LA Times Crossword 19 May 25, Monday

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Constructed by: Kathy Lowden
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Head Start

Themed answers each START with a familiar term meaning “HEAD”:

• 61A Advantage in a race, and what can be found in 16-, 33-, or 40-Across : HEAD START

• 16A Picnic side that may contain chickpeas : BEAN SALAD
• 33A Potluck dish often made with cream of mushroom soup : NOODLE CASSEROLE
• 40A Tchaikovsky composition excerpted in Disney’s “Fantasia” : NUTCRACKER SUITE

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

Bill’s time: 4m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Dino with short arms : T-REX

The Tyrannosaurus rex (usually written “T-rex”) was a spectacular looking dinosaur. “Tyrannosaurus” comes from the Greek words “tyrannos” (tyrant) and “sauros” (lizard) and “rex” the Latin for “king”. They were big beasts, measuring 42 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hips, and weighing 7.5 tons.

13 Rights org. : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War. It grew out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB) that was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

15 “And never the twain __ meet” : SHALL

The phrase “East is East” originated in a Rudyard Kipling poem from 1892 titled “The Ballad of East and West”. The full quotation is:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

Kipling’s reference here is to the British (the “West”) and the people of India (the “East”), and the lack of understanding that existed between the two in the days of the Raj.

16 Picnic side that may contain chickpeas : BEAN SALAD

Our term “picnic” comes from the French word that now has the same meaning, namely “pique-nique”. The original “pique-nique” was a fashionable potluck affair, and not necessarily held outdoors.

The garbanzo, or chickpea, is absolutely my favorite legume to eat.

18 Inventor Nikola : TESLA

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in a village located in modern-day Croatia, and later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

20 “__ away”: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” catchphrase : SASHAY

RuPaul is a famous drag queen who has developed a diverse career beyond performing on stage. He works as an actor, model, author and a recording artist. Famously, RuPaul doesn’t mind whether one addresses him as “he” or as “she” …

You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.

He currently hosts his own reality TV show called “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, which is billed as a search for “America’s next drag superstar”.

22 __ and drabs : DRIBS

A drib is a negligible amount, as in “dribs and drabs”. The term “drib” arose in Scotland in the 18th century, and might possibly come from the verb “to dribble”.

24 Tennis champion Swiatek : IGA

Iga Swiatek is a professional tennis player, and the first from Poland to win a major singles title (the French Open in 2020).

29 Clickable link : URL

Uniform resource locator (URL)

38 Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

40 Tchaikovsky composition excerpted in Disney’s “Fantasia” : NUTCRACKER SUITE

“The Nutcracker Suite” is a shortened selection of music from the full-length ballet “The Nutcracker,” composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. While the ballet tells a complete story of a Christmas Eve adventure, the suite comprises eight of the most memorable and popular musical pieces from it, such as “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Flowers”.

“Fantasia” was Disney’s third feature length movie, and was released in 1940. The film had a disappointing critical reception and pushed the Disney company into financial difficulties. RKO took over the film’s distribution in 1946. The folks at RKO cut a full hour off the running time and relaunched the movie into a successful run. If you haven’t seen “Fantasia”, I urge you to do so. It’s a real delight …

45 Clean air org. : EPA

The Clean Air Act of 1963 is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

46 Tetris shape : ELL

Tetris is a very addictive video game that was developed in the Soviet Union in 1984. The name Tetris comes from a melding of the prefix “tetra-” (as all the game pieces have four segments) and “tennis” (a favorite sport played by the developer). Since 2005 there have been more than 100 million copies of the game installed on cell phones alone.

47 Tetley drink : TEA

Tetley was founded by Joseph Tetley in Yorkshire in 1837. Joseph and his brother used to sell salt door-to-door from a pack horse and started to distribute tea the same way. They became so successful selling tea that they relocated to London. Notably, Tetley’s was the first company to introduce tea bags in the UK, back in 1953.

51 Lead-in to gender : CIS-

The term “cisgender” is used as the opposite of “transgender”. Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

64 Shrek, for one : OGRE

Before “Shrek” was a successful movie franchise and Broadway musical, it was a children’s picture book called “Shrek!” that was authored and illustrated by William Steig. The title “Shrek!” came from the German/Yiddish word Schreck, meaning “fear” or “terror”.

65 Yard sale caveat : AS IS

A caveat is a warning or a qualification. “Caveat” is the Latin for “let him beware”.

Down

1 Scientist’s workplace : LAB

Our term “laboratory”, often shortened to “lab”, comes from the Medieval Latin word “laboratorium” meaning “place for labor, work”. This in turn comes from the Latin verb “laborare” meaning “to work”.

4 Albacore and yellowfin : TUNAS

Ahi tuna is also known as yellowfin tuna and is a popular fish for sushi and sashimi. However, due to overfishing, ahi tuna populations are at risk.

6 Caramel-filled candy : ROLO

Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. It was introduced in the thirties in the UK, and is produced under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy. The recipe used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft gooey center.

7 African antelope : ELAND

The eland (plural “eland, elands”) is a large African antelope, in fact the largest antelope on the planet. Both male and female eland have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

9 Game with rooks and pawns : CHESS

The corner piece in the game of chess is called a “rook”, a word coming from the Persian “rokh” meaning a “chariot”. The rook has also been called, perhaps incorrectly, the castle, tower, marquess and rector.

In the game of chess, the pawns are the weakest pieces on the board. A pawn that can make it to the opposite side of the board can be promoted to a piece of choice, usually a queen. Using promotion of pawns, it is possible for a player to have two or more queens on the board at one time. However, standard chess sets come with only one queen per side, so a captured rook is often used as the second queen by placing it on the board upside down.

11 “__ Enchanted”: Anne Hathaway film : ELLA

“Ella Enchanted” is a fantasy novel written by Gail Carson Levine, and published in 1997. It is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, with lots of mythical creatures added. A film adaptation was released in 2004 that features Anne Hathaway in the title role.

Actress Anne Hathaway is a trained soprano singer. She put that training on display in the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Misérables,” for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

12 Food Network Emmy winner Bobby : FLAY

Bobby Flay is a celebrity chef who has hosted several shows on the Food Network. Flay is also an Iron Chef on the show “Iron Chef America”, which also airs on the Food Network.

23 Baking potato : RUSSET

The full name of the potato that we commonly refer to as a “russet” is a “russet Burbank”. The russet is probably a mutation of the Burbank potato. One Luther Burbank developed the Burbank potato as a disease-resistant Irish potato, and gave the strain its name. The russet Burbank is a relatively large potato. As such, it is the favored potato for restaurant chains like McDonald’s as it can produce long French fries.

26 Major artery : AORTA

The aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. It is the largest artery in the body.

30 Shakespearean volume : FOLIO

“First Folio” is the name commonly used for a collection of William Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623 under the title “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies”. The “First Folio” originally sold for one pound, which is about $230 in today’s money. About 750 copies were made, and there are just under 230 copies believed to still exist. A copy stolen from Durham University in 1998 was recovered in 2008, and was valued at about 15 million pounds.

34 NYE month : DEC

New Year’s Eve (NYE)

35 Noah’s boat : ARK

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Noah was instructed to build his ark 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. That’s about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.

36 French actress/model Ines : RAU

Ines Rau is a French model and actress who broke barriers in 2017 by becoming Playboy’s first openly transgender Playmate of the Month.

42 Brews that may be pale : ALES

Pale ale is a beer made using mainly pale malt, which results in a relatively light color for a malted beer.

50 Marinara sauce brand : PREGO

The Prego brand of pasta sauce is owned by the Campbell Soup Company. It is actually based on the family recipe of one of the company’s chefs. “Prego” literally means “I pray” in Italian, but it translates best in English as “you’re welcome” when it is used after a “thank you” (“grazie”, in Italian).

Italians use the term “marinara” not for a sauce, but in the name of a recipe that includes a tomato-based sauce. For example, “spaghetti alla marinara” would be a spaghetti dish, served “mariner’s style”. The tomato sauce that we call “marinara” is called “salsa di pomodoro” in Italy.

52 Indian lute : SITAR

The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.

54 Arm bone : ULNA

The bones in the forearm are the radius and ulna. “Ulna” is the Latin word for “elbow”, and “radius” is Latin for “ray”. The humerus (plural “humeri”) is the long bone in the upper arm.

58 Mars rover org. : NASA

There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and operated for over fourteen years. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today. Based on the Curiosity design, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021, along with the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity. The China National Space Administration landed its first rover, named Zhurong (“Rover” in English), five months after Perseverance started its mission on the planet.

61 Like Scotch bonnet peppers : HOT

Scotch bonnet is a chili pepper commonly found in West Africa and Carribean. It is closely related to the habanero, and is named for its physical resemblance to a tam o’shanter, a Scottish bonnet worn by males.