LA Times Crossword 15 Aug 23, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Zachary David Levy
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: You’ll Pay for This!

Themed answers each end with something YOU’LL have to PAY:

• 34A Vow made while shaking one’s fist or when referring to the ends of 17-, 29-, 43-, and 59-Across? : YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS

• 17A Wild West stage name of William Cody : BUFFALO BILL
• 29A Word processor error finder : SPELLCHECK
• 43A Something opened while on Safari? : BROWSER TAB
• 59A Underwater explosive : DEPTH CHARGE

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

Bill’s time: 5m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Language also known as Persian : FARSI

Farsi (also known as Persian) is a language spoken by about 62 million people as a first language, and another 50 million or more as a second language. It is the official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

6 “In memory of … ” poem, e.g. : ELEGY

An elegy is a mournful poem or funeral song, and is also known as a dirge.

16 Sporty truck, briefly : UTE

A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sport-utes and crossover-utes.

17 Wild West stage name of William Cody : BUFFALO BILL

Buffalo Bill Cody became a great showman after he retired from the US Army. While serving in the Army, Buffalo Bill was awarded the Medal of Honor. William Frederick Cody earned his “Buffalo Bill” nickname while supplying buffalo meat to the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Cody “hunted” and slaughtered over 4,000 American bison in an 18-month period to fulfill his contract with the railroad.

22 __ fide : BONA

“Bona fide(s)” translates from the Latin as “in good faith”, and is used to indicate honest intentions. It can also mean that something is authentic, like a piece of art that is represented in good faith as being genuine.

23 South Pacific island region : OCEANIA

The part of the Pacific Ocean known as “Oceania” is roughly equivalent to the tropical islands of the South Pacific. Oceania can be divided into the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

26 “Les Misérables” novelist Victor : HUGO

Victor Hugo was a French writer who is known in his native country mainly for his poetry. Outside of France, Hugo is perhaps more closely associated with his novels such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables” has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

31 “The Shipping News” novelist Proulx : ANNIE

Author Annie Proulx’s second novel, “The Shipping News”, won her a Pulitzer and was adapted into a 2001 movie of the same name. Her 1997 short story “Brokeback Mountain” also made it to the big screen, as a 2005 film also with the same name.

33 Earth goddess : GAIA

The Greek goddess personifying the earth was Gaea (also “Gaia”, and meaning “land” or “earth” in Greek). The Roman equivalent goddess was Terra Mater, “Mother Earth”.

42 Birthing coach : DOULA

A doula is a person who provides non-medical support for women and their families during childbirth as well as in the period immediately following the arrival. The term “doula” comes from the Ancient Greek word “doule” which means “female slave”. Given such a negative association, “doula” is often dropped in favor of “labor companion” or “birthworker”.

43 Something opened while on Safari? : BROWSER TAB

Safari is Apple’s flagship Internet browser, one that is used on its Mac line of computers. A mobile version of Safari is included with all iPhones.

50 __ Stone: software for language learners : ROSETTA

Rosetta Stone is a technology company that produces language-learning software. The software uses an immersion system to teach a language, immersing the student using images, text and sound. There are no translations provided. The company takes its name from the Rosetta Stone, an ancient stone slab that proved to be key in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Rosetta is a coastal city and port on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian artifact of tremendous importance in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carvings on the stone are actually three translations of the same passage of prose, one in Egyptian hieroglyphics, one in Egyptian Demotic language, and one in classical Greek. The stone was discovered by the French military during Napoleon’s 1798-99 campaign in Egypt. Before the French could get it back to France, the stone somehow ended up in enemy hands (the British), so it is now on display in the British Museum. Ownership of the stone is very much in dispute. The French want it and, understandably, the Egyptians would like it back.

51 Shortening : 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.

Shortening is a fat used in baking. It is the term “shortening” that gives us the words “shortbread” and “shortcake”.

54 TV 64-Across from the planet Remulak (or France) : CONEHEAD
[64A Extraterrestrial : ALIEN]

“The Coneheads” first appeared in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch in 1977. The three family members back then were played by Dan Ackroyd (father), Jane Curtin (mother) and Laraine Newman (daughter). The characters became so popular that they were featured in a “Coneheads” movie in 1993.

59 Underwater explosive : DEPTH CHARGE

Depth charges, especially older ones used during WWII, are metallic cylindrical devices resembling ashcans, and so they are known familiarly as “ashcans”.

62 Singer DiFranco : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a feminist icon, and in 2006 won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

63 “Carmen” or “Elektra” : OPERA

When Georges Bizet wrote his famous opera “Carmen”, he used the melody of what he thought was an old folk song as a theme in the lovely aria “Habanera”. Not long after he finished “Carmen”, he discovered that the folk song was in fact a piece that had been written by another composer, who had died just ten years before “Carmen” was published. Fittingly, Bizet added a note to the score, declaring the original source.

“Elektra” is an opera by Richard Strauss that premiered in 1909. The work is based on Greek mythology, and is centered on Elektra, the daughter of the Greek king Agamemnon.

66 British nobles : EARLS

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

Down

1 Little lies : FIBS

To fib is to tell a lie. The verb “to fib” likely comes from “fibble-fable” meaning “nonsense”, with “fibble-fable” coming from “fable”.

2 Together, in music : A DUE

“A due” is a musical term meaning “together” that translates literally from Italian as “by two”.

5 Writer Calvino : ITALO

As well as being an author, Italo Calvino was a famous Italian journalist. He was a supporter of communism and so wasn’t very popular in the US nor in Britain.

6 Genre for Lil Uzi Vert : EMO RAP

“Lil Uzi Vert” is the stage name of rapper Symere Woods from Philadelphia.

8 One of the “Manningcast” brothers : ELI

“Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli”, also known as “Manningcast”, is an alternate, live broadcast of Monday Night Football hosted by brothers Peyton and Eli Manning. It is produced by Peyton’s production company Omaha Productions. And airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The show premiered in 2021, and In its first season averaged 1.1 million viewers, which was more than double the viewership of the traditional Monday Night Football broadcast on ABC. The Manningcast was also the most-watched program on ESPN+ in its first season.

10 Couture initials : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

“Haute couture”, literally “high dressmaking” in French, is a name given to the creation of exclusive fashions. A couturier is someone who creates or sells such fashions.

11 Lighter filler : BUTANE

Butane is a highly flammable organic gas, one that is used as a fuel for lighters, for example. Butane was discovered in 1849, and is closely related to butyric acid, a compound discovered in 1814 and from which the gas gets its name. In turn, butyric acid gets its name from “butyrum”, the Latin for butter. Butyric acid was first isolated from butter.

12 Super hot, as wing sauce : ATOMIC

There are a few stories about how Buffalo wings were first developed, most of them related to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. If you’re looking for Buffalo wings on a menu in Buffalo, you’ll note that in and around the city they’re just referred to as “wings”.

13 New Age writer Chopra : DEEPAK

Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor who is now an advocate for alternative medicine. Chopra was born in New Delhi, India and immigrated to the US in 1968. He is an advocate for mind/body spiritual healing. I have heard Chopra speak, and he really knows how to get his message across …

18 Telescope part : LENS

The first patent application for a telescope was filed in 1608 in the Netherlands, to eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey. However, research has shown that there is some evidence that telescopes were built before 1608, perhaps as early as the mid-1500s. But it is clear that reports of Lippershey’s design spread quickly around Europe. By 1609, Galileo had built his own telescope and started to explore the night sky.

23 “Frozen” snowman : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

24 Advertising award : CLIO

The Clio Awards are the Oscars of the advertising world and are named after Clio, the Greek Muse of History. Clio was also the recorder of great deeds, the proclaimer and celebrator of great accomplishments and a source of inspiration and genius. The Clio Awards were first presented in 1959.

26 Foal food : HAY

Hay is dried grass that is stored for use as animal fodder. Straw consists of the dried stalks of cereal plants, the residue left after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw can also be used as animal fodder, as well as fuel, bedding and thatch.

There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

• Foal: horse of either sex that is less than one year old
• Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
• Filly: female horse under the age of four
• Colt: male horse under the age of four
• Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
• Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
• Mare: female horse four years or older

28 Wildebeest : GNU

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch word meaning “wild beast”.

30 Land of pharaohs and pyramids : EGYPT

The nation of Egypt straddles the geographical border between Asia and Africa. That land border is the 75-mile-wide Isthmus of Suez, which is crossed by the Suez Canal. The bulk of Egyptian territory is in Africa. The part of Egypt that is in Asia is the Sinai Peninsula.

32 Horror film loc. : ELM ST

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a Wes Craven slasher-horror film that was released in 1984. As I don’t do “slasher” or “horror”, I was surprised to learn that Johnny Depp was in the movie, making his feature film debut.

35 Amanda of “Brockmire” : PEET

Actress Amanda Peet studied acting with the celebrated Uta Hagen at Columbia University. Peet has appeared in a number of successful films including “The Whole Nine Yards” and “Syriana”. I remember her best from what I thought was a great TV show (but no one seemed to agree!) called “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”.

“Brockmire” is a comedy series that ran on IFC from 2017 to 2020. The title character, played by the talented Hank Azaria, is an ex-MLB play-by-play announcer trying to resurrect his career by calling minor league games in a small town. I haven’t seen this one, but it’s on the list …

37 “The Wind in the Willows” residence : TOAD HALL

Mr. Toad is one of the main characters in the children’s novel “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. A. A. Milne (of “Winnie-the-Pooh” fame) wrote several plays based on “The Wind in the Willows”, the first of which is “Toad of Toad Hall”.

44 Pecorino __ cheese : ROMANO

“Romano” is actually an American term, and is used for a selection of hard and salty cheeses that are typically grated. One of these cheeses is the Italian Pecorino Romano, from which we get the more generic term “Romano”.

45 God of the dead, in ancient 30-Down : OSIRIS
[30D Land of pharaohs and pyramids : EGYPT]

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld. Osiris was the son of Geb the Earth god, and Nut the sky goddess. His wife Isis was also his sister. Osiris was killed and mutilated by Set, his own brother. Isis reassembled Osiris and revived him, just long enough that they could conceive their son Horus.

47 Hawaiian greetings : ALOHAS

The Hawaiian word “aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently, “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.

48 Judicial seat : BANC

“Banc” is the French word for “bench, seat”.

54 Bottom-row PC key : CTRL

The Control (CTRL) key on a PC keyboard is used to modify the function of other keys. For example, pressing CTRL+C copies a selection to the clipboard, and CTRL+V pastes the contents of the clipboard to a location defined by the cursor. Control keys were introduced on teletypewriters to generate “control characters”, which are non-printing characters that instruct a computer to do something like print a page, ring a bell etc.

55 Keystone State port : ERIE

Erie is a port city in the very north of Pennsylvania, sitting on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The city takes its name from the Erie Native American tribe that resided in the area. Erie is nicknamed the Gem City, a reference to the “sparkling” water of Lake Erie.

Visually, the thirteen original states formed an arch that stretched up much of the east coast of North America. One might imagine Pennsylvania as the keystone of that visual arch, which explains why Pennsylvania is often referred to as the Keystone State.

59 Female deer : DOE

A male deer is usually called a buck, and a female is a doe. However, the male red deer is usually referred to as a stag. The males of even larger species of deer are often called bulls, and the females called cows. In older English, male deer of over 5 years were called harts, and females of over 3 years were called hinds. The young of small species are known as fawns, and of larger species are called calves. All very confusing …

60 Clean air org. : EPA

The Clean Air Act of 1963 is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).