LA Times Crossword 29 Apr 19, Monday

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Constructed by: Matt McKinley
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: MLB

Themed answers each include a player from a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (MLB) team in the American League CENTRAL or the National League CENTRAL:

  • 66A Org. in which the start of five answers is a “central” player : MLB
  • 16A Advice columnists Ann and Abby, e.g. (AL Central) : TWIN SISTERS (from “Minnesota Twins”)
  • 37A Monarch’s self-referential plural pronoun (AL Central) : ROYAL WE (from “Kansas City Royals”)
  • 59A Pride or greed, e.g. (NL Central) : CARDINAL SIN (from “St. Louis Cardinals”)
  • 9D Preteens in a pack (NL Central) : CUB SCOUTS (from “Chicago Cubs”)
  • 32D Warnings of serious danger (NL Central) : RED ALERTS (from “Cincinnati Reds”)

Bill’s time: 6m 34s!

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Britannica ref. : ENC

An encyclopedia is a compendium reference work containing summary information about a branch of knowledge, or about all knowledge. The word “encyclopedia” comes from the Greek “enkyklios paideia” meaning “general education”, or literally “general rearing of a child”.

The “Encyclopædia Britannica” is the oldest English-language encyclopedia that is still being published. The final print edition was issued in 2010, a set of 32 volumes. The focus in recent years moved away from print and is on the online version of the encyclopedia.

4 Singer LuPone : PATTI

Singer Patti LuPone won Tonys for playing Eva Peron in “Evita ” and Rose in “Gypsy”.

12 Classic grape soda : NEHI

Nehi Corporation was the nickname for the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works that introduced the Nehi drink in 1924. Years later the company developed a new brand, Royal Crown Cola (also known as RC Cola). By 1955, RC Cola was the company’s flagship product, so the “Nehi Corporation” became the “Royal Crown Company”. In 1954, RC Cola became the first company to sell soft drinks in cans.

14 Sarge’s command : TEN-HUT!

“Ten-hut!” is a term used in the US Military, and it means “come to attention!”.

16 Advice columnists Ann and Abby, e.g. (AL Central) : TWIN SISTERS (from “Minnesota Twins”)

“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.

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.

18 “If I may digress …,” in texts : BTW …

By the way (BTW)

20 Jackie’s Ari : ONASSIS

Aristotle “Ari” Onassis was born to a successful Greek shipping entrepreneur in Smyrna in modern-day Turkey. However, his family lost its fortune during WWI and so Aristotle worked with his father to build up a new business empire centered on the importation of tobacco. In 1957, Aristotle founded the Greek national airline, what is today called Olympic Air, and he also got into the business of shipping oil around the world. He married Athina Livanos in 1946, the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. They couple had two children together, with one being the famous Christina Onassis. Livanos divorced Onassis on discovering him in bed with the opera singer Maria Callas. Onassis ended his affair with Callas in order to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born into a privileged family, the daughter of Wall Street stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III. Ms. Bouvier moved in the same social circles as the Kennedy clan, and first met the then-US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. Years later, after she saw her husband assassinated and then her brother-in-law (Bobby Kennedy) suffer the same fate, Jackie declared that she feared for the life of her children as they bore the Kennedy name. She left the country, eventually meeting and marrying Aristotle Onassis. Reportedly she was very satisfied that the Greek shipping magnate was able to provide privacy and security for her children.

27 Tiered Asian temple : PAGODA

Pagodas are tiered (“storied”) towers found in various parts of Asia, usually built for religious purposes.

30 Apt.’s sleeping area : BDRM

Bedroom (bdrm)

33 “Bro!” : DUDE!

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

36 Commit perjury : LIE

An act of perjury is the wilful giving of false testimony under oath. The term “perjury” ultimately comes from the Latin “per” meaning “away” and “iurare” meaning “to swear”.

37 Monarch’s self-referential plural pronoun (AL Central) : ROYAL WE (from “Kansas City Royals”)

The “royal we” is more correctly called the “majestic plural”, and is the use of a plural pronoun to describe a single person in a high office. I suppose the most often quoted phrase that uses the majestic plural is “We are not amused”, which is often attributed to Queen Victoria. The editorial we is a similar concept, in which a newspaper editor or columnist refers to himself or herself as “we” when giving an opinion.

The Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team was founded in 1969. The team takes its name from the American Royal, a livestock show and rodeo held annually in Kansas City since 1899.

40 “The Giant” of wrestling : ANDRE

André the Giant was a professional wrestler from France whose real name was André René Roussimoff. He suffered from gigantism, overproduction of growth hormone, and reached the height of 6 feet 3 inches by the time he was 12-years-old. But, he used his size to develop a very successful career in the ring.

43 “Ohio” quartet, initially : CSNY

“Ohio” is a protest song written by Neil Young soon after the shootings of unarmed students at Kent State University by members of the Ohio National Guard. The song was recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) in 1970, just a few weeks after the terrible event.

44 St. Peter’s domain : HEAVEN

In the Christian tradition, Saint Peter is often depicted as the keeper of the gates of heaven. This depiction arises from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew:

I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

46 “The Lion King” hero : SIMBA

In the 1994 movie “The Lion King”, the protagonist is Simba, the lion cub born to Mufasa and Sarabi. The main antagonist is Scar, Simba’s uncle and Mufasa’s brother. Simba is voiced by Matthew Broderick, and Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons.

48 Chinese PC giant whose name is partly derived from the Latin for “new” : LENOVO

Lenovo is a Chinese manufacturer of computers. Lenovo was founded as “Legend” in 1984. The name was changed to “Lenovo” in 2002. “Lenovo” is a portmanteau of “Le” (from “Legend”) and “novo” (Latin for “new”). IBM sold off its personal computer division to Lenovo in 2005.

50 Hertz rival : AVIS

Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.

58 “The Fault in __ Stars”: 2014 film : OUR

“The Fault in Our Stars” is a 2014 film based on a novel of the same by John Green. Both film and novel are about two teenage cancer patients who fall in love with each other. The leads are played by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.

59 Pride or greed, e.g. (NL Central) : CARDINAL SIN (from “St. Louis Cardinals”)

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

The St. Louis Cardinals were originally called the “Brown Stockings”, changing their name to the “Perfectos” in 1899. That obviously didn’t go down well with the locals, as the owners changed it one year later to the Cardinals.

63 Chekov bridgemate, in “Star Trek” : SULU

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

Walter Koenig played Pavel Chekov in the original “Star Trek” series. Mr Chekov was a Russian character although Koenig himself was born in Chicago, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.

64 GEICO specialties? : ADS

Walter Koenig played Pavel Chekov in the original “Star Trek” series. Mr Chekov was a Russian character although Koenig himself was born in Chicago, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.

66 Org. in which the start of five answers is a “central” player : MLB

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Down

1 __’acte: intermission : ENTR

The term “entr’acte” comes to us from French, and is the interval “entre deux actes” (between two acts) of a theatrical performance. The term often describes some entertainment provided during that interval.

3 Trouser material : CHINO

Chino is a twill cloth that is most often used to make hard-wearing pants. The pants have come to be referred to as chinos. Chino cloth was originally developed for use by the military, but quickly became popular with civilians.

Trousers are pants, the garment covering the lower body and each leg separately. Ultimately, the word “trousers” evolved from the Erse word “triubhas” that described close-fitting shorts. Back in the 1600s there was a colorful saying:

A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle

6 2000s teen drama set in California : THE OC

“The O.C.” is a teen drama that aired for four seasons on Fox finishing up in 2007. I never watched it, but I understand that it is set in Newport Beach in Southern California.

7 Rutabaga, e.g. : TURNIP

The names of veggies cause me grief sometimes. What’s called a turnip here in the US, we call a swede back in Ireland. An Irishman’s turnip is a rutabaga over here. Thank goodness a potato is a potato, or I’d just give up altogether 🙂

8 Tryst-confirming words : IT’S A DATE

In its most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a prearranged meeting between lovers. The term comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting. Further, a tryst taking place at lunchtime is sometimes referred to as a nooner.

9 Preteens in a pack (NL Central) : CUB SCOUTS (from “Chicago Cubs”)

The Chicago Cubs is one of only two charter members of the baseball’s National League who are still playing, the other being the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs won the World Series in 2016 for the first time since 1908, which is a long time ago. In fact, the Cubs had the longest championship drought of any professional sports team in North America.

10 Italian wine hub : ASTI

Asti is a city in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The region is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine.

11 Chapel seats : PEWS

A pew is a bench in a church, one usually with a high back. The original pews were raised and sometimes enclosed seats in the church used by women and important men or families. “Pew” comes from the Old French “puie” meaning “balcony, elevation”.

14 “__ the season … ” : ‘TIS

The music for the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the “f-la-la”) are American in origin, and were recorded in 19th century.

“’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la!”

17 Sushi bar drink : SAKE

We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

26 Five __: burger chain : GUYS

Five Guys is a chain of hamburger joints that started out in Arlington, Virginia and now operates worldwide. Even though the chain was founded by Janie and Jerry Murrell, the “five guys” were Jerry and the couple’s four sons.

32 Warnings of serious danger (NL Central) : RED ALERTS (from “Cincinnati Reds”)

The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.

34 Wells sci-fi race : ELOI

In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a domineering race living underground who use the Eloi as food.

38 Typist’s meas. : WPM

Words per minute (WPM)

41 KOA patron : RV’ER

Kampgrounds of America (KOA) was founded in 1962 by Montana businessman Dave Drum, who opened up his first property along the Yellowstone River. His strategy was to offer a rich package of services including hot showers, restrooms and a store, which he hoped would attract people used to camping in the rough. The original campground was an immediate hit and Drum took on two partners and sold franchises all over the country. There are about 500 KOA sites today.

One using a recreational vehicle (RV) might be called an RVer.

43 Nitpicks : CAVILS

To cavil is to raise a trivial objection, a nit.

45 Consequence of an absence of pain, in an exercise mantra : NO GAIN

No pain, no gain.

47 Mexicali’s peninsula : BAJA

Mexicali is a Mexican city in the state of Baja that lies on the US border, adjacent to Calexico, California. Mexicali is the most northerly city in Latin America.

49 “Rigoletto” composer : VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer, mainly of operas, who was active during the Romantic era. Equally as famous as Verdi’s operas, are arias from those operas such as “La donna è mobile” from “Rigoletto”, “The Drinking Song” from “La Traviata” and “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from “Nabucco”. Verdi was a big fan of William Shakespeare and wrote three operas based on the Bard’s plays: “Macbeth”, “Otello” and “Falstaff”.

“Rigoletto” is one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most famous and oft-performed operas. The storyline comes from Victor Hugo’s play “Le roi s’amuse” (usually translated as “The King’s Fool”). Rigoletto is the king’s fool, the jester.

53 Frat party garb : TOGA

In Ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

56 Swing voter: Abbr. : IND

Independent (Ind)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Britannica ref. : ENC
4 Singer LuPone : PATTI
9 Baseball hat : CAP
12 Classic grape soda : NEHI
14 Sarge’s command : TEN-HUT!
15 Put into play : USE
16 Advice columnists Ann and Abby, e.g. (AL Central) : TWIN SISTERS (from “Minnesota Twins”)
18 “If I may digress …,” in texts : BTW …
19 Sprinted : RAN FAST
20 Jackie’s Ari : ONASSIS
22 __ one’s time: didn’t rush : TOOK
23 Sharp-tasting : ACIDIC
24 King’s tenure : REIGN
27 Tiered Asian temple : PAGODA
30 Apt.’s sleeping area : BDRM
33 “Bro!” : DUDE!
35 Hitch, as a ride : THUMB
36 Commit perjury : LIE
37 Monarch’s self-referential plural pronoun (AL Central) : ROYAL WE (from “Kansas City Royals”)
39 Shop __ you drop : ‘TIL
40 “The Giant” of wrestling : ANDRE
42 Food for hogs : SLOP
43 “Ohio” quartet, initially : CSNY
44 St. Peter’s domain : HEAVEN
46 “The Lion King” hero : SIMBA
48 Chinese PC giant whose name is partly derived from the Latin for “new” : LENOVO
50 Hertz rival : AVIS
53 Faddish pursuit, after “all” : … THE RAGE
55 Carefree antics : HIJINKS
58 “The Fault in __ Stars”: 2014 film : OUR
59 Pride or greed, e.g. (NL Central) : CARDINAL SIN (from “St. Louis Cardinals”)
61 Obtain : GET
62 Neatened (up) : TIDIED
63 Chekov bridgemate, in “Star Trek” : SULU
64 GEICO specialties? : ADS
65 Little cuts : SNIPS
66 Org. in which the start of five answers is a “central” player : MLB

Down

1 __’acte: intermission : ENTR
2 A novice in : NEW AT
3 Trouser material : CHINO
4 Kid brother, at times : PEST
5 Colony crawler : ANT
6 2000s teen drama set in California : THE OC
7 Rutabaga, e.g. : TURNIP
8 Tryst-confirming words : IT’S A DATE
9 Preteens in a pack (NL Central) : CUB SCOUTS (from “Chicago Cubs”)
10 Italian wine hub : ASTI
11 Chapel seats : PEWS
13 Bring up to speed : INFORM
14 “__ the season … ” : ‘TIS
17 Sushi bar drink : SAKE
21 [Ah, me!] : SIGH!
23 “Furthermore … ” : AND ALSO …
25 Altar promise : I DO
26 Five __: burger chain : GUYS
28 Key with one flat: Abbr. : D MIN
29 With dexterity : ABLY
30 “How dull” : BLAH
31 Enjoy fine food : DINE
32 Warnings of serious danger (NL Central) : RED ALERTS (from “Cincinnati Reds”)
34 Wells sci-fi race : ELOI
37 Performs in costume, as a Civil War battle : REENACTS
38 Typist’s meas. : WPM
41 KOA patron : RV’ER
43 Nitpicks : CAVILS
45 Consequence of an absence of pain, in an exercise mantra : NO GAIN
47 Mexicali’s peninsula : BAJA
49 “Rigoletto” composer : VERDI
51 “To wrap up … ” : IN SUM …
52 Proficiency : SKILL
53 Frat party garb : TOGA
54 Tinted : HUED
55 Makes haste, old-style : HIES
56 Swing voter: Abbr. : IND
57 Cold shoulder : SNUB
60 Quick swim : DIP