LA Times Crossword 26 Mar 25, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Zhou Zhang
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Man to Man, Partly

Themed clues each end with a “‘body part’ to ‘body part’” idiomatic phrase:

• 18A Chance to have a heart to heart?: ROYAL FLUSH
• 26A Spot to meet face to face?: MAKEUP MIRROR
• 47A Professional who is willing to see eye to eye?: POTATO FARMER
• 61A Person who will go toe to toe?: PEDICURIST

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

Bill’s time: 6m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Greek earth goddess: GAIA

The Greek goddess personifying the earth was Gaea (also “Gaia”, and meaning “land” or “earth” in Greek). The Roman equivalent goddess was Terra Mater, “Mother Earth”.

14 __ out: sing with gusto: BELT

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in English in the phrase “with gusto” meaning “with great enjoyment”.

15 Quartz type: AGATE

Quartz is a form of silicon oxide and is the second most abundant mineral found in the Earth’s crust, after feldspar. The name “quartz” comes into English via German, and probably ultimately derives from a Slavic word meaning “hard”.

18 Chance to have a heart to heart?: ROYAL FLUSH

The poker hand called a royal flush is the highest-ranking hand possible. It consists of a run of 10, jack, queen, king and ace, with all in the same suit.

20 “Girl Crush” country singers Little Big : TOWN

“Girl Crush” is a 2014 country song recorded by Little Big Town. The song’s lyrics created some controversy in country music circles, with accusations that it promoted a gay agenda. In response, one of Little Big Town’s band members asserted that the song is about a woman who is jealous of another woman who “stole” her ex-boyfriend. Regardless, several radio stations pulled the song in response to complaints from their audiences.

22 “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” playwright: ALBEE

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is an Edward Albee play that premiered on Broadway in 1962. The play won a Tony in 1963, and was adapted into a successful film in 1966 starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis. The stage version is a lengthy production lasting over three hours.

23 Some saxes: ALTOS

The saxophone was invented by Belgian musician Adolphe Sax, hence the name. Sax developed lip cancer at one point in his life, and one has to wonder if his affliction was related to his saxophone playing (I am sure not!). I had the privilege of visiting Sax’s grave in the Cemetery of Montmartre in Paris a few years ago.

32 Trip around the sun: YEAR

A year is defined as the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun. The other planets in our solar system take varying lengths of time to complete their orbits:

1. Mercury: ~ 3 Earth months
2. Venus: ~ 7 Earth months
3. Earth: 1 Earth year
4. Mars: ~ 2 Earth years
5. Jupiter: ~ 12 Earth years
6. Saturn: ~ 30 Earth years
7. Uranus: ~ 84 Earth years
8. Neptune: ~ 165 Earth years

41 Gibbon or gorilla: APE

Gibbons are referred to as lesser apes as they differ in size and behavior from the great apes e.g. chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans.

The gorilla is the largest primate still in existence, and is one of the nearest living species to humans. Molecular biology studies have shown that our nearest relatives are in fact the species in the genus Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo), which split from the human branch of the family 4-6 million years ago. Gorillas and humans diverged at a point about 7 million years ago. The term “gorilla” derives from the Greek “gorillai” meaning “tribe of hairy women”. Wow …!

51 Cocktail party appetizer: CANAPE

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.

54 Dude ranch greeting: HOWDY!

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

63 Subterfuge: RUSE

A subterfuge is a deception, especially one designed to aid in evasion, escape or concealment. The term subterfuge ultimately comes from the Latin “subter-” meaning secretly, and “fugere” meaning “to flee”.

65 Scuffle: MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

Down

1 Somber bio: OBIT

Our word “obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”. The Latin term was used for “record of the death of a person”, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

4 Marvel Comics legend: STAN LEE

Stan Lee did just about everything at Marvel Comics over the years, from writing to being president and chairman of the board. If you like superhero movies based on the characters from Marvel Comics, then you could spend a few hours trying to spot Stan Lee in those films as he had a penchant for making cameo appearances. Lee can be spotted in “X-Men” (2000), “Spider-Man” (2002), “Hulk” (2003), “Fantastic Four” (2005), “Iron Man” (2008) and many other films.

Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 as Timely Comics, before becoming Atlas Comics in 1951 and eventually Marvel Comics in 1961. The “Marvel” brand had existed from day one, and Timely Comics’ first publication was “Marvel Comics #1” in October 1939. That first comic featured the superhero the Human Torch.

11 Island near Venezuela: ARUBA

Aruba is one of the so-called ABC islands located off the northern coast of Venezuela. “ABC Islands” is a name given to the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. The nickname comes from the first letters of the island names: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. All three of the ABC islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

13 Symbol on the first day of Lent: ASHES

In the Christian tradition, the first day in the season of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, Palm Crosses from the prior year’s Palm Sunday are burned. The resulting ashes are mixed with sacred oil and then used to anoint worshipers on the forehead with the shape of a cross.

19 Once-popular casino game: FARO

Faro is a card game somewhat akin to Baccarat that was popular in England and France in the 18th century. Faro made it to the Old West, where it became a favorite of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. The origin of the name “Faro” is unclear. One popular theory is that Faro is a contraction of ‘pharaoh’ given that Egyptian motifs used to be common on playing cards of the period. There’s another theory involving the usual suspects: Irish immigrants and famines …

25 “Iliad” city: TROY

“Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer that tells the story of the ten-year siege of “Ilium” (i.e. “Troy”) during the Trojan war. “The Odyssey”, also attributed to Homer, is sometimes described as a sequel to “Iliad”.

29 __ Speedwagon: REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.

35 __ admiral: REAR

The rank of rear admiral is usually the lowest of the admiral ranks. The term originated with the Royal Navy. In days gone by, an admiral would head up the activities of a naval squadron from the central vessel. He (and they were always male back then) would be assisted by a vice admiral who acted from the lead vessel. There would also be a lower-ranking admiral to command the ships at the rear of the squadron, and this was the “rear” admiral.

38 Chess ending: MATE

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

39 Kissing on the street, for short: PDA

Public display of affection (PDA)

43 With 42-Across, hanging growth in Louisiana swamps: SPANISH …
42 See 43-Down: … MOSS

Spanish moss is seen growing all over larger trees, particularly in the southeast of the US. Also known as beard lichen, it is neither a moss nor a lichen. Rather, Spanish moss is a flowering plant, albeit with flowers that are tiny and difficult to spot.

48 Oil cartel letters: OPEC

The OPEC cartel was formally established in 1960 and has been headquartered in Vienna since 1965. The US is one of the big three oil producers in the world (along with Russia and Saudi Arabia). One reason America isn’t in OPEC, even though we are a big producer, is that we import a lot more than we export. But we all probably knew that already …

50 Strengths: FORTES

A person’s forte is their strength. The term “forte” came into English via French from the Latin “fortis” meaning strong. “Forte” (F) is also a musical direction meaning “loud”.

51 Escapade: CAPER

Back in the mid-17th century, an escapade was an escape from confinement. We’ve been using “escapade” figuratively since the early 19th century to mean “breaking loose from restraints on behavior”.

52 Word said with an Echo?: ALEXA

Amazon Echo is a voice-controlled hardware device that can be used to provide several services including playing radio programs and music, recording of shopping lists, and managing a calendar. The device just sits in the home listening, until it hears a “wake up” command.

56 Small songbird: WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests. Despite their small size, they are known for their loud and complex songs. Male wrens often sing to attract mates and to establish territory, They have been known to attack much larger birds that get too close to their nests.

57 Sword handle: HILT

The hilt of a sword consists of a grip and a guard (sometimes “bell guard”). One grasps the sword with the grip, and the guard is a metal shell that is designed to protect the fingers.

62 Actress Thurman: UMA

Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s moll Mia in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from acting from 1998 until 2002 following the birth of her first child. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.