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Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Reveal Answer: I Fold
Themed answers are all things that I might FOLD:
- 62A Poker player’s concession, and what 18-, 20-, 37-, 56-, and 59-Across might say? : I FOLD
- 18A Tailgating seat : LAWN CHAIR
- 20A Brunch choice : FRENCH OMELET
- 37A Part of a formal place setting : CLOTH NAPKIN
- 56A Medium for an artist whose work is in-creasing? : ORIGAMI PAPER
- 59A Easy-to-store piece of furniture : CARD TABLE
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
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Bill’s time: 6m 04s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Parenthesis, in an emoticon : SMILE
An emoticon is a glyph created using text characters to represent facial features, and usually oriented sideways. The emoticon is designed to indicate emotion or attitude. The classic example is the smiley face 🙂. “Emoticon” is short for “emotion icon”.
6 Automaker __ Romeo : ALFA
The “Alfa” in “Alfa Romeo” is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.
15 Bank claim : LIEN
A lien is a right that one has to retain or secure someone’s property until a debt is paid. When an individual takes out a car loan, for example, the lending bank is usually a lien holder. The bank releases the lien on the car when the loan is paid in full.
16 Actress Taylor-Joy : ANYA
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy had quite the international upbringing. She was born in Miami, and raised in Buenos Aires and then London. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma”, and the lead role in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”.
17 Sundance film, e.g. : INDIE
The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film event in the country, and takes place every year around the Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. The festival has its roots in the Utah/US Film Festival which started in Salt Lake City in 1978. Management of the festival was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in 1985. The festival has become a bit of a media feeding frenzy in recent years, as a lot of A-list celebrities attend. The Festival organizers introduced a “Focus on Film” campaign in 2007 in an attempt to offset some of the madness.
20 Brunch choice : FRENCH OMELET
Our word “brunch” is a portmanteau of “breakfast” and “lunch”. The term was coined as student slang in Oxford, England in the late 1890s. However, “brunch” described a combined meal closer to the breakfast hour, and the term “blunch” was used for a meal closer to lunchtime.
24 Use an X-ray on : SEE INTO
X-rays were first studied comprehensively by the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also “Roentgen”), and it was he who gave the name “X-rays” to this particular type of radiation. Paradoxically, in Röntgen’s native language of German, X-rays are routinely referred to as “Röntgen rays”. In 1901, Röntgen’s work on X-rays won him the first Nobel Prize in Physics that was ever awarded.
28 Meyers of late-night TV : SETH
Seth Meyers is an actor and comedian who is perhaps best-known today for hosting his own late night talk show on NBC. Meyers might be described as a poker shark. He won the third season of Celebrity Poker Showdown in 2004.
30 Umami, for one : TASTE
Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. “Umami” is a Japanese word used to describe “a pleasant savory taste”. Umami was proposed as a basic taste in 1908, but it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the scientific community finally accepted it as such.
33 Soul singer Baker : ANITA
Anita Baker is an R&B and soul singer who was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Baker’s most successful song is the Grammy-winning “Sweet Love” that was released in 1986.
35 Porcine proboscis : SNOUT
“Porcine” means “of a pig”, coming into English via French from the Latin “porcus” meaning “pig”.
A proboscis is a long appendage attached to the head of an animal, and is sometimes referred to as an elongated “nose”. Many an insect has a proboscis, as does an elephant.
37 Part of a formal place setting : CLOTH NAPKIN
Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.
46 Earth Day sci. : ECOL
Earth Day was founded in the US, where it was introduced by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. Earth Day was designed to increase awareness and appreciation of our planet’s natural environment. The original Earth Day was on April 22nd, 1970. Decades later, the day is observed in over 175 countries.
50 “America’s Got Talent” judge Sofía : VERGARA
Sofía Vergara is an actress and model from Barranquilla, Colombia who is perhaps best known from playing Gloria on the hit TV sitcom “Modern Family”. In 2016, “Forbes” magazine reported that Vergara was the highest paid actress on television.
NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” is part of a global franchise based in the UK. The original show is called “Britain’s Got Talent”, and the whole franchise is owned by Simon Cowell. The first host of “America’s Got Talent” was Regis Philbin (2006), followed by Jerry Springer, Nick Cannon, Tyra Banks and Terry Crews.
55 British pop singer Rita : ORA
Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.
56 Medium for an artist whose work is in-creasing? : ORIGAMI PAPER
Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).
67 Spengler of the Ghostbusters : EGON
Egon Spengler is one of the lead characters in the films “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters II”. Spengler was played by Harold Ramis, who also co-write the screenplays for both movies.
Down
1 Work periods : SHIFTS
In a three-shift working system, the shifts are known by various names:
- First shift, day shift
- Second shift, swing shift
- Third shift, night shift, graveyard shift
2 Curtis and Lemmon’s “Some Like It Hot” co-star : MONROE
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 in LA County Hospital, the child of Gladys Pearl Baker. The young girl was given the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson on her birth certificate, but her mother changed this to Norma Jeane Baker almost immediately. She and her estranged husband, Martin Edward Mortensen, had separated before Baker became pregnant so it is suggested that the Mortensen name was used just to give Norma Jeane “legitimacy”. Norma Jeane married Jim Dougherty when she was 16 years old, and took his name to become Norma Jeane Dougherty in 1942. During WWII she was discovered by a photographer and became quite a successful model. The modeling earned her a screen test, at which time it was suggested that Norma Jeane change her name yet again. The first name chosen for her by studio executives was Carole Lind (after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind), but then Norma Jeane chose “Jeane Monroe” for herself, using her mother’s maiden name. It didn’t take long before the studio intervened again, suggesting that they had too many “Jeans” already. The name Marilyn Monroe was floated as it had a nice ring to it. Along with the new name, Marilyn changed from a brunette to a blonde, and a star was born …
Tony Curtis was a Hollywood legend and one of the most famous actors of the 1950s and 1960s. He starred in more than 100 films during his career, including classic movies such as “Some Like It Hot,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “Sweet Smell of Success.” Curtis was also a talented painter and had several exhibitions of his artwork throughout his life. In 2007, he had a joint exhibition with his daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, titled “Some Like It Hot: Tony Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis.”
The marvelous actor Jack Lemmon was born in 1925 in a suburb of Boston, in a hospital elevator. The long list of Jack Lemmon movies on my list of favorites includes “Some Like It Hot”, “The Apartment”, “Irma La Douce”, “The Odd Couple” and “Grumpy Old Men”.
“Some Like it Hot” is such a fun movie, It was released in 1959 and directed by Billy Wilder. The big three in the cast are Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Several years ago a stage version of “Some Like It Hot” was playing in San Francisco, with Tony Curtis in the cast. This time he played the older man who was wooing the Jack Lemmon character in the movie.
3 Use a Tab key : INDENT
Like most features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious, involving lots of tapping on the spacebar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.
6 Conventional doctor, to an alternative medicine practitioner : ALLOPATH
Some proponents of alternative medicine use the word “allopathy” to refer to traditional medicine. The term was probably absorbed from German, in which language “allopathisch” was coined by homeopath Samuel Hahnemann in 1810. The prefix “allo-” usually translates as “other”, from the Greek “allos” meaning ‘different, other”.
7 Actor Neeson : LIAM
Irish actor Liam Neeson’s big break came with the role of Oskar Schindler in the Spielberg epic, “Schindler’s List”. Neeson was in the news some years later when he lost his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, in a tragic skiing accident in 2009. Earlier in his life, in the 1980s, Neeson lived for several years with Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren.
9 Founder of the American Shakers : ANN LEE
“Shakers” is the common name for the religious sect more properly called the “United Society of Believer in Christ’s Second Appearing”. The sect’s doctrine was based on the teachings of Ann Lee.
10 “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner Christine : LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.
“Chicago Hope” is a medical drama TV show that originally ran from 1994 to 2000. The title refers to a fictional private charity hospital in the Windy City, where the show is set.
11 Food Network host Garten : INA
Ina Garten is an author as well as the host of a cooking show on the Food Network called “Barefoot Contessa”. She is a mentee of Martha Stewart, and indeed was touted as a potential “successor” to the TV celebrity when Stewart was incarcerated in 2004 after an insider trading scandal. Garten has no formal training as a chef, and indeed used to work as a nuclear policy analyst at the White House!
12 BTW relative : FYI
For your information (FYI)
13 La Brea __ Pits : TAR
The La Brea Tar Pits are located right in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. At the site there is a constant flow of tar that seeps up to the surface from underground, a phenomenon that has been around for tens of thousands of years. What is significant is that much of the seeping tar is covered by water. Over many, many centuries animals came to the water to drink and became trapped in the tar as they entered the water to quench their thirst. The tar then preserved the bones of the dead animals. Today a museum is located right by the Tar Pits, recovering bones and displaying specimens of the animals found there. It’s well worth a visit if you are in town …
25 Halfway to midnight : NOON
Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.
29 __ Dome: Yosemite attraction : HALF
Half Dome is a famous peak in the Yosemite National Park in California. It is a granite crest that rises to almost 5,000 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley. Coin collectors can see Half Dome in the background of the California State Quarter, along with naturalist John Muir and the California condor.
31 Present day celebrity? : SANTA
Saint Nicholas of Myra is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (now in modern-day Turkey) during the 4th century AD, and was known for being generous to the poor. Centuries after he died, his remains were desecrated by Italian sailors and moved to Bari in Italy. One legend has it that the relics were moved again centuries later and reburied in the grounds of Jerpoint Abbey in Co. Kilkenny in Ireland, where you can visit the grave today. I choose to believe that Santa Claus’s relics are indeed buried in Ireland …
36 Reebok rival : NIKE
Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, and was often referred to as “the Winged Goddess of Victory”. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, a logo that is inspired by the goddess’ wing.
37 NFL quarterback Derek : CARR
Quarterback Derek Carr was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2014. Derek is the younger brother of former NFL quarterback David Carr.
39 Cultural dish? : PETRI
Julius Richard Petri was a German bacteriologist and was the man after whom the Petri dish is named. The petri dish can have an agar gel on the bottom which acts as a nutrient source for the specimen being grown and studied, in which case the dish plus agar is referred to as an “agar plate”.
40 ID-issuing org. : 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.
41 “I Really Like You” singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE
Carly Rae Jepsen is a singer/songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. She got her start on TV’s “Canadian Idol” when she placed third in the show’s fifth season. In addition to her music career, Jepsen has also dabbled in acting. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 playing the title in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Cinderella.”
“I Really Like You” is a song co-written and recorded by Carly Rae Jepsen. It served as the lead single from her 2015 album “Emotion”. The accompanying music video is somewhat special, as it stars Tom Hanks and features Justin Bieber.
44 System based on urgency : TRIAGE
Triage is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on the battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “sorting”.
49 Food storage spot : LARDER
The Latin word for bacon or lard, is “lardum”, from which developed a Middle Latin word “lardarium” meaning a “room for meats”. This came into English as “larder” to describe a meat storeroom. Over time, our larders stored all types of foods and our fresh meats went into refrigerators.
51 Beckett’s “Waiting for __” : GODOT
“Waiting for Godot” is a play by novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett that premiered in 1953. Irishman Beckett actually wrote the piece in French, under the title “En attendant Godot”. He later translated the play into English himself.
57 Silicon Valley city Palo __ : ALTO
The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.
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.
60 Lord of the rings? : ALI
Boxer Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Mercellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942. Clay joined the Nation of Islam in the early sixties, at which point he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. The name he chose translates into “one who is worthy of praise” (Muhammad) and “most high” (Ali).
61 Actor Perlman : RON
Ron Perlman is a Hollywood actor noted for playing roles that require heavy make-up, as well as for voice-over work. Notably, he played the title character in the superhero film “Hellboy”, and its sequel “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Parenthesis, in an emoticon : SMILE
6 Automaker __ Romeo : ALFA
10 London elevator : LIFT
14 Word with roll or code : HONOR …
15 Bank claim : LIEN
16 Actress Taylor-Joy : ANYA
17 Sundance film, e.g. : INDIE
18 Tailgating seat : LAWN CHAIR
20 Brunch choice : FRENCH OMELET
22 Freight weight : TON
23 Pointer : TIP
24 Use an X-ray on : SEE INTO
28 Meyers of late-night TV : SETH
30 Umami, for one : TASTE
32 Clod : OAF
33 Soul singer Baker : ANITA
35 Porcine proboscis : SNOUT
37 Part of a formal place setting : CLOTH NAPKIN
40 Annual NBA event : DRAFT
42 Small change : TWEAK
43 Sully : MAR
44 Land parcel : TRACT
46 Earth Day sci. : ECOL
50 “America’s Got Talent” judge Sofía : VERGARA
53 RN workplaces : ORS
55 British pop singer Rita : ORA
56 Medium for an artist whose work is in-creasing? : ORIGAMI PAPER
59 Easy-to-store piece of furniture : CARD TABLE
62 Poker player’s concession, and what 18-, 20-, 37-, 56-, and 59-Across might say? : I FOLD
63 Potatoes, in Indian cuisine : ALOO
64 Spanish cat : GATO
65 __ and effect : CAUSE
66 Like new : MINT
67 Spengler of the Ghostbusters : EGON
68 ATM keypad key : ENTER
Down
1 Work periods : SHIFTS
2 Curtis and Lemmon’s “Some Like It Hot” co-star : MONROE
3 Use a Tab key : INDENT
4 Pork portion : LOIN
5 Put up : ERECT
6 Conventional doctor, to an alternative medicine practitioner : ALLOPATH
7 Actor Neeson : LIAM
8 Smallest in number : FEWEST
9 Founder of the American Shakers : ANN LEE
10 “Chicago Hope” Emmy winner Christine : LAHTI
11 Food Network host Garten : INA
12 BTW relative : FYI
13 La Brea __ Pits : TAR
19 So-so grade : CEE
21 Bandleader’s cry : HIT IT!
25 Halfway to midnight : NOON
26 Sigma follower : TAU
27 Many a time, in verse : OFT
29 __ Dome: Yosemite attraction : HALF
31 Present day celebrity? : SANTA
34 “__ on my watch!” : NOT
35 Reggae precursor : SKA
36 Reebok rival : NIKE
37 NFL quarterback Derek : CARR
38 “You’re pulling my leg!” : AW, COME ON!
39 Cultural dish? : PETRI
40 ID-issuing org. : DMV
41 “I Really Like You” singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE
44 System based on urgency : TRIAGE
45 Mishmash : RAGBAG
47 Poor excuse : COP-OUT
48 “… you’ll be sorry if you don’t!” : OR ELSE!
49 Food storage spot : LARDER
51 Beckett’s “Waiting for __” : GODOT
52 Works in a gallery : ART
54 Liven (up) : SPICE
57 Silicon Valley city Palo __ : ALTO
58 Anonymous admirer’s sign-off : A FAN
59 Zoom meeting need, for short : CAM
60 Lord of the rings? : ALI
61 Actor Perlman : RON
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6 thoughts on “LA Times Crossword 20 Nov 24, Wednesday”
Comments are closed.
I never heard of Carr or Vergara, so that didn’t help. Otherwise pretty straightforward.
Enjoyed the puzzle, probably because the theme helped this time.
The ones I didn’t know…ALLOPATH, INA, ORA…were solved with the crosses.
I got off to a very slow start.
IM OUT and I CALL were the only thing I could think of for 62A. Neither was working for me.
Then when 56A came to light , I couldn’t figure out what folding paper had to do with IM OUT or I CALL. .. …. what does folding paper have to do with…… OH I FOLD!!!!!!!! that was a good 10 minute ponder. AARRRGGHH!
9:16 – no errors, lookups, or false starts.
New or forgotten: ANN LEE, “I Really Like You.”
A pretty good theme, IMO. It all fit together pretty well.
A couple of somewhat tricky clues with: “small change,” “present day celebrity,” “cultural dish,” and “lord of the rings.” And a “snooty” one with “porcine proboscis.”
13:22 – we didn’t know ANYA/LAHTI and had brain freezes on CAM/MINT!.
Enjoyable puzzle.
A little tricky for me; took 15:52 with no peeks or errors. A few things I never heard about: ANN LEE, CARR, EGON, RAG BAG, RON – rag tag okay, but rag bag? A few I vaguely knew of: ALLOPATH, LAHTI, ALOO. And one I just need to learn how to spell properly: ORIGAMI.
Still a good challenge and I learned what a French omelet is – soft, no filling and rolled. Got a laugh o “Lord of the rings?”, the theme reveal and “Small change?” clues.