LA Times Crossword 2 Jun 22, Thursday

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Constructed by: Emma Lawson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Break a Story

Themed answers each include a synonym of “STORY” BROKEN in two parts, at the start and finish of the answer:

  • 59A What an investigative journalist might do, and what the answers to the starred clues literally do : BREAK A STORY
  • 17A *Locavore movement : FARM-TO-TABLE (hiding a broken FA-BLE)
  • 24A *Insulating layer around a nerve : MYELIN SHEATH (hiding a broken MY-TH)
  • 37A *Accept a difficult role : TAKE UP THE MANTLE (hiding a broken TA-LE)
  • 50A *Use a randomizer to decide, say : SPIN THE WHEEL (hiding a broken SPI-EL)

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

Bill’s time: 10m 16s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • OVITZ (Ovitt)
  • YUZU (yutu)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Open page on a web browser : TAB

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 its own Safari browser in 2003. Google’s Chrome browser, introduced in 2008, is by far the most popular way to view the Web today.

14 Weasellike pet : FERRET

A group of ferrets is called a “business”. An older collective noun for ferrets is a “fesnyng”.

Weasels are small mammals with long, thin bodies. That body shape is an advantage when weasels chase their prey into narrow burrows.

16 “Don’t Bring Me Down” band : ELO

“Don’t Bring Me Down” is the biggest hit that the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) had in the US. The song was dedicated to NASA’s Skylab, which reentered the earth’s orbit in 1979, the same year the song was released.

17 *Locavore movement : FARM-TO-TABLE (hiding a broken FA-BLE)

A locavore is someone who limits his or her diet to food that is produced locally, often within 100 miles of its point of purchase. There’s a great memoir by the author Barbara Kingsolver that discusses the experiences of her and her family with the locavore lifestyle called “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” An excellent read …

20 Mos. and mos. : YRS

Understanding months and years might have been a lot easier if we had settled on 13 “months” in a year, with a “month” comprising the four weeks that it takes to go through a complete lunar cycle (full moon to full moon). Then, every month would have been 4 weeks long, and it would be easy to understand why there are 52 weeks in a year (13 months x 4 weeks). But, we “mess” around with 12 “messy” months …

21 Diary : LOG

The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.

24 *Insulating layer around a nerve : MYELIN SHEATH (hiding a broken MY-TH)

A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron. The long nerve fiber that conducts signals away from the neuron is known as the axon. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath, which acts as an electrical insulator and which increases the rate the impulses pass along the axon.

32 Former Disney president Michael : OVITZ

Michael Ovitz was president of the Walt Disney Company from 1995-1997. He didn’t get on well with the company Chairman Michael Eisner, so Ovitz was fired after just over a year. He was sent packing with a nice severance package though: $38m in cash and well over $100m in stock.

37 *Accept a difficult role : TAKE UP THE MANTLE (hiding a broken TA-LE)

Someone who assumes the mantle takes on the leadership role that was once held by someone else. The original mantle was a loose, sleeveless cloak. The phrase itself originated in the Bible, which tells of the prophet Elijah leaving behind his cloak when he ascended into heaven. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle, and assumed Elijah’s role as prophet.

42 Alex and __: jewelry company known for bracelets : ANI

The jewelry retailer Alex and Ani was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Cranston, Rhode Island. The founder Carolyn Rafaelian named her business for her two daughters: Alex and Ani.

44 Witherspoon of “The Morning Show” : REESE

“Reese” is not actually actress Witherspoon’s given name. She started out life as Laura Jeanne Witherspoon. “Reese” is her mother’s maiden name.

45 Invisible urban pollution : NOISE

“The Morning Show” is a powerful drama TV series that is based on the 2013 book “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV” by CNN’s Brian Stelter. The show stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as two anchors for “The Morning Show”, one very experienced, and one new to the job. Steve Carell plays a former anchor who is ousted due to a sexual misconduct scandal.

50 *Use a randomizer to decide, say : SPIN THE WHEEL (hiding a broken SPI-EL)

A spiel is a lengthy speech or argument designed to persuade, like a sales pitch. “Spiel” comes to us from German, either directly (“spiel” is the German for “play”) or via the Yiddish “shpil”.

54 Harley-Davidson’s stock symbol : HOG

The Nasdaq has some descriptive symbols to represent companies. Here are some examples:

  • HOG – Harley-Davidson
  • HEINY – Heineken
  • ROCK – Gibraltar Industries
  • GRR – The Asian Tigers Fund
  • BEN – Franklin Resources
  • TWNK – Hostess Brands

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was founded in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, . Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn’t generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson’s house. In 1906, the partners built their first factory, located where the company’s headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Famously, Harley motorcycles are nicknamed “hogs”.

58 Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO

The OXO line of kitchen utensils and housewares is designed to be ergonomically superior to the average household tools. The intended user of OXO products is someone who doesn’t have the normal range of motion or strength in the hands e.g. someone suffering from arthritis.

65 One of Eve’s sons : ABEL

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve had several children, although only the first three are mentioned by name: Cain, Abel and Seth.

66 Dressing with anchovies : CAESAR

The caesar salad was created by restaurateur Caesar Cardini at the Hotel Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico. The original recipe called for whole lettuce leaves that were to be lifted up by the stem and eaten with the fingers.

Anchovies are saltwater fish that are quite small, although their adult size can vary from under an inch to over 15 inches depending on the species. Vegans should beware, as they are an ingredient in several common foods including Worcestershire sauce and Caesar salad dressing.

67 Super Mario Bros. console : NES

Mario Bros. started out as an arcade game back in 1983, developed by Nintendo. The more famous of the two brothers, Mario, had already appeared in an earlier arcade game “Donkey Kong”. Mario was given a brother called Luigi, and the pair have been around ever since. In the game, Mario and Luigi are Italian American plumbers from New York City.

69 Florence’s role in “Black Widow” and “Hawkeye” : YELENA

Florence Pugh is an English actress whom I best know from playing Amy March in the 2019 big-screen adaption of the novel “Little Women”. Younger members of the viewing audience might recognize her for playing Yelena Belova in the film “Black Widow” and the related TV series “Hawkeye”. In 2019, Pugh started a relationship with fellow actor Zach Braff (who played the lead in “Scrubs”).

Down

5 Word before “It Go” and “It Be,” in song titles : LET …

“Let It Go” is an incredibly successful song from the Disney animated film “Frozen” released in 2013. It was performed in the movie by Idina Menzel, who also was the voice actor for the character Elsa. “Let It Go” is one of the very few Disney songs to make it into the Billboard Top Ten.

“Let It Be” was the last album that the Beatles released as an active group playing together. The title song was written by Paul McCartney, and it is clearly one of his own favorites. McCartney says that he was inspired to write the song after having had a dream about his mother (who had died some years earlier from cancer). In fact, he refers to her (Mary McCartney) in the line “Mother Mary comes to me”. Paul’s first wife, Linda, is singing backing vocals on the song, the only time she is known to have done so in a Beatles recording. 28 years after that 1970 recording was made, Paul, George and Ringo sang “Let It Be” at a memorial service for Linda, who was also lost to cancer. Sad stuff, but a lovely song …

7 34-Across, to a sushi chef : UNAGI
(34A Snakelike fish : EEL)

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

9 Night sch. class : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

11 Private discussions : TETE-A-TETES

A “tête-à-tête” is a one-on-one meeting, and a term that translates from French as “head-to-head”.

23 The first “H” of HRH : HER

His/Her Royal Highness (HRH)

24 Sunbeam floater : MOTE

A mote is a tiny particle, often a speck of dust.

25 Citrus hybrid used in Japanese cuisine : YUZU

Yuzu is a citrus plant and fruit that is native to East Asia. The flavor of the yuzu fruit is said to resemble that of a grapefruit, with a hint of mandarin orange.

28 Duty roster : 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.

Our word “roster”, meaning “list, register”, actually comes from the same root as our word “roast”, would you believe. “Roster” came into English from the Dutch “rooster”, meaning “table, list”. An alternative use of the Dutch “rooster” was “gridiron”, from the “roosten” meaning “to roast”. The connection is that a roster of names is often listed on a sheet of paper that has grid lines resembling the marks left by a gridiron on roasted meat. Quite interesting …

29 __ Rachel Wood of “Westworld” : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is playing one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

“Westworld” is an HBO series that is based on a 1973 movie of the same name, which was written and directed by novelist Michael Crichton. Westworld is a high-tech theme park populated by androids that interact with the guests.

30 Some halters : BIKINI TOPS

The origin of the word “bikini”, describing a type of bathing suit, seems very uncertain. One story is that it is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of American A-bomb tests in the forties and fifties. The name “bikini” was chosen for the swim-wear because of the “explosive” effect it had on men who saw a woman wearing the garment …

36 Vintner’s dregs : LEES

The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), are also called “lees”.

38 Fancy-schmancy : POSH

No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

39 __ pop: Belle and Sebastian genre : TWEE

Twee pop … I have no idea …

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop group from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite the name, the group comprises seven musicians. The band’s name comes from a TV adaptation of a French novel titled “Belle et Sébastien”.

40 Singer India.__ : ARIE

India.Arie is an American soul and R&B singer who was born India Arie Simpson in Denver, Colorado.

41 “Snow Crash” novelist Stephenson : NEAL

Neal Stephenson is a novelist and video game designer whose work is often classified as science fiction or speculative fiction. I must admit, I haven’t indulged …

46 Number of World Series wins for the Nationals : ONE

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.

49 Mid-size Subaru : LEGACY

Japanese automaker Subaru has been producing the Legacy midsize car since 1989. It is sold as the Liberty in Australia. The alternative name was chosen as the term “Legacy” is closely associated with Legacy Australia, a charity looking after families of soldiers killed in action. Many of those soldiers died fighting Japanese forces during WWII.

50 Obvious disdain : SCORN

To show disdain towards something is to look on it with scorn. The verb “disdain” comes from the Old French “des-” (do the opposite of) and “deignier” (treat as worthy).

51 Folklore trickster : PIXIE

Pixies are mythical beings found originally in British folklore. The original pixies were thought to live underground, beneath ancient sites like stone circles and ringforts. Today, we think of pixies as creatures with pointy ears, dressed in green and wearing pointed hats. That imagery only dates back as far as the Victorian era.

52 Pod member : WHALE

A group of whales can be called a gam, as well as a pod.

55 Selfie stance : POSE

A selfie is a self-portrait, one usually taken with a digital camera or cell phone. A “group selfie” is sometimes referred to as a “groufie” or “wefie”. A “couple selfie” is known as an “usie” or “ussie”, although those terms are sometimes also used for a group picture.

56 Galway Bay’s __ Islands : ARAN

The Aran Islands are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay in the west of Ireland. They are beautiful and desolate places, and one of the few places in Ireland where the main language spoken is Irish, as opposed to English. If you’ve seen the television comedy “Father Ted”, you’ll be familiar with the landscape. Many of the external shots are from Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands.

57 Harp constellation : LYRA

Lyra (Latin for “lyre, harp, lute”) is a constellation that includes the star Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. The constellation Lyra is surrounded by the neighboring constellations of Draco, Hercules, Vulpecula and Cygnus.

60 Squeeze bunt stat : RBI

That would be baseball.

61 Poetic twilight : E’EN

Twilight is the light experienced when the sun is below the horizon, both in the morning and the evening. The prefix “twi-” seems to come from the sense of “half”, and in “half light”. There appears to be no connection to the word “twice”, despite twilight occurring twice each day.

62 RSVP convenience : SAE

An SAE is a “stamped, addressed envelope”. An SASE is a “self-addressed, stamped envelope”.

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

63 __ Aviv : TEL

The full name of Israel’s second largest city is Tel Aviv-Yafo. “Tel Aviv” translates into “Spring Mound”, and is a name that was chosen in 1910. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a housing development outside the port city of Jaffa. Tel Aviv and Jaffa merged in 1950.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 High standards : IDEALS
7 All-in-one product’s selling points : USES
11 Open page on a web browser : TAB
14 Weasellike pet : FERRET
15 Spot for pore strips : NOSE
16 “Don’t Bring Me Down” band : ELO
17 *Locavore movement : FARM-TO-TABLE (hiding a broken FA-BLE)
19 Also : TOO
20 Mos. and mos. : YRS
21 Diary : LOG
22 Identity __ : THEFT
24 *Insulating layer around a nerve : MYELIN SHEATH (hiding a broken MY-TH)
28 Bounce back : REBOUND
31 Phone notification : ALERT
32 Former Disney president Michael : OVITZ
33 Aromatherapy locale : SPA
34 Snakelike fish : EEL
37 *Accept a difficult role : TAKE UP THE MANTLE (hiding a broken TA-LE)
42 Alex and __: jewelry company known for bracelets : ANI
43 Have debts : OWE
44 Witherspoon of “The Morning Show” : REESE
45 Invisible urban pollution : NOISE
48 Fake names : ALIASES
50 *Use a randomizer to decide, say : SPIN THE WHEEL (hiding a broken SPI-EL)
53 Refers to : CITES
54 Harley-Davidson’s stock symbol : HOG
55 Friend : PAL
58 Maker of Good Grips kitchen tools : OXO
59 What an investigative journalist might do, and what the answers to the starred clues literally do : BREAK A STORY
64 Tear : RIP
65 One of Eve’s sons : ABEL
66 Dressing with anchovies : CAESAR
67 Super Mario Bros. console : NES
68 Sup : DINE
69 Florence’s role in “Black Widow” and “Hawkeye” : YELENA

Down

1 Dubious : IFFY
2 Letter opener : DEAR …
3 Texts the wrong person, say : ERRS
4 Branch : ARM
5 Word before “It Go” and “It Be,” in song titles : LET …
6 Pinched : STOLEN
7 34-Across, to a sushi chef : UNAGI
8 Cry noisily : SOB
9 Night sch. class : ESL
10 Quietly fume : SEETHE
11 Private discussions : TETE-A-TETES
12 In the air : ALOFT
13 Diner option : BOOTH
18 Snitched : TOLD
23 The first “H” of HRH : HER
24 Sunbeam floater : MOTE
25 Citrus hybrid used in Japanese cuisine : YUZU
26 Kitten-lifting spot : NAPE
27 Shut noisily : SLAM
28 Duty roster : ROTA
29 __ Rachel Wood of “Westworld” : EVAN
30 Some halters : BIKINI TOPS
33 That woman : SHE
35 Alternatively : ELSE
36 Vintner’s dregs : LEES
38 Fancy-schmancy : POSH
39 __ pop: Belle and Sebastian genre : TWEE
40 Singer India.__ : ARIE
41 “Snow Crash” novelist Stephenson : NEAL
46 Number of World Series wins for the Nationals : ONE
47 “No way to sugarcoat this” : IT’S BAD
48 “I see now” : AH, OK
49 Mid-size Subaru : LEGACY
50 Obvious disdain : SCORN
51 Folklore trickster : PIXIE
52 Pod member : WHALE
55 Selfie stance : POSE
56 Galway Bay’s __ Islands : ARAN
57 Harp constellation : LYRA
60 Squeeze bunt stat : RBI
61 Poetic twilight : E’EN
62 RSVP convenience : SAE
63 __ Aviv : TEL

23 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 2 Jun 22, Thursday”

  1. No errors. But I guessed on OVITZ and YUZU and MYELIN. Holy crap, what was that all about?

    Didn’t know a BIKINI top was considered a Halter top.

    1. I think it’s the other way around. A halter top might be a bikini top, in some bikini designs.

  2. Not a good solving day for me; had “take on the mantle” instead of
    “take up the mantle” so it threw a bunch of answers off. Obviously
    didn’t know “yuzu”……one of those days.

  3. I struggled even with quite a few grid checks. Things I didn’t know: unagi, yuzu, rota, Evan, Ani, Ovitz, twee, Yelena, Aran.

    1. Meh. Didn’t like this one. Agree with Anon:
      UNAGI, ROTA, EVAN,YUZU,OVITZ, ARAN, YELENA, MYELIN
      All obscure. None of these turn up in puzzles.

  4. Haha, same here. Even with OVIT* and YU*U, I couldn’t remember Ovitz. Oh well

  5. 15:23, no errors. Paused for some time over the “Z” at the intersection of “OVITZ” and “YUZU”, which (IMHO) almost qualifies as an actual Natick (as opposed to merely something that I wasn’t sure of) … but who am I to speak for everyone? … 😜

    And I feel obliged to report that the clue list for today’s Newsday puzzle contains what looks like an actual MISSPELLING! At 36-Across, “WIND” is clued as “Vain mover”! (I have looked for a punny interpretation of the clue, but, so far, my efforts have mostly been in vane.) The horror! Who would have thought that Stanley Newman, of all people, might actually be human? So, yes (as so many pointed out yesterday), we poor solvers must nobly contend with a veritable SEA of egregious ERRORS!

    (Posted with tongue firmly in cheek … 😜.)

    1. @Nonny – yeah, I see it.

      ???Maybe??? “Vain Mover” (as in “EGO”) is moved by the wind (talking)????

      I think you’re right, though.

      I’ll bet you did it in 3 mins or so, took me almost 20 ….

      Todays LAX whacked me, about 18 mins and 2-3 cheats.
      Be Well.

  6. 39:09 with the same error as Bill plus YOLENA for YELENA…when are too many obscure clues too many? These puzzles are supposed to be fun aren’t they? It seems like too many of them are just ego trips👎
    Stay safe😀

  7. Poorly written puzzle…way too many names all connected together…many clues made no sense.

  8. Best way to solve this puzzle run through fill in all you know then let yuzu rota twee Aran and all the other “streetchs” fill in STILL FUN

  9. 6:54

    A lucky guess kept me from having to lookup the cross between EVAN and ANI.

    Is the clue for 47D a deliberate callback?

  10. 39:43

    Had FUYU, did not know YUZU, Confused ISNER (mispelling EISNER in my head) and bumped into OVTIZ,

    Locavore was a new word for me, interesting.
    no checks, which is unusual for a thursday for me

    I do want to point out that large parts of the world have been vegetarians before “vegan” was a fad word in america.

  11. 18:50 – one error at OVITs/YUsU. Wasn’t sure if it was a Z or an S, and guessed wrong. Revisions were: ISNER>OVITS, ALI>ANI, OZONE>NOISE, IRAE>ARIE.

    New items: YUZU, OVITZ, Alex and ANI, YELENA, LEES, TWEE pop, AREN Islands.

    Didn’t need to use the theme.

  12. 13 mins 21 sec, and DNF: with 5 unfilled naticks and one error in the same spot where I’m sure everyone missed them: left center. Horrible placement of arcana and seldom-used words.

  13. Tough solve. Two lookups. Refreshingly true of many investigative reporters these days.

  14. This puzzle started out super easy then got
    almost impossible to finish for me. I had a
    couple of errors in SE corner. I thought the
    salad was named Caesar not the dressing
    and SAE seemed random as I’ve always
    known it as self addressed stamped
    envelope so no banner today. Theme was
    clever enough and helped a little….

  15. Just like Saul, this started out easy and then sunk me with 4 unfilled squares: _O_E instead of MOTE and _U_U instead of YUZU. I had the rest at about 20 minutes then snoozed for a while and did 4 alphabet rolls to finally finish in 44:01. Lucky guesses at ANI/EVAN, although I kind of knew EVAN. Definitely knew UNAGI, as that’s some of my favorite sushi – which has to be cooked/fried to be edible.

    I also thought the of the Animals – “Don’t bring me down” and also the Beatles, but that was “Don’t let me down.” Not familiar with the ELO version until today.

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