LA Times Crossword Answers 31 Jul 2018, Tuesday

Advertisement

[ad_above_grid]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Constructed by: David Poole
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Bread and Butter

Themed answers can be divided into two words, the first of which often follows BREAD, and the second of which often follow BUTTER:

  • 42A. Primary source of income … and words that can precede the two parts, respectively, of the answers to starred clues : BREAD AND BUTTER
  • 21A. *LeBron’s sport : BASKETBALL (“breadbasket” & “Butterball”)
  • 32A. *Insect used in genetic research : FRUIT FLY (“breadfruit” & “butterfly”)
  • 56A. *Glazed morning snack : DOUGHNUT (“bread dough” & “butternut”)
  • 66A. *Form a queue : LINE UP (“breadline” & “butter up”)

Bill’s time: 5m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Advertisement

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Muslim veil : HIJAB

Some Muslim women wear a hijab in the presence of males outside of their immediate family. A hijab is a veil covering the head and chest. Some also wear a niqab as part of the hijab, which is a cloth that covers the face. Other Muslim women wear a burqa, which covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground.

10. Fashion’s de la Renta : OSCAR

Oscar de la Renta is a fashion designer who really came to prominence in the sixties when his designs were worn by Jacqueline Kennedy.

17. Eclipse shadow : UMBRA

A shadow usually has three distinct parts called the umbra, penumbra and antumbra, with the terms most often used with reference to the shadows cast by celestial bodies. The terms can also be used to describe the levels of darkness in sunspots. The umbra (Latin for “shadow”) is the innermost, darkest part of a shadow. The penumbra (“almost shadow”, from Latin) is a lighter part of a shadow, where part of the light source “leaks” around the body casting the shadow. The antumbra phenomenon is experienced when the object casting the shadow is sufficiently far away from the viewer so that it appears smaller than the light source, with an annular ring around it. When the eye is in the shadow cast by an object that has light passing around it, the eye is in the antumbra.

18. Synagogue scroll : TORAH

A Torah scroll (also “Sefer Torah”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

19. Paella morsel : CLAM

Paella is sometime referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia.

20. In poor taste : TACKY

Something tacky is in bad taste. The term “tacky” derives from the noun “tackey” that was used in the early 1800s to describe a neglected horse.

21. *LeBron’s sport : BASKETBALL (“breadbasket” & “Butterball”)

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

Butterball is a brand of poultry products. One of Butterball’s unfortunate claims to fame is that an employee was convicted of felony cruelty to animals in 2012, marking the first felony conviction in the US for cruelty to factory-farmed birds. More convictions followed …

24. Cereal mix : MUESLI

“Muesli” is a Swiss-German term describing a breakfast serving of oats, nuts, fruit and milk. “Muesli” is a diminutive of the German word “Mues” meaning “puree”. Delicious …

27. NASDAQ locale : WALL ST

The NASDAQ trading system created in 1971 is the successor to the over-the-counter (OTC) trading system that was common at the time. OTC trading is done directly between two parties without being facilitated by an exchange.

32. *Insect used in genetic research : FRUIT FLY (“breadfruit” & “butterfly”)

The common fruit fly is used in biological research because it is easy to care for, it breeds very quickly, and lays lots of eggs. The average lifespan of a fruit fly in nature is about a month.

37. Hither partner : YON

“Hither and yon” is a phrase meaning “from here to over there”.

38. Plural medical suffix : -OSES

The suffix “-osis” is found in medical terms. The suffix indicates a disorder in general, with the prefix providing more specificity. Examples are silicosis (a lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust), and psychosis (a serious mental illness). The plural of “-osis” is usually “-oses”, but “-osises” is out there as well.

40. NYC gallery district : SOHO

The Manhattan neighborhood known today as SoHo was very fashionable in the early 1900s, but as the well-heeled started to move uptown the area became very run down and poorly maintained. Noted for the number of fires that erupted in derelict buildings, SoHo earned the nickname “Hell’s Hundred Acres”. The area was then zoned for manufacturing and became home to many sweatshops. In the mid-1900s artists started to move into open loft spaces and renovating old buildings as the lofts were ideal locations in which an artist could both live and work. In 1968, artists and others organized themselves so that they could legalize their residential use of an area zoned for manufacturing. The group they formed took its name from the name given to the area by the city’s Planning Commission i.e “South of Houston”. This was shortened from So-uth of Ho-uston to SoHo as in the SoHo Artists Association, and the name stuck.

41. Lewd material : SMUT

“Smut” means “dirt, smudge” and more recently “pornographic material”. The term comes from the Yiddish “schmutz”, which is a slang word used in English for dirt, as in “dirt on one’s face”.

47. Part of town, in slang : NABE

“Nabe” is a familiar term for a neighborhood, or for a local movie theater.

60. Fracas : MELEE

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

“Fracas”, meaning “noisy quarrel”, is a French word that we absorbed into English. In turn, the French usage evolved from the Italian “fracasso” meaning “uproar, crash”.

62. Hammer head : PEEN

The peen of a hammer is on the head, and is the side of the head that is opposite the striking surface. Often the peen is in the shape of a hemisphere (as in a ball-peen hammer), but usually it is shaped like a claw (mainly for removing nails).

65. Diva’s delivery : ARIA

The term “diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. “Diva” is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

68. Teen anti-DWI gp. : SADD

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) was founded in Massachusetts in 1981. SADD’s aim is to prevent road traffic accidents by urging students to avoid potentially destructive decisions (such as driving under the influence of alcohol).

70. Of a battery terminal : ANODAL

A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.

72. Mid-month date : IDES

There were three important days in each month of the old Roman calendar. These days originally depended on the cycles of the moon but were eventually “fixed” by law. “Kalendae” were the first days of each month, originally the days of the new moon. “Nonae” were originally the days of the half moon. And “idus” (the ides) was originally the day of the full moon, eventually fixed at the 15th day of a month. Well, actually the ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October. For all other months, the ides fell on the 13th. Go figure …

73. Pathetically tiny, as a sum of money : MEASLY

Back in the 17th century, someone measly was affected with measles. The use of “measly” to describe something insultingly small was initially recorded as slang in the mid-1800s.

74. Tourney ranking : SEED

A seeded player or team in a tournament is one given a preliminary ranking that is used in the initial draw. The intention is that the better competitors do are less likely to meet each other in the early rounds.

Down

1. Boater or bowler : HAT

A boater is a straw hat often associated with boating, hence the name.

I think a bowler hat is usually called a derby here in the US. The bowler was first produced in 1849 in London by hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, hence the name. The alternative name of “derby” comes from the tradition of wearing bowler hats at the Derby horse race (a major race held annually in England).

2. “Letters From __ Jima”: 2006 film : IWO

“Flags of Our Fathers” is a 2006 war film directed by Clint Eastwood, based on a 2000 book of the same name by James Bradley. “Flags of Our Fathers” was a somewhat unique film, as it was filmed within a few months of a “paired” movie “Letters from Iwo Jima”, also directed by Eastwood. “Flags of Our Fathers” told the story of the WWII Battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective, and “Letters from Iwo Jima” told the same story from the Japanese standpoint.

4. Many Yemenis : ARABS

Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, and lies just south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman. Yemen is the only state on the peninsula that is a republic (its official name is the Republic of Yemen). Everyone over the age of 18 gets to vote, but only Muslims can hold elected office. Yemen has seen many rebellions over the centuries, and has been suffering through a Shia uprising since February 2015.

6. Quarter of a bushel : PECK

A peck is a dry measure equal to a quarter of a bushel. The term can be used figuratively to mean a considerable quantity in general, as in the phrase “a peck of trouble”.

In the imperial system of weights and measures, a bushel is a unit of dry volume made up of 4 pecks. In the US system, a bushel is a dry volume of 8 gallons. We have used the term “bushel” to mean “large quantity” since the 14th century.

12. Network with its HQ in Ottawa : CBC

“CBC” stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s national public radio and television broadcaster. In terms of financing and structure, CBC is akin to the BBC in Britain. But as commercial advertising is permitted, it perhaps more akin to RTE, the national broadcasting company in my homeland of Ireland.

24. Chinese chairman : MAO

Mao Zedong (also “Mao Tse-tung”) was born on December 16, 1893 in the Hunan Province of China. As Mao was the son of a peasant farmer, his prospects for education were limited. Indeed he left school at age 13 to work on the family farm but did eventually get to secondary school in Changsha, the provincial capital. In the years following, Mao continued his education in Beijing and actually turned down an opportunity to study in France.

25. State school near L.A. : UCSB

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is one of the 10 campuses in the UC system. UCSB joined the UC system in 1944, although the school was founded as a teachers’ college in 1891.

28. Tick-borne illness named for a Connecticut town : LYME DISEASE

Lyme disease is an infectious disease that is becoming more and more common. The condition takes its name from the town of Lyme, Connecticut where several cases were diagnosed in 1975. Humans catch the disease when bitten by infected ticks. If caught early enough, the disease is usually treated successfully with antibiotics.

30. Explosive for Wile E. Coyote : TNT

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

33. Springsteen’s “Born in the __” : USA

“Born in the USA” is a 1984 song (and album) written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen. The song was written three years earlier as the title song for a movie, but was never used. That film ultimately was released as “Light of Day” starring Michael j. Fox. The original intention was for Springsteen to star in the film himself.

35. Divinity sch. degree : THD

Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)

36. Watch chain : FOB

A fob is attached to an object to make it easier to access. And so a key fob is a chain attached to a key so that it can be retrieved easily. There are also watch fobs, and the pocket in a vest in which a watch can be placed is called a fob. In fact, the original use of the term “fob” was for a small pocket in which one could carry valuables.

44. Art style seen in Miami’s South Beach : DECO

South Beach is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida that is often referred to by the nickname “SoBe”. SoBe is known for its active and vibrant LGBT community. The title of marvelous 1996 film “The Birdcage” refers to a fictional Birdcage drag nightclub located in South Beach.

45. Pakistani language : URDU

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

49. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI

Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Sadly, the nation is noted today for a devastating civil war and for its use as a base for pirates who prey on ships passing through the Indian Ocean along the Somali coast.

The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent, containing the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. The Horn of Africa is also known as the Somali Peninsula.

51. Flat on one’s back : SUPINE

When lying on one’s back, one is said to be in a supine position. When lying on one’s stomach, one is said to be prone.

57. Italian salami city : GENOA

Genoa is a seaport in the very north of Italy, in the region known as Liguria. One of Genoa’s most famous sons was Christopher Columbus. Another was the violinist Niccolò Paganini.

Genoa salami is made using preservation techniques that originated in Ancient Rome.

64. Three-pronged Greek letters : PSIS

Psi is the 23rd and penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

66. Beat a hasty retreat : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.

Advertisement

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Muslim veil : HIJAB
6. Behind us : PAST
10. Fashion’s de la Renta : OSCAR
15. Self-__: personally mindful : AWARE
16. Trade show : EXPO
17. Eclipse shadow : UMBRA
18. Synagogue scroll : TORAH
19. Paella morsel : CLAM
20. In poor taste : TACKY
21. *LeBron’s sport : BASKETBALL (“breadbasket” & “Butterball”)
24. Cereal mix : MUESLI
27. NASDAQ locale : WALL ST
31. Play a part : ACT
32. *Insect used in genetic research : FRUIT FLY (“breadfruit” & “butterfly”)
37. Hither partner : YON
38. Plural medical suffix : -OSES
40. NYC gallery district : SOHO
41. Lewd material : SMUT
42. Primary source of income … and words that can precede the two parts, respectively, of the answers to starred clues : BREAD AND BUTTER
47. Part of town, in slang : NABE
48. Street : ROAD
49. Branch of mechanics concerned with forces in equilibrium : STATICS
52. Loving : ADORING
55. Frying liquid : OIL
56. *Glazed morning snack : DOUGHNUT (“bread dough” & “butternut”)
59. Watery expanse : SEA
60. Fracas : MELEE
62. Hammer head : PEEN
63. Blender selection : SPEED
65. Diva’s delivery : ARIA
66. *Form a queue : LINE UP (“breadline” & “butter up”)
68. Teen anti-DWI gp. : SADD
69. Didn’t stay : LEFT
70. Of a battery terminal : ANODAL
71. Small ocean landmass : ISLE
72. Mid-month date : IDES
73. Pathetically tiny, as a sum of money : MEASLY
74. Tourney ranking : SEED

Down

1. Boater or bowler : HAT
2. “Letters From __ Jima”: 2006 film : IWO
3. Pickle container : JAR
4. Many Yemenis : ARABS
5. On __ of: for : BEHALF
6. Quarter of a bushel : PECK
7. Wheel connection : AXLE
8. Squabble : SPAT
9. Mausoleum : TOMB
10. Expenditure : OUTLAY
11. Word before fry or potatoes : SMALL …
12. Network with its HQ in Ottawa : CBC
13. 18-Across holder : ARK
14. Bit of sunlight : RAY
22. Title of respect : SIR
23. Hole-making tool : AWL
24. Chinese chairman : MAO
25. State school near L.A. : UCSB
26. Immortality : ETERNAL LIFE
28. Tick-borne illness named for a Connecticut town : LYME DISEASE
29. Mouth-puckering : SOUR
30. Explosive for Wile E. Coyote : TNT
33. Springsteen’s “Born in the __” : USA
34. Physicist’s particle : ION
35. Divinity sch. degree : THD
36. Watch chain : FOB
39. Senate position : SEAT
41. Lead actress : STAR
43. Put up with : ABIDE
44. Art style seen in Miami’s South Beach : DECO
45. Pakistani language : URDU
46. Friendly horn sounds : TOOTS
49. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI
50. Like big wedding cakes : TIERED
51. Flat on one’s back : SUPINE
52. Once-a-year flower : ANNUAL
53. Pine dropping : NEEDLE
54. Wandered (about) : GADDED
57. Italian salami city : GENOA
58. Obeys : HEEDS
61. Diner grub : EATS
64. Three-pronged Greek letters : PSIS
66. Beat a hasty retreat : LAM
67. Tissue layer : PLY

Advertisement