wrote “Rubber Ball” for Bobby Vee, “He’s a Rebel” for the Crystals and “Hello Mary Lou” for Ricky Nelson.

“Town Without Pity” was a hit for Gene Pitney in 1961, soon after it was released with the film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas. The film is set in occupied Germany after WWII, and has a brutal storyline. Pitney even recorded a version of the song in German, under the title “Bleibe bei mir” (“Stay with Me”).

47. Restriction for quarantined patients : NO VISITORS

The original use of our word “quarantine” back in the 1500s was as a legal term. A quarantine was the 40 days in which a widow had the legal right to reside in her dead husband’s house.

52. Old studio letters : RKO

The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO initialism then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

53. Olympic sword : EPEE

There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, with each distinguished by the weapon used:

  • Foil
  • Épée
  • Sabre

57. Ridesharing company : UBER

Uber is a ridesharing service that was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco. The service is somewhat controversial and has been described as an illegal taxicab operation. Central to Uber’s service is the company’s mobile app, which can use the client’s GPS location to help find the nearest available ride. Uber’s main competitor is Lyft.

61. Range in Europe : ALPS

There are eight Alpine countries:

  • Austria
  • Slovenia
  • France
  • Switzerland
  • Liechtenstein
  • Germany
  • Monaco
  • Italy

62. Country’s McEntire : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

64. Viral internet phenomenon : MEME

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

66. Like yesterday’s fashions : PASSE

“Passé” is a French word, meaning “past, faded”. We’ve imported the term into English, and use it in the same sense.

Down

1. Parts of cote tales? : BAAS

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.

3. White wine apéritifs : KIRS

Kir is a French cocktail made by adding a teaspoon or so of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) to a glass, and then topping it off with white wine. The drink is named after Felix Kir, the Mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, who used to offer the drink to his guests. My wife is particularly fond of a variant called a Kir Royale, in which the white wine is replaced with champagne.

7. TV cop with a lollipop : KOJAK

“Kojak” is a fun police drama that had an original run on TV from 1973 to 1978. The title character was NYPD Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak, played by Telly Savalas. Famously, Kojak sucks away on Tootsie Pops as he tries to quit cigarettes. Kojak is assisted in his cases by Sergeant “Fatso” Stavros played by George Savalas, Telly’s younger brother. Who loves ya, baby?

9. Rep.’s opponent : DEM

The modern-day Democratic Party was founded in 1828 when supporters of Andrew Jackson broke away from the former Democratic-Republican Party during the presidency of John Quincy Adams. That date makes the Democratic Party the oldest voter-based political party in the world. Andrew Jackson became the first Democratic US president, in 1829.

The modern-day Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists. The party’s name was chosen as a homage to Thomas Jefferson’s Republican Party, which had been subsumed into the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican US president, in 1861. Since then, there have been more US presidents from the Republican party than from any other.

18. Composer’s work : OPUS

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes use the plural “opuses” in English.

24. Tony or Hugo : AWARD

Sardi’s is a famous restaurant in the Theater District of Manhattan that was opened in 1927 by Italian immigrant Vincent Sardi, Sr. Sardi’s is famous for attracting celebrities who sometimes pose for caricatures that are then displayed on the restaurant’s walls. After the death of actress and director Antoinette Perry in 1946, her friend and partner Brock Pemberton was having lunch at Sardi’s and came up with idea of a theater award that could be presented in Perry’s honor. The award was to be called the Tony Award. In fact, Vincent Sardi, Sr. was presented with a special Tony at the first award ceremony, held in 1947.

The Hugo Awards are presented annually for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing. The awards are named for Hugo Gernsback, founder of the sci-fi magazine “Amazing Stories”.

26. Like greyhounds : FAST

Greyhound dogs were originally bred for coursing game, and today are bred for greyhound racing. Coursing is the pursuit of game by sight, rather than scent. As such, coursing dogs like greyhounds are often referred to as “sighthounds”.

27. S-shaped molding : OGEE

An ogee is a type of S-curve. Specifically it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S). An ogee arch is composed of two ogees, with one being the mirror of the other and meeting at the arch’s apex.

29. Poetry that doesn’t rhyme : BLANK VERSE

The style of poetry known as “blank verse” has a regular metrical format, but with lines that do not rhyme. Most English poetry is written in blank verse.

32. Popular vodka, popularly : STOLI

Stolichnaya is a brand of “Russian” vodka made from wheat and rye grain. “Stoli” originated in Russia but now it’s made in Latvia. Latvia is of course a completely different country, so you won’t see the word “Russian” on the label.

35. Persia, today : IRAN

Before 1935, the country we know today as Iran was referred to as Persia by the Western world. The official name of the country since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 is the “Islamic Republic of Iran”.

37. “__, can you see … ” : O SAY

“O say can you see by the dawn’s early light” is the opening line of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key. The song was adopted as the US national anthem in 1931, although it had been used officially by the US Navy since 1889, played when raising the flag.

39. Zoo primates : APES

The tailless primates known as apes are divided into two main branches: gibbons (lesser apes) and hominids (great apes). The hominids are the great apes, and belong to the family of primates called Hominidae. Extant genera that make up the family Hominidae are:

  • chimpanzees
  • gorillas
  • humans
  • orangutans

40. “Divergent” films heroine : TRIS

Tris Prior is the protagonist in the “Divergent” series of movies, and is played by actress Shailene Woodley.

45. Oxygen is about 21% of it : AIR

Air is mainly composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). We hear a lot about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It makes up (or should make up!) about 0.04%, but that’s an important 0.04%.

46. Luther’s sect: Abbr. : PROT

The Christian Church is the continuation of the early Christian community that adhered to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived in Judea, a province of the pagan Roman Empire. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great legalized the practice of Christianity in 313, and it was declared the state church of the empire in 380. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches came into being with the East-West Schism of 1054. Augustinian friar Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 “protesting” the key points of Catholic doctrine and especially the sale of indulgences. The actions of Luther and others sparked the movement in Europe called the Protestant Reformation that led to a variety of Christian denominations referred to collectively as “Protestantism”.

48. Hr. after noon : ONE PM

The 12-hour clock has been around a long time, and was even used in sundial format in Ancient Egypt. Our use of AM and PM dates back to Roman times, with AM standing for Ante Meridiem (before noon) and PM standing for Post Meridiem (after noon). However, the Romans originally used the AM concept a little differently, by counting backwards from noon. So, 2AM to the Romans would be two hours before noon, or 10AM as we would call it today.

50. Gumbo vegetables : OKRAS

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “okingumbo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

51. U.S. island territory : GUAM

Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, and is the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, the territory has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!

53. Author Ferber : EDNA

Edna Ferber was a novelist and playwright from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ferber won a Pulitzer for her novel “So Big”, which was made into a film a few times, most famously in 1953 starring Jane Wyman. Ferber also wrote “Show Boat”, “Cimarron” and “Giant”, which were adapted successfully for the stage and/or big screen.

56. Ninety degrees from norte : ESTE

The cardinal directions in Spanish are “norte” (north), “este” (east), “sur” (south) and “oeste” (west).

59. Whammy : HEX

“Whammy” is a slang term meaning “hex, supernatural spell”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Harley rider : BIKER
6. Approved : OK’ED
10. “The lady __ protest … “: “Hamlet” : DOTH
14. Where one may be taken for a private word : ASIDE
15. Golfer’s warning : FORE!
16. Slender woodwind : OBOE
17. Fruity 12-Down topping : APRICOT JAM
19. Drive or reverse : GEAR
20. The “S” in “CBS”: Abbr. : SYST
21. Little green veggie : PEA
22. Vast chasm : ABYSS
23. Craftsperson using scrap metal, glass, etc. : JUNK ARTIST
26. “400 Richest Americans” magazine : FORBES
30. Nagging troubles : WOES
31. Nimble : AGILE
32. Stick a toothpick in, as a snack : STAB
34. “Bye, Luigi!” : CIAO!
38. Tax filing option for married couples : SEPARATE RETURNS
41. High-school kid : TEEN
42. “On Golden __” : POND
43. Rodeo lasso : RIATA
44. Film critic Pauline : KAEL
46. “Town Without Pity” singer Gene : PITNEY
47. Restriction for quarantined patients : NO VISITORS
51. One who’s done for : GONER
52. Old studio letters : RKO
53. Olympic sword : EPEE
57. Ridesharing company : UBER
58. Feature of the time periods hinted at by the starting letters of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across : THIRTY DAYS
61. Range in Europe : ALPS
62. Country’s McEntire : REBA
63. Cove, e.g. : INLET
64. Viral internet phenomenon : MEME
65. Former couples : EXES
66. Like yesterday’s fashions : PASSE

Down

1. Parts of cote tales? : BAAS
2. Kids’ road-trip game : I SPY
3. White wine apéritifs : KIRS
4. Cut and paste, e.g. : EDIT
5. Word with room or center : REC …
6. Plenty of times : OFTEN
7. TV cop with a lollipop : KOJAK
8. Big Band __ : ERA
9. Rep.’s opponent : DEM
10. Bone-shaped treat : DOG BISCUIT
11. Follows orders : OBEYS
12. Browned bread : TOAST
13. Word sewn on a towel : HERS
18. Composer’s work : OPUS
22. Dined : ATE
23. Spectator’s bit of disapproval : JEER
24. Tony or Hugo : AWARD
25. Judge’s apparel : ROBE
26. Like greyhounds : FAST
27. S-shaped molding : OGEE
28. Ready on the vine : RIPE
29. Poetry that doesn’t rhyme : BLANK VERSE
32. Popular vodka, popularly : STOLI
33. Square root of 100 : TEN
35. Persia, today : IRAN
36. Required poker bet : ANTE
37. “__, can you see … ” : O SAY
39. Zoo primates : APES
40. “Divergent” films heroine : TRIS
45. Oxygen is about 21% of it : AIR
46. Luther’s sect: Abbr. : PROT
47. Duke or earl : NOBLE
48. Hr. after noon : ONE PM
49. Many a casino-owning group : TRIBE
50. Gumbo vegetables : OKRAS
51. U.S. island territory : GUAM
53. Author Ferber : EDNA
54. Buddies : PALS
55. Seers? : EYES
56. Ninety degrees from norte : ESTE
58. Luigi’s three : TRE
59. Whammy : HEX
60. Cry from a pup : YIP

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