LA Times Crossword 15 May 24, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Rena Cohen
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Silver Lining

The first and last letters of each themed answer are “Ag”, the element symbol for SILVER:

• 56A Positive spin on a bad situation, or a feature of 20-, 31-, 38-, and 45-Across : SILVER LINING

• 20A Broadway contender’s number : AUDITION SONG
• 31A Item that may spruce up empty floor space : ACCENT RUG
• 38A Check for immunity : ANTIBODY TESTING
• 45A Last part of a relay : ANCHOR LEG

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

Bill’s time: 7m 12s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 __ Romeo: motorsport brand : ALFA

The “Alfa” in “Alfa Romeo” is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

9 Congressional hearings airer : C-SPAN

C-SPAN is a privately-funded, nonprofit cable channel that broadcasts continuous coverage of government proceedings. The acronym stands for “Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network”.

15 Hybrid or coupe : AUTO

In the most general sense, a hybrid vehicle is one that uses more than type of power. A classic example would be a diesel-powered submarine that runs on batteries when submerged. Today, we are more familiar with cars that have hybrid powertrains that switch from a gasoline motor to an electric motor as required, in order to improve fuel efficiency.

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

20 Broadway contender’s number : AUDITION SONG

A trial performance to appraise the merits of an entertainer is known as an audition. When a group of entertainers is involved, the informal term “cattle call” might be used instead of “audition”. The idea is that those auditioning are often corralled into a single, large room (like “cattle”) prior to performing.

23 Presidential advisory gp. : NSC

The National Security Council (NSC) was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1947. It is chaired by the sitting president and meets in the White House Situation Room.

24 Dachshund’s bark : YAP

The dachshund breed of dog was originally bred to chase and flush out badgers. The name “dachshund” is German and translates as “badger dog”.

25 U2 collaborator Brian : ENO

Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesizer player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

26 Roman time unit : ORA

In Italian, an “ora” (hour) is 1/24 of “un giorno” (a day).

29 Amoxicillin target : STREP

Streptococcus bacteria multiply and divide along a single axis so that they form linked chains. That behavior gives the genus of bacteria its name, as “streptos” is Greek for “easily twisted, like a chain”. I had to battle with streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) twice in the past few years and it was not at all pleasant, I must say. Another species of streptococcus is responsible for that terrible “flesh-eating” infection that makes the news from time to time.

Amoxicillin is an antibiotic in the penicillin family. It has been around for a long time, being discovered in 1958 and approved for medical use in the US in 1974.

31 Item that may spruce up empty floor space : ACCENT RUG

Our verb “to spruce up” means “to make trim or neat”. The term comes from the adjective “spruce”, meaning “smart, neat”. In turn, the adjective comes from “spruce leather”, which was a Prussian leather that was used in England in the 15th and 16th centuries to make a popular style of jerkin that was widely considered to look quite smart.

34 Caesar’s final day : IDES

In Act I of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, a soothsayer warns the doomed leader to “beware the ides of March”. Caesar ignores the prophecy and is subsequently killed on the steps of the Capitol by a group of conspirators on that fateful day.

36 __ Vegas : LAS

Back in the 1800s, the Las Vegas Valley was given its name from the extensive meadows (“las vegas” is Spanish for “the meadows”) present in the area courtesy of the artesian wells drilled by local farmers. Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1905, in the days when it was a stopping-off point for pioneers traveling west. It eventually became a railroad town, although with the coming of the railroad growth halted as travelers began to bypass Las Vegas. The city’s tourism industry took off in 1935 with the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam, which is still a popular attraction. Then gambling was legalized, and things really started to move. Vegas was picked, largely by celebrated figures in “the mob”, as a convenient location across the California/Nevada state line that could service the vast population of Los Angeles. As a result, Las Vegas is the most populous US city founded in the 20th century (Chicago is the most populous city founded in the 19th century, just in case you were wondering).

37 Prefix with -syncrasy : IDIO-

The prefix “idio-” indicates something peculiar, as in “idiosyncrasy”, a peculiarity exhibited by an individual or a group.

38 Check for immunity : ANTIBODY TESTING

Antibodies are y-shaped proteins that recognize antigens on foreign bodies in the body such as bacteria and viruses. The antibodies combine with those foreign bodies and neutralize them.

44 Filmmaker Ethan or Joel : COEN

I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the talented Frances McDormand.

48 Netflix genre : DRAMA

Netflix was founded in Los Gatos, California in 1997 as a DVD rental company that sent out titles by mail. The company delivered its billionth DVD in 2007. I presume the renter wasn’t charged for that movie …

51 “__ queen!” : YAS

“Yas” is a slang term used in place of the interjection “yes!”, when it expresses pleasure and excitement. The exclamation often takes the form “Yas, queen!”

55 Woodsman material, in Oz : TIN

In the Land of Oz, created by author L. Frank Baum, the character we know as the Tin Man from the movies is named Nick Chopper or the Tin Woodman.

56 Positive spin on a bad situation, or a feature of 20-, 31-, 38-, and 45-Across : SILVER LINING

The idiom “every cloud has a silver lining” suggests that there is something good to be found in every bad situation. The phrase “silver lining” was coined by English poet John Milton in “Comus”, a piece of dramatic entertainment that was first performed in 1634. The relevant lines are:

Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?
I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

59 Course for a class pres., maybe : AP GOV

Advanced Placement (AP)

66 Indigo shrub : ANIL

“Anil” is another name for the indigo plant, as well as the name of the blue indigo dye that is obtained from it. The color of anil is relatively close to navy blue. The main coloring agent in indigo dye is a crystalline powder called indigotin.

Down

1 Sri Lankans, e.g. : ASIANS

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.

2 Swarming insect : LOCUST

Some species of grasshoppers are known as locusts. The main characteristic defining a locust species is the tendency to swarm under certain circumstances. Those circumstances are usually drought conditions followed by rapid growth of vegetation.

4 Roman time units : ANNI

The Latin word for year is “annus” (plural “anni”). We often see it used in Latin phrases, but usually with a different spelling. In “anno Domini”, the “anno” is the ablative case of “annus” as the phrase means “in the year of the Lord”. Another example is “per annum”, in which “annum” is the accusative case as the literal translation of the phrase is “during the year”.

5 Party game also known as “Werewolf” : MAFIA

Mafia (also “Werewolf”) is a party game that came out of Russia in 1987. It is described as a social deduction game, and players are divided into two teams: the villagers and the mafiosi, with the teams working to eliminate each other. The game sounds quite complex to me (so I can’t explain the rules here), but it seems very intriguing …

6 Icy moon of Jupiter : EUROPA

So far, Jupiter is known to have 67 moons, more than any other planet in the Solar System. The four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) were discovered by Galileo in 1610, making them the first objects found that did not orbit either the Earth or the Sun.

7 Swiftie or Belieber : STAN

“Stan” is a song by rapper Eminem (featuring Dido) that was recorded in 2000. The title refers to a fictional Eminem fan named “Stan” who becomes obsessed with the rapper, and who grows irate when his letters to his idol go unanswered. Stan’s final act is to make a voice recording as he drives into a river, with his pregnant girlfriend locked in the trunk. One of the legacies of the song is that “stan” is now used as a slang term for an obsessed and maniacal fan.

A swiftie is a fan of singer Taylor Swift.

Justin Bieber is a pop singer from London, Ontario. Bieber was actually discovered on YouTube by talent manager Scooter Brown. Fans of Bieber call themselves “Beliebers”.

9 Unusual instrument in the “1812 Overture” : CANNON

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous “1812 Overture” is more correctly called “The Year 1812 (festival overture in E-flat major)”. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1880 as a commemoration of Russia’s successful defense in face of an 1812 invasion by Napoleon’s French Army and allies. The “1812” is renowned for its use of cannon fire, ringing bells and a robust brass fanfare at its climax.

10 College tour giveaways : SWAG

Swag is loot, stolen property, and a term that started out as criminal slang in England in the 1830s. “Swag” is also the name given to the promotional freebies available at some events. That said, there’s an urban myth that the promotional version of “swag” is an acronym standing for “stuff we all get”.

11 Conagra cooking spray brand : PAM

PAM cooking spray was introduced in 1961 by Leon Rubin and Arthur Meyerhoff. The name “PAM” is an acronym … standing for “Product of Arthur Meyerhoff”. Who’d a thunk it …?

13 Flanders of Springfield : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned was married to Maude, with whom he had two children Rod and Todd. Maude died in an accident involving a T-shirt cannon. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

21 One with an easygoing personality : TYPE-B

The Type-A and Type-B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labeled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type-A personality types are so-called “stress junkies”, whereas Type Bs are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type-A personality and heart problems.

27 Tulum attraction : RUIN

Tulum was a walled city that served as a port for the major Mayan city of Coba in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatán Peninsula. Tulum now lies in ruins, as the city was abandoned towards the end of the 16th century. The ruins are a popular destination for tourists.

30 Wharton who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction : EDITH

Edith Wharton was a novelist and designer from New York City. Wharton was a wealthy woman and built her own estate in Lenox, Massachusetts called the Mount. My wife and I had the privilege of touring the Mount a few years ago, and there we saw evidence of what design meant to Wharton. Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921, making her the first woman to be so honored.

32 Drexler who was part of Houston’s Phi Slama Jama in the early 1980s : CLYDE

Clyde Drexler is a retired NBA player who was nicknamed “Clyde the Glide”. He was a member of the US “Dream Team” who won gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

The college basketball teams of University of Houston from 1982 to 1984 were known as the Phi Slama Jama. The term was coined by Thomas Bonk, who was a sportswriter for the “Houston Post”.

33 Chemical concentration measurement : TITER

Remember those titrations we did in the chemistry lab at school? They were to measure the concentration of solutions, also known as the solution’s titer.

35 Sour salad green : SORREL

Sorrel, also “spinach dock”, is a herbaceous plant found in grasslands. It is also grown as a leaf vegetable and herb. The leaves have a distinctive sharp, sour taste.

46 “Drivers License” singer Rodrigo : OLIVIA

Olivia Rodrigo is a singer-songwriter who rose to prominence with her 2021 song “Drivers License”, which she also co-wrote. In 2021, Rodrigo played her part in a White House program promoting COVID-19 vaccinations among young people.

47 Austria’s language : GERMAN

The name “Austria” is a Latin variant of the German name for the country, “Österreich”. “Österreich” itself means “Eastern borderlands”, a reference to the country’s history as a prefecture of neighboring Bavaria to the west.

49 Mouse with a polka-dotted dress : MINNIE

Minnie Mouse is the daughter of farmer Marcus Mouse. Two of her grandparents are Marshal Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Minnie also has an Uncle Mortimer Mouse, as well as twin nieces Millie and Melody Mouse. Minnie’s boyfriend is Mickey Mouse.

50 Actress Lansbury : ANGELA

Angela Lansbury was a veteran actress and singer from London. When she won her fifth Tony Award in 2009, she equalled the record for the most Tony Awards, held by Julie Harris. My wife and I particularly enjoyed Lansbury’s first film performance, in the 1944 classic film “Gaslight”. Lansbury also played Jessica Fletcher on the small screen in “Murder, She Wrote”.

57 Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

Elie Wiesel was a holocaust survivor, and is best known for his book “Night” that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was also the first recipient of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Award, which was later renamed the Elie Wiesel Award in his honor.

58 Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA

In the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, the teams remaining at various stages of the tournament are known as:

• The “Sweet Sixteen” (the regional semi-finalists)
• The “Elite Eight” (the regional finalists)
• The “Final Four” (the national semi-finalists)

61 Negroni liquor : GIN

The negroni is a lovely cocktail, one that hails from Italy. A classic recipe calls for equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. According to legend, the drink was first made by bartender Fosco Scarselli at the request of Count Camillo Negroni, hence the name. The count wanted a stronger version of an Americano, and so Scarselli dropped the Americano’s soda water and replaced it with gin!