LA Times Crossword 17 Nov 21, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Paul Coulter
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: That Is Without Punctuation

Themed clues are single words ending with -IE, but that “IE” is written as “, i.e”. Clever …

  • 17A Cook, i.e.? : BAKED TREAT (Cookie)
  • 23A Pink, i.e.? : LITTLE FINGER (Pinkie)
  • 37A Rook, i.e.? : FIRST-YEAR PLAYER (Rookie)
  • 50A E’er, i.e.? : BONE-CHILLING (Eerie)
  • 61A Sort, i.e.? : AIR MISSION (Sortie)

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

Bill’s time: 8m 56s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • KLU (Clu)
  • NUDNIK (nudnic)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “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!”

6 Small strings : UKES

The ukulele (uke) originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

10 Big zero : NADA

“Nada” is the Spanish word for “nothing”.

14 Ballet bend that’s a homophone for a cheese dish : FONDU

The French word for “bent” is “plié”. In the ballet move known as a plié, the knees are bent. A “demi-plié” is a similar move, but with less bending of the knees. A fondu is similar to a plié, except that only one leg remains on the ground.

Fondue is a traditional Swiss dish comprising melted cheese served in a pot over a tabletop stove, into which diners dip bread. The term “fondue”, which is French for “melted”, is now applied more widely to similar dishes served in a communal pot into which a food is dipped. Traditional fondue is delicious, so very delicious …

Homophones are words that are pronounced in the same way (e.g., ere, air, err and heir). Homonyms are a subset of homophones, and are words that have the same spelling and the same pronunciation but different meanings, for example, skate (a fish) and skate (worn on the foot).

16 Love, in Lima : AMOR

Lima is the capital city of Peru. Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it “la Ciudad de los Reyes” (the City of Kings). He chose this name because the decision to found the city was made on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three kings to Jesus in Bethlehem. Lima is home to the oldest university in all of the Americas, as San Marco University was founded in 1551 during the days of Spanish colonial rule.

20 1953 Alan Ladd classic : SHANE

The classic 1953 western movie “Shane” is based on the novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer published in 1949. Heading the cast is Alan Ladd in the title role, alongside Jean Arthur and Van Heflin.

The last few years of actor Alan Ladd’s life were pretty rough. In 1962, he was found unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound in his chest, an abortive suicide attempt. Two years later he was found dead, apparently having succumbed to an accidental overdose of drugs and sedatives. He was 50 years old.

23 Pink, i.e.? : LITTLE FINGER (Pinkie)

The use of “pinkie” or “pinky” for the little finger or toe comes into English from “pinkje”, the Dutch word for the same digit. Who knew …?

25 Actress Ryan of “Courage Under Fire” : MEG

“Courage Under Fire” is a 1996 movie set during the Gulf War, and starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. Matt Damon has a supporting role, for which he had to lose 40 pounds for his part in later scenes of the film. The weight loss affected his health, necessitating medical supervision for several months as he recovered.

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.

28 Nickname of 1950s Reds slugger Ted : KLU

Ted Kluszewski’s nickname was “Big Klu”, as he stood at 6ft 2in tall and weighed 240 pounds. Kluszewski’s biceps were so huge that he often had to cut off the sleeves of his baseball uniform. He won the 1954 home run title in 1954 when playing for the Cincinnati Reds.

29 Meds-approving agcy. : FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its roots in the Division of Chemistry (later “Bureau of Chemistry”) that was part of the US Department of Agriculture. President Theodore Roosevelt gave responsibility for examination of food and drugs to the Bureau of Chemistry with the signing of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Bureau’s name was changed to the Food, Drug and Insecticide Organization in 1927, and to the Food and Drug Administration in 1930.

31 Brian of Roxy Music : ENO

Roxy Music is a British band formed by Bryan Ferry, who also served as the lead singer. One of the group’s more famous former band members was Brian Eno, someone who turns up in crosswords far too often …

37 Rook, i.e.? : FIRST-YEAR PLAYER (Rookie)

The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads”, which was originally published in 1892.

44 Pitcher’s stat : ERA

Earned run average (ERA)

45 Univ. dorm mentors : RAS

A resident assistant/adviser (RA) is a peer leader found in a residence hall, particularly on a college campus.

47 Enero begins it : ANO

In Spanish, we start “el año” (the year) in “enero” (January) as noted on a “calendario” (calendar).

49 __ Jones : DOW

Charles Dow was a journalist who moved to New York City (from Providence, Rhode Island) in 1880 as he was developing an interest in reporting financial and business news. He teamed up with statistician Edward David Jones, and in 1882, the pair formed the Dow, Jones & Company news agency. The following year, the fledgling company started to publish the “Customers’ Afternoon Letter”, a two-page summary of the day’s financial news. Included in the newsletter was the now celebrated Dow Jones stock average. The two-page “Customers’ Afternoon Letter” evolved into the newspaper that we now call “The Wall Street Journal”, which first appeared in 1889.

56 City north of Des Moines : AMES, IOWA

The city of Ames, Iowa is famous for holding the now-defunct Ames Straw Poll (also “Iowa Straw Poll) in advance of presidential elections. The poll in question was used to gauge the level of support for two or more Republican candidates, although non-Republicans were allowed to cast a vote. To vote one had to be an Iowa resident and had to buy a ticket to the fundraising dinner at which the vote was taken. The event got a lot of coverage, so it boosted the local economy as journalists hit the town. It was a very successful fundraiser for the Republican Party in Iowa as well, but the usefulness of the straw poll in predicting the eventual winner of the nomination was less clear. There were six straw polls from its inception in 1979, and just 2 out of the 6 times the poll winner went on to capture the party’s nomination. The Republican Party decided to pull the plug on the event in 2015.

The city of Des Moines is the capital of Iowa, and takes its name from the Des Moines River. The river in turn takes its name from the French “Riviere des Moines” meaning “River of the Monks”. It looks like there isn’t any “monkish” connection to the city’s name per se. “Des Moines” was just the name given by French traders who corrupted “Moingona”, the name of a group of Illinois Native Americans who lived by the river. However, others contend that French Trappist monks, who lived a full 200 miles from the river, somehow influenced the name.

61 Sort, i.e.? : AIR MISSION (Sortie)

A sortie is an attack by an armed unit, and usually a breakout by forces that are besieged, The term “sortie” comes directly from French and means “a going out”. “Sortie” is also used for a mission by a combat aircraft.

65 USAF noncom : TSGT

Technical Sergeant (TSgt)

66 Lombardy’s land : ITALY

There are twenty administrative regions of Italy, one of which is Lombardy. Lombardy is in the very north of the country, and its capital is the city of Milan.

68 Citi Field predecessor : SHEA

Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York was named after William A. Shea, the man credited with bringing National League baseball back to the city in the form of the New York Mets. Shea Stadium was dismantled in 2008-2009, and the site now provides additional parking for the new stadium nearby called Citi Field.

Down

1 Edwards, in Calif. : AFB

Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is in a desert area in Southern California. Edwards is a flight test center for the Air Force, and it was here that Chuck Yeager famously broke the sound barrier for the first time. And of course, Edwards was used for many landings of the Space Shuttle.

3 Egyptian cross : ANKH

The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world). The ankh is also known as “the key of the Nile” and “crux ansata” (Latin for “cross with a handle”).

4 Utopian : IDEAL

The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book “Utopia” published in 1516 to describe an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

5 Annoying sort : NUDNIK

“Nudnik” is a slang term describing a boring and bothersome person. The word comes from Yiddish, with “nuda” being the Polish for “boredom”.

6 Old Mideast alliance: Abbr. : UAR

The United Arab Republic (UAR) was a union between Egypt and Syria established in 1958. The UAR dissolved in 1961 when Syria pulled out of the arrangement.

8 Eiffel Tower level : ETAGE

In France, the ground floor (étage) of the house (la maison) isn’t called the first floor. It’s called the ground floor. The first floor is the floor above the ground floor.

The “Exposition Universelle” (World’s Fair) of 1889 was held in Paris, France. The 1900 fair is remembered for the magnificent entrance arch that was constructed for visitors. That entrance arch was to remain standing for only nine years, but the city decided to keep it and you can visit it today. Today we call that entrance arch the Eiffel Tower. The tower is sometimes referred to in French “La Dame de Fer”, meaning “the Iron Lady”.

9 Detonate : SET OFF

A detonation is a sudden, violent explosion. The term “detonation” comes from the Lating “de-” meaning “down” and “tonare” meaning “to thunder”.

10 Part of the “Hey Jude” refrain : NA NA NA NA!

“Hey Jude” was originally a song titled “Hey Jules” written by Paul McCartney. He wrote the original song for John Lennon’s son Julian, in an attempt to comfort the boy during his parents’ divorce. There’s a phenomenal coda in “Hey Jude” after the fourth verse that lasts for over four minutes.

11 “You’re __ friends” : AMONG

I hope so …

12 Range rover? : DOGIE

“Dogie” (sometimes “dogy”) is cowboy slang for a motherless calf in a herd.

18 Big name in 43-Across : TETLEY
(43A Leaves in small bags : TEA)

Tetley was founded by Joseph Tetley in Yorkshire in 1837. Joseph and his brother used to sell salt door-to-door from a pack horse and started to distribute tea the same way. They became so successful selling tea that they relocated to London. Notably, Tetley’s was the first company to introduce tea bags in the UK, back in 1953.

22 Pain relief brand marketed to women : MIDOL

Midol is a brand of pain reliever that was introduced in 1911. The target condition for the drug has evolved over the decades. It was originally marketed as a remedy for headaches and toothaches, and then as a cure for hiccups. Today, it is sold as a remedy for bloating and menstrual cramps.

25 Annoy : MIFF

To miff is to put out, to tee off. “To miff” is a verb that has been around since the early 1600s. Interestingly, in 1824 Sir Walter Scott described the word “miffed” as “a women’s phrase”. That should get him a slap, I’d say …

27 Greek lamb sandwich : GYRO

A gyro is a traditional Greek dish of meat roasted on a tall vertical spit that is sliced from the spit as required. Gyros are usually served inside a lightly grilled piece of pita bread, along with tomato, onion and tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber sauce).

35 Lyre-playing emperor : NERO

The Great Fire of Rome raged for five and a half days in 64 AD. Of the fourteen districts of Rome, three were completely destroyed and seven more suffered serious damage. The emperor at the time was Nero, although reports that he fiddled, played his lyre or sang while the city burned; those accounts are probably not true. In fact, Nero was staying outside of Rome when the fire started and rushed home upon hearing the news. He organized a massive relief effort, throwing open his own home to give shelter to many of the citizens who were left living on the street.

39 Singing sister of Toni Braxton : TRACI

Singer Traci Braxton began her career with the quintet of sisters known as the Braxtons. Traci is perhaps best known these days for her appearance on the reality show “Braxton Family Values”.

The Braxton Family singers are sisters Toni, Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar.

41 Pressed Italian sandwich : PANINI

In Italy, a sandwich made from sliced bread is called a “tramezzino”, while sandwiches made from non-sliced breads are called “panini” (singular “panino”). We’ve imported the plural term “panini” into English to describe a single pressed and toasted sandwich.

46 Young hogs : SHOATS

“Shoat” is a word describing a young hog after it has been weaned.

48 Single-piece outfit for a baby : ONESIE

A onesie is a baby’s one-piece bodysuit, and is a common gift at a baby shower.

50 Breakfast item : BAGEL

The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City.

51 Muscat native : OMANI

Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

52 Older efts : NEWTS

Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

55 Exploits : GESTS

Our word “gest”, describing a great deed or exploit, has been around since about 1300. The term comes from the Old French word “geste” meaning the same thing. These days “geste” can also mean “gesture”.

58 Sábado y domingo, por ejemplo : DIAS

In Spanish (Span.), the days of the week are masculine (masc.) nouns. Unlike in English, the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized when used in the middle of a sentence:

  • lunes – Monday
  • martes – Tuesday
  • miércoles – Wednesday
  • jueves – Thursday
  • viernes – Friday
  • sábado – Saturday
  • domingo – Sunday

62 L.A. commuter org. : MTA

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is known as the Metro, and sometimes the MTA.

63 Albany is its cap. : NYS

New York’s state capital of Albany was founded as a Dutch trading post called Fort Nassau in 1614. The English took over the settlement in 1664 and called it Albany, naming it after the future King of England James II, whose title at the time was the Duke of Albany. It became the capital of New York State in 1797.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Encore!” : AGAIN!
6 Small strings : UKES
10 Big zero : NADA
14 Ballet bend that’s a homophone for a cheese dish : FONDU
15 One chip, maybe : ANTE
16 Love, in Lima : AMOR
17 Cook, i.e.? : BAKED TREAT (Cookie)
19 Canceled : NO-GO
20 1953 Alan Ladd classic : SHANE
21 Many a dictator’s quality : EGOMANIA
23 Pink, i.e.? : LITTLE FINGER (Pinkie)
25 Actress Ryan of “Courage Under Fire” : MEG
28 Nickname of 1950s Reds slugger Ted : KLU
29 Meds-approving agcy. : FDA
30 Climbing vine : IVY
31 Brian of Roxy Music : ENO
33 Upright : ON END
37 Rook, i.e.? : FIRST-YEAR PLAYER (Rookie)
42 Elevator stop : FLOOR
43 Leaves in small bags : TEA
44 Pitcher’s stat : ERA
45 Univ. dorm mentors : RAS
47 Enero begins it : ANO
49 __ Jones : DOW
50 E’er, i.e.? : BONE-CHILLING (Eerie)
56 City north of Des Moines : AMES, IOWA
57 Must-haves : NEEDS
60 Stare open-mouthed : GAWP
61 Sort, i.e.? : AIR MISSION (Sortie)
64 Inner: Prefix : ENTO-
65 USAF noncom : TSGT
66 Lombardy’s land : ITALY
67 Smartphone call record, say : LIST
68 Citi Field predecessor : SHEA
69 Pluralizers : ESSES

Down

1 Edwards, in Calif. : AFB
2 Dress like, for the costume party : GO AS
3 Egyptian cross : ANKH
4 Utopian : IDEAL
5 Annoying sort : NUDNIK
6 Old Mideast alliance: Abbr. : UAR
7 Show respect, in a way : KNEEL
8 Eiffel Tower level : ETAGE
9 Detonate : SET OFF
10 Part of the “Hey Jude” refrain : NA NA NA NA!
11 “You’re __ friends” : AMONG
12 Range rover? : DOGIE
13 Loud, as a crowd : AROAR
18 Big name in 43-Across : TETLEY
22 Pain relief brand marketed to women : MIDOL
24 Ditty : TUNE
25 Annoy : MIFF
26 Like villains : EVIL
27 Greek lamb sandwich : GYRO
32 Breakfast cereal grain : OAT
34 Checked out : EYED
35 Lyre-playing emperor : NERO
36 Sketch : DRAW
38 Touchy subject : SORE SPOT
39 Singing sister of Toni Braxton : TRACI
40 Authentic : REAL
41 Pressed Italian sandwich : PANINI
46 Young hogs : SHOATS
48 Single-piece outfit for a baby : ONESIE
50 Breakfast item : BAGEL
51 Muscat native : OMANI
52 Older efts : NEWTS
53 “If only” : I WISH
54 Coffeehouse order : LARGE
55 Exploits : GESTS
58 Sábado y domingo, por ejemplo : DIAS
59 Exclusive : SOLE
62 L.A. commuter org. : MTA
63 Albany is its cap. : NYS

17 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 17 Nov 21, Wednesday”

  1. No errors..
    NUDNIK?? then KLU??? tough spot for me.

    Then throw in a bit of Spanish for Saturday and Sunday… have a good DIA??

  2. Yay!! For once, no errors, no lookups, but it was a little tricky.
    I tumbled to the theme after “little finger” and from then on, it
    was fun.

  3. Did not know gests. My biggest problem was putting in latte for coffeehouse order and that slowed things down for a long time. Also had gawk instead of gawp. Didn’t catch on to i.e. until 2/3 through and I won’t say how long that was!

  4. 14:49 2 errors, and then the same two errors again.

    I figured out the theme, but still couldn’t come up with the right kind of AIxMISSION for the sortie. My brain was stuck on LATTE, then LADLE? (At least AIDMISSION seemed reasonable), and finally LARGE.

    GESTS and SHOATS are cool words.

    Did you think this one was going to be a quick, i.e.?

  5. 17:04, no errors. While I figured out the themed clues were shortened versions of words, I did not get the real theme of add an “ie” to the clue until reading the comments. This was probably because the first one I got was the “Rook” one & “rook” is an acceptable variant of “rookie”.

  6. Since I know a little Yiddish I spelled nudnik correctly. But I also knew Klu so that was not a problem for me. But I only got gawp (instead of gawk) through the cross.

  7. 21:45 no errors.
    The theme clues and 58D are horrible and 6A should be noted as an abbreviation IMO.
    Stay safe😀

  8. 12:13 with no errors, lookups, or particular changes except for spelling corrections on UAL>UAR, ETEGE>ETAGE, STOATS>SHOATS.

    GAWP seems an odd word to me. I got GESTS because all the intersections were solid to me, and because of recalling a previous puzzle or two. However, my spelling of it would have been GESTEs after the novel/movie title. Was pretty certain that NUDNIK ended in a K, but had no idea about KLU for Ted Kluszewski. I had asumed the clue reference was to Ted Williams, but Kluszewski fits perfectly.

  9. 12:28, and 4 errors: O[M]ANI/A[M]ESIOWA, SHOA[T]S/[T]SGT. Was not looking for a city and state to be jammed together in a fill, and I don’t know from SHOATS. And I can never keep Oran and Oman apart in my head.

  10. Tough Wednesday for me; took 35:21 with 5 errors discovered by “check-grid” after coming to a standstill. Didn’t know KLU or NUDNIK or GAWP. I finally see the theme know that I’m here.

    In my defense, I had to get up extra early for a dental appointment, so I’m only on 5 hours sleep….zzzz! I even had LALALA… before NANANA…

    Off to bed early!!

  11. Never heard of Gawp (vs. gawk, which is quite common). Ted Klu was one of my favorite baseball players whilst growing into my teens. Did not know that there was a Braxton family.

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