LA Times Crossword 14 Feb 24, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Margi Stevenson & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Happy Valentine’s Day!

Themed answers are pet names one might use for one’s valentine, but reinterpreted with reference to specific professionals:

• 17A Beekeeper’s valentine? : HONEYBUNCH
• 25A Juice barista’s valentine? : MAIN SQUEEZE
• 37A Optometrist’s valentine? : GOOD-LOOKING
• 52A Aesthetician’s valentine? : SWEET CHEEKS
• 61A Baker’s valentine? : STUD MUFFIN

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

Bill’s time: 5m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Plot points? : BEDS

Those might be flower beds.

9 Horse breed native to the Middle East and North Africa : ARAB

The Arab (also “Arabian”) breed of horse takes its name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. Like any animal that humans have over-bred, the horse falls prey to genetic diseases, some of which are fatal and some of which require the horse to be euthanized.

13 In a frenzy : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

14 Desert succulents : ALOES

Succulent plants are those with thickened stems and/or leaves that have evolved to retain water. As such, succulents are often found where the climate is particularly dry. The term “succulent” comes from the Latin “sucus” meaning “juice, sap”.

17 Beekeeper’s valentine? : HONEYBUNCH

Honeybees create a structure within their nests called a honeycomb that is used to contain their larvae and also to store honey and pollen. The honeycomb comprises hexagonal cells made from wax.

19 Chaucer chapter : TALE

“The Canterbury Tales” is a collection of stories penned by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. Written in MIddle English, the tales are presented as a storytelling contest held by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. “The Canterbury Tales” is often cited as a landmark piece of English literature as it popularized the use of vernacular English, as opposed to the French or Latin works that were commonly published up to that time.

21 Meditation retreat : ASHRAM

“Ashram” is a term used in the Hindu tradition to describe a place of spiritual retreat, one that is typically located in a remote location conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation.

23 “Karma is a __ / Purring in my lap ’cause it loves me”: Taylor Swift lyric : CAT

“Karma” is a 2023 single co-written and released by Taylor Swift. Swift also released a remix of the song with rapper Ice Spice. The music video for the song features the remix version, with both Swift and Ice Spice appearing. Ice Spice is the first female rapper to collaborate on a song with Swift.

25 Juice barista’s valentine? : MAIN SQUEEZE

A barista is a person who serves coffee in a coffee shop. “Barista” is Italian for “bartender”.

30 Yokohama drama : NOH

Noh is a form of musical drama in Japan that has been around since the 14th century. Many of the Noh performers are masked, allowing all the roles to be played by men, including the female parts.

Yokohama is the second-most populous city in Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, and is just a 40-minute drive from the nation’s capital.

31 Consumer advocate Ralph : NADER

Ralph Nader has run as a third-party candidate for the office of President of the United States four times now, in every election from 1996 to 2008. Nader’s name was first linked with the presidential race in 1971, when the famous Dr. Benjamin Spock offered to stand aside as a candidate in the 1972 race if Nader would agree to run, but he declined.

37 Optometrist’s valentine? : GOOD-LOOKING

Starting in the mid-1700s, a device known as an optometer was used for measuring prescriptions for eyeglasses. Over time, a professional using an optometer came to be known as an optometrist.

41 Yemeni port : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

45 Packs in, as coffee : TAMPS

To tamp is to pack down tightly by tapping. “Tamp” was originally used specifically to describe the action of packing down sand or dirt around an explosive prior to detonation.

51 Nursery rhyme vessel : PAIL

The “Jack and Jill” nursery rhyme dates back at least to the 1700s:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

58 Vegas lights : NEONS

The Neon Museum in Las Vegas opened in 1996 and features many old signs from the heyday of the Las Vegas Strip. Much of the museum is a “boneyard”, housing about 150 signs on 6 acres of land.

60 Monopoly payment : RENT

The commercial game of Monopoly is supposedly a remake of “The Landlord’s Game” created in 1903 by a Quaker woman named Lizzie Phillips. Phillips used her game as a tool to explain the single tax theory of American economist Henry George. The Landlord’s Game was first produced commercially in 1924. The incredibly successful derivative game called Monopoly was introduced in 1933 by Charles Darrow, who became a very rich man when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game just two years later in 1935.

67 “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” writer : AESOP

“The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” is a fable attributed to the Greek storyteller Aesop. The town mouse is a cousin of the country mouse, and visits the latter’s rural home. The former looks down on the bucolic lifestyle, and invites the country mouse to his home in town. While enjoying a fine meal, the two mice are forced to flee from a cat. The town mouse shares that the cat had killed his parents. The country mouse heads home, to the safety of the country, happy to eschew the opulence of town life.

Down

1 “A Christmas Carol” cry : BAH!

The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to popular use of the phrase “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” to describe a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Ebenezer Scrooge uttered the words “Bah! Humbug!”.

5 Braided bread often filled with chocolate or cinnamon : BABKA

Babka is a sweet yeast cake that can also be called bobka or baba. Babka originated in Eastern Europe and is served traditionally on Easter Sunday, and with a drizzle of rum syrup.

9 Tennis and golf legend Gibson : ALTHEA

Althea Gibson was known as “the Jackie Robinson of tennis” as she broke the “color barrier” and became the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title, in France in 1956. She was quite the athlete and was a great golfer as well as a great tennis player. She was the first African-American woman to play in the Ladies PGA tour, although she never had a win. Outside of sport, she sang a little and recorded an album, and even appeared in a movie (“The Horse Soldiers”) with John Wayne and William Holden. Sadly, towards the end of her life she ended up destitute and on welfare. When her plight was made known in a tennis magazine, well-wishers from all over the world sent her gifts of money, a total of nearly one million dollars. Quite a story …

12 Pricey German wheels, informally : BEEMER

A BMW automobile might be referred to, informally, as a beemer.

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

15 “Inside the NBA” analyst, familiarly : SHAQ

“Inside the NBA” is a postgame show that airs on TNT. The list of regulars on the show includes ex-players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.

18 Thanksgiving vegetable : YAM

Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the world than they are in this country, and are especially common in Africa.

23 “Survivor” network : CBS

The reality show “Survivor” is based on a Swedish television series created in 1997 called “Expedition Robinson”. The American “Survivor” is widely considered as the leading reality TV show. It was the first highly-rated reality TV offering to become very profitable.

24 “__ we having fun yet?” : ARE

Yes …

38 Two-time Emmy winner Remini : LEAH

Leah Remini is an actress and comedian who is best known for playing Carrie Heffernan on the sitcom “The King of Queens”. More recently, in 2013, Remini competed on “Dancing with the Stars”. After that, Remini appeared as a guest co-host on the show several times. Famously, Remini was a member of the Church of Scientology, and left the organization in 2013. Since leaving, Remini has been very vocal in her criticism of the practices and policies of the church.

45 Sandal style : T-STRAP

A t-strap is a t-shaped strap that is part of many women’s shoes. The strap is in two parts, with one part going across the ankle, and the other lying along the length of the foot on top.

50 Connective tissue : TENDON

Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscles to bones. They are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle.

54 Well-groomed : KEMPT

The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.

55 Trifling sum : SOU

A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “practically worthless amount”.

59 Crypto artworks, for short : NFTS

Non-fungible token (NFT). I admit it; I don’t understand NFTs (or the related cryptocurrencies).

64 “Go-To Dinners” cookbook writer Garten : INA

Ina Garten is an author as well as the host of a cooking show on the Food Network called “Barefoot Contessa”. She is a mentee of Martha Stewart, and indeed was touted as a potential “successor” to the TV celebrity when Stewart was incarcerated in 2004 after an insider trading scandal. Garten has no formal training as a chef, and indeed used to work as a nuclear policy analyst at the White House!