LA Times Crossword 21 Oct 22, Friday

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Constructed by: Alexander Liebeskind
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Sounds Like Lore to Me

Themed answers sound like common phrases, but are presented in the puzzle with reference to the law:

  • 18A Legal entitlement to be invisible? : GHOST RIGHT (sounds like “ghostwrite”)
  • 24A Constitutional section on entering through the chimney? : SANTA CLAUSE (sounds like “Santa Claus”)
  • 38A Funds posted to free a rancher? : HAY BAIL (sounds like “hay bale”)
  • 48A Legal advice from Yoda? : JEDI COUNSEL (sounds like “Jedi Council”)
  • 59A Court statements from chess players? : CHECK PLEAS (sounds like “check, please”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “Who wants my jellyfish? / I’m not sellyfish!” poet : NASH

Ogden Nash was a poet from Rye, New York who is remembered for his light and quirky verse. Nash had over 500 such works published between 1931 and 1972.

14 Water under the drawbridge : MOAT

A moat is a protective trench that surrounds a castle, say, or an exhibit in a zoo. A moat may or may not be filled with water.

15 Org. concerned with ergonomics : OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

16 City known for cheese : PARMA

Parma is a city in northern Italy that is famous for its ham (prosciutto) and cheese (parmesan). The adjective “Parmesan” means “of or from Parma”.

20 Sound investment? : STEREO

Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers that are often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

23 Writer Anita : LOOS

Anita Loos was an American screenwriter and author who was most famous for her novel “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” that was first published in 1925. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was originally published as a series of short stories in “Harper’s Bazaar”. The heroine of the story was Lorelei Lee, a “flapper” who was less interested in marriage than she was in collecting expensive gifts from her many gentleman admirers. Loos also adapted Colette’s novel “Gigl” for the Broadway stage in 1951.

24 Constitutional section on entering through the chimney? : SANTA CLAUSE (sounds like “Santa Claus”)

The Santa Claus with whom we are familiar today largely comes from the description in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, and from the 1863 caricature created by the political cartoonist Thomas Nast. Nast is also responsible for locating Santa’s workshop at the North Magnetic Pole, a fact that he revealed to the world in a series of drawings in 1879.

27 Traditional 30th anniversary symbol : PEARL

Some traditional gifts for wedding anniversaries are:

  • 5th: wooden
  • 10th: tin
  • 15th: crystal
  • 20th: china
  • 25th: silver
  • 30th: pearl
  • 40th: ruby
  • 50th: gold
  • 60th: diamond

28 Hidden agenda : ANGLE

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

32 Avenger with a hammer : THOR

The hammer associated with the Norse god Thor is known as Mjölnir. The name “Mjölnir” translates as “crusher”.

34 Chow down : EAT

“Chow” is a slang term for “food” that originated in California in the mid-1800s. “Chow” comes from the Chinese pidgin English “chow-chow” meaning “food”.

37 “Okay by moi” : OUI

In French, “oui” translates as “yes”, and “mais oui!” as “but yes!”

38 Funds posted to free a rancher? : HAY BAIL (sounds like “hay bale”)

In most states in the US, it is legal for a bail bond agent to post bail for someone facing trial. Bail bond agencies are commercially driven enterprises, and are peculiar to the United States. In the rest of the developed world, posting a defendant’s bond for profit is considered illegal.

43 Pro’s camera : SLR

The initialism “SLR” stands for “single lens reflex”. Usually, cameras with changeable lenses are the SLR type. The main feature of an SLR is that a mirror reflects the image seen through the lens out through the viewfinder, so that the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees. The mirror moves out of the way as the picture is taken, and the image that comes through the lens falls onto unexposed film, or nowadays onto a digital sensor.

45 Daisylike flower : ASTER

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

48 Legal advice from Yoda? : JEDI COUNSEL (sounds like “Jedi Council”)

The Jedi are the good guys in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …

59 Court statements from chess players? : CHECK PLEAS (sounds like “check, please”)

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

63 Part of Hispaniola : HAITI

The island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is known in Spanish as “La Española”.

64 Ponte Vecchio river : ARNO

The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge that spans the Arno river in Florence, Italy. The bridge dates back to medieval times, and indeed the name “Ponte Vecchio” translates as “Old Bridge”. Famously, there are two rows of shops built on either side of the roadway crossing the bridge.

66 Young partner : ERNST

Ernst & Young is one of the Big Four accountancy firms, alongside Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ernst & Young is headquartered in London. The company was founded in 1989 with the merger of Ernst & Whinney with Young & Co.

67 N.L. East team : METS

The New York Mets (NYM) baseball team was founded in 1962 as a replacement for two teams that the city had lost, namely the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. For several years the Mets played very poorly, finishing no better than second-to-last in their division. Then along came the “Miracle Mets” (aka “Amazin’ Mets”) who beat the Baltimore Orioles in 1969 to claim the World Series in a huge upset.

68 Site for artisans : ETSY

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.

Down

1 Rock blasters : AMPS

An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

2 Miniseries based on a Haley novel : ROOTS

Not only did Alex Haley author the magnificent novel “Roots”, he was also the collaborator with Malcolm X on “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. His 1976 novel “Roots” is based on Haley’s own family history, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of the real life Kunta Kinte, the slave who was kidnapped in the Gambia in 1767. If you remember the original television adaptation of “Roots”, you might recall that Kunta Kinte was played by LeVar Burton, who later went on to play another famous role, Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: the Next Generation”.

6 Baseball bat wood : ASH

The wood of the ash tree is hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

7 Sandbar : SHOAL

A shoal is an underwater ridge or bank that is covered with a material such as sand or silt.

8 “__ luego” : HASTA

“Hasta luego” translates literally from Spanish as “until later”, and is used to say “see you later”.

9 Time of yr. for new growth : SPR

Apparently, we call the season “spring” because it is associated with the period when most plants and flowers “spring up” out of the ground.

11 Oscar-winning film about a fake film : ARGO

“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I highly recommend “Argo”, although I found the scenes of religious fervor to be very frightening …

12 Short “As I see it” : IMHO

In my humble opinion (IMHO)

13 N.L. East team : NATS

If you attend a Washington Nationals baseball game, held in Nationals Park, you’ll see the Presidents Race in the middle of the fourth innings. Individuals dressed like six former US presidents, each sporting a large and cartoonish head, participate in the race. The runners in the footrace are:

  • George (Washington)
  • Abe (Lincoln)
  • Tom (Jefferson)
  • Teddy (Roosevelt)
  • Bill (Taft)
  • Calvin (Coolidge)
  • Herbie (Hoover)

19 __ cross : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

26 Catamaran mover : SAIL

A catamaran is a boat that has two hulls. Catamarans have been around a long time, with the design having been used by the Ancient Greeks. Notably, the design was used by the locals in the Bay of Bengal and it was this design that was adopted by European boat builders. The name “catamaran” comes from the Tamil language of southeastern India, with “kattu maram” meaning “logs tied together”.

30 “The Giver” novelist Lowry : LOIS

Lois Lowry is a writer of children’s fiction. Lowry doesn’t stick to “safe” material in her books, and has dealt with difficult subjects such as racism, murder and the Holocaust. Two of her books won the Newbery Medal: “Number the Stars” (1990) and “The Giver” (1993).

31 Arthur Ashe Courage Award, for one : ESPY

The Arthur Ashe Courage Award has been presented annually since 1993 as part of the ESPY Awards. Named for tennis great Arthur Ashe, the Courage Award is presented to individuals whose contributions “transcend sports”. The list of recipients includes Howard Cosell (1995), Muhammad Ali (1997), Billie Jean King (1999), Nelson Mandela (2009), Caitlyn Jenner (2015) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver (2017).

32 Senate wrap : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the classical attire known as a toga (plural “togae” or “togas”) was usually worn over a tunic. The tunic was made from linen, and the toga itself was a piece of cloth about twenty feet long made from wool. The toga could only be worn by men, and only if those men were Roman citizens. The female equivalent of the toga was called a “stola”.

33 Color wheel array : HUES

A color wheel is a visual device that illustrates the relationship between various colors and hues.

35 “The Misery Index” network : TBS

“The Misery Index” is an American comedy game show hosted by English presenter Jameela Jamil. The game involves rating and ranking miserable stories that are true.

44 “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” star : ISSA RAE

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

47 __ Taylor Loft : ANN

The owners of the Ann Taylor chain of clothing stores established the Ann Taylor Loft chain of stores as an extension to their brand. The original stores offered women’s clothing considered suitable for the workplace. Ann Taylor Loft offers clothing that is lower priced, and more relaxed in style.

49 Tango move : DIP

The dramatic tango dance originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires in particular traveled to Europe and beyond in the early twentieth century and brought the tango with them. The tango craze first struck Europe in Paris in the 1910s, and from there spread to London and Berlin, crossing the Atlantic to New York in 1913.

50 Major religion of Indonesia : ISLAM

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, and is the country with the largest population of Muslims. And, Indonesia has an amazing 17,508 islands.

51 French term of endearment : CHERE

“Cher” is French for “dear”. The spelling is “chère” when used with a feminine noun.

53 Marathon aftermath : ACHE

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

58 Three-spot : TREY

A trey is a three in a deck of cards. The term “trey” can also be used for a domino with three pips, and even for a three-point play in basketball.

60 Baby skunk : KIT

Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

61 Pantry pest : ANT

The word “pantry” dates back to 1300, when it came into English from the Old French “panetrie” meaning a “bread room”. Bread is “pain” in French, and “panis” in Latin.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Branches : ARMS
5 “Who wants my jellyfish? / I’m not sellyfish!” poet : NASH
9 Red wine on a white tablecloth, e.g. : STAIN
14 Water under the drawbridge : MOAT
15 Org. concerned with ergonomics : OSHA
16 City known for cheese : PARMA
17 Prod : POKE
18 Legal entitlement to be invisible? : GHOST RIGHT (sounds like “ghostwrite”)
20 Sound investment? : STEREO
22 __ standstill : AT A
23 Writer Anita : LOOS
24 Constitutional section on entering through the chimney? : SANTA CLAUSE (sounds like “Santa Claus”)
27 Traditional 30th anniversary symbol : PEARL
28 Hidden agenda : ANGLE
32 Avenger with a hammer : THOR
34 Chow down : EAT
36 Many streams : VIDEOS
37 “Okay by moi” : OUI
38 Funds posted to free a rancher? : HAY BAIL (sounds like “hay bale”)
40 __ jar : TIP
41 Fiction and nonfiction : GENRES
43 Pro’s camera : SLR
44 Wee : ITSY
45 Daisylike flower : ASTER
46 Hide away : STASH
48 Legal advice from Yoda? : JEDI COUNSEL (sounds like “Jedi Council”)
53 Vineyard measure : ACRE
56 “Kinda” : ISH
57 How some stupid things are done : ON A BET
59 Court statements from chess players? : CHECK PLEAS (sounds like “check, please”)
62 Bust a gut : ROAR
63 Part of Hispaniola : HAITI
64 Ponte Vecchio river : ARNO
65 First-class : A-ONE
66 Young partner : ERNST
67 N.L. East team : METS
68 Site for artisans : ETSY

Down

1 Rock blasters : AMPS
2 Miniseries based on a Haley novel : ROOTS
3 Score when debating : MAKE A POINT
4 Less forgiving : STERNER
5 Restricted zones : NO-GO AREAS
6 Baseball bat wood : ASH
7 Sandbar : SHOAL
8 “__ luego” : HASTA
9 Time of yr. for new growth : SPR
10 Last bit : TAIL END
11 Oscar-winning film about a fake film : ARGO
12 Short “As I see it” : IMHO
13 N.L. East team : NATS
19 __ cross : TAU
21 In-flight info, for short : ETA
25 Paint-your-own-pottery supply : CLAY
26 Catamaran mover : SAIL
29 Lose one’s place : GET THE BOOT
30 “The Giver” novelist Lowry : LOIS
31 Arthur Ashe Courage Award, for one : ESPY
32 Senate wrap : TOGA
33 Color wheel array : HUES
35 “The Misery Index” network : TBS
36 Expert musicians : VIRTUOSOS
38 Present : HERE
39 As well : ALSO
42 Turns down : REJECTS
44 “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” star : ISSA RAE
47 __ Taylor Loft : ANN
49 Tango move : DIP
50 Major religion of Indonesia : ISLAM
51 French term of endearment : CHERE
52 Cants : LEANS
53 Marathon aftermath : ACHE
54 Go over well? : CHAR
55 Free __ : REIN
58 Three-spot : TREY
60 Baby skunk : KIT
61 Pantry pest : ANT

14 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 21 Oct 22, Friday”

  1. No errors. About 19 minutes for me.
    Never heard of Misery Index.

    Fairly quick for a friday.

  2. Fairly easy Friday puzzle. No errors, but had to look up one
    proper name…”Lois”, and that gave me the “angle”. The theme
    helped a lot and I figured that out early on. Fun!

  3. 6:07, 1 typo I searched for a while (this time) and didn’t see. I definitely get annoyed when I see errors come up on things I know I entered properly before.

  4. Never heard/saw the 9D abbreviation and I cannot fathom the connection between 28A and its answer.

  5. Finally caught up with the newspapers and crossword puzzles after being out of town for a long weekend. I don’t know about vistas/areas that others here like but I visited friends who live in Placitas New Mexico (about halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and to me it’s a beautiful area. I’d live there happily if only my wife would like it…ha!

    I thought today’s crossword started of like a Tuesday level of difficulty puzzle, but I got bogged down a bit in the SW corner when I idiotically put in “rain” instead of “rein” for free rein. D’oh! On to the WSJ…

  6. 30:49 with one dumb error that resulted from laziness in checking my answers🤪
    Stay safe😀

  7. Fun theme ..never heard of Issa Rae but it filled for me still was not sure..bring on that ridiculous Sat puzzle we’re all ready .All have a great week end GO CHARGERS!!!

  8. No look ups, no errors. One change on the
    fly, tiny/itsy. More annoying PPP’s. Decent
    theme. Bring on Saturday!
    “Itsy” said nobody ever…

  9. Enjoyable Friday puzzle; took 14:26 with no peeks or errors. Had to change wind to SAIL and tiny to ITSY. Funny theme helped get two of the theme clues. Having ISSA RAE a few times recently helped as well.

    Fascinating history for the incredible Anita LOOS, a brilliant writer from Mt. Shasta, CA

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