LA Times Crossword 16 May 25, Friday

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Constructed by: Lewis Rothlein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): They’re Broke!

Themed answers are common phrases that start with a synonym of “broken”. Each is clued with a single word that is literally broken into two parts:

• 17A Pa ss : SPLIT TICKET (split “pass”)
• 25A Fi rm : PARTED COMPANY (parted “firm”)
• 43A Shis hito : CRACKED PEPPER (cracked “shishito”)
• 56A Bo nds : SEVERED TIES (severed “bonds”)

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

Bill’s time: 9m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Creature of Jewish folklore : GOLEM

“Golem” is Yiddish slang for “dimwit”. In Jewish folklore, a golem is an anthropomorphic being made out of inanimate matter, and is somewhat like an unintelligent robot.

11 __ bar : FIG

The fig is the fruit of a small tree in the mulberry family. Once picked, figs don’t travel very well, so the bulk of figs consumed have been preserved by drying.

15 Intercontinental range : URALS

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

16 Soundless messaging syst. : ASL

American Sign Language (ASL)

17 Pa ss : SPLIT TICKET

A split-ticket ballot is one in which a voter votes for candidates from more than one political party.

19 Dark site of the moon? : SEA

A mare is a large dark area on the moon. “Mare” is the Latin for “sea”. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility.

20 Members of a sub group : HOAGIES

“Hoagy” (sometimes “hoagie”) is another name for a submarine sandwich. The term “hoagy” originated in Philadelphia, and was apparently introduced by Italians working in the shipyards during WWI. The shipyards were located on Hog Island, and the sandwich was first called “the Hog Island”, which morphed into “hoagy”.

21 Like overripe bananas : SPOTTED

The banana is actually a berry, botanically speaking. And, bananas don’t really grow on trees. The “trunk” of the banana plant is a pseudostem, a false stem comprising rolled bases of leaves, and it can grow to 2 or 3 meters tall.

23 “Embrace the glorious __ that you are”: Elizabeth Gilbert : MESS

Elizabeth Gilbert is an author best known for her 2006 memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love”, which chronicled her year-long journey of self-discovery after a difficult divorce. The memoir’s popularity led to a 2010 film adaptation in which Julia Roberts played Gilbert.

24 Dressage pace : TROT

The equestrian sport of dressage involves demonstration of how well a horse responds to training. “Dressage” is a French word meaning “training”.

25 Fi rm : PARTED COMPANY

A business is sometimes called a firm. “Firm” comes into English from Latin via the Italian “firma” meaning “signature”. The concept is that business transactions are confirmed, made firm, by applying a signature.

34 Overlord of the rings, for short? : IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894, and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The symbol of the Olympic Games consists of five interlocking rings, with each ring representing one of the five continents involved in the Olympics. The five continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and America (North and South combined). The symbol was designed in 1912, adopted in 1914, and introduced at the 1920 Games.

39 Co-worker of Jamie, Alan, and Mara, in Progressive ads : FLO

Progressive is a popular auto insurance company, the one that uses the perky character named “Flo” as a spokesperson. Flo is played by comedian and actress Stephanie Courtney.

43 Shis hito : CRACKED PEPPER

The shishito is a mild, slender East Asian pepper known for its thin skin and green color. A popular dish is “blistered” shishito peppers, which are quickly cooked over high heat, causing the skin to char and blister, creating a slightly smoky flavor. They’re often simply seasoned with sea salt and served as an appetizer or side dish. I discovered blistered shishito peppers while visiting a New York City bar several years ago, and now I am a huge fan …

47 __ bene : NOTA

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

51 Comic-con attendee with pointy ears, maybe : TREKKIE

Fans of “Star Trek” refer to themselves as “trekkies”.

Vulcans are an alien race in the “Star Trek” franchise. The most famous (half-) Vulcan is Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy. Spock’s father is a Vulcan, and his mother is human.

58 Org. with Kings and Knights : NHL

The Los Angeles Kings hockey team was founded in 1967 and joined the NHL as an expansion team. The Kings played their home games at the start of the first season not in Los Angeles, but rather in neighboring Long Beach, at the Long Beach Arena. Team owner Jack Kent Cooke built his own arena for the Kings called the Forum, which opened for business later in the season. The Kings called the Forum home for thirty-two years, until they moved to the Staples Center at the start of the 1999-2000 season.

The Vegas Golden Knights are a hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area (actually in the town of Paradise). They began play in the 2017–18 NHL season, becoming the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. Notably, the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Finals in that first season.

60 Aquarium fish : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

“Aquarium” is a Latin word meaning “pertaining to water”, although in Latin the word only existed as a noun with the meaning “drinking place for cattle”. Before the use of the noun “aquarium” (plural “aquaria”) in the context of fish, a tank was sometimes referred to as a marine vivarium.

63 Caravan rest stops : OASES

A camel train carrying passengers or goods across a desert can be referred to as a caravan. “Caravan” derives from the Persian “karwan”, which has the same meaning. Over in Britain, “caravan” is the name given to travel trailers.

Down

2 Intel collected during a race : OPPO

In the world of politics, “oppo” is “opposition research”. The idea is to collect information on one’s opponent that can be used against him or her.

3 “Copacabana” showgirl : LOLA

The Copacabana of the 1978 Barry Manilow song is the Copacabana nightclub in New York City (which is also the subject of the Frank Sinatra song “Meet Me at the Copa”). The Copa opened in 1940 and is still going today, although it is struggling. The club had to move due to impending construction and is now “sharing” a location with the Columbus 72 nightclub.

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from 8 ’til 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

4 Hard-to-read people : ENIGMAS

Our term “enigma” meaning “puzzle, riddle” comes from the Greek “ainigma”, which means the same thing.

5 Fortes : METIERS

“Métier” is French for “trade, profession”.

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”.

6 Word on some European notes : SUISSE

“Suisse” is the French word for “Swiss”, and “la Suisse” is French for “Switzerland”.

18 Petulant : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

25 Minor offense : PECCADILLO

A peccadillo is a minor offense. The term “peccadillo” comes from the Spanish “pecadillo”, which has the same meaning. The latter is a diminutive of “pecado” meaning “sin”. In English, we tend these days to reserve the use of “peccadillo” for minor faults of a sexual nature.

27 Half-__: latte spec : CAF

Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant that is found in several plants. The chemical serves as a natural pesticide by paralyzing and killing certain insects that would otherwise feed on the plant. Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug that is consumed by humans across the world.

28 Cain genre : NOIR

Novelist James M. Cain had a string of hit novels in the 1930s and 1940s, several of which were adapted into successful films. That list includes “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1934), “Double Indemnity” (1936) and “Mildred Pierce” (1941). Even though Cain also worked as a screenwriter, he never had a successful film script, despite the success of his novels that others adapted.

35 Word with hand or saw : OLD …

A saw is an old saying, one that is often repeated and is very familiar. The term “old saw” is actually a tautology, as by definition a “saw” is “old”.

39 Folks who might say, “Curses! Foiled again!”? : FENCERS

Before the foil was introduced as a sporting weapon, it was used as a blunted weapon for sword practice. It has been suggested that the sword was blunted by wrapping metal foil around the tip, hence the name.

40 Botanical reproductive unit : SPORE

Spores are produced by many bacteria, fungi and non-flowering plants. A spore is a reproductive body encased in a protective shell that is highly resistant to damage, and resistant to heat in particular.

42 Underwhelming argument : WEAK TEA

The phrase “weak tea” is used to describe an underwhelming argument or idea. Just as weak tea is thin, watery, and lacking the robust flavor of a properly brewed cup, a “weak tea” argument is seen as insubstantial and lacking in persuasive power.

44 Skating great Yamaguchi : KRISTI

Kristi Yamaguchi is a figure skater, an Olympic champion in 1992. She is quite the dancer too, having won “Dancing with the Stars” in 2008. Yamaguchi started skating and taking ballet as a young child as physical therapy, as she had club feet …

45 Menu selection : ENTREE

“Entrée” means “entry” in French. An entrée can be something that helps one get “a way in”, an interview for example perhaps helped along by a recommendation letter. In Europe, even in English-speaking countries, the entrée is the name for the “entry” to the meal, the first course. I found the ordering of meals to be very confusing when I first came to America!

50 Some NASA missions : EVAS

Extravehicular activity (EVA) is the name given to any work done by an astronaut outside of his or her spacecraft. The term would encompass walking on the moon, as well as making a space walk i.e. floating around in space tethered to spacecraft.

52 Many Ikea purchases, essentially : KITS

The IKEA furniture chain was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym standing for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

53 French noun suffix : -IERE

The French suffix “-ière” is the feminine form of the suffix “-ier”, as in “premier” and “première”, the French words for “first”.

57 Gettysburg address feature? : EDU

Gettysburg College, founded in 1832, was involuntarily thrust into the Civil War when the Battle of Gettysburg raged In early July, 1863. The college’s campus, notably Pennsylvania Hall, became a temporary hospital for wounded soldiers, forcing students and staff to evacuate. The strategic location, adjacent to the battlefield, also made the campus a site of many skirmishes.