LA Times Crossword 5 Apr 19, Friday

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Constructed by: Robert & Marlea Ellis
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill) I To EE

Themed answers are common phrases in which a letter I has been changed to EE:

  • 18A Make some cote residents angry? : STEAM SHEEP (from “steamship”)
  • 26A Calf roper’s target? : FEET TO BE TIED (from “fit to be tied”)
  • 48A Birdwatcher’s journal entry? : CARDINAL SEEN (from “cardinal sin”)
  • 63A Borden, in the 1870s? : TEEN LIZZIE (from “Tin Lizzie”)

Bill’s time: 7m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Illusion : FACADE

Our word “facade” has been meaning “front of a building” since the mid-17th century. We started using the term figuratively, to mean “superficial appearance”, in the mid-19th century. “Façade” is the original French word with the same meaning, from which our English term derives.

11 “The good is __ interred with their bones”: “Julius Caesar” : OFT

There is a famous speech made by Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” that starts with:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.

14 Ostrich relatives : EMUS

The large flightless birds called emus make sounds by manipulating inflatable neck-sacs. The sac is about a foot long, has a thin wall and allows the bird to emit a booming sound. The type of sound emitted is the easiest way to differentiate between male and female emus.

15 Payday lender, perhaps : USURER

Usury used to be the practice of simply lending money at interest, but the term now refers to lending at rates of interest that are excessive.

18 Make some cote residents angry? : STEAM SHEEP (from “steamship”)

The Old English word “cote” was used for a small house. Our modern word “cottage” comes from “cote”. We now use “cote” to mean a small shelter on a farm for sheep or birds.

20 Singer Etheridge : MELISSA

Melissa Etheridge is rock singer and songwriter. Etheridge is a vocal supporter of gay rights, having come out as a lesbian in 1993. Her partner gave birth to two children using sperm donated by singer David Crosby.

24 Pikelike fish : GAR

“Gar” was originally the name given to a species of needlefish found in the North Atlantic. The term “gar” is now used to describe several species of fish with elongated bodies that inhabit North and Central America and the Caribbean. The gar is unusual in that it is often found in very brackish water. What I find interesting is that the gar’s swim bladders are vascularized so that they can actually function as lungs. Many species of gar can actually be seen coming to the surface and taking a gulp of air. This adaptation makes it possible for them to live in conditions highly unsuitable for other fish that rely on their gills to get oxygen out of the water. Indeed, quite interesting …

25 Nihilistic art movement : DADA

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

“Nihil” is the Latin word for “nothing, and is a term we’ve absorbed into English. “Nihil” is also the root from which we get our term “nil”. Someone described as “nihilistic” is very skeptical and tends to believe in nothing.

33 Storm components? : TWEETS

In the wonderful world of Twitter (said he, sarcastically), a tweetstorm is a series of related tweets by a single user on a related subject.

37 Ranking suit : TRUMP

We use the word “trump” for a card in the ranking suit of many card games. The term is an alteration of “triumph”, which was also the name of an old game that used a trump suit.

40 Giant Mel : OTT

At 5′ 9″, baseball legend Mel Ott weighed just 170 lb (I don’t think he took steroids!) and yet he was the first National League player to hit over 500 home runs. Sadly, Ott died in a car accident in New Orleans in 1958 when he was only 49 years old. And, according to Wikipedia, “Ott’s name frequently appears in crossword puzzles, on account of its letter combination and brevity.” True that …

43 2019 Grammy Awards host Keys : ALICIA

“Alicia Keys” is the stage name of Alicia Cook, an R&B and soul singer from Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.

45 40-Acr. is in it : HOF

(40A Giant Mel : OTT)
The first Hall of Fame (HOF) established in the US was the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, an outdoor sculpture gallery located in the grounds of Bronx Community College in New York City. Completed in 1900, it is an open-air colonnade featuring the bronze busts of renowned Americans such as President George Washington, author Henry David Thoreau, musician John Philip Sousa and baseball legend Jackie Robinson. The Hall of Fame of Great Americans was inspired by the Ruhmeshalle (“Hall of Fame” in German) located in Munich, Germany that exhibits busts of important people from Bavaria.

Cooperstown is a village in New York that is famous as the home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The village was named for Judge William Cooper, the founder of Cooperstown and the father of the noted writer James Fenimore Cooper.

47 Savings plan acronym : IRA

Individual retirement account (IRA)

48 Birdwatcher’s journal entry? : CARDINAL SEEN (from “cardinal sin”)

Cardinals are a family of birds that inhabit the Americas. The northern cardinal is the species from which the family gets the cardinal name. It was named by early settlers from Europe for the red crest on the male, the color of which resembled to the color of a Roman Catholic cardinal’s biretta (a square cap).

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven deadly sins are:

  • Wrath
  • Greed
  • Sloth
  • Pride
  • Lust
  • Envy
  • Gluttony

52 “Frozen” sister : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

55 “Live __”: Taco Bell slogan : MAS

Taco Bell was founded by a former US Marine, 25-year-old Glen Bell. His first restaurant was Bell’s Drive-In, located in Southern California. After opening that first establishment, Bell bought up some more restaurants including four named El Taco. He sold off the El Taco restaurants but used the name in part when he opened his first Taco Bell in 1962. Bell sold then sold franchises, with the 100th Taco Bell opening in 1967. The ex-Marine sold off the whole chain to PepsiCo in 1978, and I am guessing he made a pretty penny. Taco Bell has been using the “Live Más” slogan since 2012, with “más” being the Spanish word for “more”.

56 Prop for Palmer : TEE

Arnold Palmer was one of the greats of the world of golf. He was very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers were usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”. Off the course, Palmer was an avid pilot, until his latter years. He resided in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for much of the year and the local airport is named in his honor: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

57 Valley element? : SILICON

The Santa Clara Valley, located just a few miles from me at the south of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

63 Borden, in the 1870s? : TEEN LIZZIE (from “Tin Lizzie”)

The Ford Model T was the first really affordable car that was offered for sale, and it was produced from 1908 to 1927. It was the Model T that ushered in the era of assembly-line production, which greatly cut down the cost of manufacture. The engine was designed to run on petrol, kerosene or even ethanol. Famously, the Model T was known colloquially as the “Tin Lizzie”.

65 Cloud of gloom : PALL

A pall is a cloth used to cover a casket at a funeral. Pallbearers actually carry the coffin, covered by the pall. The phrase “casting a pall over”, meaning to create a dark mood, is metaphorical use of the pall over the casket.

67 Singer Grande : ARIANA

Ariana Grande is a singer and actress from Boca Raton, Florida. Grande plays the role of Cat Valentine on the sitcom “Victorious” that aired for four season on Nickelodeon. Grande’s singing career took off with the release of the 2011 album “Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show”.

68 Biblical twin : ESAU

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

71 Editor’s notation : DELE

“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

Down

2 Parisian love : AMIE

A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

4 Good Samaritan’s offer : ASSIST

“The Good Samaritan” is a parable told by Jesus that can be read in the Gospel of Luke. According to the story, a Jewish traveler is robbed and beaten and left for dead at the side of the road. A priest happens by and sees the poor man, but does not stop to help. A fellow Jewish traveler also passes and refuses to help. A third man stops and gives aid. This kind person is a Samaritan, a native of Samaria. Back then Jewish and Samarian people were said to generally despise each other, and yet here a detested creature gives aid. Jesus told to the story to a self-righteous lawyer, the intent being (I assume) to shake up his self-righteousness.

6 “The Thin Man” canine : ASTA

Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb “The Thin Man” series of films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

8 Biblical mount : ARARAT

Mount Ararat is in Turkey. Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcano with two peaks. The higher of the two, Greater Ararat, is the tallest peak in the country. Ararat takes its name from a legendary Armenian hero called Ara the Beautiful (or Ara the Handsome). According to the Book of Genesis, Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat as the Great Flood subsided.

11 Adams’ “Nixon in China,” e.g. : OPERA

“Nixon in China” is an opera by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. The piece was inspired by President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972.

John Adams is a composer now based in California who gained prominence with his 1987 opera “Nixon in Paris”. His works are usually described as in the minimalist genre. I had the privilege of hearing a work by Adams called “Absolute Jest” a few years ago that was performed by the San Francisco Symphony in the presence of the composer.

13 Far from laid-back : TYPE A

The Type A and Type B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labelled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type A personality types are so called “stress junkies”, whereas Type B types are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type A personality and heart problems.

26 Greek salad topper : FETA

Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

27 Bowling great __ Anthony : EARL

Earl Anthony was a professional bowler. In 1975, Anthony became the first bowler to earn over $100,000 in a single season. In 1982, he became the first in his sport to rack up $1,000,000 in career earnings. Sadly, Anthony died in 2001 at the age of 63, after sustaining a head injury when he fell down a set of stairs.

28 Sewing case : ETUI

An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui” from France. The French also have a modern usage of “etui”, using the term to depict a case for carrying CDs.

34 First name in the cast of “The Sopranos” : EDIE

Actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”, an excellent black comedy.

“The Sopranos” is an outstanding television drama that was made by HBO and is a story about Italian-American mobsters in New Jersey. “The Sopranos” is regularly cited as one of the best TV series of all time. It’s “must see TV” …

36 Christmas song swimmer : SWAN

Those would be “seven swans a-swimming”.

The fabulous Christmas Carol called “The Twelve Days of Christmas” dates back at least to 1780 when it was first published in England, though it may be French in origin. The concept of twelve days of Christmas comes from the tradition that the three kings came to visit the Christ Child twelve days after he was born. This same tradition is the origin of the title to Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”.

38 2008 presidential candidate : MCCAIN

John McCain went into the US Naval Academy in 1958, following a family tradition as his father and grandfather were both four-star admirals. The younger McCain did not achieve the same rank, and retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981. That said, his career development was interrupted by almost six years spent as a prisoner of war (POW) in North Vietnam. John McCain was a US Senator from Arizona from 1987 until 2018.

39 Actress Zadora : PIA

Pia Zadora is an American actress and singer. Zadora’s most famous role was in the 1982 film “Butterfly” in which she worked with Orson Welles and Stacey Keach. The film was based on the novel “The Butterfly” by James M. Cain and deals with the difficult subject of father-daughter incest.

44 Bedroom piece : ARMOIRE

“Armoire” is the French word for “wardrobe”, and is used in English for a standing closet that stores clothes.

49 Polish seaport, in Germany : DANZIG

Gdańsk (“Danzig” in German) is a port city on the Baltic coast of Poland and is the country’s biggest seaport. Gdańsk was where the European Solidarity movement was born, with Lech Wałęsa in the leadership position. Wałęsa was an electrician working in the Gdańsk shipyards.

50 Welcoming gift : LEI

“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

53 Feudal subject : LIEGE

A liege was a feudal lord, one to whom service or allegiance was owed under feudal law. “Liege” was also the term used for one who owed allegiance or service to a lord. Apparently the term is influenced by the Latin verb “ligare” meaning “to tie, bind”. So, I guess both lord and servant were “bound” to each other.

54 Reason for closed schools, perhaps : SLEET

Apparently, “sleet” is a term used to describe two different weather conditions. One is a shower of ice pellets, smaller than hail, and the second is a mixture of rain and snow, with the snow melting as it falls.

61 Airline known for tight security : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. El Al is known for its high levels of security, both on the ground and in the air. Reportedly, the airline’s passenger aircraft have been operating with anti-missile technology for several years.

62 Turn on an axis : SLUE

To slue (also “slew) is to turn sharply, or to rotate on an axis.

64 Half a slalom segment : ZAG

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Triumphant exclamation : TADA!
5 Illusion : FACADE
11 “The good is __ interred with their bones”: “Julius Caesar” : OFT
14 Ostrich relatives : EMUS
15 Payday lender, perhaps : USURER
16 Extract with effort : PRY
17 Suffers : AILS
18 Make some cote residents angry? : STEAM SHEEP (from “steamship”)
20 Singer Etheridge : MELISSA
22 One no longer working : RETIREE
23 Enjoy at a leisurely pace : SIP
24 Pikelike fish : GAR
25 Nihilistic art movement : DADA
26 Calf roper’s target? : FEET TO BE TIED (from “fit to be tied”)
31 Put away : EAT
32 Young one : TOT
33 Storm components? : TWEETS
37 Ranking suit : TRUMP
40 Giant Mel : OTT
42 Fund : ENDOW
43 2019 Grammy Awards host Keys : ALICIA
45 40-Acr. is in it : HOF
47 Savings plan acronym : IRA
48 Birdwatcher’s journal entry? : CARDINAL SEEN (from “cardinal sin”)
52 “Frozen” sister : ELSA
55 “Live __”: Taco Bell slogan : MAS
56 Prop for Palmer : TEE
57 Valley element? : SILICON
59 Embezzlers, e.g. : THIEVES
63 Borden, in the 1870s? : TEEN LIZZIE (from “Tin Lizzie”)
65 Cloud of gloom : PALL
66 Golden __ : AGE
67 Singer Grande : ARIANA
68 Biblical twin : ESAU
69 Risk : BET
70 Identified : PEGGED
71 Editor’s notation : DELE

Down

1 Group of playmates : TEAM
2 Parisian love : AMIE
3 Hardly inspiring : DULL
4 Good Samaritan’s offer : ASSIST
5 Persnickety one : FUSSPOT
6 “The Thin Man” canine : ASTA
7 Help in the theater : CUE
8 Biblical mount : ARARAT
9 Unfavorable mark : DEMERIT
10 In the past, in the past : ERST
11 Adams’ “Nixon in China,” e.g. : OPERA
12 Let go : FREED
13 Far from laid-back : TYPE A
19 Out of sight : HIDDEN
21 Work for parents : SIT
24 Juicy tidbit lead-in : GET THIS …
26 Greek salad topper : FETA
27 Bowling great __ Anthony : EARL
28 Sewing case : ETUI
29 “I can’t get no satisfaction!” : BOO!
30 Farm mom : EWE
34 First name in the cast of “The Sopranos” : EDIE
35 Sped : TORE
36 Christmas song swimmer : SWAN
38 2008 presidential candidate : MCCAIN
39 Actress Zadora : PIA
41 Heavy weight : TON
44 Bedroom piece : ARMOIRE
46 Dimwit : FATHEAD
49 Polish seaport, in Germany : DANZIG
50 Welcoming gift : LEI
51 Leaked slowly : SEEPED
52 Founded: Abbr. : ESTAB
53 Feudal subject : LIEGE
54 Reason for closed schools, perhaps : SLEET
58 Show appreciation : CLAP
59 Stabber : TINE
60 Still-life standard : VASE
61 Airline known for tight security : EL AL
62 Turn on an axis : SLUE
64 Half a slalom segment : ZAG