LA Times Crossword Answers 21 Mar 2018, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Mark McClain
Edited by: Rich Norris

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Check Please!

Themed answers all start with something that can be CHECKED:

  • 56A. Words to a server … or a hint to the first words of the answers to starred clues : CHECK PLEASE!
  • 17A. *Many a museum piece : OIL PAINTING
  • 36A. *Choice spot at the opera : BOX SEAT
  • 11D. *Family crest : COAT OF ARMS
  • 27D. *Ellington genre : SWING MUSIC

Bill’s time: 6m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Jordan’s capital : AMMAN

Amman is the capital city of Jordan, and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. Amman has been occupied by a number of different civilizations over the centuries, including the Greeks who called it “Philadelphia”, a name retained by the Romans when they occupied the city just after 100 AD.

11. Cleveland hoopster : CAV

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

15. Popcorn brand whose logo resembles a movie marquee : ACT II

Act II is a brand of popcorn that is marketed as having a taste and appearance that is similar to popcorn that we can buy at movie theaters.

16. Corrida cheer : OLE!

Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, or literally “race of bulls”.

19. “MSNBC Live” co-anchor Velshi : ALI

Ali Velshi is a television journalist from Canada who joined MSNBC in 2016, after having worked with CNN and Al Jazeera America.

20. Big Dipper’s constellation : GREAT BEAR

The constellation named Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland, the “plough”.

23. Couple of gags? : GEES

There are a couple of letters G (gees) in the word “gags”.

24. Tied-on protectors : APRONS

In Old French, a “naperon” was “small table-cloth”. The term was absorbed into English as “napron”, describing a cloth used to cover the front of a person at work. Over time, “a napron” was heard as “an apron”, giving us our contemporary noun “apron”.

31. British nobles : EARLS

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.

32. Roger Federer’s org. : ATP

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is an organization that looks out for the interests of male tennis professionals. The equivalent organization for women is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer is married to former tennis pro Mirka Vavrinec. The couple are parents to two sets of twins.

38. Pi follower : RHO

Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R.

40. Powerful Japanese dog : AKITA

The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, the Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.

44. Messed (up) : LOUSED

“To louse up” is a slang verb phrase meaning “to spoil, botch”.

55. Humanities degs. : MAS

The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.

58. “The Book of __”: 2010 Denzel Washington film : ELI

2010’s “The Book of Eli” is one of those “end of the world” movies, with Denzel Washington playing a tough guy traveling across what is left of the United States after some apocryphal event.

59. Exorbitant interest : USURY

“Usury” was originally the name given to the practice of simply lending money at interest, but the term now refers to lending at rates of interest that are excessive.

61. Fond du __, Wisconsin : LAC

“Fond du lac” is French and translates as “bottom of the lake”, an apt name for the city of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin located at the foot of Lake Winnebago. If you like to play the lottery, you might want to stop off in Fond du Lac as there is a stretch of South Main Street called “Miracle Mile”. Back in 1993, someone bought a ticket there and won $100 million. Then in 2006, another store sold a ticket that won $209 million. These things always come in threes, so buy your tickets now …

Down

2. “Studies in the Sierra” writer John : MUIR

John Muir was a famous American naturalist, although he was born in Scotland. Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892. He published “My First Summer in the Sierra” in 1911, which described one of Muir’s favorite places in the country, the Sierra Nevada range in California.

3. Fitbit unit : MILE

Fitbits are wearable activity trackers that are mainly used to track the number of steps walked. Fitbit Inc. was founded in 2007 in San Francisco.

5. Spruce (up) : NEATEN

Our verb “to spruce up” means “to make trim or neat”. The term comes from the adjective “spruce”, meaning “smart, neat”. In turn, the adjective comes from “spruce leather”, which was a Prussian leather that was used in England in the 15th and 16th centuries to make a popular style of jerkin that was widely considered to look quite smart.

9. Pewter component : TIN

Pewter is a relatively soft alloy that is made up mostly of tin, with some copper, antimony, bismuth and lead.

12. Poe’s middle name : ALLAN

The celebrated American writer Edgar Allan Poe was born “Edgar Poe” in 1809 in Boston. Poe’s father abandoned Edgar and his two siblings after the death of their mother. As a result, Edgar was taken into the home of the Allan family in Richmond Virginia. His foster parents gave the future author the name “Edgar Allan Poe”.

24. Protagonist of Auel’s “Earth’s Children” novels : AYLA

Ayla is a little Cro-Magnon girl who is orphaned and then adopted by a Neanderthal tribe, as told in “The Clan of the Cave Bear”, the first of a series of novels written by Jean Auel that set in prehistoric times. I haven’t read any of Auel’s books myself, but they are on my reading to-do list as my wife recommends them. They sound interesting …

25. Somewhat open : AJAR

Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.

26. Auburn rival, familiarly : BAMA

The athletic teams of the University of Alabama (“Bama”) are nicknamed the Crimson Tide, a reference to the team colors of crimson and white.

27. *Ellington genre : SWING MUSIC

Duke Ellington was a bandleader and composer believed by many to have elevated jazz to the same level as other respected genres of music. Ellington tended not to use the word “jazz” to describe his compositions, preferring the term “American Music”.

34. Koi habitat : POND

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

36. Kansas City cuisine : BARBECUE

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

45. 400 meters, on many tracks : ONE LAP

The distance around a newer running track is 400 meters, as measured in the inside lane. Tracks used to be 440 yards around, so that four laps added up to an even mile (1,760 yards). As race distances changed to meters, the mile race was dropped in favor of the “metric mile”, 1600 meters, which is equivalent to 1,750 yards or 0.994 miles.

46. It has one hump or two : CAMEL

The dromedary, also known as the Arabian Camel or Indian Camel, is the camel that has only one hump. The other species of camel is the Bactrian, which has two humps. The hump of a dromedary contains up to 80 pounds of fat, which can be broken down into water and energy if no food or water is available.

47. Florida’s __ National Forest : OCALA

Ocala National Forest is a large protected area covering over 600 square miles of Central Florida. Included in the bounds of the forest is the US Navy’s Pinecastle Bombing Range. Navy planes drop about 20,000 bombs annually at Pinecastle, although only a few hundred are live munitions.

48. Binder for some paints : ALKYD

Alkyd paints are also known as “oil-based” paints. They are an alternative to “latex-based” paints.

50. 2017 FX miniseries subtitled “Bette and Joan” : FEUD

“Feud” is a TV series that dramatizes actual events in celebrity feuds. The first season debuted in 2017 and explored the rivalry of Hollywood superstars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (portrayed by Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange). A second season takes on the relationship between Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

51. Spacious lot : ACRE

At one time, an acre was defined as the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. Then, an acre was more precisely defined as a strip of land “one furrow long” (i.e. one furlong) and one chain wide. The length of one furlong was equal to 10 chains, or 40 rods. A area of one furlong times 10 rods was one rood.

52. Part of TTFN : TA-TA

Ta-ta for now (TTFN)

53. Actor Morales : ESAI

The actor Esai Morales is best known in the world of film for the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai). On the small screen, Morales plays Lt. Tony Rodriguez on “NYPD Blue” and Joseph Adama on “Caprica”.

57. QVC sister station : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982.

The QVC shopping channel was founded in 1986 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The company now has operations not only in the US but also in the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy. That means QVC is reaching 200 million households. The QVC initialism stands for Quality, Value and Convenience.

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Jordan’s capital : AMMAN
6. Amounts to : COSTS
11. Cleveland hoopster : CAV
14. Tour leader : GUIDE
15. Popcorn brand whose logo resembles a movie marquee : ACT II
16. Corrida cheer : OLE!
17. *Many a museum piece : OIL PAINTING
19. “MSNBC Live” co-anchor Velshi : ALI
20. Big Dipper’s constellation : GREAT BEAR
21. Birth-related : NATAL
23. Couple of gags? : GEES
24. Tied-on protectors : APRONS
25. Without : ABSENT
28. Not even close : WAY OFF
30. Vise features : JAWS
31. British nobles : EARLS
32. Roger Federer’s org. : ATP
35. French buddy : AMI
36. *Choice spot at the opera : BOX SEAT
38. Pi follower : RHO
39. Stood for office : RAN
40. Powerful Japanese dog : AKITA
41. Black bird or black cat, to some : OMEN
42. Go round and round : GYRATE
44. Messed (up) : LOUSED
46. Obtain : COME BY
48. Is not misused? : AIN’T
49. Very serious, as a water shortage : ACUTE
50. Blunder : FALSE STEP
55. Humanities degs. : MAS
56. Words to a server … or a hint to the first words of the answers to starred clues : CHECK PLEASE!
58. “The Book of __”: 2010 Denzel Washington film : ELI
59. Exorbitant interest : USURY
60. Ceremonial place : ALTAR
61. Fond du __, Wisconsin : LAC
62. Closed : ENDED
63. Braid : PLAIT

Down

1. Twittering : AGOG
2. “Studies in the Sierra” writer John : MUIR
3. Fitbit unit : MILE
4. Much of the Sunday paper : AD PAGES
5. Spruce (up) : NEATEN
6. Walking sticks : CANES
7. Penta- plus three : OCTA-
8. Cup-a-Soup direction : STIR
9. Pewter component : TIN
10. Footpath aid : SIGNPOST
11. *Family crest : COAT OF ARMS
12. Poe’s middle name : ALLAN
13. Concealing accessories : VEILS
18. “Probably not” : I BET
22. “Wanna go out?” response : ARF
24. Protagonist of Auel’s “Earth’s Children” novels : AYLA
25. Somewhat open : AJAR
26. Auburn rival, familiarly : BAMA
27. *Ellington genre : SWING MUSIC
28. Squander : WASTE
29. Surface product : AREA
31. Bright word in a dark theater : EXIT
33. You, back in the day : THEE
34. Koi habitat : POND
36. Kansas City cuisine : BARBECUE
37. Not bad : OKAY
41. Fly off the shelf faster than : OUTSELL
43. To date : YET
44. Struggle with sisters? : LISP
45. 400 meters, on many tracks : ONE LAP
46. It has one hump or two : CAMEL
47. Florida’s __ National Forest : OCALA
48. Binder for some paints : ALKYD
50. 2017 FX miniseries subtitled “Bette and Joan” : FEUD
51. Spacious lot : ACRE
52. Part of TTFN : TA-TA
53. Actor Morales : ESAI
54. Cheeky : PERT
57. QVC sister station : HSN

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