LA Times Crossword 26 Feb 21, Friday

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Constructed by: Peter Koetters
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Inside Out

Themed answers are common phrases ending with a 3-letter word. But, the letter INSIDE that last word has been taken OUT and moved to the end:

  • 61A Reversed, in a way … and a hint to the creation of five puzzle answers : INSIDE OUT
  • 17A Beneficial tree tapping? : HEALTH SAP (from “health spa”)
  • 29A Wildebeest with a habit? : SMOKING GNU (from “smoking gun”)
  • 47A Hoop site? : END OF AN EAR (from “end of an era”)
  • 11D Hawaiian wedding accessory? : WHITE LEI (from “white lie”)
  • 37D Top for a Japanese dish? : SUSHI BRA (from “sushi bar”)

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

Bill’s time: 10m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 It’s found in a lock … or a loch : OAR

“Loch” is the Scottish Gaelic word for “lake”. The Irish-Gaelic word is “lough”, and the Welsh word is “llyn”.

4 Founder of one of Israel’s Twelve Tribes : JUDAH

In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob’s twelve sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob’s sons were:

  • Reuben
  • Simeon
  • Levi
  • Judah
  • Dan
  • Naphtali
  • Gad
  • Asher
  • Issachar
  • Zebulun
  • Joseph
  • Benjamin

9 Multilevel marketing giant : AMWAY

Founded in 1959, Amway is still going strong. It is one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States, with sales of around $8 billion and about 13,000 employees.

14 “WALL-E” FX : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

“FX” (sometimes “f/x”) is an abbreviation for “effects”, as in “special effects”.

“WALL-E” is a very cute Pixar movie that was released in 2008. The hero of the piece is a robot named WALL-E, who loves his “Hello Dolly”, and who also falls in love with a robot named EVE.

16 Lake near Squaw Valley : TAHOE

Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general, behind the five Great Lakes. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.

The Squaw Valley ski resort is in the Lake Tahoe area of California. Squaw Valley was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. These were the first Winter Games to be televised live, which gave Squaw Valley a huge commercial boost.

29 Wildebeest with a habit? : SMOKING GNU (from “smoking gun”)

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch meaning “wild beast”.

32 Wells’ Weena et al. : 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.

33 Mississippi river to the Mississippi River : YAZOO

The Yazoo River in the state of Mississippi was named by the French explorer La Salle after the Yazoo Native American tribe who lived near the river’s mouth. It was in the Yazoo River that a naval mine was used for the first time to sink a ship, in 1862. The Confederates successfully used a mine to sink the Union’s ironclad USS Cairo during the Civil War.

34 The Aire runs through it : LEEDS

I went to school for a while not far from Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was a major center for the production and trading of wool, and then with the onset of mechanization it became a natural hub for manufacture of textiles. These days Leeds is noted as a shopping destination and so has been dubbed “the Knightsbridge of the North”.

The Aire is a major river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It rises in North Yorkshire and ultimately flows into the River Ouse in eastern Yorkshire.

35 Common online interruptions : ADS

Yeah, sorry about that …

38 Domed building : ROTUNDA

In architecture, the word “rotunda” describes a building with a circular ground plan. Often the building has a dome, but that isn’t a strict requirement. The term can also refer to a round room within a building. The most famous example in this country is the Rotunda in the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

42 Actress Tierney : MAURA

Maura Tierney is an actress from Boston, Massachusetts. Tierney is best known for playing Lisa Miller on television’s “NewsRadio” and Abby Lockhart on “ER”.

52 One-named “Unapologetic” singer : RIHANNA

Singer Rihanna was born and grew up on the island of Barbados and moved to the US when she was 16-years-old to pursue a singing career. The name “Rihanna” is derived from the Welsh name “Rhiannon”. And, Rihanna sometimes goes by the nickname “RiRi”, which is also the name of her line of beauty products.

59 Range : AMBIT

An ambit is an outer boundary or limit, a circumference. The term can also be used to mean the sphere or scope of influence. “Ambit” comes from the Latin “ambire” meaning “to go around”.

64 Garçon’s handout : CARTE

“Carte” is a word sometimes used in French for a menu.

The term “garçon” is still sometimes used in French to describe a waiter, as it is an abbreviated form of the more complete “garçon de café” (meaning “café boy”). My sense is that older Francophones might still use the term, but it has fallen out of favor for obvious reasons. It is considered extremely rude to attempt to attract the attention of male waiter by shouting out “Garçon!” A polite “S’il vous plait, monsieur!” is much more appropriate.

65 Go on the stump : ORATE

“To stump” can mean to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign. This peculiarly American term dates back to the 19th century. Back then a stump speech was an address given by someone standing on a large tree stump that provided a convenient perch to help the speaker get his or her message across to the crowd.

66 Oklahoma native : OTO

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

Down

1 Earth tones : OCHRES

Ocher is a light, yellowish-brown color, although variations of the pigment are possible such as red ocher and purple ocher. “Ocher” is usually spelled “ochre” on the other side of the pond.

3 Venetian marketplace : RIALTO

The Rialto is the financial and commercial center of Venice, and has been so for centuries. One of the most famous features of the area is the Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal.

4 Contrail source : JET

We talk so often about global warming these days but there is another fascinating phenomenon that is related, and known as “global dimming”. Global dimming is the reduction in the amount of heat that radiates daily from the planet due to the insulating effect of pollution and vapor trails (contrails) from aircraft that are present in the atmosphere. The effect has been touted as a theory for decades but dramatic empirical data became available in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Planes were grounded and the skies over America were clear for three days. There was a stark change in the temperature range measured across the US for these three days, demonstrating the impact that air travel has on our climate.

5 John Irving alma mater: Abbr. : UNH

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is the largest university in the state. It was founded as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in 1866. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Wildcats.

Novelist and screenwriter John Irving became famous with publication of his novel “The World According to Garp”. As a screenwriter, Irving won an Oscar for the screen adaptation he wrote for another of his novels, namely “The Cider House Rules”.

6 Lucy’s guy : DESI

Desi Arnaz has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One was placed to mark his contribution to motion pictures, and the other for his work in television.

7 “__ Called Ove”: 2015 film : A MAN

“A Man Called Ove” is a 2015 Swedish film based on a 2012 novel of the same name by Fredrik Backman. Apparently, Tom Hanks is planning to produce and star in an American remake.

8 Honky-tonk line? : HYPHEN

“Hyphen” is a Greek word that came into English via Latin while retaining the meaning “mark joining two syllables or words”. It is speculated that the mark was introduced to indicate how a word should be sung. The term comes from the Greek “hypo” and “hen” and translates literally as “under one”.

A honky-tonk is a bar with musical entertainment, usually country music. The etymology of the term “honky-tonk” seems unclear. The term has evolved to mean any cheap, noisy bar or dance hall.

9 Big name in games : ATARI

Founded in 1972, electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was once the fastest-growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.

10 Play before supper : MATINEE

“Matinée” is a French word used to describe a musical entertainment held during the daytime. “Matinée” is derived from the word “matin”, meaning “morning”, although here the term is used in the sense of “daylight”.

11 Hawaiian wedding accessory? : WHITE LEI (from “white lie”)

“Lei” is a Hawaiian word meaning “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a lei is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

12 Early Internet co. : AOL

Founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1983, the company changed its name in 1989 to America Online. As America Online went international, the acronym AOL was used in order to shake off the “America-centric” sound to the name. During the heady days of AOL’s success the company could not keep up with the growing number of subscribers, so people trying to connect often encountered busy signals. That’s when users referred to AOL as “Always Off-Line”.

18 Needing caulking : LEAKY

The term “caulk” comes from old Norman French “cauquer”, and described the action of filling gaps with lime. “Caulk” has the same root as our word “chalk”.

22 LiMu __: ad bird : EMU

Liberty Mutual is an insurance company based in Boston. The business was founded in 1912 as the Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association (MEIA). Liberty Mutual has a famous advertising icon named LiMu Emu.

24 Prom queen topper : TIARA

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

25 Carmaker Ferrari : ENZO

Enzo Ferrari was an Italian race car driver, and founder of the Ferrari car manufacturing company. Ferrari died in 1988, and in 2003 the company named the Enzo model after its founder.

28 Morticia, to Gomez : TISH

Gomez and Morticia (“Tish”) Addams were the parents in “The Addams Family”, a creation of cartoonist Charles Addams. In the sixties television show, Gomez was played by John Astin and Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones.

31 Melon, e.g. : GOURD

A gourd is a plant in the same family as the cucumber. The hollow, dried out shell of the fruit is large and rounded, and used for a number of purposes. Gourds make fine bottles and bowls, and resonating chambers as part of musical instruments … and drums.

34 Bochco series : LA LAW

“L.A. Law” ran on NBC from 1986 to 1994, and was one of the network’s most successful drama series. It took over from the equally successful “Hill Street Blues” in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot until, after a six-year run, it was itself replaced by yet another respected drama, “E.R.” The opening credits showed that famous California licence plate. The plate was on a Jaguar XJ for most of the series, but moved onto a Bentley towards the end of the run. For each series the registration sticker was updated, so no laws were being broken.

Steven Bochco is a television producer and writer. He created such shows as “Hill Street Blues”, “L.A. Law” and “NYPD Blue”.

35 OAS part: Abbr. : AMER

The Organization of American States (OAS) was founded in 1948, and has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Not all of the independent states in the Americas are members. Cuba was barred from participation in the organization after a vote in 1962. Honduras had her membership suspended after the country’s 2009 coup.

36 Surrealist friend of García Lorca : DALI

The famous surrealist painter Salvador Dalí was born in Figueres, Spain. I had the privilege of visiting the Dalí Museum in Figueres some years ago, just north of Barcelona. If you ever get the chance, it’s a “must see” as it really is a quite magnificent building with a fascinating collection.

García Lorca was a Spanish poet and dramatist. Lorca is as famous for his poems and his plays as he is for the circumstances of his death. Although it has never been irrefutably proven, many believe that he was shot and killed while in the custody of Nationalist militia, one month after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

37 Top for a Japanese dish? : SUSHI BRA (from “sushi bar”)

Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If we want raw fish by itself, then we have to order sashimi.

The word “brassière” is French in origin, but it isn’t the word that the French use for a “bra”. In France, what we call a bra is known as a “soutien-gorge”, translating to “held under the neck”. The word “brassière” is indeed used in France but there it describes a baby’s undershirt, a lifebelt or a harness. “Brassière” comes from the Old French word for an “arm protector” in a military uniform (“bras” is the French for “arm”). Later “brassière” came to mean “breastplate” and from there the word was used for a type of woman’s corset. The word jumped into English around 1900.

39 Prefix with con : NEO-

By definition, a neoconservative (neocon) is a formerly left-aligned politician who has moved to the right, and who now supports the use of American power and military might to bring democracy, liberty, equality and human rights to other countries.

43 “Survivor” genre : REALITY

The reality show “Survivor” is based on a Swedish television series created in 1997 called “Expedition Robinson”.

45 Wading bird : SNIPE

Snipes are wading birds with very long and thin bills that they use to search for small invertebrates in mud. In bygone days, a shot taken by a hunter at one of these wading birds became known as a “snipe”. This usage evolved into the word “sniper” applying to anyone shooting from a hidden position.

47 Half of nine? : ENS

Half of the letters in the word “nine” are letters N (ens).

48 One with an anthem : NATION

The word “anthem” used to describe a sacred song, especially one with words taken from the Scriptures. The British national anthem (“God Save the Queen/King”) technically is a hymn, and so it came to be described as “the national hymn” and later “the national anthem”. The use of the word “anthem” extended from there to describe any patriotic song.

50 Rainforest rodent : AGOUTI

The term “agouti” is used for some rodents in Central and South America that have fur with bands of light and dark pigmentation.

53 Score in a score : NOTES

There are a lot of notes in a musical score.

Our verb “to score” meaning “to tally”, comes from the Old Norse “skor”, which is a “mark, notch”. It is likely that items such as livestock were counted by placing a notch in a stick for each set of twenty, hence our use of the noun “score” to mean “twenty”. This use of the word “score” in the realm of counting can also be extended to mean “indefinitely large amount”.

56 Memo intro : IN RE

The term “in re” is Latin, and is derived from “in” (in) and “res” (thing, matter). “In re” literally means “in the matter”, and is used to mean “in regard to” or “in the matter of”.

57 Old despot : TSAR

A despot is a ruler with absolute power, and often one who wields that power oppressively. “Despot” is an old French term from the 14th century that is ultimately derived from the Greek “despotes” meaning “master of a household, absolute ruler”.

63 34-Down actress : DEY
(34D Bochco series : LA LAW)

Actress Susan Dey first appeared on “The Partridge Family” when she was 17-years-old when she had no acting experience. Years later, Dey won a Golden Globe for playing the leading role of Grace Van Owen in “L.A. Law”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 It’s found in a lock … or a loch : OAR
4 Founder of one of Israel’s Twelve Tribes : JUDAH
9 Multilevel marketing giant : AMWAY
14 “WALL-E” FX : CGI
15 __ territory : ENEMY
16 Lake near Squaw Valley : TAHOE
17 Beneficial tree tapping? : HEALTH SAP (from “health spa”)
19 Leaning : ATILT
20 Vex : RILE
21 Come into : INHERIT
23 Willing subject? : ESTATE
26 Renowned : EMINENT
29 Wildebeest with a habit? : SMOKING GNU (from “smoking gun”)
32 Wells’ Weena et al. : ELOI
33 Mississippi river to the Mississippi River : YAZOO
34 The Aire runs through it : LEEDS
35 Common online interruptions : ADS
38 Domed building : ROTUNDA
41 “Give or take” ending : -ISH
42 Actress Tierney : MAURA
44 Projectionist’s stack : REELS
46 Otherwise : ELSE
47 Hoop site? : END OF AN EAR (from “end of an era”)
52 One-named “Unapologetic” singer : RIHANNA
54 Pang : TWINGE
55 “That completely overwhelmed me!” : I LOST IT!
58 Favorable points : PROS
59 Range : AMBIT
61 Reversed, in a way … and a hint to the creation of five puzzle answers : INSIDE OUT
64 Garçon’s handout : CARTE
65 Go on the stump : ORATE
66 Oklahoma native : OTO
67 Binge-watching mealtime aids : TRAYS
68 Not cool at all : NERDY
69 Mint holder : TIN

Down

1 Earth tones : OCHRES
2 Fair-hiring problem : AGEISM
3 Venetian marketplace : RIALTO
4 Contrail source : JET
5 John Irving alma mater: Abbr. : UNH
6 Lucy’s guy : DESI
7 “__ Called Ove”: 2015 film : A MAN
8 Honky-tonk line? : HYPHEN
9 Big name in games : ATARI
10 Play before supper : MATINEE
11 Hawaiian wedding accessory? : WHITE LEI (from “white lie”)
12 Early internet co. : AOL
13 Still : YET
18 Needing caulking : LEAKY
22 LiMu __: ad bird : EMU
24 Prom queen topper : TIARA
25 Carmaker Ferrari : ENZO
27 Subtle approvals : NODS
28 Morticia, to Gomez : TISH
30 Came down with : GOT
31 Melon, e.g. : GOURD
34 Bochco series : LA LAW
35 OAS part: Abbr. : AMER
36 Surrealist friend of García Lorca : DALI
37 Top for a Japanese dish? : SUSHI BRA (from “sushi bar”)
39 Prefix with con : NEO-
40 Dexterous : DEFT
43 “Survivor” genre : REALITY
45 Wading bird : SNIPE
47 Half of nine? : ENS
48 One with an anthem : NATION
49 Plant deeply : ENROOT
50 Rainforest rodent : AGOUTI
51 Lie atop : REST ON
53 Score in a score : NOTES
56 Memo intro : IN RE
57 Old despot : TSAR
59 Pretend to be : ACT
60 Deface : MAR
62 “__ be fun!” : IT’D
63 34-Down actress : DEY

23 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 26 Feb 21, Friday”

  1. No errors. I was thinking of Dr J for 5D for a long time and had UNC .. I really didn’t know his Alma mater but I ran with it until 17A revealed itself. Wrong IRVING..

    Also did the NEWSDAY today.. a bit of a slog but made it.

    1. I do Newsday more for the Saturday (*) than any other part of the week (and for kind of an OCD completion sake, figure I might as well do them all), but like running into interesting challenges on Friday (sometimes out of bad grids). Today’s was definitely a good thoughtful grind (around 23 minutes iirc) that was well done with no complaints on my end afterwards.

      * – I definitely was saddened when they removed the “Stumper” out of those grids. They’re good Sat NYT equivalents now, but nothing like what they were, sadly.

  2. No errors, but this one took me awhile! That “sushi bra” had me stumped
    for a bit, but after I figured out “trays” it became clear. It was the “dish”
    part that slowed me down.

    1. You are kinder than I am. I found the Dish part repulsive and sexist when I figured it out. I found it disappointing that one has to think crudely to get the clue.

  3. Seemed hopeless at the beginning. I should learn to search down to find the clue with the hint when there is one. So I first got end of an ear (era) and that got me on my way, but I got stuck in the upper left. In the end, I was stopped cold by Yazoo crossing Enzo. Oh well, it was fun and I learned some things.

  4. 35:03 with 4 errors all in the southwest corner…not my best effort…I’m sorta preoccupied with the internet gurus in finding a COVID appointment. No luck so far.
    Stay safe😀

  5. Again, being a senior citizen, Gene Tierney was the only “Actress Tierney” I could think of for 42A. Thinking she may have used alternate spelling at times, I locked in “Jeane” which had me totally stuck for much too long.

    All in all, an interesting puzzle keeping with Friday’s level of difficulty.

  6. 27:00 errors filling the northwest quadrant when I threw up my hands and pressed Check. 1 lookup helped me fix all that.

    The theme was okay, but I don’t see that swapping the last two letters is really inside out.

  7. Challenging puzzle, with an unusual twist.

    Thank you Bill, for your dedication and clear and detailed and explicit answers. I really dont know how you keep up with the puzzles, single handedly !!!

    I came to see why OAR was in a lock, and now I think I know that there is an OAR Lock, to prevent the said apparatus from slipping out into the lake or loch, as may be.

    Lake Tahoe in Squaw Valley ? … things did not have to be considered PC in those days. ….

    In mythology or religion, ….. ANY religion, not just the Judiac religion …. it is amazing how vivid the imagination of the ‘ancients’ was, in constructing detailed genealogical charts, …. long before the concept of DNA and the chromosonal culture was known, and understood ….

    Have a nice day, all.

    1. In most cultures (save ours the last 100 years), family and clan were the big thing over the individual. In other words, you were nothing without your community.
      It’s also one reason why a lot of conflicts from thousands of years ago are still being engaged today in the Middle East.

  8. 17 mins 34 seconds, and I have to admit to using the Check Grid to change LAURA to MAURA. This one was NOT easy, even after figuring out the theme gimmick. The fills were not obvious. A worthy Friday challenge.

  9. I agree that this was lame and too cutie. Sushi bra? Really? Honkey-tonk line? Seriously? I do the LA Times crossword every day and have for years. This was the worst.

  10. Pretty tough Friday for me; took 47:53 with two “check-grids” in the NW to finally get JU(DAH), AGE(ISM) and OCH(RES). It still took a good 30 minutes for the rest.

    I too thought of Gene instead of MAURA, who I never heard of, but got that one with crosses…eventually. A lot of weird clues if you ask me.

    re Squaw Valley – They are thinking about changing the name. Yep, just checked; it’ll change to some undetermined name after the ’21 ski season.

  11. I do not understand the wording of the clue for Yazoo. I don’t get what is clue is saying….Why is river in caps and also not in caps? I got all the answers, but I just don’t “get” this clue.

    Can you explain? Thank you.

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