LA Times Crossword 14 Dec 24, Saturday

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Constructed by: Adrian Johnson & Victor Sloan
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 12m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 __ bar : TAPAS

“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”. There is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.

16 Carne __ : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

20 Frequent Bosch subject : HELL

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter who worked late 15th and early 16th centuries. Perhaps his most recognized work is his triptych titled “The Garden of Earthly Delights”.

21 Info on a political rival : OPPO

In the world of politics, “oppo” is “opposition research”. The idea is to collect information on one’s opponent that can be used against him or her.

22 Mauveine, for one : DYE

Mauveine is a synthetic dye, one of the first, discovered by accident in 1856. After the color of the dye was labeled as “mauve”, the dye itself was given the name “mauveine”.

23 Western Greek island : CORFU

Corfu is an island in the very northwest of Greece, and is located in the Ionian Sea. Corfu is a very, very popular vacation destination for European tourists, particularly those from the UK, Scandinavia and Germany.

25 Ruckus : ADO

The word “ruckus” is used to mean “commotion”, and has been around since the late 1800s. “Ruckus” is possibly a melding of the words “ruction” and “rumpus”.

27 Paul who’s the only inductee of both the Rock & Roll and National Inventors halls of fame : LES

Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can be visited on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983 and started inducting artists in 1986. The Foundation didn’t get a home until the museum was dedicated in Cleveland in 1995. I had the great privilege of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some years ago and really enjoyed myself. The magnificent building was designed by famed architect I. M. Pei.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) was founded in 1973 to recognize US patent holders related to a significant technology. The Hall of Fame has been housed in several buildings over the years, but low attendance has resulted in them all closing. However, the NIHF does operate a museum that is housed in the US Patent Office in Alexandria, Virginia.

29 Actor Stephen from 51-Across : REA
[51 Stormont locale : NORTHERN IRELAND]

Stephen Rea is an actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His most successful role was Fergus in 1992’s “The Crying Game”, for which performance he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. In “The Crying Game”, Fergus was a member of the IRA. In real life, Rea was married to IRA bomber and hunger striker Dolours Price at the time he made the movie.

30 Bit of redundancy in a Yogi Berra quip : WRONG MISTAKES

According to Yogi Berra, “We made too many wrong mistakes”.

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some great “Yogi-isms”:

  • It ain’t over till it’s over.
  • 90% of the game is half mental.
  • Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
  • When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
  • It’s déjà vu all over again.
  • Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.
  • A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

34 William, since 2022 : PRINCE OF WALES

The tradition in the UK is to invest the heir-apparent to the throne with the title of Prince of Wales. Since Prince William is that heir today, he is called Prince of Wales and his wife is known as Catherine, Princess of Wales.

38 Some, in Somme : DES

The Somme is a department in the Picardy region, in the very north of France. It is famous as the site of devastating battles during WWI.

44 __ Louise Huxtable, winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Criticism : ADA

Ada Louise Huxtable was the first full-time architecture critic at an American newspaper, joining the staff of “The New York Times” in 1963. In 1970, she won the first Pulitzer Prize for Criticism ever awarded.

47 Apple with multiple cores : IMAC

When Apple chose the letter “I” prefix for the iMac in 1998, that letter “I” stood for “Internet”. Steve Jobs and his marketing team followed up with the message that I also stood for “individual, instruct, inform and inspire”.

48 Instant Pot dish : STEW

The Instant Pot is a brand of pressure cooker cum slow cooker. We’ve got one, but don’t use it …

51 Stormont locale : NORTHERN IRELAND

The 224-acre Stormont Estate in Belfast was purchased by the Government of Northern Ireland in 1921. The Parliament Buildings were built on the estate, and opened in 1932. The existing Stormont Castle, built in 1830, became the government headquarters.

55 “Just fate, I guess” : IT’S KISMET

“Kismet” is a Turkish word meaning “fate, fortune, lot”.

57 Pacific salmon : COHO

The coho salmon is dark blue with silver along the side of its body, but only during the phase of its life while it is in the ocean. When spawning and heading up into a freshwater river, the coho has bright red sides.

58 Candy bar with a bubbly texture : AERO

I must admit to having a weakness for Aero chocolate bars. Aero was introduced by Rowntree’s in the North of England in 1935. The “aero” name is a reference to the chocolate’s “bubbly” texture.

Down

2 Suck-up : TOADY

A toady is someone who is very servile, and somewhat of a parasite. Derived from “toad-eater” the term originally applied to the assistant of a quack, a seller of useless potions that had no actual benefit to health. The toady would eat an apparently poisonous toad in front of an audience, so that the charlatan could “cure” him or her with one of the potions for sale.

4 Hammer part : PEEN

The peen of a hammer is on the head, and is the side of the head that is opposite the striking surface. Often the peen is in the shape of a hemisphere (as in a ball-peen hammer), but usually it is shaped like a claw (mainly for removing nails).

5 Bruno of “Encanto,” for one : TIO

“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).

6 GroundClear and WeedClear maker : ORTHO

Ortho is a brand of weed killer owned by Scotts Miracle-Gro.

7 Bitcoin alternative, familiarly : ETHER

Ether (ETH) is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin.

9 Yin-yang principle : TAO

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

10 “The Great Lie” Oscar winner Mary : ASTOR

Mary Astor was an American actress who is best remembered perhaps for playing Brigid O’Shaughnessy in 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon” opposite Humphrey Bogart. As well as being an Oscar-winning actress, Mary Astor was also the author of five novels and a best-selling autobiography.

“The Great Lie” is a 1941 melodrama starring Bette Davis, Mary Astor, and George Brent. Astor won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sandra Kovak, a concert pianist who enters a doomed marriage with a pilot (Brent) who still loves his ex (Davis). There is also a 1942 radio version of “The Great Lie” in which Brent and Astor reprise their original roles, and Loretta Young takes on the role played by Bette Davis in the film.

11 “Movement in Black” poet : PAT PARKER

American poet Pat Parker was a Black lesbian feminist, and her work often addressed themes of race, gender, and oppression, challenging societal norms and giving voice to marginalized communities. Parker’s poems are raw and deeply personal, reflecting her own experiences with poverty, abuse, and discrimination.

13 Turnovers served with chutney : SAMOSAS

A samosa is quite the tasty appetizer. It is usually a triangular-shaped savory that often has a vegetarian filling. The word “samosa” is primarily used on Indian menus, and the name comes from “sanbosag”, the name for the dish in Persia.

Chutney is a typically southern Asian condiment made from spices with vegetables or fruit. The term “chutney” comes from the Sanskrit “caṭnī” meaning “to lick”.

15 Band also known as the Bangtan Boys : BTS

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. It is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

18 “Hooked on a Feeling” hitmakers : BLUE SWEDE

Blue Swede was a Swedish band active in the 1970s who were best known internationally for their 1974 cover of the B.J. Thomas song “Hooked on a Feeling.” The Blue Swede version has a distinctive “ooga-chaka” intro, which I’ve always found to be a little “jarring”. The song experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2014 after being featured prominently in the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

25 Like xeric landscapes : ARID

A location described as “xeric” is extremely dry, arid. The Greek prefix “xero-” means “dry, withered”. The derivative “xeriscaping” is landscaping that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation, i.e. drought-tolerant landscaping.

26 Osmond who won Season 9 of “Dancing With the Stars” : DONNY

Former teen idol Donny Osmond was a member of the Osmond Brothers singing group that appeared for years on the “The Andy Williams Show”. At the height of his solo career, Donny teamed up with his younger sister Marie Osmond in their own variety show called “Donny & Marie”. The pair have been working together ever since and have been appearing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas since 2008.

28 Hold (off) : STAVE

The word “stave” was originally the plural of “staff”, a word describing a wooden rod. To “stave off” originated with the concept of holding off with a staff. In the world of barrel-making, a stave is a narrow strip of wood that forms part of a barrel’s side.

30 Clear to see : WRIT LARGE

Something writ large is expressed in a more obvious way, “written in large letters”, as it were.

32 Ethnic group in Myanmar : MON

The Mon people are a major ethnic group in Myanmar, and a minor ethnic group in neighboring Thailand. The term “mon” is used in Burmese to mean “noble”.

33 Hoppy pours : ALES

The foodstuff that we call “hops” are actually the female flowers of the hop plant. The main use of hops is to add flavor to beer. The town in which I used to live here in California was once home to the largest hop farm in the world. Most of the harvested hops were exported all the way to the breweries of London, where they could fetch the best price.

34 “This Is Why” Best Rock Album Grammy winners : PARAMORE

Paramore is a rock band that formed in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee. The band members were very young when they signed with their first label. Lead singer Hayley Williams was 15 years old, and drummer Zac Farro was only 14.

35 Monterey town known as the “Salad Bowl of the World” : SALINAS

Salinas is a California city located south of the San Francisco Bay Area, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Salinas was the hometown of Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck, and was the setting of his 1952 novel “East of Eden”.

40 Advocacy gp. co-founded by Larry Kramer : ACT UP

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP)

49 L.L. Bean rival : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

L.L.Bean (note the lack of spaces in the company name) was founded back in 1912 in Freeport, Maine as a company selling its own line of waterproof boots. The founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, gave his name to the enterprise. Right from the start, L.L.Bean focused on mail-order and sold from a circular he distributed and then from a catalog. Defects in the initial design led to 90% of the first boots sold being returned, and the company made good on its guarantee to replace them or give back the money paid.

50 “Casablanca” role : ILSA

Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund were played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “She paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

53 Studio taken over by Howard Hughes : RKO

The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO initialism then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

Businessman Howard Hughes made a name for himself first as a film producer, and then in the aviation industry. Nowadays, Hughes is perhaps best known for the eccentric behavior that he exhibited late in his life. He was very much an eccentric, and suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and became a germaphobe. Perhaps the most approachable way of gaining insight into the life of Hughes is a viewing of the Martin Scorsese film “The Aviator”, in which Hughes is played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 __ dance : STEP
5 Low digits : TOES
9 __ bar : TAPAS
14 Delivery option : HOME BIRTH
16 Carne __ : ASADA
17 Snowball effect caused by lowered standards : RACE TO THE BOTTOM
19 Untainted spots : EDENS
20 Frequent Bosch subject : HELL
21 Info on a political rival : OPPO
22 Mauveine, for one : DYE
23 Western Greek island : CORFU
24 Deserters : RATS
25 Ruckus : ADO
27 Paul who’s the only inductee of both the Rock & Roll and National Inventors halls of fame : LES
29 Actor Stephen from 51-Across : REA
30 Bit of redundancy in a Yogi Berra quip : WRONG MISTAKES
34 William, since 2022 : PRINCE OF WALES
35 Dismissive comment after a hot take : SAID NO ONE EVER!
36 Finesse : ART
37 Positive course feedback? : YUM!
38 Some, in Somme : DES
39 Chorus part : LA-LA
41 Knot again : RETIE
44 __ Louise Huxtable, winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Criticism : ADA
47 Apple with multiple cores : IMAC
48 Instant Pot dish : STEW
49 Inflexible : RIGID
51 Stormont locale : NORTHERN IRELAND
54 Maintain : ARGUE
55 “Just fate, I guess” : IT’S KISMET
56 Percolates : SEEPS
57 Pacific salmon : COHO
58 Candy bar with a bubbly texture : AERO

Down

1 Unit of decency? : SHRED
2 Suck-up : TOADY
3 One making introductions : EMCEE
4 Hammer part : PEEN
5 Bruno of “Encanto,” for one : TIO
6 GroundClear and WeedClear maker : ORTHO
7 Bitcoin alternative, familiarly : ETHER
8 Last time : SHELF LIFE
9 Yin-yang principle : TAO
10 “The Great Lie” Oscar winner Mary : ASTOR
11 “Movement in Black” poet : PAT PARKER
12 Some rescues : ADOPTEES
13 Turnovers served with chutney : SAMOSAS
15 Band also known as the Bangtan Boys : BTS
18 “Hooked on a Feeling” hitmakers : BLUE SWEDE
23 Open space : CONCOURSE
25 Like xeric landscapes : ARID
26 Osmond who won Season 9 of “Dancing With the Stars” : DONNY
28 Hold (off) : STAVE
30 Clear to see : WRIT LARGE
31 Plane-related, say : GEOMETRIC
32 Ethnic group in Myanmar : MON
33 Hoppy pours : ALES
34 “This Is Why” Best Rock Album Grammy winners : PARAMORE
35 Monterey town known as the “Salad Bowl of the World” : SALINAS
40 Advocacy gp. co-founded by Larry Kramer : ACT UP
42 Near the hour : TEN TO
43 “It’d be a dream come true!” : I WISH!
44 Top form : A-GAME
45 Hash house : DINER
46 Lengthen, as a lead : ADD TO
49 L.L. Bean rival : REI
50 “Casablanca” role : ILSA
52 Father and son : HES
53 Studio taken over by Howard Hughes : RKO