LA Times Crossword 27 Dec 19, Friday

Advertisement

Constructed by: David Alfred Bywaters
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): I, ah …

Themed answers sound like common phrases, but an “aye” sound has been replaced with an “aye-ah” sound:

  • 17A A vat, some cloth, etc.? : DYER NEEDS (from “dire needs”)
  • 24A One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew? : MAYAN SWEEPER (from “minesweeper”)
  • 38A Apothecary’s concern? : PHIAL MANAGEMENT (from “file management”)
  • 47A Large cat romantically interested in opposite-sex large cats? : STRAIGHT LION (from “straight line”)
  • 60A Surprisingly genteel outbreak of lawlessness? : CIVIL RIOT (from “civil right”)

Bill’s time: 8m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Canal that helps connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic : ERIE

The Erie Canal runs from Albany to Buffalo in the state of New York. What the canal does is allow shipping to proceed from New York Harbor right up the Hudson River, through the canal and into the Great Lakes. When it was opened in 1825, the Erie Canal had immediate impact on the economy of New York City and locations along its route. It was the first means of “cheap” transportation from a port on the Atlantic seaboard into the interior of the United States. Arguably it was the most important factor contributing to the growth of New York City over competing ports such as Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was largely because of the Erie Canal that New York became such an economic powerhouse, earning it the nickname of “the Empire State”. Paradoxically, one of the project’s main proponents was severely criticized. New York Governor DeWitt Clinton received so much ridicule that the canal was nicknamed “Clinton’s Folly” and “Clinton’s Ditch”.

16 Capital SSW of Damascus : AMMAN

Amman is the capital city of Jordan, and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. Amman has been occupied by a number of different civilizations over the centuries, including the Greeks who called it “Philadelphia”, a name retained by the Romans when they occupied the city just after 100 AD.

19 Surprise in a bottle : GENIE

The “genie” in the bottle takes his or her name from “djinn”. “Djinns” were various spirits considered lesser than angels, with people exhibiting unsavory characteristics said to be possessed by djinn. When the book “The Thousand and One Nights” was translated into French, the word “djinn” was transformed into the existing word “génie”, because of the similarity in sound and the related spiritual meaning. This “génie” from the Arabian tale became confused with the Latin-derived “genius”, a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. Purely as a result of that mistranslation the word genie has come to mean the “djinn” that pops out of the bottle. A little hard to follow, I know, but still quite interesting …

21 Jazz saxophonist __ Cobb : ARNETT

Arnett Cobb was a jazz musician who played the saxophone. Cobb’s style of play earned him the nickname “The Wild Man of the Tenor Sax”.

24 One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew? : MAYAN SWEEPER (from “minesweeper”)

The Maya civilization held sway in Central America and Mexico from about 350 AD, until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.

Mesoamerica is a region extending from Central Mexico, south to Costa Rica. It is known as an area where societies flourished prior to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.

29 Any of four palindromic emperors : OTTO

There were four Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, i.e. Otto I though Otto IV.

31 Moody : IN A PET

Apparently, there’s a phrase “in a pet” meaning “in a snit, in a temper”.

35 Object of podiatric study : TOE

Podiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the foot, ankle and lower extremities.

38 Apothecary’s concern? : PHIAL MANAGEMENT (from “file management”)

Nowadays, we would call an apothecary a pharmacist. “Apotecaire” is an Old French word from the 13th century meaning simply “storekeeper”.

43 Túpac Amaru, e.g. : INCA

The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Túpac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.

44 Beige look-alike : ECRU

The color ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.

54 Ex __: out of nothing, in Latin : NIHILO

The Latin phrase “ex nihilo” means “out of nothing”. The extended phrase “creatio ex nihilo” describes the concept that God created the world out of nothing.

65 No longer hip : PASSE

“Passé” is a French word, meaning “past, faded”. We’ve imported the term into English, and use it in the same sense.

Down

2 Pastoral verse : IDYL

An idyll (also “idyl”) is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word “idyl” comes from the Greek “eidyllion”, which literally translates to “little picture” but was a word describing a short poem with a rustic theme.

12 Nearly half of New England : MAINE

The geographical region of New England comprises the six northeastern states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The name “New England” was given to the region by English explorer John Smith in 1616, just a few years before the Mayflower arrived in 1620.

18 Indian bread : NAAN

Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

24 Tableland : MESA

“What’s the difference between a butte and a mesa?” Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, and taller than it is wide.

26 Egyptian serpents : ASPS

The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

27 City near Provo : LEHI

The Utah city of Lehi was first settled in 1851. The settlement grew rapidly and was incorporated in the second year of its existence, in 1852. The name Lehi was chosen after a prophet in the Book of Mormon.

32 Member of the 2019 World Series champs : NAT

The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats. There are only two Major Leagues teams that have never played in a World Series, one being the Mariners and the other the Nats.

33 Request from a Midwestern cheerleader, maybe : AN I

Give me an I … (… for Illinois, Indiana or Iowa, perhaps).

34 God with a flute : PAN

Pan flutes (also “panpipes”) are folk instruments that have been around along time, and are believed to be the first mouth organs. The pan flute is named for the Greek god Pan, who was often depicted playing the instrument.

37 LAX postings : ETAS

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently, the “X” has no significant meaning.

39 Actress Petty : LORI

Lori Petty is the actress who played the character Kit Keller in the fabulous movie “A League of Their Own”. Petty also played the title role in a 1995 science fiction film called “Tank Girl”.

40 Comportment : MIEN

One’s mien is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.

45 Hitchcock was known for them : CAMEOS

Alfred Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in 39 of his 52 movies. My favorite, and perhaps the most innovative, is in the movie “Lifeboat”. In the film, there is a limited cast, just the people in a lifeboat and no extras. Hitchcock managed to make his appearance in a print ad in a newspaper read by one of the survivors in the boat.

48 Singer __ Marie : TEENA

Teena Marie was a very successful R&B singer who was born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, California.

49 2006 “American Idol” winner Taylor __ : HICKS

Taylor Hicks is the singer who won the fifth season of “American Idol”. Talk show host Jay Leno likes to refer to Hicks as “his son”, because the two have full heads of gray hair. Hicks started to go gray when he was just 14-years-old.

59 “Smackdown” org. : WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is a company promoting professional wrestling as a form of entertainment.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Stop lying : RISE
5 Suburban expanse : LAWN
9 Comes impressively into view : LOOMS
14 One may be pitched to a publisher : IDEA
15 Canal that helps connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic : ERIE
16 Capital SSW of Damascus : AMMAN
17 A vat, some cloth, etc.? : DYER NEEDS (from “dire needs”)
19 Surprise in a bottle : GENIE
20 Shade tree : ELM
21 Jazz saxophonist __ Cobb : ARNETT
23 Angle or angler’s necessity : LINE
24 One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew? : MAYAN SWEEPER (from “minesweeper”)
26 Not from around here : ALIEN
29 Any of four palindromic emperors : OTTO
30 Gels : SETS
31 Moody : IN A PET
35 Object of podiatric study : TOE
38 Apothecary’s concern? : PHIAL MANAGEMENT (from “file management”)
41 Serious misdeed : SIN
42 Not on the fence : OPTING
43 Túpac Amaru, e.g. : INCA
44 Beige look-alike : ECRU
46 Big celebrations : FETES
47 Large cat romantically interested in opposite-sex large cats? : STRAIGHT LION (from “straight line”)
53 Oxen group : TEAM
54 Ex __: out of nothing, in Latin : NIHILO
55 Saddlebag carrier : ASS
58 Make over : RENEW
60 Surprisingly genteel outbreak of lawlessness? : CIVIL RIOT (from “civil right”)
62 Being dragged behind : IN TOW
63 Largest human joint : KNEE
64 Not doing anything : IDLE
65 No longer hip : PASSE
66 Fax button : SEND
67 Like some pockets : DEEP

Down

1 Lift : RIDE
2 Pastoral verse : IDYL
3 Appear : SEEM
4 Facial projection : EAR
5 Not sure (of) : LEERY
6 Sports venue : ARENA
7 Increase in girth : WIDEN
8 Fits one within another : NESTS
9 Hang back : LAG
10 See 22-Down : OMELET
11 Capable of anything : OMNIPOTENT
12 Nearly half of New England : MAINE
13 Express contempt : SNEER
18 Indian bread : NAAN
22 With 10-Down, breakfast choice : TWO-EGG …
24 Tableland : MESA
25 Suffix with cigar : -ETTE
26 Egyptian serpents : ASPS
27 City near Provo : LEHI
28 Nomadic sorts : ITINERANTS
31 Call into question : IMPUGN
32 Member of the 2019 World Series champs : NAT
33 Request from a Midwestern cheerleader, maybe : AN I
34 God with a flute : PAN
36 Barely at all : ONCE
37 LAX postings : ETAS
39 Actress Petty : LORI
40 Comportment : MIEN
45 Hitchcock was known for them : CAMEOS
46 Deluded one : FOOL
47 Denude : STRIP
48 Singer __ Marie : TEENA
49 2006 “American Idol” winner Taylor __ : HICKS
50 Yours, once : THINE
51 Animate : LIVEN
52 Sheepish admission : I LIED
55 Assistant : AIDE
56 Cobbler’s concern : SOLE
57 Dance part : STEP
59 “Smackdown” org. : WWE
61 Unburden : RID