LA Times Crossword Answers 14 Jun 2018, Thursday

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Constructed by: Joe Kidd
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Raise a Ruckus

Themed answers are all in the down-direction. Each includes a hidden word written in the up-direction. That word is shown using circled letters in the gird, and is a synonym of “RUCKUS”:

  • 23D. Cause commotion … or what the circled letters do? : RAISE A RUCKUS
  • 4D. Cobalt in the human body, e.g. : TRACE ELEMENT (hiding “melee”)
  • 8D. Promotion criteria : MERIT SYSTEMS (hiding “stir”)
  • 21D. Certain 19th-century history specialist : CIVIL WAR BUFF (hiding “brawl”)
  • 25D. Smallish, as an apartment : TWO-ROOM (hiding “row”)

Bill’s time: 7m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Add one’s two cents, with “in” : CHIME

“To put in one’s two cents” is to add one’s opinion. The American expression derives from the older English version, which is “to put in one’s two pennies’ worth”.

13. Novelist John le ___ : CARRE

“John le Carré” is the pen name of David Cornwell, an English author who is famous for his spy novels. Cornwell worked for British Intelligence during the fifties and sixties, even as he was writing his spy thrillers. He left MI6 soon after his most famous 1963 novel “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, became such a great success.

15. Resort near Vail : ASPEN

Aspen, Colorado used to be known as Ute City, with the name change taking place in 1880. Like many communities in the area, Aspen was a mining town, and in 1891 and 1892 it was at the center of the highest production of silver in the US. Nowadays, it’s all about skiing and movie stars.

The Vail Ski Resort in Colorado is the largest single-mountain ski resort in the whole country. The resort was opened in 1962, basically in the middle of nowhere. It was given the name Vail after Vail Pass which runs by the mountain (now also called Vail Mountain). The town of Vail, Colorado was established four years later in 1966, and now has a population of about 5,000.

16. “Hansel and Gretel” figure : HAG

“Hansel and Gretel” is a Germanic fairy tale found in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. It tells of two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, the children of a woodcutter. The youngsters are abandoned in a forest at the behest of an evil stepmother. Clever Hansel hears of the plan and leaves a trail of pebbles so that he and his sister can find their way home, which they do. But the children are abandoned again and this time leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, the crumbs are eaten by birds and so the children do indeed become lost. But eventually they do all live happily ever after …

17. Pigmented eye parts : UVEAS

The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball. The outer layer is called the fibrous tunic, and the inner layer is the retina.

18. Devour, with “down” : SNARF

To snarf down is to gobble up, to eat voraciously. “Snarf” is a slang term that is probably related to “scarf”, which has the same meaning.

19. Outback bird : EMU

In Australia, the land outside of urban area is referred to as the outback or the bush. That said, I think that the term “outback” is sometimes reserved for the more remote parts of the bush.

20. Longtime network symbol : PEACOCK

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has had a number of different logos in its history, including the famous peacock with which we are familiar today. The first peacock logo was introduced in the early days of color television and was designed to illustrate how wonderful color television would be, so go buy one! (NBC was owned by RCA, and so had a vested interest in sales of color television sets).

22. Historical display : DIORAMA

A diorama is a full-scale of small-scale replica of a scene. We mostly see full-size dioramas in museums, whereas our kids might create small-scale dioramas as homework projects. The original diorama was a picture-viewing device that was invented in 1822 by Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton. These historic dioramas were quite large, and featured scenes that appeared to change as the lighting was manipulated.

24. Lucy’s co-star : DESI

Desi Arnaz was famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolt led by Batista.

25. Sandal features : T-STRAPS

A t-strap is a t-shaped strap that is part of many women’s shoes. The strap is in two parts, with one part going across the ankle, and the other lying along the length of the foot on top.

32. Skater who lit the Olympic cauldron in Nagano : ITO

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. Ito was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact, she landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old. Ito won Olympic silver in 1992, and was chosen as the person to light the Olympic cauldron at the commencement of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

33. Responses from a sycophant : YESES

A sycophant is a selfish person, one who flatters. The term comes from the Greek “sykophantes” which originally meant “one who shows the fig”. This phrase described a vulgar gesture made with the thumb and two fingers.

37. House of __ : LORDS

The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.

44. Times in classifieds : AFTS

Afternoon (aft.)

45. “Bambi” doe : ENA

Ena is Bambi’s aunt in the 1942 Disney film “Bambi”. The movie is based on the novel “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” written by Austrian author Felix Salten and first published in 1923. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

47. Small deer : ROES

Roe deer are found mainly in Europe. They would be the deer shown on television and in movies when Robin Hood was out hunting in Sherwood Forest.

51. Heavy hammer : MAUL

A maul is a large, heavy hammer, one often used for driving stakes into the ground. The term comes from the Old French “mail” and ultimately from the Latin “malleus”, with both meaning “hammer”.

58. Producer Scott with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins : RUDIN

Scott Rudin is a film and theater producer who was president of production with 20th Century-Fox for nearly 15 years. In 2012, Rudin became the first producer to win the grand slam of American show business, i.e. an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

60. Tsar’s decree : UKASE

In Imperial Russia, a ukase was a proclamation issued by the government or the tsar. We now use the term to describe any order issued by an absolute authority.

64. Strong desire : YEN

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

Down

4. Cobalt in the human body, e.g. : TRACE ELEMENT (hiding “melee”)

In dietary term, minerals are needed to support life. There are five major mineral requirements for humans, namely calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Other elements, required in very small quantities, are referred to as “trace elements”. Examples of trace elements are sulfur, iron, copper and iodine.

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

6. TV buying channel : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982.

7. Apple Store buys : IPADS

The groundbreaking iPad was introduced by Apple in 2010. The iOS-based iPads dominated the market for tablet computers until 2013, when Android-based tablets (manufactured by several companies) took over the number-one spot.

11. Actor Jon and others : HAMMS

Jon Hamm lived the life of a struggling actor for quite some time before he hit gold with the starring role in the AMC drama “Mad Men”. He plays the main character, advertising executive (and man about town), Don Draper. I am told by my wife and female friends, that he is quite good looking. I don’t see it myself …

12. Rio contents : AGUA

In Spanish, “agua” (water) is found in a “río” (river), and around an “isla” (island).

14. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS

Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.

21. Certain 19th-century history specialist : CIVIL WAR BUFF (hiding “brawl”)

A buff or a nut is someone who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject. For example, one might be a movie buff, or perhaps a baseball nut.

23. Cause commotion … or what the circled letters do? : RAISE A RUCKUS

The word “ruckus” is used to mean a commotion, and has been around since the late 1800s. “Ruckus” is possibly a melding of the words “ruction” and “rumpus”.

26. Tapped-off remnant : ASH

That might be the ash tapped off a cigarette.

27. Uncouth sort : BOOR

Back in the early 1500s, a boor was a rustic person, a peasant farmer, someone associated with the countryside. The term “boor” ultimately comes from the Latin “bos” meaning “cow, ox”. By the mid-1500s, someone described as boorish was considered rude in manner, which is our usage today.

29. Oklahoma people : OTO

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

38. Hound for payment : DUN

To dun is to insist on payment of a debt. The etymology of the verb is unclear, with one suggestion that it dates back to a famous debt collector in London named Joe Dun.

40. Submissions to eds. : MSS

Editors (eds.) might read or edit a manuscript (MS)

42. Quebec neighbor : ONTARIO

The Canadian province of Ontario takes its name from the Great Lake. In turn, Lake Ontario’s name is thought to be derived from “Ontari:io”, a Huron word meaning “great lake”. Ontario is home to the nation’s capital of Ottawa as well as Toronto, Canada’s most populous city (and the capital of the province).

48. Brownish gray : TAUPE

Taupe is a dark, gray-brown color. The word “taupe” comes from the Latin name of the European Mole, which has skin with the same color.

49. Elizabeth of beauty products : ARDEN

“Elizabeth Arden” was the business name used by Canadian-American Florence Nightingale Graham. Arden built a cosmetics empire that made her one of the wealthiest women in the world. Arden had a famous rivalry with fellow cosmetics entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein, and that rivalry even spawned a 2016 stage musical called “War Paint”.

50. FAA overseer : USDOT

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

52. Été month : AOUT

In French, “août” (August) is a month in “l’été” (the summer). Note that the names of months are not capitalized in French.

59. Land in la mer : ILE

In French, an “île” (island) is “terre dans la mer” (land in the sea).

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Common borrowing result : DEBT
5. Add one’s two cents, with “in” : CHIME
10. “So that’s what that means!” : AHA!
13. Novelist John le ___ : CARRE
15. Resort near Vail : ASPEN
16. “Hansel and Gretel” figure : HAG
17. Pigmented eye parts : UVEAS
18. Devour, with “down” : SNARF
19. Outback bird : EMU
20. Longtime network symbol : PEACOCK
22. Historical display : DIORAMA
24. Lucy’s co-star : DESI
25. Sandal features : T-STRAPS
26. Hardly helpless : ABLE
28. Solemn oath : VOW
30. Subj. that may include a lab : SCI
31. Potting need : SOIL
32. Skater who lit the Olympic cauldron in Nagano : ITO
33. Responses from a sycophant : YESES
36. Refine : HONE
37. House of __ : LORDS
39. Student stressor : EXAM
41. Cut even shorter, as a green : REMOW
43. Loophole : OUT
44. Times in classifieds : AFTS
45. “Bambi” doe : ENA
46. A : ONE
47. Small deer : ROES
48. Not a good fit : TANTRUM
51. Heavy hammer : MAUL
53. They’re run in taverns : BAR TABS
54. Standoffish : ASOCIAL
57. Cracker lacking pop : DUD
58. Producer Scott with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins : RUDIN
60. Tsar’s decree : UKASE
61. Mimic : APE
62. Poker declaration : I FOLD
63. Private student : TUTEE
64. Strong desire : YEN
65. Spot __ : OF TEA
66. Scorch : SEAR

Down

1. Bra spec : D-CUP
2. Holiday lights may be under one : EAVE
3. Depression Era sight : BREADLINE
4. Cobalt in the human body, e.g. : TRACE ELEMENT (hiding “melee”)
5. Wine container : CASK
6. TV buying channel : HSN
7. Apple Store buys : IPADS
8. Promotion criteria : MERIT SYSTEMS (hiding “stir”)
9. Carry out, as laws : ENFORCE
10. Lots : A HEAP
11. Actor Jon and others : HAMMS
12. Rio contents : AGUA
14. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS
21. Certain 19th-century history specialist : CIVIL WAR BUFF (hiding “brawl”)
23. Cause commotion … or what the circled letters do? : RAISE A RUCKUS
25. Smallish, as an apartment : TWO-ROOM (hiding “row”)
26. Tapped-off remnant : ASH
27. Uncouth sort : BOOR
29. Oklahoma people : OTO
34. Use a microdermabrasion agent, say : EXFOLIATE
35. Make fully content : SATE
38. Hound for payment : DUN
40. Submissions to eds. : MSS
42. Quebec neighbor : ONTARIO
48. Brownish gray : TAUPE
49. Elizabeth of beauty products : ARDEN
50. FAA overseer : USDOT
52. Été month : AOUT
53. Gift-giving occasion, for short : B’DAY
54. Shave-haircut link : … AND A …
55. No longer in port : ASEA
56. Not a good look : LEER
59. Land in la mer : ILE

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