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Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Theme: None
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Bill’s time: 12m 21s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
13 Polo player? : LAUREN
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer, born Ralph Liftshitz in the Bronx, New York. Lauren started off working as a salesman for Brooks Brothers after spending two years in the US Army. He then opened a necktie store, featuring his own tie designs. The ties were sold under the name “Polo”, which became Lauren’s most famous brand. Other Lauren brands are Purple Label and Black Label.
14 Opposite of “Nothin’ but net” : AIRBALL
An air ball in basketball is a shot that misses without even touching the rim, net or backboard.
“Nothing but net” is a phrase used in basketball to describe a “clean basket”. A clean basket is a score in which the ball doesn’t touch the backboard or even the rim, and touches only the net.
17 “Elmo’s World” character played by Bill Irwin : MR NOODLE
The character named Mr. Noodle is a mime who appears in the “Elmo’s World” segment of “Sesame Street”. The character was originally played by Broadway actor Bill Erwin, starting in 1998.
18 Quaint contraction : SHAN’T
“Shall not” is contracted to “shan’t”.
19 Comedian Wyatt : CENAC
Wyatt Cenac is a comedian and writer from New York City who was raised in Dallas. Cenac worked for three years as a writer for the TV show “King of the Hill” before joining “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as writer and correspondent.
20 Cab alternative : ZIN
Zinfandel is one of my favorite red wine varietals. It amazes me that the rich and heavy red Zinfandel comes from the same grape as does the sweet White Zinfandel.
26 India’s neighbor on a Risk board : SIAM
Risk is a fabulous board game that was introduced in France in 1957. It was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. Lamorisse called his new game “La Conquête du Monde”, which translates into English as “The Conquest of the World”. A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house …
“Siam” was the official name of Thailand up to 1939 (and again from 1945 to 1949).
30 Abundance during amateur hour? : ROOKIE MISTAKES
The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads”, which was originally published in 1892.
34 Orchestra known for an annual Fourth of July concert : BOSTON POPS
The marvelous Boston Pops orchestra specializes in playing light classical and popular music. It grew out of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), founded in 1885 by Henry Lee Higginson. Higginson instituted a series of performances by the BSO of lighter classics for the summer months, starting in 1885. These performances were originally known as the “Promenade Concerts”, and soon became year-round events. The name evolved into “Popular Concerts”, which was shortened to “Pops” and officially adopted in 1900.
35 Some unicorns : TECH STARTUPS
In the world of finance, a unicorn is a privately-held startup company that has a value of over $1 billion. The derivative terms “decacorn” and “hectacorn” refer to companies with valuation of over $10 billion and $100 billion respectively. The use of the term “unicorn” reflects how unlikely such valuations are.
38 Fruit with wrinkled skin : UGLI
The ugli fruit is a hybrid of an orange and a tangerine that was first discovered growing wild in Jamaica where most ugli fruit comes from today. “UGLI” is a trademark name that is a variant of “ugly”, a nod to the fruit’s unsightly wrinkled rind.
39 Court pro : STENO
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing). A stenographer might be a court reporter, or a person provided captions accompanying a live television broadcast.
40 Intel org. : NSA
National Security Agency (NSA)
43 Breaks open chests in Fortnite : LOOTS
Fortnite is a very, very popular online game that was released in 2017. There are several versions of the game, including the original Fortnite: Save the World.
48 Oft-mispunctuated word : ITS (or IT’S)
The word “it’s” is a contraction for “it is”, as in “it’s a fun crossword”. The spelling “its”, without an apostrophe, is used in all other cases, most commonly as the possessive form of the pronoun “it”. In that sense, “its” is akin to the pronouns his, hers, ours, etc., as in “the newspaper is known for its great crosswords”.
52 Crime novelist Buchanan : EDNA
Edna Buchanan is an author, mainly of crime mystery novels. She also worked as a crime journalist for “The Miami Herald”.
53 “Elsbeth” star Carrie : PRESTON
Carrie Preston is an actress from Macon, Georgia who plays Elsbeth Tascioni, a wonderful character on the TV show “The Good Wife” and its sequel “The Good Fight”. Such was the popularity of the character on those shows that Preston was asked to play Elsbeth in her own police comedy drama show starting in 2024. I really, really enjoy watching “Elsbeth” …
55 Good standing with sailors? : SEA LEGS
On a ship, one is said to have found one’s sea legs when the body has adjusted to the motion of the vessel. One can walk steadily, and is free from seasickness. An alternative use of “sea legs” is to describe the feeling one might have when stepping on land spending a few hours on a small boat sailing through relatively rough seas. In this case, the body can feel as though it is still rising and falling, as if one is still on the boat.
58 Sir Ken Robinson’s “Do Schools Kill Creativity?,” notably : TED TALK
The acronym “TED” stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design”. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”. There are also TEDx events, which are locally-run talks presented under license from TED.
Sir Kenneth Robinson was an international advisor on education from England. He reached a large audience with his three TED talks on creativity in education. His talk titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity”, as of 2020, was the most watched TED talk of all time.
60 “Heather Has Two Mommies” writer Newman : LESLEA
“Heather Has Two Mommies” is a 1989 children’s book by feminist author Lesléa Newman. It is recognized as a pioneering piece of children’s literature, one of the first to depict a lesbian relationship.
Down
2 Persian rugs? : CAT HAIR
The Persian is that long-haired cat with a squashed muzzle. The breed takes its name from its place of origin, namely Persia (Iran).
3 Place to enjoy krioyo cuisine : CURACAO
The Country of Curaçao is a Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles, lying about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela. For centuries, Curaçao was a Dutch colony. Since 2010, it has been an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
4 Moriarty of “The Boys” : ERIN
Erin Moriarty is an actress from New York City whose big break came when she landed the role of Starlight (aka AnnieJanuary) in the superhero TV series “The Boys”.
5 411 : DEETS
“Deets” is slang for “details”.
Several large US cities started using the telephone number “411” in the 1930s for local directory assistance. “411” was used in markets where the Bell System of telephone companies was prevalent. The number “113” served the same purpose on markets dominated by GTE and other telephone companies, with the last such usage of “113” disappearing in the 1980s. The term “4-1-1” is now used in North America as slang for “information”.
6 Demise : END
Back in the 1400s, a demise was the transfer of an estate via a will. The usage of “demise” extended in the mid-1700s to the contemporary meaning of “death, downfall”.
8 “High Priestess of Soul” Simone : NINA
“Nina Simone” was the stage name of Eunice Waymon. Simone was very much associated with jazz music, although she really wanted to be a classical musician early in her career. She was inspired by a love for the music of Bach.
9 Some restaurant clogs : CROCS
Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I bought a pair of crocs, and then my kids said they would stop talking to me …
10 Typing letters? : ABO
The most important grouping of blood types is the ABO system. Blood is classified as either A, B, AB or O, depending on the type of antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. A secondary designation of blood is the Rh factor, in which other antigens are labeled as either positive or negative. When a patient receives a blood transfusion, ideally the donor blood should be the same type as that of the recipient, as incompatible blood cells can be rejected. However, blood type O-neg can be accepted by recipients with all blood types, A, B, AB or O, and positive or negative. Hence someone with O-neg blood type is called a universal donor.
12 Figure in Kepler’s first law : ELLIPSE
Johannes Kepler was a mathematician, and most famously an astronomer. Kepler came up with his celebrated laws of planetary motion in the early 1600s.
15 Concave or convex things : LENSES
A surface of a lens might be convex (bulging outwards) or concave (bulging inwards).
25 Yappers : TRAPS
“Yap” and “trap” are slang terms meaning “mouth”.
27 Finale of “The Sopranos,” maybe : MOB HIT
“The Sopranos” is an outstanding television drama made by HBO that is a story about Italian-American mobsters in New Jersey. “The Sopranos” is regularly cited as one of the best TV series of all time. It’s “must see TV” …
31 Heavy socks? : KOS
Knockout (KO)
32 Did some politicking, say : SPUN
We use the term “spin” to describe an attempt to influence media reporters, with the term “spin doctor” describing a public relations person who is spouting such “spin”. Apparently, the use of “spin” in this context was popularized during the Reagan administration, when White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan was known informally as the “Director of Spin Control”.
33 Traditional literary motif : TOPOS
In classical rhetoric, topoi (singular “topos”) are basically common lines of argument or strategies used to persuade an audience. For example, one common topos is the appeal to authority, where one cites an expert to support one’s point. Another is the comparison between two things to highlight similarities or differences.
35 Bulbs that may not need to be replaced : TULIPS
We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” that means “muslin, gauze”.
42 “The Great North” setting : ALASKA
“The Great North” is a cartoon sitcom that first aired in 2021. The main character is Beef Tobin, a single father and fisherman living in an Alaska town with his four children and one daughter-in-law. Tobin is voiced by actor Nick Offerman.
50 Residue used to make pan sauces : FOND
In the kitchen, fond is the collection of small, flavorful particles that adhere to the bottom of a pan, especially after the cooking of meat. The fond is often deglazed with a liquid to produce the basis of a sauce or stock. The term “fond” comes from the French “fonds de cuisine”, which can be translated as the “foundation of the food”.
51 Instagram video : REEL
Reels is a facility introduced by Instagram in 2020. Essentially, it is a feature that competes with TikTok.
54 “The Simpsons” disco guy : STU
On “The Simpsons”, the character Disco Stu is voiced by Hank Azaria, although the original intent was for him to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Disco Stu is described as “a black, wrinkly John Travolta”.
56 Slangy ending with hater : -ADE
An extremely negative person might be described as having drunk the “haterade”, a play on the beverage “Gatorade”.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Fold : ACCEDE
7 Pen : ENCAGE
13 Polo player? : LAUREN
14 Opposite of “Nothin’ but net” : AIRBALL
16 Words of resignation : I TRIED
17 “Elmo’s World” character played by Bill Irwin : MR NOODLE
18 Quaint contraction : SHAN’T
19 Comedian Wyatt : CENAC
20 Cab alternative : ZIN
21 Tic-__-toe : TAC
22 Have in common : SHARE
24 Slams the door on : STOPS
26 India’s neighbor on a Risk board : SIAM
28 Just __ by : EKED
29 Went up : ROSE
30 Abundance during amateur hour? : ROOKIE MISTAKES
34 Orchestra known for an annual Fourth of July concert : BOSTON POPS
35 Some unicorns : TECH STARTUPS
38 Fruit with wrinkled skin : UGLI
39 Court pro : STENO
40 Intel org. : NSA
43 Breaks open chests in Fortnite : LOOTS
45 Pitch : TAR
46 Baby : SPOIL
48 Oft-mispunctuated word : ITS (or IT’S)
49 One hoping for a refund from an online return : E-FILER
52 Crime novelist Buchanan : EDNA
53 “Elsbeth” star Carrie : PRESTON
55 Good standing with sailors? : SEA LEGS
57 Idle : SITTING
58 Sir Ken Robinson’s “Do Schools Kill Creativity?,” notably : TED TALK
59 Hammers : POUNDS
60 “Heather Has Two Mommies” writer Newman : LESLEA
Down
1 Groups of celebs who might bypass the line : A-LISTS
2 Persian rugs? : CAT HAIR
3 Place to enjoy krioyo cuisine : CURACAO
4 Moriarty of “The Boys” : ERIN
5 411 : DEETS
6 Demise : END
7 Got a bit extra, in a way : EARNED INTEREST
8 “High Priestess of Soul” Simone : NINA
9 Some restaurant clogs : CROCS
10 Typing letters? : ABO
11 “Zounds!” : GADZOOKS!
12 Figure in Kepler’s first law : ELLIPSE
15 Concave or convex things : LENSES
17 One unsuited to battle a god? : MERE MORTAL
19 Pre-wedding trials : CAKE TASTINGS
23 Job at a bank : HEIST
25 Yappers : TRAPS
27 Finale of “The Sopranos,” maybe : MOB HIT
31 Heavy socks? : KOS
32 Did some politicking, say : SPUN
33 Traditional literary motif : TOPOS
35 Bulbs that may not need to be replaced : TULIPS
36 Delusion of grandeur : EGO TRIP
37 Friendly with : CLOSE TO
40 “Your terms are a joke” : NO DEAL
41 Individual : SINGLE
42 “The Great North” setting : ALASKA
44 Become real : SET IN
47 Attacks, as with questions : PELTS
50 Residue used to make pan sauces : FOND
51 Instagram video : REEL
54 “The Simpsons” disco guy : STU
56 Slangy ending with hater : -ADE
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13 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 2 Nov 24, Saturday”
Comments are closed.
80 min
Wow, what a ride. Whew!!!
Where did FOND come from? Crossword wise, that was real left field.
That whole CENAC / CROCS cross was a stumper for quite awhile for me.
Then the ink smear going back and forth between KIWI and UGLI
that Carrie Preston has got my wife and I glued to “Elsbeth”. I like her. That episode where she models her outfits was a riot!!!
Hated this one!
24 mins 40 seconds and needed Check Grid help on TECHSTAR[T][E]RS (I had TECHSTARTERS initially). This was the first Saturday grid I’ve completed in *months*. The plethora of proper names, obscure references and cynical clues didn’t help at all. Glad I finished, but it wasn’t at all enjoyable. Felt more like “avoiding most of the tricks” than “meeting a stiff challenge”.
To many names I never heard of Preston..Leslea,,,,krioyo and we had gadzooks and how is pitch ….tar DNE …would say the puzzle sucked,,..but I try to be nice!!!
DNF of another egofest…hats off to those who finished…way out of my league
Stay safe😀
Go Ravens🙏🙏
Lost any interest in this one when I saw the word “snuck” in the clue. Just one of my pet peeves as a former English teacher!
Lost any interest in this one when I saw the word “snuck” in the cluing. As a former English teacher, I suppose I will forever freak out over such atrocities!
Snuck is an actual word, though.
I needed some help on this one, and even then it was 71 minutes for me. All the proper names! And, seriously, I have not figured out the crossword trick where the clue ends in a question mark. I am learning.
I agree with whoever hated this puzzle! Egotists are the worst!
20:31 – no errors or lookups. False starts: RED>ZIN, WINE>CAKE, MURDER>MOBHIT, CIA>NSA, NODICE>NODEAL.
New or forgotten: Wyatt CENAC, EDNA Buchanan, “Sir Ken Robinson,” LESLEA Newman, “krioyo,” ERIN Moriarty, TOPOS, “The Great North, FOND, haterADE.
Saturdays continue to be challenging. That’s okay with me. It used to be that I despaired of Saturdays and typically wouldn’t even try them; but, now I stick with it until it’s solved. Sometimes, one or two lookups are needed, but that’s okay, too.
Way too hard for me today; took 42:23 with 12 wrong on my first check-grid at about 20% fill. Managed to get to the end with about 15 more errors and numerous check-grids, but no alphabet rolls.
Didn’t really enjoy it.
Had gazzooks, mrnozzle, and adz in the upper right corner as my only mistakes in a very tough puzzle. Had to come back to it several times.