LA Times Crossword 15 Feb 24, Thursday

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Constructed by: Billy Ouska
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Change of Fortune

Themed answers each include the letter string “FORTUNE”, but with the order of the letters CHANGED:

• 60A Reversal in luck, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues : CHANGE OF FORTUNE

17A *Critical juncture : POINT OF NO RETURN

27A *Record : CAPTURE ON FILM

46A *Online discussion site : INTERNET FORUM

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

Bill’s time: 6m 24s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Surge of adrenaline : RUSH

The naturally occurring hormone adrenaline is also known as epinephrine. It takes its name from the adrenal glands that produce the hormone. The glands themselves take their name from their location in the body, right on the kidneys (“ad-renes” meaning “near or at the kidneys” in Latin). The alternative name of epinephrine has a similar root (“epi-nephros” meaning “upon the kidney” in Greek).

5 Regent’s order : EDICT

A regent is someone appointed to govern a monarchy temporarily, usually because the monarch is underage or incapacitated. One famous example was King George IV, who served as prince regent for his father King George III, who suffered from worsening mental health problems. The Prince Regent governed from 1811 until 1820, when his father eventually passed and he ascended to the throne as King George IV. That nine-year period is central to what is now termed “the Regency Era”.

10 Mil. branch with wings : USAF

The US Air Force (USAF) is the youngest of the seven uniformed services in this country, having been formed in 1947. Today’s USAF was preceded by:

• Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps (1907-1914)
• Aviation Section, Signal Corps (1914-1918)
• Division of Military Aeronautics (1918)
• US Army Air Service (1918-1926)
• US Army Air Corps (1926-1941)
• US Army Air Forces (1941-1947)

14 Tactical political research, for short : OPPO

In the world of politics, “oppo” is “opposition research”. The idea is to collect information on one’s opponent that can be used against him or her.

15 Birthplace of pesto : GENOA

Pesto sauce is more completely called “pesto alla genovese”, i.e. pesto from Genoa. A traditional recipe calls for crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Yum …

17 *Critical juncture : POINT OF NO RETURN

The point of no return is a critical point when it’s not possible to turn back. The phrase originated with aircraft, when it designated that point in a flight at which there was insufficient fuel to return to the starting location.

33 Kitchen scale button : TARE

Tare is the weight of a container that is deducted from the gross weight to determine the net weight, the weight of the container’s contents.

34 Frangipani garlands : LEIS

The plumeria genus of plants has the common name “frangipani”. The genus is named after French botanist Charles Plumier. The common name comes from an Italian noble family with roots in ancient Rome. Various species of plumeria are commonly used for making leis in several Pacific islands.

38 Longtime “One Life to Live” actress Renée __ Goldsberry : ELISE

Renée Elise Goldsberry is an actress and singer who is best known to me for playing the attorney Geneva Pine on the TV show “The Good Wife”. Goldsberry also originated the role of Angelica Schuyler Church in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton”.

“One Life to Live” is a soap opera that aired on ABC for over 43 years, from 1968 until it was removed from the television lineup in 2012. There was an attempt to resurrect that show as a web series in 2013, but recording ceased after just a handful of episodes.

42 Mantis quintet : EYES

The term “praying mantis” is often used for species of insects more correctly called simply “mantises”. The familiar term refers to the prayer-like posture adopted by the insect with their forelimbs folded. Strangely, the praying mantis is the only animal that we know with only one ear. That ear is located deep in the thorax or chest.

52 Tres menos dos : UNO

In Spanish, “tres menos dos” (three minus two) is “uno” (one).

56 Isaac of “Dune” : OSCAR

Oscar Isaac is an actor from Guatemala who was raised in Miami. Before acting, Isaac played lead guitar in his own band called the Blinking Underdogs. Isaac portrayed X-wing pilot Poe Dameron in several of the “Star Wars” movies.

2021’s epic film “Dune” is the first of a two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name. The version of “Dune” did a lot better than the 1984 big-screen adaptation of the same novel, which really flopped at the box office.

68 Half of all blackjacks : ACES

The card game known as “twenty-one” was first referred to in print in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “veintiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

69 Did half of a biathlon : SKIED

A biathlon is an event requiring expertise in two sporting disciplines. The most common biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. This traditional biathlon was born out of an exercise for Norwegian soldiers.

70 “Seasons of Love” musical : RENT

“Seasons of Love” is a song from the musical “Rent” that starts out with the line “Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes”. That’s the number of minutes in a year.

Down

3 Doner kebab rod : SPIT

The dish known as “doner kebab” comes from Turkish cuisine. It features stacks of seasoned meat roasted on a vertical rotisserie that are sliced off in thin layers as the outside cooks. The concept of using a vertical spit emerged in the mid-1800s. It was in the mid-1900s that doner kebab became a popular fast food.

7 Airbnb alternative : INN

Airbnb is a website-based service that matches people wanting to rent out short-term living quarters to people seeking accommodation. The company was founded in 2008 as AirBed & Breakfast. The original concept was renting out an “air bed” and providing “breakfast” to someone looking for cheap, temporary accommodation. That’s right; the “Air” in “Airbnb” has nothing to do with “air” travel …

12 Heart duo : ATRIA

The heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers (the atria) accept deoxygenated blood from the body and oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atria squeeze those blood supplies into the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles), “priming” the pump, as it were. One ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the other pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

13 Rihanna’s fashion brand : FENTY

Singer Rihanna was born and grew up on the island of Barbados and moved to the US when she was 16-years-old to pursue a singing career. “Rihanna” is her stage name, as she was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The name “Rihanna” is derived from the Welsh name “Rhiannon”. And, Rihanna sometimes goes by the nickname “RiRi”, which is also the name of her line of beauty products.

18 Slangy britches : TROU

Strictly speaking, breeches (sometimes “britches”) are a clothing item like trousers that cover the body from waist to just below the knee. We also use “breeches” as a slang term meaning “pants”.

19 “Inbox zero” killer : EMAIL

“Inbox zero” is a rigorous approach to handling emails that was developed by productivity expert Merlin Mann. Mann touts his approach to inbox management as “how to reclaim your email, your attention, and your life”.

23 Collezione della galleria : ARTE

In Italian, “arte” (art) is part of a “collezione della galleria” (gallery collection).

25 Top rank in a tournament : ONE-SEED

A seeded player or team in a tournament is one given a preliminary ranking that is used in the initial draw. The intention is that the better competitors are less likely to meet each other in the early rounds.

27 __ franc : CAB

The Cabernet Franc is a grape used in wine production. It generally produces a lighter, paler wine than Cabernet Sauvignon. Most Cabernet Franc grapes are used to blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to make wines in the Bordeaux style. DNA testing in recent years has shown that Cabernet Franc was crossed with Sauvignon Blanc to produce the Cabernet Sauvignon variety.

28 Plant with lace and soap varieties : ALOE

Lace aloe isn’t actually an aloe, and was classified into its own genus in recent years. It is also known as guinea-fowl aloe, and Aristaloe aristata is the only species in the Aristaloe genus.

Soap aloe (also “zebra aloe”) is an aloe that is native to Southern Africa. There it is known as “lekhala” in Sesotho and “Bobtaalwyn” in Afrikaans. The name “soap aloe” arose as the plant’s sap makes a soapy lather when mixed with water.

29 Qualifying contest, perhaps : PLAY-IN GAME

Play-in games take place at the beginning of a tournament. Participants have not previously qualified, and must win games in order to “play in” (qualify) for the main tournament.

30 Star-studded hunter : ORION

According to Greek mythology, Orion was a giant hunter who was placed in the night sky by Zeus, the king of the gods. Orion is very recognizable as a constellation, especially with the three bright stars known as “Orion’s Belt”. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is said to be Orion’s hunting dog, and this star sits at Orion’s “foot”.

31 Name sewn onto some jeans pockets : LEE

The Lee company that is famous for making jeans was formed in 1889 by one Henry David Lee in Salina, Kansas.

35 In __: unmoved : SITU

“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”, and we use the term to mean “in the original position”.

37 Number of Canadian provinces : TEN

Here is a list of the ten Canadian provinces, along with the accepted abbreviations for the province names:

• AB – Alberta
• BC – British Columbia
• MB – Manitoba
• NB – New Brunswick
• NL – Newfoundland and Labrador
• NS – Nova Scotia
• ON – Ontario
• PE – Prince Edward Island
• QC – Quebec
• SK – Saskatchewan

41 Edinburgh topper : TAM

A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap worn traditionally by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’ Shanter”. A pom-pom adorning a tam is known as a toorie.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and a really beautiful city. In days gone by, it might not have been quite so charming. Like many cities, plumes of smoke hung over Edinburgh when coal and wood fires weren’t regulated. To this day, the city has the nickname “Auld Reekie”, Scots for “Old Smoky”.

43 Wounded by a jellyfish : STUNG

Jellyfish are found all over the ocean, right across the whole planet. They have been around for 500-700 million years, and so are the oldest multi-organ animal extant.

47 Marx collaborator : ENGELS

Friedrich Engels was a German political theorist who worked closely with Karl Marx to develop what became known as Marxist Theory. Along with Marx, he also co-authored the “Communist Manifesto” in 1848, and later he supported Marx as he worked to publish “Das Kapital”.

48 __ de Mayo: Christmas orchid : FLOR

The Christmas orchid is endemic to Colombia, and was designated that nation’s national flower in 1936. It also goes by the Spanish name “flor de mayo”, meaning “May flower”.

49 Raw bar offering : OYSTER

Almost all of the shellfish consumed at a raw bar is not only uncooked, it is also still alive.

50 Muslim holy site : MECCA

Mecca is in the Makkah province of Saudi Arabia. It was the birthplace of Muhammad and is the holiest city in Islam. Every year, several million Muslims perform the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

51 __ committee : AD HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

55 Spanish model Sastre : INES

Inés Sastre is a supermodel and actress from Spain. She is a smart cookie, having studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and speaking French, English and Italian, as well as her native Spanish.

61 Tree on the Connecticut quarter : OAK

The oak depicted on the Connecticut quarter is the Charter Oak. The tree earned its name from the legend that the original Royal Charter for the colony was hidden in a cavity of the tree for a while. The tree no longer exists, as it went down in a storm in the early 1800s.

62 CBS crime drama : FBI

The TV crime drama “FBI” premiered in 2018, and centers on the FBI office in New York City. Star of the show is Canadian actress Missy Peregrym, who plays FBI special agent Maggie Bell.