LA Times Crossword 22 Jul 20, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Zachary David Levy
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: In the Shade

Themed answers are different SHADES of animal:

  • 60A Where this puzzle’s “animals” might congregate? : IN THE SHADE
  • 17A Whodunit misdirection : RED HERRING
  • 25A Bovine-named pet food brand : BLUE BUFFALO
  • 37A Costly possession that’s no longer useful : WHITE ELEPHANT
  • 50A Diamond in a 1963 Peter Sellers film : PINK PANTHER

Bill’s time: 6m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Frankie who played Malcolm in “Malcolm in the Middle” : MUNIZ

I’ve never actually sat down and watched the TV comedy “Malcolm in the Middle”. It ran on Fox from 2000 to 2006. Malcolm was played by Frankie Muniz, who gave up acting to pursue a career in motor racing.

6 Forensic CBS episodes : CSIS

The “CSI” franchise of TV shows has been tremendously successful, but has finally wound down. “CSI: Miami” (the “worst” of the franchise, I think) was cancelled in 2012 after ten seasons. “CSI: NY” (the “best” of the franchise) was cancelled in 2013 after nine seasons. The original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” was set in Las Vegas, and hung in there until 2015 when it ended with a two-hour TV movie. The youngest show in the series was “CSI: Cyber”. It lasted for two seasons, before being canceled in 2016.

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

10 Urban pollution : SMOG

“Smog” is a portmanteau formed by melding “smoke” and “fog”. The term was first used to describe the air around London in the early 1900s. Several cities around the world have a reputation of being particularly smoggy. For example, the most smog-plagued city in Latin America is Mexico City, which is located in a highland “bowl” that traps industrial and vehicle pollution.

15 Hyatt competitor : OMNI

Omni Hotels & Resorts is headquartered in Irvine, California and has properties in the US, Canada and Mexico.

17 Whodunit misdirection : RED HERRING

The exact origin of the term “red herring”, meaning “something that misleads”, isn’t known. The most common explanation for the use of the phrase is that kippers (strong-smelling smoked herrings) were used by fugitives to distract bloodhounds who were on their trail. Kippers become red-colored during the smoking process, and are no longer “white herrings”.

19 Wax-coated cheese : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

24 __ Cabos: Baja area : LOS

Los Cabos is a municipality located right at the very southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula that has a very vibrant tourist industry. The name “Los Cabos” translates from Spanish as “The Capes”.

25 Bovine-named pet food brand : BLUE BUFFALO

Blue Buffalo is a company that makes cat and dog food. Founder Bill Bishop named the company for his pet Airedale Terrier “Blue”.

31 Online addresses: Abbr. : IPS

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label assigned to every device on a computer network. The device that you’re using to read this blog post on has been assigned a unique IP address, as has the computer that I’m using to make this post …

37 Costly possession that’s no longer useful : WHITE ELEPHANT

We use the idiomatic term “white elephant” to describe an object or venture that costs more to maintain than can be gained by disposing of it. The term comes from the tradition of presenting a white, albino elephant to a Southeast Asian monarch. Such a beast was a blessing, in that it was viewed as sacred and a sign of great power. It was also a curse, in that the animal was of no practical use and was expensive to maintain. The derivative phrase “white elephant gift exchange” refers to a party game in which impractical gag gifts are exchanged, usually at Christmas.

41 Cross shapes : TAUS

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter which gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

42 Dugouts, e.g. : CANOES

The boat known as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

43 “We the Living” writer Rand : AYN

“We the Living” is the first novel by the author Ayn Rand, and was published in 1936. According to the author, the storyline is somewhat autobiographical, and reflects Rand’s early life in post-revolutionary Russia.

46 Melonlike tropical fruit : PAPAWS

The papaw (also “pawpaw”) tree is native to North America and has a fruit that looks similar to a papaya. Papaw probably gets its name from the word papaya, but papaw and papaya are two distinct species.

50 Diamond in a 1963 Peter Sellers film : PINK PANTHER

Apparently, some people think that the Inspector Clouseau character (played originally by Peter Sellers) is “The Pink Panther”. It’s actually the jewel that was stolen in the original movie. Would you believe there are eleven “Pink Panther” movies in the whole series?

55 Chinese currency : YUAN

The Korean won, Chinese yuan, and Japanese yen (all of which are Asian currencies) take their names from the Chinese written character that represents “round shape”.

56 Tofu source : SOY

“Tofu” is a name for bean curd, and is a Japanese word meaning just that … bean that has curdled. Tofu is produced by coagulating soy milk, using either salt or something acidic. Once the protein has coagulated, the curds are pressed into the familiar blocks. Personally I love tofu, but my wife, she absolutely hates it …

58 __ Crunch : CAP’N

The first Cap’n Crunch commercials aired in 1963, at the time the product line was launched. The Cap’n’s full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch, would you believe? Crunch’s voice was provided for many years by Daws Butler, the same voice actor who gave us Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. Cap’n Crunch is commander of the S.S. Guppy.

63 “The Time Machine” 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.

65 __ Meunier: Champagne grape : PINOT

Champagne is made primarily using Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier grapes (both of which are mainly used to make red wine), as well as white Chardonnay grapes. Rosé Champagne is made from a blend of all three grapes, Blanc de noir Champagne from Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier, and Blanc de blanc from 100% Chardonnay.

67 Swiss landscape highlights : ALPS

There are eight Alpine countries:

  • Austria
  • Slovenia
  • France
  • Switzerland
  • Liechtenstein
  • Germany
  • Monaco
  • Italy

Down

1 Henner of “Taxi” : MARILU

As an actress, Marilu Henner’s most celebrated role was as Elaine O’Connor Nardo on “Taxi”. Henner has a condition called a Superior Autobiographical Memory. This means that she can recall information and events that took place on every day of her life, starting from a very early age.

“Taxi” is a sitcom that aired in the late seventies and early eighties. “Taxi” was the big break for a host of great comic actors including Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman.

5 Letter akin to omega : ZEE

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is the one that looks like a horseshoe when in uppercase. The lowercase omega looks like a Latin W. The word “omega” literally means “great O” (O-mega). Compare this with the Greek letter Omicron, meaning “little O” (O-micron).

The letter named “zed” has been around since about 1400, and derives from the Greek letter zeta. The spelling and pronunciation “zee”, used in America today, first popped up in the 1670s. The spelling and pronunciation “zed” is still used in Britain and Ireland.

6 Ionian Sea island : CORFU

Corfu is an island in the very northwest of Greece, and is located in the Ionian Sea. Corfu is a very, very popular vacation destination for European tourists, particularly those from the UK, Scandinavia and Germany.

The Ionian Sea is that part of the Mediterranean lying between Greece and the southern part of Italy (under the sole of the “boot”). The Ionian Sea is one of the most seismically active regions on the planet.

7 Strike, biblically : SMITE

To smite is to strike with a firm blow. The term “smite” can also mean “strike down and slay”.

18 Baseball Hall of Famer Fingers : ROLLIE

Rollie Fingers is a former MLB relief pitcher, only the second relief pitcher to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fingers is noted for his waxed handlebar moustache. He originally grew it along with other players to get a bonus payment while playing for the Oakland Athletics, but he still sports it to this day.

25 Hot dog relative : BRAT

A bratwurst (sometimes “brat” in the US) is a German sausage. The name comes from “brät-” meaning “finely chopped meat”, and “Wurst” meaning “sausage”.

26 Six-term Delaware senator : BIDEN

Vice President Joe Biden was a US Senator representing the state of Delaware from 1973 until he joined the Obama administration. While he was a senator, Vice President Biden commuted to Washington from Wilmington, Delaware almost every working day. He was such an active customer and supporter of Amtrak that the Wilmington Station was renamed as the Joseph R. Biden Railroad Station in 2011. Biden has made over 7,000 trips from that station, and the Amtrak crews were known to even hold the last train for a few minutes so that he could catch it. Biden earned himself the nickname “Amtrak Joe”.

30 “Trinity” novelist : URIS

“Trinity” is a 1976 novel by American author Leon Uris. The story is set in Ireland, with a storyline that runs from the Great Famine of the 1840s through the Easter Rising of 1916.

34 Hazardous material cleaning, briefly : DECON

Decontamination (decon)

35 She, in Lisbon : ELA

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. It is the westernmost capital city in Europe, and indeed is the westernmost large city on the continent. Lisbon is also the oldest city in Western Europe, and was founded hundreds of years before London, Paris and Rome.

38 Pooh’s pride, as Pooh would spell it : HUNNY POT

Winnie-the-Pooh’s favorite food is “hunny”, i.e. “honey”.

39 Sailor since 1929 : POPEYE

Popeye first appeared in 1929 in a comic strip called “Thimble Theatre”. The strip, created by E. C. Segar, ran for ten years before Popeye made an appearance. Popeye received such a great welcome from readers that he soon “took over” the strip, and eventually even hogged the strip’s title. Before Popeye turned up, Olive Oyl was the main character.

44 Keg filler, briefly : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

45 Patrick of NASCAR fame : DANICA

Danica Patrick is a very successful, retired auto racing driver. She won the 2008 Indy Japan 300, making her the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race. Patrick also finished third in the 2009 Indy 500, the highest finish for a woman in that race.

47 South Korean carrier : ASIANA

Asiana is the second-largest airline in South Korea, behind Korean Air. It was founded in 1988, and as a result ended the monopoly that had been enjoyed by Korean Air.

49 Neighbor of Tampa, Fla. : ST PETE

Saint Petersburg, Florida is often referred to as St. Pete by locals and visitors alike. The neighboring city of Saint Petersburg Beach also had its name shortened routinely, so in 1994 the residents voted to change the name officially to St. Pete Beach.

51 Mila of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” : KUNIS

Mila Kunis is a Ukrainian-born, American actress who plays Jackie Burkhart on “That ’70s Show”. Fans of the cartoon series “Family Guy” might recognize her voicing the Meg Griffin character. In ”Black Swan”, Kunis plays a rival ballet dancer to the character played by Natalie Portman. In her personal life, Kunis dated Macaulay Culkin for 8 years, but married Ashton Kutcher, her co-star from “That 70s Show”, in 2015.

52 Metro station, in Boston : T STOP

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is referred to as the MBTA, or more usually “the T”. It’s called “the T” because the company’s logo is the letter T in a circle. The MTBA was founded in 1964 as a successor to Boston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). It was Boston’s MTA that inspired the 1959 hit for the Kingston Trio called “M.T.A.”

53 Hostess products : HO HOS

Ho Hos snack cakes were first produced in San Francisco in 1967. The “Happy Ho Ho” mascot was created for the brand in the 1970s, and was a cartoon character in a Robin Hood outfit. Ho Hos weren’t the best thing to come out of the sixties I’d say …

58 Animation unit : CEL

In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

61 Org. with Sharks and Predators : NHL

The San Jose Sharks hockey team play their home games at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, a venue that we locals call “the Shark Tank”.

The Predators are the National Hockey League team based in Nashville, Tennessee.

62 Beach meas. : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Frankie who played Malcolm in “Malcolm in the Middle” : MUNIZ
6 Forensic CBS episodes : CSIS
10 Urban pollution : SMOG
14 In unison : AS ONE
15 Hyatt competitor : OMNI
16 Own : HAVE
17 Whodunit misdirection : RED HERRING
19 Wax-coated cheese : EDAM
20 “Look what __!” : I DID
21 Poetic adverb : OFT
22 Kind of green : NILE
24 __ Cabos: Baja area : LOS
25 Bovine-named pet food brand : BLUE BUFFALO
29 Straighten, as hair : UNCURL
31 Online addresses: Abbr. : IPS
32 “Tubular!” : RAD!
33 Burst in on, maybe : RAIDED
36 Bit of misdirection : RUSE
37 Costly possession that’s no longer useful : WHITE ELEPHANT
41 Cross shapes : TAUS
42 Dugouts, e.g. : CANOES
43 “We the Living” writer Rand : AYN
44 Wedding vow : I DO
46 Melonlike tropical fruit : PAPAWS
50 Diamond in a 1963 Peter Sellers film : PINK PANTHER
54 Pose for a portrait : SIT
55 Chinese currency : YUAN
56 Tofu source : SOY
57 Thin smoke trail : WISP
58 __ Crunch : CAP’N
60 Where this puzzle’s “animals” might congregate? : IN THE SHADE
63 “The Time Machine” race : ELOI
64 Polite sneeze : CHOO!
65 __ Meunier: Champagne grape : PINOT
66 Court do-overs : LETS
67 Swiss landscape highlights : ALPS
68 Set up : FRAME

Down

1 Henner of “Taxi” : MARILU
2 Applied to : USED ON
3 DVD player error message : NO DISC
4 Aired with sharper resolution : IN HD
5 Letter akin to omega : ZEE
6 Ionian Sea island : CORFU
7 Strike, biblically : SMITE
8 Roadside stop : INN
9 Enlist : SIGN UP
10 Bookcase part : SHELF
11 Attempted to win, with “for” : MADE A RUN …
12 Lab eggs : OVA
13 50-Across, e.g. : GEM
18 Baseball Hall of Famer Fingers : ROLLIE
23 Conditions : IFS
25 Hot dog relative : BRAT
26 Six-term Delaware senator : BIDEN
27 Final : LAST
28 Tribute in verse : ODE
30 “Trinity” novelist : URIS
34 Hazardous material cleaning, briefly : DECON
35 She, in Lisbon : ELA
36 Utter harshly : RASP
37 “The __ see it … ” : WAY I
38 Pooh’s pride, as Pooh would spell it : HUNNY POT
39 Sailor since 1929 : POPEYE
40 Learn : HEAR
41 Keg part : TAP
44 Keg filler, briefly : IPA
45 Patrick of NASCAR fame : DANICA
47 South Korean carrier : ASIANA
48 What may be dispensed in pearls? : WISDOM
49 Neighbor of Tampa, Fla. : ST PETE
51 Mila of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” : KUNIS
52 Metro station, in Boston : T STOP
53 Hostess products : HO HOS
57 Fan sound : WHIR
58 Animation unit : CEL
59 Part of 44-Down : ALE
61 Org. with Sharks and Predators : NHL
62 Beach meas. : SPF