LA Times Crossword 15 Apr 20, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Craig Stowe
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Right of Way

Themed answers each end with a word that is often seen to the RIGHT OF the word “WAY”:

  • 59A Crossroads concern, and where you might find the answers to starred clues’ ending words : RIGHT OF WAY
  • 17A *Necessary road trip stop : GAS STATION (giving “way station”)
  • 26A *Place for a sleeper hit, maybe : FLIP SIDE (giving “wayside”)
  • 36A *Wild West impresario : BUFFALO BILL (giving “waybill”)
  • 49A *”Once and Again” actress : SELA WARD (giving “wayward”)

Bill’s time: 7m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Novelist __ Carol Oates : JOYCE

Joyce Carol Oates is a remarkable writer, not just for the quality of her work (her 1969 novel “them” won a National Book Award, for example) but also for how prolific is her output. She published her first book in 1963 and since then has published over fifty novels as well as many other written works.

6 Frittata ingredients : EGGS

A frittata is an omelet recipe from Italy. The word “frittata” is Italian, and comes from “fritto” meaning “fried”.

15 Christmas purchase : TREE

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

16 El Misti’s land : PERU

El Misti is a volcano that is also known as “Guagua-Putina”. It is located in Southern Peru near the city of Arequipa.

17 *Necessary road trip stop : GAS STATION (giving “way station”)

A way station is an intermediate stop between principal stations on a line. We use the term “way station” more generally to mean any intermediate stopover.

19 Thrice dos : SEIS

In Spanish, there time “dos” (two) is “seis” (six).

20 Part of CPU : UNIT

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main component on the motherboard of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

21 Honey, in slang : BAE

“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”, although I’ve also read that it is an acronym standing for “before anyone else”.

22 Where to see sites : THE NET

The Internet (uppercase letter I) is a system of interconnected networks that use the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to link devices around the world. In common usage, the word “internet” (lowercase letter I) is often used interchangeably with “World Wide Web”, although “the Web” is just one of many services and applications that uses the Internet.

24 Court great Andre : AGASSI

Retired tennis professional Andre Agassi has been married to fellow player Steffi Graf since 2001. Agassi wrote an autobiography called “Open”, published in 2009. An amazing revelation in the book is that Agassi’s famous head of hair was actually a wig for much of his playing career. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to play tennis at his level with a rug stuck on?

26 *Place for a sleeper hit, maybe : FLIP SIDE (giving “wayside”)

The wayside is the side of the road, or the land adjacent to a road. We use the term “wayside” figuratively in the phrase “by the wayside” meaning “out of consideration”.

28 “Losing My Religion” band : REM

The REM song “Losing My Religion” was released in 1991. The title is a phrase used in the southern US with the meaning “losing my temper, civility”.

32 Palme __: Cannes award : D’OR

The “Palme d’Or” (or “Golden Palm” in English) is the highest award given at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or goes to the director of the film that is selected as the best shown at the festival that year. The palm was selected as an emblem for the award as there is a palm featured on the coat of arms of the Commune of Cannes.

36 *Wild West impresario : BUFFALO BILL (giving “waybill”)

Buffalo Bill Cody became a great showman after he retired from the US Army. While serving in the Army, Buffalo Bill was awarded the Medal of Honor. William Frederick Cody earned his “Buffalo Bill” nickname while supplying buffalo meat to the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Cody “hunted” and slaughtered over 4,000 American bison in an 18-month period to fulfill his contract with the railroad.

A waybill is a document accompanying a shipment that contains essential shipping information. Such information usually includes who sent the shipment, the name and address of the intended recipient, and perhaps details of the route.

39 Bog buildup : PEAT

When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because this decaying matter can form peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs around the country.

41 Bagel choice : SESAME

The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City.

42 Olive __ : OYL

E. C. Segar’s cartoon character Olive Oyl had quite a large family. Her mother is Nana Oyl, and her father Cole Oyl. Olive’s brother is Castor Oyl, and she has uncles named Otto Oyl and Lubry Kent Oyl (my favorite!).

45 “How Easy Is That?” cookbook writer Garten : INA

Ina Garten is an author as well as the host of a cooking show on the Food Network called “Barefoot Contessa”. Garten has no formal training as a chef, and indeed used to work as a nuclear policy analyst at the White House!

46 National econ. stat : GDP

A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

49 *”Once and Again” actress : SELA WARD (giving “wayward”)

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

“Once and Again” is a TV series that originally aired from 1999 to 2002 about the romantic relationship between a single mother and a single father, played by Seal Ward and Billy Campbell. The show had a somewhat unique structure in that characters were “interviewed” in asides throughout each episode, revealing otherwise unaired thoughts and memories.

54 Robin’s family : THRUSH

The American robin has a reddish-orange breast. This coloring gave the bird its name, due to the similarity to the European robin. The two species are not in fact related, with the American robin being a thrush, and its European cousin an Old World flycatcher. It is the American robin that famously lays light-blue eggs.

55 Here, on Métro maps : ICI

The Paris Métro is the busiest underground transportation system in western Europe. The network carries about 4.5 million passengers a day, which is about the same ridership as the New York City Subway. The system took its name from the company that originally operated it, namely “La Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris”, which was shortened to “Métro”. The term “Metro” was then adopted for similar systems in cities all over the world.

58 Word before ring or swing : MOOD …

Mood rings were invented relatively recently, in 1975, and became a bit of a fad for a few years. A mood ring is one containing a “stone” that changes color with temperature, although the color change is touted as being dependent on the wearer’s mood. The part of the ring that changes color is actually a liquid crystal that responds to temperature changes.

62 H.G. Wells race : ELOI

In the 1895 novella by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounters in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a domineering race living underground who use the Eloi as food.

63 The Bosporus borders it : ASIA

The Bosphorus (also “Bosporus”) is one of the two Turkish Straits, the other being the Dardanelles. The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles lie either side of the Sea of Marmara, allowing continuous navigation from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea. The Turkish Straits also form the boundary between Europe and Asia.

65 Pixar clownfish : NEMO

“Finding Nemo” is a 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar. The film was the winner of the Oscar that year for Best Animated Feature. Believe it or not, “Finding Nemo” is the best-selling DVD of all time and, until 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, it was the highest-grossing, G-rated movie at the box office.

Clownfish are very colorful, attractive-looking fish. They are orange and often have broad strips of white and black on their bodies depending on species. Clownfish spend their lives in a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones.

66 Hägar the Horrible’s daughter : HONI

“Hägar the Horrible” is a comic strip that was created by the late Dik Browne and is now drawn by his son, Chris Browne. “Hägar the Terrible” (not “Horrible”) was the nickname given to Dik by his sons. The strip’s title character is a red-bearded Viking living on the Norwegian coast during the Middle Ages. Hägar lives with his overbearing wife Helga, his sensitive son Hamlet, his pretty daughter Honi, and his clever dog Snert.

67 “Ciao!” : LATER!

“Ciao” is Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

Down

1 Automaker with a feline logo : JAGUAR

Auto manufacturer Jaguar started out as a manufacturer of sidecars for motorcycles back in 1922, when the company was known as the Swallow Sidecar Company (SS for short). The company changed its name to Jaguar after WWII, because of the unfortunate connotations of the letters “SS” in that era (i.e. the Nazi paramilitary organization).

2 Marmalade fruit : ORANGE

Marmalade is my favorite fruit preserve. The essential ingredients in a marmalade are fruit juice and peel, and sugar and water. “Marmalade” comes from the Portuguese “marmelada” meaning “quince jam”.

5 Toronto winter hrs. : EST

Beautiful Toronto, Ontario is the largest city in Canada, and the fourth most populous city in North America (after Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles).

6 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.

8 1990s Chevrolet subdivision : GEO

Geos were small vehicles manufactured by General Motors mainly in the nineties. They were designed to compete head-to-head with the small imports that were gaining market share at the time in the US. Some Geo models that you might remember are the Metro, the Prizm and the Storm. The cars were actually built as joint-ventures with Japanese manufacturers. The Prizm was a GM/Toyota project, the Metro was GM/Suzuki, and the Storm was GM/Isuzu.

10 Areas for religious statues : APSES

The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

23 Officejet Pro printers : HPS

“Inkjet” is a very accurate and descriptive name for the type of printer. Printing is accomplished by shooting extremely fine jets of ink onto the page.

25 Feudal drudge : SERF

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.

27 Horror legend Bela : LUGOSI

Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian stage and screen actor who was perhaps best known for playing the title role in the 1931 film “Dracula” and for playing the same role on Broadway. Lugosi found himself typecast for the rest of his career and almost always played the role of the villain, often in horror movies. When he passed away in 1956, his wife had him buried in the costume he wore playing Count Dracula on Broadway.

35 Smithwick’s product : ALE

My guess is that the most famous Irish red ale that actually comes from Ireland is Smithwick’s, which is produced in Kilkenny. Many visitors to Ireland flock to the world-famous Guinness Storehouse. The equivalent Smithwick’s Experience in Kilkenny is a much more intimate affair, and one that I highly recommend …

37 Western baddie : BANDIT

Our word “bandit”, meaning “lawless robber”, dates back to the late 1500s. We imported the term from the Italian “bandito”, which has the same meaning.

38 Mosque holy man : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque or perhaps a Muslim community.

44 Gung-ho : RAH-RAH

“Kung ho” is a Chinese expression meaning “work together, cooperate”. The anglicized version “gung-ho” was adopted by a Major Evans Carlson as an expression of combined spirit for his 2nd Marine Raider Battalion during WWII. From there the term spread throughout the Marine Corps and back to America where it persists to this day.

48 Grace, e.g. : PRAYER

A grace is a short prayer recited before or after a meal.

53 Red head? : INFRA-

At either end of the visible light spectrum are the invisible forms of radiation known as infrared (IR) light and ultraviolet (UV) light. IR light lies just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, and UV light lies just below the violet end.

56 Cardamom-infused tea : CHAI

Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

The spice known as cardamom comes from the seeds of several plants that are native to India. Those plants were introduced to Guatemala in the early 20th century, and now Guatemala produces and exports more cardamom than any other country in the world, even India. Cardamom is the third-priciest spice on the market today by weight, after vanilla and saffron.

60 Classified ad shorthand for “seeking” : ISO

In search of (ISO)

61 Olive __ : OIL

Virgin olive oil is oil produced from olives with no chemical treatment involved in the production process at all. To be labelled “virgin”, the oil must have an acidity level of less than 2% and must be judged to have “a good taste”. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production, and is the portion with acidity levels of less than 0.8% acidity that is judged to have “superior taste”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Novelist __ Carol Oates : JOYCE
6 Frittata ingredients : EGGS
10 “__ baby!” : ATTA
14 They might be common : AREAS
15 Christmas purchase : TREE
16 El Misti’s land : PERU
17 *Necessary road trip stop : GAS STATION (giving “way station”)
19 Thrice dos : SEIS
20 Part of CPU : UNIT
21 Honey, in slang : BAE
22 Where to see sites : THE NET
24 Court great Andre : AGASSI
26 *Place for a sleeper hit, maybe : FLIP SIDE (giving “wayside”)
28 “Losing My Religion” band : REM
29 And so on: Abbr. : ETC
31 Young __: kids, in dialect : ‘UNS
32 Palme __: Cannes award : D’OR
33 Frat house greeting : BRO HUG
35 Top-notch : A-ONE
36 *Wild West impresario : BUFFALO BILL (giving “waybill”)
39 Bog buildup : PEAT
41 Bagel choice : SESAME
42 Olive __ : OYL
43 Tramcar filler : ORE
45 “How Easy Is That?” cookbook writer Garten : INA
46 National econ. stat : GDP
49 *”Once and Again” actress : SELA WARD (giving “wayward”)
52 Key with one flat : D MINOR
54 Robin’s family : THRUSH
55 Here, on Métro maps : ICI
57 Grandkid spoiler, often : NANA
58 Word before ring or swing : MOOD …
59 Crossroads concern, and where you might find the answers to starred clues’ ending words : RIGHT OF WAY
62 H.G. Wells race : ELOI
63 The Bosporus borders it : ASIA
64 Infuriated : IRATE
65 Pixar clownfish : NEMO
66 Hägar the Horrible’s daughter : HONI
67 “Ciao!” : LATER!

Down

1 Automaker with a feline logo : JAGUAR
2 Marmalade fruit : ORANGE
3 Positive reply : YES, I AM
4 Finds players for : CASTS
5 Toronto winter hrs. : EST
6 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee James : ETTA
7 “Good __!” : GRIEF
8 1990s Chevrolet subdivision : GEO
9 Submitted : SENT IN
10 Areas for religious statues : APSES
11 Young star : TEEN IDOL
12 Tested for size : TRIED ON
13 Forbidding : AUSTERE
18 Minimal : A BIT OF
23 Officejet Pro printers : HPS
25 Feudal drudge : SERF
27 Horror legend Bela : LUGOSI
30 Beer after bourbon, say : CHASER
33 Save : BUT
34 Suffix meaning “little” : -ULE
35 Smithwick’s product : ALE
36 Dance venue : BALLROOM
37 Western baddie : BANDIT
38 Mosque holy man : IMAM
39 Male carriers? : POSTMEN
40 Hotel door feature : EYEHOLE
43 Pained sounds : OWS
44 Gung-ho : RAH-RAH
46 Bother incessantly : GNAW AT
47 Campaign website button : DONATE
48 Grace, e.g. : PRAYER
50 Transcriber’s source material : AUDIO
51 “Let’s eat!” : DIG IN!
53 Red head? : INFRA-
56 Cardamom-infused tea : CHAI
60 Classified ad shorthand for “seeking” : ISO
61 Olive __ : OIL