LA Times Crossword Answers 19 Jul 2018, Thursday

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Constructed by: Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): On/Off Switch

Themed answers are common phrases in which ON has been switched to OFF, and vice versa:

  • 17A. Exhale over scalding coffee? : BLOW ON STEAM (from “blow off steam”)
  • 27A. Discontinue slanted material in articles? : CUT OFF THE BIAS (from “cut on the bias”)
  • 45A. Visit some animal shelter residents? : CALL ON THE DOGS (from “call off the dogs”)
  • 61A. Delay passing a congressional bill? : PUT OFF AN ACT (from “put on an act”)

Bill’s time: 8m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. New England sch. : UMASS

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) is the largest public university in New England. UMass was founded back in 1863, although it took a while to get the school into service. Construction work was delayed and the college went through two presidents before William S. Clark took charge. He cracked the whip, completed the construction and enrolled the first students in the same year that he took over the reins, in 1867. As a result, although Clark was the third President of UMass, he is regarded by most as the school’s founding father.

11. Chest protector : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

19. Bit of muesli : OAT

“Muesli” is a Swiss-German term describing a breakfast serving of oats, nuts, fruit and milk. “Muesli” is a diminutive of the German word “Mues” meaning “puree”. Delicious …

20. Mariners’ home, familiarly : SAFECO

Safeco Field is the home of the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Insurance was the highest bidder when it came to christening the new stadium opened in 1999, paying $40m for a 20-year contract.

21. Bilingual subj. : 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).

22. July 4th events, briefly : BBQS

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

On 11 June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of five people to draft a declaration of independence. Included in the five were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams persuaded the other committee members to give Jefferson the task of writing the first draft. A resolution of independence was passed by the Congress on 2 Jul 1776. The final draft of the declaration was approved by the Congress two days later, on July 4th. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife that included an assertion that July 2nd (the date of the resolution of independence) would become a great American holiday. Of course Adams was wrong, and it was actually the date the Declaration of Independence was finalized that came to be celebrated annually.

23. Five-O cop : DANO

Danny Williams is a character on the TV show “Hawaii Five-O”, both in the original version that first aired in 1968 and in the remake that was first broadcast in 2010. The original “Danno” is played by James McArthur. In the remake, Danno is played by Scott Caan, son of Hollywood actor James Caan. Book him, Danno!

The cop show “Hawaii Five-O” originally ran from 1968 until 1980, with Jack Lord and James MacArthur playing detectives Steve McGarrett and “Danno” Williams. The famous theme music was composed by Morton Stevens. The show was rebooted as “Hawaii Five-0”, premiering in 2010, with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan playing Steve McGarrett and “Danno” Williams. Notice the important difference in the titles of the two versions of the show: the former uses a capital letter O, and the latter the numeral zero. Now that’s trivial …

25. James or Jones of jazz : ETTA

Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.

Etta Jones was a jazz singer, sometimes known as the “jazz musician’s jazz singer”. Because she has a similar name to Etta James, Jones was often confused with the more popular singer. Jones never really had any huge commercial success though, despite the respect that she engendered within the inner sanctums of the jazz world.

27. Discontinue slanted material in articles? : CUT OFF THE BIAS (from “cut on the bias”)

In the world of woven textiles, a bias cut is a cut made diagonally across both the weft and weave threads.

32. Letters of urgency : ASAP

As soon as possible (ASAP)

34. Long of “In Too Deep” : NIA

Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

“In Too Deep” is a crime thriller movie released in 1999 starring Omar Epps and LL Cool J. I haven’t seen this one …

35. Broad neckwear : ASCOT

An Ascot is a horrible-looking (I think!), wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

37. Talking points? : PODIUMS

“Podium” (plural “podia”) is the Latin word for “raised platform”.

40. Memorable 1969 bride : ONO

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a very public honeymoon in a hotels in Amsterdam and then Montreal, when they staged their famous “bed-in” for peace. In answering questions from reporters Lennon found himself often repeating the words “give peace a chance”. While still in bed, he composed his famous song “Give Peace a Chance” and even made the original recording of the song in the Montreal hotel room, with reporters present, and with a whole bunch of friends. The song was released later in 1969 and became a smash hit. Writing credit was initially given to Lennon-McCartney, as was the agreement between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Later versions of the song were credited just to Lennon, even though Lennon stated that Yoko Ono actually wrote the song with him.

41. Harry’s Hogwarts nemesis : DRACO

Draco Malfoy is one of the regular “bad guys” in the “Harry Potter” stories. Malfoy is one of Potter’s fellow students, the one who sneers a lot. Draco’s father is Lucius Malfoy, a character who becomes more and more relevant as the storyline in the series of books progresses.

In J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe, The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four most brilliant witches and wizards of their time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each of the founders lent their name to a House in the school, i.e. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

43. Letters in an unfilled sched. slot : TBA

Something not yet on the schedule (“sked” or “sched.”) is to be advised/announced (TBA).

50. First name in country : REBA

Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.

56. Ear inflammation : OTITIS

The suffix “-itis” is used to denote inflammation, as in laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx), otitis (inflammation of the ear), tendinitis (inflammation of a tendon) and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).

63. General Mills cereal : KIX

Kix cereal has been around since 1937, would you believe? Kix used to be just puffed grains, processed to give the characteristic shape. Then the decision was made to add sugar to get better penetration into the young kid marketplace. Sad really …

64. Metal giant : ALCOA

The Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA) is the largest producer of aluminum in the United States. The company was founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where its headquarters are to this day.

66. Id follower? : EST

“Id est” is Latin for “that is”, and is often abbreviated to “i.e.” when used in English.

67. Conductor Zubin : MEHTA

Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music, from Mumbai. Mehta studied music in Vienna, where he made his conducting debut in 1958. In 1961 he was named assistant director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, creating a fuss with the music director designate of the orchestra, Georg Solti. Solti resigned as a protest, and Mehta took his job. In 1978 Mehta took over as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, eventually becoming the longest holder of that position.

Down

2. Kunis of “Black Swan” : MILA

Mila Kunis is a Ukrainian-born, American actress, who plays Jackie Burkhart on “That ’70s Show”. Fans of the cartoon series “Family Guy” might recognize her voicing the Meg Griffin character. In ”Black Swan”, Kunis plays a rival ballet dancer to the character played by Natalie Portman. In her personal life, Kunis dated Macaulay Culkin for 8 years, but married Ashton Kutcher, her co-star from “That 70s Show”, in 2015.

The 2010 movie “Black Swan” is a psychological thriller (described by some as a horror film) set against the background of a ballet company staging Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”. Natalie Portman plays an obsessive ballerina who seems perfect for the role of the White Swan in “Swan Lake”, but doesn’t seem to have the passion to also play the Black Swan. Then things start to go wonky …

5. Treaded winter vehicle : SNO-CAT

The brand name “Sno-Cat” is owned by the Tucker company. All snowcats are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, and are famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four independently-mounted tracks.

6. Wikipedia lacks them : ADS

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, and the most-used reference site on the Internet. It was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001. I, for one, am very grateful …

9. Part of HMO : HEALTH

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

10. Half of a very high price? : ARM

That would be “an arm and a leg”, a very high price.

11. Schmo : BOOB

“Schmo” (also “shmo”) is American slang for a dull or boring person, and comes from the Yiddish word “shmok”.

12. Green Zone country : IRAQ

The so-called “Green Zone” of Baghdad actually predates the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was a heavily fortified zone in the city that served as the administrative center for the ruling Ba’ath Party. After the invasion, access to the Green Zone was controlled by American troops at numerous checkpoints. The Coalition forces then installed blast walls and barbed wire fences, making the Green Zone the safest area in the whole of Baghdad. Control of the area was handed over to the Iraqis in 2009, after which the name “International Zone” has been used.

22. Streisand, in fanzines : BABS

Babs is a nickname for people with the name Barbara, although my grandmother back in Ireland had the nickname of Babs, and her name was Margaret!

Barbra Streisand has recorded 31 top-ten albums since 1963, more than any other female recording artist. In fact, she has had an album in the top ten for the last five decades, a rare achievement in itself.

A fanzine (also “zine”) is a fan publication with a very limited circulation, dealing with a very specific subject matter. Fanzines are usually desktop published and distributed electronically or as photocopies.

24. “The Wizard __” : OF ID

“The Wizard of Id” is one of my favorite comic strips. The strip was created by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart back in 1964, and it still runs today. The storyline centers on a wizard in the medieval kingdom of Id. The king of Id refers to his subjects as “Idiots”.

27. Plotting group : CABAL

A cabal is a small group of plotters acting in secret, perhaps scheming against a government or an individual.

28. Hill of country : FAITH

Faith Hill is a country singer from Ridgeland, Mississippi. Hill is married to fellow country singer Tim McGraw.

32. 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.

33. “Waitress” Tony nominee Bareilles : SARA

Sara Bareilles achieved success with her 2007 “Love Song” with the help of the iTunes online store. In one week in June of that year, iTunes offered the song as “free single of the week” and it quickly became the most downloaded song in the store, and from there climbed to the number spot in the charts.

“Waitress” is a stage musical by Sara Bareilles that is a spinoff of the 2007 indie film of the same name. I hear good things about the show, mainly with reference to the original songs and music by Bareilles.

37. “Hunny” lover : POOH

Winnie-the-Pooh’s favorite food is “hunny”.

42. Heavy shoe : CLOG

Clogs are shoes made from wood, at least in part. The clog originated as a protective item of footwear for use by farm, factory and mine workers.

51. Sushi go-with : SAKE

We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

52. Allies’ enemy : AXIS

Before WWII, Hungary’s prime minister was lobbying for an alliance between Germany, Hungary and Italy and worked towards such a relationship that he called an “axis”. The main Axis powers during the war were Germany, Italy and Japan. However, also included in the relationship were Romania, Bulgaria and the aforementioned Hungary.

55. One in an UGG box : BOOT

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

58. Post-op areas : ICUS

Intensive care unit (ICU)

59. “Leave it in” mark : STET

“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

61. Bobby’s wife on “Dallas” : PAM

The TV soap “Dallas” revolved around the Ewing family. The show that ran for 13 years was originally intended as a five-part mini-series, with the main characters being newlyweds Bobby and Pam Ewing. But, the devious character in the piece, Bobby’s brother J. R. Ewing, became so popular with audiences that the series was extended with J. R. at the center of the story.

62. Pilot-licensing org. : FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was set up in 1958 (as the Federal Aviation Agency). The agency was established at that particular time largely in response to an increasing number of midair collisions. The worst of these disasters had taken place two years earlier over the Grand Canyon, a crash between two commercial passenger airplanes that resulted in 128 fatalities.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. New England sch. : UMASS
6. Dominant : ALPHA
11. Chest protector : BIB
14. Up : RISEN
15. Stunt cyclist, e.g. : DARER
16. Valuable extraction : ORE
17. Exhale over scalding coffee? : BLOW ON STEAM (from “blow off steam”)
19. Bit of muesli : OAT
20. Mariners’ home, familiarly : SAFECO
21. Bilingual subj. : ESL
22. July 4th events, briefly : BBQS
23. Five-O cop : DANO
25. James or Jones of jazz : ETTA
27. Discontinue slanted material in articles? : CUT OFF THE BIAS (from “cut on the bias”)
32. Letters of urgency : ASAP
34. Long of “In Too Deep” : NIA
35. Broad neckwear : ASCOT
36. One in an airport queue : CAB
37. Talking points? : PODIUMS
40. Memorable 1969 bride : ONO
41. Harry’s Hogwarts nemesis : DRACO
43. Letters in an unfilled sched. slot : TBA
44. From the top : ANEW
45. Visit some animal shelter residents? : CALL ON THE DOGS (from “call off the dogs”)
49. Classroom “I know! I know!” : OH OH!
50. First name in country : REBA
51. Did a number : SANG
54. Small application : DAB
56. Ear inflammation : OTITIS
60. Fire : AXE
61. Delay passing a congressional bill? : PUT OFF AN ACT (from “put on an act”)
63. General Mills cereal : KIX
64. Metal giant : ALCOA
65. Debate topic : ISSUE
66. Id follower? : EST
67. Conductor Zubin : MEHTA
68. Arms treaty subj. : N-TEST

Down

1. Cities, informally : URBS
2. Kunis of “Black Swan” : MILA
3. Starting on : AS OF
4. Clinched : SEWED UP
5. Treaded winter vehicle : SNO-CAT
6. Wikipedia lacks them : ADS
7. Untimely? : LATE
8. Like alarm clocks : PRESET
9. Part of HMO : HEALTH
10. Half of a very high price? : ARM
11. Schmo : BOOB
12. Green Zone country : IRAQ
13. Action at the track : BETS
18. “That’s all wrong!” : NO NO NO!
22. Streisand, in fanzines : BABS
24. “The Wizard __” : OF ID
26. They usually end up in hot water : TEAS
27. Plotting group : CABAL
28. Hill of country : FAITH
29. iPhone array : ICONS
30. Top-drawer : A-ONE
31. Stash : STOW
32. Adapter letters : AC/DC
33. “Waitress” Tony nominee Bareilles : SARA
37. “Hunny” lover : POOH
38. Lyft alternative : UBER
39. Fashioned from : MADE OF
42. Heavy shoe : CLOG
44. Saying nay to : AGAINST
46. Plant root growth : NODULE
47. Pastoral roofing : THATCH
48. Get one’s hands on : OBTAIN
51. Sushi go-with : SAKE
52. Allies’ enemy : AXIS
53. Coming right up : NEXT
55. One in an UGG box : BOOT
57. Shock, in a way : TASE
58. Post-op areas : ICUS
59. “Leave it in” mark : STET
61. Bobby’s wife on “Dallas” : PAM
62. Pilot-licensing org. : FAA

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