LA Times Crossword Answers 4 Jun 2018, Monday

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Constructed by: Roland Huget
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Mixmaster

Each of today’s themed answers includes a string of circled letters. Those letters are MASTER MIXED up in order:

  • 60A. Sunbeam brand … and a literal hint to the circled letters : MIXMASTER
  • 17A. Wind current that affects weather patterns : JET STREAM
  • 27A. Pet rodent’s exercise gadget : HAMSTER WHEEL
  • 45A. Good survival skills : STREET SMARTS

Bill’s time: 4m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Wedge or pump : SHOE

A pump is a woman’s shoe that doesn’t have a strap. Such shoes are probably called “pumps” because of the sound they make while walking in them.

9. Apple’s Touch and Nano : IPODS

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant and gaming console with a WiFi capability. Essentially, I think it’s a stripped-down version of an iPhone.

The iPod Nano was the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There were seven versions of the Nano, until it was discontinued in 2017.

14. Help with a robbery, say : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

15. Phone in a purse : CELL

What we mostly call a “cell phone” here in North America is more usually referred to as a “mobile phone” in Britain and Ireland. My favorite term for the device is used in Germany, where it is called a “Handy”.

17. Wind current that affects weather patterns : JET STREAM

Jet streams are narrow air currents high in the atmosphere that move very quickly around the earth. The major jet streams surrounding our planet move in a westerly direction.

19. Barton of the Red Cross : CLARA

Clara Barton was deeply disturbed by her experiences caring for the wounded during the Civil War. She dedicated herself after the war towards American recognition of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The American Red Cross was inevitably formed, in 1881, and Barton was installed as its first president.

21. First rainbow color : RED

“Roy G. Biv” can be used as a mnemonic for the colors in a rainbow:

  • Red
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Indigo
  • Violet

22. First Peace Corps director Sargent __ : SHRIVER

Sargent Shriver was the running mate of George McGovern, the Democratic nominee for US President in the 1972 race. Shriver was a member of the Kennedy clan, as he was married to Eunice Kennedy, sister to President John F. Kennedy. Shriver had many roles in public life, including founder of the Peace Corps.

24. Lipton rival : NESTEA

Nestea is a brand of iced tea made by Nestlé. The name is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “tea”.

Sir Thomas Lipton was a grocer in Glasgow, Scotland. He founded a tea packing company in North America in 1893, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was very successful as his blends of tea became popular in the US. Despite the Lipton roots in the UK, Lipton black tea isn’t available there, so I’ve always thought of it as an American brand.

26. Apple mobile platform : IOS

iOS is what Apple now call their mobile operating system. Previously, it was known as iPhone OS.

27. Pet rodent’s exercise gadget : HAMSTER WHEEL

The rodents known as hamsters are commonly kept as house pets. Male hamsters are called bucks, females are called does, and baby hamsters are known as pups.

38. Mai __: cocktail : TAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

41. Turkey meat preference : DARK

There’s an urban myth out there that Benjamin Franklin was not happy with the choice of the bald eagle as the national bird for the US, and opined that the turkey should fill that role. Letters written by Franklin show that indeed, he was not happy with the choice of the bald eagle, deeming it to be “a bird of bad moral character” that “does not get [its] living honestly”. Franklin went on to describe the image of the bald eagle on the nation’s Great Seal as “more like a turkey”. And that, is how urban myths get started …

48. Brit’s bathroom : LOO

It has been suggested that the British term “loo” comes from “Waterloo” (water closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo”, in which the pot was called the loo!

49. Filmdom awards : OSCARS

Legend has it that actor Emilio Fernández was the model for the Oscar statuette. Cedric Gibbons, art director at MGM, created the design and supposedly convinced a reluctant Fernández to pose nude for “Oscar”.

53. Longtime TV fitness guru Jack : LALANNE

Jack LaLanne was a pioneer in the field of fitness and nutrition and was sometimes called “the godfather of fitness”. LaLanne was also a bodybuilder and actually beat 21-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in competition, when LaLanne was 54-years-old …

57. Job ad letters : EOE

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)

58. “The Matrix” hero : NEO

Neo is the character played by Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix” series of films.

The 1999 movie sensation “The Matrix” was meant to be set in a nondescript urban environment. It was actually shot in Australia, as one of the co-producers of the film was the Australian company, Village Roadshow Pictures. You can pick up all sorts of clues about the location when watching the film, including a view of Sydney Harbour Bridge in a background shot. Also, traffic drives along on the left and there are signs for the “lift” instead of an “elevator”.

59. Sumatran ape : ORANG

Orangutans (also “orangs”) are arboreal creatures, in fact the largest arboreal animals known to man. They are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, and live in the rainforests. Like most species in rainforests these days, orangutans are endangered, with only two species surviving. The word “orangutan” is Malay, meaning “man of the forest”.

Sumatra is a very large island in western Indonesia. It is the sixth largest island in the world and home to 22% of the country’s population.

60. Sunbeam brand … and a literal hint to the circled letters : MIXMASTER

Sunbeam is a supplier of electric home appliances that was founded in 1897 as the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company manufacturing horse trimming and sheep shearing machinery. The company diversified, eventually producing in 1921 the Princess Electric Iron, its first household product. Sunbeam’s flagship product for many years was the Mixmaster mechanical mixer that was introduced in 1930.

63. Miata automaker : MAZDA

The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan. The name “Miata” comes from an Old High German word meaning “reward”.

64. Jai __ : ALAI

Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, in fact golf balls usually get going at a greater clip. Although, as a blog reader once pointed out to me, you don’t have to catch a golf ball …

65. Latin being : ESSE

“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am”, and “erat” means “he, she was”.

67. Clue or Risk : GAME

Clue is board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

Risk is a fabulous board game, and one introduced in France in 1957. Risk was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. Lamorisse called his new game “La Conquête du Monde”, which translates into English as “The Conquest of the World”. A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house …

Down

1. Bayou cuisine : CAJUN

Cajun cuisine is named for the French-speaking Acadian people who were deported from Acadia in Canada to Louisiana in the 18th century.

A bayou is a marshy inlet or outlet of a lake or river, usually with stagnant or slow-moving water. The exact origins of the term “bayou” is uncertain, but it is thought perhaps to come from the Choctaw (a Native American people from the southeast) word “bayuk”, meaning “small stream”.

4. UFO pilots, presumably : ETS

One might speculate that an unidentified flying object (UFO) is flown by an extraterrestrial (ET).

11. Norwegian royal name : OLAV

Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated, as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or “Olaf the Fat”) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of “Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae”, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

18. Halloween trick alternative : TREAT

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows’ Eve, better known by the Scottish term “Halloween”.

29. Time for semiannual clock changes: Abbr. : TWO AM

Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states in the US that do not observe daylight saving time (DST), having opted out when the Uniform Time Act was passed by the US Congress in 1966. Some Native American nations in Arizona observe DST, and some don’t. As a result, times can change back and forth a few times while driving across Arizona during the summer.

30. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA

The Enola Gay was the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima in August 1945. Enola Gay was the name of the mother of pilot Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.

31. Vowels after zetas : ETAS

Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the letter name “zed”, which became “zee”, the term that we use here in the US.

32. British nobleman : EARL

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

34. Part of MFA : ARTS

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

35. Borscht basic : BEET

Borscht is a beetroot soup that originated in Ukraine. Borscht can be served both hot and cold.

41. Brake rotor : DISC

The drum brake was invented in 1902 by Louis Renault (founder of Renault, the automobile company). In a drum brake, there is a set of brake shoes that usually presses on the inner surface of the drum to slow down rotation. Nowadays, the disc brake system is more popular, a design which uses brake pads instead of brake shoes.

43. Nightlife sign’s light source : NEON GAS

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

44. On the briny : AT SEA

The briny is the sea, with “brine” meaning “salty water”. The term “briny” was originally used for “tears”.

46. African antelopes : ELANDS

An eland is a large African antelope, in fact the largest on the continent. Both male and female elands have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

50. Unable to sit still : ANTSY

The word “antsy” embodies the concept of “having ants in one’s pants”, meaning being nervous and fidgety. However, “antsy” has been used in English since the 1830s, whereas “ants in the pants” originated a century later.

51. Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee : REESE

Pee Wee Reese was a shortstop who played his professional career with the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. Reese is remembered not only for his skill on the field, but for his very visible support for teammate Jackie Robinson, who famously struggled to be accepted as the first African American player in the majors. As he was an outstanding marbles player as a child, Reese was given the nickname “pee wee” after the name for a small marble.

53. Bausch’s partner : LOMB

Bausch + Lomb is an American company headquartered in Rochester, New York. It is a major supplier of contact lenses and associated eye-care products. The company was founded in 1853 by two German immigrants, John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb. Bausch was an optician, and Lomb was the “money man”. The company was originally set up to manufacture monocles.

54. Asia’s vastly diminished __ Sea : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

56. Periodical with a URL : E-MAG

Online magazines are variously referred to as webzines, e-zines, cyberzines, hyperzines or maybe e-magazines.

Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

61. Dockworkers’ org. : ILA

International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. __-as-you-are party : COME
5. Wedge or pump : SHOE
9. Apple’s Touch and Nano : IPODS
14. Help with a robbery, say : ABET
15. Phone in a purse : CELL
16. “I kid you not” : NO LIE
17. Wind current that affects weather patterns : JET STREAM
19. Barton of the Red Cross : CLARA
20. Purpose : USE
21. First rainbow color : RED
22. First Peace Corps director Sargent __ : SHRIVER
24. Lipton rival : NESTEA
26. Apple mobile platform : IOS
27. Pet rodent’s exercise gadget : HAMSTER WHEEL
34. Concerning : ABOUT
37. Held the deed to : OWNED
38. Mai __: cocktail : TAI
39. Guns, as an engine : REVS
40. Nest of chicks : BROOD
41. Turkey meat preference : DARK
42. Top worn with jeans : TEE
43. Birth-related : NATAL
44. Numbered supermarket section : AISLE
45. Good survival skills : STREET SMARTS
48. Brit’s bathroom : LOO
49. Filmdom awards : OSCARS
53. Longtime TV fitness guru Jack : LALANNE
57. Job ad letters : EOE
58. “The Matrix” hero : NEO
59. Sumatran ape : ORANG
60. Sunbeam brand … and a literal hint to the circled letters : MIXMASTER
63. Miata automaker : MAZDA
64. Jai __ : ALAI
65. Latin being : ESSE
66. Sanctify : BLESS
67. Clue or Risk : GAME
68. Peepers : EYES

Down

1. Bayou cuisine : CAJUN
2. More than plump : OBESE
3. Doles (out) : METES
4. UFO pilots, presumably : ETS
5. Riot, in the funny way : SCREAM
6. Take to heart : HEED
7. Rio greeting : OLA
8. Shade trees : ELMS
9. Narrow, exclusive group : IN-CROWD
10. Refined manner : POLISH
11. Norwegian royal name : OLAV
12. Desperate, as straits : DIRE
13. Char on a grill : SEAR
18. Halloween trick alternative : TREAT
23. Put on the payroll : HIRED
25. In this way : THUS
28. Alphabetizes, say : SORTS
29. Time for semiannual clock changes: Abbr. : TWO AM
30. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA
31. Vowels after zetas : ETAS
32. British nobleman : EARL
33. Facebook thumbs-up : LIKE
34. Part of MFA : ARTS
35. Borscht basic : BEET
36. Partner of “done with” : OVER
40. Relay stick : BATON
41. Brake rotor : DISC
43. Nightlife sign’s light source : NEON GAS
44. On the briny : AT SEA
46. African antelopes : ELANDS
47. Dorm pal : ROOMIE
50. Unable to sit still : ANTSY
51. Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee : REESE
52. Tender spots : SORES
53. Bausch’s partner : LOMB
54. Asia’s vastly diminished __ Sea : ARAL
55. Lie idly (around) : LAZE
56. Periodical with a URL : E-MAG
57. Reason to study : EXAM
61. Dockworkers’ org. : ILA
62. Match, as a bet : SEE

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