Crossword by: C.C. Burnikel and edited by Rich Norris
Welcome to the answers to the Monday October 14 2013 LA Times crossword puzzle! Today’s theme is given away by the answers to 66 Across, Backtrack. If you add the word ‘track’ to the end of each of the other themed answers you get a common term, these are: train track, race track, laugh track and storm track.
Across Answers
1. Actor Damon MATT
Did you know that it was Matt Damon who was supposed to star in “The Quick And The Dead” (1995)? He turned down the role so it went to Leonardo DiCaprio.
5. Like unfizzy soda FLAT
It’s been said that soda takes around thirty minutes before it goes flat, after being opened. You can try it out for yourself.
9. Relatively cool heavenly body S STAR
An S Star is a cool red giant star that has a color unlike the other stars out there. They are very large in size but have low mass, and has an inflated atmosphere which can extend far into space. The other type of red giant is an M star.
14. Suffix with buck -AROO
A buckaroo is another term for “cowboy.”
15. Grocery section DELI
16. “All done!” THERE!
17. Long-running musical variety TV show SOUL TRAIN (giving “train track”)
Soul Train aired from 1971 to 2006. Its very popular for its hip hop, R&B, and soul performances from different artists. However, Soul Train has also been known for feauring disco, funk, jazz, and gospel singers. It lasted for thirty five years.
19. Hunter’s hides PELTS
20. Spiral-shaped __ fries CURLY
Delicious!
21. Fair-hiring abbr. EEO
EEO stands for Equal Employment Opportunity, established in 1964.
23. Wiesel who said, “Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil” ELIE
Eliezer Wiesel is an award-winning author of fifty seven books and a Holocaust survivor. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1986.
24. “Just __ suspected!” AS I
25. Pre-playoffs baseball drama PENNANT RACE (giving “race track”)
Pennant race happens on each league as they race to win the title during the regular baseball season.
29. Work on, as a vintage auto RESTORE
31. Sudoku grid line ROW
32. Honorary legal deg. LLD
LLD stands for Legum Doctor, or Doctor of Laws. The double L is an indication that the individual is a doctor of both Civil and Canon law.
33. ’30s-’40s film dog ASTA
Asta is a wire hair fox terrier who starred in many films in the thirties, most notable was his performance in The Thin Man series.
34. Logger’s tool AXE
36. Man and Capri ISLES
The Isle Of Capri is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy. The Isle Of Man is located in the Irish Sea, and is a self-governing British Crown Dependency.
38. Final triumph after apparent failure LAST LAUGH (giving “laugh track”)
42. Fancy mushroom MOREL
A morel is an edible mushroom that has a lot of ridges that has pits between them. They are often used in French cuisine and are usually expensive.
45. Metric distances: Abbr. KMS
KMS = Kilometers.
46. Roadies’ loads AMPS
50. Prefix with sex UNI-
Unisex means they can be worn or used by men as well as women.
51. Yale student ELI
Yale students are often called “Eli” after Yale’s benefactor, and who the university was named after, Elihu Yale.
54. Kevin Kline’s “French Kiss” co-star MEG RYAN
Did you know that “Meg Ryan” is an anagram for “Germany”? It’s just a stage name though, as her real name is Margaret Mary Hyra. She has one son with former husband Dennis Quaid, Jack, born in 1992. She had also adopted a daughter from China in 2006.
56. Offensive in the First Gulf War DESERT STORM (giving “storm track”)
59. __-Caps: candy SNO
Sno-caps is produced by Nestle, since it was acquired by the company in 1984. But it was originally produced by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company since the late twenties.
60. Bug-killing brand D-CON
61. Deer daughter DOE
62. How some stock is sold AT PAR
“At par,” in financial terms, means that the product was sold at its original price.
64. Sent to the unemployment line LET GO
66. Retrace one’s steps, and what ends of 17-, 25-, 38- and 56-Across can literally have BACKTRACK
69. Key in ENTER
70. Mine, to Mimi A MOI
“Mine” is the English translation to “A Moi”
71. Java Freeze brand ICEE
Jave Freeze is one of the Icee Company’s products.
72. Swiped STOLE
73. Tree anchor ROOT
74. Breakfast, e.g. MEAL
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But you already knew that.
Down Answers
1. Eyelash application MASCARA
2. Stirs to action AROUSES
3. One of a vacationing busload TOURIST
4. Turnpike fee TOLL
5. Pres. on a dime FDR
Yes ladies and gentlemen, that’s Franklin D. Roosevelt on the dime in case you still didn’t know.
6. “Glee” actress __ Michele LEA
Lea Michele was in a relationship with Cory Monteith, her Glee co-star from 2011 until the day he died in July 2013.
7. Sci-fi invader ALIEN
8. Karaoke singer’s ineptitude, to the chagrin of the audience TIN EAR
9. Gas additive letters STP
STP stands for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”
10. See-through SHEER
11. Revealing, as a celeb interview TELL-ALL
12. “An” or “the” ARTICLE
13. Tends to a lawn’s bare spot RESEEDS
18. AutoCorrect target TYPO
22. John’s Yoko ONO
Yoko Ono, when translated in English, means “Ocean Child”
26. Distinctive periods ERAS
27. Bagel shop call NEXT
28. Itty-bitty branch TWIG
30. Fish story TALE
35. Moose relative ELK
37. __-Pei: wrinkly dog SHAR
Shar peis have wrinkly faces and curly short tails. Despite their very cute, friendly, lost appearances, they can be very stubborn and territorial, so early socialization is recommended.
39. Angel or Athletic, briefly ALER
40. Rifle range need AMMO
41. Laptop operator USER
42. Confuses MUDDLES
43. Price of bubble gum, once ONE CENT
44. Trattoria rice dish RISOTTO
Risotto is a rice dish that originated from Italia, cooked in fish, meat, or vegetable broth until given a creamy consistency.
47. Leader in social networking until 2008 MYSPACE
Myspace was founded in 2003, and became a hit among the young in 2008-09. However, despite several efforts to revamp it, the number of visitors and members still keep declining.
48. Cure-all PANACEA
Panacea is the Greek goddess of universal remedy.
49. Enjoy coral reefs SNORKEL
Don’t you just love to snorkel? It’s my most favorite thing in the world!
52. Inc., in the U.K. LTD
Ltd means “limited.” If a company is a private limited company, “ltd” at the end of the company name can usually be seen.
53. Meteorologist’s pressure line ISOBAR
An Isobar, by definition, is a line of equal or constant pressure on a plot, graph, or map.
55. Future MBA’s exam GMAT
GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admission Test, which is a test you need to take if you want to join the graduate program of a business school.
57. Actress Georgia of “Everybody Loves Raymond” ENGEL
Before Georgia Engel became Pat McDougal in Everybody Loves Raymond, she was Goergette on “Mary Tyler Moore.”
58. Julio’s “I love you” TE AMO
I love you is Te amo or Ti amo in Italian.
63. Quick haircut TRIM
65. Profitable rock ORE
67. Suitor’s murmur COO
68. Model-ship-to-be KIT
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