LA Times Crossword 5 Dec 23, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Amanda Cook
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Doesn’t Hold Water

Themed answers end with a vessel that can HOLD WATER, but the complete answers DON’T:

• 52A Isn’t credible, or a literal description of 17-, 22-, 35-, or 46-Across? : DOESN’T HOLD WATER

• 17A Sherlock Holmes costume accessory : MAGNIFYING GLASS
• 22A Means of sticking a shower caddy to a tile wall : SUCTION CUP
• 35A Support from the bullpen : RELIEF PITCHER
• 46A Annual football game in Arizona : FIESTA BOWL

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

Bill’s time: 5m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Royal elephant of children’s literature : BABAR

“Babar the Elephant” originated in France, a creation of Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. The first book was “Histoire de Babar”, a book so successful it was translated into English two years later for publication in Britain and the US. Jean de Brunhoff wrote six more Babar stories before he died in 1937, and then his son Laurent continued his father’s work.

15 Alpaca relative : LLAMA

The llama is a camelid mammal very much associated with the Andean cultures. Despite the association with South America, it is thought that the ancestors of the modern llama migrated south from the Great Plains of North America about 40 million years ago.

Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

16 Inheritance from one’s parents? : GENES

A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.

17 Sherlock Holmes costume accessory : MAGNIFYING GLASS

Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel, “A Study in Scarlet“. Amazingly, Conan Doyle wrote the novel in under three weeks, while working as a 27-year-old doctor. Mind you, he only got paid 25 pounds for all the rights to the story. I suppose it’s a good job that he only devoted a few weeks to it.

29 Paul Anka’s “__ Beso” : ESO

“Eso Beso” is Spanish for “That Kiss”, and is the title of a 1962 hit song recorded by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka.

31 Figure on the last float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade : SANTA

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City has been held every year since 1924, with a brief suspension from 1942-1944. The parade was halted during WWII as there was a need for rubber and helium to support the war effort. The 2020 parade was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so was a broadcast-only event.

32 To the left, at sea : APORT

The left side of a ship used to be called the “larboard” side, but this was dropped in favor of “port” as the pronunciation of “larboard” was easily confused with “starboard”, the right side of the vessel. The term “port” was chosen as it was customary to dock a ship, for loading in port, with the left side of the vessel against the dock.

38 Bibliography list : TITLES

Back in the 17th century, the term “bibliography” meant “the writing of books”, from the Greek “biblion” meaning “book” and “graphos” meaning “written”. The contemporary usage, describing a list of books related to a particular subject, emerged in the early 19th century.

40 “The Good Place” creator Michael : SCHUR

Producer and writer Michael Schur started his career in comedy in 1998 as a writer on “Saturday Night Live”. He went on to produce and write episodes for “The Office”, and acted in the show as well, playing Dwight’s cousin Mose. He then co-created “Parks And Recreation”, and later “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”. He is also the creator of the sitcom “The Good Place”. In 2005, Schur married J. J. Philbin, daughter of TV legend Regis Philbin.

“The Good Place” is a fantasy-comedy TV show about a woman who wakes up in the afterlife. The woman is played by Kristen Bell, and the afterlife is a heaven-like utopia designed by Michael, an immortal architect portrayed by Ted Danson. I haven’t seen this one …

42 Agcy. operating full-body scanners : TSA

A millimeter wave (mmw) scanner is an imaging device typically used to screen whole bodies. The full body scanners that we encounter at airports are often millimeter wave scanners. These devices use non-ionizing radiation in the microwave range. The range of wavelengths falls between 1 mm and 10 mm, hence the name “millimeter wave”.

46 Annual football game in Arizona : FIESTA BOWL

The Fiesta Bowl is a college football bowl game played every year at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona.

51 Dubbed : NAMED

Kneel, and a monarch might “dub thee a knight” if you’re lucky. “Dub” is a specific term derived from Old English that was used to mean “make a knight”. As the knight was also given a knightly name at the same time, “dub” came to mean “give someone a name”.

57 Muse of poetry : ERATO

In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.

58 Supreme Court justice Kagan : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

59 Nail polish brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

61 Weather forecast aid : RADAR

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

62 Web portal with Bing : MSN

Bing is the search engine from Microsoft. “Bing” is the latest name for an engine that Microsoft used to call Live Search, Windows Live Search and MSN Search.

Down

2 Ice planet beyond Saturn : URANUS

One of the unique features of the planet Uranus is that its north and south poles lie where most other planets have their equators. That means that Uranus’ axis of rotation is almost in its solar orbit.

3 Realismo __: Isabel Allende genre : MAGICO

Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer, and the world’s most widely-read, Spanish-language author. Isabel is related to Salvador Allende, the ex-President of Chile.

4 Russian pancakes : BLINI

A blintz (also “blintze” and “blin”, plural “blini”) is a thin pancake similar to a crêpe, although unlike a crêpe, a blintz may contain yeast.

5 Melmac native of 1980s TV : ALF

“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.

6 __ leaf: stew herb : BAY

The seasoning known as bay leaf is the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel tree or shrub. Fresh bay leaves aren’t very flavorful and need to be dried and aged a few weeks before use in the kitchen.

7 Bordeaux beau : AMI

Bordeaux is perhaps the wine-production capital of the world. Wine has been produced in the area since the eighth century. Bordeaux has an administrative history too. During WWII, the French government relocated from Paris to the port city of Bordeaux when it became clear that Paris was soon to fall to the Germans. After the Germans took France, the capital was famously moved to Vichy.

9 Fleece-lined boots : UGGS

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

12 “__ Misérables” : LES

The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London many years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor who had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.

18 “__ my cup of tea” : NOT

Back in the late 1800s, something that one really liked was “my cup of tea”. By the 1900s, the negative “not my cup of tea” was the more prevalent form of the idiom. I admit, I tend to overuse “not my cup of tea” …

19 Athleta parent company : GAP

The Gap is a San Francisco-based clothing retailer that was founded in 1969. The name “the Gap” was a homage to the popular sixties term “the generation gap”.

23 Orchestral reeds : OBOES

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

24 Tank the efficacy of, in gamer slang : NERF

In the world of game design, creators strive for game balance. This balance between difficulty and fairness is aimed at improving the user experience. Buffing is the practice of increasing the utility of items and elements available to the player. The opposite is nerfing, reducing utility.

25 Arched-back yoga asana : CAT POSE

The yoga pose called bidalasana is also referred to as the cat pose. The practitioner usually kneels on all fours, and arches the back. The counterpose, with the back lowered, is the cow pose.

27 Risotto recipe verb : STIR

Risotto is an Italian rice dish that is usually served as a first course in Italy, but as a main course here in North America.

28 Khaki kin : TAN

“Khaki” is an Urdu word that translates literally as “dusty”. The word was adopted for its current use as the name of a fabric by the British cavalry in India in the mid-1800s.

35 Novelist Riordan : RICK

Author Rick Riordan is best known for his “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series of fantasy novels, some of which have been adapted into movies.

36 Light and delicate : ETHEREAL

The Greek philosopher Empedocles proposed that there are four elements that made up the universe, namely earth, water, air and fire. Aristotle later proposed a fifth element which he called aether (also “ether”). Aether was the divine substance that made up the stars and planets. We’re still using the term “ether” with a similar meaning.

38 “The Waste Land” poet’s monogram : TSE

T. S. Eliot (TSE) wrote his poem called “The Waste Land” in 1922. “The Waste Land” opens with the famous line, “April is the cruellest month …”

42 Narrow-headed drum : TOM-TOM

A tom-tom is a drum without snares. The name “tom-tom” came from the Hindi name “tam-tam”, which in turn was likely imitative of the sound made by the instrument.

44 Astronaut Buzz who was the second man on the moon : ALDRIN

Buzz Aldrin was a true American hero, I’d say. He flew 66 combat missions in Korea, shot down two MiGs, earned his Sc. D. degree from MIT, and was one of the two men who landed on the moon for the first time. Now that man, he lived a life worth living.

47 Peace Nobelist Sadat : ANWAR

Anwar Sadat was the third President of Egypt right up to the time of his assassination in 1981. Sadat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, for the role played in crafting the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1978 at Camp David. It was this agreement that largely led to Sadat’s assassination three years later.

53 URL ending for charities : ORG

The .org domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

• .com (commercial enterprise)
• .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
• .mil (US military)
• .org (not-for-profit organization)
• .gov (US federal government entity)
• .edu (college-level educational institution)

54 Suffix with pay or Cray : -OLA

Payola is the illegal practice of paying radio stations or disk jockeys to repeatedly play a particular piece of music. The impetus behind the crime is that the more often a song is played, the more likely it is to sell. The term “payola” comes from the words “pay” and “Victrola”, an RCA brand name for an early phonograph.

In the year 2000, the Crayola company held the “Crayola Color Census 2000”, in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.