LA Times Crossword 22 Dec 18, Saturday

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 10m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Hypoallergenic wool : ALPACA

Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. Alpaca wool is similar to that of a sheep, but it is much smoother and lacks lanolin, which makes it relatively hypoallergenic. There are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

7. Chinese way of life : TAOISM

The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Taoism signifies the true nature of the world.

14. Taiwanese drink originally made with milk and tapioca pearls : BOBA TEA

Bubble tea, sometimes called boba tea, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

16. Series of celebratory visits : PUB CRAWL

A pub crawl (not that I’ve ever been on one!) is a tour of a selection of local public houses. One usually takes one drink at each stop, which might perhaps explain the use of the word “crawl” …

18. Fixes, as a pump : RESOLES

A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.

24. Cat’s hangout : SILL

“Sill plate”, or simply “sill”, is an architectural term for a bottom horizontal member to which vertical members are attached. Windowsills and doorsills are specific sill plates found at the bottoms of a window and door openings.

25. Prominent parade brass : TUBAS

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all the brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

27. The Cuban? : LAS

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. The exact etymology of the name “Cuba” seems a little unclear. Most believe “Cuba” to be derived from the Taíno terms for “where fertile land is abundant” (cubao) or “great place” (coabana).

28. Wolf in “The Jungle Book” : AKELA

Akela is the wolf in the “Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. He gave his name to a cubmaster in the scouting movement, now known as “Akela”.

32. Place for a frozen treat : GELATO STAND

Gelato (plural “gelati”) is the Italian version of American ice cream, differing in that it has a lower butterfat content than its US counterpart.

36. Apps with errors : BETAS

In the world of software development, the first tested issue of a new program is usually called the alpha version. Expected to have a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, the alpha release is usually distributed to a small number of testers. After reported bugs have been eliminated, the refined version is called a beta and is released to a wider audience, but with the program clearly labeled as “beta”. The users generally check functionality and report further bugs that are encountered. The beta version feeds into a release candidate, the version that is tested just prior to the software being sold into the market, hopefully bug-free.

39. Avril follower : MAI

In French, “avril” (April) is followed by “mai” (May).

43. Sharp picker-upper : TALON

A talon is a claw of a bird of prey. The term “talon” ultimately derives from “talus”, the Latin word for “ankle”.

46. Early Melotone Records competitor : RCA

Melotone Records was a record label in the 1930s. It specialized in supplying budget-priced 78 rpm discs, and so became quite popular during the Depression Era. Three Melotone records sold for a dollar in 1932.

54. Life-saving devices, at times : EPIPENS

EpiPen is a brand name of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, which is a common treatment for an extreme allergic reaction.

57. Two-day trip, often : RED-EYE

A red-eye flight is one departing late at night and arriving early the next morning. The term is a reference to tired passengers disembarking with red eyes.

Down

5. __ Fire: 230,000-acre Northern California conflagration of 2018 : CARR

2018s Carr Fire was, at the time, the sixth-most destructive fire in the history of California. It destroyed over 1,600 homes and other structures in the northwest of the state. The fire started accidentally when a tire on a towed trailer blew out causing the steel rim to scrape along the road surface. The sparks that were generated set fire to dry vegetation along the edge of the highway.

7. Maguire of “Spider-Man” : TOBEY

Actor Tobey Maguire is most associated with the role of Spider-Man these days. I’m not much into comic book hero films, but I do kind of enjoy the understated way that Maguire takes on “Spidey”. Maguire has appeared in other hit films, like “Pleasantville” (1998), “The Cider House Rules” (1999) and “Seabiscuit” (2003). Off the screen, he is big into poker and it’s said that he has won over $10 million playing poker in Hollywood. Apparently, the rather unsavory character “Player X” in the 2017 movie “Molly Bloom” was largely inspired by Maguire.

10. Ballet’s birthplace, to Parisians : ITALIE

“Italie” is the French word for “Italy”.

Ballet is a type of dance that originated in Italy during the Renaissance. The term “ballet” ultimately derives from the Greek “ballizo” meaning “to dance”.

11. “Black Beauty” author : SEWELL

English novelist Anna Sewell only wrote one book in her life, which was the immensely popular “Black Beauty” first published in 1877. The book was written at the tail end of Sewell’s life, over a period of six years while her health was declining. “Black Beauty” was an immediate success, and is supposedly the sixth best selling title in the English language. Sewell died just five months after the book was published, but she did get to see its immediate success.

12. __ Fund: org. supporting girls’ education founded by a 2014 Nobelist : MALALA

“I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” is a memoir co-written by Malala Yousafzai and British journalist Christina Lamb. The title tells the essence of Malala’s story. She started a blog when she was 11 or 12 that outlined her life in northwest Pakistan under occupation by the Taliban. As the Pakistani military regained control of the area, Malala’s story was related in a documentary and she gave frequent interviews. One day a gunman came looking for her, and found her on a school bus. He shot Malala three times, with one bullet going into her forehead. She survived, and was taken to England to recuperate. She was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17, making her the youngest ever Nobel laureate.

14. Informal discussion : BULL SESSION

The phrase “bull session” was popularized by American college students in the 1920s. The term refers to a discussion, particularly between male friends.

16. Side with a dog : POTATO SALAD

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

19. Elmore Leonard novel whose title overlaps itself on some covers : SPLIT IMAGES

“Split Images” is a 1981 crime novel by Elmore Leonard. It’s about a Florida playboy who gets a kick out of murdering people.

Elmore Leonard used to write a lot of westerns in the fifties and moved onto crime and suspense novels later in his career. A lot of his books have made it to the big screen, including “Get Shorty” and “Mr Majestyk”.

24. “Sweet Home Alabama” band, familiarly : SKYNYRD

Lynyrd Skynyrd is a southern rock band that formed in 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida as My Backyard. The name was changed to “Leonard Skinnerd” in 1969, and then to “Lynyrd Skynyrd” a few months later. The chosen name was a wry tribute to the member’s phys-ed teacher at high school, one Leonard Skinner. Lynyrd Skynyrd were most successful in the 1970s, when they recorded their two biggest hits: “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. Sadly, three of the original band members were killed in a plane crash in 1977.

26. Four-time Australian Open champ : SELES

Monica Seles has a Hungarian name as she was born to Hungarian parents in former Yugoslavia. Seles was the World No. 1 professional tennis player in 1991 and 1992 before being forced from the sport when she was stabbed by a spectator at a match in 1993. She did return to the game two years later, but never achieved the same level of success.

28. Carne __ : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

30. Finger-pointing uncle : SAM

The famous “I want YOU for the US Army” poster dates back to 1917. It depicts Uncle Sam pointing to the viewer, encouraging young men to report to the nearest recruiting station. The poster was designed by J. M. Flagg and is based on the similar British poster showing Lord Kitchener that was first issued three years earlier.

37. Pen pals’ plan? : ESCAPE

“Pen” is a slang term for “penitentiary”. Back in the early 1400s, a penitentiary was a place to do “penance”, a place of punishment for offences against the church.

43. 16th-century council site : TRENT

Trento is a city in northern Italy that is famous as the host of the 16th-century Council of Trent held by the Roman Catholic Church. This Ecumenical Council meeting was held largely in response to the growing Protestant Reformation. The decisions made at the Council of Trent led to the Counter-Reformation, the revival of the Catholic church over the following 100 years.

44. African country with rich uranium deposits : 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.

47. German auto : OPEL

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

51. Mother’s Day destination : SPA

Note the official punctuation in “Mother’s Day”, even though one might think it should be “Mothers’ Day”. President Wilson and Anna Jarvis, who created the tradition, specifically wanted Mother’s Day to honor the mothers within each family and not just “mothers” in general, so they went with the “Mother’s Day” punctuation.

53. Talk acronym : TED

The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Hypoallergenic wool : ALPACA
7. Chinese way of life : TAOISM
13. Be the victim of a slaying? : ROAR AT
14. Taiwanese drink originally made with milk and tapioca pearls : BOBA TEA
15. Sports cheaters : DOPERS
16. Series of celebratory visits : PUB CRAWL
17. Squeeze (out) : EKE
18. Fixes, as a pump : RESOLES
20. Green span : LEA
21. Convention : NORM
23. Because it fits : APTLY
24. Cat’s hangout : SILL
25. Prominent parade brass : TUBAS
27. The Cuban? : LAS
28. Wolf in “The Jungle Book” : AKELA
29. Kicks back : TAKES IT EASY
32. Place for a frozen treat : GELATO STAND
34. Response to a welcome return : WE MISSED YOU
36. Apps with errors : BETAS
39. Avril follower : MAI
40. Stopped lying : AROSE
42. Drained of color : ASHY
43. Sharp picker-upper : TALON
45. Put under : DRUG
46. Early Melotone Records competitor : RCA
47. Produce aisle option : ORGANIC
49. Turn sharply : ZAG
50. Factor in exit velocity, in baseball : BAT SPEED
52. Wore thin : GOT OLD
54. Life-saving devices, at times : EPIPENS
55. In a calm manner : EVENLY
56. Make drinkable, in a way : DESALT
57. Two-day trip, often : RED-EYE

Down

1. Deeply devoted : ARDENT
2. Guard : LOOKOUT
3. Checkout choice : PAPER BAG
4. Equal : ARE
5. __ Fire: 230,000-acre Northern California conflagration of 2018 : CARR
6. Bewildered : AT SEA
7. Maguire of “Spider-Man” : TOBEY
8. Early lesson : ABCS
9. Boat mover : OAR
10. Ballet’s birthplace, to Parisians : ITALIE
11. “Black Beauty” author : SEWELL
12. __ Fund: org. supporting girls’ education founded by a 2014 Nobelist : MALALA
14. Informal discussion : BULL SESSION
16. Side with a dog : POTATO SALAD
19. Elmore Leonard novel whose title overlaps itself on some covers : SPLIT IMAGES
22. Step aside : MAKE WAY
24. “Sweet Home Alabama” band, familiarly : SKYNYRD
26. Four-time Australian Open champ : SELES
28. Carne __ : ASADA
30. Finger-pointing uncle : SAM
31. Enjoyed a roll : ATE
33. Hazardous area for a bicyclist passing a parked car : DOOR ZONE
35. By and large : USUALLY
36. Like fishhooks, as a rule : BARBED
37. Pen pals’ plan? : ESCAPE
38. “In other words … ” : THAT IS …
41. Dip popular at Easter : EGG DYE
43. 16th-century council site : TRENT
44. African country with rich uranium deposits : NIGER
47. German auto : OPEL
48. Dock setting : COVE
51. Mother’s Day destination : SPA
53. Talk acronym : TED

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25 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 22 Dec 18, Saturday”

  1. LAT: 51:44, no errors. Another complete total mess of a puzzle – for some reason I had the patience to see this one out instead of recognize it for what it is and quit. WSJ: 31:10, 1 error on a bad guess (74A-47D). Newsday and Croce sometime later maybe.

    1. Newsday: 38:48, no errors. Good solid NYT Saturday equivalent. Forget if this is five or six of these this year, but pointing up above… Yeesh.

  2. 85% yesterday and way low today. No errors on the ones I knew, but they
    were too few and far between. Monday will be better.

    Bill’s double time showed me that it was too hard to even pursue.

  3. LAT: 17:11, no errors; did it late last night and lost several minutes to a couple of stupid missteps, but finally recovered. Newsday: 22:36, no errors; much easier than usual (a Christmas gift, I think 😜). WSJ: 21:57, no errors; a pleasant outing, and I’m continuing to enjoy the fact that I finally found a way to print a version formatted for a letter-sized (instead of legal-sized) sheet of paper!

    And I have an answer for Friday’s WSJ meta, but will send it in only if I can’t find a better one: it’s just too klutzy to be a Mike Shenk product.

  4. LAT: couldn’t close on it. Upper right NE corner did me in. Had “lair” instead of “sill” for Cat’s corner, which destroyed surrounding answers for me. First time in a long time I was defeated. Hat’s off to author Burnikel.

    1. Hi Ken. The “slaying” is in the sense of what a comic may do to their audience and the resulting roaring laughter.

    2. You beat me to it, Ken (and I noticed Bill wisely dodged it in his notes). My guess: You’re the “victim” of a “slaying” if you laugh loudly (roar) at a joke (as in, “So funny! That guy really slays me”).
      If that’s it, it’s as clever as it is hilarious. You think CC came up with it all by herself, or had “help” from her editor?

    3. How is ‘Las” the answer to The Cuban?
      If the clue was supposed to be ‘The, Cuban?” Then you have made an error.

  5. 13 Across “Be the victim of a slaying?” is a very clever Saturday clue/answer. No errors but a bit of “mulling” time (as opposed to Mueller Time?). Excellent example of a difficult but doable puzzle for Saturday. Thanks C.C.!

    1. It should have a comma in it, as in: The, Cuban? Las is the word “the” to a Cuban.

      I really don’t like “cute” clues like this. Or those “imperatives” you get every once in a while… like, Drive it and the answer is CAR, for example.

  6. 19 mins, 40 sec, no errors. If not for yesterday’s outrageously bad puzzle, I might have had an error-free week.

  7. Tricky in the southeast corner. Had “go bald” before “got old”, but finally realized my error. Good puzzle!

  8. Yesterday and several other times you were mentioning ”dixie” got to be a name for the south. Another theory is that it is named after the Mason Dixon line which was supposed to divide north and south.

  9. Had to do it on-line and caved after a while and turned on red letters. The timer said 38 minutes and without cheating I probably would have taken about 1.5 hrs. Some pretty obscure clues, so I’m not sure I would have finished error free if I’d done it on paper.

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