LA Times Crossword 12 Oct 22, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Amie Walker
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Name That Tune

Themed answers are titles of TUNES, each containing a given NAME:

  • 55A Revived game show hosted by Jane Krakowski that’s also an apt title for this puzzle : NAME THAT TUNE
  • 18A Protest song? : COME ON EILEEN
  • 33A Backing track? : HELP ME, RHONDA
  • 41A Opening number? : DEAR PRUDENCE

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

Bill’s time: 9m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Italian wine used in cooking : MARSALA

Marsala is a seaport lying in the very west of Sicily. If you visit Marsala, you’ll find what’s called “vintage” Marsala wine, a “regular” red wine. If you buy a bottle of Marsala at your local store though, it will be a “fortified” wine, wine with a higher alcohol content.

17 The 4,080-piece Disney Castle, e.g. : LEGO SET

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

  • The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
  • The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
  • The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
  • Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
  • The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)

18 Protest song? : COME ON EILEEN

“Come on Eileen” is a great song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners that was released in 1982. The astronauts on one of the Space Shuttle Discovery missions were woken up by NASA on the final day to the strains of “Come on Eileen”. The mission’s commander was astronaut Eileen Collins.

20 Boy in the “Star Wars” prequel films : ANI

Anakin “Ani” Skywalker is the principal character in the first six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

  • Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training by young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  • Episode II: Anakin is 18-years-old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
  • Episode III: Anakin is 21-years-old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
  • Episode IV: Darth Vader, comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and the Princess Leia.
  • Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
  • Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

22 Short mission? : RECON

A reconnaissance (recon) is a preliminary survey carried out to gather information. The term “reconnaissance” came into English in the early 19th century from French, from which language it translates literally as “recognition”.

26 Alexander of “Rizzoli & Isles” : SASHA

“Sasha Alexander” is the stage name of Suzana Drobnjaković, a Serbian-American actress. Alexander is perhaps best known to television audiences for playing Dr. Maura Isles on the detective drama “Rizzoli & Isles”, and for playing Professor Helene Runyon on the US-version of the excellent comedy-drama “Shameless”. Alexander married Edoardo Ponti in 2017. Ponti is the son of actress Sophia Loren and producer Carlo Ponti.

30 Msg. to the whole squad : APB

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

33 Backing track? : HELP ME, RHONDA

“Help Me, Rhonda” is a Beach Boys hit written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, and released in 1965. When the song was first issued as a track on the album “Today!”, the song was titled “Help Me, Ronda” (note the spelling of “Ronda”). When the song was released as a single a month later, the title used the spelling with which we are familiar: “Help Me, Rhonda”.

37 Twix ingredient : CARAMEL

The confectionery product known as caramel is made by heating sugar. The process of caramelization requires slow heating of the sugar to about 170 °C. The heating causes the sugar molecules to break down and convert into the compounds that provide the characteristic color and flavor of caramel.

I remember Twix bars from way back in 1967 when they were introduced in Britain and Ireland. Twix bars made it to the US over a decade later, in 1979. The name “Twix” is a portmanteau of “twin bix”, short for “twin biscuit”.

41 Opening number? : DEAR PRUDENCE

“Dear Prudence” is a 1968 song released by the Beatle on “the White Album”. When the four band members were in India on a meditative retreat, they stayed at the ashram at the same time as Mia Farrow and her sister Prudence Farrow. Prudence was very serious about her meditation routine, and stayed in her bungalow for days on end. John Lennon wrote “Dear Prudence” as a way to coax Farrow out of seclusion.

44 “Hey, that’s enough!” : TMI!

Too much information (TMI)

51 Virginia Woolf’s “__ Dalloway” : MRS

“Mrs. Dalloway” is a novel by Virginia Woolf that was first published in 1925. The story tells of a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a day in which she is preparing for a party that she is hosting. The novel has been compared to “Ulysses” by James Joyce, a story about a day in the life of Leopold Bloom.

55 Revived game show hosted by Jane Krakowski that’s also an apt title for this puzzle : NAME THAT TUNE

“Name That Tune” is a TV game show that actually started out on radio, in 1952. The show was very popular in the mid-to-late seventies, but went off the air in 1981. There was a brief revival from 1984 to 1985, and then a reboot hosted by actress Jane Krakowski hit the screens in 2021. The first season of the reboot featured American contestants, but was filmed in Australia. Australia was chosen so that a live studio audience could be included (Australia had a much lower rate of COVID spread than the US at that time).

64 Buttercup family member : ANEMONE

The name “anemone” means “daughter of the wind” in Greek, and at one time it was believed that the wind was what actually caused the flower to bloom.

65 Array for BB gun target practice, perhaps : TIN CANS

A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.070″ in diameter) to size FF (.230″). Birdshot that is size BB (0.180″ in diameter) gives the airgun its name.

66 Broadway props? : TONY NOD

The Tony Awards are more completely referred to as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Broadway Theatre. The awards are named for Mary Antoinette “Tony” Perry, who was a co-founder of the American Theatre Wing.

“Props” is North American slang for “proper respect”.

Down

1 Climbing spikes : PITONS

A piton is a piece of mountaineering equipment, an anchor designed to protect a climber if he or she falls. It is a metal spike driven into a crack in the rock face with a hammer. Pitons have eye holes through which a rope is attached using carabiners. “Piton” is a French word for a “hook”.

2 Low-hemoglobin condition : ANEMIA

The term “anemia” (or “anaemia”, as we write it back in Ireland) comes from a Greek word meaning “lack of blood”. Anemia is a lack of iron in the blood, or a low red blood cell count. Tiredness is a symptom of the condition, and so we use the term “anemic” figuratively to mean “lacking in vitality or substance”.

3 __ therapy : GENE

Gene therapy is an experimental technology used to treat disease. The basic principle is to transplant genes into a patient’s cells in order to cure a disease caused by the absence of those genes.

4 Exxon, in Canada and Europe : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

6 Many-legged arthropod : MILLIPEDE

Centipedes and millipedes are multi-legged arthropods. Centipedes can have varying numbers of legs, from about 30 to about 350 depending on species. Millipedes have segmented bodies with two pairs of legs in each segment. Millipedes have about 80 to 750 legs, again depending on species.

Arthropods are invertebrates with external skeletons, segmented bodies and jointed appendages. The list of arthropods includes animals such as insects, spiders, centipedes and crabs. Over 80% of the animal species on the planet are arthropod species.

7 Outfielder Tommie in the NY Mets Hall of Fame : AGEE

Tommie Agee was a Major League Baseball player who played mainly with the Indians, White Sox and Mets. He was one of the “Amazin’ Mets”, and was famous for making two phenomenal catches in game three of the 1969 world series, potentially saving five runs. Agee was also the first Mets outfielder to win a Gold Glove, doing so in 1970.

9 “La La Land” Oscar winner Emma : STONE

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. Stone really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”. She won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

“La La Land” is a 2016 romantic musical film starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a musician and actress who fall in love in “La La Land” (Los Angeles, i.e. “LA”). The film was written and directed by Damien Chazelle, who had found success two years earlier with the musical drama “Whiplash”. “La La Land” won a record-breaking seven Golden Globes and tied the record number of Oscar nominations at fourteen, winning six.

11 Novelist Harper : LEE

Nelle Harper Lee was an author from Monroeville, Alabama. For many years, Lee had only one published novel to her name, i.e. “To Kill a Mockingbird”. That contribution to the world of literature was enough to earn her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Pulitzer Prize. Harper Lee was a close friend of fellow author Truman Capote who was the inspiration for the character named “Dill” in her novel. Lee was all over the news in 2015 as she had published a second novel, titled “Go Set a Watchman”. The experts seem to be agreeing that “Go Set a Watchman” is actually the first draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Lee passed away less than a year after “Go Set a Watchman” hit the stores.

13 Pixar film that lost to “Encanto” for a Best Animated Feature Oscar : LUCA

“Luca” is a 2021 Pixar animated film. The title character is a sea monster boy who can take the form of a human while on land.

“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).

19 Mosque authority : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque and/or perhaps a Muslim community.

23 Word with candy or sugar : … CANE

Apparently, candy canes were created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

When sugar cane is processed to extract sugar, it is crushed and mashed to produce a juice. The juice is boiled to make a sugary concentrate called cane syrup, from which sugar crystals are extracted. A second boiling of the leftover syrup produces second molasses, from which more sugar crystals can be extracted. A third boiling results in what is called blackstrap molasses.

27 __-Pei: dog breed from China : SHAR

The shar-pei breed of dog is one with a wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.

28 Natural rope fiber : HEMP

Hemp, also known as “cannabis”, is a hardy, fast-growing plant that has many uses mainly due to the strength of the fibers in the plant’s stalks. Hemp is used to make rope, paper and textiles. The term “hemp” is sometimes reserved for varieties of the plant grown for non-drug use.

31 “24K Magic” singer Mars : BRUNO

Bruno Mars is a singer-songwriter from Honolulu who has been active in the music business since 2006. “Bruno Mars” is a stage name, as Mars was born “Peter Hernandez”.

36 John Irving’s “A Prayer for __ Meany” : OWEN

“A Prayer for Owen Meany” is a novel by John Irving that was first published in 1989. Although Irving’s work is an independent story, it is written as a homage to “The Tin Drum” by Günter Grass.

37 USN officers : CDRS

Commander (Cdr.)

38 Many millennia : AEON

Geological time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

  • supereon
  • eon (also “aeon”)
  • era
  • period
  • epoch
  • age

46 Eye-related : OCULAR

“Oculus” (plural “oculi”) is the Latin word for “eye”, and gives us our term “ocular” meaning “eye-related”.

50 Home detector target : RADON

The element radon (Rn) is a radioactive gas, and a byproduct produced when uranium decays naturally in the earth. Radon gas can collect and accumulate in buildings and rooms that are particularly well insulated with very little air exchange. The danger is very real, as radon is listed as the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoke.

57 __ Kate Dillon of “Billions” : ASIA

Asia Kate Dillon is an actor perhaps best known for portraying Brandy Epps in the comedy-drama “Orange Is the New Black” and Taylor Mason in the drama show “Billions”.

“Billions” is a Showtime drama series starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. It’s about a federal prosecutor going after a hedge fund manager in New York. Excellent show …

60 “The Women of Troy” novelist Barker : PAT

Pat Barker is an English author who is perhaps best known for her “Regeneration” series of novels set in World War One. Barker’s works usually focus on memory, trauma and recovery.

61 “Woman Power” singer Yoko : ONO

“Woman Power” is a 1973 song written and released by Yoko Ono. Her husband John Lennon plays a guitar solo in the recording, and is credited as “John O’Cean”. It’s thought that Lennon chose that alias as the Japanese name “Yoko” translates as “Ocean Child”.

62 “__ Burns: America” : KEN

Ken Burns directs and produces epic documentary films that usually make inventive use of archive footage. Recent works are the sensational “The War” (about the US in WWII) and the magnificent “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, as well as 2014’s “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History”. Burns’ 2017 offering was “The Vietnam War” that he co-directed with Lynn Novick.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “We can seat you now” gadget : PAGER
6 Italian wine used in cooking : MARSALA
13 Puts in a row : LINES UP
15 “So it would appear” : I GATHER
16 Spoon, for one : UTENSIL
17 The 4,080-piece Disney Castle, e.g. : LEGO SET
18 Protest song? : COME ON EILEEN
20 Boy in the “Star Wars” prequel films : ANI
21 “What __, your maid?” : AM I
22 Short mission? : RECON
26 Alexander of “Rizzoli & Isles” : SASHA
30 Msg. to the whole squad : APB
32 Drink suffix : -ADE
33 Backing track? : HELP ME, RHONDA
37 Twix ingredient : CARAMEL
40 Directly toward the sunset : DUE WEST
41 Opening number? : DEAR PRUDENCE
43 Go bad : ROT
44 “Hey, that’s enough!” : TMI!
45 “Hey, that’s enough!” : OK NOW!
48 Derisive look : SNEER
51 Virginia Woolf’s “__ Dalloway” : MRS
53 Gear tooth : COG
55 Revived game show hosted by Jane Krakowski that’s also an apt title for this puzzle : NAME THAT TUNE
60 Prodded : POKED AT
63 Rely on excessively : USE A LOT
64 Buttercup family member : ANEMONE
65 Array for BB gun target practice, perhaps : TIN CANS
66 Broadway props? : TONY NOD
67 Really love : ADORE

Down

1 Climbing spikes : PITONS
2 Low-hemoglobin condition : ANEMIA
3 __ therapy : GENE
4 Exxon, in Canada and Europe : ESSO
5 Damage beyond repair : RUIN
6 Many-legged arthropod : MILLIPEDE
7 Outfielder Tommie in the NY Mets Hall of Fame : AGEE
8 Wild party : RAGER
9 “La La Land” Oscar winner Emma : STONE
10 Relieved sounds : AHS
11 Novelist Harper : LEE
12 Class with smocks : ART
13 Pixar film that lost to “Encanto” for a Best Animated Feature Oscar : LUCA
14 Urgent request : PLEA
19 Mosque authority : IMAM
23 Word with candy or sugar : … CANE
24 Track figures : ODDS
25 Tidy : NEAT
27 __-Pei: dog breed from China : SHAR
28 Natural rope fiber : HEMP
29 30-Across, for one : ALERT
31 “24K Magic” singer Mars : BRUNO
34 Took a nosedive : PLUMMETED
35 “Darn it all to __!” : HECK
36 John Irving’s “A Prayer for __ Meany” : OWEN
37 USN officers : CDRS
38 Many millennia : AEON
39 Matter of interest? : RATE
42 Gossip : DIRT
46 Eye-related : OCULAR
47 Had meager success in a series of games : WON ONE
49 Foe : ENEMY
50 Home detector target : RADON
52 Boarded up : SHUT
54 Understands : GETS
56 Spanish hand : MANO
57 __ Kate Dillon of “Billions” : ASIA
58 Look after : TEND
59 Folded snack : TACO
60 “The Women of Troy” novelist Barker : PAT
61 “Woman Power” singer Yoko : ONO
62 “__ Burns: America” : KEN