LA Times Crossword 30 Jun 20, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Steve Mossberg
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Can Openers

Themed answers each start (OPEN) with a type of CAN:

  • 62A Kitchen gadgets, and what the starts 17-, 21-, 35-, 42- and 56-Across are : CAN OPENERS
  • 17A Open-air alehouse : BEER GARDEN (giving “beer can”)
  • 21A Taunting banter between players : TRASH TALK (giving “trash can”)
  • 35A Topper for a conspiracy theorist : TINFOIL HAT (giving “tin can”)
  • 42A Faux bronzing technique : SPRAY-ON TAN (giving “spray can”)
  • 56A Traditional St. Patrick’s Day slice : SODA BREAD (giving “soda can”)

Bill’s time: 5m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Self-restrained : STAID

Something described as staid is unwavering, fixed. This usage expanded to mean “sober, sedate”. The term dates back to the 16th century, and comes from the verb “to stay”. “Staid” is a rewriting of the past participle “stayed”.

15 Black-and-white bamboo lover : PANDA

The giant panda is a bear, and so has the digestive system of a carnivore. However, the panda lives exclusively on bamboo, even though its gut is relatively poorly adapted to extract nutrients from plants per se. The panda relies on microbes in its gut to digest cellulose, and consumes 20-30 pounds of bamboo each day to gain enough nourishment.

16 Saxophonist Coltrane named for sitarist Shankar : RAVI

Ravi Coltrane is a jazz saxophonist from Long Island, New York. Ravi is the son of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and jazz pianist Alice Coltrane. His parents named him after the marvelous sitar player Ravi Shankar.

19 Emergency op for choppers : EVAC

Evacuation (evac.)

23 Green eggs lover : SAM I AM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

28 Slap shot disks : PUCKS

A slap shot in ice hockey involves slapping the ice just behind the puck with the stick, causing the stick to bend and store up extra energy. When the stick finally hits the puck, all that extra energy is released along with the energy from the swing resulting in the hardest shot in hockey.

35 Topper for a conspiracy theorist : TINFOIL HAT (giving “tin can”)

A paranoid person (“tin hat”) might wear a hat made of aluminum foil in the belief that it provides protection against mind-control and mind-reading.

Before thin sheets of aluminum metal were available as aluminum foil, thin sheets of tin were used in various applications. Tin foil isn’t a great choice for wrapping food though, as it imparts a tinny taste. On the other side of the pond, aluminum foil has a different name. No, it’s not just the different spelling of aluminum (“aluminium”). We still call it “tin foil”. You see, we live in the past …

39 “Mr. Blue Sky” rock gp. : ELO

“Mr. Blue Sky” is a 1977 song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from Britain. It’s a song that has been described as “Beatlesque”, and I must say that I agree with that statement …

46 TV screen types : LCDS

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are the screens that are found in most laptops today, and in flat panel computer screens and some televisions. LCD monitors basically replaced Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screens, the old television technology.

52 Cal. home of the Latino Walk of Fame : EAST LA

The Latino Walk of Fame is located on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles. Modeled on Hollywood’s famous Walk of Fame, it was inaugurated in 1997 with the mission of honoring Latino celebrities. Each name is engraved in a “Sun Plaque”.

56 Traditional St. Patrick’s Day slice : SODA BREAD (giving “soda can”)

Soda bread is a bread in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a raising agent instead of yeast. It is a bread common in Irish cuisine, and indeed we usually refer to sodium bicarbonate as “bread soda”.

65 Compound with a fruity aroma : ESTER

Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.

67 Award for “Fleabag” : EMMY

“Fleabag” is a marvelous tragicomic television show written and created by British actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also stars. The very talented Waller-Bridge also adapted the “Codename Villanelle” novels into the hit TV show “Killing Eve”.

69 Series-ending abbr. : ET AL

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names.

Down

1 Sauna options : ROBES

As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is pronounced more correctly as “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).

2 High-speed Northeast train : ACELA

The Acela Express is the fastest train routinely running in the US, as it gets up to 150 mph at times. The service runs between Boston and Washington D.C. via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. Introduced in 2000, the brand name “Acela” was created to evoke “acceleration” and “excellence”.

5 Baden-Baden, e.g. : SPA

Baden-Baden is located in the southwest of German in the Black Forest close to the border with France. The natural springs of Baden-Baden were greatly prized by the Ancient Romans who used the town as a spa. Baden-Baden became very popular with the aristocracy in the 1800s when visitors included Queen Victoria, as well as the composers Berlioz and Brahms, and the writer Dostoevsky. The town’s reputation earned it the nickname of the “European Summer Capital”. The town was originally called just Baden in the Middle Ages, and the name was officially changed to Baden-Baden in 1931. Baden-Baden is short for “the town of Baden in the state of Baden”.

7 “Rise Up” vocalist Day : ANDRA

Andra Day is a singer/songwriter who grew up in San Diego. Day’s singing career got a lift in 2010 then Stevie Wonder’s wife heard Day performing at a strip mall. Stevie Wonder reached out to Day, and so is at least partly credited with her discovery.

9 Local language, in Denmark : DANSK

The Danish language (“Dansk” in Danish) is not only spoken in Denmark, but also in the Southern Schleswig region of northern Germany. One of the distinctive characteristics of Dansk is that it has 27 phonetically distinctive vowels.

22 Kachina carvers : HOPIS

Kachina dolls are wooden figures representing various Hopi spirits and deities. Traditionally, Kachina dolls were made by men and then passed on to the daughters of the village in a ceremony feting a particular spirit.

24 San __: San Francisco Bay city : MATEO

San Mateo is a city located south of San Francisco, just across the other side of the Bay from where I live. San Mateo is Spanish for Saint Matthew.

27 __ Féin : SINN

Sinn Féin is a political party in Ireland, and one of the largest parties in both the Northern Ireland Assembly and in the Oireachtas (the parliament of the Republic of Ireland). The party has the stated aim of uniting Ireland north and south. “Sinn Féin” is Irish for “we ourselves”.

29 Square cereal : CHEX

The original Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina, although it is now produced by General Mills. Ralston Purina had a logo with a checkerboard square on it, which gave the pattern to the cereal as well as its name. Chex used characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip in its advertising for many years.

30 Noted Silicon Valley journalist Swisher : KARA

Kara Swisher is a much-respected technology and business journalist known for covering topics related to Silicon Valley. Swisher was married for about a decade to former Chief Technology Officer of the United States Megan Smith.

31 Modern education acronym : STEM

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

33 Nestlé pet food brand : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

34 Fortified wine from the Douro Valley : PORT

Portugal’s city of Oporto (“Porto” in Portuguese) gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s. Oporto was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified red wine was exported.

The Douro Valley is a wine region in Portugal that is perhaps most associated with the production of port. The region is located on the Douro River, upstream from the city of Porto.

37 Stable youngster : FOAL

There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

  • Foal: horse of either sex that is less than one year old
  • Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
  • Filly: female horse under the age of four
  • Colt: male horse under the age of four
  • Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
  • Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
  • Mare: female horse four years or older

38 Pound part : OUNCE

The unit of mass that we know today as a pound is descended from the old Roman unit of weight known as a “libra”. That “libra” connection is why we abbreviate “pound” to “lb”. The name “pound” comes from the Latin “pondo” meaning “weight”. Our term “ounce” (abbreviated to “oz.”) comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a Roman “libra”.

40 Easygoing, personality-wise : TYPE B

The Type A and Type B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labelled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type A personality types are so-called “stress junkies”, whereas Type B types are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type A personality and heart problems.

51 Nandi of the Georgia Aquarium, e.g. : MANTA

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the country, and indeed in the whole of the Western Hemisphere. Much of the funding to build the facility, which opened in 2005, came from Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot.

54 Cocoon dweller : LARVA

Strictly speaking, the term “cocoon” only applies to the tough outer casing created by moth caterpillars. Butterfly caterpillars protect themselves in a hard outer skin to form a pupa known as a chrysalis. But, butterfly caterpillars don’t go the extra step by spinning a silky cocoon. Famously, silk thread comes from silk cocoons created by silkworms, which mature into silk moths.

55 Adams in galleries : ANSEL

As an avid amateur photographer, I have been a big fan of the work of Ansel Adams for many years and must have read all of his books. Adams was famous for clarity and depth in his black and white images. Central to his technique was the use of the zone system, his own invention. The zone system is a way of controlling exposure in an image, particularly when there is a high contrast in the subject. Although the technique was developed primarily for black & white film, it can even apply to digital color images. In the digital world, the main technique is to expose an image for the highlights, and one or more images for the shadows. These images can then be combined digitally giving a final photograph with a full and satisfying range of exposures.

56 Googling target : SITE

The Google search engine was originally called “BackRub” would you believe? The name was eventually changed to “Google”, an intentional misspelling of the word “googol”. A googol is a pretty big number, 10 to the power of 100. That would be the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros.

57 Leslie __ Jr., portrayer of Burr in “Hamilton” : ODOM

Leslie Odom Jr. is the actor and singer who originated the role of Aaron Burr in “Hamilton” on Broadway. If you saw the Kenneth Branagh’s interesting 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”, you will have seem Odom playing Dr. Arbuthnot.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Grating sound : RASP
5 Self-restrained : STAID
10 Partner of ebb : FLOW
14 Twice tetra- : OCTA-
15 Black-and-white bamboo lover : PANDA
16 Saxophonist Coltrane named for sitarist Shankar : RAVI
17 Open-air alehouse : BEER GARDEN (giving “beer can”)
19 Emergency op for choppers : EVAC
20 Make euphoric : ELATE
21 Taunting banter between players : TRASH TALK (giving “trash can”)
23 Green eggs lover : SAM I AM
25 Request from : ASK OF
26 Swing and Jazz : ERAS
28 Slap shot disks : PUCKS
32 Reheats in a microwave : ZAPS
35 Topper for a conspiracy theorist : TINFOIL HAT (giving “tin can”)
39 “Mr. Blue Sky” rock gp. : ELO
40 Flimsy : TENUOUS
41 Before, quaintly : ERE
42 Faux bronzing technique : SPRAY-ON TAN (giving “spray can”)
44 Test : EXAM
45 Add, as a column of numbers : TOT UP
46 TV screen types : LCDS
48 King’s domain : REALM
52 Cal. home of the Latino Walk of Fame : EAST LA
56 Traditional St. Patrick’s Day slice : SODA BREAD (giving “soda can”)
60 Showed again : RERAN
61 Graven image : IDOL
62 Kitchen gadgets, and what the starts 17-, 21-, 35-, 42- and 56-Across are : CAN OPENERS
64 Screwdriver, e.g. : TOOL
65 Compound with a fruity aroma : ESTER
66 Give in : CAVE
67 Award for “Fleabag” : EMMY
68 Sweetie pie : DEARY
69 Series-ending abbr. : ET AL

Down

1 Sauna options : ROBES
2 High-speed Northeast train : ACELA
3 Cook, as clams : STEAM
4 Political groups : PARTIES
5 Baden-Baden, e.g. : SPA
6 Fruit dessert with shortcrust : TART
7 “Rise Up” vocalist Day : ANDRA
8 Brainstorming output : IDEAS
9 Local language, in Denmark : DANSK
10 Uneasy : FRETFUL
11 Eruption content : LAVA
12 Track shape : OVAL
13 Fibrous candle feature : WICK
18 Drive or reverse : GEAR
22 Kachina carvers : HOPIS
24 San __: San Francisco Bay city : MATEO
27 __ Féin : SINN
29 Square cereal : CHEX
30 Noted Silicon Valley journalist Swisher : KARA
31 Modern education acronym : STEM
32 Citrus peel : ZEST
33 Nestlé pet food brand : ALPO
34 Fortified wine from the Douro Valley : PORT
36 It may be cracked or roasted : NUT
37 Stable youngster : FOAL
38 Pound part : OUNCE
40 Easygoing, personality-wise : TYPE B
43 By ear : AURALLY
44 Heart, soul, or heart and soul : ESSENCE
47 Truth alternative, in a game : DARE
49 Curving : ARCED
50 Tenant’s contract : LEASE
51 Nandi of the Georgia Aquarium, e.g. : MANTA
53 Grab the check : TREAT
54 Cocoon dweller : LARVA
55 Adams in galleries : ANSEL
56 Googling target : SITE
57 Leslie __ Jr., portrayer of Burr in “Hamilton” : ODOM
58 Unhappy fate : DOOM
59 Not just a thinker : DOER
63 Get nosy : PRY

26 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 30 Jun 20, Tuesday”

  1. No errors.. Quick solve until I got to the SW corner. I thought FLEABAG was an award category and initially put ESPY for 67A. Then I realized FLEABAG was a show. I’ve actually been watching it on PRIME TV.

    Bill,.. 51D,., did you mean “Funding” instead of “Finding”?

    Be safe..

  2. No errors. The “tinfoil hat” theory was new to me. Quick and
    easy solve today.

  3. Nice puzzle. Theme worked. Had rind before zest which set me back a bit. Bring on Wednesday!

    1. Various dictionaries (including Allen’s favorite, Merriam-Webster 😜) define “to tot up” as “to add numbers together to find out the total”, but they also seem to agree that it’s “British, informal”. So I guess the argument would have to be, “Are we going to allow English usages in our crossword puzzles?!”

    2. Various dictionaries (including Allen’s favorite, Merriam-Webster) define “to tot up” as “to add numbers together to find out the total”, but they also seem to agree that it is “British” and “informal”. So I guess the question is, “Are we going to allow English usages in our puzzles?!” (FWIW, the phrase is familiar to me … and I’m from Iowa.)

    3. Exactly. It’s “tote up”. Drives me nuts when puzzle constructors do things like this!

  4. 19:34 no errors…for 31D I had to GAI (guess at it). Who knows all these Abbrs (except Nonny)….just kidding Mr Dave.
    Stay safe

    1. Hi, Jack! Oops! TSA. Gotta run. TTYL. Dos ved on ya! (LOL)

      Actually, I‘m out for a long hike. Just found a fascinating collection of debris next to a railroad track. Hunks of cast iron that look like they were maybe super-cooled from a molten state, giving them very weird shapes. Don’t know how to post a picture here …

  5. Wow! Must be out of practice. Made big mess of it. Agree, 45A “totup” was new to me. West coast person had no clue on 2D train name. On the plus side I did get and use theme. Better luck tomorrow.

  6. 9 minutes, 39 seconds. A few fills sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, but I fixed it in the end.

  7. 7:12 no errors

    Had trouble getting myself to write LARVA for “cocoon dweller”. The larva spins the cocoon, but it soon becomes a pupa which is the real dweller.

  8. No Googles, no errors, but plenty of unknowns: Mr. Blue Sky, EASTLA, Fleabag, KARA, Nandi, ODOM. Had ELHI before STEM.
    TYPE B and TOT UP should have been clued as abbrevs.

    It’s nice to have some challenges and education. Yesterday’s was too easy.

  9. @Barbara Thomson …

    I just posted a response to your comment on Saturday’s edition of the blog regarding “a cappella” (which is Italian) versus “a capella” (which is Latin). Apparently, when referring to music, the former is preferred.

  10. @John Daigle …

    I just got off the phone with a Wilson company representative – an Englishman, speaking to me from somewhere in Spain (because that’s where their customer service department is based!) – and he promised to make an additional attempt to get their “golf department” to reply to me. However, I’m beginning to think I will never find anyone who knows anything about the egg-shaped golf ball I found … 😳.

    1. I only read these comments occasionally, so no idea about the back-story. But I Goolged “egg shaped golf ball” and got a site about a game called GolfCross that’s played in New Zealand and uses egg-shaped golf balls. Hope that helps.

  11. My only trouble spot was the now famous “tot up.” Of coarse I had “total.” BUT made it through this one after looking in the dictionary. Bet we won’t see “tot up” any time soon, so try to remember folks!

  12. I did not like “tot” up either; I would agree on “tote”.

    I am glad everyone else found it to be so easy. We posted 4 incorrect
    letters and left 26 squares blank for a pretty low-grade of 85. Worked
    pretty hard for that C+, too.

    @A Nonny Muss – sorry I couldn’t help you more. I thought we agreed that
    GolfCross was invented by a New Zealander named Silver.

  13. Greetings y’all!!🦆

    No errors. I got stuck in several places tho!!😯 Took me awhile to get PUCKS (duh!) and I didn’t know KARA.

    Need to have a procedure tomorrow Wednesday and I really don’t like going to hospitals during a pandemic!! I hope everyone’s being careful — keep distance and wear masks– 🤗

    Be well ~~🍷

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