LA Times Crossword 10 Dec 20, Thursday

Advertisement

Constructed by: David Distenfeld
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Double Park

Themed answers are each an animal described by an adjective that is an anagram of the name of that animal:

  • 60A Leave one’s car unlawfully … or where you might expect to find the creatures in the answers to starred clues? : DOUBLE-PARK or DOUBLE PARK
  • 17A *Bovine that doesn’t waste words? : TERSE STEER
  • 24A *Dog that had a few too many? : LOOPED POODLE
  • 34A *Sheep that can’t see over the pasture wall? : WEE EWE
  • 41A *Insect that caught some rays? : TAN ANT
  • 48A *Weasel family critter wearing clothes? : GARBED BADGER

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

Bill’s time: 7m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Arizona locale for MLB spring training fans : MESA

The city of Mesa, Arizona is in effect a suburb of Phoenix. The original settlement of non-Native Americans was founded by Daniel Webster Jones who led a Mormon group from St. George, Utah. The settlement was first called Jonesville, then Fort Utah and eventually Lehi. A second group of Mormons arrived and formed a settlement on top of a nearby mesa. It was this use of a mesa that eventually gave the city its current name.

5 __ breath: bouquet filler : BABY’S

“Baby’s breath” is the name used in the US and Canada for Gypsophila, a genus of flowering plants. Gypsophila can often be found on calcium-rich soils including gypsum, which gives the plant its name. Baby’s breath is often used as a filler in floral bouquets, and an adornment worn in the hair by young women at weddings.

10 Human rights lawyer Clooney : AMAL

Amal Alamuddin married celebrated Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014. Alamuddin was born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved with her family to London when she was a toddler. She is a lawyer specializing in international law, with one of her more renowned clients being the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.

16 Nosh : BITE

Our word “nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”. We use “nosh” as a noun that means “snack”, or as a verb meaning “to eat between meals”.

17 *Bovine that doesn’t waste words? : TERSE STEER

A steer is a male bovine that was castrated when young and is then raised for beef. The term “steer” comes from the Old English “steor” meaning “bullock”.

23 Central Park tree : ELM

The man most associated with the decision to develop Central Park in New York City was William Cullen Bryant, the editor of what today is the “New York Post”. He argued that the growing city needed a large, public open space, along the lines of Hyde Park in London and the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Most of the park’s construction took place between 1860 and 1873. Much of the clearing work was accomplished using gunpowder, and it is often noted that more gunpowder was used in Central Park than in the Battle of Gettysburg.

24 *Dog that had a few too many? : LOOPED POODLE

The standard poodle breed of dog is considered by many to be the second-most intelligent breed, after the border collie. The name “poodle” comes from a Low German word meaning “to splash about”, reflecting the original use of the breed as a water retriever.

30 __ Canadiens: Montréal team : LES

The Montreal Canadiens hockey team is known by the nickname “Habs”, which is short for “Les Habitants”. “Les habitants” were the original French settlers in Quebec.

31 Stenographer’s stat : WPM

Words per minute (WPM)

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).

32 Big Ten sch. : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”.

37 Choice cut : SIRLOIN

The name of the cut of meat known as “sirloin” comes from the French “sur” (over) and “longe” (loin). There is a story dating back to the early 1600s that the “sur” changed to “sir” because the cut was a favorite of an English king and so he “knighted” it, dubbed it “Sir Loin”.

40 Fair treat : CORN DOG

The hot dog on a stick (corn dog) dates back at least to 1947, and probably earlier. The name corn dog comes from the corn batter around the hot dog, and its resemblance on the stick to an ear of corn.

46 Tests for future OBs : MCATS

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

48 *Weasel family critter wearing clothes? : GARBED BADGER

Badgers are short-legged animals in the weasel family. The short legs are powerful, and adapted for efficient digging. Badgers live in underground burrows known as setts.

52 2019 event for Pinterest, briefly : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

Pinterest is a free website which can be used to save and manage images (called “pins”) and other media. For some reason, the vast majority of Pinterest users are women.

53 Legal wrong : TORT

“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

62 Mudville number : NINE

“Casey at the Bat” is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, first published in the San Francisco Examiner. The poem became very popular due to repeated live performances in vaudeville by DeWolf Hopper. Casey played for the Mudville Nine, and the last line of the poem is “But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.”

64 Pop singer Sands : EVIE

Evie Sands is a singer from Brooklyn, New York. Sands is also a noted songwriter, having penned songs that have been recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt and Dusty Springfield.

65 “Meet the Press” moderator : TODD

Chuck Todd is a television journalist. Todd was the Chief White House Correspondent for NBC, before taking over as moderator of “Meet the Press” in 2014.

NBC’s news and interview show “Meet the Press” first aired in 1947. That’s a long time ago, and so “Meet the Press” is the longest-running television series in US broadcasting history.

Down

1 “The Simpsons” creator Groening : MATT

Matt Groening is a cartoonist. He created two successful animated shows for television, namely “The Simpsons” and “Futurama” (neither of which I understand!).

3 iPhone assistant : SIRI

Siri is a software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri a few years ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

5 Low voice : BASSO

The bass is the lowest male singing voice. A man with such a voice might be called a “basso” (plural “bassi”). In an opera, the villain of the piece is usually played by a basso.

7 Disco trio with a Grammy Legend Award : BEE GEES

The Brothers Gibb (hence, the name “The Bee Gees”) were born in England but grew up and started their musical careers in Australia. They moved back to Manchester in the north of England as youths, and there hit the big time.

The Grammy Legend Award has been presented intermittently during the annual Grammy Awards ceremony starting in 1990. The prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievements in the music industry. The short list of recipients includes names like Andrew Lloyd Weber, Arethra Franklin, Johnny Cash, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti.

10 Prez on a penny : ABE

The US one-cent coin has borne the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Fifty years later, a representation of the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side.

18 SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is a space transportation company that was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, veteran of PayPal and Tesla Motors. In 2012, SpaceX became the first private concern to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) and, in 2020, the first to send humans to the ISS. Apparently, SpaceX is the lowest-price player in the game.

22 Links machine : MOWER
26 Links event : OPEN

The oldest type of golf course is a links course. The name “links” comes from the Old English word “hlinc” meaning “rising ground”. “Hlinc” was used to describe areas with coastal sand dunes or open parkland. As a result, we use the term “links course” to mean a golf course that is located at or on the coast, often amid sand dunes. The British Open is always played on a links course.

28 Bangkok locale : ASIA

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand. The exact etymology of the name “Bangkok” seems unclear, although “bang” is a Thai word for “a village situated on a stream”.

35 Habit : WONT

The adjective “wont” means “accustomed”, as in “I am wont to solving the crossword of an evening”.

38 Moussaka meat : LAMB

Moussaka is a delicious dish from the Balkans that uses eggplant or potato as a base. The dish often includes ground meat, particularly lamb.

45 Visiting Vietnam, say : ABROAD

Vietnam is the country with the 13th-largest population in the word. It covers all of the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

47 Breakfast fare : CREPES

“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.

48 Colossal : GIANT

A colossus (plural “colossi”) is an exceptionally large statue, the most famous of which was the Colossus of Rhodes. This was a statue of the god Helios that stood over 100 feet tall, on the Greek island of Rhodes. New York’s Statue of Liberty was designed to have similar dimensions. The Emma Lazarus poem that is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is in fact titled “The New Colossus”.

49 Sitcom set in a H.S. science class : AP BIO

“AP Bio” is a sitcom that started airing in 2018. The main character in the show is a disgraced Harvard philosophy professor who is forced to return to his hometown of Toledo to work as an AP biology teacher.

51 Desired medals : GOLDS

In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

55 Etna output : LAVA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcanoes in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I eat”.

56 Hindu titles : SRIS

“Sri” is a title of respect for a male in India.

59 “Ideas worth spreading” conference : TED

The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

61 Folds of music : BEN

Ben Folds is a singer-songwriter who for several years led the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Arizona locale for MLB spring training fans : MESA
5 __ breath: bouquet filler : BABY’S
10 Human rights lawyer Clooney : AMAL
14 Enthusiastic : AVID
15 Crush the final : ACE IT
16 Nosh : BITE
17 *Bovine that doesn’t waste words? : TERSE STEER
19 Class struggle? : EXAM
20 Court events : TRIALS
21 Glitz : GLAM
23 Central Park tree : ELM
24 *Dog that had a few too many? : LOOPED POODLE
27 Approach evening : LATEN
30 __ Canadiens: Montréal team : LES
31 Stenographer’s stat : WPM
32 Big Ten sch. : OSU
33 “I __ had!” : WAS
34 *Sheep that can’t see over the pasture wall? : WEE EWE
37 Choice cut : SIRLOIN
40 Fair treat : CORN DOG
41 *Insect that caught some rays? : TAN ANT
42 Scatter, as seed : SOW
43 Having one sharp : IN G
44 Morning hrs. : AMS
45 Downed : ATE
46 Tests for future OBs : MCATS
48 *Weasel family critter wearing clothes? : GARBED BADGER
52 2019 event for Pinterest, briefly : IPO
53 Legal wrong : TORT
54 Ultimatum words : OR ELSE
58 Border : ABUT
60 Leave one’s car unlawfully … or where you might expect to find the creatures in the answers to starred clues? : DOUBLE-PARK or DOUBLE PARK
62 Mudville number : NINE
63 Exclusive, as a community : GATED
64 Pop singer Sands : EVIE
65 “Meet the Press” moderator : TODD
66 Perfect places : EDENS
67 Talk back to : SASS

Down

1 “The Simpsons” creator Groening : MATT
2 “Did you __?!” : EVER
3 iPhone assistant : SIRI
4 Source of website revenue : AD SALE
5 Low voice : BASSO
6 Take steps : ACT
7 Disco trio with a Grammy Legend Award : BEE GEES
8 Cedes the floor : YIELDS
9 Guitar band : STRAP
10 Prez on a penny : ABE
11 Eclectic art technique : MIXED MEDIA
12 In the least : AT ALL
13 “I wanna!” : LEMME!
18 SpaceX CEO Musk : ELON
22 Links machine : MOWER
25 Have in mind : PLAN
26 Links event : OPEN
27 Without a clue : LOST
28 Bangkok locale : ASIA
29 React to a missed exit : TURN AROUND
33 Clever one : WIT
34 “Holy moly!” : WOW!
35 Habit : WONT
36 Breakfast fare : EGGS
38 Moussaka meat : LAMB
39 Start : ONSET
40 Like some dorms : COED
42 Law : STATUTE
45 Visiting Vietnam, say : ABROAD
46 Scant : MERE
47 Breakfast fare : CREPES
48 Colossal : GIANT
49 Sitcom set in a H.S. science class : AP BIO
50 Duck : DODGE
51 Desired medals : GOLDS
55 Etna output : LAVA
56 Hindu titles : SRIS
57 Scrapes (out) : EKES
59 “Ideas worth spreading” conference : TED
61 Folds of music : BEN