LA Times Crossword 30 Apr 19, Tuesday

Constructed by: Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Shipwrecks

Themed answers each include the letter sequence SHIP, but that sequence has been “WRECKED”, the order of the letters changed:

61A Sea disasters, and a hint to what’s literally hidden in 18-, 23-, 38- and 50-Across : SHIPWRECKS and “SHIP” WRECKS

18A Performances by Chippendales dancers : STRIP SHOWS
23A Jubilation : HIGH SPIRITS
38A Slam-dancing area : MOSH PIT
50A Right now : AT THIS POINT

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Bill’s time: 5m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Campaign donation orgs. : PACS

5 Actor’s nickname heard in the song “Key Largo” : BOGIE

Humphrey “Bogie” Bogart’s breakthrough movie was “The Petrified Forest” from 1936, but for me nothing beats “Casablanca”. That said, check out the original “Sabrina” from 1954. It’s a real delight. Bogie was nominated three times for a Best Actor Oscar, but only won once: for “The African Queen”.

Key Largo is an island in the Florida Keys. The island gained a lot of celebrity in 1948 when the John Huston movie “Key Largo” was released, starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and Lauren Bacall.

“Key Largo” is a 1981 song recorded by Bertie Higgins. The song’s title is a reference to the 1948 film “Key Largo”:

We had it all
Just like Bogie and Bacall
Starring in our own late late show
Sailin’ away to Key Largo.

14 Airline that doesn’t fly on Shabbat : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. The term “el al” translates from Hebrew as “to the skies”. The company started operations in 1948, with a flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv. Famously, El Al only operates six days a week, not flying on the Sabbath.

Shabbat is the day of rest in the Jewish tradition, and is observed weekly from Friday evening through Saturday evening. Shabbat is welcomed a few minutes before Friday’s sunset, according to Jewish law, and bid farewell on Sunday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky.

15 Diarist Nin : ANAIS

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

17 “The Beverly Hillbillies” daughter __ May : ELLY

Elly May Clampett was played by Donna Douglas on the sixties television show “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Douglas is best known on the big screen for playing the lead opposite Elvis Presley in 1966’s “Frankie and Johnny”.

18 Performances by Chippendales dancers : STRIP SHOWS

Chippendales is a big touring operation featuring exotic male dancers. The original Chippendales was a nightclub in Los Angeles in the early eighties. The establishment’s name was inspired by the Chippendale-style furniture used in the club.

21 McJob worker : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

“McJob” is a slang term for a low-paying position that offers little chance for advancement. The term of course comes from front-line jobs at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

22 Le frère d’un père : ONCLE

In French, “Le frère d’un père” (the brother of a father) is an “oncle” (uncle).

35 “Law & Order: __” : SVU

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is a spin-off from the TV crime drama “Law & Order”. “SVU” has been on the air since 1999, and is set in New York City. Interestingly (to me), there is a very successful Russian adaptation of the show that is set in Moscow.

36 Snack : NOSH

Our word “nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”. We use “nosh” as a noun that means “snack”, or as a verb meaning “to eat between meals”.

37 Dallas hoopster, briefly : MAV

The Mavericks are the NBA franchise in Dallas, Texas. The team was founded in 1980, and the Mavericks name was chosen by fan votes. The choice of “Mavericks” was prompted by the fact that the actor James Garner was a part-owner of the team, and Garner of course played the title role in the “Maverick” television series.

38 Slam-dancing area : MOSH PIT

Moshing (also “slam dancing”) is the pushing and shoving that takes place in the audience at a concert (usually a punk or heavy metal concert). The area directly in front of the stage is known as the mosh pit. When a performer does a “stage dive” it is into (or I suppose “onto”) the mosh pit. It doesn’t sound like fun to me. Injuries are commonplace in the mosh pit, and deaths are not unknown.

41 Kilt wearer’s “no” : NAE

The Scottish skirt called a “kilt” takes its name from the Middle English word “kilten” meaning “to tuck up”. The idea is that the kilt can be tucked up around the body to give freedom to the legs.

47 Phil Collins’ longtime band : GENESIS

English musician Phil Collins is best known for his work as drummer with the rock group Genesis, as well as for his solo career. In fact, Collins is often grouped with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, two other artists who had tremendous solo success after careers with very well-known bands.

49 Serious fwy. violation : DUI

In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

58 Art community NNE of Santa Fe : TAOS

Taos Ski Valley is a resort village in New Mexico, founded in 1955. About twelve families live there, making up thirty or so households and a population of about 60 people. It is said to very much resemble a Swiss village, and even includes an elected village council.

59 Pinup’s leg : GAM

The American slang term “gams” is used for a woman’s legs. The term goes back to the 18th century “gamb” describing the leg of an animal on a coat of arms.

65 Shameful symbol in a Hawthorne novel : RED A

The main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” is Hester Prynne. After the birth of her illegitimate daughter Pearl, she is convicted by her puritanical neighbors of the crime of adultery. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet “A” (for “adultery”) on her clothing for the rest of her life, hence the novel’s title “The Scarlet Letter”.

66 E-cigarette’s lack : ASHES

An electronic cigarette (also called an “e-cigarette”) is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. The e-cigarette vaporizes a solution that contains nicotine, forming a vapor that resembles smoke. The vapor is inhaled in a process called “vaping”, delivering the nicotine into the body. The assumption is that an e-cigarette is healthier than a regular cigarette as the inhaled vapor is less harmful than inhaled smoke. But, that may not be so …

67 Novelist Victor : HUGO

Victor Hugo was a French writer who is known in his native country mainly for his poetry. Outside of France, Hugo is perhaps more closely associated with his novels such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.

68 Ballet title bird : SWAN

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “Swan Lake” tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

69 “Family Ties” mom : ELYSE

The actress Meredith Baxter is best known for playing Elyse, the mother in the eighties sitcom “Family Ties”. Baxter’s big break on television came with a title role on a short-lived sitcom called “Bridget Loves Bernie”. She ended up marrying David Birney, her co-star on “Bridget Loves Bernie”, and so was known for many years as Meredith Baxter-Birney. She changed her name back to Meredith Baxter when the pair divorced in 1989.

“Family Ties” was one of the first TV shows that I enjoyed when I arrived in the US back in 1983. I found the situation very appealing, with two ex-hippie parents facing off against an ultra-conservative son. The main characters in the show were Michael J. Fox as Alex, Meredith Baxter-Birney as Alex’s mom Elyse, and Michael Gross as Alex’s dad Steven. Some future stars had recurring roles as well, including Courteney Cox as one of Alex’s girlfriends and Tom Hanks as Elyse’s young brother.

Down

2 Quran deity : ALLAH

The name “Allah” comes from the Arabic “al-” and “ilah”, meaning “the” and “deity”. So, “Allah” can be translated as “God”.

The Koran is also known as the “Qur’an” and “Quran” in English. “Qur’an” a transliteration of the Arabic name for the holy text of the Muslim faith. The literal translation of “Koran” is “the recitation”.

5 Wrigley Field corners : BASES

The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914. Back then it was known as Weeghman Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame. Wrigley Field is noted as the only professional ballpark that has ivy covering the outfield walls. The ivy is a combination of Boston Ivy and Japanese Bittersweet, both of which can survive the harsh winters in Chicago.

7 Bouquet __: herb bundle : GARNI

“Bouquet garni” is French for “garnished bouquet”, and is the name given to a bundle of herbs often tied together and added to soups, stocks and stews. The bouquet garni adds flavor, but is removed prior to serving. The list of herbs included in the “bundle” varies, but thyme and bay leaf are often the base ingredients.

8 Square root of IX : III

In Roman numerals, the square root of IX (9) is III (3).

9 Seer’s “gift” : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

10 Either “J” in J&J : JOHNSON

The medical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was founded in 1886, not by two brothers as the name would suggest, but by three. Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson formed the company initially to manufacture ready-to-use surgical dressings.

11 Camaro __-Z : IROC

The IROC-Z is a model of Camaro that was introduced by Chevrolet in 1978. The IROC-Z takes its name from a famous stock car race, the International Race of Champions.

21 __ Penh : PHNOM

Phnom Penh (also “Pnom Penh”) is the capital of Cambodia, and has been so since the French colonized the country in the late 1800s. The city’s name translates from the Khmer language as “Hill of Penh”.

25 Answer the invite, initially : RSVP

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

26 Alaskan native : INUIT

The Inuit peoples live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada.

30 Jacob’s twin : ESAU

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

33 Subdue with a zap : TASE

“To tase” is to use a taser, a stun gun.

39 Window framework : SASH

A movable (up-and-down) window frame is called a sash, from the French word for a frame “châssis”. The term is also applied to that part of a door or window into which windows are set.

43 Like many a successful poker player : DEADPAN

The term “deadpan”, slang for an impassive expression, comes from “dead” (expressionless) and “pan” (slang for “face”).

46 “Certainement!” : OUI!

In French, an emphatic “oui” (yes) might be said as “certainement!” (certainly!).

48 Crock-Pot dinner : 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.

52 “For goodness __!” : SAKES

I tend to go with “for goodness’ sake” as opposed to “for goodness sakes” …

53 Rustler-chasing group : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

That act of stealing cattle is referred to as rustling in America, particularly in the Wild West. In Australia, the same crime is referred to as duffing.

54 Dance that “takes two” : TANGO

It takes two to tango …

The dramatic dance called the tango originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires in particular traveled to Europe and beyond in the early twentieth century and brought the tango with them. The tango craze first struck Europe in Paris in the 1910s, and from there spread to London and Berlin, crossing the Atlantic to New York in 1913.

55 The Baltics, once: Abbr. : SSRS

When the former Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in 1991, it was largely replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The formation of the CIS underscored the new reality, that the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) were now independent states. Most of the 15 former SSRs joined the CIS. Notably, the three Baltic SSRs (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) opted not to join the new commonwealth, and in 2004 joined NATO and the EU.

57 Verdi opera : AIDA

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radames is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

62 Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __ : RAE

Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer from Yorkshire in the north of England.

63 Bilingual subj. : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Campaign donation orgs. : PACS
5 Actor’s nickname heard in the song “Key Largo” : BOGIE
10 Be in sync (with) : JIBE
14 Airline that doesn’t fly on Shabbat : EL AL
15 Diarist Nin : ANAIS
16 Spoken : ORAL
17 “The Beverly Hillbillies” daughter __ May : ELLY
18 Performances by Chippendales dancers : STRIP SHOWS
20 Sidekick : PAL
21 McJob worker : PEON
22 Le frère d’un père : ONCLE
23 Jubilation : HIGH SPIRITS
27 Beach shade : TAN
28 Nods off : SNOOZES
32 Squash underfoot : STEP ON
35 “Law & Order: __” : SVU
36 Snack : NOSH
37 Dallas hoopster, briefly : MAV
38 Slam-dancing area : MOSH PIT
41 Kilt wearer’s “no” : NAE
42 Like thrift shop items : USED
44 Pitchfork target : HAY
45 Began, as a hobby : TOOK UP
47 Phil Collins’ longtime band : GENESIS
49 Serious fwy. violation : DUI
50 Right now : AT THIS POINT
55 Digging tool : SPADE
58 Art community NNE of Santa Fe : TAOS
59 Pinup’s leg : GAM
61 Sea disasters, and a hint to what’s literally hidden in 18-, 23-, 38- and 50-Across : SHIPWRECKS and “SHIP” WRECKS
64 Top-drawer : A-ONE
65 Shameful symbol in a Hawthorne novel : RED A
66 E-cigarette’s lack : ASHES
67 Novelist Victor : HUGO
68 Ballet title bird : SWAN
69 “Family Ties” mom : ELYSE
70 Store securely : STOW

Down

1 Sound from a nest : PEEP
2 Quran deity : ALLAH
3 Declare all debts resolved : CALL IT EVEN
4 Devious : SLY
5 Wrigley Field corners : BASES
6 Winning : ON TOP
7 Bouquet __: herb bundle : GARNI
8 Square root of IX : III
9 Seer’s “gift” : ESP
10 Either “J” in J&J : JOHNSON
11 Camaro __-Z : IROC
12 Turn on the waterworks : BAWL
13 Apart from this : ELSE
19 __ speak : SO TO
21 __ Penh : PHNOM
24 Lack of continuity : GAP
25 Answer the invite, initially : RSVP
26 Alaskan native : INUIT
29 Nodding off : ZONKING OUT
30 Jacob’s twin : ESAU
31 Herding dog name : SHEP
32 Too sure of oneself : SMUG
33 Subdue with a zap : TASE
34 Like an extremely well-pitched game : NO-HIT
35 Short, moneywise : SHY
39 Window framework : SASH
40 Disturbances : TO-DOS
43 Like many a successful poker player : DEADPAN
46 “Certainement!” : OUI!
48 Crock-Pot dinner : STEW
51 Like wool, for many : ITCHY
52 “For goodness __!” : SAKES
53 Rustler-chasing group : POSSE
54 Dance that “takes two” : TANGO
55 The Baltics, once: Abbr. : SSRS
56 “Close call!” : PHEW!
57 Verdi opera : AIDA
60 Catty utterance? : MEOW
62 Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __ : RAE
63 Bilingual subj. : ESL
64 Massage reactions : AHS

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