LA Times Crossword 17 Aug 19, Saturday

Bill’s time: 8m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cute but nerdy : ADORKABLE

I consider “dork” and “adorkable” to be pretty offensive slang. “Dork” originated in the sixties among American students, and has its roots in another slang term, a term for male genitalia.

15 Area adjoining a bridge : RADAR ROOM

The captain of old sailing ships commanded the vessel from the quarterdeck at the rear, where the ship’s wheel was located. When paddle steamers were introduced, captains controlled the ship from a platform positioned between the two paddle houses at either side of the vessel. It was this “bridge” spanning the vessel that led to our modern use of the term “bridge” for the forward part of a ship’s superstructure from which the ship is navigated.

16 Hall of fame : ANNIE

I suppose if there is any Woody Allen movie that I enjoy watching, it’s “Annie Hall” from 1977. I think Diane Keaton is a great actress and she is wonderful in this film. You’ll see Paul Simon as well, making a rare movie appearance, and even Truman Capote playing himself. The film is also famous for sparking a movement in the fashion world to adopt the “Annie Hall” look, that very distinctive appearance championed by Diane Keaton as the Annie Hall character.

19 “Red Rocks” city : SEDONA

I’ve been to Red Rock State Park near Sedona several times, and it is a lovely place to visit. I read somewhere that there is a guided moonlight hike available, a 2½-hour guided trek that takes in sunset and moonrise. It’s on my list of things to do …

23 Animated queen : NALA

In “The Lion King”, Nala is a lioness and the childhood friend of Simba. By the end of the story, Nala and Simba become wedded. “The Lion King” is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, with Simba representing the title character, and Nala representing Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia.

25 Inc. relative : LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

31 “My Way” singer, 1998 : USHER

Usher is the stage name of R&B singer Usher Terry Raymond IV.

33 Jimmy : PRY

“Jimmy” is a variant of the word “jemmy” that is used for a type of crowbar, one associated with burglars back in the 1800s.

34 Half a comedy duo : MEARA

Anne Meara married fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller in 1954. The couple’s children are actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spin-off from “All in the Family”.

39 Title voice actor in “Puss in Boots” (2011) : ANTONIO BANDERAS

Antonio Banderas is an actor from Málaga in Andalusia on the southern coast of Spain. Banderas’s breakthrough role in Hollywood was the gay lover of the Tom Hanks character in 1993’s “Philadelphia”. He is married to actress Melanie Griffith whom he met in 1995 while filming “Two Much”.

“Puss in Boots” is a 2011 animated film that is based on the European fairy tale that dates back to 1697. The movie is a spin-off of the “Shrek” series of films, and serves as a prequel. The title character of “Puss in Boots” is voiced by Antonio Banderas.

41 “Feels like” weather calculation : HEAT INDEX

The heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity. It is an attempt to measure the relative temperature that is actually perceived by a person. The idea is that temperatures are perceived by us as being higher if accompanied by high humidity. This is because when the humidity is high the body finds it more difficult to cool itself by perspiring.

43 DOJ branch : ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is today part of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The ATF has its roots in the Department of Treasury dating back to 1886 when it was known as the Bureau of Prohibition. “Explosives” was added to the ATF’s name when the bureau was moved under the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the reorganization called for in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

44 Wavelike pattern : MOIRE

A moiré pattern is a phenomenon in physics, a so-called interference pattern. If you lay two sheets of mesh over each other for example, slightly offset, then what you see is a moiré pattern. “Moiré” is the French name for a textile that we know simply as “moire”. The rippled pattern of the textile resembles that of the interference pattern.

56 ’60s-’70s crime drama : THE FBI

“The F.B.I.” is a crime TV series that originally ran from 1965 to 1974. Star of the show is Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. who played Inspector Lewis Erskine. The Ford Motor Company sponsored the show, so the main characters were sure to always drive Ford automobiles. Former Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover served as a consultant for the series.

60 Dogpatch name : ABNER

The cartoonist Al Capp set his classic comic strip “Li’l Abner” in the fictional community of Dogpatch. According to one of the “Li’l Abner” strips, Dogpatch is located somewhere in the state of Kentucky.

62 Common epidemic factor : CONTAGION

A contagion is a contagious disease or a disease-producing agent. The term “contagion” ultimately derives from the Latin “com” meaning “with” and “tangere” meaning “to touch”. A distinction is sometimes made between the nouns “contagion” and “infection”, with the former referring to transmission of disease by contact, and the latter referring to transmission through the air by floating germs.

65 Fronded rainforest plants : TREE FERNS

Tree ferns are ferns with trunks that elevate the fronds, keeping them above ground level.

66 Conform with : HEW TO

To hew to something is to conform to it, especially to a rule or principle.

67 United Federation of Planets service : STARFLEET

In the “Star Trek” universe, Starfleet is the military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Famously, Starfleet is also tasked with deep-space exploration, “to boldly go where no man has gone before …”

Down

1 Onassis and others : ARIS

Aristotle “Ari” Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They couple had two children together, with one being the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.

2 1993 Kevin Kline title role : DAVE

Actor Kevin Kline stars in many of my favorite films, like “French Kiss” (in which he had a very impressive French accent) and “A Fish Called Wanda.” Kline also appeared in the romantic comedy “In & Out”, another favorite. “In & Out” is perhaps best remembered for its dramatic “interaction” between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck … if you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t spoil it for you by saying any more!

“Dave” is a fun 1993 comedy film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Kline plays the title character, someone who has a side job impersonating the sitting US president. Dave ends up subbing for the president in the Oval Office, and hilarity ensues.

3 Had too much : OD’ED

Overdose (OD)

4 Was loquacious : RAN ON

I think that “Loquacious” is a lovely word. To be loquacious is to be excessively wordy, full of excessive talk. Sort of like this blog …

5 Icelandic monetary unit : KRONA

The króna is the currency of Iceland. Iceland is the second-least populous country with its own currency (after the Seychelles).

8 “Firecracker” singer Lisa : LOEB

Singer Lisa Loeb was discovered by actor Ethan Hawke, who lived just across the street from her in New York City. Hawke took a demo of her song “Stay (I Missed You)” and gave it to director Ben Stiller, who in turn used it over the ending credits of his 1994 movie “Reality Bites”. The movie was a hit, the song went to number one, and Loeb became the first artist ever to hit that number one spot without having signed up with a record label. Good for her!

10 Avila article : LAS

In Spanish, the definite article is “el” for masculine nouns (plural “los”), and “la” for feminine nouns (plural “las”).

Avila is famous for the walled defenses around the old city, which date back to 1090. They were constructed out of brown granite, and are still in excellent repair. There are nine gateways and eighty-towers in all. Even the cathedral built between the 12th and 14th centuries is part of the city’s defenses, so it looks like an imposing fortress.

21 Close in films : GLENN

Glenn Close a wonderful actress who has played many varied roles, but is well known for her portrayals of less than wholesome characters. She play the crazy Alex Forrest in “Fatal Attraction”, and Cruella de Vil in “101 Dalmatians”. More recently, Close had a regular role on a TV show called “Damages”. Glenn Close is an avid fan of the New York Mets and regularly sings the national anthem before games.

24 Self-taught people : AUTODIDACTS

An autodidact is someone who is self-taught. The term “autodidact” comes from the Greek “autos” meaning “self” and “didaktos” meaning “taught”.

26 System of belief : CREDO

A creed or credo is a confession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

28 D-Day hot spot : OMAHA BEACH

The Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944 took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The worst fighting by far took place on Omaha Beach, a sector assigned to the US Army that was transported by elements of the US Navy and the Royal Navy.

36 “The Red Turtle” genre : ANIME

“The Red Turtle” is a 2016 animated film about a man shipwrecked on an island where he meets up with a giant red turtle. The turtle is a female, and man and crustacean become involved romantically. I kid you not …

40 Words after all or hole : … IN ONE

One well-documented hole in one (ace) was during a round of the British Open in 1973. American golfer Gene Sarazen achieved the feat that day, at the age of 71. A less well-documented series of holes in one was reported by the North Korean press in a story about the Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The report was that Kim Jong-il scored 11 holes in one in his one and only round of golf.

50 Threshing remains : CHAFF

When grain has been separated from its chaff, to prepare it for grinding, it is called “grist”. Indeed, the word “grist” is derived from the word “grind”. Grist can be ground into a relatively coarse meal, or into a fine flour. The names can be confusing though. For example, the grist from maize when ground to a coarse consistency is called “grits”, and when ground to a fine consistency is called “corn meal”. There is an idiomatic phrase “grist for one’s mill”, meaning something used to one’s advantage. The grinding mechanism, or the building that holds the mechanism, is known as a “gristmill”.

51 German idealism pioneer : HEGEL

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, and one of the founders of the German idealism movement. “Idealism”, in the context of the movement, was the principle that objects did not have properties in themselves, but rather that an object’s properties depended on the person perceiving the object.

53 Spruce : NEAT

Our verb “to spruce up” means “to make trim or neat”. The term comes from the adjective “spruce”, meaning “smart, neat”. In turn, the adjective comes from “spruce leather”, which was a Prussian leather that was used in England in the 15th and 16th centuries to make a popular style of jerkin that was widely considered to look quite smart.

55 Libel or slander : TORT

“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

The word “libel” describes a published or written statement likely to harm a person’s reputation. It comes into English from the Latin “libellus”, the word for a small book. Back in the 1500s, libel was just a formal written statement, with the more damaging association arising in the 1600s. The related concept of slander is defamation in a transient form, such as speech, sign language or gestures.

57 Gift from Prometheus : FIRE

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was one of the Titans. He was said to have created man from clay as well as giving fire to humanity, and hence allowing the human race to prosper.

61 One of the Big Five in Hollywood’s Golden Age : RKO

During the Golden Age of Cinema (roughly, the thirties and forties), the “Big Five” Hollywood studios were:

• Lowe’s/MGM
• Paramount
• Fox (later “20th Century Fox”)
• Warner Bros.
• RKO

63 Org. awarded a Special Tony in 2016 : NEA

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark. I wonder how long that will last though …