LA Times Crossword 1 Aug 22, Monday

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Constructed by: Paul Coulter
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Animal Rights

Themed answers each include a type of ANIMAL at the RIGHT end:

  • 56A Anti-cruelty movement, and what the answers to the starred clues literally have : ANIMAL RIGHTS
  • 20A *Clickable device with a light sensor : OPTICAL MOUSE
  • 35A *One who’s easily frightened : SCAREDY CAT
  • 42A *Simple riding toy : HOBBYHORSE

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Chesapeake Bay crustacean : CRAB

Chesapeake Bay is on the Atlantic coast and is surrounded by the states of Maryland and Virginia. It is the largest estuary in the whole country, with over 150 rivers and streams draining into it, including the Potomac.

16 Iraq’s eastern neighbor : IRAN

The Iran-Iraq border extends for just under 1,000 miles. The northern end of the boundary is the tripoint where the borders of Iran, Iraq and Turkey meet. The southern end is the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab river that empties into the Persian Gulf.

17 Muscat native : OMANI

Muscat is the capital of Oman. The city lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

20 *Clickable device with a light sensor : OPTICAL MOUSE

Thank goodness for the invention of the optical mouse. The old wheeled mouse, although it was a great device in its day, is prone to slipping on the wrong surface and clogs up with dirt. An optical mouse is the next level of technology and uses a light emitting diode and photo-diodes to detect motion.

22 __ Beta Kappa : PHI

Phi Beta Kappa was the first collegiate Greek fraternity in the US, founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary. The organization served as a model for future collegiate fraternities and sororities, although in the 19th century Phi Beta Kappa distanced itself from the fraternal focus and transformed into the honor society that it is today, recognizing academic excellence. The initials Phi Beta Kappa stand for “philosophia biou kybernētēs”, which translates into “philosophy is the guide of life”. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is a golden key.

23 Chemical in oven cleaners : LYE

What we call “lye” is usually sodium hydroxide (NaOH), although historically the term “lye” was used for potassium hydroxide. Lye has many uses, including to cure several foodstuffs. Lye can make olives less bitter, for example. The chemical is also found in canned mandarin oranges, pretzels and Japanese ramen noodles. More concentrated grades of lye are used to clear drains and clean ovens. Scary …

31 “Wheels down” stat, for short : ETA

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

32 Confined, with “up” : PENT-

The adjective “pent-up” means “held inside”. The word “pent” is a variant of “penned”, the past participle of “to pen” meaning “to confine in a pen”.

38 Merit badge earner : SCOUT

As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden-Powell, in 1907. He also founded the Girl Guide and Girl Scout organization in 1910, along with this sister Agnes Baden-Powell. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, also in 1910. The Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared”.

40 Tolkien monster : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

41 Bizarre : OUTRE

The word “outré”, meaning “unconventional, bizarre”, comes to us from French, as one might imagine. It is derived from the verb “outrer” meaning “to overdo, exaggerate”. “Outrer” is also the ultimate root of our word “outrage”.

42 *Simple riding toy : HOBBYHORSE

Back in the 16th century, a hobbyhorse was a mock horse that was used as a prop in morris dancing. The figure was wrapped around the waist of a dancer, creating the impression that the horse was being ridden. By the 1580s, the term “hobbyhorse” began to describe toy riding horse used by a child. A century later, the word “hobby” was being used for a favorite pastime, an activity that doesn’t really go anywhere, just like a hobbyhorse.

45 Clearance rack caveat : AS IS

A caveat is a warning or a qualification. “Caveat” is the Latin for “let him beware”.

46 Craft brewer’s brew : ALE

The many, many different styles of beer can generally be sorted into two groups: ales and lagers. Ales are fermented at relatively warm temperatures for relatively short periods of time, and use top-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that float on top of the beer as it ferments. Lagers ferment at relatively low temperatures and for relatively long periods of time. Lagers use bottom-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that fall to the bottom of the beer as it ferments.

47 Snail-paced : POKY

Back in the early 1800s, a “poke” was a device attached to domestic animals such as pigs or sheep to keep them from escaping their enclosures. The poke was like a yoke with a pole, and slowed the animal down, hence the term “slowpoke”.

48 R&B’s Boyz II __ : MEN

Boyz II Men are an R&B vocal trio from Philadelphia who started out in 1988. The original BOYZ II Men lineup included a fourth member, Michael McCary. McCary left the group in 2003 due to chronic back pain. The Boyz II Men 1992 hit “End of the Road” stayed at number-one in the Billboard charts for an amazing thirteen weeks, shattering the 11-week record that had been held by Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” since 1956.

50 Bruce of the “Die Hard” films : WILLIS

Actor Bruce Willis started to hit the big time when he got a lead role in the comedy detective series “Moonlighting” in the late eighties. Willis was born in Germany, where his father was stationed while serving in the US Army. Willis’ mother was German.

The 1988 action movie “Die Hard” is such a fun film. We always pull it out at Christmas when we want something “Christmassy”, but different from “The Bishop’s Wife” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The “Nakatomi Plaza” building that features so prominently in the film is actually “Fox Plaza” (headquarters for 20th Century Fox) in Los Angeles, which was built not long before filming started.

63 Big name in water filters : BRITA

Brita is a German company that specializes in water filtration products. Brita products do a great job of filtering tap water, but they don’t “purify” it as they don’t remove microbes. That job is usually done by a municipality before the water gets to the faucet.

65 GPS suggestions : RTES

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).

68 Cravings : YENS

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

69 Decorative jugs : EWERS

A pitcher is a container for liquid that has a handle, mouth and spout. The term “jug” is used for the same container in other English-speaking countries. “Ewer” is an older term describing a pitcher/jug. Today, a ewer is a highly decorative pitcher, often with a base and flared spout.

Down

3 Violin master who taught Stradivari : AMATI

The first of the Amati family to make violins was Andrea Amati, who lived in the 14th century. He was succeeded by his sons Antonio and Girolamo. In turn, the two brothers were succeeded by Girolamo’s son Nicolo. Nicolo had a few students who achieved fame making musical instruments as well. One was his own son, Girolamo, and another was the famed Antonio Stradivari.

4 __ Cooper: small car made by BMW : MINI

The original Mini was a fabulous car, one that I drove all over Ireland in my youth. It had a unique front-wheel-drive layout that took up very little space, allowing for a lot of room (relatively speaking) for passengers and baggage. One space-saving trick was to mount the engine transversely, so it sits rotated 90 degrees from the norm. That engine had a capacity of only 848cc. In 1961, a Mini Cooper model was introduced, which was a sporty version. The Mini Cooper was a phenomenal hit, especially after repeated wins in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Mini marque has been owned by BMW since 1994.

6 Kid-lit writer/illustrator Eric : CARLE

Eric Carle is a very successful children’s author and book illustrator, with over 100 million of his books sold around the world. Carle’s most famous title is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, and it alone has sold 30 million copies.

8 __ Domini : ANNO

The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.

19 Chihuahua or Sonora, por ejemplo : ESTADO

Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico that shares a border with Texas and New Mexico. It is the largest state in the country, earning it the nickname “El Estado Grande”. Chihuahua takes its name from the Chihuahuan Desert which lies largely within its borders. The Chihuahua breed of dog takes its name from the state.

Sonora is the state in Mexico that lies just south of Arizona and New Mexico. Sonora is the second-largest state in the country, after Chihuahua.

26 Video game pioneer : ATARI

The kids today probably don’t realize that we had a video game console back in the seventies, and it wasn’t a Nintendo nor was it a PlayStation. The Atari 2600 game system introduced the idea of separating out computing hardware (the console) from the game code (a cartridge). The same concept persists to this day, although cartridges have been displaced by discs and downloads.

29 Actor Shandling : GARRY

Actor and comedian Garry Shandling started a career in show business writing for sitcoms, including “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Sanford and Son”. He became a regular guest host on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”, and was a favorite to replace Carson when the host retired. That didn’t happen, but the sitcom “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” aired from 1986 to 1990, featuring Shandling as the host of his own show. He followed that up with another sitcom about talk-show hosting called the “The Larry Sanders Show”.

33 Bacteria that may trigger a food recall : 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.

34 Prestigious prize with six categories : NOBEL

The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded “in memory of Alfred Nobel”. Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and is presented in Oslo.

36 Downton Abbey’s Mrs. Patmore, for one : COOK

On the hit show “Downton Abbey”, the household’s cook Mrs. Beryl Patmore is played by actress Lesley Nicol. While a great casting choice, I just read that in real life Nicol is a terrible cook, and she is a vegan …

37 Chinese currency : YUAN

Even though we generally refer to the currency of China as the “yuan”, the yuan is actually the basic unit of the “renminbi”. This is analogous to “sterling” being the official currency of the UK, with the “pound” being the basic unit of sterling.

39 Skill measured in wpm : TYPING

Words per minute (wpm)

43 Stockings : HOSIERY

The word “hose” meaning “covering for the leg” has the same roots as the contemporary German word “Hose” meaning “trousers, pants”.

44 Mideast leader : EMIR

An emir is a prince or chieftain, one most notably from the Middle East in Islamic countries. In English, “emir” can also be written variously as “emeer, amir, ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

51 With 13-Down, clothing retailer that began as a mail-order yachting supply company : LANDS’ …
13D See 51-Down : … END

Lands’ End is a retailer of casual clothing and home furnishings that primarily sells over the Internet and through mail order. The company started out in 1963 in Chicago as a mail-order superior of yachting supplies. Given the nautical nature of the original product line, the founders chose to name their venture after the headland known as Land’s End, which is the most westerly point on mainland England. You’ll note the difference in punctuation between “Lands’ End” (the company) and “Land’s End” (the headland); that was the result of a typo in the first marketing materials that was too expensive to rectify, so it was retained.

52 “God __ America” : BLESS

Irving Berlin wrote “God Bless America” while serving with the US Army in 1918. Berlin didn’t come across an opportunity to publicize the song until just before WWII. He felt it was the right time to introduce a patriotic song, and famously gave it to singer Kate Smith for a broadcast on Armistice Day in 1938. The song was such a hit that there were even moves to have it adopted as a new national anthem.

53 Onion kin : CHIVE

Chives are the smallest species of edible onion, and a favorite of mine …

55 Bygone Russian rulers : TSARS

The last ruler of Imperial Russia was Tsar Nicholas II (of the House of Romanov). Famously, the Tsar and his family were murdered in 1918 in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia by members of the Bolshevik secret police. The Tsar’s youngest daughter was 16-year-old Anastasia and rumors of her escape have persisted for years. The rumors grew with the help of numerous women who claimed to be Anastasia. In 2009, DNA testing finally proved that the remains of all of the Tsar’s immediate family, including Anastasia, have been found and identified.

58 Yemen coastal city : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

60 Peace activist Yoko : ONO

Artist Yoko Ono operates the website ImaginePeace.com. I checked it out once and found these two lovely quotes:

  • Imagine all the people living life in peace … John Lennon
  • A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality … Yoko Ono

62 “__ you sure?” : ARE

Yes, I am …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Same here” : SO AM I
6 Chesapeake Bay crustacean : CRAB
10 Lavish party : FETE
14 Stand-up performer : COMIC
15 Top-quality : A-ONE
16 Iraq’s eastern neighbor : IRAN
17 Muscat native : OMANI
18 Grazing grounds : RANGELAND
20 *Clickable device with a light sensor : OPTICAL MOUSE
22 __ Beta Kappa : PHI
23 Chemical in oven cleaners : LYE
24 “How unfortunate” : IT’S SAD
28 “Comprende?” : SEE?
29 Lavish party : GALA
31 “Wheels down” stat, for short : ETA
32 Confined, with “up” : PENT-
35 *One who’s easily frightened : SCAREDY CAT
38 Merit badge earner : SCOUT
40 Tolkien monster : ORC
41 Bizarre : OUTRE
42 *Simple riding toy : HOBBYHORSE
45 Clearance rack caveat : AS IS
46 Craft brewer’s brew : ALE
47 Snail-paced : POKY
48 R&B’s Boyz II __ : MEN
50 Bruce of the “Die Hard” films : WILLIS
52 Auction offer : BID
53 Director’s shout : CUT!
56 Anti-cruelty movement, and what the answers to the starred clues literally have : ANIMAL RIGHTS
60 Citrus drink : ORANGEADE
63 Big name in water filters : BRITA
64 Bookish sort : NERD
65 GPS suggestions : RTES
66 Prying tool : LEVER
67 “To a … ” poems : ODES
68 Cravings : YENS
69 Decorative jugs : EWERS

Down

1 Ice cream serving : SCOOP
2 Get-up-and-go : OOMPH
3 Violin master who taught Stradivari : AMATI
4 __ Cooper: small car made by BMW : MINI
5 Spiky winter hanger : ICICLE
6 Kid-lit writer/illustrator Eric : CARLE
7 Knock about : ROAM
8 __ Domini : ANNO
9 Enchant : BEGUILE
10 Contents of a backup drive : FILES
11 Chapter in history : ERA
12 Light brown color : TAN
13 See 51-Down : … END
19 Chihuahua or Sonora, por ejemplo : ESTADO
21 “The __ have it”: “Motion carries” : AYES
25 Religious splinter groups : SECTS
26 Video game pioneer : ATARI
27 Goes out with : DATES
28 Bang, as one’s toe : STUB
29 Actor Shandling : GARRY
30 Curved sections : ARCS
32 “Oh, nonsense!” : PSHAW!
33 Bacteria that may trigger a food recall : E COLI
34 Prestigious prize with six categories : NOBEL
36 Downton Abbey’s Mrs. Patmore, for one : COOK
37 Chinese currency : YUAN
39 Skill measured in wpm : TYPING
43 Stockings : HOSIERY
44 Mideast leader : EMIR
49 Safe to consume : EDIBLE
51 With 13-Down, clothing retailer that began as a mail-order yachting supply company : LANDS’ …
52 “God __ America” : BLESS
53 Onion kin : CHIVE
54 Say out loud : UTTER
55 Bygone Russian rulers : TSARS
57 Life partner : MATE
58 Yemen coastal city : ADEN
59 Increased in size : GREW
60 Peace activist Yoko : ONO
61 Crimson : RED
62 “__ you sure?” : ARE