LA Times Crossword 27 Jun 22, Monday

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Constructed by: Will Pfadenhauer
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Holy Trinity

The TRINITY of (three) themed answers each start with a word that often follows “HOLY”:

  • 59A Christian doctrine of divinity, and the starts of the answers to 18-, 29-, and 45-Across? : HOLY TRINITY
  • 18A Age-old method of long-distance communication : SMOKE SIGNAL (giving “Holy smoke!”)
  • 29A Triple-A baseball team based in Ohio : TOLEDO MUD HENS (giving “Holy Toledo!”)
  • 45A Atmospheric patterns that resemble fish scales : MACKEREL SKIES (giving “Holy mackerel!”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sandwich made with Peter Pan and Welch’s, for short : PBJ

Peanut butter and jelly (PB&J or PBJ)

The Peter Pan brand of peanut butter is named after the character in the J. M. Barrie play. What we know today as Peter Pan peanut butter was introduced in 1920 as E. K. Pond peanut butter, and renamed in 1928.

Welch’s is a beverage and food company that was founded in 1869 by Thomas Bramwell Welch and Lee Steger Welch in Vineland, New Jersey. The company’s first product was “Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine”, which was later rebranded as “Welch’s Grape Juice”.

14 Flamenco shout : OLE!

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

15 Nanny who may live in an in-law suite : AU PAIR

An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.

16 “Field of Dreams” state : IOWA

“Field of Dreams” is a fantasy drama about baseball, released in 1989 and starring Kevin Costner. The movie is an adaptation of a 1982 novel titled “Shoeless Joe” by Canadian author W. P. Kinsella. Shoeless Joe Jackson was a real baseball player, and someone associated with the Black Sox Scandal that allegedly affected the outcome of the 1919 World Series. Jackson was portrayed by Ray Liotta in the movie. “Field of Dreams” was also the last film in which Burt Lancaster made an appearance. The baseball stadium that was built for the movie can be visited in Dubuque County, Iowa.

17 Macadamia __ : NUT

The macadamia tree is native to Australia and is largely grown for its fruit, the macadamia nut. The tree was named in 1857 in honor of Scottish-Australian chemist and politician John Macadam. The macadamia was introduced into Hawaii as a commercial crop in the 1920s.

20 Bus terminal : DEPOT

Our term “depot”, meaning “station, warehouse”, comes from the French word “dépôt”. The French term translates into English as “deposit” or “place of deposit”.

24 Computer that generates Bitcoin, e.g. : MINER

Bitcoin mining is … well, you know … need I say more …? 🙂

Bitcoins are digital units of currency that are used on some Internet sites. Bitcoins are the most popular alternative currency used on the Web today. More and more reputable online retailers are accepting bitcoins, including Overstock.com, Expedia, Dell and Microsoft.

26 Younger of the NBA’s Curry brothers : SETH

NBA player Seth Curry is the son of former player Dell Curry, and the younger brother of player “Steph” Curry. Seth’s (and Steph’s) mother is former Virginia Tech volleyball player Sonya Curry (née Adams). Seth Curry married former professional volleyball player Callie Rivers in 2019.

29 Triple-A baseball team based in Ohio : TOLEDO MUD HENS (giving “Holy Toledo!”)

The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Viewers of the TV show “M*A*S*H” heard about the Mud Hens a lot, as Jamie Farr’s character Max Klinger was a loyal fan. Farr himself was born and raised in Toledo, and the team retired the No. 1 jersey in Farr’s honor.

32 __ goo gai pan : MOO

Moo goo gai pan is the American version of a traditional Cantonese dish. In Cantonese, “moo goo” means “button mushroom”, “gai” is “chicken” and “pan” is “slices”.

33 Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

34 Director Roth : ELI

Eli Roth is one of a group of directors of horror movies known quite graphically as “The Splat Pack”. I can’t stand “splat” movies and avoid them as best I can. Roth is also famous for playing Donny Donowitz in the Quentin Tarantino movie “Inglourious Basterds”, a good film I thought, if you close your eyes during the gruesome bits.

38 Find My iPhone logon need : APPLE ID

Find My iPhone was an app that allowed owners to locate their iPhones (and other devices like Apple Watches and AirPods). Find My iPhone was replaced in 2019 with the Find My app, which has a broader application.

42 Kanga’s joey : ROO

Kanga is a friend of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, and is a kangaroo. She is the mother of Roo, who appears more frequently in the storyline.

In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just one name for young kangaroos, i.e. joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.

43 Dean’s list no. : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

44 DVR forerunner : VCR

Video Cassette Recorder (VCR)

45 Atmospheric patterns that resemble fish scales : MACKEREL SKIES (giving “Holy mackerel!”)

Rows of cirroculumus or altocumulus clouds can form a pattern that resembles fish scales, and so make up what’s usually known as a mackerel sky (also “buttermilk sky” due to the “curdled” appearance). The same phenomenon is named differently in other languages, e.g. fleecy sky (French), cobbled sky (Spanish), and sheep clouds (German).

51 Lotto variant : KENO

The name of the game keno has French or Latin roots, with the French “quine” being a term for five winning numbers, and the Latin “quini” meaning “five each”. The game originated in China and was introduced into the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.

59 Christian doctrine of divinity, and the starts of the answers to 18-, 29-, and 45-Across? : HOLY TRINITY

In the Christian tradition, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost are three persons in one divine being, the Holy Trinity.

63 __ vera : ALOE

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that grows in relatively dry climates. The plant’s leaves are full of biologically-active compounds that have been studied extensively. Aloe vera has been used for centuries in herbal medicine, mainly for topical treatment of wounds.

66 Lacrosse targets : NETS

Lacrosse is a game very much associated with the cultural tradition of the Iroquois people, and may have originated as early as the 12th century. The original games lasted all day long, and perhaps for two or three days, and were played as part of a ceremonial ritual. In the native language, the activity was referred to as “the Creator’s Game”. It was French Jesuit missionaries who coined the name “lacrosse”. In French, a “crosse” is a “stick with a curved end”.

68 Netflix’s “__ Education” : SEX

“Sex Education” is a marvelous Netflic comedy-drama show made for Netflix that stars Gillian Anderson as a single-mother and sex therapist, and Asa Butterfield as her insecure teenage son. Highly recommended …

Down

1 “On Golden __”: Hepburn film : POND

“On Golden Pond” was originally a play, one written by Ernest Thompson. It was adapted into the famous movie of the same name in 1981, with Henry Fonda playing Norman Thayer, and Katherine Hepburn as his wife Ethel, and Henry’s real-life daughter Jane Fonda playing the screen couple’s daughter. There was also a television adaptation of the play released in 2001, with another distinguished cast that included Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer as the leads.

Katharine Hepburn has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar 12 times, and holds the record for Best Actress wins at four. She won for her roles in:

  • “Morning Glory” in 1933
  • “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” in 1967
  • “The Lion in Winter” in 1968
  • “On Golden Pond” in 1981

2 Brewer known for its Belgian White ale : BLUE MOON

Blue Moon is a beer that was introduced in 1995 as Bellyside Belgian White. Blue Moon is sold in Canada as Belgian Moon.

3 Many a “Top Gun” aviator : JET PILOT

“Top Gun” is an entertaining action movie released in 1986 starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. The movie is all about pilots training at the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. A lot of footage was shot on board the Navy’s carrier the USS Enterprise during flight operations. At one point in a day’s shooting, the commander of the Enterprise changed course as needed for normal operations, but this altered the light for the cameras that were filming at the time. Director Tony Scott asked for the course to be changed back, but was informed that a course change would cost the Navy $25,000. Scott wrote out a check there and then, and he got another five minutes of filming with the light he needed.

5 __ and Coke : RUM

The cocktail known as a Cuba libre is basically a rum and Coke, although the traditional recipe also calls for a splash of lime juice.

7 Starts, as a new hobby : TAKES UP

Back in the 16th century, a hobbyhorse was a mock horse that was used as a prop in morris dancing. The figure was wrapped around the waist of a dancer, creating the impression that the horse was being ridden. By the 1580s, the term “hobbyhorse” began to describe toy riding horse used by a child. A century later, the word “hobby” was being used for a favorite pastime, an activity that doesn’t really go anywhere, just like a hobbyhorse.

9 12-mo. periods : 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 …

19 Service provided by the Geek Squad : IT HELP

Information technology (IT)

Best Buy is a retailer specializing in the supply of consumer electronics. Best Buy services include the famous “Geek Squad”, a band of technical experts that will help solve your computer and other consumer electronic problems.

25 Southwest Virginia city : ROANOKE

Roanoke, Virginia is sometimes referred to as “Star City”. The nickname comes from the Mill Mountain Star, an illuminated star that was installed above the city on Mill Mountain in 1949 by the Roanoke Merchants Association at the start of that year’s Christmas season. The huge star has been sitting there for over 60 years.

27 Steakhouse chain with a skinny tree in its logo : THE PALM

The Palm is a chain of fine-dining steakhouses operating in North America. The original Palm restaurant was opened in New York City in 1926 by Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi. The two restaurateurs specified the name “La Palma” when applying for a license from the city, but the clerk they were dealing with misunderstood them due to their heavy accents. The license bore the name “The Palm”, and Bozzi and Ganzi decided to stick with it, rather than go through the trouble of amending the license.

29 Texter’s “Sorry, did I overshare?” : TMI?

Too much information (TMI)

30 L.A. Galaxy’s org. : MLS

The L.A. Galaxy is one of the ten charter clubs of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team is known for signing some high-profile players from more established leagues. England star and celebrity David Beckham played for the Galaxy from 2007 to 2012.

39 Depravity : EVILNESS

To deprave is to corrupt, make bad. “Deprave” comes from the Latin “de-” (completely) and “pravus” (crooked).

40 Item of equipment for the NCAA’s Frozen Four : ICE SKATE

The semi-finals and finals of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship tournaments are collectively referred to as the “Frozen Four”. This term is a play on “Final Four”, which is the name given to the final round of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship tournament.

41 ER staffers : DRS

A doctor (dr.) might be found in an emergency room (ER).

43 Reacted to a joke told by 55-Across, probably : GROANED
(55A “Dear old” parent : DAD)

I tell dad jokes all the time, just to annoy the kids …

  • I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down!
  • If you see a robbery at an Apple Store, does that make you an iWitness?
  • A termite walks into a bar and asks, “Is the bar tender here?”
  • Two guys walk into a bar, the third one ducks.
  • What’s the best part about living in Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.

45 Dry wine choice : MERLOT

Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

46 Curly salad green : ENDIVE

Endive is a leaf vegetable belonging to the chicory genus, and so is in the daisy family. Endive is also known as “escarole”.

48 Korean automaker : KIA

Kia Motors is the second-largest manufacturer of cars in South Korea, behind Hyundai (and Hyundai is a part owner in Kia now). Kia was founded in 1944 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts, and did indeed produce Korea’s first domestic bicycle. The company’s original name was Kyungsung Precision Industry, with the Kia name introduced in 1952.

49 Actor Hawke : ETHAN

Ethan Hawke is a Hollywood actor who made his breakthrough in a supporting role in “Dead Poet’s Society”, playing opposite Robin Williams. Hawke used to be married to Uma Thurman, with whom he has two children.

58 River of Hades : STYX

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

60 Like sashimi : RAW

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

61 Election time: Abbr. : TUE

Election day was chosen by Congress back in 1845. The month of November was selected as it suited an agricultural society, following the fall harvest and yet not too far into winter, which could make travel difficult. Tuesday was chosen so that people had time to travel to polling stations. Monday elections might have meant that some would have to start out on Sunday, and that could interfere with Christian services.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Sandwich made with Peter Pan and Welch’s, for short : PBJ
4 Like an unruly kid : BRATTY
10 Open-handed hit : SLAP
14 Flamenco shout : OLE!
15 Nanny who may live in an in-law suite : AU PAIR
16 “Field of Dreams” state : IOWA
17 Macadamia __ : NUT
18 Age-old method of long-distance communication : SMOKE SIGNAL (giving “Holy smoke!”)
20 Bus terminal : DEPOT
22 Each : PER
23 “Been __, done that” : THERE
24 Computer that generates Bitcoin, e.g. : MINER
26 Younger of the NBA’s Curry brothers : SETH
28 45-Down, e.g. : RED
29 Triple-A baseball team based in Ohio : TOLEDO MUD HENS (giving “Holy Toledo!”)
32 __ goo gai pan : MOO
33 Mont Blanc, e.g. : ALP
34 Director Roth : ELI
35 Some summer workers : INTERNS
38 Find My iPhone logon need : APPLE ID
42 Kanga’s joey : ROO
43 Dean’s list no. : GPA
44 DVR forerunner : VCR
45 Atmospheric patterns that resemble fish scales : MACKEREL SKIES (giving “Holy mackerel!”)
49 Female sheep : EWE
51 Lotto variant : KENO
52 Sends with a stamp : MAILS
53 Midafternoon : THREE
55 “Dear old” parent : DAD
57 Pulls hard : YANKS
59 Christian doctrine of divinity, and the starts of the answers to 18-, 29-, and 45-Across? : HOLY TRINITY
62 Grab a bite : EAT
63 __ vera : ALOE
64 Route : AVENUE
65 Pigpen : STY
66 Lacrosse targets : NETS
67 Pie servings : WEDGES
68 Netflix’s “__ Education” : SEX

Down

1 “On Golden __”: Hepburn film : POND
2 Brewer known for its Belgian White ale : BLUE MOON
3 Many a “Top Gun” aviator : JET PILOT
4 Kept moist, as a roast turkey : BASTED
5 __ and Coke : RUM
6 Each, informally : A POP
7 Starts, as a new hobby : TAKES UP
8 Like tall wedding cakes : TIERED
9 12-mo. periods : YRS
10 Weary sound : SIGH
11 Folks who keep to themselves : LONERS
12 Cognizant (of) : AWARE
13 Lost some color : PALED
19 Service provided by the Geek Squad : IT HELP
21 Unspecified person : ONE
25 Southwest Virginia city : ROANOKE
27 Steakhouse chain with a skinny tree in its logo : THE PALM
29 Texter’s “Sorry, did I overshare?” : TMI?
30 L.A. Galaxy’s org. : MLS
31 Nada : NIL
36 Timeline stretch : ERA
37 Simple firework : ROCKET
38 __ Escape: PlayStation game featuring monkeys : APE
39 Depravity : EVILNESS
40 Item of equipment for the NCAA’s Frozen Four : ICE SKATE
41 ER staffers : DRS
43 Reacted to a joke told by 55-Across, probably : GROANED
45 Dry wine choice : MERLOT
46 Curly salad green : ENDIVE
47 Verbally approve : SAY YES
48 Korean automaker : KIA
49 Actor Hawke : ETHAN
50 Complete : WHOLE
54 Looks over : EYES
56 Minor dent : DING
58 River of Hades : STYX
60 Like sashimi : RAW
61 Election time: Abbr. : TUE

17 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 27 Jun 22, Monday”

  1. No errors, no lookups but didn’t get the theme. I’m still learning the
    ins and outs of on-line solving, but this one went pretty quickly.
    Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

    1. Yay for you, Mary! It seems to me that inability to learn new tricks is more attributable to attitude than to aptitude. KUTGW!

      Today I owed ‘Toledo Mudhens’ to Corporal Klinger. I have heard of ‘mackerel skies’ and no doubt have seen them, but have never put the sight with the sound, so to speak, so to Google images I now go…

  2. No errors. Also never got the theme.
    How do you segue from HOLY TRINITY to putting the word HOLY in front of the starts of 3 answers? Other than the number 3?… weak.

    Never heard of THE PALM?

    learned something new about Bit Coin Miner computers. Never heard of that either.

    1. I knew what Bill wrote about that, but I’ll add something I just learned not too long ago for trying to fix the video in my computer. Evidently GPUs (the part of the computer that renders video, like for gaming and other tasks) can be in-lined to do crypto-mining (e.g. Bitcoin). To that end, they bought up nearly all of the current generation GPUs at scalper levels, massively spiking the price all the way up and down the line, to the point that level of hardware is effectively lost to the normal gamer/computer user.

      To wit, I could have simply got an equivalent GPU to what I had for what I paid for it new, 10 years ago! Nevermind anything closer to modern like what I ended up getting, or that state of the art, which ran four figures. Regardless, I had to grossly over-pay for a GPU that is three tiers down from state of the art to get my fixed part – and probably could have had a MB/CPU/memory upgrade for what I gave for it.

      The flip side of the story is that crypto currency is cratering, so a lot of these Bit Coin miners are trying to sell off their GPUs now. The problem with that is that they’ve been running 24/7 on crypto for years on end in god-only-knows what kind of conditions. So the market’s getting flooded with these rode-hard pieces of equipment for about the same cost as what they *should* have been new. So caveat emptor, if you do happen to be in the market to (reasonably) modernize your computer.

    2. Anon Mike. Just curious about your Sunday comment about politicized grids. Can you give some examples of the “feminism, race relations, and gay rights” clues that seem to bother you so much? If anyone else wants to chime in on this, please feel free. I only do Sunday and Wednesday puzzles, and they don’t seem political to me.

  3. Nice puzzle, but my sports weakness was a problem. I had to Google for TOLEDO MUDHENS (the MUDHENS part). That also solved my not knowing THE PALM (doesn’t exist in Upstate NY), and MLS, another sports term.

  4. 16:24 with no errors but a couple of lucky guesses which you shouldn’t have to do a Monday but “times they see a changing”👎
    Stay safe 😀

  5. 11:09 with revisions of: TOLEDOMUDDERS>TOLEDOMUDHENS, EON>ERA, NOV>TUE.

    New to me were: SETH, Curry, MUDHENS, ELI Roth, MACKEREL skies, BLUEMOON brewery, THEPALM, APE Escape, APPLEID (I use Android).

    Had essentially the same clues for 6D & 22A, intersecting APOP & PER. Clever or lazy?

    Easy theme, but not needed to solve the puzzle.

  6. A little tricky for a Monday; took 10:08 with no peeks or errors but plenty of dancing around waiting for and double checking crosses, especially in the bottom half and middle E. Never heard of a bunch of stuff in this puzzle.

    Kind of spooky to get a HOLY theme on the same day the Supreme Court decides to erode the separation of Church and State.

  7. No errors. The only place I made heavy letters (to make a change) was the CR of VCR.

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