LA Times Crossword Answers 5 Aug 14, Tuesday

CROSSWORD SETTER: Ron Toth & C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Slide … each of today’s themed answers is a associated with a SLIDE:

18A. It’s in front of a catcher HOME PLATE
26A. “CSI” workplace FORENSIC LAB
44A. Instrument used in Hawaiian music STEEL GUITAR
57A. Place to make a splash WATER PARK

65A. Wall Street decline, or something that might be associated with 18-, 26-, 44- or 57-Across SLIDE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 6m 16s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Passport endorsement STAMP
A visa is a usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.

6. Field protector TARP
Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

15. Jai __ ALAI
Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, in fact golf balls usually get going at a greater clip. Although, as a blog reader once pointed out to me, you don’t have to catch a golf ball …

17. Job for a CPA AUDIT
Certified public accountant (CPA)

20. Oft-pickled veggie BEET
Chard is a lovely leafy vegetable, in my humble opinion. Chard is the same species as the garden beet, but chard is grown for the leaves, and beet is grown for the roots.

25. Game with checks CHESS
In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

26. “CSI” workplace FORENSIC LAB
The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but seems to be winding down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, set in Las Vegas, is still going strong and has been doing so since 2000.

30. Clic Stic or InkJoy PEN
Clic Stic is a model of pen made by Bic.

Inkjoy is a model of pen made by Paper Mate.

33. Pieces by pundits OP-EDS
Op-ed is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

A pundit is a learned person who one might turn to for an opinion. “Pundit” is derived from the Hindi word “payndit” meaning “learned man”.

34. Old Roman coins LIRE
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

35. Worldwide workers’ gp. ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

37. Nincompoop IDIOT
The word “nincompoop” meaning an “ass” seems to have been around for quite a while, since the 1670s, but no one appears to know its origins.

40. __-de-sac CUL
Even though “cul-de-sac” can indeed mean “bottom of the bag” in French, the term cul-de-sac is of English origin (the use of “cul” in French is actually quite rude). The term was introduced in aristocratic circles at a time when it was considered very fashionable to speak French. Dead-end streets in France are usually signposted with just a symbol and no accompanying words, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”.

41. Soon, to Pope ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once” and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon” apparently just because the word was misused over time.

Alexander Pope was an English poet, famous for his own compositions as well as for a translation of Homer’s works. One of Pope’s most notable poems is “Ode on Solitude” that opens with:

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Pope wrote that when he was just twelve years old!

42. Pancakes sometimes served with caviar BLINI
A blintz (also “blin”, plural “blini”) is a thin pancake similar to a crêpe although unlike a crêpe, a blintz may contain yeast.

43. Expressive rock genre EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. Not my cup of tea …

47. “Psycho” motel BATES
Bates Motel and house were constructed on the backlot of Universal Studios for the 1960 HItchcock movie “Psycho”. They are still standing, and for me are the highlight of the backlot tour that is available to visitors.

The classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense film “Psycho” released in 1960 is based on a 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The Bloch novel in turn is loosely based on actual crimes committed by murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. When “Psycho” was making its initial run in theaters, latecomers were not granted admission, a policy instigated by Hitchcock himself. He felt that anyone missing the opening scenes would not enjoy the film.

50. Venus, to Serena SISTER
Venus Williams is the older of the two Williams sisters playing professional tennis. In 2002, Williams became the first black woman to earn the World No. 1 ranking by the Women’s Tennis Association.

Serena Williams is the younger of the two Williams sisters playing professional tennis. Serena has won more prize money in her career than any other female athlete.

52. Duke Univ. conference ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

Duke University was founded in 1838 as Brown’s Schoolhouse. The school was renamed to Trinity College in 1859, and to this day the town where the college was located back then is known as Trinity, in honor of the school. The school was moved in 1892 to Durham, North Carolina in part due to generous donations from the wealthy tobacco industrialist Washington Duke. Duke’s donation required that the school open its doors to women, placing them on an equal footing with men. Trinity’s name was changed to Duke in 1924 in recognition of the generosity of the Duke family.

53. High-ranking Muslim EMIR
An emir is a prince or chieftain, most notably in the Middle East. In English, “emir” can also be written as “amir” and “ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

63. Fortified red wine PORT
The city of Oporto in Portugal gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s, as it was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified red wine was exported.

Down
1. Swedish automaker SAAB
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

4. Restaurant VIPs MAITRE D’S
The full name of a “maître d’” is “maître d’hôtel”, which means “master of the hotel”.

6. Island retreat for Gauguin TAHITI
Paul Gauguin was a French artist in the Post-Impressionist period. Gauguin was a great friend of Vincent van Gogh, and indeed was staying with him in Arles when van Gogh famously cut off his ear. Famously, Gauguin “fled” to Tahiti in 1891, to escape the conventions of European life. He painted some of his most famous works on the island.

8. Aries symbol RAM
Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

10. Sky-supporting brother of Prometheus ATLAS
In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan who was tasked with holding up the celestial sphere on his shoulders. The Greeks observed the planets moving and the stars in fixed positions. They believed that the stars were on the surface of a single starry sphere, the celestial sphere that was supported by Atlas.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was one of the Titans. He was said to have created man from clay as well as giving fire to humanity, allowing the human race to prosper.

12. Preminger of film OTTO
Otto Preminger was noted for his films that pushed the envelope in terms of subject matter, at least in the fifties and sixties. Great examples would be 1955’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” that dealt with drug addiction, 1959’s “Anatomy of a Murder” that dealt with rape, and 1962’s “Advise and Consent” that dealt with homosexuality. If you’ve seen these films, you’ll have noticed that the references are somewhat indirect and disguised, in order to get past the censors.

19. New cadet PLEBE
“Plebe” is a slang term for a freshman in the US military and naval academies. Plebe is probably short for “plebeian”, an adjective describing someone of the common class in Ancient Rome, one of the “plebs” (a singular collective noun). “Pleb” is a shortened version of plebeian, and is a term used outside of the military schools to mean “commoner”.

21. Second afterthought, in a ltr. PPS
One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply “postscript”) at the end of a letter. A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

25. Ad award CLIO
The Clio Awards are the Oscars of the advertising world and are named after Clio, the Greek Muse of History. Clio was also the recorder of great deeds, the proclaimer and celebrator of great accomplishments and a source of inspiration and genius. The Clio Awards were first presented in 1959.

27. Poppy extract OPIUM
Opiates are the narcotic alkaloids found in the opium poppy plant, although some synthetic versions and derivatives of the same alkaloids are also called opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs of morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.

28. “Sea Food Differently” chain RED LOBSTER
Olive Garden is a chain of Italian-American restaurants that has over 800 locations worldwide. The chain was originally established as part of General Mills. The current owners of the chain also operate Red Lobster restaurants. Apparently there are plans to co-located Olive Garden and Red Lobster eateries so that they have separate entries but share kitchens.

29. “Crazy” singer Patsy CLINE
Patsy Cline was a country music singer who managed to cross over into the world of pop music where she enjoyed great success. Cline is one of a long list of musical legends who died in plane crashes. Cline was 30 years old when she was killed in 1963 in a Piper Comanche plane piloted by her manager, Randy Hughes. Hughes and Cline decided to make that last flight despite warnings of inclement weather, and it was a severe storm that brought down the plane in a forest outside Camden, Tennessee.

31. Justice Kagan ELENA
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the fourth female US Supreme Court justice (there have been 108 men!). I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …

37. Worldwide anticrime organization INTERPOL
The International Criminal Police Organization is better known as Interpol. The group was formed in 1923 to facilitate international police cooperation. Today the police forces of 190 countries around the world are members of Interpol. The first headquarters of Interpol were in Vienna, and were moved to Berlin during WWII by the Nazi regime. After the war the headquarters were moved again, to just outside Paris, and finally to Lyon in 1989.

38. Deer daughters DOES
A male deer is usually called a “buck”, and a female a “doe”.

39. For whom Popeye’s eyes popped OLIVE OYL
“Thimble Theater” was the precursor comic strip to the famous “Popeye” drawn by E. C. Segar. Before Popeye came into the story, the brother and sister characters Castor Oyl and Olive Oyl were the main protagonists. And then along comes a sailor …

46. Health supplements co. GNC
General Nutrition Centers (GNC) is a retailer of health and nutrition supplements based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

48. ’50s nuclear experiment A-TEST
There are two classes of nuclear weapons, both of which get the energy for the explosion from nuclear reactions. The first nuclear bombs developed, called atomic bombs (A-bombs), use fission reactions. In an atomic bomb, uranium nuclei are split into smaller nuclei with the release of an awful lot of energy in the process. The second class of nuclear weapons are fusion bombs. Fusion devices are also called thermonuclear weapons or hydrogen bombs (H-bombs). In a fusion reaction, the nuclei of hydrogen isotopes are fused together to form bigger nuclei, with the release of even greater amounts of energy than a fission reaction.

51. “Othello” antagonist IAGO
Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. He hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. By the end of the play it’s Iago himself who is discredited and Othello (before committing suicide) apologizes to Cassio for having believed Iago’s lies. Heavy stuff …

52. Musical Guthrie ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. One has to wonder if Woody chose the name “Arlo” for his son so that he would turn up in crosswords all the time …

54. Landlocked African country MALI
The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa, south of Algeria. The country’s most famous city is … Timbuktu.

56. Thinker Descartes RENE
The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Passport endorsement STAMP
6. Field protector TARP
10. From __: slight progress A TO B
14. Dramatic solos ARIAS
15. Jai __ ALAI
16. Head, to Henri TETE
17. Job for a CPA AUDIT
18. It’s in front of a catcher HOME PLATE
20. Oft-pickled veggie BEET
21. Excavation hole PIT
22. Noisy ruckus CLAMOR
23. Captivated RAPT
25. Game with checks CHESS
26. “CSI” workplace FORENSIC LAB
30. Clic Stic or InkJoy PEN
33. Pieces by pundits OP-EDS
34. Old Roman coins LIRE
35. Worldwide workers’ gp. ILO
36. Clears (of) RIDS
37. Nincompoop IDIOT
39. Unrefined deposits ORES
40. __-de-sac CUL
41. Soon, to Pope ANON
42. Pancakes sometimes served with caviar BLINI
43. Expressive rock genre EMO
44. Instrument used in Hawaiian music STEEL GUITAR
47. “Psycho” motel BATES
49. Being aired ON TV
50. Venus, to Serena SISTER
52. Duke Univ. conference ACC
53. High-ranking Muslim EMIR
57. Place to make a splash WATER PARK
59. Freak out GO APE
60. Historical periods AGES
61. Gawk at OGLE
62. Traffic cone PYLON
63. Fortified red wine PORT
64. Ill-gotten gains LOOT
65. Wall Street decline, or something that might be associated with 18-, 26-, 44- or 57-Across SLIDE

Down
1. Swedish automaker SAAB
2. “Good point” TRUE
3. Assistant AIDE
4. Restaurant VIPs MAITRE D’S
5. L.A. winter hours PST
6. Island retreat for Gauguin TAHITI
7. Loads A LOT
8. Aries symbol RAM
9. Annual report graphic PIE CHART
10. Sky-supporting brother of Prometheus ATLAS
11. Rah-rah feeling TEAM SPIRIT
12. Preminger of film OTTO
13. Brewpub order BEER
19. New cadet PLEBE
21. Second afterthought, in a ltr. PPS
24. Q&A part: Abbr. ANS
25. Ad award CLIO
26. Strong-arm FORCE
27. Poppy extract OPIUM
28. “Sea Food Differently” chain RED LOBSTER
29. “Crazy” singer Patsy CLINE
31. Justice Kagan ELENA
32. Military denial NO, SIR
37. Worldwide anticrime organization INTERPOL
38. Deer daughters DOES
39. For whom Popeye’s eyes popped OLIVE OYL
41. Fall bloomer ASTER
42. “On the other hand …” BUT
45. Pendant with a picture LOCKET
46. Health supplements co. GNC
48. ’50s nuclear experiment A-TEST
50. Give and take? SWAP
51. “Othello” antagonist IAGO
52. Musical Guthrie ARLO
54. Landlocked African country MALI
55. Apple player IPOD
56. Thinker Descartes RENE
58. Before today AGO
59. Some family docs GPS

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