LA Times Crossword 10 Mar 24, Sunday

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Constructed by: Brian Thomas & Kate Chin Park
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Con Test

Themed clues are words starting with CON-, but parsed so that the “CON” appears as a separate word. Themed answers interpret the “CON” as an abbreviation for “CONVENTION”, one for enthusiasts of sci-fi and fantasy:

  • 22A Con current? : AIR OF EXCITEMENT
  • 33A Con tour? : MEET AND GREET
  • 37A Con quest? : AUTOGRAPH
  • 54A Con sorts? : COSPLAYERS
  • 68A Con note? : I LOVE YOUR WORK
  • 86A Con text? : FAN FICTION
  • 101A Con figure? : MOVIE STAR
  • 103A Con script? : GROUP READING
  • 119A Con form? : CARDBOARD CUTOUT

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

Bill’s time: 17m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Handy smartphone app for a tourist : GPS

The modern Global Positioning System (GPS) system that we use today was built by the US military who received the massive funding needed because of fears during the Cold War of the use of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. We civilians, all round the world, owe a lot to President Ronald Reagan because he directed the military to make GPS technology available to the public for the common good. President Reagan was moved to do so after the Soviet Union shot down KAL flight 007 carrying 269 people, just because the plane strayed accidentally into Soviet airspace.

9 Ijeoma Oluo’s “So You Want To Talk About __” : RACE

“So You Want to Talk About Race” is a 2018 book by Ijeoma Oluo in which she explores race in the US today. She also offers advice on how to talk about the issues surrounding race. Soon after publication, “So You Want to Talk About Race” made it onto the New York Times Best Seller List, but just for one week. After the murder of George Floyd in 20200, the book re-entered the list, and stayed there for a lot more than a week.

18 Make a big fuss : RAISE CAIN

As Cain was the first murderer according to the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

20 Auburn, to Alabama : RIVAL

The athletic teams of the University of Alabama (“Bama”) are nicknamed the Crimson Tide, which is a reference to the team colors of crimson and white.

Auburn University in Alabama was chartered in 1856 as the East Alabama Male College. The school was renamed when it was granted university status in 1960. Auburn’s sports teams are known as the Tigers, for which supporters use the battle cry “War Eagle!”

21 Skerry, e.g. : ISLET

A skerry is a small, rocky island, with the term “skerry” coming from the Old Norse word “sker” meaning “rock in the sea”. It’s a term that I’m familiar with as the Skerries are a group of rocky islands off the north coast of Ireland. I also used to visit the coastal town of Skerries north of Dublin a lot. It was named for several “skerries” nearby that lie just offshore.

24 Bradbury genre : SCI-FI

Author Ray Bradbury was best known for his speculative fiction works, including “Fahrenheit 451”, “The Martian Chronicles” and “The Illustrated Man”. Bradbury earned his first payment as a writer when he was just 14 years old. That was when he was hired by comedian George Burns to write for the “Burns and Allen” show.

25 Brotherly sort : FRIAR

The term “monk” tends to be used to describe a male member of a religious order. More correctly, the term is limited to members of a community of men that lives a contemplative life apart from the world. The related term “friar” also applies to male members of a religious community, but friars work with the community at large.

26 Blackpink genre : K-POP

Blackpink is a girl group from South Korea that was formed in 2016. By all accounts, Blackpink has gained more international success than any other female Korean act.

27 December quaff : NOG

“Quaff” is both a verb and a noun. One “quaffs” (takes a hearty drink) of a “quaff” (a hearty drink).

29 River near Shakespeare’s birthplace : AVON

There are actually four rivers called the Avon in England, but “Shakespeare’s Avon” lies mainly in Warwickshire, and so is sometimes known as the Warwickshire Avon. The name “Avon” comes from the Old English word “abona” meaning “river”. Stratford-upon-Avon was the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Stratford-upon-Avon is a town in the county of Warwickshire in the English midlands. Most famously perhaps, it was the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

30 Argentine grassland : PAMPA

The pampas are fertile lowlands covering a large part of Argentina, Uruguay and some of Brazil. “Pampa” is a Quechua word meaning “plain”.

42 Squeaky toy? : POM

The Pomeranian is a small breed of dog named for the Pomerania region of Europe (part of eastern Germany and northern Poland). The breed was much loved by the royalty of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria owned a particularly small Pomeranian. Due to the notoriety of the monarch’s pet, the Pomeranian was bred for small size, so that during the Queen’s admittedly long reign, the size of the average “pom” was reduced by 50% …

44 “Star Trek: TNG” counselor Deanna : TROI

Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

45 Leg bone : TIBIA

The tibia is the shinbone, and is the larger of the two bones right below the knee. It is the strongest weight-bearing bone in the human body. “Tibia” is the Roman name for a Greek flute and it is thought that the shinbone was given the same name because flutes were often fashioned out of the shinbones of animals.

47 System connecting OAK and SFO : BART

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a commuter rail system serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

The San Francisco Bay Area is served by three major airports: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).

50 Patella spots : KNEES

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

54 Con sorts? : COSPLAYERS

Cosplay (costume play)

59 Aristotle’s teacher : PLATO

Plato was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was a student of the equally famous and respected Socrates, and Plato in turn was the teacher and mentor of the celebrated Aristotle.

61 Fictional Amelia who, when asked to remove spots from a dress, cut out all the polka dots : BEDELIA

The “Amelia Bedelia” series of children’s books was written by Peggy Parish until she passed away in 1988. Her nephew, Herman Parish took over and has been writing them since 1995. The Amelia character is based on a maid in Cameroon where Parish had lived during her formative years.

62 Maui’s Road to __ : HANA

If you visit the island of Maui, a trip to the Haleakala National Park is a must. One section of the park features the spectacular Haleakala Crater, where you would swear you are on the moon. The second part of the park is the Kipahulu section, which features the very picturesque pools accessed along the Road to Hana. When we visited (quite a few years ago), the Road to Hana was a tad undeveloped and rental car companies would not allow you to drive their cars there. Funnily enough, the only cars you’d meet on the Road to Hana were rental cars …

63 Iranian money : RIAL

The rial is the currency of Iran (as well as Yemen, Oman and Tunisia). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in one rial.

66 “Black-ish” dad : DRE

“Black-ish” is a sitcom starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered in 2014. The lead actors play Dre and Rainbow Johnson, a married couple leading an upper-middle class black family. The show is noted for tackling tough issues such as racism, police brutality, attitudes toward the LGBT community, and the 2016 US presidential election.

73 Tic-tac-toe side : XES

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

76 Freedom Rider’s ride : BUS

The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern US in the sixties to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. The Freedom Riders were met with violence and arrests throughout their journey. In Anniston, Alabama, a mob of white supremacists firebombed a bus carrying Freedom Riders. In Birmingham, Alabama, police arrested Freedom Riders who refused to give up their seats to white passengers. In Jackson, Mississippi, Freedom Riders were held in jail for weeks without bail.

86 Con text? : FAN FICTION

Fan fiction (also “fanfic”) is fiction created by fans of an original work that uses characters from that original work.

88 Half of quatorze : SEPT

In French, “deux” (two) goes into “quatorze” (fourteen) “sept” (seven) times.

92 Toss, slangily : YEET

In contemporary slang, to yeet is to throw away, discard. “To yeet” usually implies the use of force and a general disregard for what is being discarded. As in, “I really want to yeet the word ‘yeet’ …”

97 “Aida” river : NILE

“Aida” is a celebrated opera by Giuseppe Verdi that is based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Mariette also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first staged in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline, Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radamès is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then complications arise!

98 Classic film about a football-kicking mule : GUS

“Gus” is a 1976 comedy movie from Disney. The title character is a mule that plays football. Alongside “Gus” are the actors Ed Asner, Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Dick Van Patten and Bob Crane. Also making appearances are NFL quarterback Johnny Unitas (playing himself) and sports commentator Dick Butkis.

100 Swing about : SLUE

To slue (also “slew) is to turn sharply, or to rotate on an axis.

109 Capital of Italia : ROMA

According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born, perhaps instead of “Reme”!

113 Saint-Saëns’s “__ Macabre” : DANSE

“Danse macabre” is an 1874 tone poem by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The title refers to a symbolic dance that dates back to late-medieval times. Known in English as “Dance of Death”, it features the devil in the form of a skeleton, leading people or other skeletons to their graves.

Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the great French composers, in my humble opinion. He composed during the Romantic Era, and it was he who introduced the symphonic poem to France. Even Saint-Saëns’ light and airy “The Carnival of the Animals” is a lovely work. The most famous movement in “The Carnival …” is the beautiful “The Swan”, which is traditionally played by a solo cello accompanied by two pianos.

125 Asteroids publisher : ATARI

I remember being quite addicted to the Atari video arcade game called Asteroids back in the early eighties. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as Asteroids was Atari’s best selling game of all time.

129 “Divine Comedy” poet : DANTE

Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” is an epic poem dating back to the 14th century. The first part of that epic is “Inferno”, which is the Italian word for “Hell”. In the poem, Dante is led on a journey by the poet Virgil, starting at the gates of Hell on which are written the famous words “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”.

Down

1 Tennis great Steffi : GRAF

Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, which was more than any other man or woman until Serena Williams came along. Graf is married to another former World No. 1, namely Andre Agassi.

3 iPhone speaker : SIRI

Siri is a software application that works with Apple’s iOS operating system. “Siri” is an acronym standing for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Voice-over artist Susan Bennett revealed herself as the female American voice of Siri a few years ago. The British version of Siri is called Daniel, and the Australian version is called Karen. Also, “Siri” is a Norwegian name meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory”, and was the name the developer had chosen for his first child.

4 Reorganize a hard drive, familiarly : DEFRAG

Defragmentation is the process by which data on a mass storage device is physically rearranged into the minimum number of contiguous regions.

5 Cocktail sphere : ICE

Our word “cocktail” first appeared in the early 1800s. The exact origin of the term is not clear, but it is thought to be a corruption of the French word “coquetier” meaning “egg cup”, a container that was used at that time for serving mixed drinks.

6 “Yakety __”: horn-heavy novelty hit : SAX

I bet a lot of us know this tune, but may not recognize the title. “Yakety Sax” is often used to accompany funny chase scenes, most famously on the British television series “The Benny Hill Show“.

7 Algonquian-speaking people : KICKAPOO

The Kickapoo are an Algonquin-speaking Native-American people who originated in an area to the south of the Great Lakes. Today, there are three recognized Kickapoo Tribes: The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, and the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma.

10 Letters after Madison or before Maria : AVE

Madison Avenue became the center of advertising in the US in the twenties, and serves as the backdrop to the great TV drama “Mad Men”. There aren’t many advertising agencies left on Madison Avenue these days though, as most have moved to other parts of New York City. The street takes its name from Madison Square, which is bounded on one side by Madison Avenue. The square in turn takes its name from James Madison, the fourth President of the United States.

“Ave Maria” (“Hail Mary” in English) is the prayer at the core of the Roman Catholic Rosary, which itself is a set of prayers asking for the assistance of the Virgin Mary. Much of the text of the “”Hail Mary”” comes from the Gospel of Luke. The words in Latin are:

AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

The prayer has been adapted as a hymn. The two most famous musical versions of “Ave Maria” are by Charles Gounod (based on a piece by Bach) and by Franz Schubert.”

11 Source of hemp : CANNABIS

Hemp, also known as “cannabis”, is a hardy, fast-growing plant that has many uses mainly due to the strength of the fibers in the plant’s stalks. Hemp is used to make rope, paper and textiles. The term “hemp” is sometimes reserved for varieties of the plant grown for non-drug use.

12 John who completed an EGOT in 2024 : ELTON

Singer and musician Elton John joined the hallowed club of EGOT winners in 2024. He had already won five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and finally an Emmy (for the documentary “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”).

14 Name on a Wienermobile : OSCAR MAYER

The Oscar Mayer brand of meats was named for a German immigrant named Oscar F. Mayer who sold German sausages in the Chicago area in the late 1800s. The Oscar Mayer company has a famous vehicle called the Wienermobile that it has used in promotions for over 70 years.

15 Tapenade fruit : OLIVE

The dish known as tapenade is traditionally made from olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. The name comes from the Provençal word for capers, i.e. “tapenas”.

16 Crusoe’s creator : DEFOE

Daniel Defoe is most famous today as the author of the novels “Robinson Crusoe” and “Moll Flanders”. He was also a trader … and a spy for King William III!

“Robinson Crusoe” is a novel written by Daniel Defoe and published in 1719. It is widely considered to be the first English novel. Before “Robinson Crusoe”, most works of fiction were written in verse or drama, but Defoe’s novel was written in prose and followed a narrative structure that would become standard for the novel genre.

20 Two bars and two dots, on a staff : REPEAT

The sets of five horizontal lines and four spaces that are used in musical notation are known as staves. The singular of “staves” is “staff” in American English, but “stave” in British English.

23 Actor Hardy : TOM

Tom Hardy is an actor from London. His big break as an actor came when he won the part of US Army Private John Janovec in the outstanding miniseries “Band of Brothers”.

28 Macroeconomics abbr. : GDP

A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

Macroeconomics is the study of economies as a whole, rather than of individual markets. Microeconomics is focused on the actions of individual entities like companies or individuals, and how these actions impact specific markets.

31 Actor born Laurence Tureaud : MR T

Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

35 Hasbro’s “game of unspeakable fun” : TABOO

Taboo is a guessing game that was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1989. Players must encourage their teammates to guess a word on a card, without using that word or related words defined on the card. It’s a fun game that’s played regularly around here …

37 “Cathy” cry : ACK!

“Cathy” is a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. The strip was largely based on Guisewite’s own life experiences. For decades, cartoon Cathy was a single woman dealing with food, love, family and work. Cathy married her longtime boyfriend Irving in 2005, and the strip ended its run in 2010 with the revelation that Cathy was expecting a baby girl.

39 Follow the rules : TOE THE LINE

The idiomatic expression “to toe the line” means “to obey”. The etymology of the phrase is disputed, although it is likely to come from the Royal Navy. Barefooted sailors were required to stand to attention for inspection lined up along the seams for the wooden deck, hence “toeing the line”.

40 1960s nonconformist : HIPPIE

The term “hip” is a slang term that was used in the 1930s and 1940s to mean “cool, informed about the latest ideas and styles”. By the end of the 1940s, “hipsters” were “hip” people, jazz aficionados, and people who adopted the perceived lifestyle of jazz musicians of the day. In the 1960s, the term “hippie” developed from “hipster”, to describe a member of the youth counterculture that emerged in the US.

46 HS exam with a cellular energetics section : AP BIO

Cellular energetics, as the name suggests, is the study of energy in cells, its production, distribution and use. A major focus is the biochemistry of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the organic molecule that provides energy to support many of the processes in living cells.

48 Dadcore jeans specification : RELAXED FIT

Oh yeah …

51 Olympic gold medalist Lee : SUNI

Suni Lee is an American gymnast who won the women’s artistic individual all-around event at the 2020 Olympics. A few weeks after her victory in Tokyo, Lee competed in the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars”, finishing in 5th place.

56 Spunk : SASS

We’ve been using the word “spunk” to mean “pluck, courage” since the late 1700s. Prior to that, it was a Scottish word meaning “spark” that we had absorbed into English.

58 Many an Argentine red : MALBEC

Malbec is a red wine grape that used to be mainly associated with Bordeaux. A frost killed off much of the crop in Bordeaux in the fifties, and today Malbec wines are more closely linked to Argentina and California. I must admit to being a fan of Malbec blends …

64 Rte. 66, e.g. : HWY

The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road’s name really came into the public consciousness because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.

66 The “D” of CODA : DEAF

Child of deaf adult (CODA)

70 Novelist Leon : URIS

Leon Uris is an American writer. Uris’s most famous books are “Exodus” and “Trinity”, two excellent stories, in my humble opinion …

71 Like the Resident Evil games : RATED-M

“Resident Evil” is a whole media franchise spawned from a video game that was launched in 1996. Now there are films, comic books, novels and more games. The series originated in Japan under the title “Biohazard”.

72 Had more than an inkling : KNEW

Our word “inkling” apparently comes from the Middle English word “inclen” meaning “to hint”.

82 Actor Elliott : GOULD

Hollywood actor Elliott Gould is perhaps best known for the leading roles he played in the movies “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (1969) and “M*A*S*H” (1970). In recent years, Gould played business tycoon Reuben Tishkoff in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series of films. On television, he played Ross Geller’s dad Jack Geller in the hit sitcom “Friends”. Gould was married to singer and actress Barbra Streisand from 1963 to 1971.

83 Jaded feeling : ENNUI

“Ennui” is the French word for “boredom”, and is a term that we now use in English. It’s one of the few French words we’ve imported and haven’t anglicized, and actually pronounce “correctly”.

84 Big name in Apple history : STEVE

Apple Computers was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company incorporated the following year, but without Wayne. He sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak, for $800 …

85 Ward of “Gone Girl” : SELA

Sela Ward is an American actress who won Emmys for her role on the TV show “Sisters” in 1994 and for her role on “Once and Again” in 2000. She is a published author and released her autobiography “Homesick: A Memoir” in 2012.

“Gone Girl” is a thriller novel written by Gillian Flynn that was first published in 2012. The story tells of a man whose wife has disappeared, with the reader not being certain if the husband is involved in the disappearance. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name released in 2014, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.

89 As per routine : PRO FORMA

The Latin term “pro forma” translates as “as a matter of form”, and is used in English to describe actions or documents that are considered merely a formality. In the world of accounting, a pro forma financial statement indicates hypothetical figures based on previous operations, and are as estimates before actual results become available.

94 Skywalker mentor : KENOBI

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the “Star Wars” characters. He was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man Kenobi was played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man by Alec Guinness.

99 Cheap ticket spec : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

103 Persona non __ : GRATA

A persona non grata (plural “personae non gratae”) is someone who is not welcome. The phrase is Latin for “an unacceptable person”. The opposite phrase is “persona grata”, meaning “acceptable person”.

104 Scull mover : ROWER

A scull is a boat used for competitive rowing. The main hull of the boat is often referred to as a shell. Crew members who row the boat can be referred to as “oars”. And, a scull is also an oar mounted on the stern of a small boat. It’s all very confusing …

105 Bahla Fort visitor, perhaps : OMANI

The town of Bahla in Oman is famous for its old fort, pottery and a surrounding oasis.

106 Yosemite peak free soloed in “Free Solo,” informally : EL CAP

El Capitan is a stunning vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California. The top of El Capitan has been used as the take-off point for many BASE jumps, parachute jumps made by diving off the top of the rock face. The National Park Service put a stop to the practice in 1999. Soon afterwards, a BASE jumper made an illegal jump to protest the ban. She died …

“Free Solo” is an excellent, albeit frightening (to me), 2018 documentary about Alex Honnold’s record-setting free-solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The film won that season’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, as well it should …

107 Miracle-__ : GRO

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 by one Orlando Scott, and initially sold seed to the agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Scotts started to sell to homeowners, and mainly supplied lawn seed. The company merged with the gardening company Miracle-Gro in 1955, and then with TruGreen in 2016.

115 Clubs, but not cabarets : SUIT

The suit in a deck of cards that we refer to as “clubs” comes from the standard French deck. In French, the suit is known as “trèfles” meaning “clovers”, as the club icon resembles a clover leaf. Our name “clubs” comes from the Italian-Spanish standard deck, in which the equivalent suit is “Bastoni”, meaning “batons”.

116 Jazz singer Jones : ETTA

Etta Jones was a jazz singer who was sometimes known as the “jazz musician’s jazz singer”. Because she has a similar name to Etta James, Jones was often confused with the more famous singer. Jones never really had any huge commercial success though, despite the respect that she engendered within the inner sanctums of the jazz world.

118 Kampala-to-Nairobi dir. : ESE

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda. The airport that serves Kampala is in the town of Entebbe. Entebbe airport is well known for the daring hostage-rescue carried out by Israeli Defense Forces in 1976 following a hijacking.

Nairobi is the capital and largest city in the African nation of Kenya. The city is named for the Nairobi River, which in turn takes its name from the Maasai “Enkare Nairobi” meaning “Cool Water”. Nairobi was founded in 1899 as a stop on the Kenya-Uganda railroad, at a time when the country was a British colony.

121 OBs, e.g. : DRS

In Latin, the word for midwife is “obstetrix”. “Obstetrix” translates more literally as “one who stands opposite” i.e. the one opposite the woman giving birth. The Latin term gives rise to our modern word “obstetrics” used for the branch of medical science concerned with childbirth.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Handy smartphone app for a tourist : GPS
4 Most pancakes : DISKS
9 Ijeoma Oluo’s “So You Want To Talk About __” : RACE
13 Lumps in a stack of folded sweatshirts : HOODS
18 Make a big fuss : RAISE CAIN
20 Auburn, to Alabama : RIVAL
21 Skerry, e.g. : ISLET
22 Con current? : AIR OF EXCITEMENT
24 Bradbury genre : SCI-FI
25 Brotherly sort : FRIAR
26 Blackpink genre : K-POP
27 December quaff : NOG
29 River near Shakespeare’s birthplace : AVON
30 Argentine grassland : PAMPA
33 Con tour? : MEET AND GREET
37 Con quest? : AUTOGRAPH
41 Hardly any : A DAB
42 Squeaky toy? : POM
43 With 52-Across, some midriff-baring attire : CROP …
44 “Star Trek: TNG” counselor Deanna : TROI
45 Leg bone : TIBIA
47 System connecting OAK and SFO : BART
50 Patella spots : KNEES
52 See 43-Across : … TOPS
54 Con sorts? : COSPLAYERS
57 Plays chords, in a way : STRUMS
59 Aristotle’s teacher : PLATO
61 Fictional Amelia who, when asked to remove spots from a dress, cut out all the polka dots : BEDELIA
62 Maui’s Road to __ : HANA
63 Iranian money : RIAL
64 Chart-topper : HIT
65 “Shucks!” : RATS!
66 “Black-ish” dad : DRE
68 Con note? : I LOVE YOUR WORK
73 Tic-tac-toe side : XES
74 Slitherers in the sea : EELS
76 Freedom Rider’s ride : BUS
77 Scuffle : FRAY
78 As concerns : IN RE
80 Code names : ALIASES
82 “See what I did there?” : GET IT?
84 Drives too fast : SPEEDS
86 Con text? : FAN FICTION
88 Half of quatorze : SEPT
90 Spousal term of endearment : WIFEY
92 Toss, slangily : YEET
93 Performed miserably : STUNK
95 Put pen to paper : DREW
97 “Aida” river : NILE
98 Classic film about a football-kicking mule : GUS
100 Swing about : SLUE
101 Con figure? : MOVIE STAR
103 Con script? : GROUP READING
108 False move : FEINT
109 Capital of Italia : ROMA
110 Lacking freshness : OLD
111 ” … __ I thought” : OR SO
113 Saint-Saëns’s “__ Macabre” : DANSE
117 Conscious : AWARE
119 Con form? : CARDBOARD CUTOUT
124 Seeds, weeds, and feeds : TENDS
125 Asteroids publisher : ATARI
126 “Wait, what happened?” : I MISSED IT
127 Come up : ARISE
128 Nave-y bases? : PEWS
129 “Divine Comedy” poet : DANTE
130 Greek vowel : ETA

Down

1 Tennis great Steffi : GRAF
2 Skating team : PAIR
3 iPhone speaker : SIRI
4 Reorganize a hard drive, familiarly : DEFRAG
5 Cocktail sphere : ICE
6 “Yakety __”: horn-heavy novelty hit : SAX
7 Algonquian-speaking people : KICKAPOO
8 Manicure sound : SNIP
9 Salt garnish locale : RIM
10 Letters after Madison or before Maria : AVE
11 Source of hemp : CANNABIS
12 John who completed an EGOT in 2024 : ELTON
13 That fella’s : HIS
14 Name on a Wienermobile : OSCAR MAYER
15 Tapenade fruit : OLIVE
16 Crusoe’s creator : DEFOE
17 Stay : STINT
19 Major drama : SOAP OPERA
20 Two bars and two dots, on a staff : REPEAT
23 Actor Hardy : TOM
28 Macroeconomics abbr. : GDP
31 Actor born Laurence Tureaud : MR T
32 Components : PARTS
34 Proclamation : EDICT
35 Hasbro’s “game of unspeakable fun” : TABOO
36 Turn : GO BAD
37 “Cathy” cry : ACK!
38 Vessels in a pharaoh’s tomb : URNS
39 Follow the rules : TOE THE LINE
40 1960s nonconformist : HIPPIE
46 HS exam with a cellular energetics section : AP BIO
48 Dadcore jeans specification : RELAXED FIT
49 Lacking freshness : TRITE
51 Olympic gold medalist Lee : SUNI
53 Tear it up : SLAY
55 Unleash : LET RIP
56 Spunk : SASS
58 Many an Argentine red : MALBEC
60 Up in the air : ALOFT
63 Campground sights, briefly : RVS
64 Rte. 66, e.g. : HWY
66 The “D” of CODA : DEAF
67 Baton-passing event : RELAY
69 Boots : OUSTS
70 Novelist Leon : URIS
71 Like the Resident Evil games : RATED-M
72 Had more than an inkling : KNEW
75 Rails against failure? : SAFEGUARDS
79 Put back : REINSTATE
81 Crunch cousin : SITUP
82 Actor Elliott : GOULD
83 Jaded feeling : ENNUI
84 Big name in Apple history : STEVE
85 Ward of “Gone Girl” : SELA
87 “See you then!” : IT’S A DATE!
89 As per routine : PRO FORMA
91 “__ outta here!” : YER
94 Skywalker mentor : KENOBI
96 GameCube successor : WII
99 Cheap ticket spec : SRO
102 Final application : END USE
103 Persona non __ : GRATA
104 Scull mover : ROWER
105 Bahla Fort visitor, perhaps : OMANI
106 Yosemite peak free soloed in “Free Solo,” informally : EL CAP
107 Miracle-__ : GRO
112 Came out with : SAID
114 Vertex, in graph theory : NODE
115 Clubs, but not cabarets : SUIT
116 Jazz singer Jones : ETTA
118 Kampala-to-Nairobi dir. : ESE
120 Unedited, as footage : RAW
121 OBs, e.g. : DRS
122 Racket : DIN
123 Chicago winter hrs. : CST

38 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 10 Mar 24, Sunday”

  1. I finished it, but with quite a few grid checks. I had no idea what the con was all about. When I read Bill’s explanation, I thought “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Oh well, another week’s gone by.

    1. One of the worst puzzles I’ve ever solved in terms of many terrible clues and an inability to make sense of the title.

  2. Absolutely the worst puzzle I have ever seen..and I am 80 years old so I’ve seen a lot..made no sense even after reading the explanation.

    1. I agree with you, Mary. What a horrible waste of time! My reaction to this puzzle is best characterized by
      126A: “Wait, what happened?”

    2. I usually love the theme puzzles, but I didn’t get this one even after reading the explanation. Did not enjoy this.

  3. Let’s KICKAPOO this down the road and YEET it!

    Wow, what another contortion.

    Never got the CON thing but tried different variations and actually finished with no errors… but it took me almost hour and a half!! Whew!!!!!

  4. 38 minutes, 2 errors (was an idiot, had STANK instead of STUNK and never considered ELLIOTT as a first name). Thanks for nothing Sam Elliott!!

    And I still don’t get the theme….

    1. I still don’t get the theme either – even after reading the explanation. Elliott Gould was in lots of great movies and was married to Barbra Streisand in the ’60’s – they have a son together – Jason Gould – also the kid in ET was named Elliott

  5. Since my daughter is very involved with Cosplay, I figured out the theme and was able to get the themed answers. So not too bad – just 3 block errors.
    Art instead of Mr T
    Air of experiment instead of excitement (which makes more sense).
    Just because a theme isn’t something you don’ t know about doesn’t make a puzzle terrible. Maybe you learned something. Not too many proper names.

  6. 29:05, no errors. I’m a fan of sci fi, but the CONnection to CONventions kind of went over my head until I was almost done.

    Still, like yesterday: a doable puzzle.

  7. Spent hours on this piece of crap only to have one error…DISCS for DISKS.
    The theme stunk or stank.😠
    What a waste but that’s what to expect from two setters👎👎
    Stay safe😀

  8. Not a fun puzzle at all! Bill must be a genius to figure it out!! Looking forward to next week!!

  9. I have to agree with all the harsh criticisms of this puzzle–this was one of the worst I’ve ever seen & a complete waste of my time. Whoever created this puzzle must have been bent on removing all the joy of crossword-puzzling from those of us who thought we were fans. Ugh!

  10. What a slog! No errors. I didn’t “get” the theme. Bill’s write-up explained the theme, but the theme still seems very weak and forced to me.

  11. 31:44 – no errors or lookups. False starts: CAT>XES, GET>YER, ___AVATAR>MOVIESTAR.

    New or forgotten: “Skerry,” “Blackpink,” GUS, “Laurence Tureaud,” “Resident Evil,” and “Bahla Fort.”

    I thought the CON theme had to do with comic-cons, and so the clues and their answers made sense to me. It helped a bit to have figured that out.

    Quite a range of topics covered by the puzzle. A challenge, but agree with Dave Kennison that it’s doable. Didn’t take a genius, ‘cuz I’m not one.

  12. This was one of the most difficult puzzles I have done in a long time. Took me more than an hour and a half …
    Couldn’t figure out the meaning of the ‘Con ‘ …. finally I figured out that this is a CON game – played on us users / solvers !!! 🙂

    Thank You, Mr. Bill Butler – for a yeoman service of not only figuring out the ‘Con’ , but also solving the puzzle in short order ….

    …. and describing the ‘con’ in sensible, lucid, terms for us, and your clear explanations which left us a lot of terms to learn and to be learnt !!!!

    Thank you for all your dedicated hard work, and philosophical generosity and altruism !!!! God Bless !!!!

  13. Terrible puzzle, complete waste of time. Con theme was ridiculous! Come on Patti, you can do better.

  14. Never got the theme, so no help at all there.
    Got through most of it after a real slog but
    ran out of steam in the SE corner. 102D and
    113A did me in. Can’t say I got “conned”
    because I knew it was a 2 constructor
    Puzzle going in. I guess I’ll never learn ☹️

  15. The theme was horrible. It was CONfusing. I CONsider this one of the worst puzzles that I have ever worked on. 39 minutes to complete but did nod off for a few minutes while trying to solve this thing.

  16. Agree with every single one of these negative criticisms- I usually enjoy my Sunday puddles but no more like this, please!

  17. DNF. “MARVELOUSWORK fits into that ILOVEYOURWORK space, and it derailed me for good. No wonder there were lots of clues that made no sense whatever…but they weren’t all connected to this. Clues throughout were designed to be confusing. Too many examples to list. These constructors WANTED failure–and they got it.

  18. 1:41:55. Whew. Note the date of this comment. It took me two days of work. I thought I was doing badly because I was on a plane going east from the west coast. Now I know the truth: this was a tough one. One clue that baffles me is 66D. How are we supposed to know what CODA is an acronym for? Nuf’ said.

  19. That’s one of the most obscure themes I’ve ever seen.
    However, five days and totally correct.

  20. This was one of the worst crossword puzzles I’ve ever not been able to complete, and when I saw the completed puzzle with its explanation, it made no sense to me

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