LA Times Crossword 3 Sep 18, Monday

Advertisement

Advertisement

Constructed by: Victor Barocas
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Change Hands

Themed answers include the letter string “HANDS”, although the order of the letters in the string has been CHANGED around:

  • 61A. Be sold, as property … and a hint to each set of circled letters : CHANGE HANDS
  • 17A. Not in need of drying or ironing : WASH AND WEAR
  • 25A. Gets settled : FINDS A HOME
  • 40A. “I do not like them with a fox” Seuss poem : GREEN EGGS AND HAM
  • 50A. “… What a Feeling” movie : FLASHDANCE

Bill’s time: 5m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Advertisement

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

20. Scottish monster, familiarly : NESSIE

The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs really sparking the imagination.

21. Former name of the Congo : ZAIRE

The African nation once called Zaire is a neighbor of Rwanda. The genocide and war in Rwanda spilled over into Zaire in 1996, with the conflict escalating into what is now called the First Congo War. As part of the war’s fallout there was a regime change, and in 1997 Zaire became the Democratic Republic of Congo.

30. Philosopher Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”.

32. Turkish hospice : IMARET

Imarets were inns or hostels used by pilgrims throughout the Ottoman Empire. The network of imarets was set up to provide food to anyone in need, so they also served as soup kitchens, as it were.

36. Org. with a “Speak Freely” blog : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

40. “I do not like them with a fox” Seuss poem : GREEN EGGS AND HAM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

43. Walrus cousin : SEAL

There are three families of seals. The first is the walrus family, the second the eared seals (like sea lions), and thirdly the earless seals (like elephant seals).

45. Lawyer’s gp. : ABA

American Bar Association (ABA)

48. Productive city for van Gogh : ARLES

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and was where he painted many of his most famous works, including “Cafe Terrace at Night” and “Bedroom in Arles”.

50. “… What a Feeling” movie : FLASHDANCE

“Flashdance” is a 1983 romantic drama film about a young welder at a steel plant who aspires to become a professional dancer. The movie’s soundtrack was also a big hit and features songs like “Maniac” and “Flashdance …What a Feeling”. The latter was performed by Irene Cara, and won the Best Original Song Oscar for that season.

57. French farewell : ADIEU

“Adieu” is the French for “goodbye” or “farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

58. Where most Russians live : EUROPE

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

60. Cruise on-screen : TOM

Tom Cruise’s real name is Tom Cruise Mapother IV. Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York. That’s one of my favorite cities in the US, because it’s where I met my lovely wife-to-be …

66. Large primate : APE

Primates are mammals, many of whom are omnivorous and make good use of their hands. They also have larger brains relative to their body size, compared to other animals. The order Primates includes apes, lemurs, baboons and humans.

67. Divided Asian peninsula : KOREA

Korea was occupied by the Japanese military from 1910 until Japan surrendered at the end of WWII in 1945. While the UN was working towards a trusteeship administration for Korea, the Soviet Union managed the Korean Peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the US managed the south. The UN’s plans came to naught as the Cold War dictated the establishment of the two separate states of North Korea and South Korea. North Korea invaded the South in 1950, leading to the Korean War. After three years of fighting, the border between the two states became the demarcation line between the two military forces on the day the Armistice Agreement was signed. That line runs diagonally across the 38th parallel, and is better known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

68. Landlocked African country : NIGER

The Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa that gets its name from the Niger River. 80% of the country lies within the bounds of the Sahara Desert.

70. Brewery supply : YEAST

Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms in the Fungi kingdom. The species of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used for centuries in the making of wine and beer, and in breadmaking. Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol in the process of fermentation. When making beer and wine, the carbon dioxide and alcohol may be captured by the liquid. When making bread, the carbon dioxide and alcohol is driven off by heat.

71. Cookies commonly in cookies and cream ice cream : OREOS

Apparently Oreo Ice Cream flavors were introduced relatively recently, in 2010.

Down

1. Addendum to the five W’s : HOW

The Five Ws (or “Five Ws and one H”) is a journalistic concept used for gathering information. For a story to be complete, six questions need to be answered:

  1. Who is it about?
  2. What happened?
  3. Where did it take place?
  4. When did it take place?
  5. Why did it happen?
  6. How did it happen?

2. “A Wrinkle in Time” director DuVernay : AVA

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

“A Wrinkle in Time” is a book by Madeleine L’Engle. Published in 1962, it is described as a science fantasy. Included in the book’s cast of characters are Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, all of whom turn out to be supernatural beings who transport the antagonists through the universe. “A Wrinkle in Time” was adapted into a 2018 movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling as the three “Mrs” characters.

4. Parthenon city : ATHENS

The Parthenon is the ruined temple that sits on the Athenian Acropolis. Although the Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena as a sacred building in the days of the Athenian Empire, it was actually used primarily as a treasury. In later centuries, the Parthenon was repurposed as a Christian Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was also used as a mosque after Ottoman conquest.

5. Wet septet : SEAS

The phrase “the seven seas” has been used for centuries by many different peoples. The actual definition of what constitutes the collection of seven has varied depending on the period and the culture. Nowadays we consider the seven largest bodies of water as the seven seas, namely:

  • The North Pacific Ocean
  • The South Pacific Ocean
  • The North Atlantic Ocean
  • The South Atlantic Ocean
  • The Indian Ocean
  • The Southern Ocean
  • The Arctic Ocean

7. Aragorn’s love, in Tolkien : ARWEN

Arwen Undómiel is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. In the movie adaptations by Peter Jackson, Arwen is played by actress Liv Tyler.

9. NHL’s Ducks, on ESPN crawls : ANA

The Walt Disney Company founded the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey team in 1993, with the franchise’s name being a nod to the 1992 Disney movie called “The Mighty Ducks”. The name was changed to the Anaheim Ducks when Disney sold the team before the 2006-2007 season.

10. Hero in a loincloth : TARZAN

Tarzan is the title character in the series of books created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The line “Me Tarzan, you Jane” never appeared in the books, and indeed doesn’t even figure in the movies. Apparently Johnny Weissmuller (who played Tarzan in the thirties and forties) saw Maureen O’Sullivan (“Jane”, to Weissmuller’s “Tarzan”) struggling with a suitcase in the parking lot during filming. He grabbed the bag from her, jokingly saying “Me Tarzan, you Jane”, and people have been quoting those words ever since.

11. Video game plumber : MARIO

Mario Bros. started out as an arcade game back in 1983, developed by Nintendo. The more famous of the two brothers, Mario, had already appeared in an earlier arcade game “Donkey Kong”. Mario was given a brother called Luigi, and the pair have been around ever since. In the game, Mario and Luigi are Italian American plumbers from New York City.

18. Bad check letters : NSF

Not sufficient funds (NSF)

24. Niña’s mother : MADRE

In Spanish, a “madre” (mother) is a member of “la familia” (the family).

In Spanish, a “niña” is a young girl, a child. The term “chica” applies to an older girl or perhaps a young woman.. The term “muchacha” applies to girls in general, I think …

27. Bristles, to a biologist : SETAE

Setae (singular “seta”) are bristle-like structures in both plants and animals. “Seta” is the Latin word for “bristle”.

29. A, in German class : EIN

The definite article in German is der, die or das, for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. The indefinite article is ein, eine or ein, again depending on the gender of the noun. A further complication, relative to English, is that the masculine form (and only the masculine form) of the article changes when used in the accusative case, when used with the object of a sentence. The accusative forms are “den” and “einen”.

34. Plato’s marketplace : AGORA

In early Greece, the agora was a place of assembly. The assemblies held there were often quite formal, perhaps for the reading of a proclamation. Later in Greek history, things became less formal as the agora evolved into a marketplace. Our contemporary word “agoraphobia” comes from these agorae, in the sense that an agoraphobe has a fear of open spaces, a fear of “public meeting places”.

The greatest work of the Greek philosopher Plato is said by most to be his treatise called “The Republic”. The work takes the form of a Socratic dialogue, meaning that it features Plato’s teacher Socrates in dialogue with others discussing the subject matter. Much of the text deals with justice and various forms of government.

35. Some QB protectors : RGS

Right guard (RG)

38. Clotheshorse’s concern : LABEL

“Clotheshorse” is an informal term used for a person who is into dressing fashionably. Not a term ever used to describe me, I must say …

39. Amherst sch. : UMASS

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) is the largest public university in New England. UMass was founded back in 1863, although it took a while to get the school into service. Construction work was delayed and the college went through two presidents before William S. Clark took charge. He cracked the whip, completed the construction and enrolled the first students in the same year that he took over the reins, in 1867. As a result, although Clark was the third President of UMass, he is regarded by most as the school’s founding father.

41. Beethoven’s “Für __” : ELISE

“Für Elise” is a beautiful piece of solo piano music by Beethoven that is also known as “Bagatelle in A Minor”. “Für Elise” means simply “For Elise”, but sadly no one knows for sure the identity of the mysterious dedicatee.

42. Org. chronicled in “The Puzzle Palace” : NSA

“The Puzzle Palace” is a 1982 book by James Bamford book that deals with the history of the National Security Agency (NSA). As perhaps might be expected, release of the book was fraught with controversy. The Reagan administration threatened legal action if Bamford did not return classified documents that the government claimed were released in error. Those documents dealt with the illegal monitoring of domestic communication and surveillance of Americans without a warrant.

47. Killer doll in “Child’s Play” : CHUCKY

Chucky is the nickname of Charles Lee Ray, the main character in the “Chucky” (or “Child’s Play”) series of horror movies. There’s no way that I will watch any of those films, no way …

51. Parkinson’s drug : L-DOPA

The name of the drug L-3,4-DihydrOxyPhenylAlanine can be shortened, thankfully, to L-DOPA. Swedish scientist Arvid Carlsson won a Nobel Prize for showing that L-DOPA could be used to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s Syndrome.

English apothecary and surgeon James Parkinson wrote “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy” in 1817. This work was the first to describe the disorder that was later to be called Parkinson’s disease in his honor.

53. Barcelona babies : NENES

“Nene” is the Spanish word for a male baby or young child.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after the capital Madrid. Barcelona is the largest European city that sits on the Mediterranean coast. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia.

54. Bandleader Xavier : CUGAT

Xavier Cugat was an American bandleader born in Spain, who arrived in the United States via Cuba. He worked in Hollywood on movies, although he was also in charge of the Hotel Orchestra in the Waldorf Astoria in New York City for 16 years. Famously he conducted using just one arm, as he would hold his pet Chihuahua in the other. His fourth marriage was to comic actress Charo, in the first marriage ceremony ever to take place in Caesar’s Palace.

63. Coach Parseghian : ARA

Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known as “The Era of Ara”.

64. __ volente: God willing : DEO

“Deo volente” is Latin for “God willing”. If you read letters or emails from Ireland, you might come across “D.V.” in the text, as it is an abbreviation that we Irish commonly use to mean “God willing” or “Please God”.

Advertisement

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Laughing sounds : HA HAS
6. Charged, bull-style : RAN AT
11. Diagram of streets, highways, etc. : MAP
14. Egg-shaped : OVATE
15. Football venue : ARENA
16. In the style of : A LA
17. Not in need of drying or ironing : WASH AND WEAR
19. Unit of sunlight : RAY
20. Scottish monster, familiarly : NESSIE
21. Former name of the Congo : ZAIRE
23. “Let’s do it!” : C’MON!
25. Gets settled : FINDS A HOME
28. Salary increase : RAISE
30. Philosopher Descartes : RENE
31. Put two and two together : ADD
32. Turkish hospice : IMARET
36. Org. with a “Speak Freely” blog : ACLU
40. “I do not like them with a fox” Seuss poem : GREEN EGGS AND HAM
43. Walrus cousin : SEAL
44. Throws gently : TOSSES
45. Lawyer’s gp. : ABA
46. Cupcake finisher : ICER
48. Productive city for van Gogh : ARLES
50. “… What a Feeling” movie : FLASHDANCE
56. 90-degree pipes : ELLS
57. French farewell : ADIEU
58. Where most Russians live : EUROPE
60. Cruise on-screen : TOM
61. Be sold, as property … and a hint to each set of circled letters : CHANGE HANDS
66. Large primate : APE
67. Divided Asian peninsula : KOREA
68. Landlocked African country : NIGER
69. Young fellow : LAD
70. Brewery supply : YEAST
71. Cookies commonly in cookies and cream ice cream : OREOS

Down

1. Addendum to the five W’s : HOW
2. “A Wrinkle in Time” director DuVernay : AVA
3. Is completely stumped : HAS NO IDEA
4. Parthenon city : ATHENS
5. Wet septet : SEAS
6. Wheel spokes, geometrically : RADII
7. Aragorn’s love, in Tolkien : ARWEN
8. Formerly, in bridal bios : NEE
9. NHL’s Ducks, on ESPN crawls : ANA
10. Hero in a loincloth : TARZAN
11. Video game plumber : MARIO
12. Antitheft device : ALARM
13. Check recipient : PAYEE
18. Bad check letters : NSF
22. Trailing no one : AHEAD
23. Rock outcroppings : CRAGS
24. Niña’s mother : MADRE
26. Prom gown, e.g. : DRESS
27. Bristles, to a biologist : SETAE
29. A, in German class : EIN
33. Doled (out) : METED
34. Plato’s marketplace : AGORA
35. Some QB protectors : RGS
37. Dare : CHALLENGE
38. Clotheshorse’s concern : LABEL
39. Amherst sch. : UMASS
41. Beethoven’s “Für __” : ELISE
42. Org. chronicled in “The Puzzle Palace” : NSA
47. Killer doll in “Child’s Play” : CHUCKY
49. Fix : REPAIR
50. Lethal : FATAL
51. Parkinson’s drug : L-DOPA
52. Zeroed in : AIMED
53. Barcelona babies : NENES
54. Bandleader Xavier : CUGAT
55. Prior to, poetically : ERE
59. “Yikes!” : OH NO!
62. Flat-bladed garden tool : HOE
63. Coach Parseghian : ARA
64. __ volente: God willing : DEO
65. Oldest H.S. students : SRS

Advertisement