LA Times Crossword 24 Feb 25, Monday

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Constructed by: Malaika Handa & Stephen Lurie
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Changed One’s Tune

Themed answers are SONGS THAT HAVE BEEN MODIFIED:

• 63A Adopted a new attitude, or what music producers did to create the answers to the starred clues?: CHANGED ONE’S TUNE

• 17A *Song that’s been modified to have an intimate sound: ACOUSTIC VERSION
• 27A *Song that’s been modified to be family-friendly: RADIO EDIT
• 49A *Song that’s been modified to have a dance beat: CLUB REMIX

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

Bill’s time: 4m 47s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Friar Tuck: pal of Robin Hood: FRIAR

Friar Tuck is a character who appears in the legends of Robin Hood. He is a jovial man, fond of his food and wine, and a member of Robin’s merry band of outlaws.

6 One of the four classical elements: AIR

The Greek philosopher Empedocles proposed that there are four elements that made up the universe, namely earth, water, air and fire. Aristotle later proposed a fifth element which he called aether (also “ether”). Aether was the divine substance that made up the stars and planets. We’re still using the term “ether” with a similar meaning, and the extended term “ethereal” to mean “lacking material substance” and “marked by unusual delicacy”.

13 Sharp-eyed bird: EAGLE

Eagles have extraordinary eyesight that is several times stronger than that enjoyed by humans. The average eagle weighs about ten pounds, and yet has eyes that are about the same size as human eyes.

16 Sparkling wine choice: BRUT

Sparkling wines can be classified according to sweetness. These classifications are, from driest to sweetest:

• Brut Nature
• Extra Brut
• Brut
• Extra Dry
• Dry
• Semi-Dry
• Sweet

17 *Song that’s been modified to have an intimate sound: ACOUSTIC VERSION

The term “unplugged” is commonly used for music played on acoustic instruments, music that is usually played on amplified instruments, often electric guitars.

22 U.S. ID issuer: SSA

Social Security Administration (SSA)

25 Midday meal: LUNCH

“Lunch” is an abbreviated form of “luncheon”, but the exact etymology of “luncheon” seems unclear. That said, back in the 1650s, a luncheon was a light snack eaten between regular mealtimes, as opposed to a regular midday repast.

32 Yosemite rock formation, familiarly: EL CAP

El Capitan is a stunning vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California. The top of El Capitan has been used as the take-off point for many BASE jumps, parachute jumps made by diving off the top of the rock face. The National Park Service put a stop to the practice in 1999. Soon afterwards, a BASE jumper made an illegal jump to protest the ban. She died …

40 Perón of Argentina: EVITA

Eva Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón who was in office from 1946 to 1955. The Argentine First Lady was known affectionately by the people as “Evita”, the Spanish language diminutive of “Eva”. “Evita” is also the title of a tremendously successful musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice that is based on the life of Eva Perón.

43 Like a spot under a beach umbrella: SHADED

Our term “umbrella” ultimately derives from the Latin “umbra” meaning “shade, shadow”.

45 Ruffles rival: LAY’S

Lay’s potato chips were introduced in 1938 by Herman W. Lay. Lay started selling his chips out the trunk of his car, traveling all over the US. In those days the chips were pretty much handmade, but Lay put an end to that in 1942. He invented the first continuous potato processor in 1948, and chips started to take over the world!

Ruffles are a brand of crinkle-cut potato chips. The chips take their name from their “ruffled” shape. The ruffles are designed to make the chip more sturdy, and better for dipping.

48 Maguire who played Spider-Man: TOBEY

Actor Tobey Maguire is most associated with the role of Spider-Man these days. I’m not much into comic book hero films, but I do kind of enjoy the understated way that Maguire takes on “Spidey”. Maguire has appeared in other hit films, like “Pleasantville” (1998), “The Cider House Rules” (1999) and “Seabiscuit” (2003). Off the screen, he is big into poker and it’s said that he has won over $10 million playing poker in Hollywood. Apparently, the rather unsavory character “Player X” in the 2017 movie “Molly Bloom” was largely inspired by Maguire.

51 Yogurt condiment: RAITA

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

59 Milky birthstone: OPAL

An opal is often described as having a milky iridescence known as opalescence.

70 Uno y uno: DOS

In Spanish, “dos” (two) is “uno y uno” (one plus one).

71 Bonfire residue: ASHES

Back in the mid-1500s, a “bonfire” was a fire used for burning bones, a “bone fire”.

Down

2 Tortoise-and-hare affair: RACE

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

3 Inventor Sikorsky: IGOR

Igor Sikorsky was a Russian pioneer in the world of aviation. He designed, and indeed piloted, the world’s first multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft in 1913. He moved to the US in 1919 and set up his own aircraft manufacturing business. In the thirties he made the magnificent flying boats that were used by Pan Am in their Clipper era. Sikorsky also developed the world’s first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942.

10 Liqueur made by Baileys: IRISH CREAM

A “cream liqueur” is one that includes dairy cream. The most famous example is probably Baileys Irish Cream, which is made from cream and Irish whiskey. A “crème liqueur”, on the other hand, is one that includes a lot of added sugar, but no dairy cream. Examples are crème de cacao (chocolate-flavored), crème de menthe (mint-flavored) and crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored).

12 Sicily’s highest peak: ETNA

Italy is home to three active volcanoes:

• Stromboli (in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily)
• Vesuvius (overlooking Naples)
• Etna (on the island of Sicily)

Sometimes the list can include Vulcano, a volcanic island located a few miles north of Sicily, which last erupted in the late 1880s.

15 Country whose national dish is ceviche: PERU

Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that is popular in South and Central America. Ceviche is typically made from fish marinated in lemon or lime juice and spiced with hot peppers.

18 Coming to a point: TAPERED

I used to think that the word “taper” was used for a slender candle because said candle was “tapered” in shape, but it’s exactly the opposite. It turns out that our word “tapered” comes from the candle. “Taper” and “tapur” are Old English words meaning “candle”. From these nouns arose the verb “to taper” meaning “shoot up like flame”. This meaning evolved into “become slender” from the idea that a candle’s flame has such a shape.

19 Actress Zellweger: RENEE

Renée Zellweger’s big break came with the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire”. A few years later, Zellweger followed that up with a string of successes in “Bridget Jones’ Diary” (2001), “Chicago” (2002) and “Cold Mountain” (2003). My wife and I love watching her play Bridget Jones, and as someone coming from Britain and Ireland, I have to say that Zellweger does a remarkable job with the accent. She worked hard to perfect that accent, and of course she had a voice coach. She also went “undercover” and worked as a temp in an office for three weeks fine-tuning her skills.

24 NYC rep who was once a bartender: AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx, Queens and Rikers Island in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

26 Lobster’s grabber: CLAW

The American lobster species is normally colored a dark, bluish green to a greenish brown. This color is the result of a mixture of yellow, blue and green pigments. There are known genetic mutations that have resulted in some different colors in the lobster population. About 1 in 2 million lobsters is blue, and 1 in 30 million is yellow. There may even be albino lobsters, occurring at a frequency of about 1 in 100 million.

28 Pepper in pozole: ANCHO

Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew made with hominy, meat (usually pork or chicken), and a rich broth. It’s often seasoned with a variety of spices, including chili peppers, cumin, and oregano, and garnished with fresh toppings like shredded cabbage, radishes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice. Pozole has a long history in Mexican cuisine, dating back to pre-Hispanic times. There is evidence that, prior to the Spanish conquest, some versions of pozole may have been made with human meat as a ritualistic practice.

30 Software engineer, for short: DEV

Software developer (dev)

33 Video game pioneer: ATARI

Atari was founded in 1972, and was one of the pioneers in the video game industry. One of the company’s early employees was Steve Jobs, who was hired to work on the game design for the arcade game “Breakout”. Jobs was tasked with reducing the number of chips needed for the game and he recruited his friend, Steve Wozniak, to help with the project. Wozniak designed a circuit board that used only 46 chips, a significant improvement over the original design that had over 100 chips.

34 Brand of glass measuring cups: PYREX

Pyrex is a brand of glassware that was developed by Corning. As well as being used in bakeware and laboratory glassware, Pyrex is often the material of choice for optics in large telescopes used in astronomy. Corning’s PYREX (note the capital letters) is made from borosilicate glass, the main ingredients of which are silica and boron trioxide. Such Corning products are only available now outside of the US. Corning divested its consumer products division in 1998, resulting in the formation of World Kitchen. World Kitchen purchased the rights to the “Pyrex” name in the US, and marketed it as “pyrex” (all lowercase letters). So “PYREX” glassware is made from borosilicate glass, and “pyrex” products are made from cheaper tempered soda-lime glass.

41 Greek letter that resembles a “T”: TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

46 __ Lanka: SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

61 Penny-: ANTE

Penny ante poker is a game in which bets are limited to a penny, or some other small, friendly sum. The expression “penny-ante” has come to describe any business transaction that is on a small scale.

62 “Tastes great, __ filling”: Miller Lite slogan: LESS

The first light beer was produced by Chicago’s Meister Brau brewery in the sixties. Miller took over Meister Brau, reformulated the light beer using the same process and became the first of the big breweries to come out with a light beer, “Lite Beer from Miller” introduced in 1973. There really wasn’t a serious competitor to Miller Lite until Anheuser-Busch finally came up with a process and a product in 1982 that they called Bud Light.

64 Opposite of paleo-: NEO-

The prefix “paleo-” means “prehistoric, primitive”. It comes from the Greek word “palaios” which means “old, ancient”. The prefix “neo-” would be the opposite, meaning “new, recent”.