LA Times Crossword 20 Aug 21, Friday

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Constructed by: Winston Emmons
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Get Over It

Today’s grid includes four occurrences of the letters “G-E-T” sitting OVER “I-T”:

  • 59A “Enough of the pity party!” … and what appears four times in this puzzle? : GET OVER IT!
  • 62A Slovenia neighbor : ITALY
  • 16A Cabbage, e.g. : VEGETABLE
  • 19A Move like a startled chipmunk : SKITTER
  • 28A Engage in some risky evasion : DODGE TAXES
  • 33A Tiny arachnids : MITES
  • 43A All-out effort some might call old : COLLEGE TRY
  • 49A Silents star Naldi : NITA

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

Bill’s time: 11m 39s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Hosp. administration : CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. I hear that nowadays, emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.

4 Show of affection, in Acapulco : BESO

In Spanish, a “beso” (kiss) is an “indicación de afecto” (display of affection).

The Mexican city of Acapulco is on the southwest coast of the country, in the state of Guerrero. The name “Acapulco” translates from the local language into “at the big reeds”.

13 “The Road to Wealth” author : ORMAN

Suze Orman is a financial advisor who has gotten her message out on television, in books and on the speaking circuit. She often appears on PBS, and indeed is the most successful fundraiser public television has ever had.

19 Move like a startled chipmunk : SKITTER

Chipmunks are rodents found almost exclusively in North America. It has been suggested that the name “chipmunk” comes from the Ojibwa word “ajidamoo”, which translates literally as “head first”. The idea is that the chipmunk was viewed as a red squirrel noted for descending tree trunks “head first”.

22 Maker of Tundra coolers : YETI

YETI is a manufacturer of coolers and related products that is based in Austin, Texas. There was a kerfuffle between YETI and the National Rifle Association in 2018, when YETI removed the NRA from its membership discount program. That kerfuffle got quite public when some NRA members published videos of themselves destroying their own YETI products in protest.

33 Tiny arachnids : MITES

Mites are tiny arthropods in the arachnid (spider) class. Mites are (annoyingly!) very successful creatures that have adapted to all sorts of habitats. And being so small, they generally pass unnoticed. Ick …

40 Film director Kurosawa : AKIRA

Akira Kurosawa was an Oscar-winning Japanese film director. His most famous movie to us in the West has to be “The Seven Samurai”, the inspiration for “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner, and indeed a basis for “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.

43 All-out effort some might call old : COLLEGE TRY

“Give it the old college try …”

47 1969 MLB upstarts : METS

The New York Mets baseball team was founded in 1962 as a replacement for two teams that the city had lost, namely the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. For several years the Mets played very poorly, finishing no better than second-to-last in their division. Then along came the “Miracle Mets” (aka “Amazin’ Mets”) who beat the Baltimore Orioles in 1969 to claim the World Series in a huge upset.

48 Big swinger : APE

Apes and monkeys both belong to the order of primates. The most obvious way to distinguish apes from monkeys is by the presence or lack of a tail. Almost all apes have no tail, and almost all monkeys have tails.

49 Silents star Naldi : NITA

Nita Naldi was a silent film actress from New York City who usually played a “femme fatale” type of role.

50 Original “Peaky Blinders” airer : BBC

“Peaky Blinders” is a BBC crime drama that can be viewed on Netflix. The show follows the story of a gangster family in the English midlands city of Birmingham from just after the end of WWI. The show has a pretty good cast, led by Irishman Cillian Murphy as the gang’s leader, and New Zealander Sam Neill as police detective and the gangster’s nemesis.

58 Longtime photo lab supplier : 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.

62 Slovenia neighbor : ITALY

Italy shares land borders with four countries (France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia) as well as with two microstates (Vatican City and San Marino) that are enclaves. Italy also has two territorial exclaves of its own: the communes of Campione d’Italia (within Switzerland) and Lampedusa e Linosa (in the Mediterranean, within Tunisian territorial waters).

The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that is bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.

66 Super __ : NES

The name “Super NES” (or “SNES”) stands for “Super Nintendo Entertainment System”.

Down

1 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse NBAers : CAVS

The Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland is still sometimes referred to as “The Q”, a nod to the name “Quicken Loans Arena” that was used from 2005 to 2019. Most notably, the facility is home to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, is the majority owner of the Cavaliers team.

2 Level for 4-yr-olds : PRE-K

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K)

4 Highland hillside : BRAE

“Brae” is a lowland Scots word for the slope or brow of a hill.

6 Cantina condiment : SAL

In Spanish, one might find “sal” (salt) on the table in a “cantina” (canteen, café).

7 Eight bits bill : ONE

The American quarter is a little unusual in the world of decimal currency, if you think about it. Most currencies have a “20-cent” coin, which is easier to work with mathematically. The US went for the quarter in deference to the practice of dividing Spanish Milled Dollars into eight wedge-shaped “bits”. That’s also why the quarter is sometimes referred to as “two bits”. We’ve been using the adjective “two-bit” to mean “cheap, tawdry” at least since 1929. State quarters were introduced in 1999.

9 Mil. branch : USCG

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has the distinction of being the country’s oldest continuous seagoing service. The USCG was founded as the Revenue Cutter Service by Alexander Hamilton in 1790.

10 Chest : THORAX

The thorax is the chest, the part of the human body between the neck and the diaphragm.

13 Enzo’s eight : OTTO

In Italian, “due” (two) cubed is “otto” (eight).

17 Otherworldly : ETHEREAL

The Greek philosopher Empedocles proposed that there are four elements that made up the universe, namely earth, water, air and fire. Aristotle later proposed a fifth element which he called aether (also “ether”). Aether was the divine substance that made up the stars and planets. We’re still using the term “ether” with a similar meaning.

23 Gretzky’s original NHL team : EDM

The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers are so called because they are located in Alberta, Canada … oil country.

Wayne Gretzky is regarded by many as the greatest ever player of ice hockey, and indeed he has the nickname “The Great One”.

24 Weary worker’s sigh : TGIF

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that apparently originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used first by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies. That said, one blog reader wrote to me to say that he had been using the phrase in the fifties.

26 Lith., once : SSR

The nation of Lithuania is a former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) sitting on the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, and 16 miles north of Vilnius is a point that is officially recognized as the geographic center of Europe.

35 “I’ll speak a prophecy __ go”: “King Lear” : ERE I

At one point in William Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”, Lear’s Fool makes a rather colorful speech:

I’ll speak a prophecy ere I go.
When priests are more in word than matter,
When brewers mar their malt with water,
When nobles are their tailors’ tutors,
No heretics burned but wenches’ suitors,
When every case in law is right,
No squire in debt nor no poor knight,
When slanders do not live in tongues,
Nor cutpurses come not to throngs,
When usurers tell their gold i’ th’ field,
And bawds and whores do churches build—
Then shall the realm of Albion
Come to great confusion.

37 Basic particle : ELECTRON

Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney introduced the concept of the electron in 1874, defining it as the “fundamental unit of electricity”. Stoney originally referred to the particle as an “electrine”, but changed it to “electron” in 1891.

41 ABA member : ATT

The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.

46 Dreadlocks wearers : RASTAS

Dreadlocks are matted coils of hair that are usually formed intentionally, although if one lets hair grow out without grooming then it naturally forms twisted and matted dreadlocks. The hairstyle is associated with the Rastafarian movement in which “dread” is a very positive term meaning “fear of the Lord”.

50 Quail gathering : BEVY

“Bevy” is a collective noun used for a number of types of bird, including quail and swans. “Bevy” is also sometimes used as a collective noun for ladies.

“Quail” is a name used for several chicken-like wild birds. Quail are common prey for hunters.

53 Luau strings : UKES

The ukulele (uke) originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

55 Gothic romance novelist Victoria : HOLT

Eleanor Alice Burford was an English author who wrote over 200 novels using several pen names, most notably:

  • Jean Plaidy (historical fiction featuring European royalty)
  • Victoria Holt (gothic romances)
  • Philippa Carr (family sagas)

56 Word on Irish stamps : EIRE

“Éire”, is the Irish word for “Ireland”. The related “Erin” is an anglicized version of “Éire” and actually corresponds to “Éirinn”, the dative case of “Éire”.

57 GPS recommendations : RTES

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).

59 Jazz pianist Evans : GIL

Gil Evans was a jazz musician who collaborated with Miles Davis.

60 Due-in hr. : ETA

Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Hosp. administration : CPR
4 Show of affection, in Acapulco : BESO
8 Chuck and others : CUTS
12 Word that agrees with you : … ARE
13 “The Road to Wealth” author : ORMAN
14 Fireplace collection : ASHES
16 Cabbage, e.g. : VEGETABLE
18 Get the point : SCORE
19 Move like a startled chipmunk : SKITTER
20 Extent : DEGREE
21 Expression of recognition : OHO!
22 Maker of Tundra coolers : YETI
25 “Is there more?” : AND?
26 Grounded : SANE
28 Engage in some risky evasion : DODGE TAXES
31 Not seen a lot : SCARCE
33 Tiny arachnids : MITES
34 Free : RELEASE
36 Bad way to swear : FALSELY
40 Film director Kurosawa : AKIRA
42 Reacted to a blow : REELED
43 All-out effort some might call old : COLLEGE TRY
47 1969 MLB upstarts : METS
48 Big swinger : APE
49 Silents star Naldi : NITA
50 Original “Peaky Blinders” airer : BBC
51 Condition : STATUS
54 Protected space : SHELTER
58 Longtime photo lab supplier : KODAK
59 “Enough of the pity party!” … and what appears four times in this puzzle? : GET OVER IT!
61 “I was wrong. So what” : SUE ME
62 Slovenia neighbor : ITALY
63 Valuable deposit : ORE
64 Very French? : TRES
65 Sometimes least, sometimes not : LAST
66 Super __ : NES

Down

1 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse NBAers : CAVS
2 Level for 4-yr-olds : PRE-K
3 Local tournament : REGIONAL
4 Highland hillside : BRAE
5 Early life stage : EMBRYO
6 Cantina condiment : SAL
7 Eight bits bill : ONE
8 Good argument : CASE
9 Mil. branch : USCG
10 Chest : THORAX
11 Chill : SERENE
13 Enzo’s eight : OTTO
15 Bed starters : SEEDS
17 Otherworldly : ETHEREAL
20 Like many supplements : DIETARY
23 Gretzky’s original NHL team : EDM
24 Weary worker’s sigh : TGIF
26 Lith., once : SSR
27 It has a big heart : ACE
28 Self-serving intent : DESIGNS
29 Distant prefix : TELE-
30 Gather : ASSEMBLE
32 Candle holder : CAKE
35 “I’ll speak a prophecy __ go”: “King Lear” : ERE I
37 Basic particle : ELECTRON
38 Word with fly or go : LET …
39 NFL stats : YDS
41 ABA member : ATT
43 Wine holders : CASKS
44 Skip it : OPT OUT
45 Chief : LEADER
46 Dreadlocks wearers : RASTAS
50 Quail gathering : BEVY
52 Not threatening : TAME
53 Luau strings : UKES
55 Gothic romance novelist Victoria : HOLT
56 Word on Irish stamps : EIRE
57 GPS recommendations : RTES
59 Jazz pianist Evans : GIL
60 Due-in hr. : ETA