LA Times Crossword 25 Sep 18, Tuesday

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Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Broken Promise

Themed answers each include the word OATH. That PROMISE/OATH is BROKEN up between the end of the first word and the start of the second:

  • 32A. Unfulfilled campaign pledge … and a hint to what 16-, 23-, 46- and 53-Across all contain : BROKEN PROMISE
  • 16A. Player getting paid : PRO ATHLETE
  • 23A. “Wait just a minute!” : WHOA THERE!
  • 46A. Docking aids : BOAT HOOKS
  • 53A. Closet accessory : COAT HANGER

Bill’s time: 5m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Group of cronies : GANG

A crony is a friend or companion. The term originated as slang in Cambridge University in England in the 1600s. “Crony” is probably derived from the Greek “khronios” meaning “long-lasting”.

14. Prohibited activity : TABOO

The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

27. Rogers Centre city : TORONTO

The SkyDome is a stadium in downtown Toronto, home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and the Toronto Argonauts Canadian football team. The SkyDome was officially renamed to the Rogers Centre when it, and the Toronto Blue Jays team, was purchased by Rogers Communications in 2005.

37. James of “The Godfather” : CAAN

James Caan is an actor from The Bronx, New York City. He is noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan is quite the sportsman. He plays golf with an 8 handicap, and is a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

“The Godfather” series of films is based on “The Godfather” novel by Mario Puzo, first published in 1969. Francis Ford Coppola worked with Puzo in partnership to adapt his novel into the screenplay for the first film, and to write the screenplays for the two sequels. Coppola holds that there are really only two films in “The Godfather” series, with “The Godfather Part III” actually being the epilogue.

38. Herbert Hoover, by birth : IOWAN

President Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa, and is the only president to have been born in that state. His birthplace is now a National Landmark, and he and his wife were buried in the grounds of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch. President Hoover died at the age of 90 years old in 1964, outliving his nemesis Franklin Delano Roosevelt by almost 20 years.

39. O’Hare’s airport code : ORD

The IATA airport code for O’Hare International in Chicago is ORD, which derives from Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field.

43. Bobs and waves : DOS

A bob cut is a short hairstyle in which the hair is cut straight around the head, at about the line of the jaw. Back in the 1570s, “bob” was the name given to a horse’s tail that was cut short, and about a century later it was being used to describe short hair on humans. The style became very popular with women in the early 1900s (as worn by actress Clara Bow, for example), with the fashion dying out in the thirties. The style reemerged in the sixties around the time the Beatles introduced their “mop tops”, with Vidal Sassoon leading the way in styling women’s hair in a bob cut again. Personally, I like it …

48. “Rashomon” director Kurosawa : AKIRA

“Rashomon” is a period drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa that was released in 1950. “Rashomon” was the movie that first introduced Kurosawa to western audiences. The film’s title refers to the huge gate to the city of Kyoto.

52. Tech sch. grad : ENGR

Engineer (engr.)

53. Closet accessory : COAT HANGER

In Old French a “clos” was an enclosure, with the diminutive form “closet” describing a small enclosure or private room. Over time this evolved into our modern usage of “closet”, describing a cabinet or cupboard.

56. “Start __”: Rolling Stones hit : ME UP

“Start Me Up” is a song by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger that was recorded by the Rolling Stones in 1981. The Stones often uses “Start Me Up” to open their concerts.

57. Mandel of “America’s Got Talent” : HOWIE

Howie Mandel is a Canadian comic. He was a regular on TV a few years ago as host of “Deal or No Deal”, and more recently as a judge on “America’s Got Talent”. I remember Mandel from “St. Elsewhere” in the eighties, which was the first American TV show that I watched regularly when I moved to the US …

NBC’s show “America’s Got Talent” is part of a global franchise based in the UK. The original show is called “Britain’s Got Talent”, and the whole franchise is owned by Simon Cowell. The first host of “America’s Got Talent” was Regis Philbin (2006), followed by Jerry Springer (2007-2008). Nick Cannon has been the host since 2009.

61. Founded, as a co. : ESTD

Established (“est.” or “estd.”)

Down

1. QB-to-receiver six-pointer : TD PASS

Touchdown (TD)

3. Apple video-editing app : IMOVIE

iMovie is a video editing program published by Apple and distributed free with many of its products.

4. Madrid’s country : SPAIN

Madrid is the largest city in Spain, and is the nation’s capital. Madrid is located very close to the geographical center of the country. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (after London and Paris). People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.

5. 128 fl. oz. : GAL

The name of our fluid measure called a “gallon” ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin term “galleta” meaning “bucket, pail”.

6. Grandpa Simpson : ABE

In the animated TV show called “The Simpsons”, Grampa Abe Simpson is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the same actor who provides the voice for Homer.

9. Apt Shakespearean rhyme for “truth” : SOOTH

A “soothsayer” is someone who claims to have the ability to predict the future. The term comes from “sooth”, an archaic word for “truth”. So a soothsayer was supposedly one who told the “truth” (about the future).

10. Fire-breathing monsters : CHIMERAS

In Greek mythology, a chimera was a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lioness, a tail that ended in a snake’s head, and the head of a goat that emanated from the lioness’s spine. The term chimera has entered into our modern language and means a fanciful illusion or fabrication.

11. “Interview With the Vampire” novelist : ANNE RICE

Anne Rice is an American author of erotic and Gothic novels. Rice was born Howard Allen O’Brien (no wonder she changed her name!). Her famous series of novels “The Vampire Chronicles” centers on her character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. One of the stories, “Interview with the Vampire”, was adapted for the big screen in 1994 and features Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others in a star-studded cast. Not my kind of movie though, as I don’t do vampires …

12. __ choy: stir-fry veggie : BOK

Bok choy is a variety of Chinese cabbage. “Bok choy” translates as “white vegetable”.

21. Skater Midori : ITO

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. Ito was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact, she landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old. Ito won Olympic silver in 1992, and was chosen as the person to light the Olympic cauldron at the commencement of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

23. Little songbird : WREN

A wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

24. Color of some Hello Kitty products : HOT PINK

Hello Kitty is a female bobtail cat, and a character and brand name launched in 1974 by the Japanese company Sanrio. Folks can overpay for stationary, school supplies and fashion accessories with the Hello Kitty character emblazoned thereon.

28. Fútbol cheer : OLE!

“Fútbol” is the Spanish word for “football, soccer”.

31. Altoids container : TIN

Altoids breath mints have been around since 1780, when they were introduced in Britain. The famous tin in which Altoids are sold is often reused for other purposes. The most famous use is as a container to hold a mini-survival kit.

34. Versailles rulers, once : ROIS

“La reine” (the queen) is the wife of “le roi” (the king), in French.

Versailles is a city located just 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is famous as home to the magnificent Palace of Versailles. The palace started out as a hunting lodge built in the village of Versailles in 1624, built for Louis XIII. Louis XIII extended the lodge into a full-blown château, but it was Louis XIV who expanded it into one of the largest palaces on the planet. Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris to Versailles starting in 1678.

36. Indian spice blend : MASALA

Masala is the Hindi word for “mixture”, and describes a mixture of spices. A dish named “masala” uses the spices incorporated into a sauce that includes garlic, ginger, onions and chili paste. Who doesn’t love Indian food? Yum …

45. Like some cows and vows : SACRED

A sacred cow is something that is immune from criticism or questioning. The phrase alludes to the reverence for cows in the Hindu tradition. The use of figurative idiom seems to have originated in the late 1800s in the US.

47. Maryland team, briefly : TERPS

The sports teams of the University of Maryland are called the Maryland Terrapins, or “the Terps” for short. The name dates back to 1932 when it was coined by the the university’s president at the time, Curley Byrd. He took the name from the diamondback terrapins that are native to the Chesapeake Bay.

49. “Roots” role Kunta __ : KINTE

Not only did Alex Haley author the magnificent novel “Roots”, but he was also the collaborator with Malcolm X on “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. His 1976 novel “Roots” is based on Haley’s own family history, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of the real life Kunta Kinte, the slave who was kidnapped in the Gambia in 1767. If you remember the original television adaptation of “Roots”, you might recall that Kunta Kinte was played by LeVar Burton, who later went on to play another famous role, Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: the Next Generation”.

51. Rebel Guevara : CHE

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina, and in 1948 he started to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. While at school he satisfied his need to “see the world” by taking two long journeys around South America, the story of which are told in Guevara’s memoir later published as “The Motorcycle Diaries”. While travelling, Guevara was moved by the plight of the people he saw and their working conditions and what he viewed as capitalistic exploitation. In Mexico City he met brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and was persuaded to join their cause, the overthrow of the US-backed government in Cuba. He rose to second-in-command among the Cuban insurgents, and when Castro came to power Guevara was influential in repelling the Bay of Pigs Invasion and bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to the island. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to continue his work as a revolutionary. He was captured by Bolivian forces in 1967, and was executed. Fidel Castro led the public mourning of Guevara’s death, and soon the revolutionary was an icon for many left-wing movements around the world.

52. Big bird from Down Under : EMU

Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.

55. Comical Conway : TIM

Comedy actor Tim Conway is best known in front of the TV camera for playing Ensign Parker in “McHale’s Navy” and for co-starring on “The Carol Burnett Show”. Our younger friends might be more familiar with Conway as the voice behind Barnacle Boy on “SpongeBob SquarePants”.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. The one here : THIS
5. Group of cronies : GANG
9. Natural wound protection : SCAB
13. Discard : DUMP
14. Prohibited activity : TABOO
15. “What a shame!” : OH NO!
16. Player getting paid : PRO ATHLETE
18. Sound from a snout : OINK
19. Counsel : ADVISE
20. “Am I the only one?” : IS IT ME?
22. Move stealthily : SLINK
23. “Wait just a minute!” : WHOA THERE!
26. “Told you” : SEE?
27. Rogers Centre city : TORONTO
29. Oil field sight : RIG
30. Cartographer’s dot, maybe : ISLET
31. Food truck snack : TACO
32. Unfulfilled campaign pledge … and a hint to what 16-, 23-, 46- and 53-Across all contain : BROKEN PROMISE
37. James of “The Godfather” : CAAN
38. Herbert Hoover, by birth : IOWAN
39. O’Hare’s airport code : ORD
40. Great pains : AGONIES
43. Bobs and waves : DOS
46. Docking aids : BOAT HOOKS
48. “Rashomon” director Kurosawa : AKIRA
50. Christmas door decoration : WREATH
51. Health facility : CLINIC
52. Tech sch. grad : ENGR
53. Closet accessory : COAT HANGER
56. “Start __”: Rolling Stones hit : ME UP
57. Mandel of “America’s Got Talent” : HOWIE
58. Melody : TUNE
59. Coffee servers : URNS
60. “If I may intrude … ” : AHEM …
61. Founded, as a co. : ESTD

Down

1. QB-to-receiver six-pointer : TD PASS
2. Running track obstacle : HURDLE
3. Apple video-editing app : IMOVIE
4. Madrid’s country : SPAIN
5. 128 fl. oz. : GAL
6. Grandpa Simpson : ABE
7. Vague idea : NOTION
8. Charges toward : GOES AT
9. Apt Shakespearean rhyme for “truth” : SOOTH
10. Fire-breathing monsters : CHIMERAS
11. “Interview With the Vampire” novelist : ANNE RICE
12. __ choy: stir-fry veggie : BOK
14. With 37-Down, what corn is on : THE …
17. “For shame!” : TSK TSK!
21. Skater Midori : ITO
23. Little songbird : WREN
24. Color of some Hello Kitty products : HOT PINK
25. Self-esteem : EGO
28. Fútbol cheer : OLE!
30. Charged particle : ION
31. Altoids container : TIN
32. Saloonkeeper : BAR OWNER
33. Trooper’s speed-checking device : RADAR GUN
34. Versailles rulers, once : ROIS
35. Have bills to pay : OWE
36. Indian spice blend : MASALA
37. See 14-Down : … COB
40. Finder’s cry : AHA!
41. “Fooled you!” : GOTCHA!
42. Overeager student’s cry : OOH OOH!
43. Thingamajig : DINGUS
44. Set in the right direction : ORIENT
45. Like some cows and vows : SACRED
47. Maryland team, briefly : TERPS
49. “Roots” role Kunta __ : KINTE
51. Rebel Guevara : CHE
52. Big bird from Down Under : EMU
54. Stunned state : AWE
55. Comical Conway : TIM

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