LA Times Crossword 31 Aug 19, Saturday

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Constructed by: Neville Fogarty & Paolo Pasco
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 11m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Mideast presidential name since 1971 : ASSAD

Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman by birth.

14 Dutch treat? : APPLE PIE

Here in the US, a Dutch apple pie is an apple pie with a streusel topping. Streusel is a crumbly topping made from flour, butter and sugar that is baked on top of pies, breads and muffins.

19 Word preceding an opinion : CENTS

To put in one’s two cents is to add one’s opinion. The American expression derives from the older English version, which is “to put in one’s two pennies’ worth”.

22 Base used often : TEN

We use a base-ten numbering system, with ten digits (0 – 9). The binary system, or base-two, uses just two digits (0 & 1). The binary system is used at a fundamental level in computing, because the number 0 and 1 can be represented by microcircuits being switched “on” or “off”.

23 “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” playwright : ALBEE

Playwright Edward Albee’s most famous play is “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Albee won three Pulitzer Prizes for Drama:

  • 1967: “A Delicate Balance”
  • 1975: “Seascape”
  • 1994: “Three Tall Women”

Albee also won three Tony Awards:

  • 1963: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (Best Play)
  • 2002: “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?”
  • 2005: Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is an Edward Albee play that premiered on Broadway in 1962. The play won a Tony in 1963, and was adapted into a successful film in 1966 starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis. The stage version is a lengthy production lasting over three hours.

24 Longtime ISP : AOL

AOL was a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The company does still provide dial-up access to the Internet for some subscribers, but most users now access AOL using faster, non-AOL ISPs.

25 Common picture postcard color : AZURE

Azurite is a copper mineral that is deep blue in color (i.e. “azure”). That color can fade when the mineral is exposed to heat, and indeed air. The lightening of the color limits the use of azurite as a pigment and in jewelry.

28 Ones bringing charges, briefly : DAS

District Attorney (DA)

34 “Gone Girl” girl : AMY

“Gone Girl” is a thriller novel written by Gillian Flynn that was first published in 2012. The story tells of a man whose wife has disappeared, with the reader not being certain if the husband is involved in the disappearance. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name released in 2014, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

39 Consort of Shiva : KALI

Kali is a Hindu goddess and the consort of Lord Shiva. The name “Kali” translates as “the black one”.

Shiva is one of the major deities of the Hindu tradition, and is known as the destroyer of evil and the transformer. Shiva is also part of the Hindu trinity known as the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

42 Vientiane people : LAO

Vientiane is the capital city of Laos, and is situated on the famous Mekong River. The city was originally called the “city of sandalwood” by Buddhist monks, naming after the valued trees that grew in the area. The French took the Pali words for “city of sandalwood” and rewrote it as the French-sounding “Vientiane”.

43 Story collection including “Robbie” : I, ROBOT

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a marvelous collection of short stories called “I, Robot” that were first published together in 1950. In the stories, he makes repeated reference to the Three Laws of Robotics, which he introduced in the story “Runaround”, first published in 1942. The three laws are:

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

“Robbie” is a 1940 short by science-fiction author Isaac Asimov. Famously, Asimov wrote many works featuring robots over his lifetime, and “Robbie” was the first.

50 Blackjack component : ACE

The card game known as “twenty-one” was first referred to in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “ventiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

51 Asian noodle dish : RAMEN

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

52 UFC sport : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …

54 Philosophical principle that rules out unlikely explanations : RAZOR

In the world of philosophy, a razor is a technique used to eliminate those explanations for a phenomenon that are unlikely. The most famous such technique is Occam’s razor, which asserts that the simpler explanations are the most likely. The use of the term “razor” comes from the concept of “shaving off” what is less likely to be true.

57 Diamond ploy : STEAL

That would be baseball.

59 Preppy collars : ETONS

An Eton collar is a wide, stiff, buttoned collar that is still part of the formal school uniform at Eton College near Windsor in England.

A “preppy” is a student or graduate of a preparatory school. Such a school is designed to prepare students for college, and is often private with expensive fees.

60 Garfield’s successor : ARTHUR

The US has twice had three presidents in the same year. It first happened in 1841. Martin Van Buren’s single term ended on March 4th, after he lost an election to William Henry Harrison. Harrison was president for only one month, as he died of pneumonia on April 4th. Vice President John Tyler took over the presidency for the rest of the year, and served until March 4th, 1845. The second time we had three presidents was in 1881. The year started with Rutherford B. Hayes in office. He kept his pledge not to run for reelection and handed over the reins to election victor James A. Garfield on March 4th. Famously, Garfield was shot on July 2nd, and died due to complications from his wounds a few months later on September 19th. Vice President Chester A. Arthur then took over as president.

64 Vacanza a dicembre : NATALE

In Italian, “Natale” (Christmas) is a “vacanza a dicembre” (December holiday).

65 Quick, provocative reactions, as to current news : HOT TAKES

The term “hot take” is from the world of journalism, and was coined relatively recently. It describes the shabby technique of making a provocative comment about a news event, usually with the intent of encouraging angry responses from readers or listeners.

67 Hoodwink : OUTSMART

“To hoodwink” has had the meaning “to deceive” since about 1600. Prior to that it meant simply “to blindfold”, and is simply a combining of the words “hood” and “wink”.

Down

1 Robin’s milieu : BATCAVE

Wayne Manor is the home of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. It is a huge manor that lies just outside Gotham City. Looking after the house is the Wayne family servant, Alfred. Beneath the grounds of the manor is an extensive cave system where Bruce Wayne put together his Batcave. Access to the cave is via a staircase behind a hidden door. The door is opened by moving the hands of a non-functioning grandfather clock to 10:47, the time at which Wayne’s parents were murdered. It is the murder of his parents that sets Bruce off on his journey of crime fighting.

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

2 Laertes’ sister : OPHELIA

In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia is courted by Hamlet. In Act III, Hamlet is pretty depressed and upset, and addresses Ophelia with the famous line “Get thee to a nunn’ry, why woulds’t thou be a breeder of sinners?” In this scene, Hamlet is denying that he ever loved Ophelia, and exhorts her to “become a nun”, so that she may never have to give birth to someone as pitiful and sinful as himself.

In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, Laertes is the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. It is Laertes who kills Hamlet using a poisoned sword..

4 1971 title detective : KLUTE

“Klute” is an entertaining 1971 crime thriller film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Fonda won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.

6 Toon storekeeper : APU

The fictional Kwik-E-Mart store is operated by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons” TV show. Apu is married to Manjula, and the couple have eight children. The convenience store owner doesn’t seem to be making much use of his Ph.D in computer science that he earned in the US. Apu’s undergraduate degree is from Caltech (the Calcutta Technical Institute), where he graduated top of his class of seven million students …

7 Vaqueros’ props : RIATAS

The Spanish suffix “-ero” can be added to a noun to describe someone who works with that “noun”. Examples would be a “vaquero” (a cowboy working with a “vaca”, a cow) and a “torero” (a bullfighter fighting a “toro”, a bull).

8 Kutcher’s “That ’70s Show” role : KELSO

Ashton Kutcher played the character Michael Kelso on Fox’s “That ‘70s Show”. Kelso was Kutcher’s breakthrough acting role. Kutcher then starred in the sitcom “Two and a Half Men”, replacing the “disgraced” Charlie Sheen. In 2009, Kutcher became the first user on Twitter to get over 1 million followers. I wasn’t one of them …

10 Sweet treat : SUNDAE

There’s a lot of speculation about how the dessert called a sundae got its name, but there seems to be agreement that it is an alteration of the word “Sunday”.

11 Mach 1 flier : SST

Supersonic transports (SSTs) like the Concorde broke Mach 1, the speed of sound. As a plane flies through the air, it creates pressure waves in front (and behind) rather like the bow and stern waves of a boat. These pressure waves travel at the speed of sound, so as an aircraft itself accelerates towards the speed of sound it catches up with the pressure waves until they cannot “get out of the way”. When the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, the compressed waves merge into one single shock wave, creating a sonic boom.

12 Yellowfin : AHI TUNA

Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.

13 Analgesic brand : DEMEROL

Demerol is a brand of pethidine, an opioid pain medication.

Our word “analgesic”, meaning “painkiller”comes from “analgesia”, a Greek word meaning “painlessness”.

21 Artist who influenced Schiele : KLIMT

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter who primarily painted the female body, often producing works that were described as erotic. One of Klimt’s most famous paintings is “The Kiss”, which he completed in 1908.

Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter who was noted for his explicit and sexual drawings. Indeed, his style got him locked up in 1912 and he was eventually found guilty of exhibiting erotic drawings in a place accessible by children. The judge even burned one of Schiele’s drawings over a candle flame in the court.

26 Marx Brothers straight man : ZEPPO

“Zeppo” was the stage name of Herbert, the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Zeppo appeared in the first five Marx Brothers movies, always playing the straight man and the romantic lead. After he quit acting, Zeppo owned a company called Marman Products, and developed what’s known today as the Marman Clamp. Marman clamps were used to secure the first atomic bombs used by the US military. They are still used today in spaceflight systems.

29 Youngest to win six Grammys in one night : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US.

31 Its flag has two green stars : SYRIA

The Syrian national flag is a red, white and black tricolor with two green stars in the middle. The design was adopted in 1958 when Syria joined the United Arab Republic, along with Egypt. The two green stars represent Syria and Egypt, the two members of that short-lived political union.

33 45 half : B-SIDE

The first vinyl records designed to play at 33⅓ rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first long play (LP) 33⅓ rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

37 Fictional invitation written in currants : EAT ME

In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Alice follows the white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds a bottle labelled “DRINK ME”. When she drinks the contents, it causes her to shrink. She also sees a cake adorned with the words “EAT ME” written using currants, and when she eats the cake she grows so big she finds it hard to stand up. After eating the cake, she utters the words, “Curiouser and curiouser”.

39 Hangul alphabet user : KOREAN

Hangul is the name given to the Korean alphabet and official writing system in South Korea. Hangul was personally created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great in an effort to promote literacy among his people.

40 “Lolita” character Vivian Darkbloom, to Vladimir Nabokov : ANAGRAM

Vivian Darkbloom is a character in Vladimir Nabokov’s novels “Lolita” and “Ada”. Nobokov is in fact making a cameo appearance in his own works by using this character, as “Vivian Darkbloom” is an anagram of “Vladimir Nabokov”. Nabokov was fond of cameo appearances it seems. In his novel “King, Queen, Knave” there’s a character Blavdak Vinomori, and that’s another of anagram of the author’s name.

41 Rival of boxer Robinson : LAMOTTA

Jake LaMotta is a retired Italian-American boxer and former world champion. Famously. LaMotta was played by Robert De Niro in the 1980 movie “Raging Bull”. LaMotta’s nickname is “The Bronx Bull” as well as “The Raging Bull”.

Sugar Ray Robinson was a welterweight and middleweight boxer who fought in the ring from 1940 until 1965. Many regard Robinson as the greatest boxer of all time. One of his saddest fights was a non-title bout in 1947 against Jimmy Doyle. Robinson knocked his opponent unconscious in the eight round, and Doyle died soon after. Doyle had planned on buying his mother a house using his earnings from the fight. A devastated Robinson gave Doyle’s mother the money she needed for that house, fulfilling her son’s wishes.

44 Arm on a shoulder : BAZOOKA

A bazooka is a metal tube rocket launcher. The first bazooka-type weapon was developed for the US Army just before the end of WWI. The weapon is also known as a “stovepipe”, due to its appearance.

45 “Woe Is I” author Patricia : O’CONNER

Patricia O’Conner has written five books about the English language, including “Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English”. What a great subject for a book! I need to buy it for my kids. And to be honest, for me too …

46 Least gassy : TERSEST

A person who is babbling might be described as gassy, i.e. emptily verbose.

49 “Cat __”: Jane Fonda film : BALLOU

“Cat Ballou” is a 1965 film, a comedy western starring Jane Fonda in the title role and Lee Marvin in dual roles, for which Marvin won his only Oscar. The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Roy Chanslor. The book is a serious and quite dark work, but it was lightened up for the big screen.

Jane Fonda is the daughter of Henry Fonda, sister of Peter Fonda, and aunt of Bridget Fonda, making the Fondas quite the acting family. Jane Fonda had many memorable screen performances, but is equally memorable for her anti-war activism. Most famously she was outspoken against the Vietnam War, going so far as to visit North Vietnam during the height of the conflict in 1972, posing for photographs and making radio broadcasts denouncing American leaders as “war criminals”. For her stance, Fonda was nicknamed “Hanoi Jane”.

53 Like action heroes : MACHO

A macho man is one showing pride in his masculinity. “Macho” is a Spanish word for “male animal”.

63 Slugger Mel : OTT

At 5′ 9″, baseball legend Mel Ott weighed just 170 lb (I don’t think he took steroids!) and yet he was the first National League player to hit over 500 home runs. Sadly, Ott died in a car accident in New Orleans in 1958 when he was only 49 years old. And, according to Wikipedia, “Ott’s name frequently appears in crossword puzzles, on account of its letter combination and brevity.” True that …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Literary reminder : BOOKMARK
9 Mideast presidential name since 1971 : ASSAD
14 Dutch treat? : APPLE PIE
15 More green : LUSHER
17 Regular order : THE USUAL
18 Hoped-for airport monitor update : ON TIME
19 Word preceding an opinion : CENTS
20 Chided : TSKED
22 Base used often : TEN
23 “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” playwright : ALBEE
24 Longtime ISP : AOL
25 Common picture postcard color : AZURE
27 Routing preposition : VIA
28 Ones bringing charges, briefly : DAS
30 “Gotcha” : I SEE NOW
32 Canal speaker : EARBUD
34 “Gone Girl” girl : AMY
35 Buds : PALS
36 Limit-enforcing tactic : SPEED TRAP
39 Consort of Shiva : KALI
42 Vientiane people : LAO
43 Story collection including “Robbie” : I, ROBOT
47 Trying to lose : ON A DIET
49 Comics fight sound : BAM!
50 Blackjack component : ACE
51 Asian noodle dish : RAMEN
52 UFC sport : MMA
54 Philosophical principle that rules out unlikely explanations : RAZOR
56 48-Down victim : EGO
57 Diamond ploy : STEAL
59 Preppy collars : ETONS
60 Garfield’s successor : ARTHUR
62 “Whew!” evoker : CLOSE ONE!
64 Vacanza a dicembre : NATALE
65 Quick, provocative reactions, as to current news : HOT TAKES
66 Finish choice : MATTE
67 Hoodwink : OUTSMART

Down

1 Robin’s milieu : BATCAVE
2 Laertes’ sister : OPHELIA
3 Place for free rounds : OPEN BAR
4 1971 title detective : KLUTE
5 Wack : MESSED UP
6 Toon storekeeper : APU
7 Vaqueros’ props : RIATAS
8 Kutcher’s “That ’70s Show” role : KELSO
9 Moisturizer ingredient : ALOE
10 Sweet treat : SUNDAE
11 Mach 1 flier : SST
12 Yellowfin : AHI TUNA
13 Analgesic brand : DEMEROL
16 Starts over : RENEWS
21 Artist who influenced Schiele : KLIMT
26 Marx Brothers straight man : ZEPPO
29 Youngest to win six Grammys in one night : ADELE
31 Its flag has two green stars : SYRIA
33 45 half : B-SIDE
34 Excitement : ADO
37 Fictional invitation written in currants : EAT ME
38 Seat sides : ARMRESTS
39 Hangul alphabet user : KOREAN
40 “Lolita” character Vivian Darkbloom, to Vladimir Nabokov : ANAGRAM
41 Rival of boxer Robinson : LAMOTTA
44 Arm on a shoulder : BAZOOKA
45 “Woe Is I” author Patricia : O’CONNER
46 Least gassy : TERSEST
48 56-Across damager : INSULT
49 “Cat __”: Jane Fonda film : BALLOU
53 Like action heroes : MACHO
55 Prioritized players : A-TEAM
58 Evolutionary diagram : TREE
61 Overhead expense? : HAT
63 Slugger Mel : OTT