LA Times Crossword 14 Oct 21, Thursday

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Constructed by: Jim Holland
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Prioress Puzzle

Themed answers are common phrases with an S added to the front:

  • 17A Fan on a farm? : SWINE COOLER (S + wine cooler)
  • 27A Hors d’oeuvres for a horror movie? : SCREAM CHEESE (S + cream cheese)
  • 49A Surveillance snacks? : STAKEOUT FOOD (S + takeout food)
  • 64A Finishing touch for a gastropod? : SNAIL POLISH (S + nail polish)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Shows displeasure (at) : CARPS

The word “carp” used to mean simply “talk” back in the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Norwegian “karpa” meaning “to brag”. A century later, the Latin word “carpere” meaning “to slander” influenced the use of “to carp” so that it came to mean “to find fault with”.

11 Part of A&E? : AND

Arts and Entertainment (A&E)

15 Ferrell’s “SNL” cheerleading partner : OTERI

Cheri Oteri was the SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) cast member who regularly appeared with Will Ferrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

16 Card-beats-card game : WAR

War is a card game, one played mainly by children.

17 Fan on a farm? : SWINE COOLER (S + wine cooler)

A wine cooler is a drink made from wine and fruit juice, and often some soda.

19 Shakespearean title noun : 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.

20 Bee attraction : NECTAR

The sugary liquid known as nectar is produced by plants to attract animals needed for the plant’s survival. The classic example is the nectar produced in flowers that attracts insects needed to facilitate pollination. Some plants produce nectar in leaves that attracts favorable insects that in turn prey on insects that can harm the plants.

22 “Armageddon” author : URIS

“Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin” is a 1963 novel by American author Leon Uris. It is set in Berlin after WWII and deals with the occupation of the city after the war, the Soviet blockade and the Berlin airlift. Haven’t read this one, but it looks like a good story …

23 Chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad : IKEA

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

25 Movie trailers : TEASERS

The term “trailer” was originally used in the film industry to describe advertisements for upcoming features. These trailers were originally shown at the end of a movie being screened, hence the name. This practice quickly fell out of favor as theater patrons usually left at the end of the movie without paying much attention to the trailers. So, the trailers were moved to the beginning of the show, but the term “trailer” persisted.

27 Hors d’oeuvres for a horror movie? : SCREAM CHEESE (S + cream cheese)

An hors d’oeuvre is a first course in a meal. “Hors d’oeuvre” translates from French as “apart from the work”, which really means “not the main course”.

32 Head of Paris : TETE

In French, the “tête” (head) is the top of “le corps” (the body).

The French capital of Paris is named for the Parisii, a Celtic Iron-Age people that lived in the area on the banks of the River Seine.

39 AOL, e.g. : ISP

AOL was a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The company does still provide dial-up access to the Internet for some subscribers, but most users now access AOL using faster, non-AOL ISPs.

45 Topers : SOTS

Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning “fool”. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s. The derivative term “besotted” means “muddled with drunkenness”, or more figuratively “infatuated”.

To tope is to drink alcohol excessively and habitually.

48 High flier until 2001 : MIR

Russia’s Mir space station was a remarkably successful project. It held the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at just under 10 years, until the International Space Station eclipsed that record in 2010. Towards the end of the space station’s life however, the years began to take their toll. There was a dangerous fire, multiple system failures, and a collision with a resupply ship. The Russian commitment to the International Space Station drained funds for repairs, so Mir was allowed to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in 2001. “Mir” is a Russian word meaning “peace” or “world”.

56 Place for a bid : EBAY

There have been some notable things sold on eBay over the years. For example:

  • Ad space on a guy’s forehead, in the form of a temporary tattoo – $37,375
  • William Shatner’s kidney stone – $25,000
  • A cornflake shaped like Illinois – $1,350
  • A single corn flake – $1.63
  • A box of 10 Twinkies – $59.99
  • The original Hollywood sign – $450,400
  • The meaning of life – $3.26

57 Arabic “son of” : IBN

In Arabic names, “ibn” is a word meaning “son of”. The words “bin” and “ben” are also used for “son of”. The word “bint” means “daughter of”. Similarly, in Hebrew “ben” is used to mean “son of”, and “bat” is used to mean “daughter of”.

59 Syrup once used as a poison remedy : IPECAC

Syrup of ipecac is a preparation made from the dried roots and rhizomes of the ipecacuanha plant. The syrup is used as an emetic, a substance that induces vomiting. Ipecac accomplishes this by irritating the lining of the stomach.

64 Finishing touch for a gastropod? : SNAIL POLISH (S + nail polish)

Snails and slugs are referred to collectively as gastropods. There are many, many species of gastropods, found both on land and in the sea. Gastropods with shells are generally described as snails, and those species without shells are referred to as slugs.

66 Aussie school : UNI

In Australia (Down Under), and in Britain and Ireland, the term “uni” is used routinely for “university”.

67 Cellist Casals : PABLO

Pablo Casals was a wonderful cellist from Catalonia in Spain. He lived at the time of the Franco regime in Spain. As a supporter of the Spanish Republican Government, he placed himself in self-imposed exile in 1938, vowing not to return home until democracy had been restored. Casals never again set foot on Spanish soil, and died in Puerto Rico in 1973.

68 Capone henchman known as “The Enforcer” : NITTI

Frank Nitti was one of the top henchmen working for Al Capone. Unlike American-born Capone, Nitti was actually from Italy and was born near the city of Salerno. When Capone was eventually put away for 11 years for tax evasion, Nitti was convicted of the same crime. Nitti was only imprisoned for 18 months, and when released he was labelled as the new head of Capone’s Chicago Outfit. However the truth seems to be that he was just a frontman, with others making the decisions.

69 Whiskey choice : RYE

For whiskey to be labelled as “rye” in the US, it has to be distilled from at least 51% rye grain. In Canada however, a drink called rye whiskey sometimes contains no rye at all.

71 Early computer : ENIAC

The acronym ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (although many folks insist that the C was for “Computer”). ENIAC was introduced at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, at which time it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, and dubbed “Giant Brain” by the press. Its original purpose was the calculation of artillery firing tables, but it ended up being used early on to make calculations necessary for the development of the hydrogen bomb. Given its uses, it’s not surprising to hear that development of ENIAC was funded by the US Army during WWII.

Down

1 Part of NCAA: Abbr. : ASSN

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

2 “Dirty Jobs” host Mike : ROWE

Mike Rowe is host of the successful reality show called “Dirty Jobs” that is broadcast by “Discovery Channel”. Rowe is also a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company in a series of television commercials. He is quite the singer too, and he sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera for a while.

4 Pretzel chain __ Anne’s : AUNTIE

Auntie Anne’s is a chain of pretzel bakeries that was founded in 1988. The chain started out as a simple stand in a farmer’s market in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. There are now almost 900 outlets in about a dozen countries.

7 __ smasher : ATOM

Nowadays, we call an “atom smasher” a “particle accelerator”. An accelerator creates highly focused beams of fast-moving ions that can be “smashed” into various atoms. Those collisions can produce new particles. Important work, I hear …

12 Zenith’s opposite : NADIR

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

13 Slag : DROSS

When metals are smelted, there is a scum made up of impurities that floats on the surface of the molten metal. This scum is called “dross” and is drawn off and discarded. The term “dross” has come to mean any waste or impure matter.

The better ores are processed in a blast furnace, to extract the metal. The waste from this process is called “slag”. Slag does contain some residual metal and it can be processed further in a slag furnace to extract the balance. Slag furnaces also accept lower-quality ores as a raw material.

18 Liqueur word : CREME

A “cream liqueur” is one that includes dairy cream. The most famous example is probably Baileys Irish Cream, which is made from cream and Irish whiskey. A “crème liqueur”, on the other hand, is one that includes a lot of added sugar, but no dairy cream. Examples are crème de cacao (chocolate-flavored), crème de menthe (mint-flavored) and crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored).

24 “Hamlet” beginning : ACT I

The full title of William Shakespeare’s play that we tend to call “Hamlet” is “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. It is the most performed of all Shakespeare’s plays and it is also his longest, the only one of his works comprising over 4,000 lines. That’s about a 4-hour sitting in a theater …

28 Guitarist Atkins : CHET

Chet Atkins was a guitarist famous for playing “smooth” country music that crossed over into the genre of lighter pop music.

29 “I am woman, hear me __ … “: Helen Reddy lyric : ROAR

The successful singer Helen Reddy was born in Melbourne, Australia. In 1966, Reddy won a talent contest and earned herself a trip to New York City for an audition. The 25-year-old single mother decided to stay in the US, and a few years later was able to launch a successful singing career. Her hit song “I Am Woman”, released in 1972, was the first recording by an Australian artist to reach #1 in the US charts.

30 “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”. Hesse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

“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.

34 Former Dallas QB Tony : ROMO

Tony Romo is a former quarterback who spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. Romo is also an avid amateur golfer and has even tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to qualify for the US Open golf championship.

35 Hodgepodge : OLIO

“Olio” is a term meaning “hodgepodge, mixture” that comes from the mixed stew of the same name. The stew in turn takes its name from the Spanish “olla”, the clay pot used for cooking.

“Hochepot” is an Old French word for stew or soup, and this gave rise to an Anglo-French legal term for a collection of property that was gathered prior to being divided up. This became our “hodgepodge” in the early 1400s.

36 “Agreed!” : WORD!

“Word!” is a slang term that expresses agreement.

38 Irritable : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

46 Spring bloom : TULIP

We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” that means “muslin, gauze”.

50 Skewered foods : KEBABS

The term “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

51 “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ __”: 1964 hit : FEELIN’

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” was a huge hit for the Righteous Brothers in 1964. The song wasn’t just popular in the mid-sixties. By the end of 1999, it was the most-played song on US radio and television in the 20th century.

53 Dark wood : EBONY

Ebony is a dark black wood that is very dense, one of the few types of wood that sinks in water. Ebony has been in high demand so the species of trees yielding the wood are now considered threatened. It is in such short supply that unscrupulous vendors have been known to darken lighter woods with shoe polish to look like ebony, so be warned …

54 “Sonatine Bureaucratique” composer : SATIE

Erik Satie was a French composer best known for his beautiful composition, the three “Gymnopédies”. I have tried so hard to appreciate other works by Satie but I find them so very different from the minimalist simplicity of the lyrical “Gymnopédies”.

“Sonatine bureaucratique” (“Bureaucratic Sonatina” in English) is a 1917 work for the piano by French composer Erik Satie. It is a short, humorous piece in three movements, and a parody of Muzio Clementi’s “Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1” composed in 1797.

58 Africa’s Blue __ : NILE

Africa’s Blue Nile originates in Lake Tana in Ethiopia, and travels through Ethiopia and Sudan before emptying into the Nile at Khartoum, Sudan. During the rainy season, the Blue Nile provides at least 80% of the water for the Nile proper.

60 __ Field: Mets’ home : CITI

Citi Field is a relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. The new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

61 Whodunit dog : ASTA

Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb “The Thin Man” series of films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing Up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

62 Geek __ : CHIC

Geek chic was a fashion trend in which mainly young people adopted clothing and accessories associated with stereotypical “geeks”. The trend popularized capri pants, suspenders and oversized black horn-rimmed glasses.

64 Place for a peel : SPA

A chemical peel is a technique used to improve the look and feel of the skin. It involves using a chemical to deliberately injure the outermost layer of the skin. The damaged skin dies and peels off, revealing regenerated skin below.

65 “‘Salem’s __”: Stephen King novel : LOT

Stephen King’s “’Salem’s Lot” was published in 1975, his second novel. It belongs to the horror genre, so you won’t catch me reading it. The title refers to the Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot, or ‘Salem’s Lot for short. There’s an interesting story about the actual publication of the first edition. The intended price of $8.95 was changed at the last minute to $7.95, but not all the price changes were made before release. A few copies “escaped” with the dust cover marked $8.95, and they are now worth a lot of money. Go check your bookshelves …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Geometry numbers : AREAS
6 Shows displeasure (at) : CARPS
11 Part of A&E? : AND
14 Absorb : SOP UP
15 Ferrell’s “SNL” cheerleading partner : OTERI
16 Card-beats-card game : WAR
17 Fan on a farm? : SWINE COOLER (S + wine cooler)
19 Shakespearean title noun : ADO
20 Bee attraction : NECTAR
21 Wrestling place : MAT
22 “Armageddon” author : URIS
23 Chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad : IKEA
25 Movie trailers : TEASERS
27 Hors d’oeuvres for a horror movie? : SCREAM CHEESE (S + cream cheese)
31 “Gotcha!” : OHO!
32 Head of Paris : TETE
33 Like some escapes : NARROW
37 Done in : BEAT
39 AOL, e.g. : ISP
41 Aria, say : SOLO
42 Watch all night, maybe : STREAM
45 Topers : SOTS
48 High flier until 2001 : MIR
49 Surveillance snacks? : STAKEOUT FOOD (S + takeout food)
52 Make like the original : RESTORE
55 Hurry away : FLEE
56 Place for a bid : EBAY
57 Arabic “son of” : IBN
59 Syrup once used as a poison remedy : IPECAC
63 No-frills bed : COT
64 Finishing touch for a gastropod? : SNAIL POLISH (S + nail polish)
66 Aussie school : UNI
67 Cellist Casals : PABLO
68 Capone henchman known as “The Enforcer” : NITTI
69 Whiskey choice : RYE
70 Sales rep’s friendly personality, e.g. : ASSET
71 Early computer : ENIAC

Down

1 Part of NCAA: Abbr. : ASSN
2 “Dirty Jobs” host Mike : ROWE
3 Large-scale tale : EPIC
4 Pretzel chain __ Anne’s : AUNTIE
5 Deliver an address for : SPEAK AT
6 Soft cry : COO
7 __ smasher : ATOM
8 Tell : RELATE
9 Many a junior high student : PRETEEN
10 Polite title : SIR
11 Clued in : AWARE
12 Zenith’s opposite : NADIR
13 Slag : DROSS
18 Liqueur word : CREME
22 Password creators : USERS
24 “Hamlet” beginning : ACT I
26 Solid-rock link : AS A
27 Emotional outbursts : SOBS
28 Guitarist Atkins : CHET
29 “I am woman, hear me __ … “: Helen Reddy lyric : ROAR
30 “Steppenwolf” author : HESSE
34 Former Dallas QB Tony : ROMO
35 Hodgepodge : OLIO
36 “Agreed!” : WORD!
38 Irritable : TESTY
40 Sound accompanying a disappearance : POOF!
43 From __ Z : A TO
44 Places to tie up : MARINAS
46 Spring bloom : TULIP
47 Start of a job : STEP ONE
50 Skewered foods : KEBABS
51 “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ __”: 1964 hit : FEELIN’
52 Arise anew : RECUR
53 Dark wood : EBONY
54 “Sonatine Bureaucratique” composer : SATIE
58 Africa’s Blue __ : NILE
60 __ Field: Mets’ home : CITI
61 Whodunit dog : ASTA
62 Geek __ : CHIC
64 Place for a peel : SPA
65 “‘Salem’s __”: Stephen King novel : LOT