LA Times Crossword 28 Aug 19, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Steve Mossberg
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Recipe Book

Themed answers each start with a direction one might come across in a RECIPE BOOK:

  • 65A Kitchen guide … and where to find the starts of the answers to starred clues : RECIPE BOOK
  • 17A *Speak carefully to avoid offense : MINCE WORDS
  • 21A *Yahtzee, for one : DICE GAME
  • 40A *Homemade song assortment : MIXTAPE
  • 42A *Vocally imitate a drum machine : BEATBOX
  • 56A *Lunch from home : BROWN BAG

Bill’s time: 6m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Renovator’s protective cover : TARP

Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

10 Soak up the sun : BASK

Our verb “to bask”, meaning “to expose one to pleasant warmth”, is derived from the gruesome, 14th-century term “basken”, meaning “to wallow in blood”. The contemporary usage apparently originated with Shakespeare, who employed “bask” with reference to sunshine in “As You Like It”.

14 “Dies __”: Latin hymn : IRAE

“Dies Irae” is Latin for “Day of Wrath”. It is the name of a famous melody in Gregorian Chant, one that is often used as part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

15 Yoga pose : ASANA

“Asana” is a Sanskrit word that translates literally as “sitting down”. The asanas are the poses that a practitioner of yoga assumes. The most famous is the lotus position, the cross-legged pose called “padmasana”.

16 Hatchet man __ Brasi of “The Godfather” : LUCA

Luca Brasi is one of Don Corleone’s most loyal “enforcers” in Mario Puzo’s novel “The Godfather”. Brasi comes to a violent end, garroted while his hand is pinned to a wooden bar with a knife. Famously, the Corleone family learn of his demise when they receive Brasi’s bulletproof vest wrapped around dead fish. The message is that he “sleeps with the fishes”. In the big screen adaptation of “The Godfather”, Luca Brasi is played by ex-wrestler and professional bodyguard Lenny Montana. The role launched a very successful television character-acting career for Montana.

17 *Speak carefully to avoid offense : MINCE WORDS

The verb “to mince” can mean “to make light of”, and more specifically “to criticize using polite language”. William Shakespeare used the term in such a sense in a couple of his plays, although the derivative expression “mince words” was first used in print in Benjamin Disraeli’s first novel “Vivian Grey”, published in 1826:

Your Lordship’s heart is very warm in the cause of a party, which, for I will not mince my words, has betrayed you.

So, to mince words is to moderate one’s language while still giving criticism. The related phrase “minced oath” describes a euphemistic phrase used to replace a more profane phrase, e.g. “gosh” for “God”, “heck” for “hell”.

20 2019 award for author Walter Mosley : EDGAR

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (“Edgars”) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America. There are several categories of awards. For example, the Ellery Queen Award honors “writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry”. The Raven Award is presented to non-writers, who contribute to the mystery genre.

Walter Mosley is a novelist who is best known for his crime stories. HIs most famous works are a series of books featuring Los Angeles detective Easy Rawlins.

21 *Yahtzee, for one : DICE GAME

The dice game called Yahtzee was introduced in 1956 and is a variant of earlier dice games, especially the game “Yacht” (which even has a similar name). Yahtzee is required playing in our house at holidays. The game involves the rolling of five dice, with the intent of getting certain combinations. A lot of those combinations resemble poker hands, such as “three of a kind”, “four of a kind” and “full house”.

26 Ad-__: improvise : LIB

“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage, the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage, the concept of an ad lib is very familiar.

35 Post-op sites : ICUS

Intensive care unit (ICU)

39 Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum city : HANOI

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a huge memorial to the former Vietnamese leader that is located at the center of Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. The mausoleum’s design was inspired by Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square in Moscow. Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body is on display in a central hall in a glass case and visitors file past it every day to pay their respects.

40 *Homemade song assortment : MIXTAPE

Even though tapes are no longer used, the term “mixtape” still describes any homemade collection of musical tracks. The less retro term for the same thing might be “playlist”.

42 *Vocally imitate a drum machine : BEATBOX

Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion in which a performer primarily mics a drum machine. Today, beatboxing is largely associated with hip-hop music, although similar forms of vocal percussion have been around for a while. Actor Gert Fröbe, famous for playing Bond villain Auric Goldfinger, did some pseudo-beatboxing in the 1965 movie “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines”.

45 Poetry event : SLAM

A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read their own work (usually), with winners being chosen by members of the audience. Apparently the first poetry slam took place in Chicago in 1984. Now there is a Nation Poetry Slam that takes place each year, with representatives from the US, Canada and France.

47 Hatcher or Polo : TERI

Teri Hatcher’s most famous role is the Susan Mayer character on the TV comedy-drama “Desperate Housewives”. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of “Housewives” but I do know Teri Hatcher as a Bond girl, as she appeared in “Tomorrow Never Dies”. More recently, she portrayed Lois Lane on the show “Lois & Clark”.

Teri Polo’s most prominent role on the big screen was Pam Focker in “Meet the Fockers” and its sequel. Pam is the wife of the character played by Ben Stiller. Polo also played the wife of Presidential candidate Matt Santos in “The West Wing”.

53 Norse mythology upheaval used as the subtitle of a 2017 “Thor” film : RAGNAROK

“Ragnarök” is the name given to a set of events in Norse mythology that resulted in the deaths of many famous gods, including Odin and Thor.

64 Marshmallow blackener : FIRE

S’mores are treats peculiar to North America that are usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

68 Discomfit : FAZE

Originally, the verb “to discomfit” was used to mean “to undo in battle, overthrow”. We now use the term to mean “to disconcert, faze”. The latter usage arose in the 1500s, probably due to confusion with the similar-sounding verb “to discomfort”.

Down

1 Life partner : TIME

“Time” magazine has a readership of about 25 million, making it the largest-circulation weekly news magazine in the world.

“Life” magazine was founded way back in 1883, and was originally structured as a humorous publication. It changed hands in 1936, when it was repurposed as a magazine with an emphasis on photojournalism. I am a big fan of the latter format, and have quite a few favorite issues in my private collection …

4 Pie nut : PECAN

The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas and California. Also, the pecan is the state tree of Texas.

6 Spanish bear : OSO

In Spanish, an “oso” (bear) might be found in “un zoológico” (a zoo).

9 Dinosaur Jr. frontman J __ : MASCIS

Dinosaur Jr. is a rock band from Amherst, Massachusetts that formed in 1984. The band’s original name was “Dinosaur”, but they had to change it to “Dinosaur Jr.” after being sued by the supergroup named “The Dinosaurs”.

10 Online journal : BLOG

Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more specifically it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) that then occupy the “front page” of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. “Blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”.

18 Middle of Q.E.D. : ERAT

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

22 __ Sketch : ETCH A

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes.

24 Blue-roofed eatery : IHOP

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests.

26 Succotash beans : LIMAS

The main ingredients in succotash are corn and lima beans, although in parts of the South, succotash can be made with any collection of vegetables prepared with lima beans and topped with butter.

31 “Out of the Cellar” metal band : RATT

Ratt is a rock band based in Los Angeles. Ratt was formed out of a San Diego group called Mickey Ratt.

33 Boxing legend Archie : MOORE

Archie Moore was a professional boxer from Benoit, MIssissippi who was raised in Saint Louis, Missouri. Moore was nicknamed “the Old Mongoose” and managed to knock out 131 opponents over a long career, which is more than any other professional boxer..

36 Incomplete Wikipedia entry : STUB

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, and is the most-used reference site on the Internet. The site was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001. I, for one, am very grateful …

38 “Becoming” memoirist Michelle : OBAMA

“Becoming” is a 2018 autobiographical memoir by former First Lady Michelle Obama. After “Becoming” was published in November 2018, it took just 15 days for it to break the record for copies sold of any book in the US that year.

49 __ Tar Pits : LA BREA

The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirst. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

51 Thick book : TOME

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

54 Irish speakers : GAELS

A Gael is anyone of a race that speaks or spoke one of the Erse tongues. There are actually three Erse languages. Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

55 Meaty fare from a falafel stand : KEBAB

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”.

Falafel is a ball of ground chickpeas or fava beans that has been deep fried and served in pita bread. I love chickpeas, but falafel is often too dry to me …

56 Closest pals, initially : BFFS

Best friend forever (BFF)

57 Tehran money : RIAL

Rial is the name of the currency of Iran (as well as Yemen, Oman, Cambodia and Tunisia). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in a rial.

Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of about 8.5 million. Iran has been around a really long time and Tehran is actually the country’s 31st national capital.

58 Rice-shaped pasta : ORZO

Orzo is pasta that has been formed into granular shapes, much like barley. And indeed, “orzo” is the Italian word for “barley”.

61 Pitching gem, in baseball slang : NO-NO

In baseball, a no-hitter (colloquially “no-no”) is a game in which one team fails to record even a single hit. No-hitters are pretty rare, and only occur about twice a year in Major League Baseball.

62 “i” pieces : DOTS

A tittle is a small diacritical mark used in writing. Examples are the cedilla and tilde used in some languages, and the dot over the lowercase letters i and j in English.

66 Wall St. debut : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Renovator’s protective cover : TARP
5 Not so exciting : HO-HUM
10 Soak up the sun : BASK
14 “Dies __”: Latin hymn : IRAE
15 Yoga pose : ASANA
16 Hatchet man __ Brasi of “The Godfather” : LUCA
17 *Speak carefully to avoid offense : MINCE WORDS
19 Spoken : ORAL
20 2019 award for author Walter Mosley : EDGAR
21 *Yahtzee, for one : DICE GAME
23 Cry of success that can also be a sarcastic admission of failure : NAILED IT!
26 Ad-__: improvise : LIB
29 “__ won’t do” : THIS
30 Pinch pennies : SCRIMP
35 Post-op sites : ICUS
37 Not fooled by : ONTO
39 Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum city : HANOI
40 *Homemade song assortment : MIXTAPE
42 *Vocally imitate a drum machine : BEATBOX
44 Spoken : ALOUD
45 Poetry event : SLAM
47 Hatcher or Polo : TERI
48 Status __ : SYMBOL
50 Forget to mention : OMIT
52 Report card bummer : DEE
53 Norse mythology upheaval used as the subtitle of a 2017 “Thor” film : RAGNAROK
56 *Lunch from home : BROWN BAG
60 Repairs : MENDS
64 Marshmallow blackener : FIRE
65 Kitchen guide … and where to find the starts of the answers to starred clues : RECIPE BOOK
68 Discomfit : FAZE
69 Save a ton on the wedding reception? : ELOPE
70 Not pro : ANTI
71 Sty feed : SLOP
72 Often __: half the time : AS NOT
73 Check signer : BOSS

Down

1 Life partner : TIME
2 Dry as a desert : ARID
3 Tolled, as a bell : RANG
4 Pie nut : PECAN
5 Word after hee or yee : -HAW
6 Spanish bear : OSO
7 Most challenging : HARDEST
8 Reversed : UNDID
9 Dinosaur Jr. frontman J __ : MASCIS
10 Online journal : BLOG
11 General vibe : AURA
12 Take in : SCAM
13 Leafy vegetable : KALE
18 Middle of Q.E.D. : ERAT
22 __ Sketch : ETCH A
24 Blue-roofed eatery : IHOP
25 Fishing gear : LINES
26 Succotash beans : LIMAS
27 Without warmth : ICILY
28 Full-bosomed : BUXOM
31 “Out of the Cellar” metal band : RATT
32 Under the covers : IN BED
33 Boxing legend Archie : MOORE
34 Impish fairy : PIXIE
36 Incomplete Wikipedia entry : STUB
38 “Becoming” memoirist Michelle : OBAMA
41 Add beauty to : ADORN
43 Mideast noble : EMIR
46 Scam that takes a while to pay off : LONG CON
49 __ Tar Pits : LA BREA
51 Thick book : TOME
54 Irish speakers : GAELS
55 Meaty fare from a falafel stand : KEBAB
56 Closest pals, initially : BFFS
57 Tehran money : RIAL
58 Rice-shaped pasta : ORZO
59 Shed tears : WEEP
61 Pitching gem, in baseball slang : NO-NO
62 “i” pieces : DOTS
63 Hits the slopes : SKIS
66 Wall St. debut : IPO
67 Darling : PET