LA Times Crossword 22 Oct 26, Thursday

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Constructed by: MaryEllen Uthlaut

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Important Definitions

Themed answers all fit with the same clue: “Port”:

• 20A Port : AVIATOR’S LEFT
• 28A Port : RED DESSERT WINE
• 47A Port : CRUISE STOPOVER
• 53A Port : COMPUTER SLOT

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

Bill’s time: 6m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Cartoon girl whose best friend is Boots the Monkey : DORA

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases. Her constant companion is an anthropomorphic monkey named “Boots”, because he always wears red boots. Dora, full name “Dora Márquez”, also hangs out with Isa, an iguana.

5A Brand of body wash : DIAL

Dial was the first antibacterial soap introduced in the US. It was given the name “Dial” as it was touted as offering “round-the-clock” protection against any odors caused by perspiration.

18A Russian blues, e.g. : CATS

The Russian Blue is a feline breed believed to have originated in the port city of Arkhangelsk, earning them the early name “Archangel cats”. Supposedly, sailors brought them from the White Sea to Britain and Northern Europe in the 1860s. They have a plush, silvery-blue coat, which is a dense double layer that originally protected them from harsh Russian winters. Legend holds that Russian blues were the preferred pets of Russian czars and British royalty alike.

19A Foldable bed : FUTON

Anyone lucky enough to have visited Japan might be familiar with the traditional Japanese futon. Unlike what we tend to call futon in this country, the Japanese original is a padded mattress and quilt. Japanese futons are usually rolled up in the morning so that the space used for sleeping can be repurposed during the day.

20A Port : AVIATOR’S LEFT

The left side of a ship used to be called the “larboard” side, but this was dropped in favor of “port” as the pronunciation of “larboard” was easily confused with “starboard”, the right side of the vessel. The term “port” was chosen as it was customary to dock a ship, for loading in port, with the left side of the vessel against the dock.

24A Isl. with four provinces : IRE

Ireland is divided into four provinces: Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster. “Ulster” is sometimes used as a synonym for “Northern Ireland”, but in fact Ulster comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland and three in the Republic of Ireland, namely Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan.

28A Port : RED DESSERT WINE

We tend to see two main styles of port (although there are several available): ruby and tawny. Ruby port is stored in concrete or stainless steel tanks that prevent oxidative aging, leaving the wine a bright red color. Tawny port is aged in wooden barrels, which allow gradual oxidation, leaving the wine a golden-brown color.

33A __ poker : DRAW

Draw poker is a variant of poker in which each player is given a complete hand before the first round of betting. Each player then has the opportunity to replace or “draw” cards to develop their hand for subsequent rounds of betting.

35A Adapter letters : AC/DC

Anyone with a laptop with an external power supply has an AC/DC converter, that big “block” in the power cord. It converts the AC current from a wall socket into the DC current that is used by the laptop.

39A Breathing organ : GILL

A fish’s gills are the organs equivalent to the lungs of many land animals. The gills can extract oxygen dissolved in water and excrete carbon dioxide.

50A Telepathic ability : ESP

The term “telepathy” was coined in 1882 by Frederic W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research. The word comes from the Greek words “têle” meaning “afar, at a distance” and “pathos” meaning “feeling, perception”. So, “telepathy” literally means “distant feeling” or “perception at a distance” reflecting the concept of mind-to-mind communication across space without physical senses.

52A Whodunit game : CLUE

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

58A “Until we meet again, mon ami” : ADIEU

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

61A Unstable subatomic particle : PION

“Pion” is short for “pi meson”, and is the name given to a subatomic particle. I don’t know anything more …

63A Cough drop brand : HALLS

Halls brand of cough drops were first made by Halls Brothers in England in the 1930s.

66A Talus locale : ANKLE

The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called “ankle bone”. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

67A Mount of Greek myth : OSSA

Mount Ossa in Greece is located between Mount Pelion in the south, and the celebrated Mount Olympus in the north. Mount Ossa is also known as Kissavos.

Down

2D Royal figure in Norwegian history : 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”.

3D Royal figure in Indian history : RANI

A ranee (also “rani”) is an Indian queen or princess, and the female equivalent of a raja.

4D Home of Odin and Thor : ASGARD

Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds of Norse religions. It is where the Norse gods live, and is also home to Valhalla, the enormous hall ruled over by the god Odin.

8D Nielsen of “Airplane!” : LESLIE

Leslie Nielsen was a Canadian actor, one famous for playing the zany Sergeant Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun”. Nielsen’s big break in comedy films came in the innovative movie “Airplane!”

The 1980 movie “Airplane!” has to be one of the zaniest comedies ever made. The lead roles were Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) and Elaine Dickinson (played by Julie Hagerty). But it was Leslie Nielsen who stole the show, playing Dr. Barry Rumack. That’s my own humble opinion of course …

9D Stiff fabric : TAFFETA

Taffeta is a plain woven fabric with a crisp feel that is made from silk or one of several manmade materials. The name “taffeta” ultimately comes from the Persian “taftah” meaning “silk or linen cloth”.

13D Oscar count for 1961’s “West Side Story” : TEN

Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story” is based on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The musical is set in New York City and features two rival gangs: the Sharks from Puerto Rico and the Jets with working-class, Caucasian roots. Tony from the Jets (played by Richard Beymer) falls in love with Maria (played by Natalie Wood) from the Sharks. All this parallels Romeo from the House of Montague falling for Juliet from the House of Capulet in the Italian city of Verona. The stage musical was adapted into a very successful 1961 movie with the same title.

21D “Hello It’s Me” singer-songwriter Rundgren : TODD

Todd Rundgren is a Philadelphia-born musician who is known as a solo artist as well as a member of Utopia, a rock group that Rundgren formed in 1973. He is also a successful record producer, with his list of production credits including Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” (1977). Rundgren was listed on the birth certificate as the father of actress Liv Tyler. Rundgren’s girlfriend Bebe Buell had a brief relationship with musician Steven Tyler while she and Rundgren were on a break, and that brief liaison resulted in an unplanned pregnancy and the birth of Liv “Rundgren”. Liv learned of her biological father when she was eight years old, and eventually took his name. Liv and Todd Rundgren remain close to this day.

“Hello It’s Me” was the first song Todd Rundgren ever wrote. He recorded it as a slow, dirge-like ballad in 1968 with his garage rock band Nazz. He rerecorded the track as an upbeat, pop anthem for his 1972 solo double album “Something/Anything?”. The latter rendition climbed the charts to reach number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1973, making it the highest-charting song of Rundgren’s six-decade career.

27D Electrical pioneer Nikola : TESLA

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in a village located in modern-day Croatia, and later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

31D Barrister’s head covering : WIG

In a common law jurisdiction with a split legal profession, such as England, lawyers can be either solicitors or barristers. Someone needing legal help will retain a solicitor for that purpose. If a court trial is required, then a barrister is retained to make representation before a judge and perhaps a jury. The barrister is the lawyer who wears a wig.

32D Absurd situation : FARCE

A farce is a comedy play that features an exaggerated and improbable storyline, with lots of physical humor. I love a good farce …

36D Letter between phi and psi : CHI

The letter chi is the 22nd letter in the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks like our Roman letter X.

38D “Time’s up” callers : PROCTORS

A proctor is a supervisor, and especially a person overseeing a school examination or a dormitory. The word “proctor” originated in the late 1500s, and is a contraction of the word “procurator”, the name given to an official agent of a church.

41D Embrace, as a cause : ESPOUSE

To espouse is to take in marriage. We have used the extended meaning of “to give one’s support to” since the 1600s.

44D Sugar substitute with sucralose : SPLENDA

“Splenda” is a brand name used for the artificial sweetener sucralose. Sucralose was discovered in 1976 when a graduate student was asked to “test” a new chlorinated sugar compound, but he misheard the instruction as “taste” and put a pinch on his tongue. Luckily for him, the result was a substance 600 times sweeter than sugar rather than a trip to the hospital.

45D Series of gigs : TOUR

Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz. The derivative phrase “gig economy” applies to a relatively recent phenomenon where workers find themselves jumping from temporary job to temporary job, from gig to gig.

48D Lyric poet of Lesbos : SAPPHO

Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet born on the Greek island of Lesbos. Sappho was much admired for her work, although very little of it survives today. She was renowned for writing erotic and romantic verse that dealt with the love of women as well as men. It was because of this poetry that the word “lesbian” (someone from Lesbos) is used to describe a gay woman.

49D Frigate, for one : VESSEL

Back in the 1600s, a frigate was a warship designed for maximum maneuverability and speed. In today’s parlance, the term describes a warship assigned to the protection of other warships and merchant vessels, with an emphasis on anti-submarine warfare.

59D Auerbach of the Black Keys : DAN

Dan Auerbach is a musician and singer who is perhaps best known for his work with drummer Patrick Carney in the rock duo the Black Keys. Auerbach and Carney met each other as children, living in the same neighborhood in Akron, Ohio.