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Constructed by: Matthew Stock & Wendy L. Brandes
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Reveal Answer: Digs
Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as abodes/DIGS:
- 16A Digs for a member of a string quartet? : CELLO SUITE
- 26A Digs for a gym rat? : MUSCLE BUILDING
- 42A Digs for a Greek mythology buff? : OEDIPUS COMPLEX
- 56A Digs for a dancer? : BALLET FLAT
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 6m 16s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
4 Eatery with a chalkboard menu : BISTRO
“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term describing a little wine shop or restaurant.
10 Free TV spot : PSA
Public service announcement (PSA)
13 “Origin” writer/director DuVernay : AVA
Ava DuVernay is a filmmaker who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a feat she achieved in 2012 for her feature film “Middle of Nowhere”. “Middle of Nowhere” tells the story of a woman who drops out of medical school to focus on her husband when he is sentenced to 8 years in prison. DuVernay also directed the 2014 film “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
“Origin” is a 2023 film written and directed by Ava Duvernay. It follows the life of Pulitzer-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she travels through the US, Germany and India, researching for her 2020 book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents”. In the movie, Wilkerson is portrayed by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
14 Off-the-cuff performance : IMPROV
To speak off the cuff is to speak extemporaneously. The idea is that someone doing so would not be using learned lines, but rather is speaking with the use of a few notes that have been jotted on his cuffs or shirtsleeves.
16 Digs for a member of a string quartet? : CELLO SUITE
The cello is the second-largest instrument in the violin family, after the double bass. It is said that the cello produces a sound nearer the human voice than any other instrument in an orchestra. I can see/hear that …
19 “At Wit’s End” writer Bombeck : ERMA
Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years. She produced more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns under the title “At Wit’s End”, with all describing her home life in suburbia.
21 “Ant” on a celery “log” : RAISIN
Ants on a log is a snack food prepared by spreading something like peanut butter or cream cheese on celery and placing raisins on top. If you leave out the raisins, the snack becomes “ants on vacation”.
23 Scand. land : NOR
Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as “the Nordic countries”.
25 Flakes on plans : BAILS
The phrase “to bail out” (sometimes just “to bail”) means to leave suddenly. We’ve been using the term since the early thirties, when it originated with airline pilots. To bail out is to make a parachute jump.
32 Lauder in the cosmetics aisle : ESTEE
Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales “volume” …
34 __ Lanka : SRI
The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.
36 OPS or RBI : STAT
On-base plus slugging (OPS)
40 __ Monica Pier : SANTA
Santa Monica, California lies on Santa Monica Bay and is in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which opened in 1909.
41 Mazda roadster : MIATA
The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan. The name “Miata” comes from an Old High German word meaning “reward”.
42 Digs for a Greek mythology buff? : OEDIPUS COMPLEX
An oedipal relationship is one in which a child exhibits sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex. A child exhibiting such behavior is said to have an Oedipus complex, named for the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles.
45 Entrepreneur __ C.J. Walker : MADAM
Madam C. J. Walker was an entrepreneur who, according to the “Guinness Book of World Records”, was America’s first female self-made millionaire. Born “Sarah Breedlove”, she made her money through the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company that she founded to produce and market cosmetics and hair products aimed at African-American women.
46 Language in which to order larb : LAO
Larb is a traditional dish from Lao cuisine that is made with minced meat, fish sauce, lime juice, and various herbs and spices. It is often considered the national dish of Laos, although it is also popular in neighboring countries like Thailand and Vietnam. The word “larb” is derived from the Lao word “laap,” which means “to mince” or “to chop finely.”
56 Digs for a dancer? : BALLET FLAT
Ballet flats are women’s shoes derived from ballet slippers, and so have no heel at all. They are also called dolly shoes.
59 Starchy snack bites, for short : TOTS
Ore-Ida’s founders came up with the idea for Tater Tots when they were deciding what to do with residual cuts of potato. They chopped up the leftovers, added flour and seasoning, and extruded the mix through a large hole making a sausage that they cut into small cylinders. We eat 70 million pounds of this extruded potato every year!
60 Tennis star Andre : AGASSI
Retired tennis professional Andre Agassi has been married to fellow player Steffi Graf since 2001. Agassi wrote an autobiography called “Open”, published in 2009. An amazing revelation in the book is that Agassi’s famous head of hair was actually a wig for much of his playing career. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to play tennis at his level with a rug stuck on?
61 Periodontists’ gp. : ADA
Periodontics (also “periodontology”) is the dental discipline concerned with the structures supporting the teeth, including the gums. The term “periodontal” means “surrounding a tooth” from the Greek “peri-” (surrounding) and “odontos” (of the tooth).
Down
1 Four-minute mile, for one : PACE
The 4-minute barrier for the mile run was first broken in 1954 by Roger Bannister, when he finished in just over 3m 59s. If you plan on running a 4-minute mile, you should probably be warned that this means you have to run the whole race at an average speed of over 15 mph (do the math!).
2 CCR’s “Have You __ Seen the Rain” : EVER
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” is a 1971 song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and written by lead singer John Fogarty. In March of 2023, it became the oldest song on Spotify to surpass one billion streams.
6 Barrel racer’s accessory : SPUR
Barrel racing is an event featured in rodeos. Competitors on horses race around barrels in a cloverleaf pattern, each trying to complete the course in the fastest time. The event tends to be confined to male and female youths, and to women riders.
7 Chi-Town paper : TRIB
“The Chicago Tribune” was first published in 1847. The most famous edition of “The Trib” was probably in 1948 when the headline was “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”, on the occasion of that year’s presidential election. When it turned out that Truman had actually won, the victor picked up the paper with the erroneous headline and posed for photographs with it … a famous, famous photo, that must have stuck in the craw of the editor at the time.
10 Film similar to cling wrap : PRESS’N SEAL
Press ‘n Seal is a plastic wrap product that resembles cling film. The difference is that Press’n Seal includes a contact adhesive, so that wrapping can create a seal, rather than relying on static electricity to “cling”.
12 Grace ender : AMEN
A grace is a short prayer recited before or after a meal, especially in the Christian tradition. The term “grace” comes from the Latin “gratiarum actio” meaning “act of thanks”.
15 Cook-off entry : CHILI
The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.
17 Small surgical knife : LANCET
“Lancet” is another name for a scalpel. There’s a publication called “The Lancet”, which is possibly the world’s most respected medical journal. It is certainly the oldest, first published in 1823.
25 Signature Golden Arches offering : BIG MAC
The iconic Big Mac sandwich was introduced nationally by McDonald’s in 1967. It was the creation of a Pittsburgh franchisee who offered it on the menu as a response to the very similar “Big Boy” sandwich offered by the competing Big Boy restaurant chain.
28 “Liberty and Prosperity,” for New Jersey, e.g. : STATE MOTTO
The state motto of New Jersey is “Liberty and Prosperity”. The state’s coat of arms features two Roman goddesses representing “liberty” and “prosperity”. The goddess Libertas personifies liberty, and the goddess of agriculture Ceres represents prosperity.
29 Bailey’s circus partner : BARNUM
Phineas Taylor “PT” Barnum was one of the great American showmen, and was famous for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. By some measures, Barnum was the first ever “show business” millionaire. Beyond the world of entertainment, Barnum was also a politician for a while and served two terms in the Connecticut legislature, and was mayor of the city of Bridgeport. Barnum was a very successful author as well. One of his most famous books was “The Humbugs of the World”, an exposé of deceptions in the world of entertainment. He was a believer in illusions, providing they gave value for money in terms of entertainment. However, Barnum had an intense dislike of fraudulent deception and came down hard on spiritualist mediums in particular.
30 Curriculum parts : UNITS
A curriculum (plural “curricula”) is a set of courses offered by a teaching establishment. “Curriculum” is Latin for “running, course”, and comes from “currere” meaning “to run”.
35 Big big-screen format : IMAX
The IMAX Corporation, which is behind the IMAX film format, is a Canadian company. The impetus for developing the system came after Expo ’67 in Montreal. Back then large format screenings were accomplished using multiple projectors with multiple screens, with images basically stitched together. The team behind the IMAX technology set out to simplify things, and developed a single-camera, single-projector system.
37 Eatery with small plates : TAPAS BAR
“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”. There is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.
41 UFC sport : MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …
43 eHarmony matches : DATES
eHarmony is a high-profile online dating service based in Pasadena, California.
44 Like Yellowstone, among National Parks : OLDEST
President Abraham Lincoln passed a bill in 1864 creating the Yosemite Grant, which was the first piece of federal legislature that set aside park land for preservation and public use. The Yosemite Grant paved the way for the creation of Yellowstone as the nation’s first national park in 1872. Yosemite was made a national park in 1890.
47 “At Last” singer James : ETTA
The 1942 song “At Last” was written for the 1941 musical film “Sun Valley Serenade” in which it is performed by Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Etta James recorded a version of “At Last” in 1960, after which it became her signature song.
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Dynamism : PEP
4 Eatery with a chalkboard menu : BISTRO
10 Free TV spot : PSA
13 “Origin” writer/director DuVernay : AVA
14 Off-the-cuff performance : IMPROV
15 Final push? : CRAM
16 Digs for a member of a string quartet? : CELLO SUITE
18 Roll-call call : HERE!
19 “At Wit’s End” writer Bombeck : ERMA
20 Spherical body : ORB
21 “Ant” on a celery “log” : RAISIN
23 Scand. land : NOR
25 Flakes on plans : BAILS
26 Digs for a gym rat? : MUSCLE BUILDING
32 Lauder in the cosmetics aisle : ESTEE
33 Measurement given in degrees : ANGLE
34 __ Lanka : SRI
36 OPS or RBI : STAT
37 Prunes : TRIMS
38 Sparks or Fire : TEAM
39 Like sparks and fire : HOT
40 __ Monica Pier : SANTA
41 Mazda roadster : MIATA
42 Digs for a Greek mythology buff? : OEDIPUS COMPLEX
45 Entrepreneur __ C.J. Walker : MADAM
46 Language in which to order larb : LAO
47 Puts one’s feelings on display : EMOTES
49 Woebegone : SAD
51 Hand-held coolers : FANS
55 Checkout lane purchase : TOTE
56 Digs for a dancer? : BALLET FLAT
59 Starchy snack bites, for short : TOTS
60 Tennis star Andre : AGASSI
61 Periodontists’ gp. : ADA
62 “Without further __ … ” : ADO
63 Like some work from home : REMOTE
64 “__ your piece” : SAY
Down
1 Four-minute mile, for one : PACE
2 CCR’s “Have You __ Seen the Rain” : EVER
3 Acai tree, e.g. : PALM
4 Info on a profile page : BIO
5 Post-triathlon lament : I’M SORE!
6 Barrel racer’s accessory : SPUR
7 Chi-Town paper : TRIB
8 Turn brown, maybe : ROT
9 Clothes with bibs and braces : OVERALLS
10 Film similar to cling wrap : PRESS’N SEAL
11 Garment that may be nine yards long : SARI
12 Grace ender : AMEN
15 Cook-off entry : CHILI
17 Small surgical knife : LANCET
22 Congressional staffer : AIDE
24 “Rah,” in fútbol : OLE
25 Signature Golden Arches offering : BIG MAC
26 Sports bib material : MESH
27 “We totally agree” : US TOO
28 “Liberty and Prosperity,” for New Jersey, e.g. : STATE MOTTO
29 Bailey’s circus partner : BARNUM
30 Curriculum parts : UNITS
31 Shred, as cheese : GRATE
35 Big big-screen format : IMAX
37 Eatery with small plates : TAPAS BAR
38 WNBA game start : TIP-OFF
40 59-Across, perhaps : SIDE
41 UFC sport : MMA
43 eHarmony matches : DATES
44 Like Yellowstone, among National Parks : OLDEST
47 “At Last” singer James : ETTA
48 Atmosphere : MOOD
49 Shut with a bang : SLAM
50 Additionally : ALSO
52 Woebegone word : ALAS
53 Nothing at all : NADA
54 “Hang around a bit longer!” : STAY!
57 Just a number, for some : AGE
58 Cause for overtime : TIE
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10 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 23 Apr 24, Tuesday”
Comments are closed.
15 minutes. 3 errors.
Didn’t get PACE for 1D. Had RARE. that caused all the errors.
Like Bill tried to imply, it’s not a PACE. But that’s the crossword world. Should have deduced that REP wasn’t DYNAMISM and RELLO wasn’t part of a string quartet.
No errors..typical 2 setter Tuesday puzzle that’s more like a Wednesday or Thursday.
Stay safe😀
Go Orioles⚾️
Cute little thing going on with the T’s in the lower left.
Slowed by trying to make the end of 42A become Duplex. Fortunately came to my senses.
Fun puzzle
Didn’t know it was Thursday ….
8:43, no errors.
And today I learned the origin of off-the-cuff…
17:12. Not a difficult Tuesday and no help needed from Grid Check. As is typical, the Down clues were easier than the Across.
10:04 – no errors or lookups. False start: FAILS>BAILS (I thought 25D might be Fries in some way, but it wouldn’t go).
New or forgotten: “Origin.”
Wow that a sari can be nine yards long. That’s a lot of material!
FYI, my Saturday and Sunday comments would not ever post to the blog. I tried posting them to Monday after successfully posting my Monday puzzle comments. They still wouldn’t “take” from my phone or computer. There aren’t any different characters than I normally use, so it’s a mystery.
@Ray …
I think Bill’s spam filter is sensitive to … something … in the content of a post. I’ve been tempted to use a binary halving process on a message that won’t post to determine just what part causes it to be blocked, but the down side of that is obvious.
Thanks for the tip, Dave. I now understand it might be a filter on the content of posts, and not dealing with something going on server-side that Bill is dealing with.
Like I said, though, I’m not aware of using anything odd in my posts from one day to the next. Yesterday and what’s above are typical of my posts. Maybe posts over a certain length are being blocked? Sunday’s was a bit long, but not Saturday’s.
So far, it seems like I’ve been blocked on Fri-Sun posts. If it happens again, I think I’ll try something like you contemplated.
A little tricky for a Tuesday, done a day late; took a slow 18:53 with no peeks or errors. I got the theme early but couldn’t make it work out for 2 of the theme clues. Also never heard of PRESSNSEAL and managed to struggle with US TOO and BAILS.
Wasn’t that hard. I think I just got too much sleep for a change.