LA Times Crossword 21 Aug 24, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Brian Callahan & Will Eisenberg
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Terrier Mix

Themed answers include the name of a TERRIER as a hidden word, with the order of the letters MIXED:

• 59A Hybrid dog breed, literal examples of which can be found in the answers to the starred clues : TERRIER MIX

• 18A *Skeptical response to an ultimatum : OR ELSE WHAT? (hiding “WELSH” mix)
• 24A *Swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas : PUSS IN BOOTS (hiding “BOSTON” mix)
• 39A *”Absitively posolutely!” : HECK YES! (hiding “SKYE” mix)
• 50A *Common side with chiles rellenos : SPANISH RICE (hiding “IRISH” mix)

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

Bill’s time: 9m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Forecaster’s tool? : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

8 Forecaster’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”.

13 Wong of “Beef” : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

“Beef” is a comedy-drama TV show that debuted in 2023. It stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two people in a prolonged feud after a road rage and car chase incident. The critics really like this one.

15 Lady Liberty’s land, familiarly : US OF A

The first known use of the phrase “United States of America” is in a letter dated January 2nd, 1776 from Irish-American Stephen Moylan, who was serving as acting secretary to General George Washington. Writing to Washington’s aide-de-camp Colonel Joseph Reed, Moylan stated:

I should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain [to seek foreign assistance for the cause].

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and constructed in France by civil engineer Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). The statue was disassembled, shipped to the US, and reassembled on its pedestal on Bedloe’s Island (now “Liberty Island”). A ceremony of dedication was held in 1886. If you take a boat ride down the Seine in Paris you will probably see a one-third replica of Lady Liberty standing on a small island in the river, looking quite magnificent. That copy was given to the people of Paris by the city’s American community in 1889.’

16 Bay Area industry : TECH

The Santa Clara Valley, located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

18 *Skeptical response to an ultimatum : OR ELSE WHAT? (hiding “WELSH” mix)

It is believed by many the Welsh terrier is the oldest breed of the dog existing in Britain.

22 Driver’s “Star Wars” role : REN

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

24 *Swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas : PUSS IN BOOTS (hiding “BOSTON” mix)

“Puss in Boots” is a 2011 animated film that is based on the European fairy tale that dates back to 1697. The movie is a spin-off of the “Shrek” series of films, and serves as a prequel. The title character of “Puss in Boots” is voiced by Antonio Banderas.

Antonio Banderas is an actor from Málaga in Andalusia on the southern coast of Spain. Banderas’s breakthrough role in Hollywood was the gay lover of the Tom Hanks character in 1993’s “Philadelphia”. He was married for 20 years to actress Melanie Griffith, whom he met in 1995 while filming “Two Much”.

A swashbuckler is a flashy swordsman. The term “swashbuckler” probably derives somehow from “swash” meaning “fall of a blow”, and “buckler” meaning “small round shield”.

The Boston Terrier is an American breed of dog that originated around 1870 in Boston. It was named as the official state dog of Massachusetts in 1979.

28 Retired Bing assistant : CORTANA

Microsoft’s Cortana was a virtual assistant that could engage in two-way conversation. It competed with Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. Microsoft gradually shut down Cortana from 2019 to 2023.

29 Shout to a diva : BRAVA!

To express appreciation for a male performer at an operatic performance, traditionally one calls out “bravo!”. Appreciation for a female performer is shown by using “brava!”, and for more than one performer of either sex by using “bravi!”

38 Flanders who lives on Evergreen Terrace : 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.

39 *”Absitively posolutely!” : HECK YES! (hiding “SKYE” mix)

The Skye terrier is a breed of dog that is under threat of extinction. A few years ago, there were only 30 Skye terriers born in the breed’s native land of the UK. The breed was named for the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

45 Nintendo rival : SEGA

Sega is a Japanese video game company headquartered in Tokyo. Sega actually started out in 1940 as Standard Games and was located in Honolulu, which at that time was a city in the US Territory of Hawaii. The owners moved the operation to Tokyo in 1951 and renamed the company to Service Games. The name “Sega” is a combination of the first two letters of the words “Se-rvice” and “Ga-mes”.

46 Electronic instrument, for short : SYNTH

In the sixties, Robert Moog invented the Moog Synthesizer, an electronic device that he used to produce music. I used to own a few of his albums, including a Moog version of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. What a great performance that was …

50 *Common side with chiles rellenos : SPANISH RICE (hiding “IRISH” mix)

Spanish rice is a side dish that is usually called “Mexican rice” in the American Southwest. It is made by browning the rice by sautéing, then adding chicken broth, chopped tomatoes and other ingredients.

A chile relleno is a whole chile pepper stuffed with cheese, breaded and fried. “Chile relleno” translates from Spanish as “stuffed chile”.

The Irish terrier is one of the older terrier breeds, and originated in the 1870s. Irish terriers usually have a golden red coat that is straight and wiry on the outside, with a soft undercoat.

56 Bushwacker liquor : RUM

A bushwacker is a cocktail that has been described as a creamy, chocolate piña colada. It comprises vodka or rum, Kahlua, dark crème de Cacao, cream of coconut, triple sec and milk, all blended with ice. The bushwacker was invented in a pub on Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in 1975.

59 Hybrid dog breed, literal examples of which can be found in the answers to the starred clues : TERRIER MIX

Most terrier breeds of dog originated in Britain and Ireland. They were developed as working dogs, with the job of controlling populations of rats, rabbits and foxes by rooting them out above and below the ground. The name “terrier” comes via Middle French from the Latin “terra” meaning “earth”, a reflection of the breed’s habit of burrowing into the earth looking for its prey.

63 “Frozen” sister : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

65 Click a floppy disk icon : SAVE

I don’t think my kids really know what a floppy disk is. A floppy is made of a thin and flexible magnetic material that can store data, enclosed in a protective case. I’ve used 8-inch floppies in my time, and many 5.25-inch floppy disks. Until fairly recently, I had a desktop that would take 3.5-inch disks, although I think the last 3.5-inch floppy disappeared from the house several years ago …

67 Tiny bit : SKOSH

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”. It was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

68 “Grand” ice cream : EDY’S

Edy’s is a brand of premium ice cream that was founded in 1928 in Oakland, California. The company’s two signature brands, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, are named after its founders, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

69 U.S. ID issuer : SSA

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.

Down

4 Aussie hopper : ROO

The word “kangaroo” comes from the Australian Aborigine term for the animal. There’s an oft-quoted story that the explorer James Cook (later Captain Cook) asked a local native what was the name of this remarkable-looking animal, and the native responded with “Kangaroo”. The story is that the native was actually saying “I don’t understand you”, but as cute as that tale is, it’s just an urban myth.

6 Biting : ACERB

“Acerb” is a variant of “acerbic”, with both terms meaning “sour, bitter-tasting, acidic”.

7 Diet that avoids processed foods : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

10 City whose name comes from the Arabic for “roundness” : DOHA

Doha is the capital city of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The name “Doha” translates from Arabic as “big tree” or “roundness”.

19 Craft beer aficionado, perhaps : SNOB

Back in the 1780s, a snob was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word “snob” was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

An aficionado is an enthusiast. Imported from Spanish, “aficionado” was originally used in English to describe a devotee of bullfighting.

26 Image Awards gp. : NAACP

The NAACP Image Awards are presented annually to recognise people of color in the worlds of film, television, music and literature. The first awards were presented in 1967, and the ceremony usually takes place in Los Angeles.

27 Very, in Vichy : TRES

Vichy is a spa town in the center of France, and people from Vichy are known as Vichyssois. After Paris was occupied by the Germans in WWII, Vichy was chosen as the seat of government for what was called the French State. The Vichy government had theoretical authority even in occupied France, and is remembered for its collaboration with the German authorities. Vichy was chosen as the new seat of government because of its relative proximity to Paris, and simply because the town had the largest hotel room capacity in the “free zone” of the country.

28 Minor change? : CENT

The US one-cent coin has borne the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Fifty years later, a representation of the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side.

34 Reel Big Fish genre : SKA

Reel Big Fish is a ska punk band from Southern California that was founded in 1991.

39 Address letters : HTTP

“http” are the first letters in many Internet links. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. More secure and “safer” websites (like this one!) use links starting with “https”, which stands for “http secure”).

40 __ A Sketch : ETCH

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes, who initially named it “L’Écran Magique” (The Magic Screen).

43 Some orthotic devices : INSERTS

Orthoses are medical devices applied externally to support or immobilize part of the skeleton. Examples are splints and braces.

45 Subway spinner : STILE

A stile is a structure allowing people to pass over or through a fence, while at the same time preventing livestock from escaping. The derivative term “turnstile” describes a revolving structure in a wall or fence that allows the controlled passage of people.

47 Fabled braggart : HARE

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

54 Shallot 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.

The shallot is a type of onion that is closely related to the garlic, leek and chive. I’m a big fan …

55 McCafé frappé flavor : OREO

McCafé is a chain of coffeehouses owned by McDonald’s. The first McCafé was opened by a McDonald’s franchisee in Australia, after which the company took the concept worldwide. McCafé is the most successful coffee shop brand in Australia and New Zealand.

61 Wrigley Field plant : IVY

The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was buicortanalt in 1914. Back then it was known as Weeghman Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame. Wrigley Field is noted as the only professional ballpark that has ivy covering the outfield walls. The ivy is a combination of Boston Ivy and Japanese Bittersweet, both of which can survive the harsh winters in Chicago.