LA Times Crossword 27 May 19, Monday

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

Today’s Reveal Answer: Caught in the Rain

Themed answers are bounded by the letters R-A-I-N:

  • 52A Surprised by a shower … and a hint involving certain outer letters of 20-, 32- and 40-Across : CAUGHT IN THE RAIN
  • 20A Olive Garden, e.g. : RESTAURANT CHAIN
  • 32A Winning big : RAKING IT IN
  • 40A Breakfast cereal with dried grapes : RAISIN BRAN

Bill’s time: 5m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Morticia Addams, to Gomez : TISH

Gomez and Morticia (“Tish”) Addams were the parents in “The Addams Family”, a creation of the cartoonist Charles Addams. In the sixties television show, Gomez was played by John Astin and Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones.

14 Beef recall cause : E COLI

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are usually harmless bacteria found in the human gut, working away quite happily. However, there are some strains that can produce lethal toxins. These strains can make their way into the food chain from animal fecal matter that comes into contact with food designated for human consumption.

15 __ Scotia : NOVA

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia (NS) lies on the east coast of the country and is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The area was settled by Scots starting in 1621, and Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”.

19 Curly salon job : PERM

“Perm” is the common name given to a permanent wave, a chemical or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves or curls.

20 Olive Garden, e.g. : RESTAURANT CHAIN

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.

23 Tokyo, formerly : EDO

“Edo” is the former name of the Japanese city of Tokyo. Edo was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ruled from 1603 until 1868. The shogun lived in the magnificent Edo Castle. Some parts of the original castle remain and today’s Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, was built on its grounds.

24 USN NCO : CPO

A Chief Petty Officer (CPO) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Navy (USN) and Coast Guard (USCG). The “Petty” is derived from the French word “petit” meaning “small”.

26 HBO rival, briefly : SHO

Showtime (SHO) is a competitor of The Movie Channel (TMC) in terms of program lineup, although both channels are in fact owned by CBS.

Home Box Office (HBO) is the oldest continuously-operating pay TV service in the US, having launched in 1972. HBO is a favorite of mine as I really like many of the HBO made-for-television movies and especially the HBO original series. Among the list of original series from HBO are “Mildred Pierce”, “The Pacific”, “John Adams”, “Big Love”, “Extras”, “The Wire”, “Sex and the City”, “From the Earth to the Moon”, “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers”. What great television …

27 Cologne squirts : SPRITZES

A spritz is a squirt, a brief spray of liquid. The term “spritz” ultimately comes from German, possibly via Yiddish, in which language “spritzen” means “to squirt, spout”. A spritzer is a glass of wine with a spritz of carbonated water, and is a drink we’ve been enjoying since the early sixties.

Back in 1709, an Italian perfume-maker moved to Cologne in Germany. There he invented a new fragrance that he named Eau de Cologne after his newly adopted town. The fragrance is still produced in Cologne, using a secret formulation. However, the terms “Eau de Cologne” and “cologne”, are now used generically.

37 Pelican State sch. : LSU

LSU’s full name is Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, and is located in Baton Rouge. LSU was founded in 1860 as a military academy, with then-Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman as superintendent.

The official nickname of Louisiana is the Pelican State, but it is also known as the Bayou State, the Child of Mississippi, the Creole State, the Sportsman’s Paradise and the Sugar State.

38 Strings at luaus : UKES

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

39 Adam’s mate : EVE

According to the Bible, God created Adam from “the dust of the ground”. Eve was created as Adam’s companion, from Adam’s rib.

40 Breakfast cereal with dried grapes : RAISIN BRAN

The name of the cereal “Raisin Bran” is not trademark protected. The Skinner Manufacturing Company introduced Raisin Bran in 1926, and did have trademark protection until 1944. At that time, an appeals court ruled that “Raisin-BRAN” should not be considered a trademark as is it merely a description of the cereal’s ingredients.

44 “Ask Ann Landers” sister column : DEAR ABBY

The advice column “Dear Abby” first appeared in 1956. Pauline Phillips was Abby back then, but now the column is written by Jeanne Phillips, her daughter. The full name of the “Abby” pen name is Abigail Van Buren, which Pauline Phillips came up with by combining “Abigail” from the biblical Book of Samuel, and “Van Buren” after the former US president. “Dear Abby” was also a radio show in the sixties and seventies.

“Ask Ann Landers” was an advice column written by Eppie Lederer from 1955 to 2002. Eppie was the twin sister to Pauline Phillips, the person behind “Dear Abby”. Eppie took over the “Ask Ann Landers” column from Ruth Crowley who started it in 1943.

47 Mex. neighbor : USA

The border between the US and Mexico is just under 2,000 miles in length, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the most frequently crossed border in the world, with about one million legal crossings taking place each day.

48 Former JFK lander : SST

The most famous supersonic transport (SST) is the retired Concorde. The Concorde routinely broke the sound barrier, and cruised at about twice the speed of sound. Above Mach 2, frictional heat would cause the plane’s aluminum airframe to soften, so airspeed was limited.

The Idlewild Golf Course was taken over by the city of New York in 1943 and construction started on a new airport to serve the metropolis and relieve congestion at LaGuardia. The Idlewild name still persists, even though the airport was named after Major General Alexander E. Anderson from the first days of the project. When the facility started operating in 1948 it was known as New York International Airport, Anderson Field. It was renamed to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 1963, one month after the President was assassinated.

49 Govt.-issued aid : SSI

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is federal program that provides financial relief to persons with low incomes who are 65 or older, or who are blind or disabled. The SSI program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) even though the the Social Security trust fund is not used for SSI payments. SSI payments come out of general tax revenue.

58 Gorbachev’s land: Abbr. : USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the USSR dissolved in 1991. As well being associated with the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev’s name is linked with the policies of “Perestroika” and “Glasnost”. “Perestroika” (meaning “restructuring”) was his political and economic initiative to make socialism work more efficiently to better meet the needs of consumers. “Glasnost” (meaning “publicity, openness”) was Gorbachev’s policy of increased transparency of government in order to reduce levels of corruption in the Communist Party and government.

61 Mets’ old stadium : 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.

63 Wind instrument commonly played horizontally : FLUTE

A flute is a woodwind instrument that doesn’t have a reed. Instead, sound is produced by blowing air across an opening. A flute player is often referred to as a flautist (sometimes “flutist”). Flutes have been around a long, long time. Primitive flutes found in modern-day Germany date back 43,000 to 35,000 years, which makes the flute the oldest known musical instrument.

66 UPS competitor : FEDEX

FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under it’s more catchy, abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.

United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky. UPS often goes by the nickname “Brown”, because of its brown delivery trucks and brown uniforms.

Down

1 39.37 inches, in Liverpool : METRE

On the other side of the Atlantic we use the French spelling for measurements that originated in French, so “metre” for “meter” and “litre” for “liter”.

Liverpool is a large port city in the northwest of England located on the estuary of the River Mersey. With a sense of humor that is typical of the area, people from Liverpool are often called “Liverpudlians”. The term comes from the jocular “Liver-puddle”, a diminutive of “Liver-pool”.

3 Trunk of the body : TORSO

“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, and is a term that we imported into English.

5 Small charcoal grill : HIBACHI

The traditional hibachi in Japan is a heating device, often a ceramic bowl or box that holds burning charcoal. This native type of hibachi isn’t used for cooking, but rather as a space heater (a brazier). Here in the US we use the term hibachi to refer to a charcoal grill used as a small cooking stove, which in Japanese would be called a “shichirin”. “Hibachi” is Japanese for “firepot” coming from “hi” meaning “fire”, and “bachi” meaning “bowl, pot”.

7 Former “Iron Chef America” chef Cat __ : CORA

Cat Cora is yet another celebrity chef. She appears on the reality shows “Iron Chef America” and “Around the World in 80 Plates”.

9 ’60s TV show whose title means “doctor” in Swahili : DAKTARI

“Daktari” is a children’s television show that originally aired in the late sixties. The series involved the adventures of a vet called Dr. Marsh Tracy who worked with animals in East Africa. The show was based on a 1965 film called “Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion”. The title “Daktari” is Swahili for “doctor”.

10 Astaire headwear : TOP HAT

“Top Hat” is a fun comedy musical starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that was released in 1935. It was to become the most successful movie that the Astaire-Rogers team made.

Fred Astaire’s real name was Frederick Austerlitz. Fred was from Omaha, Nebraska and before he made it big in movies, he was one half of a celebrated music hall act with his sister Adele. The pair were particularly successful in the UK, and Adele ended up marrying into nobility in England, taking the name Lady Charles Cavendish.

11 Swedish retailer : IKEA

The IKEA furniture stores use the colors blue and yellow for brand recognition. Blue and yellow are the national colors of Sweden, where IKEA was founded and is headquartered.

12 Delhi dress : SARI

The item of clothing called a “sari” (also “saree”) is a strip of cloth, as one might imagine, unusual perhaps in that is unstitched along the whole of its length. The strip of cloth can range from four to nine meters long (that’s a lot of material!). The sari is usually wrapped around the waist, then draped over the shoulder leaving the midriff bare. I must say, it can be a beautiful item of clothing.

New Delhi is the capital city of India. New Delhi resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

13 Choir number : HYMN

The singing and composition of hymns is known as hymnody. The term “hymnody” is also used for a collection of hymns.

21 “… wish __ a star” : UPON

“When You Wish Upon A Star” is a hit song by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington that was written for the 1940 Disney movie “Pinocchio”. In the animated film, the song is sung by the Jiminy Cricket character, with the voice provided by singer Cliff Edwards. In some parts of the world, “When You Wish Upon A Star” has become a Christmas classic due the assumption that the “star” in the title is the Star of Bethlehem.

22 Spot for stubble : CHIN

Back in the early 1300s, the term “stubble” described stalks left in the ground after grain crops were harvested. It wasn’t until the late 1500s that the meaning of “stubble” extended to the bristles on an unshaven face.

26 Wild blue yonder : SKY

The official song of the US Air Force (USAF) is entitled “The US Air Force”, and was written in 1938 by Robert MacArthur Crawford. The original title was “Army Air Corps”, and this was changed to “Army Air Force” during WWII when the service changed its name. The current title was adopted in 1947, when the USAF became a separate service. Regardless of the official name, the song is commonly referred to as “Wild Blue Yonder”.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder
At ’em boys, Give ‘er the gun!
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

27 Spacek of “Bloodline” : SISSY

Actress Sissy Spacek got her big break in movies when she played the title role in the 1976 horror movie “Carrie”, which is based on the Stephen King novel. Her most acclaimed role is the lead in the 1980 biopic about Loretta Lynn called “Coal MIner’s Daughter”, for which she won an Oscar. Spacek’s first cousin is the actor Rip Torn.

“Bloodline” is a Netflix-original thriller television series. It’s a cleverly constructed program about a well-off family in the Florida Keys. As the show progresses, more and more dark secrets are revealed about each of the family members. I enjoyed this one …

29 Viral concern at the Rio Olympics : ZIKA

The Zika virus causes the disease known as Zika fever, and is mainly spread by the yellow fever mosquito. While the majority of cases of infection result in minor symptoms or even no symptoms at all, Zika virus infections of pregnant women may be linked to newborn microcephaly. Microcephaly is a birth defect in which a baby’s head is smaller than normal.

30 Garden of __ : EDEN

According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.

31 Maritime emergency letters : SOS

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

38 Website ID : URL

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a Uniform Resource Locators (URL).

42 Bandmate of Crosby and Stills : NASH

Graham Nash is a singer-songwriter from England. Nash is famous as one of the founders of the Hollies, and as a member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

45 Nickelodeon toon tot : RUGRAT

“Rugrats” is a cartoon show that aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 2004. The show spawned a series of movies, starting with 1998’s “The Rugrats Movie”.

48 “Forever” post office purchase : STAMP

The forever stamp for first-class postage was introduced in 2006 (and about time!). Now we have stamps that are good for first-class postage forever, no matter how often the rates change.

49 José’s “L’chaim!” : SALUD!

“Salud” is Spanish for “health”, and is used as a toast. Salud!

“L’Chaim!” is a Hebrew toast meaning “to life”, with “chai” being the Hebrew word for “life”.

52 Zodiac transition point : CUSP

The word “cusp” comes from the Latin “cuspis” meaning “spear, point”. In the world of astrology, a cusp is an imaginary line separating two signs of the zodiac. For example, some whose birthday is between April 16 and April 26 is said to have been born “on the cusp” between the signs Aries and Taurus.

53 Tennis legend Arthur : ASHE

The great American tennis player Arthur Ashe spent the last years of his life writing his memoir called “Days of Grace”. He finished the manuscript just a few days before he passed away, dying from AIDS caused by a tainted blood transfusion.

55 Talent show for 17 seasons, briefly : IDOL

Fox’s “American Idol” is a spin-off show that was created after the amazing success of the British television show “Pop Idol”. Neither program(me) would be my cup of tea …

56 Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Boxing contest : MATCH
6 Covered with frosting : ICED
10 Morticia Addams, to Gomez : TISH
14 Beef recall cause : E COLI
15 __ Scotia : NOVA
16 “Sounds good” : OKAY
17 Pulsate : THROB
18 Long, hard trip : TREK
19 Curly salon job : PERM
20 Olive Garden, e.g. : RESTAURANT CHAIN
23 Tokyo, formerly : EDO
24 USN NCO : CPO
25 Enlightened cry : AHA!
26 HBO rival, briefly : SHO
27 Cologne squirts : SPRITZES
32 Winning big : RAKING IT IN
35 “Did __ something wrong?” : I DO
36 Suspicious (of) : WARY
37 Pelican State sch. : LSU
38 Strings at luaus : UKES
39 Adam’s mate : EVE
40 Breakfast cereal with dried grapes : RAISIN BRAN
44 “Ask Ann Landers” sister column : DEAR ABBY
46 Feel poorly : AIL
47 Mex. neighbor : USA
48 Former JFK lander : SST
49 Govt.-issued aid : SSI
52 Surprised by a shower … and a hint involving certain outer letters of 20-, 32- and 40-Across : CAUGHT IN THE RAIN
58 Gorbachev’s land: Abbr. : USSR
59 “What a great __!” : IDEA
60 No longer squeaking : OILED
61 Mets’ old stadium : SHEA
62 Expected result : NORM
63 Wind instrument commonly played horizontally : FLUTE
64 Sassy : PERT
65 Yucky stuff : GLOP
66 UPS competitor : FEDEX

Down

1 39.37 inches, in Liverpool : METRE
2 Felt the pain : ACHED
3 Trunk of the body : TORSO
4 Solidify : CLOT
5 Small charcoal grill : HIBACHI
6 “101” course title word : INTRO
7 Former “Iron Chef America” chef Cat __ : CORA
8 Tied, scorewise : EVEN
9 ’60s TV show whose title means “doctor” in Swahili : DAKTARI
10 Astaire headwear : TOP HAT
11 Swedish retailer : IKEA
12 Delhi dress : SARI
13 Choir number : HYMN
21 “… wish __ a star” : UPON
22 Spot for stubble : CHIN
26 Wild blue yonder : SKY
27 Spacek of “Bloodline” : SISSY
28 Spitting sound : PTUI!
29 Viral concern at the Rio Olympics : ZIKA
30 Garden of __ : EDEN
31 Maritime emergency letters : SOS
32 Enthusiastic review : RAVE
33 Room size calculation : AREA
34 Smooth-talking : GLIB
36 Abandon bachelorhood : WED
38 Website ID : URL
40 Foolhardy : RASH
41 Letting up : ABATING
42 Bandmate of Crosby and Stills : NASH
43 Attempt “more than one can chew,” in an idiom : BITE OFF
45 Nickelodeon toon tot : RUGRAT
48 “Forever” post office purchase : STAMP
49 José’s “L’chaim!” : SALUD!
50 Seven, in Spain : SIETE
51 Handy list in the back : INDEX
52 Zodiac transition point : CUSP
53 Tennis legend Arthur : ASHE
54 Icon tapper : USER
55 Talent show for 17 seasons, briefly : IDOL
56 Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO
57 Stir to anger : RILE