LA Times Crossword Answers 24 Apr 2018, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Bruce Haight
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Oversharing

Themed answers are phrases that include the hidden word OVER. Further, that “OVER” is SHARED between two words in each themed answers:

  • 59A. Social sin … and what 17-, 23-, 38- and 48-Across are guilty of? : OVERSHARING
  • 17A. Video game preview : DEMO VERSION
  • 23A. Exemplary : ABOVE REPROACH
  • 38A. Romantic jewelry item : LOVE RING
  • 48A. Latin phrase about certain effects of alcohol : IN VINO VERITAS

Bill’s time: 6m 22s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. __ jacket: soldier’s protection : FLAK

“Flak” was originally an acronym standing for the German term for an aircraft defense cannon (FLiegerAbwehrKanone). “Flak” then became used in English as a general term for antiaircraft fire, and ultimately a term for verbal criticism as in “to take flak”.

5. Reeded woodwinds : OBOES

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

13. NASA prefix : AERO-

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

16. Elisabeth who played Finlay on “CSI” : SHUE

Elisabeth Shue has always been a favorite actress of mine. She has been in several popular films including “The Karate Kid”, “Cocktail”, two of the “Back to the Future” movies, “Leaving Las Vegas”, and my personal favorite “Adventures in Babysitting”. More recently, Shue had a recurring role on the TV crime drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”.

21. College sr.’s test : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

22. Elevator name : OTIS

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

27. Commercial cow : ELSIE

Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor fo Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

31. Many Louvre paintings : OILS

The Musée du Louvre has the distinction of being the most visited art museum in the whole world. The collection is housed in the magnificent Louvre Palace that used to be the seat of power in France, until 1682 when Louis XIV moved to Versailles.

32. Columnist Maureen : DOWD

Maureen Dowd is a celebrated columnist for “The New York Times” as well as a best-selling author. Dowd won a Pulitzer for her columns about the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

33. End of most work wks. : FRI

The days of the week are named for celestial bodies and gods

  • Sunday — Sun’s Day
  • Monday — Moon’s Day
  • Tuesday — Tiu’s day
  • Wednesday — Woden’s day
  • Thursday — Thor’s day
  • Friday — Freya’s day
  • Saturday — Saturn’s day

34. Arresting image? : MUG SHOT

The verb “to mug” means to make an exaggerated facial expression. The term comes from mugs used to drink beer (called Toby mugs) that are the made in the shape of heads with grotesque expressions. “Mug” can also be a noun meaning “face”.

37. Boxing legend : ALI

The boxer Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he converted to Islam in 1964. Who can forget Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame for the 1996 games in Atlanta?

40. “A Wrinkle in Time” director DuVernay : AVA

Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

“A Wrinkle in Time” is a book by Madeleine L’Engle. Published in 1962, it is described as a science fantasy. Included in the book’s cast of characters are Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, all of whom turn out to be supernatural beings who transport the antagonists through the universe. “A Wrinkle in Time” was adapted into a 2018 movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling as the three “Mrs” characters.

45. Soccer score : GOAL

Soccer (also known as “association football”) is the most popular sport in the world. The term “association football” was introduced in 1863 in England, with the name chosen to distinguish the sport from rugby football. The term “soccer” started to appear about 20 years later in Oxford, as an abbreviation for “association”.

46. Mineo of film : SAL

The actor Sal Mineo’s most famous role was John “Plato” Crawford, the kid who was in awe of the James Dean character in “Rebel Without a Cause”. Sadly, Mineo was murdered in 1976 when he was just 37 years old. He was attacked in the alley behind his Los Angeles apartment and stabbed through the heart. When an arrest was made it was discovered that the murderer had no idea that his victim was a celebrity, and that his plan was just to rob anyone who came along.

47. Muse of memory : MNEME

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

  • Calliope (epic poetry)
  • Clio (history)
  • Erato (lyric poetry)
  • Euterpe (music)
  • Melpomene (tragedy)
  • Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
  • Terpsichore (dance)
  • Thalia (comedy)
  • Urania (astronomy)

Before the adoption of the nine muses of Greek mythology, there were originally three muses, the three Boeotian Muses. These were:

  • Mneme (memory)
  • Melete (meditation)
  • Aoede (song)

48. Latin phrase about certain effects of alcohol : IN VINO VERITAS

The Latin phrase “in vino veritas” translates as “in wine there is truth”. Sometimes the phrase is extended to “in vino veritas, in aqua sanitas”, meaning “in wine there is truth, in water there is health”.

52. Johns, to Elton : LOOS

Elton John’s real name is Reginald Dwight. Sir Elton was knighted in 1998, not for his music per se, but for his charitable work. He founded his own Elton John AIDS Foundation back in 1992.

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!

58. Riga resident : LETT

Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). People from Latvia are called Letts.

Riga is the capital city of Latvia. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, declared as such because of the city’s magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture.

62. Significant others, in modern slang : BAES

“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”.

63. __ Creed : NICENE

What is known today in the Christian tradition as the Nicene Creed, was originally adopted by the first ecumenical council when it met in 325 AD. The meeting took place in the city of Nicaea, which gave its name to this particular profession of faith. Nicaea is the Greek name of the city that is now called Iznik, and it lies in the northwest of Turkey.

64. Windy City daily, familiarly : TRIB

“The Chicago Tribune” was first published in 1847. The most famous edition of “The Trib” was probably in 1948 when the headline was “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”, on the occasion of that year’s presidential election. When it turned out Truman had actually won, the victor picked up the paper with the erroneous headline and posed for photographs with it … a famous, famous photo, that must have stuck in the craw of the editor at the time.

It seems that the derivation of Chicago’s nickname as the “Windy City” isn’t as obvious as I would have thought. There are two viable theories. First that the weather can be breezy, with wind blowing in off Lake Michigan. The effect of the wind is exaggerated by the grid-layout adopted by city planners after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The second theory is that “windy” means “being full of bluster”. Sportswriters from the rival city of Cincinnati were fond of calling Chicago supporters “windy” in the 1860s and 1870s, meaning that they were full of hot air in their claims that the Chicago White Stockings were superior to the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

66. “Spider-Man” actor Willem : DAFOE

Willem Dafoe is an American actor, from Wisconsin. He was born just plain “William” Dafoe, but didn’t like being called “Billy”. So, he changed his name to “Willem”, which was the pronunciation of his name by his Scottish babysitter.

The Green Goblin is a supervillain from Marvel Comics who generally is pitted against Spider-Man. The Green Goblin is the antagonist in the 2002 movie “Spider-Man”, and is played by Willem Dafoe.

67. Racy Snapchat message : SEXT

Sexting (a portmanteau of “sex” and “texting”) is the sending of explicit dialog and images between cell phones. The term “sexting” was coined by the UK’s “Sunday Telegraph Magazine” in a 2005 article.

Snapchat is a messaging system that allows users to send photos and video clips to a limited list of recipients. The photos and clips, called “snaps”, can be viewed for only a few seconds before they are deleted from the recipient’s device, and from the Snapchat servers.

Down

2. Oniony soup ingredient : LEEK

The leek is a vegetable closely related to the onion and the garlic. It is also a national emblem of Wales (along with the daffodil), although I don’t think we know for sure how this came to be. One story is that the Welsh were ordered to wear leeks in their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. Apparently, the battle took place in a field of leeks.

4. Powdered drink mix brand : KOOL-AID

The drink we know today as Kool-Aid was invented by Edward Perkins and his wife, in Perkins’ mother’s kitchen in southwest Nebraska. Kool-Aid is now the Official Soft Drink of the state.

7. Surgery ctrs. : ORS

Surgery (surg.) is usually performed in an operating room (OR).

8. Political refugee : EMIGRE

An “émigré” is an emigrant. The term is French in origin, and particularly applies to someone who is a political refugee from his or her native land.

11. Written in mystical, ancient letters : RUNIC

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

12. “Holy moly!” : YEESH!

The mild expletive “Holy moly!” is a euphemism for “Holy Moses!”

25. Of the Great Lakes, only Ontario is smaller than it : ERIE

Here is a list of the Great Lakes by area (in square miles)

  1. Lake Superior (31,700)
  2. Lake Huron (23,000)
  3. Lake Michigan (22,300)
  4. Lake Erie (9,910)
  5. Lake Ontario (7,340)

The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on the planet. Lake Superior is the second largest lake in the world (after the Caspian Sea). Lake Michigan is the largest lake in the world that lies entirely within one country.

26. Diana of “Game of Thrones” : RIGG

Diana Rigg is a marvelous actress from England who is best known for playing Emma Peel on the hit sixties show “The Avengers”. Rigg also won an Emmy for her performance in a 1997 television adaptation of “Rebecca”. In my humble opinion, she was also the best-ever Bond Girl (opposite George Lazenby, the worst-ever Bond Guy), in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” …

27. Mild cheese : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

28. Kinks title woman with “a dark brown voice” : LOLA

“Lola” is a fabulous song that was written by Ray Davies and released by the Kinks back in 1970. Inspired by a real life incident, the lyrics tell of young man who met a young “lady” in a club, danced with her, and then discovered “she” was actually a transvestite. The storyline isn’t very traditional, but the music is superb.

34. Pop’s __ Vanilli : MILLI

Milli Vanilli famously won a Grammy and had it revoked when it was discovered that they didn’t even provide the lead vocals for the award-winning recording, and just lip-synced when performing on stage.

39. Strong sound from the savanna : ROAR

A savanna (also “savannah”) is a grassland. If there are any trees in a savanna, by definition they are small and widely spaced so that light can get to the grasses allowing them to grow unhindered.

46. New York lake named for a Five Nations tribe : SENECA

When I first moved to the US, I settled in Upstate New York and was lucky enough to live near the beautiful Finger Lakes. The largest of the eleven lakes is Seneca Lake, which is one of the deepest bodies of water in the United States.

The Iroquois Confederacy was also known as the Five Nations and was comprised of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations.

47. Yucatán native : MAYA

The Maya civilization held sway in Central America and Mexico from about 350 AD, until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.

Yucatán is one of Mexico’s 31 states and is located in the east of the country, on the northern tip of the Yucatán peninsula.

56. Computer operating system : UNIX

Unix is a computer operating system that was developed at Bell Labs in 1969. The initial name for the project was Uniplexed Information and Computing Service (Unics), and this evolved over time into “Unix”.

57. Pride Month letters : LGBT

The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered to a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.

60. NBA official : REF

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring to” a book, archive etc.

61. __ Balls: Hostess treats : SNO

The Hostess cakes called Sno Balls are usually pink in color, although in its original form each packet of two cakes contained one white and one pink. Around Halloween you can buy Sno Balls in the form of Scary Cakes and Glo Balls that are colored orange and green. and on St. Paddy’s Day there’s a green one available. Yoo hoo!

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. __ jacket: soldier’s protection : FLAK
5. Reeded woodwinds : OBOES
10. Like some humor : WRY
13. NASA prefix : AERO-
14. Grow fond of : WARM TO
16. Elisabeth who played Finlay on “CSI” : SHUE
17. Video game preview : DEMO VERSION
19. Window section : PANE
20. Naturally bright : SKYLIT
21. College sr.’s test : GRE
22. Elevator name : OTIS
23. Exemplary : ABOVE REPROACH
27. Commercial cow : ELSIE
30. Before, in verse : ERE
31. Many Louvre paintings : OILS
32. Columnist Maureen : DOWD
33. End of most work wks. : FRI
34. Arresting image? : MUG SHOT
37. Boxing legend : ALI
38. Romantic jewelry item : LOVE RING
40. “A Wrinkle in Time” director DuVernay : AVA
41. Sewer entrance : MANHOLE
43. Past its prime : OLD
44. “My turn!” : I’M UP!
45. Soccer score : GOAL
46. Mineo of film : SAL
47. Muse of memory : MNEME
48. Latin phrase about certain effects of alcohol : IN VINO VERITAS
52. Johns, to Elton : LOOS
53. Finish in front : WIN
54. Long look : EYEFUL
58. Riga resident : LETT
59. Social sin … and what 17-, 23-, 38- and 48-Across are guilty of? : OVERSHARING
62. Significant others, in modern slang : BAES
63. __ Creed : NICENE
64. Windy City daily, familiarly : TRIB
65. Take a wrong turn, say : ERR
66. “Spider-Man” actor Willem : DAFOE
67. Racy Snapchat message : SEXT

Down

1. Passing fancies : FADS
2. Oniony soup ingredient : LEEK
3. Military force : ARMY
4. Powdered drink mix brand : KOOL-AID
5. Be a debtor of : OWE TO
6. Place for mixed drinks : BAR
7. Surgery ctrs. : ORS
8. Political refugee : EMIGRE
9. Shop : STORE
10. “Such sad news!” : WHAT A SHAME!
11. Written in mystical, ancient letters : RUNIC
12. “Holy moly!” : YEESH!
15. Candy box size : ONE POUND
16. Thread holders : SPOOLS
18. Vague sense : VIBE
24. Liveliness : VERVE
25. Of the Great Lakes, only Ontario is smaller than it : ERIE
26. Diana of “Game of Thrones” : RIGG
27. Mild cheese : EDAM
28. Kinks title woman with “a dark brown voice” : LOLA
29. Campaign ad target : SWING VOTER
33. Naturally evolving : FOLLOW-ON
34. Pop’s __ Vanilli : MILLI
35. Fertility clinic egg : OVUM
36. Sticky strip : TAPE
38. Interlibrary __ : LOAN
39. Strong sound from the savanna : ROAR
42. Raises, as a sail : HOISTS
44. Newspaper extras : INSERTS
46. New York lake named for a Five Nations tribe : SENECA
47. Yucatán native : MAYA
48. “Gee!” : I’LL BE!
49. Musical shortcoming : NO EAR
50. Brightly colored : VIVID
51. Snicker : TE-HEE
55. Send packing : FIRE
56. Computer operating system : UNIX
57. Pride Month letters : LGBT
60. NBA official : REF
61. __ Balls: Hostess treats : SNO

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