LA Times Crossword 10 Aug 20, Monday

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Constructed by: Rob Gonsalves & Jennifer Lim
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Double-Book

Themed answers each comprise two types of BOOK:

  • 62A Reserve twice in error, as an airline seat … or a hint to the two-part answers to starred clues : DOUBLE-BOOK … or DOUBLE BOOK
  • 17A *Often-digital commentary for a museum tour : AUDIO GUIDE (audiobook & guidebook)
  • 23A *List of incoming and outgoing calls : PHONE RECORD (phonebook & record book)
  • 40A *Sunday liquor-buying ban, e.g. : BLUE LAW (blue book & law book)
  • 51A *Experience section in a résumé : WORK HISTORY (workbook & history book)

Bill’s time: 5m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Big Apple restaurateur : SARDI

Sardi’s is a famous restaurant in the Theater District of Manhattan that was opened in 1927 by Italian immigrant Vincent Sardi, Sr. Sardi’s is famous for attracting celebrities who sometimes pose for caricatures that are then displayed on the restaurant’s walls. After the death of actress and director Antoinette Perry in 1946, her friend and partner Brock Pemberton was having lunch at Sardi’s and came up with the idea of a theater award that could be presented in Perry’s honor. The award was to be called the Tony Award. In fact, Vincent Sardi, Sr. was presented with a special Tony at the first award ceremony, held in 1947.

Apparently, the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote the following in his book “The Wayfarer in New York”:

Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.

Over ten years later, the term “big apple” was used as a nickname for racetracks in and around New York City. However, the concerted effort to “brand” the city as the Big Apple had to wait until the seventies and was the work of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

19 Tiny bit of matter : ATOM

Atomism is a philosophical concept based on the idea that the physical world is composed of atoms, indivisible fundamental units pieces of matter. The term “atom” comes from the Greek “a-” (not) and “tomos” (cutting), giving the “atomos” meaning “uncut, indivisible”. The pioneers of ancient Greek atomism were Leucippus and his pupil Democritus in the 5th century BCE.

20 Italian scooter : VESPA

Vespa is a brand of motor scooter that was originally made in Italy (and now all over the world) by Piaggio. “Vespa” is Italian for “wasp”.

21 Upper bod muscle : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

22 Fairway warning : FORE!

No one seems to know for sure where the golfing term “fore!” comes from. It has been used at least as far back as 1881, and since then has been called out to warn other golfers that a wayward ball might be heading their way. My favorite possibility for its origin is that it is a contraction of the Gaelic warning cry “Faugh a Ballagh!” (clear the way!) which is still called out in the sport of road bowling. Road bowling is an Irish game where players bowl balls along roads between villages, trying to reach the end of the course in as few bowls as possible, just like in golf!

27 “Indochine” Oscar nominee Catherine : DENEUVE

Catherine Deneuve is a French actress who was born in occupied Paris in 1943. She is a well-respected and prolific movie actress, and appeared in her 100th film in 2008.

“Indochine” is a 1992 French film that is set in the 1930s through 1950s in colonial French Indochina. Starring Catherine Deneuve, “Indochine” won the season’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

31 Country in a Beatles song : USSR

By the time the Beatles recorded “Back in the U.S.S.R”, they were having a lot of problems working with each other. The song was recorded in 1968, with the band formally dissolving in 1970. Tensions were so great during the recording of “Back in the U.S.S.R” that Ringo Starr actually stormed out saying that he had quit, and the remaining three Beatles made the record without Ringo. Drums were played mainly by Paul McCartney, but there are also drum tracks on the final cut by both George Harrison and John Lennon. Interesting, huh?

35 Second or sixth president : ADAMS

John Adams was the second President of the United States. I must admit that I learned much of what I know about President Adams in the excellent, excellent HBO series “John Adams”, which is based on David McCullough’s 2001 biography of the same name. Having said that, I have also visited the Adams home in Quincy, Massachusetts several times. He was clearly a great man with a great intellect …

John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams, was the 6th US president. Like his father, John Quincy worked for many years as a diplomat representing the young United States. After leaving office, Adams served in Congress as Representative from Massachusetts, becoming the only president ever to enter the House after leaving the office of president.

39 __ Bo: exercise method : TAE

Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, even though it perhaps sounds like one. The discipline was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

40 *Sunday liquor-buying ban, e.g. : BLUE LAW (blue book & law book)

Blue laws are prohibitive statutes designed to restrict activities on a Sunday for religious reasons. There seem to be a few dubious etymologies published to explain the use of the term “blue” in such a context. The most credible derivation seems to point at the supporters of Oliver Cromwell in the British Parliament of the mid-17th century, who were referred to as “blue-stockings”.

I think we tend to associate the term “blue book” with the Kelley Blue Book that provides valuations for vehicles. The term itself dates back to the 15th century when we started calling an almanac or other publication full of information a “blue book”.

43 State flower of New Mexico : YUCCA

Yuccas are a genus of shrubs and trees that live in hot and dry areas of North and South America. One of the more famous species of Yucca is the Joshua tree. Yuccas has a unique pollination system, with moths transferring pollen from plant to plant. New Mexico adopted the yucca as its state flower in 1927.

45 Nostradamus, e.g. : SEER

“Nostradamus” is the Latin name given to the French apothecary and purported seer Michel de Nostredame. His book “The Prophecies” is a famous source for predictions of world events. It is so popular that “The Prophecies” has rarely been out of print since it first appeared in 1555!

46 Nevada slots spot : RENO

The city of Reno’s economy took off when open gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. Within a short time, a syndicate had built the Bank Club in Reno, which was the largest casino in the world at the time.

49 Fruit with milk : COCONUT

The coconut is the fruit of the coconut palm. The term “coconut” comes from “coco” and “nut”, with “coco” being 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese for “head”, and more specifically “grinning face”. The three holes found in the base of a coconut shell might be said to resemble a human face.

51 *Experience section in a résumé : WORK HISTORY (workbook & history book)

A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

55 Classic clown : BOZO

Bozo the Clown is a character created in 1946 by Alan Livingston. Bozo was introduced in the first ever “record reader”, a children’s illustrated read-along book that came with a vinyl recording of the story. The book/record was so successful that Bozo moved to television, and he has been around ever since.

56 Rainbow shape : ARC

Sunlight reflected by airborne water droplets can produce rainbows. The water droplets act as little prisms, dispersing the white light into its constituent colors. Sometimes we see double rainbows. If we look carefully, we can see that the order of the colors in the first and second arcs is reversed.

65 Cat lives count, so they say : NINE

In the English-speaking world, the myth is that cats have nine lives. In Spanish-speaking cultures, cats are said to have seven lives. They are less fortunate in Turkish and Arabic cultures, as the number of lives is limited to six.

68 Bug spray ingredient : DEET

“DEET” is short for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.

Down

1 Norse royal name : OLAV

Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated, as he was canonized and made the patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or “Olaf the Fat”) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of “Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae”, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

2 Rakish sort : ROUE

“Roue” is a lovely word, but one used to describe a less than lovely man, someone of loose morals. “Roue” comes from the French word “rouer” meaning “to break on a wheel”. This describes the ancient form of capital punishment where a poor soul was lashed to a wheel and then beaten to death with cudgels and bars. I guess the suggestion is that a roue, with his loose morals, deserves such a punishment.

A “rake” (short for “rakehell”) is a man who is habituated to immoral conduct (isn’t it always the man??!!). The rake is a character who turns up frequently in novels and films, only interested in wine, women and song and not accepting the responsibilities of life. Good examples would be Wickham in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Daniel Cleaver (the Hugh Grant part) in the movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary”. “Rake” comes from the Old Norse “reikall”, meaning “vagrant or a wanderer”.

5 Flavor-enhancing abbr. : MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring,non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that something produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

6 Water in the Seine : EAU

In French, one can find “eau” (water) in a “rivière” (river).

The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. The Seine empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.

7 Balderdash : TRIPE

“Tripe” is an informal term meaning “rubbish, of little value”. Tripe is actually the rubbery stomach lining of an animal such as a cow. Tripe is a traditional dish in British cuisine that is prepared by poaching it with onions in milk.

“Balderdash” means “senseless jumble of words”. The original balderdash (back before the late 1600s) was a jumbled mix of liquids like maybe beer and wine, or even beer and milk!

9 Jigsaw puzzle parts : PIECES

Jigsaws are saws designed for the cutting of irregular curves by hand. The original jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a sheet of wood and then cutting the picture into small pieces using a jigsaw, hence the name. Today, almost all jigsaw puzzles are pictures glued onto cardboard. The puzzle pieces are now die-cut, and so there’s no jigsaw involved at all.

11 Kristen Bell or Kristen Stewart : ACTOR

Actress Kristen Bell’s first major role was playing the title character in the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Her first major film role was also playing a title character, in the 2008 film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. Perhaps Bell’s most famous role is as a voice actor, playing Princess Anna in the 2013 Disney hit “Frozen”.

Kristen Stewart is an actress from Los Angeles who topped the list of highest-paid actresses in 2010 and again in 2012. One of Stewart’s first roles was playing the daughter of Jodie Foster’s character in the 2002 film “Panic Room”. Her most famous role is probably Bella Swan in “The Twilight Saga” series of movies.

18 Waikiki’s island : OAHU

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu that is home to the famous Waikiki Beach. The name “Waikiki” means “spouting fresh water” in Hawaiian.

25 Focal point : NEXUS

A nexus is a means of connection, or a center where many connections come together. “Nexus” is a Latin word meaning “that which ties or binds together”. The Latin “nexus” is the past participle of the verb “nectere” meaning “to bind”.

26 Lobster’s weapon : CLAW

A male lobster is called a cock, and a female a hen. A lobster weighing less than a pound is called a chicken.

28 Jacob’s biblical twin : ESAU

Esau was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah, the event was described with “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother Jacob, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

29 Tiny part of a min. : NSEC

“Nanosecond” is more correctly abbreviated to “ns” (as opposed to “nsec”) and really is a tiny amount of time: one billionth of a second.

33 __ Scoresby, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “His Dark Materials” role : LEE

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer and playwright from New York City, and the creator and star of the hit Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights”. Miranda also co-wrote the songs for the 2016 Disney animated feature “Moana”. He started composing early, and wrote jingles as a child. One of those jingles was later used by Eliot Spitzer in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

“His Dark Materials” is a fantasy television series based on the epic trilogy of novels of the same name by Philip Pullman. Not for me …

34 Choose by ballot : ELECT

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

36 Prayer ending : AMEN

The word “amen” translates as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is also likely to be influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

38 Jigger at the bar : SHOT

A jigger is a 1.5 ounce shot glass.The term “jigger” was originally used for an illicit distillery in the 1800s.

41 Suffix with buck : -AROO

The American-English word “buckaroo” (sometimes “buckeroo”) comes from “vaquero”, the Spanish for cowboy.

46 Colorful mnemonic : ROY G BIV

“Roy G. Biv” can be used as a mnemonic for the colors in a rainbow:

  • Red
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Indigo
  • Violet

50 Canadian native : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, Montana is home to most of the Cree nation. They live on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

52 Endangered layer : OZONE

Ozone gets its name from the Greek word “ozein” meaning “to smell”. It was given this name as ozone’s formation during lightning storms was detected by the gas’s distinctive smell. Famously, there is a relatively high concentration of the gas in the “ozone layer” in the Earth’s stratosphere. This ozone layer provides a vital function for animal life on the planet as it absorbs most of the sun’s UV radiation. A molecule of ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms (O3), whereas a “normal” oxygen (O2) has just two atoms.

53 O. Henry hallmark : IRONY

“O. Henry” was the pen name of writer William Sydney Porter from Greensboro, North Carolina. O. Henry is famous for his witty short stories that have a clever twist in the tail.

54 “Pardon me,” in Parma : SCUSI

Parma is a city in northern Italy that is famous for its ham (prosciutto) and cheese (parmesan). The adjective “Parmesan” means “of or from Parma”.

60 Hershey toffee bar : SKOR

Skor is a candy bar produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. What shoes have to do with candy, I don’t know …

63 Hamburger holder : BUN

The dish we know today as a hamburger was known as a hamburger sandwich prior to 1939. “Hamburger” comes from “hamburg steak”, which was named for the German city starting in 1880.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Eyes, to a poet : ORBS
5 Got together for lunch, say : MET UP
10 Animal pouches : SACS
14 “Check this out!” : LOOK!
15 Big Apple restaurateur : SARDI
16 Come again? : ECHO
17 *Often-digital commentary for a museum tour : AUDIO GUIDE (audiobook & guidebook)
19 Tiny bit of matter : ATOM
20 Italian scooter : VESPA
21 Upper bod muscle : PEC
22 Fairway warning : FORE!
23 *List of incoming and outgoing calls : PHONE RECORD (phonebook & record book)
27 “Indochine” Oscar nominee Catherine : DENEUVE
30 __-mo replay : SLO
31 Country in a Beatles song : USSR
32 Wheel shaft : AXLE
35 Second or sixth president : ADAMS
39 __ Bo: exercise method : TAE
40 *Sunday liquor-buying ban, e.g. : BLUE LAW (blue book & law book)
42 “I’m unimpressed” : MEH
43 State flower of New Mexico : YUCCA
45 Nostradamus, e.g. : SEER
46 Nevada slots spot : RENO
47 Add-__: extras : ONS
49 Fruit with milk : COCONUT
51 *Experience section in a résumé : WORK HISTORY (workbook & history book)
55 Classic clown : BOZO
56 Rainbow shape : ARC
57 “Holy smokes!” : EGADS!
61 Victor’s cry : I WON!
62 Reserve twice in error, as an airline seat … or a hint to the two-part answers to starred clues : DOUBLE-BOOK … or DOUBLE BOOK
65 Cat lives count, so they say : NINE
66 Occur as a result : ENSUE
67 Liking a lot : INTO
68 Bug spray ingredient : DEET
69 Flopping at a comedy club : DYING
70 Swerve : VEER

Down

1 Norse royal name : OLAV
2 Rakish sort : ROUE
3 Physiques, briefly : BODS
4 Ship’s captain : SKIPPER
5 Flavor-enhancing abbr. : MSG
6 Water in the Seine : EAU
7 Balderdash : TRIPE
8 Organ with milk : UDDER
9 Jigsaw puzzle parts : PIECES
10 “Surf” served with “turf” : SEAFOOD
11 Kristen Bell or Kristen Stewart : ACTOR
12 A major, for one : CHORD
13 Vague amount : SOME
18 Waikiki’s island : OAHU
24 Egg-shaped : OVAL
25 Focal point : NEXUS
26 Lobster’s weapon : CLAW
27 Responsibility : DUTY
28 Jacob’s biblical twin : ESAU
29 Tiny part of a min. : NSEC
33 __ Scoresby, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “His Dark Materials” role : LEE
34 Choose by ballot : ELECT
36 Prayer ending : AMEN
37 File, Edit or Help : MENU
38 Jigger at the bar : SHOT
40 Place for deposits : BANK
41 Suffix with buck : -AROO
44 Small crown : CORONET
46 Colorful mnemonic : ROY G BIV
48 Like a picnic area under a tree : SHADED
50 Canadian native : CREE
51 Surprised cry : WOWIE!
52 Endangered layer : OZONE
53 O. Henry hallmark : IRONY
54 “Pardon me,” in Parma : SCUSI
55 Tie tightly : BIND
58 Top-of-the-line : A-ONE
59 Shower attention (on) : DOTE
60 Hershey toffee bar : SKOR
63 Hamburger holder : BUN
64 Relay race segment : LEG