LA Times Crossword 10 Jan 22, Monday

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Constructed by: Daniel Bodily
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Strike Zone

Themed answers are all “ZONES” in which one might find a STRIKE:

  • 59A Home plate ump’s concern … or what the answer to each starred clue can be? : STRIKE ZONE
  • 17A *Sensei’s studio : KARATE DOJO
  • 22A *Loud, wet weather event : THUNDERSTORM
  • 37A *Source of crude : OIL WELL
  • 49A *Site of spares and splits : BOWLING ALLEY

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

Bill’s time: 6m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 It may be acute, obtuse or right : ANGLE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

  • Acute (< 90 degrees) 
  • Right (= 90 degrees) 
  • Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
  • Straight (180 degrees) 
  • Reflex (> 180 degrees)

6 Lee with desserts : SARA

In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

10 Way cool, in the ’90s : PHAT

In hip-hop circles, the term “phat” means “excellent, first-rate”.

16 Mishmash dish : HASH

Hash, beef and vegetables mashed together, is a very American dish and one that really surprised me when I first came across it. “Hash” just seems like such an unappetizing item, but I soon found out how delicious it was. The name “hash” in this context comes from the French “hacher” meaning “to chop”. Back in the early 1900s the dish called “hashed browned potatoes” was developed, which quickly morphed into “hash browns”. From there the likes of corned beef hash was introduced.

17 *Sensei’s studio : KARATE DOJO

The Japanese word “dojo” translates literally as “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

“Sensei” is a Japanese form of address used for figures of authority, from lawyers to martial arts instructors.

“Karate” is a Japanese word meaning “empty hand”, and the related word “karaoke” translates as “empty orchestra”.

19 Khan of Khan Academy : SAL

“Khan Academy” is a not-for-profit organization that aims to provide a “free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”. Founded by educator Sal Khan in 2006, the academy mainly teaches mathematics and science through the medium of YouTube videos. Check out some of the videos. They are really excellent …

20 Greek T : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

22 *Loud, wet weather event : THUNDERSTORM

The word “thunder” precedes the word “lightning” in the phrase “thunder and lightning”. However, thunder comes after lighting in reality, at least to the observer. The observer sees the flash of lightning and then seconds later hears the crash of thunder. That’s because light travels faster than sound.

26 Big jets : JUMBOS

The first jet to be called a “Jumbo” was Boeing’s 747, as it was the first wide-body airliner. A wide-body passenger aircraft has seating laid out with two aisles running the length of the plane. The 747 also has three decks for part of its length, with the lower deck being used for cargo and galley space, and the upper deck for extra passenger seating. The Airbus A380 is called a “Superjumbo” as it has two full decks of passengers.

29 Fictional lawyer Perry : MASON

I must have read all of the “Perry Mason” books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably perhaps, Gardner gave up the law once his novels became successful.

40 Edible hero : SUB

A hero is a submarine sandwich. The hero originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

41 Stonestreet of “Modern Family” : ERIC

Actor Eric Stonestreet is best-known for playing Cameron Tucker on the hit comedy show “Modern Family”. Stonestreet is openly straight, but plays the gay partner of the character Mitchell Pritchett. Pritchett is played by openly-gay actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson jokingly describes Stonestreet as being “gay for pay”.

44 “In __, there is always too much singing”: Debussy : OPERA

Claude Debussy is one of my favorite composers, and someone who epitomises the Romantic Era and Impressionist Movement in music. One of my favorite CDs is a collection of some “lighter” Debussy pieces called “Debussy for Daydreaming”, and what an evocative collection it is. Included are “Syrinx”, “Maid with the Flaxen Hair”, “Rêverie” and everyone’s favorite, “Clair de Lune”.

46 Game with settlers : CATAN

The Settlers of Catan (now just “Catan”) is a board game that was introduced in 1995, in Germany as “Die Siedler von Catan”. The game is very popular in the US and was called “the board game of our time” by the “Washington Post”. My son plays it a lot, and as a lover of board games, I am going to have to check it out …

48 Noisy quarrel : FRACAS

“Fracas”, meaning “noisy quarrel”, is a French word that we absorbed into English. In turn, the French usage evolved from the Italian “fracasso” meaning “uproar, crash”.

49 *Site of spares and splits : BOWLING ALLEY

In bowling, a spare is recorded on a score sheet with a forward slash mark. A strike is recorded with a large letter X.

In ten-pin bowling, a split takes place when the number-one pin (headpin) is knocked down with the first ball and two or more non-adjacent pins are left standing. The most difficult split to deal with is the infamous 7-10 split, where just the rear pins at the extreme right and left remain standing.

53 Fed. security : T-NOTE

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

55 Cashew or almond : NUT

The cashew is the seed of the cashew tree. The pulp of the cashew tree fruit (the cashew apple) is also consumed, and is usually processed into a fruit drink or distilled as a liquor.

“Almond” is the name of a deciduous tree, and of the edible seed of that tree. The fruit of the almond tree is a drupe, and not a nut. The drupe comprises an outer hull surrounding a woody endocarp. The edible seed is found inside the woody shell, and that’s the almond “nut”.

58 Emerald Isle : EIRE

Ireland is often referred to as “the Emerald Isle” (and described as “green”) because of all that green grass that grows due to the seemingly non-stop rain.

63 “High Voltage” band : AC/DC

The hard rock band AC/DC recorded two albums titled “High Voltage”. The first was released in 1975, only in their native Australia. The second was released in 1976, but this version of “High Voltage” was marketed internationally. The second album bears little resemblance to the first.

64 Places for astronomy buffs : PLANETARIA

The largest planetarium in the world is Planetarium 1 in St. Petersburg in Russia, having a dome of 37 meters in diameter. The largest in the Western Hemisphere is the Jennifer Chaisty Planetarium in the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, with a dome of diameter 27 meters. The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India has the largest seating capacity, for 630 patrons.

66 Wile E. Coyote’s supplier : ACME

The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it appears mostly in “Road Runner” cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always leads to his downfall.

Down

2 Final Four org. : NCAA

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)

3 One of a group who “just wanna have fu-un”: Cyndi Lauper : GIRL

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is a hit song recorded by Cyndi Lauper in 1983. Lauper’s was a cover version of the original 1979 release by Robert Hazard, who also wrote the song.

5 Sinus doc : ENT

Ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT)

In anatomical terms, a sinus is a cavity in tissue. Sinuses are found all over the body, in the kidney and heart for example, but we most commonly think of the paranasal sinuses that surround the nose.

6 Four-door, usually : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

8 Koothrappali on “The Big Bang Theory” : RAJ

Raj Koothrappali is a character on the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” who is played by British-Indian actor Kunal Nayyar. Nayyar is married to Neha Kapur, a former Miss India.

9 Blood type letters : ABO

The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labelled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a universal donor.

10 “The __ of the 44-Across” : PHANTOM

I’m a bit jaded with big stage musicals I must admit, but I will always have time for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece “The Phantom of the Opera”. “Phantom …” is the longest running musical in the history of Broadway, and deservedly so. There is a sequel, titled “Love Never Dies”, that opened in London’s West End in March 2010. But, it hasn’t been well received.

12 Daisylike flower : ASTER

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

13 Unit of heat energy : THERM

A therm is a unit of heat energy. One therm is equivalent to 100,000 British thermal units (BTUs).

15 Whale constellation (anagram of CUTES) : CETUS

Cetus is a constellation named after a sea monster from Greek mythology. Today, Cetus is often referred to as the Whale.

22 “American Dad!” channel : TBS

“American Dad!” is an adult-oriented animated sitcom. Famously, one of the show’s creators is Seth MacFarlane, who also created “Family Guy”. Personally, I cannot stand either show …

23 Santa’s jolly syllables : HO HO!

Saint Nicholas of Myra is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (now in modern-day Turkey) during the 4th century AD, and was known for being generous to the poor. Centuries after he died, his remains were desecrated by Italian sailors and moved to Bari in Italy. One legend has it that the relics were moved again centuries later and reburied in the grounds of Jerpoint Abbey in Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, where you can visit the grave today. I choose to believe that Santa Claus’s relics are indeed buried in Ireland …

24 Awards show host : EMCEE

The term “emcee” comes from “MC”, an initialism used for a Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.

25 Skateboard park feature : RAIL

The activity of skateboarding emerged in California in the fifties. Enthusiasts made their own boards, by attaching roller skates to boards. Back then, skateboarding was referred to as “sidewalk surfing”.

26 Actor Gyllenhaal : JAKE

Jake Gyllenhaal’s most famous role has to be as co-star with Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain”, but he has also had lead roles in big movies like “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Jarhead” and “Rendition”.

27 __ Eats: delivery service : UBER

Uber Eats is a food-delivery platform offered by ride-sharing service Uber. For a delivery fee of a few bucks, users can order food from local restaurants using an app. That food might be delivered by car, bike or foot depending on the city and courier.

28 Abracadabra et al. : MAGIC WORDS

The incantation “abracadabra” has a long history. It was used as far back as the 2nd century AD in ancient Rome when the word was prescribed by a physician to be worn on an amulet to help his emperor recover from disease. “Abracadabra” is Aramaic, and roughly translates as “I will create as I speak”.

35 CFOs’ degrees : MBAS

A chief financial officer (CFO) might have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

38 Lendl of tennis : IVAN

Ivan Lendl is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia. Lendl appeared in eight consecutive US Open finals in the eighties, a record that stands to this day.

42 Pasadena engineering sch. : CALTECH

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

Pasadena, California is famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game, as well as the related Tournament of Roses Parade. The name “Pasadena” was chosen somewhat arbitrarily. A missionary in Michigan supplied a list of translations of the names “Crown of the Valley”, “Key of the Valley” etc, in the Chippewa language when the locals were choosing a name. All of the translations ended in “pasadena” meaning “of the valley”. The word was liked, so it was picked.

49 Second-string squad : B-TEAM

We’ve been using the phrases “first string” and “second string” in athletics since the mid-19th century. The expressions come from archery, in which a competitor would carry a second bowstring in case the first broke.

51 The “A” in James A. Garfield : ABRAM

James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the US, was assassinated in office. He was shot twice, and one bullet could not be found (it was lodged in his spine). Inventor Alexander Graham Bell developed a metal detector in an attempt to locate the bullet, but apparently he was unsuccessful because of interference from the metal bed frame on which the president lay. Garfield died two months after being shot.

52 Singer Frankie : LAINE

Singer Frankie Laine was known for singing the theme songs from Western movies and shows, although he wasn’t a country & western singer. Laine released a version of the theme for “High Noon” for example, and “Champion the Wonder Horse”, and they became bigger hits than the originals.

55 Sushi roll wrap : NORI

Nori is an edible seaweed that we used to know as “laver” when we were living in Wales. Nori is usually dried into thin sheets. Here in the US, we are most familiar with nori as the seaweed used as a wrap for sushi.

57 Tazo products : TEAS

The Tazo Tea Company was founded in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. Tazo was purchased in 1999 by Starbucks, and then by Unilever in 2017.

59 Pampering place : SPA

The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as “Spa” is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.

60 Pampering, initially : TLC

Tender loving care (TLC)

61 UFO crew : ETS

One might speculate that an unidentified flying object (UFO) is flown by an extraterrestrial (ET).

62 Drummer Starkey, son of Ringo : ZAK

Zak Starkey is an English drummer just like his Dad Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr. Zak has performed with the Who and with Oasis.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 It may be acute, obtuse or right : ANGLE
6 Lee with desserts : SARA
10 Way cool, in the ’90s : PHAT
14 High school experiment site : SCIENCE LAB
16 Mishmash dish : HASH
17 *Sensei’s studio : KARATE DOJO
18 Poker pot starter : ANTE
19 Khan of Khan Academy : SAL
20 Greek T : TAU
21 Rage : ANGER
22 *Loud, wet weather event : THUNDERSTORM
26 Big jets : JUMBOS
29 Fictional lawyer Perry : MASON
30 Leave red-faced : ABASH
31 Central points : FOCI
33 Hat-tipper’s word : MA’AM
36 Beer barrel : KEG
37 *Source of crude : OIL WELL
40 Edible hero : SUB
41 Stonestreet of “Modern Family” : ERIC
43 Climbing plant : VINE
44 “In __, there is always too much singing”: Debussy : OPERA
46 Game with settlers : CATAN
48 Noisy quarrel : FRACAS
49 *Site of spares and splits : BOWLING ALLEY
53 Fed. security : T-NOTE
54 What the ewe said : BAA!
55 Cashew or almond : NUT
58 Emerald Isle : EIRE
59 Home plate ump’s concern … or what the answer to each starred clue can be? : STRIKE ZONE
63 “High Voltage” band : AC/DC
64 Places for astronomy buffs : PLANETARIA
65 Screen door stuff : MESH
66 Wile E. Coyote’s supplier : ACME
67 Funny sketches : SKITS

Down

1 More than wonders : ASKS
2 Final Four org. : NCAA
3 One of a group who “just wanna have fu-un”: Cyndi Lauper : GIRL
4 Meadow : LEA
5 Sinus doc : ENT
6 Four-door, usually : SEDAN
7 Not whispered : ALOUD
8 Koothrappali on “The Big Bang Theory” : RAJ
9 Blood type letters : ABO
10 “The __ of the 44-Across” : PHANTOM
11 “Wait, I’ll be right there!” : HANG ON A SEC!
12 Daisylike flower : ASTER
13 Unit of heat energy : THERM
15 Whale constellation (anagram of CUTES) : CETUS
21 Stubborn animal : ASS
22 “American Dad!” channel : TBS
23 Santa’s jolly syllables : HO HO!
24 Awards show host : EMCEE
25 Skateboard park feature : RAIL
26 Actor Gyllenhaal : JAKE
27 __ Eats: delivery service : UBER
28 Abracadabra et al. : MAGIC WORDS
31 Casual love affair : FLING
32 Accept blame for : OWN
34 Celestial glow : AURA
35 CFOs’ degrees : MBAS
38 Lendl of tennis : IVAN
39 Campfire stories, say : LORE
42 Pasadena engineering sch. : CALTECH
45 Fork over : PAY
47 Reason for extra innings : TIE
48 Snow speck : FLAKE
49 Second-string squad : B-TEAM
50 Chilling : ON ICE
51 The “A” in James A. Garfield : ABRAM
52 Singer Frankie : LAINE
55 Sushi roll wrap : NORI
56 Inch or yard : UNIT
57 Tazo products : TEAS
59 Pampering place : SPA
60 Pampering, initially : TLC
61 UFO crew : ETS
62 Drummer Starkey, son of Ringo : ZAK