LA Times Crossword 30 Jun 24, Sunday

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Constructed by: Pam Amick Klawitter
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Watching With the Sound Off

Themed answers are phrases derived from movie titles. Each is a possible mishearing of the title if one was watching someone, say on a TV, with THE SOUND OFF, just reading lips:

• 22A Movie about one who defies authority and gets absolutely no credit for it? : REBEL WITHOUT APPLAUSE (from “Rebel Without a Cause”)
• 38A Movie about life with a hockey dad? : GOALMINDER’S DAUGHTER (from “Coal Miner’s Daughter”)
• 55A Movie about a major problem at a croquet tournament? : ABSENCE OF MALLETS (from “Absence of Malice”)
• 86A Movie about playing baseball during a downpour? : SWINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (from “Singin’ in the Rain”)
• 98A Movie that captures the arc of conception through the delivery room? : FROM HERE TO MATERNITY (from “From Here to Eternity”)
• 118A Movie exposing the truth behind a cloning experiment? : THE SCIENCE OF THE LAMBS (from “The Silence of the Lambs”)

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

Bill’s time: 15m 09s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Crimean resort city : YALTA

Yalta is a resort city on the Black Sea on the Crimean Peninsula. Crimea is very much in the news in recent years because of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Yalta was also in the news at the end of WWII, as it was the site of the 1945 Yalta Conference between the leaders of the three main Allies.

18 R&B’s India.__ : ARIE

India Arie (sometimes “india.arie”) is an American soul and R&B singer who was born India Arie Simpson in Denver, Colorado.

19 Ski resort near Salt Lake City : ALTA

Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont). The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.

20 “Inside the NBA” analyst Shaquille : O’NEAL

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

22 Movie about one who defies authority and gets absolutely no credit for it? : REBEL WITHOUT APPLAUSE (from “Rebel Without a Cause”)

“Rebel Without a Cause” is a 1955 drama movie starring actor James Dean, who died just before the film’s release. The title comes from a 1944 book by psychiatrist Robert M. Lindner “Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath”, although the content of the book has no bearing on the movie’s storyline. The three lead actors in the movie all died tragically, and while relatively young:

• James Dean (24), in a car crash in 1955
• Sal Mineo (37), in a stabbing in 1976
• Natalie Wood (43), in a drowning in 1981

26 Mountain formation : MASSIF

“Massif” is a geological term describing a section of the earth’s crust that moves upwards due to the action of tectonic plates. The whole massif retains its structure, with movement taking place at surrounding fault lines. The term “massif” is also used for a group of mountains formed by such geological action. “Massif” is French for “massive”.

27 Yearly record : ANNAL

“Annal” is a rarely used word, and is the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

33 Indigenous people of Canada : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, Montana is home to most of the Cree nation. They live on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

38 Movie about life with a hockey dad? : GOALMINDER’S DAUGHTER (from “Coal Miner’s Daughter”)

“Coal Miner’s Daughter” is a 1980 film that tells the life story of country music star Loretta Lynn. Sissy Spacek plays the title role, and won herself a Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Lynn was indeed a coal miner’s daughter, born into poverty in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.

47 Jenga loser : TOPPLER

Jenga is a relatively simple but entertaining game, one in which one stacks wooden blocks as high as possible until the resulting tower collapses. “Jenga” is the Swahili word for “to build”

55 Movie about a major problem at a croquet tournament? : ABSENCE OF MALLETS (from “Absence of Malice”)

The very genteel game of croquet is played on lawns all over the world. It’s the game where mallets are used to hit wooden balls through hoops embedded in the grass. The name “croquet” is from French dialect and means “hockey stick”. The game originated in Brittany in France, and was popularized in Ireland in the 1830s.

61 Indigo dye : 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.

64 Assam export : TEA

Assam is a state in the far northeast of India, and just south of the Himalayas. It is noted for its tea, as well as its silk.

68 Smallest Canadian prov. : PEI

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a maritime Canadian province. The island at the center of the province was named for Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria. PEI is the smallest Canadian province, both in terms of land area and population.

70 Periodic table suffix : -IUM

Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist. When Mendeleev classified elements according to their chemical properties, he noticed patterns and was able to group elements into his famous 1869 Periodic Table. So powerful was his table that he actually predicted the properties of some elements that had not even been discovered in 1869. Element number 101 is mendelevium and was named after Mendeleev.

72 __ and cheese : MAC

Thomas Jefferson’s name is associated with the dish we know today as “mac ‘n’ cheese”. The future president discovered baked macaroni with Parmesan cheese while in Paris and in northern Italy. He started serving the dish to guests in the US, and even had a machine imported to make the macaroni locally. Whether or not Jefferson was the first to bring mac ‘n’ cheese to America isn’t entirely clear, but it has been popular ever since.

77 Ventimiglia of “Heroes” : MILO

Actor Milo Ventimiglia got his break on TV playing Jess Mariano on the show “Gilmore Girls”. He then played Peter Petrelli on “Heroes”, and Jack Pearson on “This Is Us”.

“Heroes” is a television show that ran on NBC from 2006 to 2010. It’s all about ordinary folk developing superhuman powers, sort of like many comic book characters.

86 Movie about playing baseball during a downpour? : SWINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (from “Singin’ in the Rain”)

In the movie “Singin’ in the Rain”, the wonderful dance sequence to the title song was filmed over 2-3 days. Gene Kelly was splashing through puddles and getting rained on while all the time he was sick, with a fever of 103°F.

89 Bird skilled at mimicry : MYNAH

Some species of myna (also “mynah”) birds are known for their ability to imitate sounds.

92 __ Field: Queens stadium : CITI

Citi Field is a relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets (NYM) that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. The new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

94 Pollen holders : STAMENS

The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament that carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

96 Townshend of The Who : PETE

The musician Pete Townshend is best known as guitarist for the Who. Townshend also served as the main songwriter for the band, composing over one hundred songs that the Who recorded. Sadly, Townshend has paid the price for his exposure to loud rock music and had severe hearing problems. Because of this ailment, he provided the initial funding for a hearing advocacy group called Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (HEAR).

97 Shutterbug’s setting : F-STOP

Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in a greater depth of field (more of the photograph is in focus).

98 Movie that captures the arc of conception through the delivery room? : FROM HERE TO MATERNITY (from “From Here to Eternity”)

“From Here to Eternity” is a 1953 film adaptation of a James Jones novel of the same name. The main characters in the story are three soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the days prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The soldiers are played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed play the love interests. The film (and novel) title is a quotation from the 1892 poem “Gentlemen-Rankers” by Rudyard Kipling:

104 Texter’s “Gimme a reason” : YNOT

Why not? (YNOT?)

110 Bank of America’s virtual assistant : ERICA

Today’s Bank of America traces its roots back to the Bank of Italy, believe it or not, which was a San Francisco bank founded in 1904 to service working-class Italian Americans. Bank of Italy evolved into Bank of America through a series of mergers.

113 Capital of the Bahamas : NASSAU

Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas, and used to be called Charles Town. Located on the island of New Providence, the original settlement was burnt to the ground by the Spanish in 1684. It was rebuilt and named Nassau in honor of King William III of England (“William of Orange”), a Dutchman from the House of Orange-Nassau. Nassau is a favored location for the James Bond series of movies. The city and surroundings feature in “Thunderball”, “Never Say Never Again”, “Casino Royale” and “For Your Eyes Only”. Bond portrayer Sean Connery lived for many years at Lyford Cay, which is just a 30-min drive from the center of Nassau.

118 Movie exposing the truth behind a cloning experiment? : THE SCIENCE OF THE LAMBS (from “The Silence of the Lambs”)

Dolly was the most famous sheep in the world. She was a clone, and was born in 1996 near Edinburgh in Scotland, grown from a cell taken from the mammary gland of a healthy donor sheep. When asked why she was called Dolly, the scientist responsible said, and I quote:

“Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn’t think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton’s”.

“The Silence of the Lambs” is a 1991 psychological drama based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. Jodie Foster plays FBI trainee Clarice Starling, and Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. “The Silence of the Lambs” swept the Big Five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay) for that year, being only the third movie ever to do so. The other two so honored were “It Happened One Night” (1934) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975).

124 Aquafina rival : EVIAN

Évian-les-Bains (or simply “Évian”) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As one might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. Personally, I can’t stand the distinctive taste of Évian water …

126 Japanese beef city : KOBE

Kobe is a port city on the island of Honshu in Japan. Here in North America, the city of Kobe is perhaps most famous for its beef. And yes, basketball star Kobe Bryant was named after that very same beef.

128 Cold brew style : NITRO

Most beers are carbonated due to the production (or introduction) of carbon dioxide. Some beers are made “sparkling” by introducing nitrogen gas into the liquid. Nitrogen bubbles are much smaller than CO₂ bubbles. As a result, nitro beers are said to have a smoother mouthfeel than carbonated beers.

Down

2 Blueprint calculation : AREA

Blueprints are reproductions of technical or architectural drawings that are contact prints made on light-sensitive sheets. They were introduced in the 1800s and the technology available dictated that the drawings were reproduced with white lines on a blue background, hence the name “blue-print”.

3 Luke and Leia, e.g. : SIBS

Anakin “Ani” Skywalker is the principal character in the first six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

• Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training by young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• Episode II: Anakin is 18-years-old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
• Episode III: Anakin is 21-years-old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
• Episode IV: Darth Vader, comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and the Princess Leia.
• Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
• Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

6 “Knock Knock” filmmaker Roth : ELI

Eli Roth is one of a group of directors of horror movies known quite graphically as “The Splat Pack”. I can’t stand “splat” movies and avoid them as best I can. Roth is also famous for playing Donny Donowitz in the Quentin Tarantino movie “Inglourious Basterds”.

“Knock Knock” is a 2015 thriller movie starring Keanu Reeves as a man who is seduced and victimized by two young women after he offers them shelter in his home in a rainstorm. His attackers are played by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas.

7 Flour ground in a chakki : ATTA

Atta is a whole-wheat flour used to make flatbreads in South Asian cuisine, such as chapati and naan. “Atta” is the Hindi or Urdu word for “dough”.

Chakki are grinding stones used to grind spices and grains for Indian cuisine.

8 Actress Madeline : KAHN

Madeline Kahn was an actress best known for her comedic roles, especially those directed by Mel Brooks. Kahn also had her own TV sitcom, called “Oh Madeline”. But, it only lasted one season, in 1983.

13 Salzburg setting : ALPS

Salzburg is a city in Austria with a great musical tradition. It was the birthplace of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was also the setting for much of “The Sound of Music”.

14 Gp. of lawyers : ABA

American Bar Association (ABA)

15 Grand __: wine classification : CRU

“Cru” is a term used in the French wine industry that means “growth place”. So, “cru” is the name of the location where the grapes are grown, as opposed to the name of a specific vineyard. The terms “premier cru” and “grand cru” are also used, but the usage depends on the specific wine region. Generally it is a classification awarded to specific vineyards denoting their potential for producing great wines. “Grand cru” is reserved for the very best vineyards, with “premier cru” the level just below.

17 Anastasia of “Fifty Shades of Grey” : STEELE

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is a 2015 erotic drama movie based on a 2011 novel of the same name by E.L. James. Starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, the film was widely panned by critics and won out of six nominations at the season’s Golden Raspberry Awards. Audiences didn’t care, though, and it was a box office smash. It also spawned two sequels: “Fifty Shades Darker” (2017) and “Fifty Shades Freed” (2018).

23 Ankara coins : LIRAS

Ankara is the second largest city in Turkey, after Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). After WWI, the Ottoman Empire had been defeated and the Allies occupied the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. The victors planned to break up most of Turkey, leaving native Turks just part of their country for their own. In the inevitable War of Independence that followed, the Turkish Nationalists used Ankara as their base. When the Nationalists emerged victorious, they declared Ankara the new capital of Turkey.

34 Getty of “Golden Girls” : ESTELLE

Actress Estelle Getty was best known for playing Sophia Petrillo on “The Golden Girls”. Bea Arthur played Sophia’s daughter on the show, even though Estelle was actually a year younger than Bea in real life!

37 Arab patriarch : SHEIK

“Sheikh” (also “sheik”) is an Arabic title used by the head of a family or by the head of a Muslim religious order. The term arose in the 16th century and came from the Arabic word “shaykh”, meaning “chief, old man”.

38 Chaser chosen by a head tap, in a kid’s game : GOOSE

“Duck, Duck, Goose” is a kid’s game, and not one that I’ve heard of outside of crosswords, to be honest …

39 Big-eyed babies : OWLETS

A baby owl is an owlet. The term “owlet” can also be used for the adults of the smaller species of owls.

40 “__ Guides”: how-to series : IDIOT’S

“Complete Idiot’s Guides” is a series of how-to reference books published by DK, the British publishing house. The series competes with the “For Dummies” line published by Wiley.

41 Foam dart maker : NERF

Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

44 Pentagram shape : STAR

A pentagram is a star-shape with five points that has been drawn using five straight lines. The name “pentagram” comes from the Greek for “five line”. The shape is sometimes also called a “pentacle”, “pentalpha” or “pentangle”. The pentagram is used as a prominent symbol in several religions and movements, notably in modern occultism.

45 Country Music Hall of Famer Keith : TOBY

Toby Keith is a country music singer from Clinton, Oklahoma. One of Keith’s number one hits is a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson called “Beer for My Horses”.

50 __ Diego : SAN

The name of the California city of San Diego dates back to 1602, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named the area after the Catholic Saint Didacus. Saint Didacus was more commonly referred to as San Diego de Alcalá.

56 Start of p.m. : NOON

Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

67 Request from a whistleblower : AMNESTY

A pardon is in effect a demonstration of pity and forgiveness for the crime. Amnesty is absolution while formally forgetting (“amnesty” is related to the term “amnesia”) that the crime took place. Further, a pardon can only be awarded to someone who has been convicted, whereas amnesty can be awarded to individuals who have not yet faced trial.

72 Studio whose logo says “Ars gratia artis” : MGM

It seems that the phrase “art for art’s sake” has its origins in France in the nineteenth century, where the slogan is expressed as “l’art pour l’art”. The Latin version “Ars gratia artis” came much later, in 1924. That’s when MGM’s publicist chose it for the studio’s logo, sitting under Leo the lion. Who’d a thunk it?

73 Gymnast Raisman : ALY

Aly Raisman is a retired gymnast. She captained the US gold-winning teams in the Olympics in 2012 (“The Fierce Five”) and in 2016 (“The Final Five”).

80 Grown-up pups : OTTERS

Male and female otters are known as dogs and bitches, with the offspring called pups. Males and females are sometimes referred to as boars and sows. A collection of otters is a bevy, family, lodge or perhaps a romp. When in water, a collection of otters can be called a raft.

81 Well put together : NATTY

A natty dresser is one who dresses smartly. The term “natty” may come from the Middle English “net” meaning “fine, elegant”, in which case it shares its etymology with the word “neat”.

82 Natural history museum display, for short : DINO

Dinosaurs were reptiles that roamed the Earth from the late Triassic period until the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The term “dinosaur” was coined by English paleontologist Sir Richard Owen in 1842. He used the Greek words “deinos” meaning “terrible” and “sauros” meaning “lizard” to come up with the name.

85 Wonderland cake directive : EAT ME

In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Alice follows the white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds a bottle labeled “DRINK ME”. When she drinks the contents, it causes her to shrink. She also sees a cake adorned with the words “EAT ME” written using currants, and when she eats the cake she grows so big she finds it hard to stand up. After eating the cake, she utters the words, “Curiouser and curiouser”.

87 Skye of “La Brea” : IONE

Ione Skye is an American actress born in London, England. She is best known for portraying the character Diane Court in the 1989 high school romance movie “Say Anything…”, starring opposite John Cusack. Skye is the daughter of the Scottish folk singer Donovan.

The TV show “La Brea” is a sci-fi series that premiered in 2021. It is set in present-day Los Angeles and follows a family who are separated when an earthquake opens a gigantic sinkhole that transports them through a portal to the Ice Age. The sinkhole is located at the La Brea Tar Pits, hence the show’s title.

88 Rap great born Tracy Marrow : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be tired of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.

97 End-of-semester hurdle : FINAL

“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We use the term in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester-system has three parts, and a quarter-system has four.

101 First Latina EGOT winner : MORENO

The acronym “EGOT” stands for “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony”, and is a reference to performers who have won all four awards. Also known as the “Showbiz Award Grand Slam”, there are relatively few individuals who have been so honored. The first five to do so were:

1. Richard Rodgers in 1962
2. Helen Hayes in 1977
3. Rita Moreno in 1977
4. John Gielgud in 1991
5. Audrey Hepburn in 1994 (posthumously)

102 West Coast gridders : NINERS

The 49ers football team in San Francisco takes its name from the gold prospectors who flooded into Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush. These “1849 prospectors” became known as the “49ers”.

111 Budget execs : CFOS

Chief financial officer (CFO)

119 New __: cap brand : ERA

The New Era Cap Company is a headwear manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York. It is New Era that supplies all the official baseball caps used by the Major League teams.