LA Times Crossword 31 Oct 18, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Bruce Haight
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Haunted

Happy Halloween! HAUNTED answers in this puzzle sound like famous people referred to in the HAUNTED clues:

  • 17. Actor who’s anxious to get the Halloween party startled? : BOO BRIDGES (from “Beau Bridges”)
  • 24. Sci-fi character trying to creep it real? : MISTER SPOOK (from “Mister Spock”)
  • 35. Comedian who says no body’s perfect? : RED SKELETON (from “Red Skelton”)
  • 49. Pop group whose music is in en-crypted files? : SPICE GHOULS (from “Spice Girls”)
  • 58. Actor who frights for every part? : SCARY GRANT (from “Cary Grant”)

Bill’s time: 9m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Hoops gp. since 1996 : WNBA

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996. The WNBA had to compete with the American Basketball League (ABL), a professional women’s basketball league that started playing games the same year the WNBA was founded. The ABL folded in its third season.

9. Colorado tribe : UTES

The Ute are a group of Native American tribes who now reside in Utah and Colorado. The Ute were not a unified people as such, but rather a loose association of nomadic groups. The word “Ute” means “Land of the Sun”, and “Ute” also gave us the state name “Utah”.

16. Former Persian ruler : SHAH

“Shah” was a title used by Persian emperors that translate into English as “king”. The full title in Persian is “Sahahsah”, which means “King of Kings”.

17. Actor who’s anxious to get the Halloween party startled? : BOO BRIDGES (from “Beau Bridges”)

The actor Beau Bridges is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges, and brother of actor Jeff Bridges. Beau’s best-known role is perhaps one of “The Fabulous Baker Boys” alongside brother Jeff.

20. Man __: trendy hairstyle : BUN

Man buns are topknots worn by men with long hair.

22. Sonnet line fivesome : IAMBI

An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The lines in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” use five sequential iambs, e.g. “Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum- / -mer’s day?” With that sequence of five iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic pentameter.

23. Communications co. with a blue-and-white globe logo : AT&T

The original AT&T logo was a blue bell inside a blue circle. That bell was a nod to the company’s founder and inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. When AT&T was broken up by the US government in 1984, the core AT&T business adopted a new logo. That logo featured a blue-and-white globe symbolizing the company’s global reach. Apparently, AT&T employees sometimes refer to that globe as “the death star”, a reference to the spherical “Star Wars” space station.

24. Sci-fi character trying to creep it real? : MISTER SPOOK (from “Mister Spock”)

Leonard Nimoy played the logical Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series. Spock has to be the most popular character on the show, and he kept popping up in “Star Trek” spin offs. Nimoy first worked alongside William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in an episode of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (I loved that show as a kid!), with Nimoy playing a bad guy and Shatner playing an U.N.C.L.E. recruit.

29. Velvet-voiced Tormé : MEL

Mel Tormé was a jazz singer, with a quality of voice that earned him the nickname “The Velvet Fog”. Tormé also wrote a few books, and did a lot of acting. He was the co-author of the Christmas classic known as “The Christmas Song”, which starts out with the line “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire …”

30. Air rifle ammo : BBS

A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.070″ in diameter) to size FF (.230″). Birdshot that is size BB (0.180″ in diameter) gives the airgun its name.

32. Small keyboard : SPINET

“Spinet” is the name given to a smaller version of keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, piano or organ. Spinets are still made today, as smaller and cheaper versions of full-size instruments.

35. Comedian who says no body’s perfect? : RED SKELETON (from “Red Skelton”)

Red Skelton was an American comedian who started out in show business as a teenager working with the circus. Skelton had a very successful career on radio before moving to television in the early fifties. His popularity only began to fade in the early seventies, when he had difficulty appealing to younger audiences. Skelton spent less time performing in his latter years and turned to his other great love, which was painting.

40. Composer who was a CBS reporter : TESH

John Tesh is a pianist and composer, as well as a radio and television presenter. For many years Tesh presented the show “Entertainment Tonight”. For “ET” he once covered the filming of an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. As part of the piece, he volunteered to act as a Klingon warrior. If you see the “Star Trek: TNG” episode called “The Icarus Factor” in reruns, watch out for John Tesh engaging in ritual torture with Mr. Worf as his victim.

43. Medium ability : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

46. __ de deux : PAS

In the world of ballet, a “pas de deux” is a duet in which the dancers dance together. A classic pas de deux has a particular structure. It starts with a short entree followed by an adagio and two variations, one for each dancer, and ends with a short coda. The term “pas de deux” is French for “step for two”, or I suppose “dance for two”.

47. Everycity, USA : PEORIA

Peoria is the oldest European settlement in the state of Illinois, having been settled by the French in 1680. The city is famous for being cited as “the average American city”. The phrase, “Will it play in Peoria?” is used to mean, “Will it appeal to the mainstream?” It is believed the expression originated as a corruption of, “We shall play in Peoria”, a line used by some actors in the 1890 novel “Five Hundred Dollars” by Horatio Alger, Jr.

49. Pop group whose music is in en-crypted files? : SPICE GHOULS (from “Spice Girls”)

Our word “ghoul” comes from the Arabic “ghul”, the name for an evil spirit that feeds on corpses.

The five members of the English pop group the Spice Girls are:

  • Scary Spice (Melanie Brown, or Mel B)
  • Baby Spice (Emma Bunton, and my fave!)
  • Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell)
  • Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham)
  • Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C)

55. __ B’rith : B’NAI

B’nai B’rith is a Jewish service organization founded in New York City in 1843. “B’nai B’rith” is Hebrew for “Sons of the Covenant”.

56. Former Fed chair Bernanke : BEN

Ben Bernanke was Chairman of the Federal Reserve for two terms, after being nominated by President George W. Bush in 2006 and renominated by President Barack Obama. It was Bernanke who was in charge of the Fed during the financial crisis of the late-2000s.

58. Actor who frights for every part? : SCARY GRANT (from “Cary Grant”)

The wonderful, wonderful actor Cary Grant was born in Bristol in England, and was given the name Archibald Leach. In the 1949 Howard Hawks film “His Girl Friday”, there’s a line where Grant describes the fate suffered by someone who crossed him. He names that person “Archie Leach”, an ad-lib using his real name.

63. Actor Nick : NOLTE

The actor Nick Nolte got his big break playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, released in 1976. Prior to that, he had worked as a model. Nolte appeared in a magazine advertisement for Clairol in 1972 alongside fellow model and future actor Sigourney Weaver.

64. Ice cream brand : EDY’S

Dreyers’ ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyers in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

Down

1. Speaker for low sounds : SUB-BASS

Sub-bass sounds have such a low pitch that they can be difficult to pick up by the human ear, and indeed such sounds are more often felt by the body rather than heard.

4. Greece neighbor: Abbr. : ALB

The Republic of Albania is a country in the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Albania was made a communist state after WWII but became independent again with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. Albania has been a member of NATO since 2009, and was accepted as an official candidate to join the European Union in 2014. The nation’s capital and largest city is Tirana.

7. Sweetie, in slang : BAE

“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”.

9. 50states.com graphic, for short : US MAP

50States.com is a website that aggregates all sorts of information about US states, listed by state.

11. Dangling jewelry : EARBOB

“Earbob” is an alternative name for an earring, and is a term mainly used in the Southern US.

12. Mideast chieftains : SHEIKS

“Sheikh” is an Arabic title used by the head of a family or by the head of a Muslim religious order. The term arose in the 16th century and came from the Arabic word “shaykh”, meaning “chief, old man”.

14. Pooch who shared spaghetti with Lady : TRAMP

“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney, released in 1955. The title characters are a female American cocker spaniel and a male stray mutt. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date”, and together eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute!

18. Crocus kin : IRIS

Iris is a genus of flowering plants that come in a wide variety of flower colors. The term “iris” is a Greek word meaning “rainbow”. Many species of irises are called “flags”. One suggestion is that the alternate name comes from the Middle English “flagge” meaning “reed”. This term was used because iris leaves look like reeds.

The crocus (plural “croci”) is a plant genus in the iris family. The term “crocus” ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word for “saffron”. Saffron spice comes from Crocus sativus, the “saffron crocus”.

22. Florida key, e.g. : ISLET

A “key” (also “cay”) is a low offshore island, as in the Florida Keys. Our term in English comes from the Spanish “cayo” meaning “shoal, reef”.

25. Novelist Zola : EMILE

The most famous work by French writer Émile Zola is his 1898 open letter “J’Accuse!” written to French president Félix Faure. The letter was published on the front page of a leading Paris newspaper, and accused the government of anti-Semitism in its handling of the trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish military officer in the French army, falsely accused and convicted of spying for Germany. Even after the error was discovered, the government refused to back down and let Dreyfus rot away on Devil’s Island rather than admit to the mistake. It wasn’t until 1906, 12 years after the wrongful conviction, that Dreyfus was freed and reinstated, largely due to the advocacy of Emile Zola.

26. Russo who plays Frigga in “Thor” films : RENE

The very talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to highschool (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modelling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting. I am so glad she did, as Rene Russo is one of my favorite actresses …

Thor is a superhero who was introduced to us by Marvel Comics in 1962. The character is based on the Norse god Thor, and comes complete with a magical hammer. Like so many comic book heroes it seems, Thor has made it to the big screen. Actor Chris Hemsworth played the role in the 2011 film “Thor” directed by the great Kenneth Branagh. Branagh must have needed the cash. Thor’s father Odin is played by Anthony Hopkins. He must have needed the cash too …

32. Smidge : SKOSH

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

Our word “smidgen” (sometimes shortened to “smidge”) is used to describe a small amount. The term might come from the Scots word “smitch” that means the same thing or “a small insignificant person”.

34. “Africa” band : TOTO

Toto is an American rock band dating back to 1977. As well as their big hit “Rosanna”, Toto also sang another good tune called “Africa”.

36. Chowderheads : DOPES

The word “chowderhead”, applied to someone who is regarded as stupid, has nothing to do with chowder at all. Rather, it is a corruption of an older term “cholter-head” meaning the same thing, but of unknown origin.

37. Dudes-only : STAG

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

38. Spongy toy : NERF BALL

Nerf is soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

41. Matte finish? : SILENT E

The last letter in the word “matte” is a silent letter E.

45. Kidd stuff : PIRACY

William Kidd was a Scottish privateer who went by the name “Captain Kidd”. Although Kidd was a privateer, someone authorized by the government to attack foreign shipping, he was eventually arrested and executed for piracy. There is common opinion held today that the charges against Kidd were actually trumped up. Captain Kidd’s story was the basis of a 1945 film called “Captain Kidd” starring Charles Laughton in the title role. Laughton also appeared as Captain Kidd in 1952’s comic movie “Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd”.

48. Complete, as a PDF contract : E-SIGN

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

51. Michelle Robinson’s married name : OBAMA

Michelle Obama née Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Her brother is Craig Robinson, former coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another …

52. Gen. Assembly member : UN REP

The United Nations was established right after the end of WWII, and was a replacement for the ineffective League of Nations that had been formed after the end of WWI. The US was at the forefront of the founding of the United Nations, led by President Franklin Roosevelt just prior to the start of WWII. The UN’s headquarters is in international territory in New York. There are three regional UN headquarters, also located in international territory, in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.

59. Country singer David Allan __ : COE

David Allan Coe is a so-called “outlaw” country music singer, a performer who spent much of his life behind bars (penitentiary bars). One the more famous songs that he wrote is “Take This Job and Shove It”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Story with many chapters : SAGA
5. Hoops gp. since 1996 : WNBA
9. Colorado tribe : UTES
13. Curved fastener : U-BOLT
15. Remote batteries : AAAS
16. Former Persian ruler : SHAH
17. Actor who’s anxious to get the Halloween party startled? : BOO BRIDGES (from “Beau Bridges”)
19. Only : MERE
20. Man __: trendy hairstyle : BUN
21. Neighborhood : AREA
22. Sonnet line fivesome : IAMBI
23. Communications co. with a blue-and-white globe logo : AT&T
24. Sci-fi character trying to creep it real? : MISTER SPOOK (from “Mister Spock”)
27. Bends to retie laces, say : STOOPS
29. Velvet-voiced Tormé : MEL
30. Air rifle ammo : BBS
31. One might put stock in it : SOUP
32. Small keyboard : SPINET
35. Comedian who says no body’s perfect? : RED SKELETON (from “Red Skelton”)
39. Zero : NOT ONE
40. Composer who was a CBS reporter : TESH
43. Medium ability : ESP
46. __ de deux : PAS
47. Everycity, USA : PEORIA
49. Pop group whose music is in en-crypted files? : SPICE GHOULS (from “Spice Girls”)
53. __ shot : FLU
54. Pear centers : CORES
55. __ B’rith : B’NAI
56. Former Fed chair Bernanke : BEN
57. Just barely : A TAD
58. Actor who frights for every part? : SCARY GRANT (from “Cary Grant”)
61. Show impatience, in a way : PACE
62. Opposite of away : HOME
63. Actor Nick : NOLTE
64. Ice cream brand : EDY’S
65. Messy stack : HEAP
66. Ran, as dye : BLED

Down

1. Speaker for low sounds : SUB-BASS
2. Momentarily will, after “is” : ABOUT TO
3. Travel with the band : GO ON TOUR
4. Greece neighbor: Abbr. : ALB
5. Gets one’s feet wet : WADES
6. Bedevil : NAG AT
7. Sweetie, in slang : BAE
8. Donkey : ASS
9. 50states.com graphic, for short : US MAP
10. Crime film group : THE MOB
11. Dangling jewelry : EARBOB
12. Mideast chieftains : SHEIKS
14. Pooch who shared spaghetti with Lady : TRAMP
18. Crocus kin : IRIS
22. Florida key, e.g. : ISLET
25. Novelist Zola : EMILE
26. Russo who plays Frigga in “Thor” films : RENE
28. Uncork, say : OPEN
32. Smidge : SKOSH
33. Fenced-in area : PEN
34. “Africa” band : TOTO
36. Chowderheads : DOPES
37. Dudes-only : STAG
38. Spongy toy : NERF BALL
41. Matte finish? : SILENT E
42. Like this puzzle’s theme? : HAUNTED
43. Way out : ESCAPE
44. Brief TV plug : SPOT AD
45. Kidd stuff : PIRACY
47. Remote button : PLAY
48. Complete, as a PDF contract : E-SIGN
50. Gives over (to) : CEDES
51. Michelle Robinson’s married name : OBAMA
52. Gen. Assembly member : UN REP
58. “Lower your voice!” : SHH!
59. Country singer David Allan __ : COE
60. Steal from : ROB

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17 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 31 Oct 18, Wednesday”

  1. 14:42, no errors.

    Did it using Across Lite on my iPad after paying five bucks to turn on “premium” features (like the timer). I’m not used to the way in which the app moves the cursor around and I had to stop in the middle of the solve to turn off some overly loud clicking sounds, resulting in a somewhat inflated time. Might be useful, though (after I get past the learning curve).

  2. Very clever and difficult, but fun puzzle. My wife and I got 85% of it and I
    really enjoyed trying it. A good brain teaser and I feel really good about
    what we were able to accomplish. All you fellow puzzleers did some good
    times, in my estimation. Kudos and Happy Halloween to all.

  3. 17:27. Fun one. Halloweeny…uh…ish.

    Bruce Haight also did today’s NYT crossword. I didn’t realize he’s an ophthalmologist in San Diego. He talks about his puzzles in this little blurb in the San Diego Tribune http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-me-crossword-puzzler-20161213-story.html

    I also didn’t realize he had an 18 year old son, Ryan, who died of an overdose of Vicodin back in 2001. Evidently back then you could order it online from doctors who had never even met you (really?). Introduced into congress by Diane Feinstein and signed into law by President Bush, the Ryan Haight Pharmacy Act was enacted in 2008. It put what are still a lot of the restrictions of such things for controlled substances into law. There are currently some issues with the wording of the law that is causing issues with legitimate online medicine, but you have to appreciate Bruce’s determination to use his son’s death as a way to keep the same from happening to others. Kudos.

    Best –

  4. Agree with @Daigle, clever and difficult for a Wednesday. I had 6 Googles, but got the cute and timely theme. Maybe it was a Thursday puzzle, but Halloween fell on a Wednesday?
    Had hAunT before NAG AT: stemS before seedS before CORES.
    Never heard of WNBA (sports), COE, BAE, EARBOB, SKOSH.

  5. Devilishly clever puzzle today. Hadn’t seen or heard the word Skosh since the Korean war era.
    If it continues to rain this evening as hard as it has so far today, I may have enough Halloween candy left over to OD on.
    Eddie

  6. The teenage boy in me results in seeing “boob ridges” for 17 across. This is somewhat along the SNL “Celebrity Jeopardy” send ups that had the “Sean Connery” character seeing the “Pen is Mightier” category as “Penis Mightier”. My apologies in advance for anyone I have offended with my puerile humor.

  7. 12:39, no errors. A big, loud, “BOOOO” for the 44 down fill. Spot Ad is just plain wrong in its usage. If the words are *reversed*, that’s more commonly seen or referred to. I did appreciate the Hollowe’en puns, though. Brought a smile to my face.

  8. Had trouble with the SE corner. Those “silent” e’s, a’s or whatever, never enter my mind for some reason. Dah! And “Scary Grant” was another non-event. But otherwise it was fun like most of you voiced. Oh, and the clue for Peoria had me stumped, so again I DNF.

  9. Moderately difficult Wednesday; took about 20 minutes, with a break to go shopping in the middle, and no errors. Had a bit of trouble in the NW and SW, but finally just filled it what I knew and saw the rest.

    I share a birthday with Red Skelton, which didn’t prevent me from forgetting how to spell his last name. Happy Halloween to everyone!

  10. Boo!!🎃
    No errors. Fuzzle!! Didn’t understand SILENT E till I got here! I figured it was just something I didn’t know. 🙃

    The puns were cute!! I like SCARY GRANT, especially because I find Cary Grant’s acting kinda scarily bad sometimes. A bit stiff….and he always sounds like he’s sorta doing an imitation of himself. Give me Gregory Peck any time, if we’re talking that era.

    Jeff, thanks for the link. Kudos indeed to Dr. Haight.

    Be well ~~🎃🍬🍭

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