LA Times Crossword 22 Mar 21, Monday

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Constructed by: Val Melius & Jeff Chen
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Onion Rings

Themed answers include circled letters at the start and finish. Those letters spell out types of ONION:

  • 56A Circular fried food … and what’s in the circled letters : ONION RINGS
  • 23A Athenian now a citizen in Athens, Georgia, say : GREEK AMERICAN (giving “green onion”)
  • 30A Spraying gently, as plants : SPRITZING (giving “spring onion”)
  • 38A Expecting a baby, quaintly : WITH CHILD (giving “wild onion”)
  • 45A “… nothing more” : … PURE AND SIMPLE (giving “purple onion”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 58s!

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Actress Winslet or Hudson : KATE

Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actresses, one known for taking both the big Hollywood roles while still finding the time to act in smaller independent films. Perhaps Winslet’s most famous part was opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in “Titanic”, although she won her Oscar for a more dramatic role in “The Reader”. But my favorite of her performances is in the romantic comedy “The Holiday” from 2006. I love that movie …

Actress Kate Hudson’s breakthrough role was Penny Lane in the 2000 movie “Almost Famous”. More recently, Hudson played Cassandra July on the TV show “Glee”. Hudson is the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn.

13 Pig Latin negative : IXNAY

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).

20 Air pressure meas. : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

21 College head : DEAN

Our use of “dean” to describe an administrative officer in an educational institution dates back to the 1570s. The term comes via the Old French “deien” from the Latin “decanus”, which was the name for the head of a group of ten monks in a monastery, and earlier still, the name for the commander of ten soldiers. So ultimately, “dean” comes from the Greek “deka” meaning “ten”.

22 Actress Lively of “Green Lantern” : BLAKE

Blake Lively is an actress who first came to public attention for playing one of the leads in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”. She then took a starring role in the 2007 movie “Gossip Girl”. She met her future husband Ryan Reynolds while working with him on the 2011 film “Green Lantern”.

“Green Lantern” is a film released in 2011 starring Ryan Reynolds in the title role. This is one superhero movie that didn’t do well at the box office, and so plans for any sequels were canceled by the Warner Bros. studio.

23 Athenian now a citizen in Athens, Georgia, say : GREEK AMERICAN

Athens is the capital city of Greece and is one of the world’s oldest cities, with a history that goes back around 3,400 years. In its heyday, Classical Athens was a remarkable center for the arts and philosophical debate, and was home to Plato and Aristotle. Athens is often called “the cradle of Western civilization” and “the birthplace of democracy”. The city was named for the Greek goddess Athena.

The Georgia city of Athens lies about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta. Athens might be described as a college town, and is home to the main campus of the University of Georgia. The settlement of Cedar Shoals was chosen as a site for the new university in 1801. That same year, Cedar Shoals was renamed to Athens, after the Greek city that was home to the Platonic Academy of Plato and Aristotle.

28 J, F or K, in “JFK”: Abbr. : INIT

Initial (init.)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was the son of Joe Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, hence the president’s double-barreled name.

29 Fancy farewells : CIAOS

“Ciao” is Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

30 Spraying gently, as plants : SPRITZING

A spritz is a squirt, a brief spray of liquid. The term “spritz” ultimately comes from German, possibly via Yiddish, in which language “spritzen” means “to squirt, spout”. A spritzer is a glass of wine with a spritz of carbonated water, and is a drink we’ve been enjoying since the early sixties.

37 Long of “Boiler Room” : NIA

Nia Long is an American actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

“Boiler Room” is a crime-drama film that was released in 2000. The title refers to the movie’s setting, a call center focused on selling shady investments by telephone.

43 Mayberry youngster : OPIE

Opie Taylor is the character played by Ron Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show”. Opie lives with widowed father Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) and his great-aunt Beatrice “Aunt Bee” Taylor (played by Frances Bavier). Ron Howard first played the role in 1960 in the pilot show, when he was just 5 years old. Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code”.

44 Secret stash : CACHE

A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term into English from French Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was a slang term for a “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

50 Tablets with preloaded FaceTime : IPADS

FaceTime is an Apple video-telephony application. I guess it’s similar to Skype. Personally, I gave up on Skype and am now a loyal user of Google Hangouts and Google Duo …

52 Decisive boxing victories : KOS

Knockout (KO)

55 Bonkers : LOCO

In Spanish, if one isn’t “sano” (sane) one might be described as “loco” (crazy).

The word “bonkers” meaning “crazy” originated in the fifties. The term might come from navy slang meaning “slightly drunk”, behaving as though one received a “bonk” on the head.

62 Fronded office greenery : FERN

Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

Down

4 Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE

Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. Jepsen got her start on TV’s “Canadian Idol” when she placed third in the show’s fifth season.

5 George Eastman’s camera : KODAK

George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company, which he named after the Kodak camera that he had invented four years earlier. He came up with the name of Kodak after careful consideration. Firstly he was a big fan of the letter “K”, calling it “strong, incisive”. He also wanted a word that was short, easy to pronounce and difficult to mispronounce, and a word that was clearly unique with no prior associations. “Kodak” fit the bill.

7 Gravel driveway alternative : TAR

The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call “tarmac”.

8 Golf great Ernie : ELS

Ernie Els is a South African golfer. He is a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. Els is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

9 Massive awareness campaign, for short : PR BLITZ

“Blitz”, as it is used in English, means a fast-moving and overwhelming attack. It is a shortened version of the German word “blitzkrieg”. The blitzkrieg was a tactic used by Germany running up to and during WWII. In the original German blitzkrieg, the army and air-force threw everything into a rapid penetration of enemy lines without stopping to reinforce its flanks. The word “blitz” means “lightning” (and “krieg” means “war”). We use the term more generally in English to describe any fast, nonmilitary campaign.

10 Lavender cousin : LILAC

The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family.

“Lavender” is the common name for the plant genus Lavandula. Lavender is used as an ornamental plant, as a culinary herb and for the production of essential oils. The plant’s name might ultimately be derived from the Latin word “lavare” meaning “to wash”, a reference to the use of essential oils in bathing.

11 Japanese financial hub : OSAKA

The Japanese city of Osaka used to be called Naniwa, with the name changing to Osaka sometime before 1500. “Osaka” can be translated either as “large hill” or “large slope”. Osaka is sometimes referred to as “the Chicago of Japan” as it is a major center of commerce and industry. The city has also been named the “nation’s kitchen”, and was a center for Japan’s rice trade for centuries.

12 Country south of Saudi Arabia : YEMEN

Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, and lies just south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman. Yemen is the only state on the peninsula that is a republic (its official name is the Republic of Yemen). Everyone over the age of 18 gets to vote, but only Muslims can hold elected office. Yemen has seen many rebellions over the centuries, and has been suffering through a Shia uprising since February 2015.

22 “Old chap” speaker : BRIT

“Chap” is an informal term meaning “lad, fellow” that is used especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

24 Kanga’s kid : ROO

Kanga is a friend of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, and is a kangaroo. She is the mother of Roo, who appears more frequently in the storyline.

26 Oklahoma city that, when reversed, is a synonym for “eat” : ENID

Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because it has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

27 New Zealander : KIWI

Unlike many nicknames for people of a particular country, the name “Kiwi” for a New Zealander isn’t offensive at all. The term comes from the flightless bird called the kiwi, which is endemic to New Zealand and is the country’s national symbol. “Kiwi” is a Maori word, and the plural (when referring to the bird) is simply “kiwi”. However, when you have two or more New Zealanders with you, they are Kiwis (note the “s”, and indeed the capital “K”!).

31 D.C. dealmaker : POL

Politician (pol)

34 “Dilbert” cry : GAH!

“Dilbert” is a comic strip drawn by Scott Adams, who used to be a “neighbor” of mine when I lived in the Bay Area. Adams used to be co-owner of a restaurant at the end of my street that had a menu replete with “Dilbertesque” comments.

39 Square dance milieu : HOEDOWN

We use the French term “milieu” (plural “milieux”) to mean “environment, surroundings”. In French, “milieu” is the word for “middle”.

40 TurboTax pros : CPAS

Certified public accountant (CPA)

TurboTax is a software- and online-based income tax preparation service. It’s what I’ve used since I retired, and I have no complaints …

41 Chicken piccata toppers : CAPERS

The dish named “piccata” originated in Italy, with the traditional meat used being veal. Whatever meat used is sliced and flattened with a tenderizer, seasoned, dredged in flour and browned in a pan. The juices from the pan are the base for the sauce, to which are added lemon juice, white wine, shallots, caper and butter.

42 Knee injury initials : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

45 Savory rice dish : PILAF

“Pilaf” is a Persian word, one that we use to describe rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth.

47 Indy competitor : RACER

The Indianapolis 500 race is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race is run around a 2.5 mile oval, hence requiring 200 laps for completion. The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly, that was the first ever use of a rear-view mirror on a motor vehicle.

48 New Orleans NFLer : SAINT

The New Orleans Saints football team takes its name from the jazz song “When the Saints Go Marching In”, a tune that is very much associated with the city. The team was founded in 1967, on November 1st, which is All Saints’ Day in the Roman Catholic tradition.

49 “Uncle!” : I LOSE!

To say uncle is to submit or yield. This peculiarly American use of “uncle” dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”

53 “Puss in Boots” monster : OGRE

“Puss in Boots” is a fairy tale from Europe, the earliest recording of which is in a collection of stories by Giovanni Francesco Straparola that dates back to the 1550s. The title character has been used in subsequent works; he makes an appearance in Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Sleeping Beauty”, and more recently in the “Shrek” series of animated films.

54 Nine-digit IDs : SSNS

A Social Security number (SSN) is divided into three parts i.e AAA-GG-SSSS, Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Since 1973, the Area Number reflects the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN is the Group Number, and the SSSS in the number is the Serial Number. However, this is all moot. Since 2011 SSNs are assigned randomly. However, some random numbers have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

56 “Give us this day __ daily bread”: Matthew : OUR

“Give us this day our daily bread” is a phrase taken from the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer is a central prayer in Christian religions, and is found in two places in the New Testament. In the version in the Gospel of Matthew, the last line of the prayer is “deliver us from evil”. In the Gospel of Luke, the last line is “lead us not into temptation”. The last words of the prayer most often used today are:

For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever,
Amen

57 Gun lobby org. : NRA

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Bear’s home : LAIR
5 Actress Winslet or Hudson : KATE
9 Clever tactic : PLOY
13 Pig Latin negative : IXNAY
15 Spoken : ORAL
16 Levitate : RISE
17 Accompanying dishes, like 56-Across : SIDE ORDERS
19 “Kapow!” : BLAM!
20 Air pressure meas. : PSI
21 College head : DEAN
22 Actress Lively of “Green Lantern” : BLAKE
23 Athenian now a citizen in Athens, Georgia, say : GREEK AMERICAN
27 Hillock : KNOLL
28 J, F or K, in “JFK”: Abbr. : INIT
29 Fancy farewells : CIAOS
30 Spraying gently, as plants : SPRITZING
35 Crush consistently in competition : OWN
36 Did a stable job : SHOED
37 Long of “Boiler Room” : NIA
38 Expecting a baby, quaintly : WITH CHILD
41 Capture : CATCH
43 Mayberry youngster : OPIE
44 Secret stash : CACHE
45 “… nothing more” : … PURE AND SIMPLE
50 Tablets with preloaded FaceTime : IPADS
51 Skin care additive : ALOE
52 Decisive boxing victories : KOS
55 Bonkers : LOCO
56 Circular fried food … and what’s in the circled letters : ONION RINGS
59 Again : ANEW
60 Tea and coffee servers : URNS
61 Treat with disdain : SCORN
62 Fronded office greenery : FERN
63 Assign stars to : RATE
64 Sheepish animals? : EWES

Down

1 Issue for a speech coach, perhaps : LISP
2 x, y or z, in geometry : AXIS
3 Like one saying “Well, I never!” : INDIGNANT
4 Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE
5 George Eastman’s camera : KODAK
6 Bowl game venue : ARENA
7 Gravel driveway alternative : TAR
8 Golf great Ernie : ELS
9 Massive awareness campaign, for short : PR BLITZ
10 Lavender cousin : LILAC
11 Japanese financial hub : OSAKA
12 Country south of Saudi Arabia : YEMEN
14 Alpine songs : YODELS
18 React to a shock : REEL
22 “Old chap” speaker : BRIT
24 Kanga’s kid : ROO
25 Stuck (in) : MIRED
26 Oklahoma city that, when reversed, is a synonym for “eat” : ENID
27 New Zealander : KIWI
29 Dairy farm animal : COW
30 Recoiled : SHIED
31 D.C. dealmaker : POL
32 Having exclusive information : IN THE KNOW
33 “Cool!” : NICE!
34 “Dilbert” cry : GAH!
36 Leg part guarded in soccer : SHIN
39 Square dance milieu : HOEDOWN
40 TurboTax pros : CPAS
41 Chicken piccata toppers : CAPERS
42 Knee injury initials : ACL
44 “Get moving!” : C’MON!
45 Savory rice dish : PILAF
46 Barely ahead : UP ONE
47 Indy competitor : RACER
48 New Orleans NFLer : SAINT
49 “Uncle!” : I LOSE!
53 “Puss in Boots” monster : OGRE
54 Nine-digit IDs : SSNS
56 “Give us this day __ daily bread”: Matthew : OUR
57 Gun lobby org. : NRA
58 Rocks in a bar : ICE