LA Times Crossword 15 Jul 24, Monday

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Constructed by: John Beck & Doug Peterson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Join the Club

Themed answers each start with a word that often JOINS “CLUB”:

• 57A “You’re not alone,” and what the first word in the answer to each starred clue can do : JOIN THE CLUB

• 17A *Alternative sentencing option : HOUSE ARREST (giving “clubhouse”)
• 25A *Love for hot rods and drive-in movies : CAR CULTURE (giving “club car”)
• 38A *Former name of 30-Down : SANDWICH ISLANDS (giving “club sandwich”)
• 46A *Wayyy past irate : HOPPING MAD (giving “club-hopping”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Stat for Shohei Ohtani : AVG

Shohei Ohtani is a baseball pitcher from Japan who started his professional career in 2013 playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He was signed by the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, and in 2018 was named the American League’s Rookie of the Year.

22 “Fiddlesticks!” : RATS!

We’ve been using “fiddlesticks” to mean “nonsense” since the early 17th century. Prior to that time, “fiddlestick” just referred to the bow of a fiddle.

25 *Love for hot rods and drive-in movies : CAR CULTURE (giving “club car”)

That would be a bar car (sometimes “club car”) on a train. Choo choo …

A hot rod is an American car that has been modified for speed by installing a larger than normal engine. A street rod is generally a more comfortable type of hot rod, with the emphasis less on the engine and more on custom paint jobs and interiors. By definition, a street rod must be based on an automobile design that originated prior to 1949.

29 Like Bono, Branagh, and Brosnan : IRISH

Irish singer Bono is a Dubliner who was born Paul David Hewson. As a youth, Hewson was given the nickname “Bono Vox” by a friend, a Latin expression meaning “good voice”, and so the singer has been known as Bono since the late seventies. His band’s first name was “Feedback”, later changed to “The Hype”. The band members searched for yet another name and chose U2 from a list of six names suggested by a friend. They picked U2 because it was the name they disliked least …

Kenneth Branagh is a much-respected Shakespearean actor and film director from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Not only is Branagh familiar with playing Shakespearean characters on stage, he is also noted for many performances in Shakespearean plays adapted for the big screen. Branagh was married to the magnificent actress Emma Thompson, and after their divorce spent years in a relationship with actress Helena Bonham Carter. Recently, I have been enjoying watching Branagh in the crime TV series called “Wallander” that is set in Sweden.

Pierce Brosnan is an Irish actor from Drogheda, a town north of Dublin. Brosnan’s big break in the US came when he was given the title role in the eighties television show “Remington Steele”. Famously, he also played James Bond on the big screen. Brosnan’s first appearance as Bond was in 1995’s “GoldenEye”. He was asked to take the role much earlier, in 1987, but Brosnan couldn’t get out of his contract for “Remington Steele”. Brosnan was the fifth actor to play Bond, after Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. Oh, and Brosnan is a very distant “member” of my clan, by way of a few marriages.

35 “Chandelier” singer : SIA

“Chandelier” is a 2014 song by Australian singer Sia. I don’t know the song myself, but it sounds like it’s a bit of a downer, dealing with alcoholism, addiction and excessive hedonism.

38 *Former name of 30-Down : SANDWICH ISLANDS (giving “club sandwich”)

The famed British explorer Captain James Cook made three voyages of discovery into the Pacific Ocean. Cook was in command of HMS Resolution on his third voyage, and he and his crew became the first Europeans to visit the Hawaiian Islands, in 1778. He landed on Kauai and named the whole archipelago the Sandwich Islands, in honor of the fourth Earl of Sandwich who was in charge of the British Admiralty at the time. Cook continued his voyage, leaving Hawaii to explore the coast of what is now called Canada and Alaska, and returning to Hawaii the following year. After one month of contact with the native Hawaiians, Cook departed from the islands but was forced to return to repair a broken mast. Relations between the Europeans and the islanders had been good but despite this a dispute developed and got out of control that resulted in Cook being struck on the head and stabbed to death. His body was dragged away by the islanders, and as an apparent sign of respect for the Captain, the natives processed his body according to funeral traditions associated with Hawaiian kings and elders. Eventually, after a petition from the remaining crew, some of Cook’s remains were also returned for a formal burial at sea, adhering to British naval tradition.

41 Cathedral city near Cambridge : ELY

Ely Cathedral is a famous and beautiful church in the city of Ely in the English county of Cambridgeshire. There is a Gothic door on the north face of the cathedral that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the man famous as the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Christopher Wren had a personal link to the church, as his uncle was the Bishop of Ely.

42 Penne __ vodka : ALLA

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish with a sauce made of vodka, cream, tomatoes, onions and sausage or bacon.

43 Indian lutes : SITARS

The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

52 “__ we forget” : LEST

“Lest we forget” is an oft-quoted phrase, one that comes from a poem by Rudyard Kipling called “Recessional”. Kipling wrote the piece on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and used it to express sadness at the waning of the British Empire. The phrase “lest we forget” is used in this context, a warning that the empire will decline. Ever since WWI we’ve been using the words on memorials as a plea not to forget the sacrifices made by others in the past.

54 San Antonio mission : ALAMO

The San Antonio mission known as the Alamo may have been named for a grove of nearby cottonwood trees. “Álamo” is the Spanish name for the cottonwood.

65 New Brunswick neighbor : MAINE

There seems to be some uncertainty how the US state of Maine got its name. However, the state legislature has adopted the theory that it comes from the former French province of Maine. The legislature included language to that effect when adopting a resolution in 2001 to establish Franco-American Day.

The Province of New Brunswick takes its name from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. Braunschweig, known as Brunswick in English, was the ancestral home of the British King George III.

68 Pop star John : ELTON

Singer and musician Elton John joined the hallowed club of EGOT winners in 2024. He had already won five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and finally an Emmy (for the documentary “Elton John: Farewell from Dodger Stadium”).

Down

3 Bud’s partner in classic comedy : LOU

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made up the comedy duo Abbott and Costello who were immensely popular in the forties and fifties. Even when I was growing up in Ireland and knew nothing about baseball, I was rolling around the floor listening to Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First?” comedy routine. Can you name all the players?

First Base: Who
Second Base: What
Third Base: I Don’t Know
Left field: Why
Centerfield: Because
Pitcher: Tomorrow
Catcher: Today
Shortstop: I Don’t Care/I Don’t Give a Darn

6 Jazz composer Chick : COREA

Chick Corea is an American jazz pianist. Corea is noted for his work in the area of jazz fusion, as well as for his promotion of Scientology.

10 “C’__ la vie!” : EST

“C’est la vie” is French for “that’s life”.

18 N.C. State’s athletic gp. : ACC

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

21 Topography abbr. : MTN

Topology is a field of mathematics concerned with the study of surfaces, and properties that are preserved when surfaces are deformed. While topology is beyond me, topography is easier for me to wrap my head around. Topography is the study of landforms and features.

26 Southwest Colombian city : CALI

In terms of population, Cali is the third-largest city in Colombia (after Bogotá and Medellin). Santiago de Cali (the full name for the city) lies in western Colombia. Apparently, Cali is a destination for “medical tourists”. The city’s surgeons have a reputation for being experts in cosmetic surgery and so folks head there looking for a “cheap” nose job. Cali has also been historically associated with the illegal drug trade and money laundering.

27 Amherst sch. : UMASS

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) is the largest public university in New England. UMass was founded back in 1863, although it took a while to get the school into service. Construction work was delayed and the college went through two presidents before William S. Clark took charge. He cracked the whip, completed the construction and enrolled the first students in the same year that he took over the reins, in 1867. As a result, although Clark was the third President of UMass, he is regarded by most as the school’s founding father.

28 WNBA legend Lisa : LESLIE

Lisa Leslie is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks. Leslie is rather tall, and was the first player to dunk the ball in a WNBA game.

33 Center of Italy’s fashion industry : MILAN

Milan (“Milano” in Italian) is Italy’s second-largest city, second only to Rome. It is a European fashion capital, the headquarters for the big Italian fashion houses of Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Armani, Prada and others. Mario Prada was even born in Milan, and helped establish the city’s reputation in the world of fashion.

36 “Hijack” star Elba : IDRIS

Idris Elba is a British actor and DJ. He was born in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. Elba’s breakthrough role came in 2002, when he was cast as Stringer Bell in the HBO series “The Wire”.

“H/JACK” is a thriller TV miniseries starring Idris Elba. He plays a passenger on a hijacked plane who takes on the task of negotiating a peaceful end to the incident. Great stuff …

46 Muggy : HUMID

Our term “muggy” means “warm and humid”, and comes from the Old Norse word “mugga” that describes “drizzling mist”.

47 Only U.S. president born in 30-Down : OBAMA
[30D State whose official individual sport is surfing : HAWAII]

Despite rumors to the contrary, Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. Future US President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.

49 Tropical ray : MANTA

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the biggest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

55 Video that’s suddenly everywhere, say : MEME

A meme (from “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

62 Actor Kingsley : BEN

English actor Ben Kingsley won his Best Actor Oscar for playing the title role in the 1982 epic biographical film “Gandhi”. Kingsley was knighted in 2002, so if you meet him you should address him as “Sir Ben” …