LA Times Crossword 22 Jul 21, Thursday

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Constructed by: David Poole
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Cornerstone

There are circled letters near the four CORNERS of the grid. Each of those circled letters start with the given names of a famous “STONE”. The given names are found in each of the CORNERS, and they are:

  • EMMA (STONE)
  • OLIVER (STONE)
  • SHARON (STONE)
  • SLY (STONE)
  • 37A Place to find a date … and any one of four in this puzzle (circled letters are hints) : CORNERSTONE

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

Bill’s time: 7m 24s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sprayed in defense : MACED

“Mace” is actually a brand name, one introduced by Lake Erie Chemical when they started to manufacture “Chemical Mace”, with the name being a play on the club-like weapon from days of old. Mace was originally a form of tear gas, but Mace today uses a formula that is actually a pepper spray, a different formulation.

9 With 65-Down, toon sister of Castor : OLIVE …
65D See 9-Across : … OYL

E. C. Segar’s cartoon character Olive Oyl had quite a large family. Her mother is Nana Oyl, and her father Cole Oyl. Olive’s brother is Castor Oyl, and she has uncles named Otto Oyl and Lubry Kent Oyl (my favorite!).

14 Biscayne Bay city : MIAMI

Biscayne Bay is a lagoon in South Florida on the Atlantic coast.

The city of Miami in Florida takes its name from the nearby Miami River, which is itself named for the Mayaimi Native American people who lived around nearby Lake Okeechobee.

15 Zen garden swimmer : KOI

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

16 Richard Parker in “Life of Pi,” e.g. : TIGER

The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy named Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in a small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

18 Tall or dark: Abbr. : ADJ

Adjective (adj.)

19 Composer who, as it happens, died in March (1932) : SOUSA

John Philip Sousa was a composer and conductor from Washington, D.C. Sousa was well known for his patriotic marches and earned himself the nickname “The American March King”. He served as a member of the US Marine Band from 1868 to 1875, and after leaving the Marines learned to conduct and compose. One of the Sousa compositions that is well-known around the world is called “The Liberty Bell”, a tune used as the musical theme for BBC Television’s “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Sousa also wrote “Semper Fidelis”, which is the official march of the US Marine Corps.

20 Browser list : SITES

A web browser is a piece of software used to access the World Wide Web. The first web browser was called “WorldWideWeb” and was invented in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the World Wide Web. The browser known as Mosaic came out in 1993, and it was this browser that drove so much interest in the World Wide Web, and indeed in the Internet in general. Marc Andreessen led the team that created Mosaic, and he then set up his own company called Netscape. Netscape created the Netscape Navigator browser that further popularized the use of the Web starting in 1994. Microsoft responded by introducing Internet Explorer in 1995, which sparked the so-called “browser war”, a war that Microsoft clearly won. As Netscape floundered, the company launched the open-source Mozilla project which eventually led to the Firefox browser. Apple then came out with it’s own Safari browser in 2003. Google’s Chrome browser, introduced in 2008, is by far the most popular way to view the Web today.

22 Luke, to Anakin : SON

Anakin “Ani” Skywalker is the principal character in the first six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

  • Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training by young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  • Episode II: Anakin is 18-years-old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
  • Episode III: Anakin is 21-years-old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
  • Episode IV: Darth Vader, comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and the Princess Leia.
  • Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
  • Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

25 Short jackets worn open in front : BOLEROS

A bolero jacket is a very short tailored jacket that probably takes its name from the Spanish dance. Male bolero dancers often wear such a jacket. A less formal version of a bolero jacket is called a “shrug”. A shrug is usually knitted and resembles a cardigan.

29 Actor Brynner : YUL

Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor. Brynner was well known for his great performances, but also for his shaved head and his deep rich voice. He first adopted the “hairstyle” while playing the King of Siam in the stage version of “The King and I”, and he stuck with it.

35 Broccoli rabe : RAPINI

Broccoli rabe is perhaps better known as “rapini”, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …

41 Co-star of Meryl in “Death Becomes Her” : GOLDIE

“Death Becomes Her” is a dark comedy released in 1992 that stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. It’s all about two women downing a magic potion in a quest for eternal youth.

45 Executor’s charge : ESTATE

In general terms, an executor is a person responsible for the execution of some task. Most commonly, it is the person who has been designated to carry out the directions called out in someone’s will after the person is deceased. So, the executor has the necessary authority to distribute assets, pay bills etc. The executor usually works alongside the attorney for the estate.

52 Author Elmore __ : LEONARD

Elmore Leonard used to write a lot of westerns in the fifties and moved onto crime and suspense novels later in his career. A lot of his books have made it to the big screen, including “Get Shorty” and “Mr Majestyk”.

56 Brand at Petco : IAMS

Iams dog food was introduced by animal nutritionist Paul Iams. He felt that household pets were suffering somewhat by being fed a diet of table scraps, so he developed a dry dog food that he felt was more nutritious and suitable for pet dogs. He founded the Iams company, now part of Procter & Gamble, in 1946.

Petco is a chain of retail stores that sells live animals and pet supplies. The Petco logo includes the two company mascots, Red Ruff the dog and Blue Mews the cat.

57 Clue suspect count : SIX

Clue is a board game that we knew under a different name growing up in Ireland. Outside of North America, Clue is marketed as “Cluedo”. Cluedo was the original name of the game, introduced in 1949 by the famous British board game manufacturer Waddingtons. There are cute differences between the US and UK versions. For example, the man who is murdered is called Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the US), one of the suspects is the Reverend Green (Mr. Green in the US), and the suspect weapons include a dagger (a knife in the US), and a spanner (a wrench in the US). I think it’s a fabulous game, a must during the holidays …

59 Saint __, one of the only two sovereign nations named for women : LUCIA

The Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia has a population of less than 200,000. Remarkably, Saint Lucia has produced two Nobel Laureates: economist Arthur Lewis and poet Derek Walcott.

There are only two sovereign nations named for women. The island country of Saint Lucia in the Carribean was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse. The island country of Ireland (“Éire” in Irish) was named the goddess Ériu from Irish mythology.

62 Civil War prez : ABE

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, elected in 1860 as the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln’s electoral support came almost exclusively from the north and west of the country, winning only 2 out of 996 counties in the Southern slave states. Lincoln led the country through the Civil War, and then was assassinated in 1865 just a few days after Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia. President Lincoln was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

66 Hopping mad : HET UP

Someone who is het up is worked up, or angry. “Het” is an archaic word meaning “heated”.

68 Strike zone? : ALLEY

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

70 Pink-slip : AXE

The term “pink-slip” can be used as a verb meaning “to terminate an employee”. No one really seems to know for sure where the phrase originated, but there are lots of stories.

71 Eldest von Trapp child, in the musical : LIESL

The von Trapps portrayed in the musical “The Sound of Music” were a real family, as is well known. In the musical and film, the eldest daughter is Liesl, although in real life her name was Agathe. Agathe came with her family to the US in 1938, and operated a private kindergarten in Baltimore, Maryland for 35 years. Agathe passed away in 2010. Agathe/Liesl was the daughter who was “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”.

Down

1 Tussaud title: Abbr. : MME

Marie Tussaud was a wax sculptor from France. Some of her early work was very gruesome as she lived through the French Revolution. She would take the decapitated heads of executed citizens and use them to make death masks which were then paraded through the streets. She eventually moved to London, taking with her a vast collection of wax models made by her and her father. She opened a museum to display the works, and Madame Tussauds wax museum is a major attraction in the city to this day.

3 Detroit founder : CADILLAC

The city of Detroit was founded in 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French explorer. The original settlement was named for the Detroit River, which in turn takes its name from the French word “détroit” meaning “strait”. Detroit became inextricably linked with the automotive business from the very early 20th century when Henry Ford and others set up manufacturing in the area. This link to transportation led to Detroit’s nicknames “Motor City” and “Motown”. The city’s economic strength declined at the beginning of the 21st century, resulting in a 25% drop in population between 2000 and 2010. Detroit filed for the country’s largest municipal bankruptcy in history in 2013, facing a debt of $18.8 billion. The city exited bankruptcy at the end of 2014.

4 Ham it up : EMOTE

The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

6 Alias letters : AKA

Also known as (aka)

8 City where Grey Poupon originated : DIJON

Dijon is a city in eastern France in the Burgundy region. Dijon is famous for its mustard, a particularly strong variation of the condiment. The European Union doesn’t protect the name “Dijon” so anyone can use it on a label. That seems fair enough to me, given that 90% of the mustard made in and around Dijon is produced using mustard seed imported from Canada!

Grey Poupon mustard dates way back to 1777 when Maurice Grey started making mustard with Auguste Poupon in Dijon, France.

9 NHL tiebreakers : OTS

Overtime (OT)

10 Putting on a pedestal : LIONIZING

The term “lionize” dates back to the late 1700s when there were lions kept in the Tower of London. The lions were quite famous, and attracted many visitors. Hence the term “lionize” means to treat someone as a celebrity.

11 Exotic pet : IGUANA

Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.

12 “Casino Royale” Bond girl __ Lynd : VESPER

Vesper Lynd is a character in Ian Fleming’s novel “Casino Royale”. Lynd was played by Ursula Andress in the 1967 film spoof of the same name, and by Eva Green in the more action-packed 2006 “Casino Royale” starring Daniel Craig as 007.

1967’s “Casino Royale” is a comedy spy film that spoofs the celebrated series of James Bond films, of which four had been produced at the time starring Sean Connery. “Casino Royale” is loosely based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, and stars David Niven as James Bond 007. The film features Dusty Springfield singing “The Look of Love”, which was nominated for a Best Song Oscar.

2006’s “Casino Royale” is the 21st film in the “James Bond” series, and the first to star Daniel Craig in the lead role. The film was directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell, someone who was my next door neighbor for a couple of years (my claim to fame!). Campbell also directed “GoldenEye” in 1995, which introduced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. I find it interesting that Campbell was asked back to oversee the introduction of Daniel Craig to the role.

21 Costa del __ : SOL

Spain’s Costa del Sol (“Coast of the Sun”) is in Andalusia in the South of Spain. It lies sandwiched between two other “costas”, the Costa de la Luz and the Costa Tropical. The city of Malaga is on the Costa del Sol, as well as the famous European tourist destinations of Torremolinos and Marbella. The Costa del Sol was made up of sleepy little fishing villages until the 1980s when the European sunseekers descended on the region. I wouldn’t recommend it for a holiday quite frankly …

23 Like seven Nolan Ryan games : NO-HIT

Nolan Ryan is famous for having more career strikeouts than any other baseball pitcher. However, he also holds the record for the most career walks and wild pitches. Another record that Ryan holds is the most no-hitters, a total of seven over his career.

25 Tournament edge : BYE

The word “bye”, as used in sport, originated in cricket. A bye is a run scored due to an error by the wicketkeeper (similar to a catcher in baseball) when he fails to stop a ball bowled by the bowler (like a pitcher in baseball). Later the word “bye” in sport came to mean the position of a player in a tournament who is left without a competitor when the rest have drawn pairs. In these commercial times, those byes tend to be awarded to the best (seeded) players, so that the most popular players always advance past the first round of competition.

28 Hand for Julio Iglesias? : MANO

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias’ real name is Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva. He took up playing the guitar as a young man while recovering from a devastating car accident that injured his spinal cord. “Immediate” recovery took three years, but he still receives therapy for his weakened legs.

31 Bay Area county : MARIN

When you leave the city of San Francisco via the famous Golden Gate Bridge (i.e. heading north), you cross into Marin County.

34 1976 Michael York/Jenny Agutter sci-fi film : LOGAN’S RUN

“Logan’s Run” is a 1976 sci-fi film based on a 1967 novel of the same name by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. The title character, portrayed by Michael York, is someone tasked with terminating people attempting to escape a mandated death sentence imposed when all members of society reach the age of 30. When Logan reaches 30 himself, he tries to escape, to “run”.

Michael York is an English actor who is perhaps best known for his film appearances, including “Romeo and Juliet” (Tybalt), “The Three Musketeers” (d’Artagnan), “Logan’s Run” (Logan) and “Austin Powers” series (Basil Exposition).

English actress Jenny Agutter had a successful career in Hollywood before returning to the UK. She is well-known to American audiences these days for playing Sister Julienne on the period drama “Call the Midwife” made by the BBC.

36 Ersatz intellectual : PSEUD

A pseudo (or “pseud”) is an artificial or pretentious person.

Something described as ersatz is a copy, and usually not a good one. “Ersatz” comes from the German verb “ersetzen” meaning “to replace”.

38 Membership list : ROTA

“Rota”, meaning “roster of names”, isn’t a word that I hear much in the US. We use it all the time back in Ireland.

39 Phils and Nats : NLERS

Philadelphia’s baseball team was founded in 1883 as the Quakers, with the name changing to “Philadelphias” and “Phillies” not long into the team’s history. The Phillies have been based in the same city using the same team name longer than any other team in US professional sports.

The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats.

40 “Spamalot” co-creator : ERIC IDLE

Eric Idle is one of the founding members of the Monty Python team. Idle was very much the musician of the bunch, and is an accomplished guitarist. If you’ve seen the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian”, you might remember the closing number “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It was sung by Idle, and was indeed written by him. That song made it to number 3 in the UK charts in 1991.

The hit musical “Spamalot” is a show derived from the 1974 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. In typical Monty Python style, the action starts just before the curtain goes up with an announcement recorded by the great John Cleese:

(You can) let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly … (but) be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you on stage and impale you.

43 Pump numbers : OCTANES

The difference between a premium and regular gasoline is its octane rating. The octane rating is a measure of the resistance of the gasoline to auto-ignition i.e. its resistance to ignition just by virtue of being compressed in the cylinder. This auto-ignition is undesirable as multiple-cylinder engines are designed so that ignition within each cylinder takes place precisely when the plug sparks, and not before. If ignition occurs before the spark is created, the resulting phenomenon is called “knocking”. We sometimes use the adjective “high-octane” to mean “intense, dynamic, high-powered”

The gas pump was actually around before there were cars on the road. The first gas pump was the invention of one Sylvanus Bowser from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His first pump was designed to pump kerosene for lamps and stoves, and was introduced in 1885. As automobiles became popular, he modified the design to pump gasoline. He introduced the Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump in 1905. He marketed his devices all around the world, and in some parts the name “bowser” is still used sometimes to refer to fuel pumps, and indeed some fuel tankers.

44 Jazz guitarist Montgomery : WES

Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist from Indianapolis.

45 Inventor Otis : ELISHA

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

47 Part of BLT : TOMATO

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

49 Chick-__-A: fast-food chain : FIL

Chick-fil-A is a chain of fast food restaurants that was founded in 1946 in Georgia. The corporation has a culture that is heavily influenced by the founder’s evangelical Christian faith. As such, Chick-fil-A is one of the only fast food or retail chain of stores that closes for business on Sunday. Chick-fil-A also made the headlines a while back due to the company’s stated opposition to same-sex marriage.

50 Not at all spendthrifty : FRUGAL

A “spendthrift” is someone who “spends” wastefully.

53 Greece : Artemis :: Rome : __ : DIANA

Diana was the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon and birthing. The Greek equivalent of Diana was the goddess Artemis. According to Roman mythology, Diana was the twin sister of Apollo, and the daughter of Jupiter and Latona.

Artemis was an ancient Greek goddess, and the equivalent of the Roman goddess Diana. Artemis was also a daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. Among other things, she was the goddess of the hunt, and so often is depicted carrying a bow and arrows.

55 Food recall trigger : E COLI

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are usually harmless bacteria found in the human gut, working away quite happily. However, there are some strains that can produce lethal toxins. These strains can make their way into the food chain from animal fecal matter that comes into contact with food designated for human consumption.

58 Console with a “360” second generation : XBOX

The Xbox line of video game consoles is made by Microsoft. The original Xbox platform was followed by Xbox 360 and more recently by Xbox One. Microsoft’s Xbox competes directly with Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Wii.

61 Prefix with gram or graph : EPI-

An epigram is a short and clever statement, poem or discourse.

In the world of literature, an epigraph is a few words at the beginning of a composition that sets forth a theme, and is often a quotation. The term “epigraph” can also be used for an inscription on maybe a building or a statue.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Sprayed in defense : MACED
6 “Your point being?” : AND?
9 With 65-Down, toon sister of Castor : OLIVE …
14 Biscayne Bay city : MIAMI
15 Zen garden swimmer : KOI
16 Richard Parker in “Life of Pi,” e.g. : TIGER
17 Critical care MD : ER DOC
18 Tall or dark: Abbr. : ADJ
19 Composer who, as it happens, died in March (1932) : SOUSA
20 Browser list : SITES
22 Luke, to Anakin : SON
24 Drops off : NAPS
25 Short jackets worn open in front : BOLEROS
27 Oscar night VIP : NOMINEE
29 Actor Brynner : YUL
30 Poor, as odds : SLIM
32 Offer, as a guess : HAZARD
33 And others, in Lat. : ET AL
35 Broccoli rabe : RAPINI
37 Place to find a date … and any one of four in this puzzle (circled letters are hints) : CORNERSTONE
41 Co-star of Meryl in “Death Becomes Her” : GOLDIE
42 Raise, as crops : GROW
45 Executor’s charge : ESTATE
48 “__ said!” : NUFF
51 Sculpture medium : ICE
52 Author Elmore __ : LEONARD
54 Calls the shots : DIRECTS
56 Brand at Petco : IAMS
57 Clue suspect count : SIX
59 Saint __, one of the only two sovereign nations named for women : LUCIA
60 Intimidating look : STARE
62 Civil War prez : ABE
64 “Heaven forbid!” : GOD NO!
66 Hopping mad : HET UP
67 “ASAP!” : NOW!
68 Strike zone? : ALLEY
69 Pasta product suffix : -ARONI
70 Pink-slip : AXE
71 Eldest von Trapp child, in the musical : LIESL

Down

1 Tussaud title: Abbr. : MME
2 Ventilates : AIRS OUT
3 Detroit founder : CADILLAC
4 Ham it up : EMOTE
5 Chefs, at times : DICERS
6 Alias letters : AKA
7 Auction actions : NODS
8 City where Grey Poupon originated : DIJON
9 NHL tiebreakers : OTS
10 Putting on a pedestal : LIONIZING
11 Exotic pet : IGUANA
12 “Casino Royale” Bond girl __ Lynd : VESPER
13 Undid : ERASED
21 Costa del __ : SOL
23 Like seven Nolan Ryan games : NO-HIT
25 Tournament edge : BYE
26 Fathered : SIRED
28 Hand for Julio Iglesias? : MANO
31 Bay Area county : MARIN
34 1976 Michael York/Jenny Agutter sci-fi film : LOGAN’S RUN
36 Ersatz intellectual : PSEUD
38 Membership list : ROTA
39 Phils and Nats : NLERS
40 “Spamalot” co-creator : ERIC IDLE
43 Pump numbers : OCTANES
44 Jazz guitarist Montgomery : WES
45 Inventor Otis : ELISHA
46 Two-__ : SEATER
47 Part of BLT : TOMATO
49 Chick-__-A: fast-food chain : FIL
50 Not at all spendthrifty : FRUGAL
53 Greece : Artemis :: Rome : __ : DIANA
55 Food recall trigger : E COLI
58 Console with a “360” second generation : XBOX
61 Prefix with gram or graph : EPI-
63 Flock female : EWE
65 See 9-Across : … OYL