LA Times Crossword 24 Jan 25, Friday

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Constructed by: Matthew Luter
Edited by: Patti Varol

Bill’s time: 7m 24s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Natl. Pizza Mo. : OCT

October is National Pizza Month, an observance that was designated by the US Congress in 1987. Really …?

14 Sultanate on the Arabian peninsula : OMAN

The Arabian Peninsula is shaped like a boot, with the Sultanate of Oman occupying the toe of that boot.

16 Ford model named for a city : TORINO

Ford produced the Torino from 1968 to 1976. The name “Torino” is Italian for “Turin”, a nod to the city that has been dubbed “the Italian Detroit”, as Turin is home to auto manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Ford extended the Torino line’s offering by adding the Gran Torino, and the Gran Torino Sport in 1972. Famously, the Ford Gran Torino was used by the title characters in the seventies cop show “Starsky & Hutch”. Starsky’s Torino was red in color, with a large white vector stripe running along both sides. Ford cashed in on the popularity of the show by producing a thousand replicas of the “Starsky and Hutch” car, although they weren’t much more than the standard vehicle with a specialty paint job.

22 Course for intl. students : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL)

23 Driving aid : TEE

A tee is a small device on which, say, a golf ball is placed before striking it. The term “tee” comes from the Scottish “teaz”, which described little heaps of sand used to elevate a golf ball for the purpose of getting a clean hit with a club.

24 *Stuffy nose : STRAITLACED (stuffy)

Our term “straitlaced” is used to describe someone who is “excessively inflexible in matters of conduct”. Note the spelling “strait” (and not “straight”), which in this case means “tight”, and is a reference to the laces of a woman’s corset. A woman with a straitlaced (tightly-laced) corset would have a rigid posture. This usage was extended to the figurative meaning of “rigid in conduct”.

27 Story that might be dark and creepy : ATTIC

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

33 Channel that often airs films in letterbox format : TCM

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels as it delivers just what its name promises, i.e. classic movies.

Letterboxing is a film technique used to preserve the original aspect ratio of a movie when it’s displayed on a screen with a different aspect ratio. This is achieved by adding black bars to the top and bottom of the image, creating a widescreen effect even when the movie is shown on a standard television or a screen with a more square-like shape.

35 HS proficiency test : GED

The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a battery of four tests designed to demonstrate that a student has the academic skills of someone who has graduated from an American or Canadian high school.

39 Cleveland pro : CAV

The Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.

40 Sketch on a dust jacket : BIO

You can usually read an author’s bio on a book’s dust jacket.

46 Yogurt-based dip : RAITA

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

53 Flash __ : MOB

A flash mob is a group of people who gather to perform a sudden, brief act in a public location and then quickly disperse. Flash mobs originated in Manhattan in 2003, as a social experiment by an editor of “Harper’s Magazine” called Bill Wasik. Wasik’s first attempt to form a flash mob was unsuccessful, but the second attempt worked. The first successful flash mob was relatively tame by today’s elaborate standards, and consisted of about 130 people gathered on the 9th floor of Macy’s department store pretending to be shopping en masse for a “love rug”.

54 __ whim : ON A

“Whim”, meaning “sudden fancy”, is such a lovely word, and one that we’ve been using in English since the 1640s. “Whim” is actually a shortened form of “whimwham”, which has a similar meaning and has been around since the early 1500s.

56 Party bites : CANAPES

A canapé is a finger food, something small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original canapés were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny couch.

63 Mathematician Turing : ALAN

Alan Turing was an English mathematician. He was well-respected for his code-breaking work during WWII at Bletchley Park in England. However, despite his contributions to cracking the German Enigma code and other crucial work, Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952. He agreed to chemical castration, treatment with female hormones, and then two years later he committed suicide by taking cyanide. Turing’s life story is told in the 2014 film “The Imitation Game” with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the lead. I thoroughly enjoyed that film …

Down

1 Guitar-playing “Sesame Street” Muppet : ROSITA

On the children’s television show “Sesame Street”, Rosita is a character who is fluent in both English and Spanish. Rosita is operated by Puppeteer Carmen Osbahr. Osbahr originally worked on “Plaza Sésamo”, which is the version of Sesame Street that is broadcast in Mexico.

2 Protective talisman : AMULET

Amulets are items worn to ward off disease or to protect against harmful magic spells.

A talisman is an object used as a charm to protect against evil and attract good fortune.

3 Coated pill : CAPLET

Caplets combine the advantages of capsules and tablets. They are essentially tablets shaped like capsules, offering a smooth, coated exterior for easier swallowing. The capsule-like shape of caplets helps them slide down the throat more easily, while still providing the accurate dosage and convenience of a tablet.

6 Dos y dos : CUATRO

In Spanish, “cuatro” (four) is “dos y dos” (two plus two).

7 Short “We’ll announce this later” : TBD

Something not yet on the schedule (“sked” or “sched.”) is to be advised/announced (TBA) or determined (TBD).

8 Parade VIP : ST PAT

The first Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in the US was held in 1600, in St. Augustine, Florida. There is some evidence that the first St. Paddy’s Day parade was held the following year, in the same locale. The annual parade in Boston dates back to 1737, in New York City dates back to 1762, and in Chicago dates back to 1843.

9 Brouhaha : HOOPLA

The word “hoopla” means “boisterous excitement”. The term probably comes from “houp-là”, something the French say instead of “upsy-daisy”. Then again, “upsy-daisy” probably isn’t something said very often here in the US …

“Brouhaha”, meaning “ado, stir”, was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow!

10 Person who prefers platonic relationships, for short : ARO

Someone described as aromantic (“aro”, for short) experiences little or no romantic attraction. The opposite of aromanticism is alloromanticism.

12 Bracket favorite : ONE-SEED

“Bracketology” is a term used to describe the process of predicting which college basketball teams will advance in a bracket in the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament. President Barack Obama famously participates in an ESPN segment called “Baracketology” in which he predicts the outcome of the tournament, game by game.

26 Actress Bassett : ANGELA

Angela Bassett is an actress from New York whose breakthrough role was playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film about the pop icon’s life “What’s Love Got to Do with It”. Bassett married fellow actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997, having first met him while both were studying at Yale School of Drama.

32 Org. with a summer All-Star break : MLB

Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The longest All-Star games since then went to 15 innings, in 1967 and 2008, with the 2008 game lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes.

34 Umami source, briefly : MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring, non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines. Whether or not it is harmful seems to be still under debate. I say that anything produced in a test tube shouldn’t be in our food …

39 One official language of the U.N. : CHINESE

Today there are six official languages of the United Nations:

  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • English
  • French
  • Russian
  • Spanish

42 Gooey sandwiches : S’MORES

S’mores are treats peculiar to North America that are usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

45 Seattle’s airport-sharing neighbor : TACOMA

Tacoma is a city on Puget Sound in the state of Washington. It took its name from Mount Rainier that is nearby, as the peak is also known as Tacoma (or “Tahoma”).

Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

47 Chevy model named for an animal : IMPALA

The Chevrolet Impala was introduced in 1957. “Impala” is the Zulu word for “gazelle”.

“Impala” is the Zulu word for “gazelle”. When running at a sustained speed, gazelles can move along at 30 miles per hour. If needed, they can accelerate for bursts up to 60 miles per hour.

60 Grisham’s field : LAW

John Grisham is a lawyer and an incredibly successful author best known for his legal thrillers. After graduating from law school, Grisham practiced law for about ten years and then went into politics. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for six years, during which time he wrote his first novel, “A Time to Kill”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Billiard table accessory : RACK
5 Natl. Pizza Mo. : OCT
8 Stay behind : SHADOW
14 Sultanate on the Arabian peninsula : OMAN
15 Massage : RUB
16 Ford model named for a city : TORINO
17 *Evil eyes : SUPER BAD (evil)
19 Less prosperous : POORER
20 “Whenever you’re done talking … ” : I’LL WAIT …
21 Word with cat or power : -NAP
22 Course for intl. students : ESL
23 Driving aid : TEE
24 *Stuffy nose : STRAITLACED (stuffy)
27 Story that might be dark and creepy : ATTIC
29 Unrefined resource : ORE
30 Pays to play : ANTES
31 Closest pals : FAM
33 Channel that often airs films in letterbox format : TCM
35 HS proficiency test : GED
36 *Smart mouth : WELL-DRESSED (smart)
39 Cleveland pro : CAV
40 Sketch on a dust jacket : BIO
41 Semisolid hair product : GEL
42 Render unreadable, in a way : SHRED
44 Grasped : GOT
46 Yogurt-based dip : RAITA
50 *Double chin : MIRROR IMAGE (double)
53 Flash __ : MOB
54 __ whim : ON A
55 After expenses : NET
56 Party bites : CANAPES
58 Ride for a few days : RENTAL
60 Suffer disgrace, or what the starred clues must do as a set to match their answers? : LOSE FACE
61 __ planning : ESTATE
62 Electric guitarist’s need : AMP
63 Mathematician Turing : ALAN
64 Insect’s legs, e.g. : SESTET
65 “As I __ saying … ” : WAS
66 Riveted : RAPT

Down

1 Guitar-playing “Sesame Street” Muppet : ROSITA
2 Protective talisman : AMULET
3 Coated pill : CAPLET
4 “Who __?” : KNEW
5 Go around : ORBIT
6 Dos y dos : CUATRO
7 Short “We’ll announce this later” : TBD
8 Parade VIP : ST PAT
9 Brouhaha : HOOPLA
10 Person who prefers platonic relationships, for short : ARO
11 Led : DIRECTED
12 Bracket favorite : ONE-SEED
13 Best of both __ : WORLDS
18 Mischievous type : RASCAL
21 Female kin : NIECE
25 School space that’s full of drawers : ART ROOM
26 Actress Bassett : ANGELA
28 “In the event that … ” : IF EVER …
32 Org. with a summer All-Star break : MLB
34 Umami source, briefly : MSG
36 Calls for : WARRANTS
37 Numeral : DIGIT
38 Pleasantly calm : SERENE
39 One official language of the U.N. : CHINESE
42 Gooey sandwiches : S’MORES
43 Act charitably : DONATE
45 Seattle’s airport-sharing neighbor : TACOMA
47 Chevy model named for an animal : IMPALA
48 Steel part of a work boot : TOE CAP
49 __-minded : ABSENT
51 Sublease : RELET
52 Shocked sounds : GASPS
57 Nowhere near : AFAR
59 Ink spot? : TAT
60 Grisham’s field : LAW