LA Times Crossword 23 Feb 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Toy Story

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as TOYS:

• 23A Spinner for an early riser?: TOP OF THE MORNING
• 44A Classic playset made of cut logs?: LUMBER JACKS
• 67A Equipment for playing catch in a costume?: MASQUERADE BALLS
• 93A Rollerblades that are a dime a dozen?: CHEAP SKATES
• 115A Competitive activity with infinite possibilities?: GAME FOR ANYTHING
• 17D Shapers for kids’ goo?: SLIME MOLDS
• 73D Travel version of a stackable building set?: ROAD BLOCKS

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

Bill’s time: 17m 34s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Halls rival: RICOLA

Ricola is a Swiss brand of cough drops and breath mints.

25 Waititi of “What We Do in the Shadows”: TAIKA

Taika Waititi is a very successful New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian who has directed a variety of successful films, including “Thor: Ragnarok”, “Jojo Rabbit,” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”. Waititi has also acted in several of his films, including taking on the role of Adolf Hitler in the satirical drama movie “Jojo Rabbit”. That film earned Waititi an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2022, Waititi married British singer Rita Ora.

26 Proton partner: NEUTRON

The neutron is a subatomic particle with no charge that was discovered by British physicist James Chadwick in 1932.

28 Fate: KISMET

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

29 Future esq.’s exam: LSAT

The title “esquire” is of British origin and is used differently today depending on whether one is in the US or the UK. Here in America the term is usually reserved for those practicing the law (both male and female). In the UK, “esquire” is a term of gentle respect reserved for a male who has no other title that one can use. So, a mere commoner like me might receive a letter from the bank, say, addressed to W. E. Butler Esq.

30 Punchy salad ingredient: CRESS

Garden cress is a leafy vegetable that is closely related to watercress and mustard. Cress is particularly popular in the UK where it is a common ingredient in sandwiches. It has a very pleasant peppery taste.

33 Overused theme: TROPE

A trope is a figure of speech. The term “trope” comes from the Greek word “tropos” that has the same meaning. The term has evolved in meaning to also describe a common or overused device or theme.

39 James of “Funny Lady”: CAAN

James Caan was an actor from the Bronx, New York City. He was noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan was quite the sportsman. He played golf with an 8 handicap, and was a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

“Funny Lady” the 1975 sequel to the 1968 hit film “Funny Girl”. Both movies star Barbra Streisand in the title role, portraying the life of comedian Fanny Brice.

43 Unkempt do: MOP

The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.

44 Classic playset made of cut logs?: LUMBER JACKS

Knucklebones (also “jacks, jackstones”) is a game in which small objects are tossed in the air, while others are picked up, and the tossed objects caught. There are many variations of the game.

47 Magic, on scoreboards: ORL

The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …

54 Muse of history: CLIO

Clio, the muse of history, held a prominent place among the nine muses of Greek mythology. Often depicted with a scroll or tablet in hand, she presided over the recording and interpretation of past events. It was Clio who inspired historians, poets, and other writers to document and recount the deeds of mortals and the stories of gods. Her name comes from the Greek word “kleio” meaning “to celebrate, make famous”, reflecting her role in immortalizing achievements and preserving the memory of the past for future generations.

57 Japanese dog breed: AKITA

The Akita breed of dog is named for its point of origin, Akita Prefecture in Japan. When Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937, she asked for and was given an Akita breed of dog, with the name of Kamikaze-go. Sadly, the dog died within a year from distemper. The following year the Japanese government officially presented Keller with a replacement dog. Supposedly Keller’s dogs were the first members of the breed to be introduced into the US.

61 Phrase on Texas license plates: LONE STAR

The single star on the state flag of Texas is a reminder of the “lone star” on the 1836 National Standard of Texas. The single white star on a blue background symbolizes Texas as an independent republic and its struggle for independence from Mexico.

63 Nickel, e.g.: METAL

The whitish metal we know as “nickel” was given its name by Swedish mineralogist Axel von Cronstedt in 1754. The name he chose was an abbreviated version of “kopparnickel”, the Swedish for “copper-colored ore”.

66 Verdon partner: FOSSE

Bob Fosse won more Tony Awards for choreography than anyone else, a grand total of eight (and another Tony for direction). Fosse also won an Oscar for Best Director for the 1972 movie “Cabaret”, even beating out the formidable Francis Ford Coppola who was nominated that same year for “The Godfather”.

Gwen Verdon was one of Broadway’s biggest stars, and an actress, singer and dancer. She is also famous for playing Lola in the 1958 movie adaptation of “Damn Yankees”, in which she sings the unforgettable “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets”. Verdon’s second marriage was to celebrated choreographer Bob Fosse.

71 “A Christmas __”: CAROL

The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to popular use of the phrase “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” to describe a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Ebenezer Scrooge uttered the words “Bah! Humbug!”.

74 “The Hobbit” dragon: SMAUG

The dragon named Smaug is the principal antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”.

84 Like a sailboat’s mainsail: SCALENE

A scalene triangle is one in which all three sides are of unequal length.

86 Louisiana cuisine: CAJUN

Cajun cuisine is named for the French-speaking Acadian people who were deported from Acadia in Canada to Louisiana in the 18th century.

89 Volkswagen convertible: EOS

The Eos is a two-door compact made by Volkswagen from 2006 to 2016. A unique feature of the EOS is a hardtop retractable roof that comes in five sections.

106 Buggy terrain: DUNE

Dune buggies are motorized vehicles designed for use on sand dunes and sandy beaches. They are typically made by adding large wheels and wide tires to the chassis of an existing road vehicle. Volkswagen Bugs are a common choice for the base vehicle, which led to the name dune “buggy”.

110 Embargo: BAN

“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

114 Center of power: LOCUS

“Locus” (plural “loci”) is Latin for “place”, and is used in English with the same meaning. The term can also be used to describe a center of power or activity. In mathematics, a locus is a set of points that satisfy some property. For example, a locus might be a straight line, part of a line, a surface, or perhaps a curve.

121 Natives of Wyoming: ARAPAHOS

The Arapaho Native-American people lived on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They traditionally wintered in small camps in the foothills of the Rockies, and then relocated to plains in the spring where they hunted the buffalo that were gathering to give birth to their young.

Down

4 Nonalcoholic beer brand: O’DOUL’S

I once did a blind taste test on all of the big-selling non-alcoholic beers with a friend of mine. O’Doul’s Amber won the day pretty decisively, which surprised us as it was the cheapest! But, the best non-alcoholic beer by far, by miles, is Guinness Zero …

6 Type of plane that doesn’t fly: ASTRAL

Some believe that a person’s spirit inhabits the astral plane after dying, and before entering the spirit world.

8 Three Gorges project: DAM

The Three Gorges region along the Yangtze River in China is known for its spectacular scenery. The area is attracting a lot of attention in recent years because of a recently completed hydroelectric dam that is changing the ecology and appearance of the land both upriver and downriver. The dam itself is the biggest electricity-generating plant in the world, with a total capacity of 22.5 GW.

10 Piece of rpm: PER

Revolutions per minute (rpm)

12 Political columnist Molly: IVINS

Molly Ivins was a newspaper columnist, journalist and political commentator. One of Ivins’ books is “Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch’s Assault on America’s Fundamental Rights”.

13 Hawk: VEND

The verb “to hawk” has a Germanic origin, and comes from the Low German word “hoken” meaning “to peddle”. A hawker is actually slightly different from a peddler by definition, as a hawker is a peddler that uses a horse and cart, or a van nowadays perhaps, to sell his or her wares.

24 Monopoly purchase: HOTEL

In the game of Monopoly, one can purchase a hotel by “demolishing” four houses and by paying an extra amount equal to the price of one more house.

28 Polish metropolis: KRAKOW

Kraków is the second largest city in Poland, and was a capital for many centuries. The Archbishop of Kraków was Karol Wojtyla, one of the most famous people to have lived in the city. In 1978 Archbishop Wojtyla was installed as Pope John Paul II. Kraków was also where the bagel was invented, in the 16th century.

31 Puzzle cube creator: RUBIK

What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as “Rubik’s Cube”, and was named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

32 Nice season: ETE

The French city of Nice is on the Mediterranean coast in the southeast of the country. Although Nice is only the fifth most populous city in France, it is home to the busiest airport outside of Paris. That’s because of all the tourists flocking to the French Riviera. Something described as “à la niçoise” is “of Nice”.

35 Bull rider’s sport: RODEO

“Rodeo” is a Spanish word that is usually translated into English as “round up”.

36 Like some drones: APIAN

Drone bees (and ants) are fertile males of the species, whose sole role in life seems to be to mate with a queen. Given that drone bees make no honey, we sometimes use the term “drone” figuratively, to describe a lazy worker, or someone who lives on the labors of others.

39 Currency with toonies, briefly: CAD

Canadian dollar (CAD)

“Toonie” is the familiar name for a two-dollar coin in Canada. The toonie was introduced in 1996, and gets its familiar name from the one-dollar coin known as a “loonie”.

46 Social app with a synagogue directory: JDATE

Spark Networks is a company that owns several special-interest dating sites online. The most famous is probably ChristianMingle.com, but there is also BlackSingles.com, LDSSingles.com, JDate.com and CatholicMingle.com.

49 Kevin Bacon horror film with an “Aftershocks” sequel: TREMORS

“Tremors” is a 1990 monster horror film starring Kevin Bacon. It spawned a franchise of several movies and a TV series. I don’t do horror …

Kevin Bacon is an actor from Philadelphia who appeared first on the big screen in the 1978 comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House”. That wasn’t to be the big break that Bacon needed though, which came with “Footloose” in 1984. A fun fact about him is that he is the subject of a popular trivia game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” in which players have to show that a particular actor can be related to Kevin Bacon in fewer than six links, with each link being a movie in which two actors appear together.

56 Website help pages: FAQS

Most websites have a page listing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Even this blog has one!

62 Piña colada ingredient: RUM

“Piña colada” is a Spanish term that translates into “strained pineapple”. The piña colada cocktail was introduced in the Caribe Hilton San Juan in 1954, and since 1978 it has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico. The mocktail version of the drink is known as a nada colada.

65 Southeast Asian nation: LAOS

The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country’s name is “Meuang Lao”. The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of “Lao” entities united into one, the French added the “S” and so today we tend to use “Laos” instead of “Lao”.

70 Inc. relatives: LLCS

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

71 Keto no-nos: CARBS

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

72 “So long, mon ami”: ADIEU

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God” The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

76 Phone line?: HELLO

Before the 1880s, the most popular greeting in English was “hallo” or “hullo”. The use of “hello” became popular along with the proliferation of telephones. When the telephone was invented, Alexander Graham Bell suggested that the greeting “Ahoy” be used when answering. Thomas Edison preferred “Hello”, which won out. By the end of the 1880s, telephone operators were being referred to as “hello-girls”.

77 NBA analyst Shaquille: O’NEAL

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

78 Bear in a crib: TEDDY

The stuffed toy known as a teddy bear was introduced in the early 1900s and was named for President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. The toy was inspired by a political cartoon that was drawn in 1902 showing President Roosevelt on a bear hunt and refusing to kill a black bear cub. That event is celebrated annually on September 9th as National Teddy Bear Day.

80 Pod relative: SCHOOL

That would be a school of fish.

83 __ voce: SOTTO

“Sotto voce” literally means “under the voice” in Italian, and describes the deliberate lowering of one’s voice for emphasis.

94 Colonel Sanders’s place: KFC

“Colonel” Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fame has been portrayed in ads on television by several celebrities. The list includes Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton, Billy Zane, Rob Lowe, Ray Liotta and even Reba McEntire.

95 Midsize car: SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

100 Damon who wrote the stories adapted as “Guys and Dolls”: RUNYON

“Guys and Dolls” is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It was first produced on Broadway, in 1950, and ran for 1200 performances. The show was based on a book written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, which in turn was inspired by the short stories “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure” by Damon Runyon. “Guys and Dolls” was chosen as winner of a Pulitzer in 1951, but the award was canceled as Abe Burrows was having problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee at the time.

104 111-Down and Phillips, in a 1960s pop group: MAMAS
[111D Singer Elliot: CASS]

The folk group called the Magic Circle renamed itself to the Mamas and the Papas in the early sixties. Sadly, the Mamas and the Papas weren’t a happy bunch, always fighting over who was getting credit for songs and whose voice was getting mixed out of recordings, so they split up, twice. While they were together though, they wrote and recorded some great songs, songs which really do epitomize the sound of the sixties. “Monday, Monday” was written by John Phillips, one of “the Papas”, and it was to become the only number one hit for the group. Here’s a shocker … when it hit number one in 1966, it was the first time that a group made up of both sexes topped the American charts!

105 Klutzy: INEPT

A klutz is an awkward individual, with the term “klutz” coming from Yiddish. The Yiddish word for a clumsy person is “klots”.

108 “The Traitors” host Cumming: ALAN

Alan Cumming is a very versatile Scottish actor. Cumming has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Floop in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

“The Traitors” is a very entertaining international franchise of reality game shows that originated in the Netherlands as”De Verraders”. “The Traitors US” is hosted by the very flamboyant Scottish actor Alan Cummings, and is played in a castle in Scotland. The basic premise of the game is that some contestants are secretly assigned as traitors, and the “faithful” contestants must try to identify them.

111 Singer Elliot: CASS

Cass Elliot (born “Ellen Cohen”) was one of the four singers in the Mamas and the Papas, a sensational group from the sixties. “Mama Cass” was performing sold-out concerts in London in 1974 when she was found dead one morning, having had a heart attack. She was only 32 years old. Eerily, Elliot died in the same flat (on loan from Harry Nilsson) in which the Who’s drummer Keith Moon would die just four years later.

112 Actress Wilson: RITA

Actress Rita Wilson is also a producer. She produced the 2002 movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which was destined to become the highest-grossing independent movie of all time. Wilson married fellow actor Tom Hanks in 1988.

113 Lip-lock, in London: SNOG

“Snogging” is British slang of unknown origin that dates back to the end of WWII. The term is used for “kissing and cuddling”, what we call “making out” over here in the US.

115 Josh of “Wolf Like Me”: GAD

Josh Gad is an actor and comedian who was born in Hollywood, although that would be Hollywood, Florida. Gads big break came on the stage, when he originated the role of Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon”. On the big screen Gad played Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak in “Jobs” and Hector McQueen in the 2017 adaptation of “Murder on the Orient Express”. Gad also voiced Olaf in the “Frozen” films.

“Wolf Like Me” is a comedy-drama TV show from Australia that premiered in 2022. American actor Josh Gad stars alongside Australian actress Isla Fisher. Gad plays a single father living in Adelaide, and Fisher plays an advice columnist. There’s a twist: that advice columnist is a werewolf!

118 Wizzard singer Wood: ROY

English rock band Wizzard was formed by Roy Wood, co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. The group’s biggest hits were 1973’s “See My Baby Jive” and “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”. It is well nigh impossible not to hear the latter annually at Christmas in Britain and Ireland. Great tunes …

119 Test for M.A. hopefuls: GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.