LA Times Crossword 23 Aug 18, Thursday

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Constructed by: Roger & Kathy Wienberg
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Mental Gymnastics

Themed answers each end with an anagram of “MENTAL”:

  • 63A. Complex reasoning that occurs literally at the end of three long answers : MENTAL GYMNASTICS
  • 18A. Takes on a new responsibility, as of leadership : ASSUMES THE MANTLE
  • 28A. “Guys and Dolls” showstopper : ADELAIDE’S LAMENT
  • 48A. Shelf for trophies, maybe : FIREPLACE MANTEL

Bill’s time: 4m 56s!

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. “Fiddlesticks!” : PSHAW!

We’ve been using “fiddlesticks” to mean “nonsense” since the early 17th century. Prior to that time, “fiddlestick” referred to the bow of a fiddle.

15. Largest city on Hawaii’s largest island : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the big island of Hawaii, with a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

16. Terminix target : ROACH

Terminix is a pest control company that was founded in 1927 by E. L. Bruce as the Bruce Terminix Research Laboratory in Memphis, Tennessee. A few years later, the company developed the world’s first insecticide specifically aimed at killing termites.

17. Piquant : ZESTY

Something that is piquant is pleasantly sharp in taste and zesty. “Piquant” is the French word for “prickly”.

18. Takes on a new responsibility, as of leadership : ASSUMES THE MANTLE

Someone who assumes the mantle takes on the leadership role that was once held by someone else. The original mantle was a loose, sleeveless cloak. The phrase itself originated in the Bible, which tells of the prophet Elijah leaving behind his cloak when he ascended into heaven. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle, and assumed Elijah’s role as prophet.

21. Indigenous New Zealanders : MAORIS

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

22. Kind of artery : RENAL

The renal arteries feed blood into the kidneys. About one third of the total output of the heart goes directly through the renal arteries to be filtered by the kidneys.

23. Key in a PC reboot combo : ALT

Ctrl-Alt-Delete is a keyboard command on IBM PC compatible systems used for a soft reboot, or more recently to bring up the task manager in the Windows operating system. Bill Gates tells us that the command was originally just a device to be used during development and was never meant to “go live”. He once said that “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” was a mistake, and that he would have preferred a dedicated key on the keyboard that carried out the same function.

26. Mosquito repellent : DEET

DEET is short for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.

28. “Guys and Dolls” showstopper : ADELAIDE’S LAMENT

“Adelaide’s Lament” is a show tune from the stage musical “Guys and Dolls” by Frank Loesser.

“Guys and Dolls” is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It was first produced on Broadway, in 1950, and ran for 1200 performances. The show was based on a book written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, which book was inspired by the short stories :The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure” by Damon Runyon. “Guys and Dolls” was chosen as winner of a Pulitzer in 1951, but the award was cancelled as Abe Burrows was having problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee at the time.

34. Sporty ’60s Pontiac : GTO

The initialism “GTO” was used on several touring cars (including a famous Pontiac) and stands for “Gran Turismo Omologato”. Italian car manufacturers started the tradition of calling their luxury performance cars “Gran Turismo”, and calling those cars they approved for racing “Gran Turismo Omologato”. The phrase “gran turismo omologato” translates as “grand touring homologated”, with “homologated” being a technical term signifying official approval.

36. Biopic about Charles : RAY

Ray Charles came up with his stage name by dropping the family name from his real moniker “Ray Charles Robinson”. His life was a wild ride, well represented in the excellent biopic called “Ray” released in 2004 and starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray Charles was married twice and fathered 12 children with nine different women. As I said, a wild ride …

40. Capital of Oman : RIAL

“Rial” is the name of the currency of Oman (as well as Yemen, Iran, Cambodia and Tunisia). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in a rial.

53. Stealthy warrior : NINJA

The ninjas were around in Japan at the time of the samurai, but were a very different type of warrior. The ninjas were covert operatives, specializing in the use of stealth to accomplish their missions. As they were a secretive cadre they took on a mystical reputation with the public, who believed they had the ability to become invisible or perhaps walk on water.

54. Movie SFX : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

The abbreviation “FX” stands for “effects” as in “special effects”. “Special effects” can also be shortened to “SFX”.

56. Prince Harry’s mother : DIANA

Charles, Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The wedding was a huge television event, with about 750 million people tuning in worldwide. Despite the event being billed as a fairytale wedding, the couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is the younger of the two sons of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales. Famously, Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle in 2018. The groom’s name was Prince Henry of Wales until the marriage, at which time his name changed officially to “Prince Harry”.

59. Word on the street : GOSSIP

Our word “gossip” comes from the Old English “godsibb” meaning “godparent”. The term was then used for women friends who attended a birth, and then for anyone engaging in idle talk.

66. “Inside the NBA” analyst : O’NEAL

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality show: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

68. Love god : EROS

Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic”, meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both Amor (meaning “love”) and Cupid (meaning “desire”).

69. Dweebs : NERDS

“Dweeb” is relatively recent American slang that came out of college life in the late sixties. Dweeb, squarepants, nerd; they’re all not-nice terms that mean the same thing, i.e. someone excessively studious and socially inept.

70. “Same Time, Next Year” has only two : ROLES

“Same Time, Next Year” is a 1975 play written by Bernard Slade. It is romantic comedy about a man and woman who meet for a tryst once a year for over two decades. The play was adapted into a fabulous film of the same name that was released in 1978, starring Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and I would love to see the play one day …

Down

1. Pretense : SHAM

A sham is something that is imitation, fake. In the world of bed linens, a sham is also an imitation or fake, in the sense that it is a decorative cover designed to cover up a regular pillow used for sleeping.

2. Tuscany town : PISA

The city of Pisa is right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

Tuscany is a beautiful region of central Italy, the capital of which is the city of Florence. Tuscany is considered to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, centered around Florence. It was home to great artistic icons such as Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo and Puccini.

4. Lake Itasca, for the Mississippi : SOURCE

Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota is the main source of the Mississippi River. Known by Native Americans as “Elk Lake”, the name was changed by Henry Schoolcraft, who led the 1832 expedition to find the source of the Mississippi River. The name “Itasca” is formed from the Latin words for “truth” (ver-ITAS) and “head” (CA-put).

6. Three-letter product with two periods : SOS

“S.O.S” is a brand name of scouring pads made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The product was invented as a giveaway by an aluminum pot salesman in San Francisco called Ed Cox. His wife gave it the name “S.O.S” as an initialism standing for “Save Our Saucepans”. Note the punctuation! There is no period after the last S, and that is deliberate. When Cox went to register the trademark, he found that “S.O.S.” could not be a trademark because it was used as an international distress signal. So he dropped the period after the last S, and I hope made a lot of money for himself and his wife.

10. Spring bloomer : AZALEA

Azaleas are very toxic to horses, sheep and goats, but strangely enough cause no problem for cats or dogs. And if you go to Korea you might come across “Tug Yonju”, which is azalea wine made from the plant’s blossoms. Azaleas are usually grown as shrubs, but are also seen as small trees, and often indoors.

11. Yellow bill in classic Monopoly : TEN

The commercial game of Monopoly is supposedly a remake of “The Landlord’s Game” created in 1903 by a Quaker woman called Lizzie Phillips. Phillips used her game as a tool to explain the single tax theory of American economist Henry George. The Landlord’s Game was first produced commercially in 1924. The incredibly successful derivative game called Monopoly was introduced in 1933 by Charles Darrow, who became a very rich man when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game just two years later in 1935.

14. Dmitry’s denial : NYET

“Nyet” is Russian for “no”, and “da” is Russian for “yes”.

19. Roamed (around) : MILLED

“To mill around” is “to loiter, to move around aimlessly in a crowd”. The term originally applied to a herd of cattle, back in the 19th century. The notion is that such a movement resembles the action of a mill wheel.

25. Saw-toothed range : SIERRA

“Sierra” is Spanish for “mountain range”. The term also translates as “saw”, and so can particularly describe a jagged mountain range.

27. Kuwaiti ruler : EMIR

The State of Kuwait sits at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, famously sharing a border to the north with Iraq. After WWI, Kuwait was a Protectorate within the British Empire and then gained independence from the UK in 1961. Iraq annexed Kuwait in 1990, which led to the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

28. Big name in games : ATARI

At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.

30. New __: MLB baseball cap supplier : ERA

The New Era Cap Company is a headwear manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York. It is New Era that supplies all the official baseball caps used by the Major League teams.

31. Deli choice : SALAMI

“Salame” (note the letter E at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.

32. Staircase pillar : NEWEL

A newel is a principal upright post that supports a handrail beside a staircase. Newels are found at the top and bottom of the banister, and sometimes in between. Newels are often adorned with decorative trim to set them apart from the other posts by the staircase.

34. Five-time US Open champ : GRAF

Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, which is more than any other man or woman other than Margaret Court. She is married to another former World No. 1, namely Andre Agassi.

41. Org. with a five-ring logo : IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894, and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The symbol of the Olympic Games consists of five interlocking rings, with each ring representing one of the five continents involved in the Olympics. The five continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and America (North and South combined). The symbol was designed in 1912, adopted in 1914, and introduced at the 1920 Games.

42. Stringed instruments : BANJOS

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

46. Airport parking facilities : HANGARS

“Hangar” is a French word for “shed”. The French first started using the term to mean “shed for airplanes” in the very early 1900s.

49. Piano trio : PEDALS

Most modern pianos have three pedals. The left pedal is the soft pedal (also “una corda”), the sostenuto pedal, and the sustaining pedal (also “damper pedal”).

50. Protective coating : ENAMEL

Tooth enamel covers the crowns of our teeth. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. It is composed of 96% crystalline calcium phosphate.

55. __ pool : GENE

The set of all genes in a particular population is known as the “gene pool”, a term coined in Russian by geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s. In general, the larger the gene pool, the more diverse and robust the population.

57. Thickening agent : 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.

58. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter Laura : NYRO

Laura Nyro was a singer-songwriter from the Bronx, New York. Nyro had success with her own recordings, but her songs were even more successful when recorded by other big names. Two of Nyro’s compositions were “Eli’s Coming” recorded by Three Dog Night, and “Stoney End” by Barbra Streisand.

60. Stable stud : SIRE

The word “stud”, meaning “a male horse kept for breeding”, is derived from the Old English word “stod”, which described a whole herd of horses. The term “stud” can be used figuratively for a “ladies’ man”.

64. Abe Lincoln’s youngest son : TAD

Tad Lincoln was the youngest son of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. The child was named Thomas Lincoln III after his paternal grandfather, but was soon christened “Tad” by his father as he “wiggled like a tadpole” when he was very young. Tad was born with a cleft lip and palate, which led to speech problems and difficulties chewing. On the fateful night that his parents went to see “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre, Tad was taken to nearby Grover’s Theatre (now the National Theatre) to see “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp”. Tad heard the news of his father’s assassination from the theatre manager, like all the other patrons. The distraught 12-year-old ran around the theater screaming “They killed Papa! They killed Papa!” Tad himself passed away just six years later due to heart or lung problems.

65. Dundee denial : NAE

The city of Dundee lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay in Scotland. The origins of the name “Dundee” are a little obscure, although the omnipresent “dùn” in place names all over Scotland and Ireland is the Celtic word for “fort”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Massage therapists’ workplaces : SPAS
5. “Fiddlesticks!” : PSHAW!
10. Used room service : ATE IN
15. Largest city on Hawaii’s largest island : HILO
16. Terminix target : ROACH
17. Piquant : ZESTY
18. Takes on a new responsibility, as of leadership : ASSUMES THE MANTLE
21. Indigenous New Zealanders : MAORIS
22. Kind of artery : RENAL
23. Key in a PC reboot combo : ALT
24. Evenly matched : CLOSE
26. Mosquito repellent : DEET
28. “Guys and Dolls” showstopper : ADELAIDE’S LAMENT
34. Sporty ’60s Pontiac : GTO
35. __ out a win : EKE
36. Biopic about Charles : RAY
37. “So that’s it” : I SEE
38. Threw a fit : RAGED
40. Capital of Oman : RIAL
42. Muscle : BRAWN
43. Superficially highbrow : ARTY
44. To and __ : FRO
45. “So that’s it!” : AHA!
47. Orchestrated : LED
48. Shelf for trophies, maybe : FIREPLACE MANTEL
52. Cruising, say : ASEA
53. Stealthy warrior : NINJA
54. Movie SFX : CGI
56. Prince Harry’s mother : DIANA
59. Word on the street : GOSSIP
63. Complex reasoning that occurs literally at the end of three long answers : MENTAL GYMNASTICS
66. “Inside the NBA” analyst : O’NEAL
67. In the back : AREAR
68. Love god : EROS
69. Dweebs : NERDS
70. “Same Time, Next Year” has only two : ROLES

Down

71. Not a good impression : DENT
1. Pretense : SHAM
2. Tuscany town : PISA
3. Furthermore : ALSO
4. Lake Itasca, for the Mississippi : SOURCE
5. Laundry cycle : PRESOAK
6. Three-letter product with two periods : SOS
7. Animosity : HATRED
8. Feel yesterday’s yoga class, maybe : ACHE
9. “Stop pouring” : WHEN
10. Spring bloomer : AZALEA
11. Yellow bill in classic Monopoly : TEN
12. Event that may feature family heirlooms : ESTATE SALE
13. “__ turn up” : IT’LL
14. Dmitry’s denial : NYET
19. Roamed (around) : MILLED
20. At a frenetic pace : MADLY
25. Saw-toothed range : SIERRA
27. Kuwaiti ruler : EMIR
28. Big name in games : ATARI
29. Animal behavior specialist : DOG TRAINER
30. New __: MLB baseball cap supplier : ERA
31. Deli choice : SALAMI
32. Staircase pillar : NEWEL
33. Work the bar : TEND
34. Five-time US Open champ : GRAF
39. Checks out : EYES
41. Org. with a five-ring logo : IOC
42. Stringed instruments : BANJOS
44. Swing wildly : FLAIL
46. Airport parking facilities : HANGARS
49. Piano trio : PEDALS
50. Protective coating : ENAMEL
51. Sampled : TASTED
54. “Get real!” : C’MON!
55. __ pool : GENE
57. Thickening agent : AGAR
58. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter Laura : NYRO
60. Stable stud : SIRE
61. Clickable image : ICON
62. “Hey, you!” : PSST!
64. Abe Lincoln’s youngest son : TAD
65. Dundee denial : NAE

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