LA Times Crossword 1 Jul 24, Monday

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Stargazing

Themed answers are all places WHERE one can SEE STARS:

• 17A Where to see stars on an app : YELP REVIEW
• 30A Where to see stars after a blow : BOXING MATCH
• 47A Where to see stars under a dome : PLANETARIUM
• 65A Where to see stars in Hollywood : WALK OF FAME

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

Bill’s time: 5m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “__ Lisa”: Louvre highlight : MONA

Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece that we know in English as the “Mona Lisa” is called “La Gioconda” in Italian, the language of the artist. It’s also known as “La Joconde” by the Government of France which owns the painting and displays it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title comes from the name of the subject, almost certainly Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Giocondo was a wealthy silk merchant in Florence who commissioned the painting for the couple’s new home to celebrate the birth of their second son.

10 Squad car alerts, for short : APBS

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

14 Unaccounted-for GI : AWOL

The initialism “GI” stands for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

15 “American Top 40” medium : RADIO

American Top 40 (AT40) is a weekly radio show that plays the 40 most popular hits in the US. It was first broadcast in 1970, hosted by the celebrated Casey Kasem. Kasem continued to host until 1988, after which Shadoe Stevens hosted until 1995. Then followed a hiatus for three years, until Kasem returned to the job from 1998 until 2004. Ryan Seacrest took over the reins in 2004.

17 Where to see stars on an app : YELP REVIEW

yelp.com is a website that provides a local business directory and reviews of services. The site is sort of like Yellow Pages on steroids, and the term “yelp” is derived from “yel-low p-ages”.

19 Assistant on Apple devices : SIRI

Siri was originally developed as a standalone app by a startup company of the same name. Apple acquired the company in 2010 and integrated the technology into their operating system.

20 New Year’s Eve Potato Drop state : IDAHO

The beginning of a new year is celebrated worldwide with the raising or lowering of an object. Most famous is the dropping of a large crystal ball in Times Square in New York City. Here are some other objects raised or lowered at other locations:

• A peach in Atlanta, Georgia
• A stuffed opossum in Tallapoosa, Georgia
• An Indy car in Indianapolis, Indiana
• A sardine in Eastport, Maine
• A potato in Boise, Idaho
• A cheese wedge in Plymouth, Wisconsin

21 Mythical Himalayan beast : YETI

The yeti, also known as the abominable snowman, is a beast of legend. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology, and a cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

22 Smart __: frozen food brand : ONES

Smart Ones is a line of frozen foods targeted mainly at consumers focused on portion control. When the brand was launched by Heinz in 1992, an emphasis was placed on each Smart “One” item containing only “one” gram of fat.

23 “The Golden Bachelor” network : ABC

“The Golden Bachelor” is a spin-off of the dating reality TV series “The Bachelor”. The opening season resulted in the 72-year-old bachelor finding a match and ABC airing a special “The Golden Wedding” at the end of the season. However, the couple divorced after only three months of marriage.

35 “Frankly,” in a text : TBH

To be honest (TBH)

36 Female pheasant : HEN

The common pheasant is native to Asia and parts of Europe. The same bird is usually referred to as the ring-necked pheasant in North America. The ring-necked pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, even though it is not native to the state, and not native to the whole continent.

38 Org. that encourages flossing : ADA

American Dental Association (ADA)

42 Ornamental pond fish : KOI

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

47 Where to see stars under a dome : PLANETARIUM

The largest planetarium in the world is Planetarium 1 in St. Petersburg in Russia, having a dome of 37 meters in diameter. The largest in the Western Hemisphere is the Jennifer Chaisty Planetarium in the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, with a dome of diameter 27 meters. The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India has the largest seating capacity, for 630 patrons.

57 Brutish Tolkien characters : ORCS

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

60 “__ Attraction”: Glenn Close thriller : FATAL

“Fatal Attraction” is an exceptional thriller released in 1987, starring Micheal Douglas and Glenn Close. The movie is about a married man who has a brief affair with a woman who then obsessively stalks him. There’s a famous scene where the Michael Douglas character discovers that his stalker has killed the family pet rabbit and left it stewing in a pot on his stove. In Britain and Ireland, “bunny boiler” is now a common enough term used to describe a crazed woman …

Glenn Close is a wonderful actress who has played many varied roles, but is well known for her portrayals of less than wholesome characters. She played the crazy Alex Forrest in “Fatal Attraction”, and Cruella de Vil in “101 Dalmatians”. More recently, Close had a regular role on a TV show called “Damages”. Glenn Close is an avid fan of the New York Mets and regularly sings the national anthem before games. As of 2024, Close was tied with Peter O’Toole for the record for the most Oscar acting nominations without a win (that would be eight).

65 Where to see stars in Hollywood : WALK OF FAME

Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles is home to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, comprising over 2,500 stars embedded in the sidewalk. The thoroughfare was named Prospect Boulevard until 1920, when the town of Hollywood was annexed by the city of Los Angeles.

Down

3 Mardi Gras city, informally : NOLA

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has the nickname “The Big Easy”. This name might come from the early 1900s when musicians found it relatively “easy” to find work there. The city is also known by the acronym NOLA, standing for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

“Mardi Gras” translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”, and the holiday gets its name from the practice of eating rich foods on the eve of the fasting season known as Lent. Lent starts on the next day, called Ash Wednesday.

6 Folk hero Crockett : DAVY

Davy Crockett is often referred to as “King of the Wild Frontier”. He was from East Tennessee, and after serving in the local militia he entered politics and represented his state in the US House of Representatives from 1827 to 1831. Crockett disapproved of many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, which led to his defeat in the 1834 election for the House. The defeat prompted Crockett to leave Tennessee for Texas. Famously, he died there in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

7 Emmy winner Falco : EDIE

Actress Edie Falco won three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano on HBO’s outstanding drama series called “The Sopranos”. Falco also won an Emmy in 2010 for playing the title role in “Nurse Jackie”, an excellent black comedy.

8 Cobbler container : PIE TIN

The dessert called “cobbler” originated in colonial America when settlers invented it as a substitute for suet pudding as they didn’t have the necessary ingredients to make the more traditional dish. Instead, they stewed fruit and covered it with a layer of uncooked scones or biscuits, creating a surface that resembled a “cobbled” street, hence the name.

18 AnnaSophia of “Bridge to Terabithia” : ROBB

2007’s “Bridge to Terabithia” is a film adaptation of a 1977 children’s novel of the same name by Katherine Paterson. It is about two 12-year-old friends who spend a lot of time together in an old tree house, and who create a fantasy world called Terabithia. Although the film is set in rural Virginia, it was actually filmed in New Zealand.

24 “SportsCenter” anchor Linda : COHN

Linda Cohn is a sportscaster who started anchoring ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in 1992. When Cohn was in high school, she played hockey on the boys team.

27 Notary public’s mark : STAMP

A notary public is a public officer licensed to perform specific legal actions in non-contentious legal matters. The main duties are to administer oaths, take affidavits and witness the execution of documents.

28 “Opposites Attract” singer Paula : ABDUL

“Opposites Attract” is a 1989 single released by Paula Abdul that first appeared on her debut album “Forever Your Girl”. Also featured in the song are the singing duo known as the Wild Pair: Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn. The song was destined to become Abdul’s fourth US number-one.

31 “Hollywood Squares” symbols : XES

The popular game show “Hollywood Squares” first aired in 1965, in glorious black and white. The list of celebrities who regularly appeared on the show over the years includes Rich Little, Roddy McDowell, Florence Henderson, Buddy Hackett, Barbara Eden, Vincent Price, Jonathan Winters and Joan Rivers.

33 100 bucks : C-NOTE

“Buck” is a slang word meaning “dollar”. The term has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days.

40 Calais chum : AMI

Calais is a major ferry port in northern France that overlooks the Strait of Dover, which is the narrowest point in the English Channel. The strait is just over 20 miles wide, making Calais the nearest French town to England.

49 House with a sharply sloping roof : A-FRAME

An A-frame house is one that has a steeply-angled roof, one forming the shape of the letter “A”. The A-frame design is popular in snowy regions, as the roof is so steeply pitched that it does not collect snow.

54 Stretchy candy : TAFFY

Salt water taffy was invented in Atlantic City and is now found all over the US, but primarily in coastal towns (for some reason) and not really outside of America. Taffy is made by stretching the solid mass made by boiling up sugar, butter, flavoring, and coloring until it achieves a fluffy texture. Despite the inference in the name, the recipe for salt water taffy does not include “seawater”, but does include both salt and water.

58 Seafood in a shell : CLAM

Clams can live up to about 500 years. The oldest recorded clam was a quahog clam found in Iceland, which lived to be 507 years old. To determine the clam’s age, the researchers opened it up. By doing so, they ended the life of the oldest living animal ever found …

59 __ milk : SKIM

The fatty component of milk is known as butterfat (sometimes “milkfat”). To be labeled whole milk, the butterfat content must be at least 3.25%. Low-fat milk is defined as milk containing 0.5-2% fat, with levels of 1% and 2% commonly found on grocery store shelves. Skim milk must contain less than 0.5% fat, and typically contains 0.1%.

61 “Teen Titans Go!” voice actress Strong : TARA

Actress Tara Strong is perhaps best known for her voice work. The list of her voice roles includes Dil Pickles on the TV series “Rugrats”.

“Teen Titans Go!” is an animated TV show based on the Team Titans superhero team created by DC Comics. It is also a spin-off of “Team Titans”, another animated superhero show. Although “Team Titans” is known for its humor, “Team Titans Go!” is considered crazily comical, and parodic.

63 Scallion relative : LEEK

The leek is a vegetable closely related to the onion and the garlic. It is also a national emblem of Wales (along with the daffodil), although I don’t think we know for sure how this came to be. One story is that the Welsh were ordered to wear leeks in their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. Apparently, the battle took place in a field of leeks.

Scallions are edible plants with a mild onion flavor. They are also called green onions or spring onions.

66 La Liga cheer : OLE!

The premier division of Spanish club soccer is the “Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División”, or more usually “La Liga” (The League).