LA Times Crossword 1 Sep 22, Thursday

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Constructed by: Hoang-Kim Vu & Jessica Zetzman
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Title Cards

Themed answers each start with the TITLE of a CARD game:

• 62A With 66-Across, images played in silent films, and what one might use to play the games in the first parts of the answers to the starred clues? : TITLE …
• 66A See 62-Across : … CARDS

• 23A *Channing Tatum film series featuring strippers : MAGIC MIKE (giving “Magic”)
• 39A *Martial arts series based on the writings of Bruce Lee : WARRIOR (giving “War”)
• 28D *Netflix series starring Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury : BRIDGERTON (giving “Bridge”)
• 31D *Emmy-nominated miniseries about a woman leaving her Hasidic community : UNORTHODOX (giving “Uno!”)

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

Bill’s time: 8m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Crushes it on the runway : SLAYS

In the world of fashion, the runway or catwalk is a platform used by models to show their clothes. The platform usually projects into the audience.

9 Wolf (down) : SCARF

To snarf down is to gobble up, to eat voraciously. “Snarf” is a slang term that is probably related to “scarf”, which has the same meaning.

14 __ butter : COCOA

Cocoa butter is extracted from the cacao bean and is used to make chocolate, among other things.

15 Med. condition with repetitive behavior : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

16 “Culture Warlords” author Lavin : TALIA

“Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy” is a disturbing book by Talia Lavin. It is the author’s account of a project in which she created an online identity that she used to visit chat rooms and websites frequented by fascist white supremacists.

19 Discontinued Apple devices : IPODS

The iPod is Apple’s discontinued signature line of portable media players. The iPod first hit the market in 2001 with a hard drive-based device, now known as the iPod Classic. Later models all used flash memory, allowing a smaller form factor. The smallest of the flash-based models is the iPod Shuffle, which was introduced in 2005.

21 27-Down garment : BRA
[27D Lingerie brand : BALI]

The word “brassière” is French in origin, but it isn’t the word that the French use for a “bra”. In France, what we call a bra is known as a “soutien-gorge”, translating to “held under the breast”. The word “brassière” is indeed used in France but there it describes a baby’s undershirt, a lifebelt or a harness. “Brassière” comes from the Old French word for an “arm protector” in a military uniform (“bras” is the French for “arm”). Later “brassière” came to mean “breastplate” and from there the word was used for a type of woman’s corset. The word jumped into English around 1900.

22 Toothpaste choice : CREST

Crest is a Procter & Gamble brand of toothpaste that was introduced in the mid-fifties. Back then, the product was known as Fluoristan, a reference to the key ingredient stannous fluoride that helps prevent tooth decay.

23 *Channing Tatum film series featuring strippers : MAGIC MIKE (giving “Magic”)

“Magic Mike” is a 2012 movie starring Channing Tatum as a young male stripper. The film’s storyline is loosely based on Tatum’s real-life experiences, as he worked as a stripper in Tampa, Florida when he was 18 years old.

Magic: The Gathering is a card game, one played with a deck of themed cards. It is a relatively recent invention by a math professor named Richard Garfield. It was introduced to the public in 1993, and has a large following today.

26 “Waterloo” singers : ABBA

“Waterloo” is the song that effectively launched the astounding career of Swedish band ABBA. They performed “Waterloo” in 1974 as the Swedish entry in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, and walked away with the competition (I remember it well!). The contest has been running since 1956, and “Waterloo” was chosen (in 2005) as the best song in the competition’s history.

38 Yale student : ELI

Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

39 *Martial arts series based on the writings of Bruce Lee : WARRIOR (giving “War”)

Warrior
Bruce Lee was born not far from here, in San Francisco, although he was raised in Hong Kong, returning to the US to attend college. Sadly, Bruce Lee died when he was only 32 years old, due to cerebral edema (a swelling of the brain) attributed to adverse reactions to the pain killing drug Equagesic.

“Warrior” is a crime drama series that is based on the writings of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Lee’s idea was a television series about a martial artist in the American Old West, titled “Ah Sahm”. He pitched the idea to Warner Bros., but the studio passed. Claims have been made that Warner reconfigured Lee’s concept and came out with the hit show “Kung Fu” starring David Carradine. “Warrior” first aired in 2019, long after Lee had died, and is set during the Tong Wars of San Francisco in the 1870s.

43 Artist Yoko : ONO

Yoko Ono is an avant-garde artist. She met her future husband John Lennon for the first time while she was preparing her conceptual art exhibit called “Hammer a Nail”. Visitors were encouraged to hammer in a nail into a wooden board, creating the artwork. Lennon wanted to hammer in the first nail, but Ono stopped him as the exhibition had not yet opened. Apparently Ono relented when Lennon paid her an imaginary five shillings to hammer an imaginary nail into the wood.

47 Hawkeye projectile : ARROW

Hawkeye is a supervillain turned superhero in the Marvel universe. The alter ego of Clint Barton, Hawkeye is a master archer.

49 Baseball VIPs : GMS

General manager (GM)

50 [shrug emoji] : [IDK]

I don’t know (IDK)

51 Nov. honoree : VET

Veterans Day used to be known as Armistice Day, and is observed on November 11th each year. This particular date was chosen as the Armistice that ended WWI was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

58 Lawn care tool : AERATOR

Lawn aeration is the process of creating holes in the soil to aid in the growth of the grass. The spiking of the soil severs the roots of the existing grass, which causes the blades to multiply and hence thickening the lawn.

60 Upshot : OUTCOME

Back in the 1500s, the “up shot” was the final shot in an archery match. We now use the term “upshot” to describe the end result, the conclusion.

61 Body art : TATS

The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”. Tattoos are sometimes referred to as “ink”.

64 God of war : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

65 God of love : EROS

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

68 “Auld Lang __” : SYNE

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne

69 Helen who was the first actress to achieve the EGOT : HAYES

Helen Hayes was an actress born in 1900 in Washington D.C. Such was Hayes’ success that she came to be known as the First Lady of the American Theater. She also gave her name to the Helen Hayes Awards which recognize excellence in Washington D.C. theater productions. She was the first actress (and the second person, after Richard Rodgers) to win the entertainment grand slam of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony (an EGOT). Her adopted son was actor James McArthur, who originated the role of “Danno” on the TV show “Hawaii Five-O”.

70 Austin festival, briefly : SXSW

South by Southwest, also known as “SXSW”, is an annual festival that has been taking place in Austin, Texas since 1987. SXSW is a melded event, combining a music festival, a film festival and an interactive festival.

Down

2 Kinks woman with “a dark brown voice” : LOLA

“Lola” is a fabulous song that was written by Ray Davies and released by the Kinks back in 1970. Inspired by a real life incident, the lyrics tell of a young man who met a young “lady” in a club, danced with her, and then discovered “she” was actually a transvestite. The storyline isn’t very traditional, and the music is superb.

The Kinks were an English band who participated in the British Invasion of America in the sixties, although only briefly. After touring the US in the middle of 1965, the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the Kinks to book concerts for four years, apparently in response to some rowdy on-stage behavior by the band.

5 Nick name? : SANTA

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 …

8 TV series from Seoul, e.g. : K-DRAMA

TV dramas made in South Korea in the Korean language are known these days as K-dramas. They have become extremely popular around the world in recent years, with one notable example being the hit show “Squid Game” distributed by Netflix.

9 Selfie __ : STICK

Selfie sticks; oh, how I hate selfie sticks. A walk down the Strip in Vegas is an enlightening study in what’s wrong with contemporary photography …

10 Insalata of tomato, mozzarella, and basil : CAPRESE

A Caprese salad (“insalata caprese” in Italian) is a relatively simple, but delicious, salad comprising sliced mozzarella and tomatoes, with sweet basil and seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is thought the dish originated on the island of Capri, hence the name “Caprese”. I am a huge fan …

13 Lickety-split : FAST

“Lickety-split” is the latest in a line of terms that come from the word “lick”, which was used in the sense of a “fast sprint in a race” back in the early 1800s. From “lick” there evolved “licketie”, “lickety-click”, “lickety-cut” and finally “lickety-split”, all just colorful ways to say “fast”.

24 Rodriguez of “Jane the Virgin” : GINA

Actress Gina Rodriguez is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the comedy-drama TV show “Jane the Virgin”. She also voices the title character in the animated series “Carmen Sandiego”.

27 Lingerie brand : BALI

The Bali brand of lingerie started out as Fay-Miss in 1927, before becoming the Bali Brassiere Company in 1969.

28 *Netflix series starring Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury : BRIDGERTON (giving “Bridge”)

“Bridgerton” is a fascinating period drama TV series based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Most of the action takes place in London’s high society during the Regency Era. An intriguing element is the show’s approach to race. There is a common, albeit unfounded, assertion that King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte was of African descent. “Bridgerton” runs with this assertion, portraying the era’s society as quite diverse.

I first noted English actress Adjoa Andoh when she had a supporting role on the BBC sci-fi show “Doctor Who”. I am guessing that most viewers in North America know her for playing Lady Danbury in the period drama “Bridgerton”.

The version of the card game bridge that is played mostly today is contract bridge. Auction bridge is a similar game, and is a precursor to contract bridge.

31 *Emmy-nominated miniseries about a woman leaving her Hasidic community : UNORTHODOX (giving “Uno!”)

The drama miniseries “Unorthodox” is based on a 2012 autobiography by Deborah Feldman titled “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”. The TV show is the first made by Netflix in which the spoken language is primarily Yiddish.

UNO! is a card game that was developed in the early seventies and that has been sold by Mattel since 1992. It falls into the shedding family of card games, meaning that the goal is to get rid of all your cards while preventing opponents from doing the same.

32 T. rex, e.g. : DINO

The most popular dinosaurs depicted in the movies, especially the older ones, are the Tyrannosaurs and the Allosauruses. They look very similar, with the former being the really big guy. One difference between the two, is that they weren’t around at the same time. The allosaurus was around during the Jurassic period, but the T. Rex didn’t appear on Earth for another 100 million years or so, during the Cretaceous period.

33 Freight boat : SCOW

A scow is a flat-bottomed boat with squared-off ends that’s often used for transportation, usually pushed or pulled by a barge. Often, a scow can be seen carrying junk or garbage.

37 Ascot kin : CRAVAT

The cravat originated in Croatia and was an accessory used with a military uniform. Cravats were introduced to the fashion-conscious French by Croatian mercenaries enlisted into a regiment of the French army. The English placed a lot of emphasis on the knot used for the cravat, and in the period after the Battle of Waterloo the cravat came to be known as a “tie”. What we now call a tie in English is still called a “cravate” in French.

An ascot is a wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings or part of a dress uniform. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

41 “Tubular!” : RAD!

“Tubular” is a slang from the 1980s meaning “awesome, excellent”.

45 Stalemate : IMPASSE

“Impasse” is a French word describing a blind alley or an impassable road, and we use the term to mean “stalemate”.

“Stalemate” is a term used in chess when one player (who is not in check) cannot make a legal move. A game of chess with a stalemate is declared a draw. We use the term metaphorically for a no-win situation in general.

48 Updates the backstory to accommodate new material, for short : RETCONS

Authors will often use a device called “retroactive continuity” (retcon) to add new information to facts that have already been established in the narrative.

52 Provides enough : SATES

“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

59 Gold-certifying org. : RIAA

The first Gold Record awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was in 1958, to Perry Como for his 1957 hit “Catch a Falling Star”. However, the concept of a “gold record” came from the RCA Victor record label. The company presented a solid gold recording of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” to Glenn Miller during a radio broadcast in 1942, in honor of sales of the recording exceeding one million copies.

60 Shoppe descriptor : OLDE

The word “olde” wasn’t actually used much earlier than the 1920s. “Olde” was introduced to give a quaint antique feel to brand names, shop names etc. as in “Ye Olde Shoppe”.