LA Times Crossword 24 Nov 20, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Evelyn Rubin & Ross Trudeau
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Bell-Bottoms

Themed answers are all in the down-direction, and each ends with a BELL:

• 25A ’70s fashion trend … and features of 3-, 5- and 9-Down : BELL-BOTTOMS

• 3A “Tuesday” special with fowl filling : CHICKEN TACO (giving “Taco Bell“)
• 5A Underwater snorkeling done behind metal bars : SHARK CAGE DIVING (giving “diving bell“)
• 9A 19th-century French gift to New York City : STATUE OF LIBERTY (giving “Liberty Bell“)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 6m 01s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Risqué : RACY

“Risqué” is a French word, the past participle of the verb meaning “to risk”. So in English we use “risqué” to mean “racy”, but in French it means “risky”.

17 Waikiki neckwear : LEIS

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

22 Corner PC key : CTRL

The Control (CTRL) key on a PC keyboard is used to modify the function of other keys. For example, pressing CTRL+C copies a selection to the clipboard, and CTRL+V pastes the contents of the clipboard to a location defined by the cursor. Control keys were introduced on teletypewriters to generate “control characters”, which are non-printing characters that instruct a computer to do something like print a page, ring a bell etc.

30 Eaves dropping? : ICICLE

The eaves are the overhanging edges of a roof that project beyond the supporting wall. The term “eaves” evolved from the Old English “efes” meaning “edge”.

33 Author Fleming : IAN

Ian Fleming is most famous for writing the “James Bond” series of spy novels. You might also know that he wrote the children’s story “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, which was made into a cute movie released in 1968 and even a stage musical that opened in 2002.

34 Actress Rooney __ : MARA

Actress Rooney Mara is noted for her role in the 2010 film “The Social Network” and for playing the title character in the 2011 hit movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Mara has American football in her blood. Her mother’s family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, and her father’s family founded the New York Giants.

37 Wile E. Coyote explosive : TNT

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; it’s definitely one of the best …

39 Photog’s deg. : MFA

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

40 Partnership abbr. : 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.

44 Vegas action : BET

The stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard on which most of the big casinos are concentrated is referred to as the “Las Vegas Strip”. The Strip was named for LA’s Sunset Strip by former Los Angeles law enforcement officer Guy McAfee. McAfee was a notoriously corrupt head of the LAPD vice squad in the 1920s and 1930s who ran several brothels and gambling saloons. McAfee moved to Las Vegas in 1939 where he opened several casinos, including the Golden Nugget.

45 Fashion designer Rabanne : PACO

Paco Rabanne is a Spanish fashion designer who was at the height of his success and influence in the 1960s. He was a pioneer in the genre known as Metal Couture. Indeed, it was Rabanne who was responsible for the elaborate metallic fashions used in the 1968 sci-fi movie “Barbarella” starring Jane Fonda.

48 Words before “vey” and “gevalt” : OYS

“Oy vey” is a Yiddish expression of dismay that translates literally as “oh, pain”. The more usual translation is “woe is me”.

The Yiddish expression “oy gevalt” is often translated as “enough already”.

49 Lola in a Manilow song, e.g. : SHOWGIRL

The Copacabana of the 1978 Barry Manilow song is the Copacabana nightclub in New York City (which is also the subject of the Frank Sinatra song “Meet Me at the Copa”). The Copa opened in 1940 and is still going today, although it is struggling. The club had to move due to impending construction and is now “sharing” a location with the Columbus 72 nightclub.

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from 8 ’til 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

53 “Chuck” star Zachary : LEVI

Zachary Levi is an actor best known for playing the title role in the comedy-drama TV show “Chuck”, in which he starred opposite Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski.

63 SALT topic : N-TEST

There were two rounds of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the US and the Soviet Union, and two resulting treaties (SALT I & SALT II). The opening round of SALT I talks were held in Helsinki as far back as 1970, with the resulting treaty signed by President Richard Nixon and General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in 1972. Brezhnev also signed the SALT II treaty, with President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

66 Beaujolais grape : GAMAY

Beaujolais is a red wine made from the Gamay grape that is produced in the Beaujolais historical province that is part of the Burgundy wine-making region.

67 Nine-digit IDs : SSNS

A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot. Since 2011 SSNs are assigned randomly. However, some random numbers have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

Down

1 Realtor’s move : RELO

Relocate (relo)

2 Taiwanese laptop brand : ACER

Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

3 “Tuesday” special with fowl filling : CHICKEN TACO

Taco Tuesday is a promotion run by many American restaurants, especially in Southern California. Participating establishments offer deals on tacos, and perhaps other Mexican dishes served in tortillas. Apparently, “Taco Tuesday” is a trademark owned by Wyoming-based fast-food restaurant Taco John’s.

4 Super Mario’s dinosaur : YOSHI

Yoshi is a dinosaur-like character in some Nintendo video games. Yoshi first appeared as a sidekick to Mario and Luigi in the 1991 game called “Super Mario World”.

6 W. Coast cop force : LAPD

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.

7 Web access co. : ISP

An Internet service provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs.

9 19th-century French gift to New York City : STATUE OF LIBERTY

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and constructed in France by civil engineer Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). The statue was disassembled, shipped to the US, and reassembled on its pedestal on Bedloe’s Island (now “Liberty Island). A ceremony of dedication was held in 1886. If you take a boat ride down the Seine in Paris you will probably see a one-third replica of Lady Liberty standing on a small island in the river, looking quite magnificent. That copy was given to the people of Paris by the city’s American community in 1889.

11 50-st. country : USA

Alaska became the 49th state to join the United States on January 3rd, 1959. Hawaii became the 50th state just a few months later, on August 21st.

19 Org. that handles returns : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

21 Kangaroo or kinkajou : ANIMAL

Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, the kangaroo named “Roo” was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.

A kinkajou is a mammal found in tropical rainforests in Central and South America. Related to the raccoon, the kinkajou is also known as the honey bear, night ape and night walker.

24 Early electronics co. : RCA

RCA was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America, and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric (GE). GE divested RCA in 1932, and then reacquired the company in 1986. Today, RCA is just a brand name.

25 ’70s fashion trend … and features of 3-, 5- and 9-Down : BELL-BOTTOMS

Bell-bottom pants have legs that flare out from the knees downwards. It is common knowledge that bell-bottoms originated as a style worn by sailors. They were standard uniform wear in the British Royal Navy starting in the mid-19th century. American sailors, however, were wearing bell-bottoms in the very early 1800s. The wide pant leg allows bell-bottoms to double as a life-saving device. Sailors are trained to remove the pants (without the need to remove shoes), tie a knot in the end of each leg, and then inflate the pants with air so that they can be used to aid flotation.

26 TV journalist Stahl : LESLEY

Television journalist Lesley Stahl first appeared on “60 Minutes” in 1991, after serving as moderator of “Face the Nation” for almost 8 years starting in 1983. Stahl is married to author and journalist Aaron Latham. One of Latham’s claims to fame is that he wrote the article that inspired the movie “Urban Cowboy”.

29 ESPN journalist Storm : HANNAH

Hannah Storm is a sports journalist who co-hosts the Sunday version of “SportsCenter” on ESPN. Storm is the daughter of sports executive Mike Storen, who was president of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

36 Roof support beam : RAFTER

Rafters are the beams that slope from the ridge of a roof down to the tops of the supporting walls.

39 Ryan of “You’ve Got Mail” : MEG

Meg Ryan is the stage name of the actress Margaret Mary Hyra. Ryan’s big break came with the excellent 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally”, from which she went on to star in some of the most popular romantic comedies ever made.

“You’ve Got Mail” is a 1998 romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, directed by Nora Ephron. The film is an adaptation of the Miklos Laszlo play “Parfumerie”. The storyline of “Parfumerie” was also used for the movies “The Shop Around the Corner” (from 1940 starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan) and “In the Good Old Summertime” (from 1949 starring Van Johnson and Judy Garland).

42 Game with strikes and a ball : BOWLING

In bowling, a spare is recorded on a score sheet with a forward slash mark. A strike is recorded with a large letter X.

43 NBC revue that gave us “More Cowbell” : SNL

“More Cowbell” is one of the most celebrated “Saturday Night Live” sketches. It is a parody of the recording of the outstanding song “”(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. Will Ferrell portrays one of the band members playing a cowbell, and Christopher Walken portraying the record producer demanding “more cowbell”.

Blue Öyster Cult is a rock band from Long Island, New York. I may be alone in labeling Blue Öyster Cult as a “one-hit wonder”, but I always associate the band with the marvelous 1976 song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”.

47 Label for two “Aretha” albums : ARISTA

Arista Records was set up as part of Columbia Pictures by one Clive Davis. He chose “Arista” as it was the name of the New York City Honor Society to which Davis belonged.

I think that Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”, had a tough life. Franklin had her first son when she was just 13-years-old, and her second at 15. In 2008, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked Franklin as number one on its list of the greatest singers of all time.

50 Mil. head honcho : GEN

“Honcho” is a slang term meaning “leader”. The word comes to us from Japanese military, in which language a “hancho” is a “squad” (han) “leader” (cho).

52 Stretches at a wedding? : LIMOS

The word “limousine” derives from the name of the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

54 Tableland : MESA

“What’s the difference between a butte and a mesa?” Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, and taller than it is wide.

55 Like some oxymoronic odds : EVEN

The word “oxymoron” is in itself an oxymoron. It is derived from the Greek words “Oxys” and “moros” meaning “sharp” and “stupid” respectively.

57 Mobile home: Abbr. : ALA

Mobile, Alabama was founded in 1702, and the first capital of French Colonial Louisiana. The city takes its name from the Mobilian tribe of Native Americans who lived in that area.

58 Boxer or Borzoi : DOG

The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful combination. Our current family dog is a boxer/pug mix, and is another gorgeous animal.

The borzoi breed of dog looks like a hairy version of a greyhound. The borzoi is also known as the Russian wolfhound.

59 Chairman mentioned in the Beatles’ “Revolution” : MAO

The recording and release of the Beatles song “Revolution” was very much driven by John Lennon. Lennon was then in a committed relationship with Yoko Ono, and well into the “revolutionary” phase of his life. One interesting thing to note about the original recording is the “scream” right at the start of the song. This had to come from Paul rather than John, because John couldn’t catch his breath after the scream in time to start into the song’s lyrics.

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world

60 Pro __ : TEM

“Pro tempore” can be abbreviated to “pro tem” or “p.t.” “Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior. The President pro tempore of the US Senate is the person who presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President of the US. It has been tradition since 1890 that the president pro tem is the most senior senator in the majority party. The president pro tem ranks highly in the line of succession to the presidency, falling third in line after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.