LA Times Crossword 7 Aug 20, Friday

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Constructed by: Chuck Deodene
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Monitors

Themed clues are the same, namely “Monitor”:

  • 17A Monitor : OLD WORLD REPTILE
  • 26A Monitor : HALLWAY OVERSEER
  • 46A Monitor : COMPUTER DISPLAY
  • 60A Monitor : IRONCLAD WARSHIP

Bill’s time: 7m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Singer who co-founded the AIDS-fighting Product Red : BONO

Product Red is a brand that was founded in 2006 by U2’s Bono and American activist Bobby Shriver. The brand is licensed to partner companies who produce products carrying the Product Red logo. A portion of the profits earned go to a fund that fights HIV/AIDS in several African countries.

10 Grand slam quartet: Abbr. : RBIS

In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with runners on all three bases, leading to a score of four runs.

15 Aspire laptop maker : ACER

Acer’s Aspire line is a series of personal computers, both desktops and laptops, that were introduced in 1999.

16 Danish architect Jacobsen : ARNE

Arne Jacobsen was an architect and designer from Denmark. Some of Jacobsen’s most famous designs were functional chairs. He came up with modern-day classic designs such as the egg, ant, drop and swan chairs.

17 Monitor : OLD WORLD REPTILE

Monitor lizards are so called because they tend to stand up on their hind legs and “monitor” their surroundings.

21 Progressive promoter played by Stephanie Courtney : FLO

Progressive is a popular auto insurance company, the one that uses the perky character named “Flo” as a spokesperson. Flo is played by comedian and actress Stephanie Courtney.

24 Elegantly groomed : SOIGNE

“Soigné” is a French word meaning “taken care of” that we use to mean “elegantly groomed”.

32 Brief “I think” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

34 H.S. ordeal : SAT

Today, the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the abbreviation “SAT”.

37 Mozart title word meaning “all” : TUTTE

Mozart’s comic opera “Così fan tutte” is also known in English as “The School for Lovers”. The literal translation of the opera’s Italian title is “Thus do all (women)”, or “Women are like that”.

39 Fluctuate : YO-YO

Would you believe that the first yo-yos date back to 500 BC? There is even an ancient Greek vase painting that shows a young man playing with a yo-yo. Centuries later Filipinos were using yo-yos as hunting tools in the 1500s. “Yo-yo” is a Tagalog (Filipino) word meaning “come-come” or simply “return”.

42 Noir film weapon : GAT

“Gat” is a slang term for a gun that is derived from “Gatling gun”, the precursor to the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was invented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861. Apparently he was inspired to invent it so that one man could do as much damage as a hundred, thereby reducing the size of armies and diminishing the suffering caused by war. Go figure …

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

45 Supervillain Luthor : LEX

Lex Luthor is the arch-nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.

51 Common soccer tie : ONE-ONE

Soccer (also known as “association football”) is the most popular sport in the world. The term “association football” was introduced in 1863 in England, with the name chosen to distinguish the sport from rugby football. The term “soccer” started to appear about 20 years later in Oxford, as an abbreviation for “association”.

52 Suffix with propyl : -ENE

Propene (also known as “propylene”) is a colorless gas in the alkene class of organic compounds. Most of the propene produced is used to make polypropylene, a plastic that has a wide range of applications, e.g piping, food containers, clear plastic bags and clothing.

56 Hash house tool : SPATULA

A spatula is a tool or implement used for mixing, lifting or spreading. “Spatula” is the Latin name for the tool, and is a diminutive of the word “spatha” meaning “broad, flat blade”. “Spatha” also gives rise to our related term “spade”.

“Hash house” is a slang term describing a cheap restaurant.

60 Monitor : IRONCLAD WARSHIP

A monitor was a small warship with particularly large guns. The original such ship was designed in 1861 and was named the USS Monitor, which accounts for the name of the whole class of vessels. One of the main principles in the design was to provide a lot of firepower from a very small target. Monitors had an exceptionally low profile, and very little armor. Their main defense was the surrounding water.

64 Pod in Southern cooking : OKRA

The plant known as okra is mainly grown for its edible green pods. The pods are said to resemble “ladies’ fingers”, which is an alternative name for the plant. Okra is known as “ngombo” in Bantu, a name that might give us the word “gumbo”, the name for the name of the southern Louisiana stew that includes okra as a key ingredient.

66 Novelist Seton : ANYA

“Anya Seton” was the pen name of Ann Seton, an author of historical romances from New York City. Seton’s 1944 novel “Dragonwyck” was released into theaters in 1946 and starred Gene Tierney and Walter Huston.

68 Nectarine center : STONE

A nectarine is a cultivar of peach. It is noted for its smooth skin, as opposed to the fuzzy skin of the traditional peach.

Down

1 Enclosure for piggies? : SHOE

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none,
And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home.

2 Basketball Hall of Famer Frazier : WALT

Walt Frazier is a retired professional basketball player. He was captain of the New York Knicks when they won their only NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973.

3 Icelandic literary work : EDDA

The “Poetic Edda” and “Prose Edda” are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in the 13th century in Iceland.

6 Short on tread : BALD

A retread tire is one that has been recycled, possibly more than once. The tread of the old tire is buffed away, and new rubber tread is applied to the “bare” tire using some special process that seems to work really well (except for truck tires, in my humble opinion!). Retreads are a lot cheaper, and obviously are relatively friendly to the environment.

7 Monk’s condition, in the TV show : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

“Monk” is a police drama set in San Francisco starring Tony Shalhoub in the title role of Adrian Monk. Although set in the San Francisco Bay Area, the show is actually shot in Los Angeles.

8 Indoor ball brand : NERF

Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

10 Pixar’s aspiring chef Remy is one : RAT

“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt. The veteran actor Peter O’Toole voiced the character Anton Ego, a restaurant critic.

18 Meal : REPAST

Our word “repast”, meaning “meal”. came to us via French (in which language “repas” is “meal”). Ultimately the term comes from the Latin “repascere” meaning “to repeatedly graze”.

19 Possessive on a stock index : POOR’S

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is a financial services company that is famous for its stock market indices, especially the S&P 500. The company also publishes credit ratings for sovereign governments, and in 2011 famously lowered the rating of the US federal government from AAA to AA+.

27 “Making It” co-host Poehler : AMY

Amy Poehler was a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2001 to 2008, notable for appearing in many great sketches, including those where she played Hillary Clinton opposite Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. Poehler also starred with Fey in the 2008 movie “Baby Mama”. And, Poehler led the cast of the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” for its seven-season run.

“Making It” is a reality TV show in which contestants match their craft-making skills. Launched in 2018, the series is hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman.

30 KitchenAid competitor : OSTER

The Oster brand of small appliances was introduced in 1924 by John Oster. He started out by making manually-powered hair clippers designed for cutting women’s hair, and followed up with a motorized version in 1928. The clippers kept the company in business until 1946 when Oster diversified, buying a manufacturer of liquefying blenders in 1946. The blender was renamed to “Osterizer” and was a big hit. Oster was bought by Sunbeam, which has owned the brand since 1960.

The KitchenAid brand of home appliances were introduced in 1919 by the Hobart Corporation. The first product produced was the famous KitchenAid line of stand mixers.

31 Cast a ballot : VOTED

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

36 Mob boss : CAPO

More properly called a caporegime, a capo is a high-ranking member of the Mafia (Cosa Nostra).

38 Keystone St. port : ERIE, PA

Erie is a city in the very north of Pennsylvania, sitting on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” water of Lake Erie.

41 Clearasil shelfmate : OXY

OXY 10 is a brand name for a medication with the active ingredient benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is used as an acne treatment, as well as for dyeing hair, for whitening teeth and in the preparation of flour.

Clearasil acne medication was developed in 1940 by Ivan Combe and Kedzie Teller. Combe promoted the product by sponsoring the television show “American Bandstand” for many years.

43 Roman top : TUNIC

In ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

46 Caribbean cigar brand : COHIBA

Cuban leader Fidel Castro smoked the Cohiba brand of cigar, which comes from his native land. The cigars made for Castro and his top officials were produced under conditions of tight security. Apparently, back in the early sixties, the CIA actually worked on the development of exploding cigars as a means of assassination.

47 Practicing for the marathon, say : ON A RUN

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

48 1938 Dupont discovery : TEFLON

Teflon is a brand name for the polymer called PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene). Teflon is used as a coating for nonstick pans, a lubricant in machinery and as a graft material in surgery. Dupont discovered PTFE in 1938, and registered Teflon as a trademark in 1945.

49 Inhales at mealtime : SNARFS

To snarf down is to gobble up, to eat voraciously. “Snarf” is a slang term that is probably related to “scarf”, which has the same meaning.

50 Watch a boxer, e.g. : PET-SIT

The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites!) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful combination. Our current family dog is a boxer/pug mix, and is another gorgeous animal.

56 “__ Lake” : SWAN

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “Swan Lake” tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

58 It may be on the house : LIEN

A lien is the right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.

59 Abbey area : APSE

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.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Drops from a workout : SWEAT
6 Singer who co-founded the AIDS-fighting Product Red : BONO
10 Grand slam quartet: Abbr. : RBIS
14 Was obligated : HAD TO
15 Aspire laptop maker : ACER
16 Danish architect Jacobsen : ARNE
17 Monitor : OLD WORLD REPTILE
20 Sold online : E-TAILED
21 Progressive promoter played by Stephanie Courtney : FLO
22 Accomplished : DID
23 Sever, with “off” : LOP …
24 Elegantly groomed : SOIGNE
26 Monitor : HALLWAY OVERSEER
32 Brief “I think” : IMO
33 “Meh” : SO-SO
34 H.S. ordeal : SAT
35 Bring together : SYNC
37 Mozart title word meaning “all” : TUTTE
39 Fluctuate : YO-YO
42 Noir film weapon : GAT
44 Zig or zag : VEER
45 Supervillain Luthor : LEX
46 Monitor : COMPUTER DISPLAY
51 Common soccer tie : ONE-ONE
52 Suffix with propyl : -ENE
53 It may be glazed : HAM
54 Stipulations : IFS
56 Hash house tool : SPATULA
60 Monitor : IRONCLAD WARSHIP
63 Outlying area, briefly : BURB
64 Pod in Southern cooking : OKRA
65 Civil penalties : FINES
66 Novelist Seton : ANYA
67 German no : NEIN
68 Nectarine center : STONE

Down

1 Enclosure for piggies? : SHOE
2 Basketball Hall of Famer Frazier : WALT
3 Icelandic literary work : EDDA
4 Whenever one’s heart desires : AT WILL
5 Like pitches in the dirt : TOO LOW
6 Short on tread : BALD
7 Monk’s condition, in the TV show : OCD
8 Indoor ball brand : NERF
9 Warning words : OR ELSE
10 Pixar’s aspiring chef Remy is one : RAT
11 Fee for crossing : BRIDGE TOLL
12 Queued up : IN LINE
13 Farm equipment : SEEDER
18 Meal : REPAST
19 Possessive on a stock index : POOR’S
25 “Good gracious!” : I SAY!
26 Quick hellos : HIS
27 “Making It” co-host Poehler : AMY
28 Grudge holder’s trait : LONG MEMORY
29 “__ got this!” : YOU’VE
30 KitchenAid competitor : OSTER
31 Cast a ballot : VOTED
36 Mob boss : CAPO
38 Keystone St. port : ERIE, PA
40 Word of support : YEA
41 Clearasil shelfmate : OXY
43 Roman top : TUNIC
46 Caribbean cigar brand : COHIBA
47 Practicing for the marathon, say : ON A RUN
48 1938 Dupont discovery : TEFLON
49 Inhales at mealtime : SNARFS
50 Watch a boxer, e.g. : PET-SIT
55 Advantage : SAKE
56 “__ Lake” : SWAN
57 “Hmm … don’t think so” : UH … NO
58 It may be on the house : LIEN
59 Abbey area : APSE
61 Org. with a February All-Star Weekend : NBA
62 Soft & __: deodorant : DRI