LA Times Crossword 1 Feb 23, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Wendy L. Brandes
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Twisted Humor

Themed answers each include a TWISTED synonym of “HUMOR” hidden within:

  • 58A Element of irony, and what can be found in each set of circled letters? : TWISTED HUMOR
  • 20A Forgettable band with a memorable song : ONE-HIT WONDER (hiding twisted “WIT”)
  • 32A “Pipe down!” : KEEP QUIET! (hiding twisted “QUIP”)
  • 45A Spot for spare change : COIN PURSE (hiding twisted “PUN”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “Pronto!” letters : ASAP!

As soon as possible (ASAP)

The Spanish and Italian (and now English) word “pronto” is derived from the Latin “promptus” meaning “ready, quick”.

9 Suffers after a Pure Barre class, say : ACHES

Pure Barre is a chain of fitness studios that specializes in musical workouts that make use of the barre.

Barre is a form of exercise that uses a ballet barre and incorporates classical moves from the world of ballet. The barre program dates back to 1959 when ballerina Lotte Berk introduced it in London.

14 __ Top ice cream : HALO

Halo Top Creamery is a brand of ice cream that contains less refined sugars. The sugars are replaced with stevia and erythritol, a plant-based sweetener and a sugar alcohol.

15 Four Corners state : UTAH

The Four Corners region of the US surrounds the meeting point of the four states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Four Corners is the only point in the US that is shared by four states.

18 Emperor after Claudius : NERO

Nero was Emperor of Rome from 54 to 68 CE, and he had quite the family life. When he was just 16-years-old Nero married his step-sister Claudia Octavia. He also had his mother and step-brother executed.

I find Claudius to be the most fascinating of all the Roman Emperors. He had a lot going against him, as he walked with a limp and was slightly deaf. Claudius was put in office by the Praetorian Guard (the emperor’s bodyguards) after Caligula was assassinated. Claudius had very little political experience and yet proved to be very forward-thinking and capable.

20 Forgettable band with a memorable song : ONE-HIT WONDER (hiding twisted “WIT”)

Here’s a 2002 list of one-hit wonders that VH1 dubbed the top-10 greatest of all time:

  1. “Macarena” – Los del Río (1996)
  2. “Tainted Love” – Soft Cell (1982)
  3. “Come on Eileen” – Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)
  4. “I’m Too Sexy” – Right Said Fred (1991)
  5. “Mickey” – Toni Basil (1982)
  6. “Who Let the Dogs Out?” – Baha Men (2000)
  7. “Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice (1990)
  8. “Take On Me” – A-ha (1985)
  9. “Rico Suave” – Gerardo (1990)
  10. “99 Luftballons” – Nena (1984)

23 Jazz pianist McCoy : TYNER

McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia. For many years, Tyner was a member of the John Coltrane Quartet. McCoy’s younger brother is Jarvis Tyner, a member of the Communist Party USA who ran for Vice President in 1972 and 1976.

28 Pie crust fat : LARD

Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called suet. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily so it has to be rendered, purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call lard. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as tallow.

37 Lingerie selection : TEDDY

The item of lingerie known as a teddy can also be called “camiknickers”. The alternative name was used when the one-piece garment was introduced in the twenties, a combination of a camisole and panties (aka “knickers”).

39 Old PC platform : MS-DOS

MS-DOS (short for “Microsoft Disk Operating System”) was the main operating system used by IBM-compatible PCs in the eighties and for much of the nineties.

48 Cook’s Illustrated offering : RECIPE

“Cook’s Illustrated” isa cooking magazine that was founded in 1993 as a successor to “Cook’s” magazine, which dated back to 1980. The staff at “Cook’s Illustrated” are also behind the NPR cooking show “America’s Test Kitchen”.

50 Lake bird with a wild laugh : LOON

The bird known as a loon here in North America is called a diver in Britain and Ireland. The name “diver” comes from the bird’s habit of swimming calmly and then suddenly diving below the surface to catch a fish. The name “loon” comes from an Old English word meaning “clumsy” and reflects the awkward gait of the bird when walking on land.

51 Sotheby’s auctions, e.g. : ART SALES

Sotheby’s is one of the world’s oldest auction houses, having opened its doors for business in 1744 in London. However, the company is now headquartered in New York City. The ticker symbol for Sotheby’s on the New York Stock Exchange is quite apt, i.e. “BID”.

67 Diva’s big moment : ARIA

The term “diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. It is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

68 Simpson daughter voiced by Yeardley Smith : LISA

Lisa Simpson is Bart’s brainy younger sister on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Lisa is voiced by actress Yeardley Smith. In a 2008 episode of the show, Lisa enters a crossword tournament. Crossword celebrities Merl Reagle and Will Shortz make appearances in that episode, basically playing cartoon versions of themselves.

Down

2 Mary Poppins, for one : NANNY

The “Mary Poppins” series of children’s novels were written by Australian-born English writer and actress P. L. Travers. Poppins is a magical children’s nanny with a best friend Bert. In the famous 1964 musical film adaptation of the Mary Poppins stories, Poppins is played by Julie Andrews and Bert is played Dick Van Dyke.

7 Judge who hit 62 home runs in 2022 : AARON

Aaron Judge is a baseball outfielder who was selected as 2017’s American League Rookie of the Year. Judge is a big guy. He weighs 282 pounds, and is 6 foot 7 inches tall.

8 Galaxy, for one : PHONE

The Galaxy is a series of mobile computing devices made by Samsung that was introduced in 2009. Almost all of the Galaxy devices have used Google’s Android operating system, until a Windows 10 Galaxy device was introduced by Samsung in 2016.

10 “All the Birds in the Sky” Nebula winner __ Jane Anders : CHARLIE

Charlie Jane Anders’ 2016 novel “All the Birds in the Sky” is a science fantasy work that falls into the category of speculative fiction. It is about the relationship between a techno-geek named Laurence and a witch named Patricia, and their efforts to stop the “Unraveling” of the world.

12 Prefix with dermis : EPI-

The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. The thickest piece of epidermal tissue in humans is on the soles of the feet and the palms, and measures about 1.5 mm. The thinnest measures 0.1 mm, and that would be the human eyelid.

13 Triple __: orange-flavored liqueur : SEC

Triple sec is liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet oranges. I tend to use it in cocktails calling for Grand Marnier or Cointreau, as it is a cheaper alternative and tastes very similar …

21 Baghdad’s country : IRAQ

According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BCE (yes, BCE!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh-) and “beloved” (-dad).

27 Panache : STYLE

Someone exhibiting panache is showing dash and verve, and perhaps has a swagger. “Panache” is a French word used for a plume of feathers, especially one in a hat.

29 Bacardi liquor : RUM

The Bacardi company is still family-owned and operated, and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. The company was founded in Santiago de Cuba and became successful by selling a refined form of rum, something new to a market that was used to a crude, dark rum. The Bacardi family opposed the Castro regime as it came to power, so the company had to relocate to Bermuda.

30 Blu-ray buy : DISC

A CD player reads the information on the disc using a laser beam. The beam is produced by what’s called a laser diode, a device similar to a light-emitting diode (LED) except that a laser beam is emitted. That laser beam is usually red in CD and DVD players. Blu-ray players are so called as they use blue lasers.

32 Knightley of “Bend It Like Beckham” : KEIRA

English actress Keira Knightley had her big break in the movies when she co-starred in 2002’s “Bend It Like Beckham”. Knightley played one of my favorite movie roles, Elizabeth Bennett in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice”. Knightley won a Golden Globe for that performance, although that 2005 film isn’t the best adaptation of Austen’s novel in my humble opinion …

“Bend It Like Beckham” is a 2002 British-Indian movie that centers on a young Punjabi Sikh living in London who loves soccer, but is forbidden to play by her parents. The two leads in the film are Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley. Nagra went on to play Dr. Neela Rasgotra in TC medical drama “ER”, and Knightley went on to a remarkably successful Hollywood career.

33 “Peter, Peter, pumpkin __ … ” : EATER

“Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater” is a nursery rhyme that has been around in the US at least since the early 1800s. It is possibly derived from an older English rhyme, but pumpkins certainly weren’t in the English version.

35 Old name of Tokyo : EDO

“Edo” is the former name of the Japanese city of Tokyo. Edo was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ruled from 1603 until 1868. The shogun lived in the magnificent Edo Castle. Some parts of the original castle remain and today’s Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, was built on its grounds.

40 __-cone : SNO

A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

47 Opens, as a fern frond : UNCURLS

Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

49 Former quarterback Manning : ELI

Eli Manning is a retired footballer who played quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titled “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

57 October 31 option : TREAT

Trick or treat!

61 “Insecure” 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.

62 Woolf’s “A Room of One’s __” : OWN

“A Room of One’s Own” is an essay by Virginia Woolf that was first published in 1929. It is celebrated as a feminist text.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Unexpected obstacle : SNAG
5 “Pronto!” letters : ASAP!
9 Suffers after a Pure Barre class, say : ACHES
14 __ Top ice cream : HALO
15 Four Corners state : UTAH
16 “If only!” : I HOPE!
17 “Will do!” : ON IT!
18 Emperor after Claudius : NERO
19 __ touch : MAGIC
20 Forgettable band with a memorable song : ONE-HIT WONDER (hiding twisted “WIT”)
23 Jazz pianist McCoy : TYNER
24 Unnecessary : NEEDLESS
28 Pie crust fat : LARD
31 Ace a presentation : NAIL IT
32 “Pipe down!” : KEEP QUIET! (hiding twisted “QUIP”)
37 Lingerie selection : TEDDY
38 Musical ability : EAR
39 Old PC platform : MS-DOS
41 Snaky fish : EEL
42 Shopping cart fillers : ITEMS
45 Spot for spare change : COIN PURSE (hiding twisted “PUN”)
48 Cook’s Illustrated offering : RECIPE
50 Lake bird with a wild laugh : LOON
51 Sotheby’s auctions, e.g. : ART SALES
54 Fragrance : SCENT
58 Element of irony, and what can be found in each set of circled letters? : TWISTED HUMOR
61 Like 18-Across : ROMAN
64 Goalie’s success : SAVE
65 Per-hour amount : RATE
66 Not sleeping : AWAKE
67 Diva’s big moment : ARIA
68 Simpson daughter voiced by Yeardley Smith : LISA
69 Came to a close : ENDED
70 Shout : YELL
71 Opening for a hotel key card : SLOT

Down

1 “Ask me anything!” : SHOOT!
2 Mary Poppins, for one : NANNY
3 Out of this world? : ALIEN
4 Went to a tutoring session, say : GOT HELP
5 Many a godmother : AUNT
6 Fret (over) : STEW
7 Judge who hit 62 home runs in 2022 : AARON
8 Galaxy, for one : PHONE
9 Set one’s sights on : AIMED AT
10 “All the Birds in the Sky” Nebula winner __ Jane Anders : CHARLIE
11 Monopolize : HOG
12 Prefix with dermis : EPI-
13 Triple __: orange-flavored liqueur : SEC
21 Baghdad’s country : IRAQ
22 Room that may have a sectional sofa : DEN
25 Respected leader : ELDER
26 Cucumber salad, coconut rice, etc. : SIDES
27 Panache : STYLE
29 Bacardi liquor : RUM
30 Blu-ray buy : DISC
32 Knightley of “Bend It Like Beckham” : KEIRA
33 “Peter, Peter, pumpkin __ … ” : EATER
34 Build : ERECT
35 Old name of Tokyo : EDO
36 Work hard : TOIL
40 __-cone : SNO
43 Error : MISTAKE
44 Brought about, as a movement : SPAWNED
46 Like a red-carpet event : POSH
47 Opens, as a fern frond : UNCURLS
49 Former quarterback Manning : ELI
52 Writing contest entry, maybe : ESSAY
53 Long look : STARE
55 “Reply all” medium : EMAIL
56 “Untrue!” : NOT SO!
57 October 31 option : TREAT
59 Malicious : EVIL
60 Hand out cards : DEAL
61 “Insecure” star Issa : RAE
62 Woolf’s “A Room of One’s __” : OWN
63 Fit to be tied : MAD

16 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 1 Feb 23, Wednesday”

  1. No errors, but two lookups: i.e. Tyner, which I really didn’t know, and
    MSDOS, which I surely should have known as I cut my computer teeth
    on MSDOS more years ago than I like to admit.

  2. Just checking in to say I really liked today’s puzzle. The theme was fun. I never expected to see CHARLIE Jane Anders in a crossword! She is definitely an interesting author. And I learned about McCoy TYNER.

    In other news, after much procrastination, I finally got my bivalent Covid booster Monday. Yesterday was spent in surrender to the demands of the immune system. Today, I’m feeling pretty dang good. Totally worth it!

  3. Wow! Two good, interesting and not too tough puzzles in a row. Got ’em all right with no peeks or lookups,

  4. I had put in nailed for 31 Across instead of the correct “nailed it”. On top of that I had somehow (no idea how) I had misread 41 Across “snaky fish” as 51 Across “Sotheby’s auctions, e.g. and put in “art” instead of “eel”. Man did that create some confusion and consternation on my part for awhile. D’oh!

    Eventually got my “made my own mess” cleaned up and the puzzle was complete without final error.

  5. 15:52 no errors…a Wednesday puzzle not loaded with foreign words and obscure clues…refreshing👍👍
    Stay safe😀

  6. 7:56 – no errors, lookups, or false starts. Can’t believe I got within 1 minute of Bill’s time, and using paper.

    New: HALO Top ice cream, McCoy TYNER, CHARLIE Jane Anders, “A Room of One’s Own.”

    Need to keep straight: Stephen REA (yesterday’s puzzle) vs Issa RAE.

    A decent theme. I like puns.

  7. @Allen Dickerson – Belated congrats on your Monday’s personal best of 4 mins, 42 seconds – WTG!

  8. Had to Google for TYNER. Seem to have the same unknowns as everyone: HALO, KEIRA, CHARLIE. Pretty smooth Wednesday. I’d like more of these.

  9. Nice easy Tuesday for me; took 7:31 with no peeks or errors. Didn’t know HALO, TYNER and CHARLIE but the crosses made those no problem. “All the Birds in the Sky” sounds pretty interesting and it’s at my library.

    Hi Pam – I finally got mine 3 weeks ago and as usual was a bit sleepy the next day. My markets were supposed to start pretty soon, but they keep delaying it. It’s best to be vaccinated, though, when dealing with students from all over the world.

  10. 7 mins 8 seconds, and no errors. Was surprised to nip Bill’s time, because I felt I dropped a few seconds here and there fumbling with mistypes and direction changes online. OK grid, not too easy, not too hard.

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