LA Times Crossword 7 May 24, Tuesday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Amanda Cook & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Stand Apart

Themed answers feature the word STAND broken APART into two pieces, divided between the start and finish of each answer:

• 63A Stick out from the crowd, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 40-, and 50-Across? : STAND APART

• 17A Generic choice at the supermarket : STORE BRAND
• 25A Emotional condition : STATE OF MIND
• 40A Cue a jazz ensemble, e.g. : STRIKE UP THE BAND
• 50A Inspire wannabes, maybe : START A TREND

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

Bill’s time: 5m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Meteorologist’s tool : RADAR

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

15 Adler played by Lara Pulver on “Sherlock” : IRENE

The character Irene Adler only appears in one of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.

Lara Pulver is an English actress who is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for playing Case Officer Erin Watts on the BBC spy series “MI-5” and the ruthless dominatrix Irene Adler on the BBC crime show “Sherlock”.

21 __ deck: cruise ship level : LIDO

The Lido de Venezia is a famous sandbar in Venice, Italy. About 11 km in length, it is home to about 20,000 residents, as well as the Venice Film Festival that takes place there every September. The Lido is also the setting for Thomas Mann’s famous novel “Death in Venice”. The name “lido” has become a term for any fashionable beach resort. In the UK, the term “lido” is often used for a recreation facility with a pool. This usage has been adopted on cruise ships, where the lido deck is home to the outdoor swimming pool(s) and related facilities.

24 Sign at a packed theater : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

30 Tortilla chip dip, for short : GUAC

Guacamole is one of my favorite dishes. It is prepared by mashing avocados and perhaps adding the likes of tomato, onion and lime juice. The guacamole recipe dates back as early as the 16th century, to the time of the Aztecs. “Guacamole” translates as “avocado sauce”.

“Tortilla” translates literally from Spanish as “little cake”.

31 Alan of “M*A*S*H” : ALDA

Alan Alda is the only person to win acting, directing, and writing Emmys for the same comedy program. He won five Emmys for his work on “M*A*S*H”, three for acting, one for writing and one for directing.

34 Deciduous 26-Downs : ELMS

Deciduous trees and shrubs shed their leaves annually, usually in the fall. In contrast, evergreen plants retain their foliage, which remains green and functional year round.

37 Schnoz : SNOUT

“Schnoz(z)” is a slang term describing a nose, particularly a large one.

45 Great Basin people : UTES

The Great Basin is a large region of the US covering most of Nevada, much of Utah and some parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and California. The 200,000 square mile area drains internally, with all precipitation sinking underground or flowing into lakes. Most of the lakes in the Great Basin are saline, including the Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake and the Humboldt Sink.

48 Chirpy songbird : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests. Despite their small size, they are known for their loud and complex songs. Male wrens often sing to attract mates and to establish territory, They have been known to attack much larger birds that get too close to their nests.

54 Caspian __ : SEA

The Caspian Sea is a landlocked body of water lying between Asia and Europe. By some definitions, the Caspian is the largest lake on the planet. The name “Caspian” comes from the Caspi people who lived to the southwest of the sea in the South Caucasus.

57 Feline : CAT

A feline is a member of the cat family, the “felidae”. The Latin word for “cat” is “feles”.

66 Puerto __ : RICO

Puerto Rico (PR) is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

Down

1 __ a ballot: votes : CASTS

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper or equivalent used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

4 Some hydrating skin care products : SERA

Skin serums are liquids designed to be absorbed quickly and to deliver high concentrations of compounds that can address common skin conditions. Most serum formulations are intended to have an anti-aging effect, and are said to be more effective than using moisturizers and/or sunscreen.

8 “It’s the Hard Knock Life” musical : ANNIE

“It’s the Hard-Knock Life” is a song written for the 1977 Broadway musical “Annie”. The musical was based on Harold Gray’s comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There were two subsequent film adaptations, both really quite successful, including one released in 1982 directed by John Huston of all people. “Annie” was Huston’s only ever musical.

9 Clifford of kid-lit, for one : RED DOG

“Clifford the Big Red Dog” is a series of children’s books by Norman Bridwell. The title character is the pet dog of an 8-year-old girl Emily Elizabeth, who Bridell named for his daughter. The books are published by Scholastic Corporation, which adopted Clifford as its mascot after the books’ success.

10 Gershwin brother : IRA

Ira Gershwin was the lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs “I Got Rhythm” and “Someone to Watch Over Me”, as well as the opera “Porgy and Bess”. After George Gershwin died, Ira continued to create great music, and worked with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.

11 Frilly garment in many a costume drama : PETTICOAT

A petticoat is an undergarment worn from the waist that goes under a skirt or dress. That said, the term “petticoat” was used in my day back in Britain and Ireland for a full-length slip. The name translates literally as “small coat” and originally described a padded coat worn by men under armor.

13 Gave a couple of Advil, say : DOSED

Advil is Wyeth’s brand of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug.

18 Olaf’s creator in “Frozen” : ELSA

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

31 __ Wednesday : ASH

In the Christian tradition, the first day in the season of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, Palm Crosses from the prior year’s Palm Sunday are burned. The resulting ashes are mixed with sacred oil and then used to anoint worshipers on the forehead with the shape of a cross.

32 Cell service initials : LTE

In the world of telecommunications, the initialism LTE stands for Long-Term Evolution, and is wireless broadband communication standard. In general terms, LTE improves broadband speeds. As I understand it, LTE technology allows a 3G network to perform almost as well as a true 4G network, and so LTE is sometimes marketed as 4G LTE, even though it’s really “3G plus”.

35 Dashboard stat : MPH

Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a board placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hooves of the horses. Quite interesting …

36 Writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher __ : STOWE

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most famous and most successful work is “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. It was also her first novel. Her second was published in 1856, i.e. “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp”.

38 Arles article : UNE

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and was where he painted many of his most famous works, including “Cafe Terrace at Night” and “Bedroom in Arles”.

41 Japanese city whose name means “capital city” : KYOTO

The city of Kyoto was once the capital of Japan. Indeed, the name “Kyoto” means “capital city” in Japanese. Kyoto is sometimes referred to as the City of Ten Thousand Shrines.

47 Polish capital : WARSAW

Warsaw is the capital of Poland. The city’s name translates into English as “belonging to Warsz”. Legend has it that Warsz was a fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid called Sawa. It’s a nice story, but Warsz was actually a nobleman from the 12th or 13th century who owned a local village.

49 Novelist Ferber : EDNA

Edna Ferber was a novelist and playwright from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ferber won a Pulitzer for her novel “So Big”, which was made into a film a few times, most famously in 1953 starring Jane Wyman. Ferber also wrote “Show Boat”, “Cimarron” and “Giant”, which were adapted successfully for the stage and/or big screen.

51 Native of Sri Lanka : TAMIL

Tamils are a large ethnic group of almost 80 million people who speak Tamil as their mother tongue. Despite the large Tamil population, there is no Tamil state. The highest concentration of Tamils is in Sri Lanka, where they make up about 25% of the population.

52 Eye-catching aquarium fish : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

54 Serious : STAID

Something described as staid is unwavering, fixed. This usage expanded to mean “sober, sedate”. The term dates back to the 16th century, and comes from the verb “to stay”. “Staid” is a rewriting of the past participle “stayed”.

60 Cathedral area : APSE

An apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

64 D.C. MLBer : NAT

If you attend a Washington Nationals baseball game, held in Nationals Park, you’ll see the Presidents Race in the middle of the fourth innings. Individuals dressed like seven former US presidents, each sporting a large and cartoonish head, have participated in the races over the years. Those runners are:

• George (Washington)
• Abe (Lincoln)
• Tom (Jefferson)
• Teddy (Roosevelt)
• Bill (Taft)
• Calvin (Coolidge)
• Herbie (Hoover)