LA Times Crossword 11 May 21, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Tom Locke
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Rear-Ended

Themed answers each END with a synonym of REAR:

  • 37A Hit from behind … and what the answers to starred clues are? : REAR-ENDED
  • 17A *Youthful blush, say : ROSY CHEEKS
  • 26A *Idler at the shore : BEACH BUM
  • 53A *Parlor piece : LOVE SEAT
  • 62A *Frank holders : HOT DOG BUNS

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

Bill’s time: 6m 37s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Urges to attack, with “on” : SICS …

“Sic ’em” is an attack order given to a dog, one instructing the animal to growl, bark or even bite. The term dates back to the 1830s, with “sic” being a variation of “seek”.

5 Actor Hawke : ETHAN

Ethan Hawke is a Hollywood actor who made his breakthrough in a supporting role in “Dead Poet’s Society”, playing opposite Robin Williams. Hawke used to be married to Uma Thurman, with whom he has two children.

14 Help out during exercises, as in a gym : SPOT

People at the gym who are doing weight-training will often “spot” for each other. This means that the person who is spotting assists in the lift, allowing the lifter to work with more weight than usual.

15 LP player : PHONO

“Phonograph” was an early name for what became known as a “gramophone” and later “record player”. Famously, the phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.

19 Common country suffix : -STAN

The suffix “-stan” in many place names is Persian for “place of”.

20 Palindromic magazine : ELLE

“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.

21 __ Alamos, NM : LOS

The town of Los Alamos, New Mexico takes its name from the Spanish for “the poplars” or “the cottonwoods”. Famously, it is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory which was founded during WWII to work on the Manhattan Project, the development of the first atomic bomb. The town of Los Alamos didn’t exist as such, until it was planned and constructed to support the employees working on development of the bomb.

31 Spanish rice dish : PAELLA

Paella is sometimes referred to as the Spanish national dish, but not by Spaniards. In Spain, paella is regarded as a typical regional dish from Valencia.

32 Not commissioned, after “on” : … SPEC

Something that is created on spec is done so without having a specific buyer or consumer in mind. Many crosswords are constructed on spec, and then submitted to the likes of the “New York Times” or “Los Angeles Times” in the hope of publication.

34 Author Jaffe : RONA

Rona Jaffe was an American novelist perhaps most famous for two of her books, “The Best of Everything” and “Mazes and Monsters”. “The Best of Everything” was published in 1958 and has been compared with the HBO television series “Sex and the City” as it depicts women in the working world. “Mazes and Monsters” was published in 1981 and explores a role-playing game similar to Dungeons & Dragons and the impact it has on players.

36 Like Lady Liberty’s crown : RAYED

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and constructed in France by civil engineer Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). The statue was disassembled, shipped to the US, and reassembled on its pedestal on Bedloe’s Island (now “Liberty Island). A ceremony of dedication was held in 1886. If you take a boat ride down the Seine in Paris you will probably see a one-third replica of Lady Liberty standing on a small island in the river, looking quite magnificent. That copy was given to the people of Paris by the city’s American community in 1889.

40 Farrier : SHOER

A blacksmith is someone who forges and shapes iron, perhaps to make horseshoes. A farrier is someone who fits horseshoes onto the hooves of horses. The term “blacksmith” is sometimes used for one who shoes horses, especially as many blacksmiths make horseshoes and fit them as well.

48 Coming from the heart? : AORTAL

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

53 *Parlor piece : LOVE SEAT

A love seat is a sofa made for two people. Lovely …

Back in the early 13th century, a “parlur” was a window through which someone could confess to a priest, and also a room in a monastery that was used by the monks for conversations with visitors. The term “parlur” arose from the French “parler” meaning “to speak”. Today, we sit in the “parlor” to enjoy our “conversations”.

57 Cold War mil. program : SDI

One of the positive outcomes of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), aka “Star Wars”, was a change in US defense strategy. The new approach was to use missiles to destroy incoming hostile weapons, rather than using missiles to destroy the nation attacking the country. The former doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction went by the apt acronym of MAD …

58 Gate announcement, briefly : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

59 Modern mining target : DATA

The process of data mining is used to extract information from a database and present it in a form that facilitates further use.

60 Cantina cooker : OLLA

An olla is a traditional clay pot used for the making of stews. “Olla” was the Latin word used in ancient Rome to describe a similar type of pot.

62 *Frank holders : HOT DOG BUNS

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

The frankfurter sausage that is typically used in a North American hot dog gets its name from Frankfurter Würstchen. The latter is a German sausage that is prepared by boiling in water, just like a hot dog frank.

68 Archer’s weapon : ARROW

An archer is someone who shoots with a bow and arrow. The term “archer” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “bow, arc”.

69 Mine entrance : ADIT

An adit is a specific type of mine access, a horizontal shaft that extends into the mine. This can be compared with the more traditional vertical shaft that is used for access into most mines. Adits make sense when the ore is located inside a mountain or hill, as opposed to “underground”, as they allow the mine entrances to be on the valley floor.

70 Central Iowa city : AMES

The Iowa city of Ames was founded as a stop on the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad in 1864. It was named for US Congressman Oakes Ames from the state of Massachusetts in honor of the role that Ames played in the building of the transcontinental railroad.

71 Watch partner : LEARN

Watch and learn …

72 Peter or Paul (but not Mary) : TSAR

Peter the Great (aka “Peter I”) was perhaps the most successful of the Romanov tsars, and was famous for modernizing Russia and expanding the country’s sphere of influence, creating the Russian Empire. He ruled from 1682 until his death in 1725.

Paul I was Tsar of Russia, and the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great. Paul was on the throne for only five years, before being assassinated in a conspiracy that brought his son Alexander I to power.

Down

1 Cold War state: Abbr. : SSR

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” or “USSR”) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

The term “Cold War” was coined by novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch, adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

2 Wall St. news : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

3 “Les Misérables” girl : COSETTE

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables” has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

4 Bob or weave : STYLE

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 …

5 Collectibles like ticket stubs and matchbooks : EPHEMERA

“Ephemera” was originally a medical term used to describe a fever that only lasted a day. The use of the term was expanded in the 17th century to include insects that were short-lived. By the end of the 18th century, ephemera were any items of transitory existence.

Matchbooks have become quite collectible. A 1927 matchbook celebrating Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight across the Atlantic fetched $6,000 in auction in 2015.

8 Bracelet site for one on house arrest : ANKLE

A person under house arrest often wears an ankle monitor that is used to ensure that he or she does not stray far from home. An alternative system involves random calls to the confined person’s home that have to be answered by the convict. On the face of it, house arrest seems to be a very economic alternative for society instead of the prison system. As part of the sentence, the convict may even be asked to pay for the cost of monitoring his or her house arrest.

9 “Outta luck!” : NO SOAP!

“No soap” is a slang term meaning “not possible”. The term probably originated with the slang usage of “soap” to mean “money”, so “no soap” meant, “I have no money (to lend you)”. Over time, the usage of “no soap” generalized to “it’s not going to happen, so don’t ask”.

10 Docs who don’t specialize : GPS

General practitioner (GP)

18 Musical pitch indicator : CLEF

“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

25 Maple extract : SAP

About 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from the province of Quebec. The US’s biggest producer is the state of Vermont, which produces 5-6% of the world’s supply.

30 When tripled, a 1970 WWII film : TORA

The predetermined code word to be used by the Japanese if they managed to achieve surprise in their attack on Pearl Harbor was “tiger”, or “tora” in Japanese. This gave the title to the excellent 1970 movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!”.

33 Minotaur’s island : CRETE

Minos was the King of Crete in Greek mythology, and the son of Zeus and Europa. Minos had an elaborate labyrinth built under the island that was designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus (who famously died trying to escape from the island by “flying” away). In the labyrinth, King Minos kept the Minotaur, a dreadful creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man.

35 Santa __: dry winds : ANAS

The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

40 Grill-cleaning solution : SAL SODA

Sodium carbonate is a well known as a water softener sold for use in laundry, and is variously described as Sal Soda, Washing Soda and Soda Crystals.

42 One of the Wright brothers : ORVILLE

Wilbur was the older of the two Wright brothers, and he was born in 1867 in Millville, Indiana. By the time that Orville was born in 1871, the family was living in Dayton, Ohio. The Wrights spent a few years of their youth back in Richmond, Indiana, before settling in Dayton for the rest of their lives. The brothers both died in Dayton; Wilbur in 1912 and Orville in 1948.

46 Old TV dial letters : UHF

TV frequencies here in North America are divided into two bands. The VHF band covers channels 2 through 13; the UHF band covers channels 14 through 83.

51 Heavy carpet : SHAG

Shag carpet is one with a deep pile, one with a “shaggy” appearance.

61 “Happy Days” diner : AL’S

Much of the sitcom “Happy Days” was set in Arnold’s Drive-In. Arnold Takahashi was played by Pat Morita, who also played Mr Miyagi in the movie “The Karate Kid”. Morita left the show after three seasons, and was replaced by Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio, the character who ran the diner as “Al’s” for the rest of the series’ run.

64 Palme __: Cannes award : D’OR

The “Palme d’Or” (or “Golden Palm” in English) is the highest award given at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or goes to the director of the film that is selected as the best shown at the festival that year. The palm was selected as an emblem for the award as there is a palm featured on the coat of arms of the Commune of Cannes.

65 Actress Long : NIA

Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

66 Philharmonic sect. : STR

An orchestra (orch.) has a string (str.) section.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Urges to attack, with “on” : SICS …
5 Actor Hawke : ETHAN
10 Chew (on) : GNAW
14 Help out during exercises, as in a gym : SPOT
15 LP player : PHONO
16 One of a model’s repertoire : POSE
17 *Youthful blush, say : ROSY CHEEKS
19 Common country suffix : -STAN
20 Palindromic magazine : ELLE
21 __ Alamos, NM : LOS
23 Oil field? : ART
24 Look up to : ESTEEM
26 *Idler at the shore : BEACH BUM
28 Double-crosser : RAT
29 Lavish bash : FETE
31 Spanish rice dish : PAELLA
32 Not commissioned, after “on” : … SPEC
34 Author Jaffe : RONA
36 Like Lady Liberty’s crown : RAYED
37 Hit from behind … and what the answers to starred clues are? : REAR-ENDED
40 Farrier : SHOER
43 Quite a distance : AFAR
44 Cocksure : SMUG
48 Coming from the heart? : AORTAL
50 “Your guess __ good … ” : IS AS
52 Solver’s cry : AHA!
53 *Parlor piece : LOVE SEAT
55 Docking places : WHARFS
57 Cold War mil. program : SDI
58 Gate announcement, briefly : ETD
59 Modern mining target : DATA
60 Cantina cooker : OLLA
62 *Frank holders : HOT DOG BUNS
67 Causing yawns, often : DULL
68 Archer’s weapon : ARROW
69 Mine entrance : ADIT
70 Central Iowa city : AMES
71 Watch partner : LEARN
72 Peter or Paul (but not Mary) : TSAR

Down

1 Cold War state: Abbr. : SSR
2 Wall St. news : IPO
3 “Les Misérables” girl : COSETTE
4 Bob or weave : STYLE
5 Collectibles like ticket stubs and matchbooks : EPHEMERA
6 Not just any : THE
7 Gardening tool : HOE
8 Bracelet site for one on house arrest : ANKLE
9 “Outta luck!” : NO SOAP!
10 Docs who don’t specialize : GPS
11 Especially : NOTABLY
12 Usually : AS A RULE
13 Lost it : WENT MAD
18 Musical pitch indicator : CLEF
22 Close call : SCARE
24 Trauma ctrs. : ERS
25 Maple extract : SAP
26 Perk from work : BENEFIT
27 Two of them are better than one : HEADS
30 When tripled, a 1970 WWII film : TORA
33 Minotaur’s island : CRETE
35 Santa __: dry winds : ANAS
38 Clear the board : ERASE
39 Deplete, as a bank account : DRAW DOWN
40 Grill-cleaning solution : SAL SODA
41 Gangster : HOODLUM
42 One of the Wright brothers : ORVILLE
45 Plunders : MARAUDS
46 Old TV dial letters : UHF
47 Really good time : GAS
49 Deadly : LETHAL
51 Heavy carpet : SHAG
54 Put on a pedestal : ADORE
56 Facing the pitcher : AT BAT
61 “Happy Days” diner : AL’S
63 __-la-la : TRA
64 Palme __: Cannes award : D’OR
65 Actress Long : NIA
66 Philharmonic sect. : STR