LA Times Crossword 14 Dec 18, Friday

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Constructed by: Ed Sessa
Edited by: Rich Norris

Reveal Answer: Phun with Fonics

Themed answers are common phrases in which a “PH” has been swapped for an “F”, and vice versa:

  • 36A. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers : PHUN WITH FONICS (from “Fun with Phonics”)
  • 19A. Paramount paramour? : ALPHA ROMEO (from “Alfa Romeo”)
  • 24A. Greek goddess carrying a pick? : AFRODITE (from “Aphrodite”)
  • 51A. Online scammer’s tool? : PHISHNET (from “fishnet”)
  • 56A. Dispensers of horse pills? : FARMACISTS (from “pharmacists”)

Bill’s time: 7m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. O on a stand, say : ISSUE

The full name of the publication usually called “O”, is “O: The Oprah Magazine”. Since the magazine’s founding in 2000, Oprah has appeared alone on the cover of each issue, with two exceptions. On the April 2009 cover Oprah was shown with First Lady Michelle Obama, and on the December 2009 cover Oprah shared the limelight with Ellen DeGeneres.

6. “Pokémon: The Series” genre : ANIME

“Pokémon” is the second-biggest video game franchise in the world, second only to the “Mario” franchise. “Pokémon” is a contraction of “Pocket Monsters”.

15. “The Nightmare Room” series author : STINE

Author R. L. Stine is sometimes referred to as the Stephen King of children’s literature as he writes horror stories for young people.

“The Nightmare Room” is a series of horror books by R. L. Stine that is targeted at children. The books were adapted in a television series that aired on Kids’ WB in 2001-2002.

16. Misses without exception : WOMEN

The honorific “miss” that was used for a single woman is a shortened form of “mistress”.

17. Dirty work? : PORN

The word “pornography” comes from the Greek “pornographos” meaning “writing of prostitutes”.

18. Scuba diver’s destination : WRECK

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

19. Paramount paramour? : ALPHA ROMEO (from “Alfa Romeo”)

A paramour is a lover, particularly one in an adulterous relationship. As one might expect, “paramour” comes from French in which language the adverbial phrase “par amour” means “passionately”. Given the current usage of the term, it’s perhaps a little paradoxical that the word first came into English in the 1300s as a term that Christian women used for Christ, and that Christian men used for the Virgin Mary.

The “Alfa” in Alfa Romeo is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

21. Sandwich title? : EARL

An eponym is a name for something derived from the name of a person, as in the food item we call a “sandwich”, named for the Earl of Sandwich.

24. Greek goddess carrying a pick? : AFRODITE (from “Aphrodite”)

The reference is to the type of comb called a “pick” that can be used with an afro hairstyle.

As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male. The Roman equivalent of Aphrodite was Venus, and the equivalent of Eros was Cupid.

29. Jelly bean-munching president : REAGAN

President Ronald Reagan started eating jelly beans in 1966 when he was Governor of California. The candy was an important part of the governor’s successful plan to give up pipe-smoking. When Reagan was elected president, three and a half tons of red, white and blue jelly beans were sent to Washington for the inaugural events of 1981.

32. Wolverine relative : WEASEL

Weasels are small mammals with long, thin bodies. That body shape is an advantage when weasels chase their prey into narrow burrows.

The wolverine is a mammal related to weasels and stoats that looks more like a small bear. Adult wolverines are about the size of a medium dog, but tend to be quite ferocious and can take down a prey that is several times its size.

36. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers : PHUN WITH FONICS (from “Fun with Phonics”)

Apparently the young folk like say things like “physics is phun” and “Phoebe is phunny”.

42. European wine area : 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.

44. iHeartRADIO fare : OLDIES

iHeartRADIO is an Internet radio broadcaster that is owned by Clear Channel. The iHeart.com website provides access to over 800 radio stations that can all be played on a computer or mobile device.

51. Online scammer’s tool? : PHISHNET (from “fishnet”)

Phishing is the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PIN numbers etc.”

53. Jones of film, familiarly : INDY

George Lucas created a lead character named “Indiana Smith” for what was to be his “Indiana Jones” series of films. Lucas asked Steven Spielberg to direct the first film, and Spielberg wasn’t too fond of the name “Smith”. Lucas then suggested “Jones” as an alternative, and Indiana Jones was born.

54. Motley : PIED

Something described as pied is patchy or blotchy in color, piebald. The term comes from the Middle English “pie”, an old name for the magpie, and is a reference to the bird’s black and white plumage.

Something described as motley is mottled, is marked with different-colored spots. The term probably comes from the Old English word “mot” meaning “speck”. We can use the term “motley” figuratively to mean “diverse, heterogeneous”.

55. Real estate unit : ACRE

The words “realty” and “real estate” actually date back to the late 1600s. Back then, the terms meant “real possessions, things owned that are tangible and real”.

61. Boffo Moffo performances : ARIAS

“Boffo” is show biz slang for “very successful”, and is a term that dates back to the early sixties.

Anna Moffo was an American opera singer who debuted on stage in the mid-fifties. Moffo was Pennsylvania-born to Italian parents, and went to study in Italy after attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Moffo was especially popular in both America and Italy for her whole career.

63. Cap’n’s mate : BO’S’N

A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. He or she is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel, and instead is in charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. “Boatswain” is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bo’s’n” is also very popular.

64. Stroke in a parlor : MASSE

In billiards, a massé shot is one in which the cue ball makes an extreme curve due to the player imparting heavy spin on the ball with his or her cue held relatively vertically.

65. Boxing family : BAERS

Max Baer was an American Heavyweight Champion of the World in the thirties. Baer held the title for 364 days, and then went into the ring after hardly any training at all against the well-prepared James J. Braddock. Braddock was a huge underdog, and yet emerged victorious after 15 rounds (Braddock is the subject of the 2005 movie “Cinderella Man”). By the way, Baer’s son is Max Baer, Jr., the actor who played Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

Down

2. Attack from above : STRAFE

We’ve been using “strafe” to mean an attack on a ground position from low-flying aircraft since WWII. Prior to that, the word was used by British soldiers to mean any form of attack. It was picked up from the German word for “punish” as it was used in “Gott strafe England” meaning, “May God punish England”.

3. __ Nevada: brewery : SIERRA

The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is powered almost exclusively by solar energy, and even has a charging station for electric vehicles at its brewery. The company also uses the cooking oil from its restaurant as biodiesel for its delivery trucks. Discarded yeast is used to make ethanol fuel, and spent grain is used as food for livestock. For its efforts to preserve the environment, Sierra Nevada won the EPA’s “Green Business of the Year” award for 2010.

7. “A Walk in the Woods” actor : NOLTE

The actor Nick Nolte got his big break playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, released in 1976. Prior to that, he had worked as a model. Nolte appeared in a magazine advertisement for Clairol in 1972 alongside fellow model and future actor Sigourney Weaver.

“A Walk in the Woods” is a 2015 film adaptation of a 1998 memoir by author Bill Bryson. The film stars Robert Redford as Bryson and Nick Nolte as a friend Bryson invites to hike the Appalachian Trail with him.

11. Early Apple audio player : IPOD MINI

Apple started marketing the very successful iPod Mini audio player in 2004. The iPod Mini was discontinued just over a year later, despite great sales, in order to make room for the iPod Nano.

13. Mineral source : ORE

Physically speaking, a mineral differs from a rock in that the former has one chemical composition and the later is an aggregate of several minerals. The study of minerals is known as mineralogy.

14. __-Caps: candy : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. Sno-caps have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

20. Coastal inlet : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, with both formed as sea level rises. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

22. Tendon : SINEW

“Sinew” is another name for “tendon”. Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle. We also use the term “sinew” to mean muscular power.

26. Early antibiotic : SULFA

“Sulfa drug” is a common term used for sulphonamides. Many sulfa drugs have antibacterial properties, and were the first antimicrobial drugs developed. The first sulphonamide introduced to treat bacterial infections was named Prontosil, and was developed by Bayer AG in Germany.

27. Fictional flesh-eaters : ORCS

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.

28. TV’s “Science Guy” : NYE

That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. Bill’s show ran on PBS for four years, from 1993-97.

33. Buenos __ : AIRES

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, and is located on the estuary of the Ria de la Plata. As it is a port city, the people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (“people of the port”).

34. Crock-Pot dish : STEW

We often use the term “crockpot” as an alternative for “slow cooker”. The generic term comes from the trademark “Crock-Pot”, which is now owned by Sunbeam products.

36. Nutter Butter Cereal maker : POST

C. W. Post decided to get into the cereal business after visiting the Battle Creek Sanitarium operated by John Harvey Kellogg. Post was interested in the chemistry of digestion and was inspired by the dietary products offered by Kellogg at his sanitarium. The first breakfast cereal Post introduced was Grape-Nuts, way back in 1897.

37. Starts without a key : HOT-WIRES

To hot-wire a vehicle is to start it by bypassing the keyed ignition.

38. True-blue teamster, say : UNION MAN

Originally, a teamster was a person who drove a team of animals that pulled a wagon. Over time, “teamster” became a synonym for “truck driver”. The term became more prevalent as the trade union called the International Brotherhood of Teamsters grew in importance during the Depression.

39. Dumpty-shaped : OVOID

Humpty Dumpty is a character in a nursery rhyme, actually an egg although that isn’t specifically called out in the original rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

40. English R&B singer Ella __ : MAI

Ella Mai is an R&B singer from England who went to high school in New York City.

43. Overhead stadium equipment : SKYCAM

“Skycam” is a brand name that now tends to be used generically. “Skycam” refers to that TV camera mounted on cables over say a football field that allows for some very cool shots as the camera seems to swoop down to the play to follow the action, almost like it’s part of a video game.

45. Greg’s sitcom wife : DHARMA

“Dharma & Greg” is a sitcom that aired from 1997 to 2002 on ABC. The title characters are a couple who married on their first date, despite being exact opposites in personality and upbringing.

48. Angioplasty implants : STENTS

In the world of surgical medicine, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, in order to reduce the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

Angioplasty is a mechanical widening of a narrowed artery. In the surgical procedure, a balloon catheter is inflated at the point of the obstruction to open up the artery. A stent may then be inserted to make sure the vessel remains open.

50. Nutritional no. : RDA

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.

51. Greek breads : PITAS

Pita is a lovely bread from Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Pita is usually round, and has a “pocket” in the center. The pocket is created by steam that puffs up the dough during cooking leaving a void when the bread cools.

52. “Steppenwolf” author : HESSE

Hermann Hesse was not only a novelist, but also a poet and a painter. His best known work is probably his 1927 novel “Steppenwolf”.

“Steppenwolf” is a 1927 novel by German-Swiss author Hermann House. The title translates from German as “Steppe Wolf”, referring to a wolf found primarily in the steppes of Europe and Asia.

54. Greek letters : PSIS

Psi is the 23rd and penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

57. It may be about nothing : ADO

“Much Ado About Nothing” is a play by William Shakespeare, and a favorite of mine. It is a comedic tale of two pairs of lovers with lots of mistaken identities and double meanings. I once saw it performed in the fabulous Globe Theatre in London … by an all-female cast. Such a performance was somewhat ironic, given that in Shakespeare’s day the practice was to use an all-male cast.

58. 401(k) relative, briefly : IRA

A 401(k) account is similar to an IRA in that contributions can be made from a paycheck prior to the deduction of income taxes. A 401(k) differs from an IRA in that it is an employer-sponsored plan, with payments taken by the employer directly from an employee’s paycheck. Additionally, contributions can be fully or partially matched by an employer.

59. Food collector, at times : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. O on a stand, say : ISSUE
6. “Pokémon: The Series” genre : ANIME
11. Ceremonial exchange : I DOS
15. “The Nightmare Room” series author : STINE
16. Misses without exception : WOMEN
17. Dirty work? : PORN
18. Scuba diver’s destination : WRECK
19. Paramount paramour? : ALPHA ROMEO (from “Alfa Romeo”)
21. Sandwich title? : EARL
22. Watches kids : SITS
23. Sit tight : BIDE
24. Greek goddess carrying a pick? : AFRODITE (from “Aphrodite”)
26. Applies with force, as brakes : SLAMS ON
29. Jelly bean-munching president : REAGAN
30. Color gradation : HUE
31. Modest acknowledgment : I TRY
32. Wolverine relative : WEASEL
35. In the cooler : ON ICE
36. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers : PHUN WITH FONICS (from “Fun with Phonics”)
40. Some satellites : MOONS
41. Back up anew : RESAVE
42. European wine area : ASTI
43. Mend, perhaps : SEW
44. iHeartRADIO fare : OLDIES
49. Inventor’s cry of success : IT WORKS!
51. Online scammer’s tool? : PHISHNET (from “fishnet”)
53. Jones of film, familiarly : INDY
54. Motley : PIED
55. Real estate unit : ACRE
56. Dispensers of horse pills? : FARMACISTS (from “pharmacists”)
59. Bop on the bean : BRAIN
60. Bulb in a balloon? : IDEA
61. Boffo Moffo performances : ARIAS
62. “No more for me” : I’M SET
63. Cap’n’s mate : BO’S’N
64. Stroke in a parlor : MASSE
65. Boxing family : BAERS

Down

1. Start of an oath : I SWEAR
2. Attack from above : STRAFE
3. __ Nevada: brewery : SIERRA
4. Clear, as a drain : UNCLOG
5. Reaction to a mouse : EEK!
6. Anticipate : AWAIT
7. “A Walk in the Woods” actor : NOLTE
8. Rowdy rug rats : IMPS
9. “I couldn’t care less” : MEH
10. Facilitate : ENABLE
11. Early Apple audio player : IPOD MINI
12. Made at home : DOMESTIC
13. Mineral source : ORE
14. __-Caps: candy : SNO
20. Coastal inlet : RIA
22. Tendon : SINEW
25. Occurs to, with “on” : DAWNS
26. Early antibiotic : SULFA
27. Fictional flesh-eaters : ORCS
28. TV’s “Science Guy” : NYE
30. Sly chuckles : HEHS
33. Buenos __ : AIRES
34. Crock-Pot dish : STEW
35. First-year law students : ONE LS
36. Nutter Butter Cereal maker : POST
37. Starts without a key : HOT-WIRES
38. True-blue teamster, say : UNION MAN
39. Dumpty-shaped : OVOID
40. English R&B singer Ella __ : MAI
43. Overhead stadium equipment : SKYCAM
45. Greg’s sitcom wife : DHARMA
46. To be safe : IN CASE
47. More spooky : EERIER
48. Angioplasty implants : STENTS
50. Nutritional no. : RDA
51. Greek breads : PITAS
52. “Steppenwolf” author : HESSE
54. Greek letters : PSIS
56. Little lie : FIB
57. It may be about nothing : ADO
58. 401(k) relative, briefly : IRA
59. Food collector, at times : BIB

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