LA Times Crossword 6 Jan 25, Monday

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Constructed by: Brian Callahan & Jess Shulman
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Running Mate

Themed answers each start with a hidden word that is often MATED with “RUNNING”:

• 58A Vice presidential hopeful, and what the first part of the answer to each starred clue can be : RUNNING MATE

• 17A *New job that’s hardly a promotion : LATERAL MOVE (running late)
• 28A *Honking collective : GAGGLE OF GEESE (running gag)
• 45A *Phenomenon of collective false memories : MANDELA EFFECT (running man)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Q’s keyboard neighbor : TAB

Like many 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.

14 Super Breakout console : ATARI

Breakout is an Atari arcade game that was released in 1976. It is really like a complex version of Pong, and involves destroying a layer of bricks in the top third of the screen using a “ball” that is “batted” against the brick wall. I wasted a few hours playing Breakout back in the day …

15 “Fame” star Cara : IRENE

Irene Cara co-wrote and sang the Oscar-winning song “Flashdance…What a Feeling” from the 1983 movie “Flashdance”. Cara also sang the title song for the 1980 movie “Fame”, and indeed played the lead role of student Coco Hernandez.

“Fame” is a 1980 musical film that follows students at New York’s High School of Performing Arts. Irene Cara sings the hugely successful theme song “Fame”, and stars as one of the students. Cara had in fact attended the High School of Performing Arts in real life. The movie “Fame” was so successful that it led to a spinoff TV series, stage shows and a 2009 remake.

19 Awareness-raising TV spot : PSA

Public service announcement (PSA)

21 WWII soldiers : GIS

The initialism “GI” stands for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

26 Pointy tooth : CANINE

The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eyeteeth or cuspids. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The prefix “eye-” is used because in humans the eyeteeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.

28 *Honking collective : GAGGLE OF GEESE (running gag)

A collection of geese is referred to as a “gaggle” when on the ground. When geese are in V-formation in flight, they are referred to collectively as a “skein”.

31 Axton of country music : HOYT

Hoyt Axton was a singer-songwriter best known for his folk-style songs. The Axton song most familiar to me is “Joy to the World”, which was a big hit for Three Dog Night in 1971.

32 Pie __ mode : A LA

In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie. Pie served à la mode includes a dollop of cream or ice cream, or as I recall from my time living in Upstate New York, with a wedge of cheddar cheese.

35 Sofía of “Modern Family” : 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.

“Modern Family” is a marvelous television show shown on ABC starting in 2009. The show’s format is that of a “mockumentary”, with the cast often addressing the camera directly. In that respect “Modern Family” resembles two other excellent shows: “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”, both of which might also be described as “mockumentaries”.

40 Grocery chain with a Winking Owl wine brand : ALDI

Aldi is an extremely large discount supermarket chain based in Germany with outlets in many countries, including the main European nations and Australia. Here in the US, Aldi owns the Trader Joe’s chain of stores. The chain was founded in 1946 by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht. The name “Aldi” is an abbreviation of “Albrecht Diskont”, “Albrecht Discount” in English.

45 *Phenomenon of collective false memories : MANDELA EFFECT (running man)

The Mandela Effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people share a false memory of a specific detail. It gets its name from the widespread misconception that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s, when in reality he was released in 1990 and lived until 2013. Another example is the belief that the Monopoly Man wears a monocle (he doesn’t).

50 Constellation bear : URSA

The constellation Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call it back in Ireland, the “plough”. The words “Ursae Majoris” mean “of Ursa Major”, and are found in the names of several stars in the constellation.

52 “Let You Love Me” singer Rita : ORA

“Let You Love Me” is a 2018 song that was Ora’s thirteenth to reach the top-ten in the UK. As such, it allowed Ora to beat the record for the most top-ten songs by a female solo artist from the UK.

57 Lip balm in egg-shaped containers : EOS

eos Products is a company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. eoS sells beauty products such as lotions and creams, and is most famous for its lip balm. The initials “eos” stand for “Evolution of Smooth”.

62 Spin bike meas. : RPM

In recent years, indoor cycling on stationary bicycles has come to be known as “spinning”. “Spinning” is actually a brand name of indoor bicycle that was launched in 1993 by Mad Dogg Athletics. Mad Dogg is trying to defend the use of the term “spinning” as a trademark, but it’s an uphill climb (pun!).

63 Name with Will and Frankie in sitcom titles : GRACE

I’ve always thought the real stars of “Will & Grace” were not the title characters, but rather the supporting characters Jack (played by Sean Hayes) and Karen (played by Megan Mullally).

“Grace and Frankie” is a Netflix original comedy series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the title roles, alongside Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. Grace & Frankie are two ex-wives who decide to live together after their longtime husbands announce that they are in love and intend to get married.

66 “The Princess Bride” co-star Cary : ELWES

Cary Elwes is an English actor who is perhaps most noted for appearing in the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”. He also played the title role in 1993’s “Cary Elwes”. Cary is the son of a celebrated English portrait painter, Dominick Elwes.

“The Princess Bride” is a novel by William Goldman written in 1973. Famously, the book was adapted into a 1987 film of the same name directed by Rob Reiner that has become a cult classic.

Down

6 Befitting an offspring : FILIAL

Something “filial” is related to a son or daughter. The term comes from Latin, in which language “filius” means “son” and “filia” means “daughter”.

9 Pt. of SASE : ENV

A self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) might include an enclosure (enc.).

25 “Love It or List It” channel : HGTV

“Love It or List It” is a Canadian reality show that airs in the US on HGTV. Each episode features a couple that has differing views about living in their current home, with one “loving it” and pushing for a remodel, and the other wanting to “list it” and buy a new house.

29 Bird on Mexico’s flag : EAGLE

The Mexican flag consists of three vertical stripes of green, white and red. The national coat of arms is displayed in the center of the white stripe. That coat of arms features a golden eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, while sitting atop a prickly pear cactus.

30 Triage ctrs. : ERS

Triage is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on the battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “sorting”.

31 Toys to play around with? : HULA HOOPS

Hula hoops were a big craze in the 1950s, but they have been around in various forms at least since the year 500 BCE.

34 Beaver’s construction : DAM

Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. Beavers are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.

47 Greek goddesses of vengeance : FURIES

The Furies of Greek and Roman mythology were the female personification of vengeance. They were also known as the Dirae, “the terrible”. There were at least three Furies:

• Alecto: the “unceasing”
• Megaera: the “grudging”
• Tisiphone: the “avenging murder”

48 Actress Drescher : FRAN

Fran Drescher’s real name is Francine Jane Drescher. She is a comedian and comic actress best known for playing Fran Fine on the sitcom “The Nanny”. Fran was born in Queens, New York (go figure!). Her big break came with a small role, but in a huge movie. You might recall in “Saturday Night Fever” that John Travolta was asked by a pretty dancer, “Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?” Well, that young lady was Fran Drescher.

51 “Chicago” actor Richard : GERE

Richard Gere is an American actor who is a practicing Buddhist and has been a student of the Dalai Lama for many years. He has been married three times, including his first marriage to supermodel Cindy Crawford. They were married from 1991 to 1995.

The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

59 Bookmarked link : URL

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a uniform resource locator (URL).