LA Times Crossword 14 Jan 23, Saturday

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Constructed by: Ricky Sirois
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 11m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Bailed : JUMPED SHIP

The phrase “to bail out” (sometimes just “to bail”) means to leave suddenly. We’ve been using the term since the early thirties, when it originated with airline pilots. To bail out is to make a parachute jump.

11 Brand at the pet store : ALPO

Alpo is a brand of dog food introduced by Allen Products in 1936, with “Alpo” being an abbreviation for “Allen Products”. Lorne Greene used to push Alpo dog food in television spots, as did Ed McMahon and Garfield the Cat, would you believe?

16 Nu-metal pioneers : KORN

Korn is an alternative-metal band from Bakersfield, California. The band’s name is derived from a fan suggestion of “Corn”. The suggested name was considered too bland and so was prettied up to Korn, with the letter “r” capitalized and written backwards.

17 Please and thank you, e.g. : MAGIC WORDS

What’s the magic word?

18 Steve of “Peacemaker” : AGEE

Steve Agee is multitalented. As a comedian, he had a regular role on “The Sarah Silverman Program”. As a more serious actor, he had a role in the superhero movie “The Suicide Squad” (2021). As a musician, he played guitar and bass in several rock bands in the nineties.

“Peacemaker” is a TV show based on the DC Comics superhero Peacemaker. It is a spinoff from the 2021 movie “The Suicide Squad”. John Cena plays the title character, both in the series and in the film.

25 Trouble getting down? : INSOMNIA

Our word “insomnia” ultimately comes from the Latin prefix “-in” meaning “not” and “somnus” meaning “sleep”.

30 Astringent cosmetic : TONER

A skin toner is a cosmetic used to cleanse the skin and to shrink pores.

An astringent is a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues.

34 Mineralogist who created a scale : MOHS

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

35 Zimbabwe’s most populous city : HARARE

Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe, and the African nation’s largest city. It was founded by the British in 1890 as Fort Salisbury (later just “Salisbury”). The outpost was named after Lord Salisbury, who was Prime Minister of the UK at the time. Salisbury was renamed to Harare in 1982, on the second anniversary of the independence of Zimbabwe. The name “Harare” applied to the area in which Fort Salisbury had been erected. “Harare” is a local word meaning “It doesn’t sleep”, a word applied to locations with constant noise.

36 State fruit of California : AVOCADO

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

38 Underground dwellers of urban myth : MOLE MEN

The term “mole people” is used to describe the unfortunate homeless people who largely live in underground structures in large cities. A 2000 documentary called “Dark Days” follows people living in New York City’s “Freedom Tunnel”, an abandoned section of the city’s subway system.

39 Samurai sword : KATANA

A katana is a curved sword worn by the samurai of Japan. It is sometimes referred to as a “samurai sword”.

40 Image in Magritte’s “The Treachery of Images” : PIPE

“The Treachery of Images” is a painting by René Magritte. It is a very simple image of a pipe that one might smoke, with the words below (in French), “This is not a pipe”. Magritte’s point was that the painting wasn’t a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe.

41 Contractor’s no. : EST

Estimate (est.)

52 Crenshaw kin : CASABA

Crenshaw melons are crosses between casabas and Persian melons, and are thought to have originated in Turkey.

A casaba is a type of honeydew melon that ripens relatively late in the season, and so is classed as a winter melon. The casaba takes its name from the Turkish city of Kasaba, from where the fruit was imported into America in the late 1800s.

58 Classic film based on the play “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” : CASABLANCA

“Everybody Comes to Rick’s” is a play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison that they wrote in 1940. Before it could be staged, Warner Brother bought the play and adapted it into the hit 1942 movie “Casablanca”. There was to be no stage production of the play until 1991, when it ran for six weeks in London.

60 Govt. weather agency : NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of the seven federal uniformed services, namely:

  • Army
  • Marine Corps
  • Navy
  • Air Force
  • Coast Guard
  • Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

Down

1 Lily of “Pam & Tommy” : JAMES

Lily James is an English actress who had a recurring role in the hit TV show “Downton Abbey”, playing Lady Rose Aldridge. Her breakthrough in films came with the title role in the 2015 romantic fantasy “Cinderella”, directed by Kenneth Branagh. For several years, James was in a relationship with Matt Smith, one of the incarnations of “Doctor Who”.

“Pam & Tommy” is a biographical drama miniseries about celebrity couple Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. The title characters are played by Lily James and Sebastian Stan. Central to the story is the unauthorized release of a sex tape made by the pair, and the impact that the release had on their turbulent three-year marriage.

2 Eel, on a menu : UNAGI

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

5 Abbr. on a business letter : ENC

Enclosure (enc.)

6 Code Reds, e.g. : DEWS

If you check the can, you’ll see that “Mountain Dew” is now marketed as “Mtn Dew”.

Code Red is a cherry-flavored variant of Mountain Dew that was introduced in 2001.

10 Capital of Cuba : PESOS

Cuba is the only country in the world that has two official currencies. The Cuban peso (CUP) is referred to as the “national currency”. Government workers are paid in CUPs, and CUPs can be used to pay for government-provided services and price-controlled items such as fruit and vegetables. There is also the Cuban convertible peso (CUC) that was introduced in 1994, when its value was pegged to the US dollar. Most products available in stores are imported, and have to be purchased with CUCs. Cubans with access to CUCs, like hotel workers interfacing with tourists, tend to have better lifestyles than government workers in general.

11 Sobriquet letters : AKA

Also known as (aka)

A sobriquet is an affectionate nickname. The term “sobriquet” is French, in which language it has the same meaning.

24 Like some differences : SEMANTIC

In linguistics, semantics is the study of meanings, the meanings of words, phrases or larger units of text/speech.

28 Oscar winner about a teenager who is the only hearing member of her family : CODA

“CODA” is a 2021 movie, a remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film “La Famille Bélier”. The English-language version stars Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of a deaf family struggling with a fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts. “CODA” was the first film distributed by a streaming service (Apple TV+) to win a Best Picture Oscar. The title “CODA” is an acronym standing for “child of deaf adults”.

29 Sigma preceder : RHO

Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R. It is the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet.

31 Many an Urdu speaker : PAKISTANI

Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of the 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

35 Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Arizona : HOPI

Many members of the Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.

37 Exchanged notes? : CASH

Our word “cash” comes from the Middle French “caisse” meaning “money box”.

38 Sch. that hosts an annual Mystery Hunt : MIT

The MIT Mystery Hunt is an annual event involving teams of students competing to solve extremely complex puzzles. The puzzles are arranged in a series, all pointing to the location of a coin hidden on the MIT campus. The team winning in one year sets the puzzles in the following year.

40 Shade provider : PARASOL

A parasol is a light umbrella that is used as a sunshade. The term “parasol” ultimately comes from Latin “para-” meaning “defense against”, and “sol” meaning “sun”.

43 Aquafina rival : DASANI

Dasani is a Coca-Cola brand of bottled water. Dasani is simply filtered tap water with some trace minerals added.

44 Trattoria dessert : GELATO

Gelato (plural “gelati”) is the Italian version of American ice cream, differing in that it has a lower butterfat content than its US counterpart.

48 Slowly, in music : LENTO

A lento passage is a piece of music that has a slow tempo. “Lento” is “slow” in Italian.

49 Corset securers : LACES

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

54 Soccer star Wambach : ABBY

Abby Wambach is a retired professional soccer player who was named FIFA World Player of the Year for 2012. She played for the US national team in all four World tournaments from 2003 to 2015.

57 Rapper who narrates Netflix’s “The Get Down” : NAS

“The Get Down” is a Netflix show about a group of teenagers in New York City witnessing the rise of hip-hop and disco music in the 1970s.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Bailed : JUMPED SHIP
11 Brand at the pet store : ALPO
15 Call after a knock, perhaps : ANYONE HOME?
16 Nu-metal pioneers : KORN
17 Please and thank you, e.g. : MAGIC WORDS
18 Steve of “Peacemaker” : AGEE
19 Big heads : EGOS
20 “But you just got here!” : SO SOON?!
22 Scamp : IMP
23 Faces : SIDES
25 Trouble getting down? : INSOMNIA
27 Proclamation : DECREE
30 Astringent cosmetic : TONER
31 Foot, in zoology : PES
34 Mineralogist who created a scale : MOHS
35 Zimbabwe’s most populous city : HARARE
36 State fruit of California : AVOCADO
38 Underground dwellers of urban myth : MOLE MEN
39 Samurai sword : KATANA
40 Image in Magritte’s “The Treachery of Images” : PIPE
41 Contractor’s no. : EST
42 Terse postgame recap : I LOST
43 Together : DATING
45 Place to order 2-Down : SUSHI BAR
47 Giveaways : TELLS
51 Use a touchscreen : TAP
52 Crenshaw kin : CASABA
55 Bound : LEAP
56 “… two fives for __?” : A TEN
58 Classic film based on the play “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” : CASABLANCA
60 Govt. weather agency : NOAA
61 Be aware enough not to do something foolish : KNOW BETTER
62 Gets to : IRKS
63 “Oh, you!” : SILLY GOOSE!

Down

1 Lily of “Pam & Tommy” : JAMES
2 Eel, on a menu : UNAGI
3 [Gasp] : MY GOD!
4 Ready and waiting : POISED
5 Abbr. on a business letter : ENC
6 Code Reds, e.g. : DEWS
7 A word before takeoff? : SHOO!
8 Stable creatures, colloquially : HORSIES
9 “Stick a fork in me” : I’M DONE
10 Capital of Cuba : PESOS
11 Sobriquet letters : AKA
12 Useful sobriquet : LOGIN NAME
13 Openings : PREMIERES
14 Like some households : ONE-PARENT
21 Scout’s terse assessment : NO TALENT
24 Like some differences : SEMANTIC
26 Greater : MORE
28 Oscar winner about a teenager who is the only hearing member of her family : CODA
29 Sigma preceder : RHO
31 Many an Urdu speaker : PAKISTANI
32 Judgmental sort : EVALUATOR
33 In a way : SO TO SPEAK
35 Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Arizona : HOPI
37 Exchanged notes? : CASH
38 Sch. that hosts an annual Mystery Hunt : MIT
40 Shade provider : PARASOL
43 Aquafina rival : DASANI
44 Trattoria dessert : GELATO
46 Sticks up for : BACKS
48 Slowly, in music : LENTO
49 Corset securers : LACES
50 Leftover : SPARE
53 Go through a lot of tissues : BAWL
54 Soccer star Wambach : ABBY
57 Rapper who narrates Netflix’s “The Get Down” : NAS
59 Support under the table? : LEG