LA Times Crossword 19 Oct 20, Monday

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Constructed by: Craig Stowe
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Twist-Tops

Themed answers each start with a TWISTED, an anagram of, “TOPS”:

• 64A Easy-to-remove caps … or one way to get the starts of the answers to starred clues? : TWIST-TOPS

• 17A *Chooses not to partake in : OPTS OUT OF
• 25A *Random quality-control measure : SPOT-CHECK
• 30A *Often herky-jerky animation technique : STOP MOTION
• 45A *Rainbow-end rewards : POTS OF GOLD
• 50A *Lickety-split : POSTHASTE

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13 Zero, in soccer : NIL

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”.

14 “Star Trek” communications officer : UHURA

Lt. Nyota Uhura is the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, and is played by Nichelle Nichols. The role is significant in that Uhura was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first interracial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner claims that he deliberately ran long on the first take (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second take (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.

16 Crosswise, shipwise : ABEAM

The beam is the widest part of a nautical vessel. Something pointed out as lying “abeam” is something that is 90 degrees from a line through the bow and the stern, in other words directly off to the right or the left.

19 Cocoon occupant : LARVA

The larva is an intermediate stage in the development of an insect. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. “Larva” is a Latin word that can translate as “mask”. The term is used in the context of insects as the larval stage can “mask” the appearance of the adult.

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.

20 Six-sided state : UTAH

When viewed on a map of the US, the state of Utah has six sides. It’s almost shaped like a rectangle, but there is a “bite” out of that rectangle in the northeast corner of the state.

22 Part of PTA: Abbr. : ASSOC

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

23 North or South Asian country : KOREA

Korea was occupied by the Japanese military from 1910 until Japan surrendered at the end of WWII in 1945. While the UN was working towards a trusteeship administration for Korea, the Soviet Union managed the Korean Peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the US managed the south. The UN’s plans came to naught as the Cold War dictated the establishment of the two separate states of North Korea and South Korea. North Korea invaded the South in 1950, leading to the Korean War. After three years of fighting, the border between the two states became the demarcation line between the two military forces on the day the Armistice Agreement was signed. That line runs diagonally across the 38th parallel, and is better known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

27 Actress Behrs of “2 Broke Girls” : BETH

Actress Beth Behrs is best known for playing one of the leads in the sitcom “2 Broke Girls”. Behrs married fellow actor Michael Gladis in 2018. Gladis is best known for playing Paul Kinsey on the TV drama “Mad Men”.

“2 Broke Girls” is a sitcom about two young ladies sharing an apartment in Brooklyn, and their attempts to launch a cupcake business. The title characters are played by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs.

39 Scarecrow material : HAY

Hay is dried grass that is stored for use as animal fodder. Straw consists of the dried stalks of cereal plants, the residue left after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw can also be used as animal fodder, as well as fuel, bedding and thatch.

45 *Rainbow-end rewards : POTS OF GOLD

A leprechaun is a mischievous fairy of Irish folklore. Traditionally, leprechauns spend their days making shoes and hide all their money in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Our word “leprechaun” comes from the Irish name for such a sprite, i.e. “leipreachán”.

50 *Lickety-split : POSTHASTE

We use the adverb “posthaste” to mean “speedily”. Back as far as the mid-1500s, the phrase “post haste” was written on letters (post) that were to be delivered without delay. The suggestion is that our modern term comes from this original usage.

“Lickety-split” is the latest in a line of terms that come from the word “lick”, which was used in the sense of a “fast sprint in a race” back in the early 1800s. From “lick” there evolved “licketie”, “lickety-click”, “lickety-cut” and finally “lickety-split”, all just colorful ways to say “fast”.

56 Front-end wheel alignment : TOE-IN

In the world of car maintenance, “toe” is also known as “tracking”, the angle a wheel makes relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

60 Kansas city : IOLA

Iola is a city in southeast Kansas. The city is named for Iola, wife of J. F. Colburn, one of the owners of the land that was chosen as a site for the town in the late 1850s.

62 Youngest Brontë sister : ANNE

Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Brontë family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter from a young man describing the events leading up to his first meeting with his wife-to-be. Anne Brontë’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.

66 Panfry : SAUTE

“Sauté” is a French word. The literal translation from the French is “jumped” or “bounced”, a reference to the tossing of food while cooking it in a frying pan.

67 Cocktail garnishes : ZESTS

Our word “cocktail” first appeared in the early 1800s. The exact origin of the term is not clear, but it is thought to be a corruption of the French word “coquetier” meaning “egg cup”, a container that was used at that time for serving mixed drinks.

68 Boy king : TUT

“King Tut” is a name commonly used for the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun may not have been the most significant of the pharaohs historically, but he is the most famous today largely because of the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter. Prior to this find, any Egyptian tombs uncovered by archaeologists had been ravaged by grave robbers. Tutankhamun’s magnificent burial mask is one of the most recognizable of all Egyptian artifacts.

71 UFO crew, they say : ETS

One might speculate that an unidentified flying object (UFO) is flown by an extraterrestrial (ET).

Down

1 Aimée of “8 1/2” : ANOUK

Anouk Aimée is a French film actress. Aimée’s most famous film outside of France is probably the internationally successful 1966 French hit “A Man and a Woman”, in which she played the female lead.

3 Young acolytes : ALTAR BOYS

The word “acolyte” comes from the Greek “akolouthos” meaning “companion, attendant, helper”. In the Christian tradition, an acolyte is an individual who assists some way in a ceremony, by lighting candles for example. In more general terms, an acolyte is a devoted follower or attendant.

4 Quid pro __ : QUO

“Quid pro quo” is Latin for “something for something”, i.e. a swap.

8 Royal residence : PALACE

Our word “palace” ultimately comes from the name of Rome’s Palatine Hill, “Mons Palatinus” in Latin. The original “palace” was the house of Augustus Caesar, which stood on the Palatine Hill.

11 Wreak __: cause mayhem : HAVOC

Havoc is great damage or destruction. The term “havoc” comes from the Anglo-French phrase “crier havok”, which was an order given in the late 1500s to soldiers, instructing them to seize plunder.

24 Casino cash dispensers : ATMS

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)

The term “casino” originated in the 1700s, then describing a public room for music or dancing. “Casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

26 Stretching muscle : TENSOR

A tensor muscle is one that tightens or stretches a part of the body.

28 Flashy publicity : HOOPLA

The word “hoopla” means “boisterous excitement”. The term probably comes from “houp-là”, something the French say instead of “upsy-daisy”. Then again, “upsy-daisy” probably isn’t something said very often here in the US …

31 Mai __: cocktail : TAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts Orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

32 Confucian path : TAO

The name of the Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Taoism signifies the true nature of the world.

The sayings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (anglicized from “K’ung Fu-Tse”) are collected in a work called “The Analects” or “Linyu”. It wasn’t Confucius who wrote down his thoughts though, but rather his pupils, some 40 or so years after his death in 479 BC.

33 Loan pmt. part : INT

Interest (int.)

34 Pigs out (on) : ODS

Overdose (OD)

36 Musical symbol with no stem : WHOLE NOTE

Where I grew up, a whole note is called a semibreve, and a half note is a minim.

38 Word with room or board : BED

A board is a piece of sawn lumber that is significantly longer than it is wide. Centuries ago, the term “board” was extended to mean “table”, and later “meals served on a table”. That’s where we get our phrase “bed and board” meaning “food and a place to sleep”.

44 Quench : SATIATE

“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

50 Break down, as a sentence : PARSE

The verb “to parse” means “to state the parts of speech in a sentence”. “Parse” comes from the Latin word “pars” meaning “part”.

51 Arctic or Atlantic : OCEAN

The Arctic Ocean is in the north polar region, and is almost completely covered by sea ice in the winter. I think it’s common knowledge that the amount of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean during the summer has been dropping in recent times, as a consequence of climate change.

The earliest known mention of the name “Atlantic”, for the world’s second-largest ocean, was in ancient Greece. The Greeks called said ocean “the Sea of Atlas” or “Atlantis thalassa”.

53 __ bath: therapy treatment : SITZ

A sitz bath is one in which the water comes up to the hips. It is usually a therapeutic bath used to treat discomfort in the lower part of the body. The term comes from the German “Sitzbad” meaning a bath (“bad”) in which one sits. “Sitzen” is German for “to sit”.

54 Sauna wrap, often : TOWEL

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).

55 Beethoven’s “Für __” : ELISE

“Für Elise” is a beautiful piece of solo piano music by Beethoven that is also known as “Bagatelle in A Minor”. “Für Elise” simply means “For Elise”, but sadly no one knows for sure the identity of the mysterious dedicatee.

61 Whodunit pooch : ASTA

Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb “The Thin Man” series of films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing Up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.