LA Times Crossword 15 Mar 24, Friday

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Constructed by: Alan Levin
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: The Letter S

A literal answer to the themed clues is “THE LETTER S”:

• 58A When read as three words, suitable sponsor for “Sesame Street” and an alternate answer for 18-, 20-, 30-, 36-, 46-, and 53-Across : THE LETTER S

• 18A It concludes The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” : CAROLINE, NO (the letter S is at the end of “sounds”)
• 20A Character seen at the beginning and end of “Star Wars” : ARTOO-DETOO (the letter S is at the beginning of “Star” and at the end of “Wars”)
• 30A It comes early in September : LABOR DAY (the letter S comes early in “September”)
• 36A One is used in basketball but not in hockey : SHOT CLOCK (there is one letter S in “basketball” and none in “hockey”)
• 46A What can be seen in two places in Missouri : MLB TEAMS (there are two letters S in “Missouri”)
• 53A One can’t print dollars without it : SPECIAL INK (one can’t print “dollars” without a letter S)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cotillion VIPs : DEBS

“Cotillion” is an American term that we’ve been using since about 1900 for a formal ball. In France, a cotillion was a type of dance, with the term deriving from an Old French word for a petticoat. I guess the cotillion dance was one in which the lady would flash her petticoats as she did a twirl!

9 Redolence : AROMA

Something that is redolent is aromatic, emits a fragrance. “Redolent” is an Old French word.

16 Participated in a regatta, maybe : ROWED

The word “regatta” is Venetian dialect and was originally used to describe boat races among the gondoliers of Venice on the Grand Canal back in the mid-1600s.

18 It concludes The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” : CAROLINE, NO

“Caroline, No” is a 1966 song co-written and recorded by Brian Wilson. Wilson released it as his first solo single, and it was also used as the final track of the Beach Boys’ album “Pet Sounds” a couple of months later. Wilson wanted his voice to sound younger in the final version of the song, and so he sped up the recording by a semitone.

20 Character seen at the beginning and end of “Star Wars” : ARTOO-DETOO

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2 (also “Artoo-Detoo”). R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 feet 8 inches tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

28 Tune from “10” : BOLERO

Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro” is a remarkable piece of music that has a very insistent theme that just builds and builds, with instruments being added to the mix as the piece develops. Famously, “Boléro” played a significant role in the 1979 film “10” starring Bo Derek, Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews. Not a bad movie …

30 It comes early in September : LABOR DAY

Labor Day is a federal holiday observed every year on the first Monday in September. The tradition of honoring workers with a holiday started in Boston in 1878, when a day of observance was organized by the Central Labor Union, the major trade union at the time. There was a bloody dispute in 1894 between labor unions and the railroads called the Pullman Strike, which led to the death of some workers when the US Military and US Marshals were instructed to maintain order. President Grover Cleveland submitted a “Labor Day” bill to Congress which was signed into law just six days after the end of the strike. The introduction of a federal holiday to honor the worker was a move designed to promote reconciliation between management and unions after the bitter conflict.

32 W-2 org. : IRS

Form W-2 is provided by US employers to their employees by January 31 each year. The form reports wages paid to the employees, as well as taxes withheld.

36 One is used in basketball but not in hockey : SHOT CLOCK

Basketball’s shot clock was first used in a scrimmage game by the Syracuse Nationals in 1954. Team owner Danny Biasone and general manager Leo Ferris convinced the NBA to use it for the 1954-55 season. Coincidentally, the Syracuse Nationals emerged as NBA champions that season.

42 Animal also called a forest giraffe : OKAPI

The okapi is closely related to the giraffe, although it does have markings on its legs and haunches that resemble those of a zebra. The okapi’s tongue is long enough to reach back and wash its eyeballs, and can go back even further to clean its ears inside and out.

43 Boxer’s warning : GRR!

The boxer breed of dog (one of my favorites) originated in Germany. My first dog was a boxer/Labrador mix, a beautiful combination. Our current family dog is a boxer/pug mix, and is another gorgeous animal.

46 What can be seen in two places in Missouri : MLB TEAMS

As of 2024, six states are home to two Major League Baseball teams:

• Florida (Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins)
• Illinois (Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox)
• Missouri (Kansas city Royals and St. Louis Cardinals)
• Ohio (Cincinnati Red and Cleveland Guardians)
• Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Texas (Houston Astros and Texas Rangers)

52 One-named K-pop singer : IRENE

Red Velvet is a girl group from South Korea that formed in 2014. The original lineup comprised Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy, with Yeri joining in 2015.

62 Powdery mineral : TALC

Talc is a mineral, hydrated magnesium silicate. Talcum powder is composed of loose talc, although these days “baby powder” is also made from cornstarch.

68 Physicist Bethe portrayed in “Oppenheimer” : HANS

Hans Bethe was a German-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967, and who led the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos during the development of the first atomic bomb. Notably, Bethe worked for practically the whole of his long life. He was one of the few people to publish at least one scientific paper in every decade of his working life, doing so for seven decades.

“Oppenheimer” is an epic 2023 film starring Cillian Murphy in the title role. The movie follows J. Robert Oppenheimer, “the father of the atomic bomb”, from his student days right through World War II and beyond. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film has an amazing ensemble cast that includes:

• Matt Damon (General Leslie Groves)
• Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss)
• Josh Hartnett (Ernest Lawrence)
• Kenneth Branagh (Niels Bohr)
• Tom Conti (Albert Einstein)
• Gary Oldman (Harry S. Truman)

69 Moon landing org. : NASA

Apollo 11 was the most memorable of all space missions, landing the first humans on the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon’s surface in their landing craft “Eagle”, while Michael Collins orbited in the command module “Columbia”. It was to be the first of five moon landings that would take place from 1969-1972.

Down

1 Summer hrs. : DST

On the other side of the Atlantic, daylight saving time (DST) is known as “summer time”. The idea behind summer/daylight-savings is to move clocks forward an hour in spring (“spring forward”), and backwards in the fall (“fall back”) so that afternoons have more daylight. Here in the US, DST starts on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.

2 Roosevelt whom Truman called the “First Lady of the World” : ELEANOR

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt continued to lead a very active public life after her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away. For example, President Roosevelt’s successor, Harry S. Truman appointed her as delegate to the UN General Assembly in 1945. In 1946, she became the chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights. The UN awarded Eleanore Roosevelt its Prize in the Field of Human Rights in the prizes inaugural year of 1968, although this was six years after her death. President Truman called her the “First Lady of the World”, in recognition of her human rights achievements.

3 Crude carriers : BARRELS

Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is found in geological formations. Also known as “petroleum”, crude is usually accessed by drilling. Once collected, it is refined and separated into many, many chemicals, e.g. gasoline and asphalt as well chemicals used to make plastics, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

5 Erté’s style : DECO

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian-born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. “Erté” is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

8 Dundee resident : SCOT

The city of Dundee lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay in Scotland. The origins of the name “Dundee” are a little obscure, although the omnipresent “dùn” in place names all over Scotland and Ireland is the Celtic word for “fort”.

9 Melodic passage : ARIOSO

An arioso (plural “ariosi”) is a solo vocal piece in a classical work such as an opera or an oratorio. An arioso’s structure lies somewhere between that of a full-blown aria and speech-like recitative.

10 Director Howard : RON

Ron Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show”. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “The Da Vinci Code” and “A Beautiful Mind”, the latter earning Howard a Best Director Oscar.

12 Guys : MEN

When I was a kid living in England in the 1960s, we would make up an effigy of Guy Fawkes to parade around the streets in the runup to Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th. Guy Fawkes was the man who led the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British king and Parliament on November 5, 1605. We kids would use the effigy to raise money from strangers by approaching them with the phrase “penny for the guy”. The money collected was used to buy fireworks that we’d shoot off on Bonfire Night, the name given to the evening of Guy Fawkes Day. The effigy known as “the guy” gave rise in the UK to the use of “guy” to describe a poorly-dressed man. By the mid-1800s, the term “guy” was adopted into American-English to mean simply “fellow”.

19 “Stay” singer Lisa : LOEB

Singer Lisa Loeb was discovered by actor Ethan Hawke, who lived just across the street from her in New York City. Hawke took a demo of her song “Stay (I Missed You)” and gave it to director Ben Stiller, who in turn used it over the ending credits of his 1994 movie “Reality Bites”. The movie was a hit, the song went to number one, and Loeb became the first artist ever to hit that number one spot without having signed up with a record label. Good for her!

21 2021 interviewer of Meghan and Harry : OPRAH

The 2021 TV special “Oprah with Meghan and Harry” was an interview led by Oprah Winfrey with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. It took place a year after the couple stepped down as working members of the British royal family. After the interview was aired, US audiences generally sympathized with Meghan and Harry, whereas in the UK, there was general sympathy expressed for the British royal family.

26 Graffiti signature : TAG

A tag is a particular type of graffiti. A tag usually isn’t a picture, but rather words that include the author’s name.

29 Lacto-__ vegetarian : OVO

A lacto-ovo vegetarian is someone who does not consume meat or fish, but who does eat eggs (ovo) and dairy (lacto) products.

31 Penne __ vodka : ALLA

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish with a sauce made of vodka, cream, tomatoes, onions and sausage or bacon.

36 MacFarlane or Green of “Family Guy” : SETH

“Family Guy” is a very successful animated television show. It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the same guy who came up with “American Dad!”. My kids love them both. Me, I can’t stand ‘em …

Seth MacFarlane is best known for creating the very successful (although they don’t get my vote!) animated TV shows “Family Guy” and “American Dad!”. My kids love ’em …

Seth Green is an actor and comedian best-known by many as creator and voice actor on the animated television series “Robot Chicken”. I know him best for playing “Napster” in the 2005 film “The Italian Job”.

40 Mahershala with two Oscars : ALI

Mahershala Ali is an actor and sometime rapper. Among the more memorable roles Ali has had are lobbyist Remy Danton in TV’s “House of Cards”, and Colonel Boggs in “The Hunger Games” series of movies. He also won Best Supporting Actor Oscars for playing Juan in the 2016 drama “Moonlight”, and Dr. Don Shirley in 2018’s “Green Book”.

43 Southernmost of the Windward Islands : GRENADA

Grenada is an island nation in the British Commonwealth (or Commonwealth Realm, as it is now called). When President Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983, after a pro-communist coup, the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II and her government were not amused …

The Antilles islands are divided into two main groups, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles includes the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles are made up of the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Antilles, and lie just north of Venezuela.

47 Stands in front of artists : EASELS

The term “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

50 Son of Poseidon : TRITON

Triton was a Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He was usually depicted as “merman”, with the body of a man and the tail of a fish. Triton carried a trident, like his father Poseidon, and a twisted conch shell that he used as trumpet. By blowing in the conch shell he could calm or raise the waves.

55 “Life & Beth” actor Michael : CERA

Michael Cera is a Canadian actor who played great characters on the TV show “Arrested Development”, and in the 2007 comedy-drama “Juno”. Cera is also quite the musician. He released an indie folk album titled “True That” in 2014.

“Life & Beth” is a comedy-drama TV show created by Amy Schumer, and in which she stars. Schumer plays the title character, and Violet Young plays a young version of Beth.

56 Curling __ : IRON

There are three types of hair irons:
Curling irons … make the hair curly
Straightening irons … make the hair straight
Crimping irons … create crimps in the hair

57 Egyptian snakes : ASPS

The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is also known as the asp. That said, the term “asp” can apply to several species of snake, including the Egyptian cobra. Legend has it that Cleopatra committed suicide by enticing an asp to bite her. If that’s true, then that asp was probably an Egyptian cobra.

63 Farm-share program, for short : CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)