LA Times Crossword 23 Jun 22, Thursday

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Constructed by: Emma Oxford
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Rout

Themed answers are common phrases, but with an “R” OUT, removed:

  • 63A Decisive defeat, and a two-word hint to the answers to the starred clues : ROUT and “R” OUT
  • 16A *Frying pans anyone can use? : PUBLIC WOKS (from “public works”)
  • 22A *Group that attends Mass together every week? : SUNDAY BUNCH (from “Sunday brunch”)
  • 36A *Discussion about what fruit to bake for dessert? : PIE CHAT (from “pie chart”)
  • 46A *Fitting motto for Pisa’s tower keeper? : LIVE AND LEAN (from “live and learn”)
  • 55A *Devil on one’s shoulder? : CLOSE FIEND (from “close friend”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “You Shook Me All Night Long” band : AC/DC

The Heavy Metal band known as AC/DC was formed by two brothers Malcolm and Angus Young in Australia. Malcolm and Angus chose the name “AC/DC” after their sister Margaret noticed them on a sewing machine (the abbreviation for alternating current/direct current). The group is usually called “Acca Dacca” down under.

5 Apiphobe’s phobia : BEES

An apiary is an area where bees are kept, apiculture is beekeeping, and an apiphobe has a fear of bees. The Latin word for “bee” is “apis”.

15 Mountain cat : PUMA

The mountain lion is found in much of the Americas from the Yukon in Canada right down to the southern Andes in South America. Because the mountain lion is found over such a vast area, it has many different names applied by local peoples, such as “cougar” and “puma”. In fact, the mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animal with the most number of different names, with over 40 in English alone.

16 *Frying pans anyone can use? : PUBLIC WOKS (from “public works”)

“Wok” is a Cantonese word, and is the name for the frying pan now used in many Asian cuisines.

19 Revealing session on Reddit, for short : AMA

Ask me anything (AMA)

20 Christmas song : NOEL

“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, and ultimately comes from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). “Noel” has come to be used as an alternative for “Christmas carol”.

22 *Group that attends Mass together every week? : SUNDAY BUNCH (from “Sunday brunch”)

The principal act of worship in the Roman Catholic tradition is the Mass. The term “Mass” comes from the Late Latin word “missa” meaning “dismissal”. This word is used at the end of the Latin Mass in “Ite, missa est” which translates literally as “Go, it is the dismissal”.

25 Treeless plain : STEPPE

A steppe is a grassland that is devoid of trees, apart from those growing near rivers and lakes. The term “steppe” is Russian in origin, and is used to describe the geographical feature that extends across Eurasia. In South Africa, the same feature is called a “veld”, and in North America it is called a “prairie”.

29 Like some dental floss : WAXY

Dental floss has been around a long time, with the term “dental floss” being introduced in the early 1800s. Anyone fond of the writings of James Joyce (that wouldn’t be me!) might recall a character using dental floss in his famous novel “Ulysses” that was published between 1918 and 1920.

32 “The Last O.G.” network : TBS

“The Last O.G.” is a sitcom starring Tracy Morgan. Morgan plays the title character, an “original gangster or OG”, who is released from prison after serving 15 years. The ex-con returns to his Brooklyn neighborhood to find it very different, 15 years on. And, his ex-girlfriend is raising his twin children with her husband. I haven’t seen this one, but the premise sounds intriguing …

36 *Discussion about what fruit to bake for dessert? : PIE CHAT (from “pie chart”)

A pie chart can also be referred to as a circle graph. It is often stated that Florence Nightingale invented the pie chart. While this is not in fact true, she is due credit for popularizing it, and for developing the pie chart variation known as the polar area diagram. The earliest known pie chart appears in a book published in 1801 by Scottish engineer William Playfair.

40 Man of many words? : ROGET

Peter Mark Roget was an English lexicographer. Roget was an avid maker of lists, apparently using the routine of list-making to combat depression, a condition he endured for most of his life. He published his famous thesaurus in 1852, with revisions and expansions being made years later by his son, and then in turn by his grandson.

41 Wild beasts also called wildebeests : GNUS

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch meaning “wild beast”.

42 Water filter brand : BRITA

Brita is a German company that specializes in water filtration products. Brita products do a great job of filtering tap water, but they don’t “purify” it as they don’t remove microbes. That job is usually done by a municipality before the water gets to the faucet.

46 *Fitting motto for Pisa’s tower keeper? : LIVE AND LEAN (from “live and learn”)

The city of Pisa sits right on the Italian coast, at the mouth of the River Arno. The city is perhaps most famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

49 Big name in applesauce : MOTT’S

Samuel R. Mott was a producer of apple cider and vinegar. In 1842 he founded his own company to market and sell his products. The Mott’s company owns brands such as Mr & Mrs T, Hawaiian Punch and ReaLime/ReaLemon.

50 Tirade : RANT

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

51 Bath mother : MUM

Bath is a beautiful city in South West England of which I have very fond memories. It is an old Roman spa town, and the city’s name comes from the Roman baths that have been excavated and restored.

59 Catholic leader : POPE

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The term “pope” comes from the Latin “papa”, and ultimately from the Greek “pappas”, with both terms being a child’s word for “father”.

60 Old Dodges : OMNIS

The Dodge Omni is basically the same car as the Plymouth Horizon, and was produced by Chrysler from 1978-90. The Omni is a front-wheel drive hatchback, the first in a long line of front-wheel drive cars that were very successful for Chrysler. The Omni was actually developed in France, by Chrysler’s Simca division. When production was stopped in the US in 1990, the tooling was sold to an Indian company that continued production for the Asian market for several years.

61 URL starter : HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

62 Spy-fi country : USSR

When the former Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in 1991, it was largely replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The formation of the CIS underscored the new reality, that the former Soviet Republics (SSRs) were now independent states. Most of the 15 former SSRs joined the CIS. Notably, the three Baltic SSRs (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) opted not to join the new commonwealth, and in 2004 joined NATO and the EU.

Down

1 Grad : ALUM

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

2 Gloria Estefan’s birthplace : CUBA

Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-American singer who was born in Havana. Estefan fled Cuba along with her family after the Cuban Revolution, and ended up in Miami. Her father fought for the US military in Vietnam, and also took part in the doomed Bay of Pigs invasion. Years later, Estefan herself was approached by the CIA to work for the agency due to her skill with languages. She ended up doing quite well singing instead …

3 ISP option : DSL

An Internet service provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs.

6 Sherlock’s sister, per a 2020 Netflix film : ENOLA

“The Enola Holmes Mysteries” is a series of detective novels for young adults by American author Nancy Springer. The title character is the 14-year-old sister of 34-year-old Sherlock Holmes, the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Springer’s novels were adapted into a 2020 film “Enola Holmes” that Netflix picked up at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I saw this one, and enjoyed it …

7 Caribou kin : ELK

The elk (also “wapiti”) is one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …

“Caribou” is the North American name for “reindeer”.

8 Pt. of GPS : SYS

Global positioning system (GPS)

9 “Just Putting It Out There” comedian Nancherla : APARNA

Aparna Nancherla is a comedian and actress from Washington, D.C. She plays Grace Ramaswamy on the Comedy Central sitcom “Corporate”.

11 Patti known as the “Godmother of Punk” : SMITH

Patti Smith is a singer-songwriter who was a big player in the seventies punk rock movement in New York City. Smith’s most successful song is “Because the Night”, a song co-written with Bruce Springsteen and recorded by Smith in 1978. Her influence in the punk rock scene earned Smith the nickname “Godmother of Punk”.

21 Word in many Wi-Fi network names : GUEST

“Wi-Fi” is nothing more than a trademark, a trademark registered by an association of manufacturers of equipment that use wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology. A device labeled with “Wi-Fi” has to meet certain defined technical standards, basically meaning that the devices can talk to each other. The name “Wi-Fi” suggests “Wireless Fidelity”, although apparently the term was never intended to mean anything at all.

24 La __ Tar Pits : BREA

The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirst. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …

25 Did the breaststroke, e.g. : SWAM

The breaststroke is a style of swimming that is extremely popular with infrequent swimmers as they can keep their heads out of the water for much of the time. It might also be referred to as the “frog stroke”, as the movement of the arms and legs resembles the movements of a frog swimming.

26 “Voilà!” : TA-DA!

The French word “voilà” means “there it is”, and “voici” means “here it is”. The terms come from “voi là” meaning “see there” and “voi ici” meaning “see here”.

27 Outrageous, as a price : EXORBITANT

Back in the mid-1400s, “exorbitant” was a legal term meaning “deviating from rule”. The word came from the Latin “ex” meaning “out of” and “orbita” meaning “wheel track”. We use “exorbitant” today to mean “outside of the scope of the law”, and “exceeding the norms in terms of price, size, etc.”

30 Like the Beyond Burger : VEGAN

Beyond Meat is a producer of meat substitutes that are plant-based. The company was founded in 2009, and is based in El Segundo, California. Beyond Meat’s beef substitutes incorporate red beet juice to mimic the appearance of blood.

31 Curling surface : ICE

I think curling is such a cool game (pun!). It’s somewhat like bowls, but played on a sheet of ice. The sport was supposedly invented in medieval Scotland, and is called curling because of the action of the granite stone as it moves across the ice. A player can make the stone take a curved path (“curl”) by causing it to slowly rotate as it slides.

37 Wee bit : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

41 Negroni need : GIN

The Negroni is a lovely cocktail, one that hails from Italy. A classic recipe calls for equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. According to legend, the drink was first made by bartender Forsco Scarselli at the request of Count Camillo Negroni, hence the name. The count wanted a stronger version of an Americano, and so Scarselli dropped the Americano’s soda water and replaced it with gin!

44 “Molto __!” : BENE

In Italian, the crossword solving experience might be “molto bene” (very good).

48 __ tag : LASER

The name “Laser Tag” is really a misnomer as lasers are rarely used in the game. The “guns” actually send out infrared light, and not laser light, that is picked up by infrared detectors worn by the players.

49 Namesake of a speed ratio : MACH

The Mach number of a moving object (like say an airplane) is its speed relative to the speed of sound. A plane traveling at Mach 2, for example, is moving at twice the speed of sound. The term “Mach” takes its name from the Austrian physicist Ernst Mach who published a groundbreaking paper in 1877 that even predicted the “sonic boom”.

51 List that may be accessed by scanning a QR code : MENU

A QR Code (for “Quick Response Code”) is a two-dimensional barcode that is favored over UPC barcodes as it can read more quickly and can store much more information. The QR Code comprises black squares within a square grid on a white background.

53 Rx writers : MDS

There seems to be some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

55 PC core : CPU

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main component on the motherboard of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

56 Grammy winners __ Lonely Boys : LOS

Los Lonely Boys is a rock band from San Angelo, Texas. The three band members are three brothers.

57 “As I see it” shorthand : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “You Shook Me All Night Long” band : AC/DC
5 Apiphobe’s phobia : BEES
9 “I __ confused” : AM SO
13 Wintry mess : SLUSH
14 Sole : ONLY
15 Mountain cat : PUMA
16 *Frying pans anyone can use? : PUBLIC WOKS (from “public works”)
18 “Oh, please!” : AS IF!
19 Revealing session on Reddit, for short : AMA
20 Christmas song : NOEL
21 Shrimp and __ : GRITS
22 *Group that attends Mass together every week? : SUNDAY BUNCH (from “Sunday brunch”)
25 Treeless plain : STEPPE
28 Districts : AREAS
29 Like some dental floss : WAXY
30 Shortcomings : VICES
32 “The Last O.G.” network : TBS
35 Bother : ADO
36 *Discussion about what fruit to bake for dessert? : PIE CHAT (from “pie chart”)
38 In the style of : A LA
39 Spoil : MAR
40 Man of many words? : ROGET
41 Wild beasts also called wildebeests : GNUS
42 Water filter brand : BRITA
44 Some surprise hits : B-SIDES
46 *Fitting motto for Pisa’s tower keeper? : LIVE AND LEAN (from “live and learn”)
49 Big name in applesauce : MOTT’S
50 Tirade : RANT
51 Bath mother : MUM
54 Way off : AFAR
55 *Devil on one’s shoulder? : CLOSE FIEND (from “close friend”)
58 “What __ say?” : CAN I
59 Catholic leader : POPE
60 Old Dodges : OMNIS
61 URL starter : HTTP
62 Spy-fi country : USSR
63 Decisive defeat, and a two-word hint to the answers to the starred clues : ROUT and “R” OUT

Down

1 Grad : ALUM
2 Gloria Estefan’s birthplace : CUBA
3 ISP option : DSL
4 “Things’ll turn around, you’ll see” : CHIN UP
5 Showed respect, in a way : BOWED
6 Sherlock’s sister, per a 2020 Netflix film : ENOLA
7 Caribou kin : ELK
8 Pt. of GPS : SYS
9 “Just Putting It Out There” comedian Nancherla : APARNA
10 Score keeper? : MUSIC STAND
11 Patti known as the “Godmother of Punk” : SMITH
12 Clods : OAFS
13 Place for pampering : SPA
17 Ice cream holder : CONE
21 Word in many Wi-Fi network names : GUEST
22 Intel collector : SPY
23 Luxury vessel : YACHT
24 La __ Tar Pits : BREA
25 Did the breaststroke, e.g. : SWAM
26 “Voilà!” : TA-DA!
27 Outrageous, as a price : EXORBITANT
30 Like the Beyond Burger : VEGAN
31 Curling surface : ICE
33 Sad : BLUE
34 Back talk : SASS
36 Noses around : PRIES
37 Wee bit : IOTA
41 Negroni need : GIN
43 Family vacay, perhaps : RV TRIP
44 “Molto __!” : BENE
45 Had done, as a portrait : SAT FOR
46 Diet-friendly : LO-FAT
47 Comes out, as an album : DROPS
48 __ tag : LASER
49 Namesake of a speed ratio : MACH
51 List that may be accessed by scanning a QR code : MENU
52 One of a kind : UNIT
53 Rx writers : MDS
55 PC core : CPU
56 Grammy winners __ Lonely Boys : LOS
57 “As I see it” shorthand : IMO