LA Times Crossword 12 Feb 20, Wednesday

Bill’s time: 8m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Hardly wimpy : MACHO

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

11 Film watcher’s channel : TMC

The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime, which in turn is a subsidiary of CBS. The channel’s name is often abbreviated to “TMC”, although this is informal usage.

15 “Encore!” : AGAIN!

“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request perhaps another song. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

16 Évian water : EAU

Évian-les-Bains (or simply “Évian”) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …

19 Digital readout, for short : LCD

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are the screens that are found in most laptops today, and in flat panel computer screens and some televisions. LCD monitors basically replaced Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screens, the old television technology.

21 “I, Claudius” star Jacobi : DEREK

Derek Jacobi is an English actor, and a holder of a knighthood. Although Jacobi is mainly a stage actor, the role I most associate him with is the title character in the marvelous television adaptation of Robert Graves’ “I, Claudius”.

“I, Claudius” is a 1934 novel penned by Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of Emperor Claudius of Rome. Graves wrote a sequel in 1935 called “Claudius the God”. Both books were adapted by the BBC into a fabulous television series that went by the name of the first book “I, Claudius”.

23 RSVP part : S’IL

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

31 Escape : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means to “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, to scram”.

32 Man-to-man defense alternative : ZONE

In some team sports, there is a choice between man-to-man defense and zone defense. In the former, each defensive player guards a corresponding player on the other team. In the latter, each defensive player covers a particular “zone” of the playing area.

35 Place for a “ped” to cross : XING

Pedestrian crossing (Ped Xing)

38 Bobbsey girl : NAN

The “Bobbsey Twins” series of children’s novels was first written by Edward Stratemeyer in 1904. Stratemeyer used the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope, as did subsequent authors who wrote 72 books in the series between 1904 and 1979. The title characters are two sets of fraternal twins, one named Bert and Nan (who are 12) and the other named Flossie and Freddie (who are 6).

44 Big rig : SEMI

A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

45 Bandleader Lombardo : GUY

Violinist and bandleader Guy Lombardo started his career in his native Canada before moving to the US. Lombardo and his band were in demand for years to play live music on New Year’s Eve broadcasts, which earned him the nickname “Mr. New Year’s Eve”. For many years, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians could be heard live on CBS Radio before midnight, and on NBC Radio after midnight. To this day, the first song of the new years played in Times Square in New York City is the Royal Canadians’ recording of “Auld Lang Syne”.

46 Beanery sign : EATS

A beanery is an inexpensive restaurant. The term “beanery” has been used in American English since the 1800s.

48 Ticker tape letters? : EKG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

“Ticker” is a slang term used for the heart.

53 *Stretch between two Bushes : CLINTON ERA (“tone” inside)

President Bill Clinton was born not as a Clinton, but as William Jefferson Blythe. Bill’s father was killed in a car accident just three months before he was born. His mother remarried a few years later, to Roger Clinton. Bill didn’t formally adopt the Clinton name until he was fourteen years old, although he used it as he was growing up.

60 Language spoken by Jesus : ARAMAIC

The ancient Biblical land of Aram was named after Aram, a grandson of Noah. Aram was located in the center of modern-day Syria. Aramaic became the everyday language of Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine.

63 Bygone airline : TWA

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan Am and TWA’s purchase by Howard Hughes, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the initialism “TWA”) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

64 Ballpark brushback, perhaps … and a hint to each set of circled letters : INSIDE PITCH

In baseball, a brushback pitch is one thrown high and inside the strike zone, and is designed to “brush back” the batter away from the plate for subsequent pitches.

67 Rock’s Fleetwood __ : MAC

The band Fleetwood Mac was founded in 1967 in London by Peter Green. He chose “Fleetwood Mac” from the names of two friends in former groups, i.e. “Fleetwood” and “McVie”). Green did this despite the fact that Fleetwood Mac’s drummer’s name happens to be Mick Fleetwood.

68 Code name : MORSE

Samuel Morse was a very accomplished and reputable painter (he was engaged to paint a portrait of President John Adams, for example). In 1825 Morse was in Washington working on a commissioned painting when he received a one-line letter by horse messenger telling him that his wife was ill. He left immediately for his home in New Haven, Connecticut but by the time that Morse arrived his wife had already died and had been buried. This single event spurred him to move from painting to the development of a rapid means of long distance communication, leading to the single-wire telegraph and Morse code.

70 “Hometown Proud” supermarket chain : IGA

The initialism “IGA” stands for “Independent Grocers Alliance”, and is a chain of supermarkets that extends right around the world. IGA’s headquarters is in Chicago. The company uses the slogan “Hometown Proud Supermarkets”.

Down

1 TV host Philbin : REGIS

Regis Philbin is an incredibly popular television personality. Philbin is in such high demand and has had such a long career, that he holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera (in excess of 16,000 hours).

2 “Jagged Little Pill” co-songwriter Morissette : ALANIS

Alanis Morissette is a Canadian singer-songwriter. After releasing two pop albums in Canada, in 1995 she recorded her first album to be distributed internationally. Called “Jagged Little Pill”, it is a collection of songs with more of a rock influence. The album was a huge success, the highest-selling album of the 1990s, and the highest-selling debut album by any artist at any time (selling over 30 million units).

3 Old register key : NO SALE

The “No Sale” key on a cash register is the one pushed to open the cash drawer without recording a transaction, when there is “no sale”.

4 They report to sgts. : CPLS

Sergeant (sgt.) is a rank above corporal (cpl.).

6 Barbie’s company : MATTEL

Mattel is the world’s largest toy manufacturer. Mattel was founded by Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler in 1945, and they chose the company name by combining “Matt” with “El-liot” giving “Matt-el”.

The famous Barbie doll was created by businesswoman Ruth Handler and first appeared on store shelves in 1959. Barbie was based on a German fashion doll called Bild Lilli that was introduced in 1955. Lilli had been a German cartoon character before taking on a three-dimensional form. Prior to the introduction of Bild Lilli and Barbie, children’s dolls were primarily representations of infants.

8 Aries or Taurus : CAR

The Dodge Aries (and the Plymouth Reliant) were Chrysler’s first “K-cars”, introduced in 1981. The K-cars were designed to carry 6 passengers, on two bench seats. Remember taking a corner a little too fast on those seats, in the days when no one wore seat belts?

The Taurus is an incredibly successful car that was introduced by Ford in 1985. The Taurus was the successor to the Ford LTD, and is still in production today. The Taurus was the best-selling automobile in the US between 1992 and 1996, before being knocked off its pedestal by Japanese imports.

9 Like many yoga practitioners : HINDU

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

In the West we tend to think of yoga as a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.

11 Ringer in la casa : TELEFONO

In Spanish, one might hear a “teléfono” (telephone) ringing in the “las casa” (the house).

12 Wool coat that is often plaid : MACKINAW

Mackinaw cloth is a heavy and dense woolen cloth that repels water. It is used to make a short coat known as a Mackinaw jacket that is very much associated with lumberjacks, especially in the mid-1800s. The jacket was first made by women in the Mackinaw region of present-day Michigan, hence the name.

13 Something to chew : CUD

Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.

18 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.

22 Cartoonist Chast : ROZ

Roz Chast had her first cartoon published in “The New Yorker” in 1978, and has had more than 800 published since then.

27 Common base : TEN

We use base-10, the decimal system for our numbers. Base-60, the sexagesimal system, was used by the ancient Babylonians. This ancient usage gives rise to our 60 seconds in a minute, and 360 (6 x 60) degrees in a circle.

29 Auto financing abbr. : APR

Annual percentage rate (APR)

39 Rascal : SCALAWAG

The American word “scalawag” meaning “rogue” was originally used as a nickname for southern white people who supported reconstruction after the Civil War.

40 Bolivian border lake : TITICACA

Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, and the highest navigable lake in the world (navigable by “large” commercial vessels). Lake Titicaca is located in the Andes, on the border between Peru and Bolivia.

41 Fed. agents : G-MEN

The nickname “G-men” is short for “government men” and refers to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

47 __-Caps: candy : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

52 “The Masked Singer” judge Robin : THICKE

Robin Thicke is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles who has a pair of showbiz parents. Robin’s Dad is actor Alan Thicke who made his name on the TV show “Growing Pains”. Robin’s mother is singer and actress Gloria Loring. Loring and her husband composed the theme songs for the TV shows “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”.

“The Masked Singer” is a reality TV show in which masked celebrities compete anonymously in a singing competition. Contestants reveal their identities when they are voted off the show by the audience and a panel of judges. The American version of the show is part of an international “Masked Singer” franchise that originated in South Korea.

58 Flu symptoms : ACHES

Influenza (the “flu”) is an ailment that is caused by a virus. The virus is readily inactivated by the use of soap, so washing hands and surfaces is especially helpful in containing flu outbreaks.

61 LAPD alerts : APBS

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest local law enforcement agency in the country, after New York PD and Chicago PD. Among other things, LAPD is famous for creating the first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the US, in 1965.

62 Actress Sorvino : MIRA

Mira Sorvino is an American actress, and a winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite”. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

63 Texter’s “No more details!” : TMI!

Too much information (TMI)

65 Sellout letters : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)