LA Times Crossword 10 Sep 24, Tuesday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Lisa Senzel & Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: I’m on the Phone

Themed answers each end with something I might do when I’M ON THE PHONE:

• 57A Mouthed words that can also be said while doing the ends of the answers to the starred clues? : I’M ON THE PHONE

• 19A *Shortened version of a book : ABRIDGED TEXT
• 39A *Light, friendly punch : LOVE TAP
• 13D *Hunter’s lure for a game bird : TURKEY CALL
• 24D *Narrative art form that’s often read right to left : HANDSCROLL

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

Bill’s time: 5m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Like an angle between 90º and 180º : OBTUSE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

• Acute (< 90 degrees) 
• Right (= 90 degrees) 
• Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
• Straight (180 degrees) 
• Reflex (> 180 degrees)

19 *Shortened version of a book : ABRIDGED TEXT

The words “abridge” and “abbreviate” both come from the same Latin root “abbreviare”, meaning to “make short”.

21 Zen garden tool : RAKE

Japanese Zen gardens are inspired by the meditation gardens of Zen Buddhist temples. Zen gardens have no water in them, but often there is gravel and sand that is raked in patterns designed to create the impression of water in waves and ripples.

22 Nasdaq rival : NYSE

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization, and it has been in operation for over 230 years. The first company to be listed on the NYSE was the Bank of New York. It was traded alongside four other securities when the exchange opened.

30 Malleable : PLIANT

Something malleable is capable of being shaped by beating with a hammer. “Malleable” comes from the Latin “malleus” meaning “hammer”. We mainly use the term figuratively these days, to describe something or someone capable of being altered by outside influences.

32 “Gangnam Style” rapper : PSY

“PSY” is the stage name of South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang. PSY became an international star when his 2012 music video “Gangnam Style” went viral on YouTube. That video had over 1 billion views on YouTube in about six months, making it the most viewed YouTube video clip of all time. The title of the song refers to a lifestyle experienced in the Gangnam District of Seoul.

37 Photographer Leibovitz : ANNIE

Annie Leibovitz is an outstanding photographer who is best known for her portraits of celebrities. Perhaps her most famous image is one taken of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine. It features Ono and Lennon lying together on the floor, with a nude Lennon kissing the cheek of a fully clothed Ono. Five hours after the photo was taken, Lennon was murdered outside the Dakota Building in Manhattan, where he lived.

38 Legendary pro wrestler Flair : RIC

Wrestler Ric Flair’s real name is Richard Fliehr. Perhaps following the lead of his compatriot Jesse Ventura, Flair explored the possibility of running for governor of the state of North Carolina.

41 Issuer of Real ID cards : DMV

In most states, the government agency responsible for vehicle registration and the issuing of driver’s licenses is called the DMV. This initialism usually stands for the Department of Motor Vehicles, but there are “variations on the theme”. For example, in Arizona the responsible agency is called the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), and in Colorado the familiar abbreviation “DMV” stands for Division of Motor Vehicles.

What we know today as “Real IDs” are the result of the Real ID Act of 2005. One of the most visible results of the law are state-issued drivers’ licenses that meet new minimum security standards set by the federal government.

46 Frozen Italian desserts : GELATI

Gelato (plural “gelati”) is the Italian version of American ice cream, differing in that it has a lower butterfat content than its US counterpart.

48 Artifact : RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

50 Part of SRO : ONLY

Standing room only (SRO)

51 Hockey puck, e.g. : DISC

Before wooden and rubber pucks were introduced in the late 1800s, ice hockey was played with balls. The first rubber pucks were made by cutting down rubber balls into the shape of discs.

64 Louise’s film partner : THELMA

“Thelma & Louise” is a thought-provoking movie, and one that is very entertaining. It was directed by Ridley Scott in 1991, and stars two fabulous leads in Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. You’ll also spot Brad Pitt onscreen in his first significant movie role.

66 Sudsy bar : SOAP

Soap is basically made by adding a strong alkali (like lye) to a fat (like olive oil or palm oil). The fats break down in the basic solution in a process called saponification. The crude soap is extracted from the mixture, washed, purified and finished in molds.

69 Some AAA rescues : TOWS

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

70 Swiss peak : ALP

The Swiss Alps are home to over 4,000 glaciers, which cover an area of about 1,000 square miles. These glaciers are a crucial source of freshwater for much of Europe. In fact, 6% of the continent’s freshwater is found within the borders of Switzerland, giving it the nickname “Water Tower of Europe”.

Down

3 Floating chunk of ice : BERG

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken away from a glacier or ice shelf. Our use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.

6 Nursery rhyme girl whose sheep go missing : BO-PEEP

The lines that are most commonly quoted from the rhyme about “Little Bo Peep” are:

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, And they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

But, there are actually four more verses, including this one:

It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

7 Fearsome dino : T-REX

The Tyrannosaurus rex (usually written “T-rex”) was a spectacular looking dinosaur. “Tyrannosaurus” comes from the Greek words “tyrannos” (tyrant) and “sauros” (lizard) and “rex” the Latin for “king”. They were big beasts, measuring 42 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hips, and weighing 7.5 tons.

9 Furry 1980s sitcom star : ALF

“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.

10 Scanner output, often : PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF)

11 Actor Sharif : OMAR

Omar Sharif was a great Hollywood actor from Egypt, someone who played major roles in memorable movies such as “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. But to me, he was my bridge hero (referring to the card game). In his heyday, Sharif was one of the best bridge players in the world.

12 Son of Jango Fett, in “Star Wars” : BOBA

Boba Fett is one of the principal bad guys in the “Star Wars” universe. He appears in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” and in “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”. A young version of Boba Fett also appears in “Episode II: Attack of the Clones”.

20 Radicchio relative : ENDIVE

Endive is a leaf vegetable belonging to the chicory genus, and so is in the daisy family. Endive is also known as “escarole”.

24 *Narrative art form that’s often read right to left : HANDSCROLL

A handscroll is a lengthy roll of paper or silk used in East Asia for painted works and for calligraphy. Usually viewed from right to left, the horizontal artwork and/or writing on the scroll often depicts a narrative tale. A similar format that is vertical is known as a hanging scroll.

26 Carell of “Despicable Me” : STEVE

“Despicable Me” is a 2010 animated comedy film. The main voice actor in the movie is the very funny Steve Carell. “Despicable Me” is a Universal Pictures production, although all of the animation was done in France. The 2010 film was followed by a sequel “Despicable Me 2” released in 2013, with a prequel/spin-off film called “Minions” released in 2015.

31 Boutonniere spot : LAPEL

A boutonnière is a flower worn by men in the lapel of a jacket, in the buttonhole. In fact, sometimes a boutonnière is referred to as a “buttonhole”, which is the translation of the French term.

32 Ragú rival : PREGO

The Prego brand of pasta sauce is owned by the Campbell Soup Company. It is actually based on the family recipe of one of the company’s chefs. “Prego” literally means “I pray” in Italian, but it translates best in English as “you’re welcome” when it is used after a “thank you” (“grazie”, in Italian).

The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was introduced in 1937. The name ”Ragù” is the Italian word for a sauce used to dress pasta, however the spelling is a little off in the name of the sauce. In Italian, the word is “Ragù” with a grave accent over the “u”, but if you look at a jar of the sauce on the supermarket shelf it is spelled “Ragú” on the label, with an acute accent. Sometimes I think we just don’t try …

33 Fire engine noisemaker : SIREN

Depending on where you live, you might find a fire truck in a firehouse, fire station or fire hall.

36 Carb in rice and potatoes : STARCH

Starch is a polysaccharide, a carbohydrate composed of chains of glucose units. In pure form, it is a tasteless, white powder. It is produced in nature by green plants as an energy store.

59 “Stormy Weather” singer James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated R&B and jazz singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James was an acquaintance of civil rights activist Malcom X. For ten years, she was a member of the Nation of Islam, and used the name “Jamesetta X”.

“Stormy Weather” is a 1933 song that is most associated with Lena Horne and Billie Holliday. It was first recorded by Ethel Waters, who debuted the song at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City. “Stormy Weather” spawned a 1943 movie of the same name in which Lena Horne starred and performed the title song.

60 “The Amazing Race” host Keoghan : PHIL

I am not a huge fan of reality television, but I do watch “The Amazing Race” (usually while writing posts for this blog on my laptop!). I love to travel, and enjoy seeing the teams traverse the globe. The show’s host is Phil Keoghan. From his accent, I always thought that Keoghan was from the Boston area. He’s actually from New Zealand! Shows you how much I know about American accents …

61 Moose __, Saskatchewan : JAW

Moose Jaw is a city in Saskatchewan. Among the city’s claims to fame is that Moose Jaw is home to the Snowbirds, Canada’s military aerobatic team. Another claim to fame is that it is home to the world’s largest moose. You can see the 34-foot tall statue of Mac the Moose on the grounds of the city’s visitors’ center.

63 Spelling contest : BEE

The National Spelling Bee was started in 1925 by the Louisville Courier-Journal. The first winning word was “gladiolus.”