LA Times Crossword 19 Dec 19, Thursday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Petitioning While on the Throne?

Themed answers look like common words ending in -ING, but are actually parsed as two separate words. Petitioning while on the throne? Asking as king …

  • 18A Flashy accessories for a vagabond? : BUM BLING
  • 37A Barn extension where pack animals sleep? : BURRO WING
  • 61A Heckle musician Gordon Sumner? : BOO STING
  • 3D Owner of the most pubs in town? : BAR KING
  • 45D Warning at a spelling contest? : BEE PING

Bill’s time: 6m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Troubleshoots, as programs : DEBUGS

Back in 1947, famed computer programmer Grace Hopper noticed some colleagues fixing a piece of equipment by removing a dead moth from a relay. She remarked that they were “debugging” the system, and so Hopper has been given credit for popularizing the term “bug” in the context of computing.

10 Rain protection : TARP

Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

15 Brian of ambient music : ENO

Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the ambient genre of music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, which was the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks, somewhat inventively, 1/1, 2/1, 2/1 and 2/2.

16 Diaper cream ingredient : ALOE

“Diaper” is another word that I had to learn when I moved to America. What are called “diapers” over here, we call “nappies” back in Ireland. The term “diaper” is actually the original term that was used in England for the garment, where “diaper” referred to the cloth that was used. The term “diaper” was brought to the New World where it stuck. Back in Britain, “diaper” was displaced by the word “nappy”, a diminutive of “napkin”.

17 Like nickels, to dimes : LARGER

The 5-cent American coin known as a nickel is actually made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The first nickel was introduced in 1866, and was named the Shield nickel due to the shield design on the front of the coin. The current design is the Jefferson nickel, which was introduced in 1938.

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

18 Flashy accessories for a vagabond? : BUM BLING

Bling-bling (often simply “bling”) is the name given to all the shiny stuff sported by rap stars in particular i.e. the jewelry, watches, metallic cell phones, even gold caps on the teeth. The term comes from the supposed “bling” sound caused by light striking a shiny metal surface.

A vagabond is a person without a home who moves from place to place. The term derives from the Latin “vagabundus” meaning “wandering, strolling about”.

20 Swedish retail giant : IKEA

The IKEA furniture stores use the colors blue and yellow for brand recognition. Blue and yellow are the national colors of Sweden, where IKEA was founded and is headquartered.

22 “Moonlight” Oscar winner Mahershala : ALI

Mahershala Ali is an actor and sometime rapper. Among the more memorable roles Ali has had are lobbyist Remy Danton in TV’s “House of Cards”, and Colonel Boggs in “The Hunger Games” series of movies. He also won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Juan in the 2016 drama “Moonlight”.

“Moonlight” is a 2016 semi-autobiographical film based on an unpublished play by Tarell Alvin McCraney titled “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue”. “Moonlight” won the season’s Best Picture Oscar, thus becoming the first film to do so with an all-black cast, and the first with an LGBT storyline.

23 Most smooth : SUAVEST

The Latin word “suavis” translates as “agreeable, pleasant to the senses”. “Sauvis” is the root of the English word “suave” that describes someone who is gracious and sophisticated, and perhaps a somewhat superficial. “Sauvis” also gave us the English word “sweet” meaning “pleasing to the taste”.

30 One-named singer with 15 Grammys : 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.

32 “By that logic … ” : ERGO …

“Ergo” is a Latin word meaning “hence, therefore”, and one that we’ve absorbed directly into English.

36 Ventricular outlet : AORTA

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers (the atria) accept deoxygenated blood from the body and oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atria squeeze those blood supplies into the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), “priming” the pump, as it were. One ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the other pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

37 Barn extension where pack animals sleep? : BURRO WING

Our word “burro”, meaning “donkey”, comes from the Spanish word for the same animal, namely “burrico”.

40 Martin Van __ : BUREN

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the US, and also served as Vice President and Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson. Although Van Buren was the first president who was born a US citizen, he was the only president whose first language wasn’t English, as he grew up speaking Dutch.

43 “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” : EGAD!

Remember the catchphrase made famous by the cartoon character Snagglepuss, “Heavens to Murgatroyd!”? Snagglepuss stole that line from a 1944 movie called “Meet the People” in which it was first uttered by none other than Bert Lahr, the actor who played the cowardly lion in “The Wizard of Oz”.

48 Astrologer to the rich and famous : OMARR

Sydney Omarr was an astrology consultant to the rich and famous, and author of a horoscope column that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. While Omarr (real name Sidney Kimmelman) was in the US Army, he even wrote a horoscope column for “Stars and Stripes”. He claimed that he got the job of writing for “Stars and Stripes” after having giving a consultation to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

51 Boston’s Back __ : BAY

Back Bay is an expensive residential neighborhood in Boston that is home to rows of Victorian brownstones as well as the Boston Public Library. Before the area was reclaimed in the 19th century, Back Bay was a tidal bay, hence the name.

52 French chef’s “Ta-da!” : ET VOILA!

“Et voilà” is French for, “and there it is!”

59 Crunch at breakfast : CAP’N

The first Cap’n Crunch commercials aired in 1963, at the time the product line was launched. The Cap’n’s full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch, would you believe? Crunch’s voice was provided for many years by Daws Butler, the same voice actor who gave us Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. Cap’n Crunch is commander of the S.S. Guppy.

61 Heckle musician Gordon Sumner? : BOO STING

“Sting” is the stage name used by Gordon Sumner, who came to fame initially as the lead singer for the Police. Off stage, Sting is an avid chess player, and he once participated in an exhibition game with chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

63 Sex therapy subject : LIBIDO

“Libido” is a term popularized by Sigmund Freud. Freud’s usage was more general than is understood today, as he used “libido” to describe all instinctive energy that arose in the subconscious. He believed that we humans are driven by two desires, the desire for life (the libido, or Eros) and the desire for death (Thanatos).

66 Greek letter : ETA

Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

69 French film ending word : FIN

“Fin” is the French word for “end”.

Down

1 Broadband initials : DSL

The initialism “DSL” originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is a technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.

2 Online seller : E-TAILER

“E-tail” is the term used these days for online shopping (coming from “retail”). E-tail is often compared to regular shopping in the “real world” by juxtaposing it with a “brick and mortar” store.

5 Musical set at Rydell High : GREASE

“Grease” was, and still is, a very successful stage musical with a blockbuster film version released in 1978. The movie stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Travolta wasn’t the first choice for the lead role. It was first offered to Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” fame in which he played “the Fonz”. Winkler turned down the role for fear of being typecast as a leather-clad fifties “hood”.

6 Turk. neighbor : SYR

True that ….

9 Some library volumes : TOMES

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

12 Youngest Weasley brother : RON

Former child actor Rupert Grint is famous for playing Ron Weasley, one of the three lead characters in the “Harry Potter” series of films. Grint is the oldest of the trio of “Harry Potter” leads, and was 11 years old when he was cast in the role.

13 Mastermind game piece : PEG

Mastermind is a code breaking game that uses colored pegs on decoding board. The “code maker” sets a hidden “code” of four colored pegs into one end of the board, and then the “code breaker” guesses the sequence of colors by laying four pegs into the decoding section of the same board. The code maker responds by revealing how many pegs are guessed correctly and in the right position, and how many are guessed correctly and in the wrong position. The codebreaker uses this information to break the code within a specified number of guesses.

19 WWII Philippine battleground : BATAAN

Bataan is a peninsula in the Philippines that is located on the side of Manila Bay opposite to the capital city. In WWII, Bataan was where American and Filipino forces made their last stand before the Japanese took control of the country. The Battle of Bataan lasted three months, at the end of which 75,000 captured prisoners were forced to march from Bataan to various prison camps. It is thought that between 6,000 and 11,000 men died on the march, many from the physical abuse above and beyond the rigors of the 5-6 day march without food or water. For obvious reasons, the 5-6 day trek is referred to as the Bataan Death March.

24 KGB country : USSR

The “Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti” (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”, i.e. USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

26 Bottom-row PC key : ALT

The Alt (alternate) key is found on either side of the space bar on US PC keyboards. The Alt key evolved from what was called a Meta key on old MIT keyboards, although the function has changed somewhat over the years. Alt is equivalent in many ways to the Option key on a Mac keyboard, and indeed the letters “Alt” have been printed on most Mac keyboards starting in the nineties.

27 Samosa veggie : PEA

A samosa is quite a tasty appetizer. It is usually a triangular-shaped savory that often has a vegetarian filling. The word “samosa” is primarily used on Indian menus, and the name comes from “sanbosag”, the name for the dish in Persia.

31 Venetian magistrates of yore : DOGES

Doges were the elected chief magistrates of the former republics of Venice and Genoa.

34 Holiday quaff : NOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

“Quaff” is both a verb and a noun. One “quaffs” (takes a hearty drink) of a “quaff” (a hearty drink).

35 Hindu masters : SWAMIS

A swami is a religious teacher in the Hindu tradition. The word “swami” can also mean “husband” in the Bengali and Malay languages.

39 Show that launched Clay Aiken’s singing career, familiarly : IDOL

Clay Aiken is one of the singing stars discovered on “American Idol”. Aiken had filled out an application to appear on the show “Amazing Race”, but a friend persuaded him to try out for “American Idol” instead. Fans of Clay Aiken call themselves “Claymates”. Aiken ventured into politics in 2014, winning the Democratic primary in the race for House Representative in the second congressional district of North Carolina. Aiken ultimately lost the race to the Republican incumbent.

41 Actress Thurman : UMA

Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in the movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

42 Novelist Chandler : RAYMOND

Raymond Chandler was a novelist and screenwriter who turned to the pen relatively late in life, after losing his job in the oil business at the age of 44. Chandler’s first novel was published when he was published in his early fifties. That novel was “The Big Sleep”, which featured his famous detective Philip Marlowe”.

45 Warning at a spelling contest? : BEE PING

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

46 Deborah Harry’s band : BLONDIE

Singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein founded the rock band Blondie in 1974. Blondie’s biggest hits were “Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”, “Rapture” and “The Tide is High”.

47 Tax form ID : SSN

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So, from 1986 onward, it is a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987.

50 Wisconsin city north of Chicago : RACINE

Racine is a Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Root River. French explorers set up a trading post in 1699 where the Root River emptied into the lake, which developed into today’s city. The name “Racine” is French for “root”.

54 Starbucks size : VENTI

Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

  • Demi … 3 fl oz
  • Short … 8 fl oz
  • Tall … 12 fl oz
  • Grande … 16 fl oz (Italian for “large”)
  • Venti … 20 fl oz (Italian for “twenty”)
  • Trenta … 30 fl oz (Italian for “thirty”)

55 “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” instrument : ORGAN

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is a song performed by Iron Butterfly and released in 1968. The song goes on for a full 17 minutes and takes up the whole of the second side of the album of the same name. The song was supposed to be called “In the Garden of Eden”, but the lead singer got drunk during the recording session and slurred the words, and apparently everyone liked the effect!

58 Spot of wine? : ASTI

Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.

62 Arles assent : OUI

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”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Troubleshoots, as programs : DEBUGS
7 Sharp humor : WIT
10 Rain protection : TARP
14 Marked by twinkling : STARRY
15 Brian of ambient music : ENO
16 Diaper cream ingredient : ALOE
17 Like nickels, to dimes : LARGER
18 Flashy accessories for a vagabond? : BUM BLING
20 Swedish retail giant : IKEA
21 Runs of luck : STREAKS
22 “Moonlight” Oscar winner Mahershala : ALI
23 Most smooth : SUAVEST
25 Put to use : TAP
28 Most likely to snap : TENSEST
30 One-named singer with 15 Grammys : ADELE
32 “By that logic … ” : ERGO …
33 Wrongdoing : SINS
36 Ventricular outlet : AORTA
37 Barn extension where pack animals sleep? : BURRO WING
40 Martin Van __ : BUREN
43 “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” : EGAD!
44 Trails off : EBBS
48 Astrologer to the rich and famous : OMARR
49 Tasty bites : MORSELS
51 Boston’s Back __ : BAY
52 French chef’s “Ta-da!” : ET VOILA!
56 Years on end : EON
57 Potato gadgets : MASHERS
59 Crunch at breakfast : CAP’N
61 Heckle musician Gordon Sumner? : BOO STING
63 Sex therapy subject : LIBIDO
65 Mom’s sister : AUNT
66 Greek letter : ETA
67 Close soccer score : ONE-NIL
68 Calf-length skirt : MIDI
69 French film ending word : FIN
70 Packed (in) : WEDGED

Down

1 Broadband initials : DSL
2 Online seller : E-TAILER
3 Owner of the most pubs in town? : BAR KING
4 Impel : URGE
5 Musical set at Rydell High : GREASE
6 Turk. neighbor : SYR
7 Streaming services, e.g. : WEB TV
8 Accustom (to) : INURE
9 Some library volumes : TOMES
10 Chitchat : TALK
11 Big-time celeb : A-LISTER
12 Youngest Weasley brother : RON
13 Mastermind game piece : PEG
19 WWII Philippine battleground : BATAAN
21 Genre with bite : SATIRE
22 Had a bite : ATE
24 KGB country : USSR
26 Bottom-row PC key : ALT
27 Samosa veggie : PEA
29 Like a designated driver : SOBER
31 Venetian magistrates of yore : DOGES
34 Holiday quaff : NOG
35 Hindu masters : SWAMIS
38 Turmoil : UNREST
39 Show that launched Clay Aiken’s singing career, familiarly : IDOL
40 Move up and down : BOB
41 Actress Thurman : UMA
42 Novelist Chandler : RAYMOND
45 Warning at a spelling contest? : BEE PING
46 Deborah Harry’s band : BLONDIE
47 Tax form ID : SSN
50 Wisconsin city north of Chicago : RACINE
53 Fence supplier : THIEF
54 Starbucks size : VENTI
55 “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” instrument : ORGAN
58 Spot of wine? : ASTI
60 Under the covers : ABED
61 Collision sound : BAM!
62 Arles assent : OUI
63 Almost empty : LOW
64 Ancient : OLD

20 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 19 Dec 19, Thursday”

  1. Found this one strangely easy for a Thursday Larson puzzle. Though perhaps filling in BOO STING first thing and intuiting the theme after getting another of the other theme answers helped. OMARR and THIEF didn’t come to me but got them through crosses.

  2. I feel the dissatisfaction with the grid may come from (a) the plethora of proper names, and (b) the names bopping from new to old to downright obscure to a modern solver,

    BTW, there is a drinking game known as IKEA: the host reads the Ikea catalog. You must decide if the name given is a real Scandinavian furniture maker, or a fake. I forget which one you must drink to.

  3. 9:06, which is kind of long for me… interesting because it felt fast as I was doing it, probably because I really liked the fill.

    I really like themes like this! I like them because once you figure out the “schtick” it helps fill out the subsequent theme answers. To me, that’s what a theme is all about, kind of a secondary puzzle to solve at the same time as the crossword itself.

  4. Deceivingly easy. Lots of one or two blanks at first but “come one, come all.” Didn’t get the theme until the end. Burrowing fooled me at first as did bumbling…thought they were very clever sans the “ing” theme. Thief was another gem

    In-a-gadda-da-vida probably fooled many..back story and all…early acid rock. Voila seemed appropriate but didn’t get the et at first.

    I actually really enjoyed today’s puzzle even with the specter of a Larson looming large.

  5. Fun and easy puzzle, except for the theme. Besides the words rhyming , is there more to the theme?? This old man would appreciate any feedback.

    1. As Bill says, each theme entry is a word in its own right, but can be reinterpreted as a two-word phrase. So, for example, “BUMBLING” can be seen as “BUM BLING”, i.e., “bling worn by a bum” or, as the clue puts it, “flashy accessories for a vagabond”. The others are similar.

  6. Yes, not too hard for a Larson – Thurs. puzzle. Had fun with it and had no errors, which is rare for me this late in the week. Had to use an atlas to figure out 19D “Bataan.” It’s always the various spellings of foreign countries, cities, that stump me.

  7. 10:54, no errors. Not an easy puzzle by any stretch. CAP’N was a particularly evil fill, as was A-LISTER (thought ALL-STAR fit first). And OMARR??? Never heard of ‘im…

  8. 9:15. Fun one, but it took me until the second theme answer to get it. BARKING really threw me at first. Once again we need Carrie to bail us out of the ABED type words.

    Willie – I’d split the difference and drink either way…..

    Interesting discussion as to the use of “diaper”. I guess you could just say – Depends…. 🙂

    Best –

  9. Felt better than most Thursday puzzles, which are usually out of my league. Missed 37a with Burrow inn, should have caught it with 32d. Don es instead of doges. Careless oversight. More or less figured out the theme before end, that alone is a step forward. Fun puzzle!

  10. No real difficulties with this grid. Larson must be losing his fastball…(I know I just waved a red flag in front of the bull and I’m sure I’ll pay dearly at some point for my hubris). Next time he’ll come up with something long the lines of a clue reading “8th President of the U.S. who could really Jump” and the answer will be Martin Van Halen. ;-D>

  11. Moderately easy Thursday for me; took 21 minutes with one stupid error. Had BEErING/CArN. Things were going pretty smoothly for most of the puzzle, but hit a few speed-bumps for at least a 5 minutes delay.

    Had to change nilNIL to ONENIL.

  12. Greetings!!🦆

    No errors. I also found this puzzle easy for a Thursday, and I liked the theme. Charley, well stated! I like this type of theme. Fun puzzle-within-a-puzzle. 😊

    Nolanski– yes I really dislike those ABED type words!! I call them A-words and I bristle when I see one. AROAR and ASWARM are really bad! Haven’t seen either in awhile, which is good. Maybe the puzzle gods are listening to me!

    Be well ~~🍹

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