LA Times Crossword 4 Jan 22, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Stella Zawistowski
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: The Deep End

Themed answers each END with something often described as “DEEP”:

  • 63A *Where to dive in a pool … and what the answers to starred clues all share? : THE DEEP END
  • 17A *Stuffed items in the frozen-food aisle : HOT POCKETS (giving “deep pockets”)
  • 23A *Apartment storage measure : CLOSET SPACE (giving “deep space”)
  • 39A *Ideas in support of gender equality : FEMINIST THOUGHT (giving “deep thought”)
  • 50A *Tiny white flower used as filler in bouquets : BABY’S BREATH (giving “deep breath”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 The “A” in many gp. names : ASSN

Association (assn.)

5 Pandowdy fruit : APPLE

Pandowdy is a variety of cobbler (the dessert) found mainly in New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

10 Golden St. school : UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gets more applications from potential students than any other university in the country. UCLA also has more students enrolled than any other university in the state.

“Golden State” has been the official nickname of California since 1968. The nickname reflects the expansion of the state’s economy that followed the discovery of gold in 1848, and also the fields of golden poppies seen growing wild across California in the spring.

14 Seed in some yogurt : CHIA

Chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. Chia seeds are an excellent food source and are often added to breakfast cereals and energy bars. There is also the famous Chia Pet, an invention of a San Francisco company. Chia Pets are terra-cotta figurines to which moistened chia seeds are applied. The seeds sprout and the seedlings become the “fur” of the Chia Pet.

Yogurt (also “yoghurt”) is produced by fermenting milk using bacteria known as yogurt cultures. The bacteria act on the sugars in the milk, producing lactic acid. The lactic acid acts on the proteins in the milk to give the characteristic texture and acidity of yogurt.

17 *Stuffed items in the frozen-food aisle : HOT POCKETS (giving “deep pockets”)

Hot Pockets were introduced in the seventies by brothers David and Paul Merage. Hot Pockets are microwaveable turnovers filled with cheese, meat or vegetables.

20 Hunt played by Cruise in “Mission: Impossible” films : ETHAN

It was Tom Cruise’s idea to adapt the “Mission: Impossible” television series for the big screen, and it became the first project for Cruise’s own production company. Cruise took on the starring role of Ethan Hunt in the movies, the point man for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

21 Docs’ org. with a noted journal : AMA

The American Medical Association (AMA) has been publishing the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) since 1883.

22 Chinese city that was the starting point of the Silk Road : XI’AN

Xi’an is a city in China, the capital of the Shaanxi Province. It is famous as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road trade route, and as the home of the Terracotta Army.

The Silk Road was a network of trading routes that crossed North Africa and Asia, connecting Europe to West Asia. The routes get the name from the lucrative trade in silk from China.

23 *Apartment storage measure : CLOSET SPACE (giving “deep space”)

In Old French a “clos” was an enclosure, with the diminutive form “closet” describing a small enclosure or private room. Over time this evolved into our modern usage of “closet”, describing a cabinet or cupboard.

31 Monkey house site : ZOO

The world’s first zoo opened in Britain in 1820. Now known as “London Zoo”, the facility was referred to back then as the “Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London”. The term “zoo” is a shortening of “zoological”.

33 Requirement for travel abroad, at times : VISA

A visa is usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often, to exit) a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.

36 Future atty.’s exam : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

43 Take a taxi, say : RIDE

We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance travelled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.

44 Hatcher of “Lois & Clark” : TERI

Teri Hatcher’s most famous role is the Susan Mayer character on the TV comedy-drama “Desperate Housewives”. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of “Housewives” but I do know Teri Hatcher as a Bond girl, as she appeared in “Tomorrow Never Dies”. More recently, she portrayed Lois Lane on the show “Lois & Clark”.

“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” is a television show that aired originally from 1993 to 1997. The storyline focuses as much on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as it does on Kent’s life as Superman. Clark and Lois are played by Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.

46 NYC subway org. : MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut). “MTA” might also refer to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is known as “the Metro” and sometimes “the MTA”.

50 *Tiny white flower used as filler in bouquets : BABY’S-BREATH (giving “deep breath”)

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.

55 Saudi, usually : ARAB

The largest country in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia, which covers over 750,000 square miles. The smallest country is Bahrain, which covers less than 700 square miles.

56 Gaelic counterpart of John : IAN

The name “John” translates into Scottish as “Ian”, into Russian as “Ivan”, into Italian as “Giovanni”, into Spanish as “Juan”, into Welsh as “Evan”, and into Irish as “Seán”.

A Gael is anyone of a race that speaks or spoke one of the Erse tongues. There are actually three Erse languages. Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be “Gaeilge” (in Ireland), “Gaelg” (on the Isle of Man) and “Gaidhlig” (in Scotland).

62 Number of Supreme Court justices : NINE

The US Constitution doesn’t specify the size of the Supreme Court, but authorizes the Congress to determine the number of justices. The court started with six justices in 1789, and the size of the bench grew with the size of the country and the number of judicial circuits. There were as many as ten justices, from 1863 to 1866. There have been nine justices since 1869.

Down

3 “Star Wars” baddies : SITH

The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. Members of the Sith use the title “Darth” before their name, as in Darth Vader. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

4 Oenotourist’s destination : NAPA

In Greek mythology, Oeno was the goddess of wine, giving us “oeno-” as a prefix meaning “wine”. For example, oenology is the study of wine and an oenophile is a wine-lover.

5 Balt. Ravens’ group : AFC

American Football Conference (AFC)

The name of the Baltimore Ravens football team has a literary derivation. Baltimore was the home of the writer Edgar Allan Poe, and so the team took its moniker from his most famous poem, “The Raven”. The name was selected in a fan contest. Baltimore’s mascot is a raven named Poe. Prior to the 2008 season, the Raven’s had a trio of avian mascots: Edgar, Allan and Poe.

6 Commercial suffix with Water : -PIK

Waterpik is a brand of oral irrigator, a device that uses a stream of water to remove food debris and dental plaque from the teeth. There are claims made that water irrigators are more effective than dental floss.

9 Like a bad copy : ERSATZ

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

10 Sunburn cause, for short : UV EXPOSURE

At either end of the visible light spectrum are the invisible forms of radiation known as infrared (IR) light and ultraviolet (UV) light. IR light lies just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, and UV light lies just below the violet end.

11 Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA

Celia Cruz was born and grew up in Cuba, but spent most of her working life in the United States, playing out her salsa singing career in New Jersey. Around the world, Cruz was known as the “Queen of Salsa”.

12 Purple hue : LILAC

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

18 Like a lot of ’80s-’90s music : ON CD

The compact disc (CD) was developed jointly by Philips and Sony as a medium for storing and playing sound recordings. When the first commercial CD was introduced back in 1982, a CD’s storage capacity was far greater than the amount of data that could be stored on the hard drive of personal computers available at that time.

24 Son of Jacob : LEVI

According to the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the great-grandfather of Aaron and Moses.

27 Where Prince William served: Abbr. : RAF

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918, a composite of two earlier forces, the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” was the Battle of Britain, when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to delay his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter the memorable words

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

Born in 1982, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge is the elder of the two sons of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales. As such, William is second in line to the British throne, after his father.

28 Pitcher in art : EWER

A pitcher is a container for liquid that has a handle, mouth and spout. The term “jug” is used for the same container in other English-speaking countries. “Ewer” is an older term describing a pitcher/jug. Today, a ewer is a highly decorative pitcher, often with a base and flared spout.

29 Final Four game : SEMI

In the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, the teams remaining at various stages of the tournament are known as:

  • The “Sweet Sixteen” (the regional semi-finalists)
  • The “Elite Eight” (the regional finalists)
  • The “Final Four” (the national semi-finalists)

34 Fr. holy woman : STE

“Sainte” (ste.) is French for “saint”, when referring to a “femme” (woman).

35 Heart chambers : ATRIA

The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers (the atria) accept deoxygenated blood from the body and oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atria squeeze those blood supplies into the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), “priming” the pump, as it were. One ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the other pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

40 Brooklyn NBA team : NETS

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets were the New Jersey Nets until 2012, and were based in Newark. Prior to 1977, the team was known as the New York Nets and played in various locations on Long Island. Ten years earlier, the Nets were called the New Jersey Americans and were headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey.

41 Help for a stumped solver : HINT

Back in the early 1400s, to “stump” was to stumble over an obstacle, like a “tree-stump”. By the early 1800s, the verb “to stump” was used more generally, to mean “to baffle, bring to a halt by presenting obstacles”.

42 NFL six-pointers : TDS

Touchdown (TD)

49 Clarified butter used in Indian cuisine : GHEE

Ghee is clarified butter used in South Asian cuisines. “Ghee” comes from Sanskrit, and translates as “sprinkled”.

53 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby : RAHAL

Bobby Rahal is an auto racing driver and team owner. Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 as a driver, and won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner (the driver was Buddy Rice).

54 Primer mes del año : ENERO

In Spanish, “el primer mes” (the first month) is “enero” (January).

58 Omar of “House” : EPPS

Omar Epps is the actor who played Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Gant on “ER”. And, in another link to the world of medicine, Epps was born in Savannah, Georgia to single mom, Dr. Bonnie Epps.

60 Ancient Peruvian : INCA

The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Túpac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.

61 Eve’s first home : EDEN

According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.

65 Masthead names, for short : EDS

The masthead is a list often found on the editorial page of a newspaper that gives the members of a newspaper’s editorial board.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 The “A” in many gp. names : ASSN
5 Pandowdy fruit : APPLE
10 Golden St. school : UCLA
14 Seed in some yogurt : CHIA
15 Manicurist’s smoothing tool : FILER
16 Bridal accessory : VEIL
17 *Stuffed items in the frozen-food aisle : HOT POCKETS (giving “deep pockets”)
19 ‘Enry’s greeting : ‘ELLO
20 Hunt played by Cruise in “Mission: Impossible” films : ETHAN
21 Docs’ org. with a noted journal : AMA
22 Chinese city that was the starting point of the Silk Road : XI’AN
23 *Apartment storage measure : CLOSET SPACE (giving “deep space”)
27 Dwelled : RESIDED
31 Monkey house site : ZOO
32 Amazed : AWED
33 Requirement for travel abroad, at times : VISA
36 Future atty.’s exam : LSAT
39 *Ideas in support of gender equality : FEMINIST THOUGHT (giving “deep thought”)
43 Take a taxi, say : RIDE
44 Hatcher of “Lois & Clark” : TERI
45 Enjoy a book : READ
46 NYC subway org. : MTA
48 Swallows : INGESTS
50 *Tiny white flower used as filler in bouquets : BABY’S-BREATH (giving “deep breath”)
55 Saudi, usually : ARAB
56 Gaelic counterpart of John : IAN
57 Spine-tingling : EERIE
62 Number of Supreme Court justices : NINE
63 *Where to dive in a pool … and what the answers to starred clues all share? : THE DEEP END
66 Makes a request : ASKS
67 Propelled a rowboat : OARED
68 Tempo : PACE
69 For fear that : LEST
70 Moves smoothly : FLOWS
71 Stretch across : SPAN

Down

1 Pang : ACHE
2 Injection : SHOT
3 “Star Wars” baddies : SITH
4 Oenotourist’s destination : NAPA
5 Balt. Ravens’ group : AFC
6 Commercial suffix with Water : -PIK
7 Court answers : PLEAS
8 Eager volunteer’s cry : LET ME!
9 Like a bad copy : ERSATZ
10 Sunburn cause, for short : UV EXPOSURE
11 Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA
12 Purple hue : LILAC
13 Unaccompanied : ALONE
18 Like a lot of ’80s-’90s music : ON CD
24 Son of Jacob : LEVI
25 Lofty poet : ODIST
26 Unaccompanied : SOLO
27 Where Prince William served: Abbr. : RAF
28 Pitcher in art : EWER
29 Final Four game : SEMI
30 “That was as good as it gets for me!” : I DID MY BEST!
34 Fr. holy woman : STE
35 Heart chambers : ATRIA
37 Many years : AGES
38 “__ does it!” : THAT
40 Brooklyn NBA team : NETS
41 Help for a stumped solver : HINT
42 NFL six-pointers : TDS
47 Not very much : A BIT OF
49 Clarified butter used in Indian cuisine : GHEE
50 Boring : BANAL
51 Come to light : ARISE
52 Fog or cloud masses : BANKS
53 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby : RAHAL
54 Primer mes del año : ENERO
58 Omar of “House” : EPPS
59 Take in the harvest : REAP
60 Ancient Peruvian : INCA
61 Eve’s first home : EDEN
64 Beads on blades : DEW
65 Masthead names, for short : EDS