LA Times Crossword Answers 16 Nov 2017, Thursday

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Constructed by: Jason Chapnick & C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Theme: Beer Chaser

Each of today’s themed answers ends with a hidden word, a type of BEER:

• 60A. Half a boilermaker … and what’s aptly hidden in 18-, 24-, 40- and 51-Across : BEER CHASER

• 18A. News provider in front of a camera : TV REPORTER (hiding “porter”)
• 24A. 1993-2002 Ford-Nissan minivan : MERCURY VILLAGER (hiding “lager”)
• 40A. Banish : CAST OUT (hiding “stout”)
• 51A. Many a Poe work : HAIR-RAISING TALE (hiding “ale”)

Bill’s time: 7m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. El Misti’s land : PERU

El Misti is a volcano that is also known as “Guagua-Putina”. It is located in Southern Peru near the city of Arequipa.

13. Shock jock Don : IMUS

Don Imus’s syndicated radio show “Imus in the Morning” used to broadcast from New York City. Imus has been described as a “shock jock”, a disc jockey who deliberately uses provocative language and humor that many would find offensive . I’m not a big fan of shock jocks …

14. Invoice stamp : PAID

An invoice is an itemized bill. The term comes from the Middle French “envois” meaning “dispatch (of goods)”. The root verb is “envoyer”, which translates as “to send”.

16. Schumer’s “Trainwreck” co-star : HADER

Bill Hader is an actor and comedian best known as a member of the cast of “Saturday Night Live”. Hader was introduced to Lorne Michaels (producer of “Saturday Night Live”) by Megan Mullally, co-star of the sitcom “Will & Grace”.

Amy Schumer is a stand-up comedian, and an alumna of the reality TV show “Last Comic Standing”, in which she placed fourth. Schumer now has her own comedy series “Inside Amy Schumer”, which airs on Comedy Central. Amy is a first cousin once removed of Chuck Schumer, the senior US Senator from New York.

“Trainwreck” is a romantic comedy released in 2015 that brings together the talents of Judd Apatow as director and Amy Schumer as writer. Schumer also stars.

18. News provider in front of a camera : TV REPORTER (hiding “porter”)

Porter is a dark beer that originated in London in the 1700s and is named for the street and river porters with whom it was very popular. Porter is a well-hopped beer made using brown malt, which gives it the dark color.

20. Takes too much, briefly : ODS

Overdose (OD)

22. Field mouse : VOLE

Vole populations can really increase rapidly. Mama vole is pregnant for just three weeks before giving birth to litters of 5-10 baby voles. Then the young voles become sexually mature in just one month! If you have one pregnant vole in your yard, within a year you could have over a hundred of the little critters.

23. Head light : HALO

The Greek word “halos” is the name given to the ring of light around the sun or moon, which gives us our word “halo” that is used for a radiant light depicted above the head of a saintly person.

24. 1993-2002 Ford-Nissan minivan : MERCURY VILLAGER (hiding “lager”)

In the early nineties, Ford and Nissan worked together to design and produce a minivan that was marketed as the Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest. The use of the model name “Villager” dates back to 1958, when Ford introduced the Edsel Villager.

Lager is so called because of the tradition of cold-storing the beer during fermentation. “Lager” is the German word for “storage”.

28. Status symbol suit : ARMANI

Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the company that has borne his name since 1975. Although Armani is famous for his menswear, the company makes everything from jewelry to perfume.

39. Subj. for many an au pair : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.

40. Banish : CAST OUT (hiding “stout”)

The term “stout” was first used for a type of beer in the 1600s when was used to describe a “strong, stout” brew, and not necessarily a dark beer as it is today.

42. __-wop : DOO

Doo-wop developed in the 1940s and can be described as a vocal-based R&B music. Even though the style has been around since the forties, the name doo-wop wasn’t introduced until the early sixties.

43. Best Picture Oscar nominee directed by Ava DuVernay : SELMA

“Selma” is a 2014 film about the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the movie stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

46. Big name in banking : CITI

During the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, the US government rescued Citibank by providing loan guarantees and two payments of $25 billion each. It turns out that the government made a tidy profit on that deal, as Citibank has since repaid the loans in full, along with interest.

47. __ de Triomphe : ARC

L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile in Paris was built to honor those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. It is the second largest triumphal arch in the world, after the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea. If you are visiting Paris, don’t just take a picture of the arch, be sure to go inside and see the marvelous chambers and carvings, and wander around on top of the arch so that you can enjoy the magnificent view.

49. Musical works : OPUSES

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes use the plural “opuses” in English.

51. Many a Poe work : HAIR-RAISING TALE (hiding “ale”)

Edgar Allan Poe lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

57. MLB playoff event : ALCS

American League Championship Series (ALCS)

59. Bailed-out insurance co. : AIG

AIG is the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation. After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers starting in 2008, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I’d say …

60. Half a boilermaker … and what’s aptly hidden in 18-, 24-, 40- and 51-Across : BEER CHASER

A boilermaker is a beer cocktail, a serving of beer mixed with a shot of whiskey, or sometimes a shot of tequila or vodka. If the whiskey is still in a shot glass when it’s dropped into the beer, then it’s known as a depth charge.

63. Avian crop : CRAW

“Craw” is another name for the “crop”, a portion of the alimentary tract of some animals, including birds. The crop is used for the storage of food prior to digestion. It allows the animal to eat large amounts and then digest that food with efficiency over an extended period. The expression “to stick in one’s craw” is used one when one cannot accept something, cannot “swallow” it.

66. Like Wrigley Field’s walls : IVIED

The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914. Back then it was known as Weeghman Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame. Wrigley Field is noted as the only professional ballpark that has ivy covering the outfield walls. The ivy is a combination of Boston Ivy and Japanese Bittersweet, both of which can survive the harsh winters in Chicago.

68. Luke’s sister : LEIA

The full name of the character played by Carrie Fisher in the “Star Wars” series of films is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and later Leia Organa Solo. Leia is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker (aka “Darth Vader”) and Padmé Amidala. Leia is raised by her adoptive parents Bail and Breha Organa. She eventually marries Han Solo.

Down

1. Many a JPEG file : PIC

The JPEG file format was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), hence the name.

2. Expressive rock genre : EMO

The emo musical genre originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. “Emo” is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …

6. Shrewdly informed : SAVVY

The term “savvy”, meaning “understanding”, comes from the French “savez-vous?”. The French phrase translates as “do you know?”

7. Former name of the Mariinsky Ballet : KIROV

The Mariinsky Ballet is a company based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in the mid-1700s as the Imperial Russian Ballet, but was renamed to the Kirov Ballet during the Soviet era, in honor of the Bolshevik revolutionary Sergey Kirov. The Kirov was renamed again at the end of communist rule, taking the name of the Mariinsky Theatre where the company was headquartered. The theatre was named for Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who was the wife of Tsar Alexander II.

8. “Shameless” network, briefly : SHO

“Shameless” is a comedy drama TV series about a dysfunctional Chicago family consisting of a six children and single father who spends his days drunk. The US show is a remake of the original British “Shameless” that is based on a similar family who live in Manchester in the North of England.

9. Bellicose sort : WAR HAWK

The dove is a symbol of peace, and the hawk is a symbol of war.

Someone described as bellicose is inclined to favor strife or war. The term comes from “bellum”, the Latin word for “war”.

11. Comedy duo Key & __ : PEELE

The Comedy Central sketch show “Key & Peele” stars comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The duo also wrote an action comedy film called “Keanu” that was released in 2016. The title character is a cat belonging to the boss of a drug cartel. Haven’t seen it …

15. Sub station : DELI

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

19. Hide : PELT

A pelt is the skin of a furry animal.

26. Actress Wilson of “Sleepless in Seattle” : RITA

Actress Rita Wilson is also a producer. She produced the 2002 movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which was destined to become the highest-grossing independent movie of all time. Wilson married fellow actor Tom Hanks in 1988.

“Sleepless in Seattle” is a lovely romantic comedy directed and co-written by Nora Ephron, released in 1993. The film’s storyline is based on the excellent 1957 movie “An Affair to Remember”, and there are numerous direct references to the Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr classic throughout the “remake”. The lead roles in “Sleepless …” are played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

32. Clairvoyance letters : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

We’ve been using the term “clairvoyant” to describe a psychic since the nineteenth century. Prior to that, a clairvoyant was a clear-sighted person. The term comes from French, with “clair” meaning “clear” and “voyant” meaning “seeing”.

34. Stooge with bangs : MOE

Moe Howard was the stage name of Moses Harry Horwitz. Howard was one of the Three Stooges. In 1925, he married Helen Schonberger, who was a cousin of Harry Houdini.

37. Econo Lodge, e.g. : MOTEL

Econo Lodge is a low-cost hotel chain in the Choice Hotels portfolio of brands. The chain started in 1969 as Econo-Travel, and demonstrated pretty quickly that budget-hotels were a good idea. The first hotel was built in Norfolk, Virginia and it started making money three weeks after welcoming its first guests.

40. Oakland Raiders’ quarterback Derek : CARR

Quarterback Derek Carr was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2014. Derek is the younger brother of former NFL quarterback David Carr.

44. Color that isn’t an Earth tone? : MARS RED

The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty!

48. Twenties, say : CASH

The twenty-dollar bill is called a “Jackson” as it bears the portrait of President Andrew Jackson on the front side of the bill. Jackson’s image replaced that of President Grover Cleveland in 1928, and there doesn’t seem to be any record documenting just why that change was made. Over one-fifth of all notes printed today are 20-dollar bills, and the average life of a “Jackson” is a little over 2 years, after which it is replaced due to wear.

50. Vardon Trophy org. : PGA

The Vardon Trophy is awarded annually to the player who has the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour. The trophy is named for professional golfer Harry Vardon, winner of six Open Championships (from 1896 to 1914), a record that stands to this day.

51. Order clothes : HABIT

That would be a religious order.

52. Advil alternative : ALEVE

Aleve is a brand name used for the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen sodium.

Advil is Wyeth’s brand of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug.

54. Apple tablet : IPAD

The groundbreaking iPad was introduced by Apple in 2010. The iOS-based iPads dominated the market for tablet computers until 2013, when Android-based tablets (manufactured by several companies) took over the number-one spot.

55. Girl in “Calvin and Hobbes” : SUSIE

In the “Calvin and Hobbes” cartoon strip, Calvin has a love/hate relationship with his classmate Susie Derkins. Susie is a strong female character. She often plays imaginary games in which she is a lawyer or politician, and Calvin is her househusband. The strip’s creator Bill Watterson has confessed that Susie’s character represents the type of woman that he himself found attractive, and indeed married.

56. Like argon and krypton : INERT

The noble gases (also “rare gases”) are those elements over on the extreme right of the Periodic Table. Because of their “full” complement of electrons, noble gases are very unreactive. The six noble gases that occur naturally are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.

62. TiVo button : REC

TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful Digital Video Recorder (DVR).