LA Times Crossword 4 May 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Kelly Richardson & Amanda Cook
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: At Any Rate

Themed answers end with a movement, the RATE of which increases as we descend the grid:

• 112A Loop in, and a hint to the progression found at the ends of the answers to the starred clues : BRING UP TO SPEED

• 23A *Old-fashioned establishment? : COCKTAIL LOUNGE
• 37A *Measurement unit on some graph-ruled paper : SQUARE INCH
• 46A *Commodity sold in board-feet : ROUGH LUMBER
• 52A *Charge up? : PRICE HIKE
• 66A *Annual upriver migration : SALMON RUN
• 82A *Group nearly eradicated in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” : HUMAN RACE
• 90A *What may hang by a thread? : HEXAGON BOLT
• 98A *Invasive species that may be spotted in the garden? : LANTERNFLY

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

Bill’s time: 16m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Subwoofer output : BASS

In a sound system, the subwoofer produces the very low end of the sound spectrum.

5 Salsa partner on a dip platter, casually : GUAC

Guacamole is one of my favorite dishes. It is prepared by mashing avocados and perhaps adding the likes of tomato, onion and lime juice. The guacamole recipe dates back as early as the 16th century, to the time of the Aztecs. “Guacamole” translates as “avocado sauce”.

9 Pasta __ Norma : ALLA

Pasta alla Norma is an Italian dish from Sicily. It comprises pasta in a tomato sauce covered with slices of fried eggplant. The dish is named for the opera “Norma” by Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini.

13 The Beyhive, e.g. : FANDOM

Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2002, after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”. Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as “Queen Bey”, a play on the phrase “the queen bee”. Her fan base goes by the name “Beyhive”.

21 Tusked hog : BOAR

The wild boar might be described as a matriarchal beast. Fully-grown males live a solitary life, except during mating season. Fully-grown females live together in groups called sounders, along with their offspring.

22 Like Chamonix : ALPINE

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is on the eastern border of France, in the Alps. Famously it was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first ever Winter Games.

23 *Old-fashioned establishment? : COCKTAIL LOUNGE

An Old Fashioned cocktail is usually made from whiskey muddled with sugar and AROMATIC bitters, with a twist of citrus rind. I offer, humbly, my version: bourbon, maple syrup, grapefruit or orange bitters, a couple of cocktail cherries as a garnish, and a spoonful of the syrup from cocktail cherries allowed to float to the bottom of the glass. And oh yes, best served with clear ice in a crystal glass. I’ll be right back …

26 Features of New York’s Guggenheim museum : CURVES

The Guggenheim art museum on Fifth Avenue in New York opened in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The museum was funded by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that had been set up by the American businessman and philanthropist for whom the foundation was named. When Guggenheim died in 1952, the New York museum was renamed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. I’ve only visited the museum once in my life, and I love the building (designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright). The works that I saw there … not so much …

32 Smoked beef cuts : BRISKETS

Brisket is a cut of beef from the lower chest of the animal. The brisket muscles contain a large amount of connective tissue, so brisket can be a tough cut and needs to be carefully cooked. It is often braised and cooked as a pot roast, especially as a holiday dish in Jewish cuisine.

45 D.C. pro : NAT

The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 becoming the Nats.

48 Memoji platform : IOS

Apple introduced the “Memoji” with the iOS 13 release of their mobile operating system, in 2019. Basically, Memojis are customizable personal avatars.

49 __-12: athletic org. : PAC

“Pac-12” is an abbreviation for the Pacific-12 Conference, a college athletic conference in the western US. The Pac-12 has won more NCAA National Team Championships than any other conference. The Pac-12 was founded in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Over time as it grew, the conference went by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, Pacific-10 and became the Pacific-12 in 2011.

50 “__ Maria” : AVE

“Ave Maria” (“Hail Mary” in English) is the prayer at the core of the Roman Catholic Rosary, which itself is a set of prayers asking for the assistance of the Virgin Mary. Much of the text of the “”Hail Mary”” comes from the Gospel of Luke. The words in Latin are:

AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

The prayer has been adapted as a hymn. The two most famous musical versions of “Ave Maria” are by Charles Gounod (based on a piece by Bach) and by Franz Schubert.”

51 Staunton of “The Crown” : IMELDA

Imelda Staunton is a favorite actress of mine. Nowadays, Staunton is known for playing Prof. Dolores Jane Umbridge in the “Harry Potter” series of films. I’ve seen/heard her many times on radio shows, TV shows and movies that haven’t had much exposure in North America. One of Staunton’s more powerful performances was the title role in the 2004 film “Vera Drake”.

“The Crown” is a historical drama produced for Netflix that covers the life of British Queen Elizabeth II from her marriage to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. For the first two seasons, Elizabeth is played by Claire Foy and Philip by Matt Smith. For the next two seasons, Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies take over as Elizabeth and Philip. The show finishes up with Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce in the roles.

56 Blueprint : DESIGN

Blueprints are reproductions of technical or architectural drawings that are contact prints made on light-sensitive sheets. They were introduced in the 1800s and the technology available dictated that the drawings were reproduced with white lines on a blue background, hence the name “blue-print”.

60 Travel plaza fuel supplier : SUNOCO

Back in the late 1800s, Sunoco was known as the Sun Oil Company, hence “Sun-o-co”.

63 Japanese camera brand : NIKON

The Japanese company Nikon was founded in 1917 with the merger of three manufacturers of various optical devices. After the merger, Nikon’s main output was lenses (including the first lenses for Canon cameras, before Canon made its own). During the war, Nikon sales grew rapidly as the company focused on (pun!) equipment for the military including periscopes and bomb sights.

66 *Annual upriver migration : SALMON RUN

“Salmon run” is the name given to the “run” that salmon make annually from the ocean, upstream to spawn in freshwater. Even though the mature salmon have wandered huge distances throughout the ocean, they return to the very same spawning ground where they themselves were hatched. Remarkable …

72 Small sound : INLET

Ships might travel through a sound, a wide channel connecting two bodies of water, or an ocean inlet.

74 “American Fiction” actress Rae : ISSA

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

“American Fiction” is a 2023 comedy-drama movie based on a 2023 novel by Percival Everett titled “Erasure”. Jeffrey Wright plays a black writer whose publishers reject his latest story as not being “black enough”. The writer reacts to his lack of success by submitting a satirical novel that panders to black stereotypes. To his surprise, and dismay, the book is a great success.

77 “Shoot to Thrill” band : AC/DC

“Shoot to Thrill,” originally released in 1980 on AC/DC’s “Back in Black” album, experienced a resurgence in popularity decades later. In 2010, it was prominently featured in the film “Iron Man 2”, and in 2012 was used as the signature theme for Iron Man in the film “The Avengers”.

80 Polar dome : ICE CAP

The polar ice cap at the north of our planet is floating pack ice in the Arctic Ocean. The southern polar ice cap is an ice sheet that covers the landmass known as Antarctica. About 70% of all the freshwater on Earth is held in the southern polar ice cap.

82 *Group nearly eradicated in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” : HUMAN RACE

English writer and dramatist Douglas Adams is best known for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” started out life as a comedy series on BBC radio in 1978, but it certainly had legs. It was adapted into stage shows, five books, a television series, computer game and a 2005 film.

87 “Last Week Tonight” network : HBO

“Last Week Tonight” is a satirical late-night talk show hosted by British comedian John Oliver. The HBO show shares a look and feel with Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”, of which Oliver is an alumnus.

89 Solder element : TIN

Solder is a metal alloy that is used to join pieces of work together using the principle that the melting point of the alloy is below the melting point of the workpieces.

94 Like slow lorises and snow leopards : ASIAN

The slow lorises are a group of nocturnal primates found in the forests of southeast Asia. They are unique among primates in that they have a toxic bite. The slow loris licks a sweat gland on its arm that secretes a chemical, a chemical that becomes actively toxic when mixed with saliva.

Snow leopards are creatures that tend to keep to themselves, living in high ground in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Given that they are so “secretive”, estimates of the size of the snow leopard population are pretty rough, with perhaps 3,500 to 7,000 in the wild.

96 Knicks legend Patrick : EWING

Patrick Ewing is a former NBA player, and a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2008 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team. Ewing is Jamaican-born, and moved with his family to the US in 1975. He was actually born in the British Colony of Jamaica, as Jamaica became independent from the UK the day after his birth.

97 Like some wine : OAKY

Oak barrels are sometimes used to store wine during fermentation and aging. The oak wood has a profound effect, usually changing the wine’s color, flavor and texture. If the wine is stored in stainless steel barrels, then a similar effect can be achieved by adding oak chips or staves to the liquid.

98 *Invasive species that may be spotted in the garden? : LANTERNFLY

Lanternflies, notably the spotted lanternfly, are invasive insects posing a serious threat to agriculture and ecosystems. Despite their name, they don’t produce light like fireflies. The “lantern” part of their name comes from their prominent, often brightly colored and somewhat elongated head.

102 Plovdiv’s country : BULGARIA

Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe, with a history spanning over 6,000 years. It’s known for its well-preserved Roman ruins, such as the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis. “Philippopolis” was the ancient Roman name for the city.

103 Buffalo Bills gp. : AFC

American Football Conference (AFC)

The Buffalo Bills NFL team, founded in 1959, was named after an earlier team with the same name that had merged with the Cleveland Browns back in 1950. The “Bills” name was obviously popular with fans, as the name was chosen in a public contest. The older team had been named for “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The team mascot is Billy Buffalo, and the cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Jills.

105 Out of control : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

106 “You” actor Badgley : PENN

Penn Badgley is an actor probably best known for his roles in television and film, notably Dan Humphrey in “Gossip Girl” and Joe Goldberg in “You”. Before his rise to fame, Badgley had a unique educational experience, being homeschooled alongside future actress and “Gossip Girl” co-star Blake Lively. He and Lively ended up in a relationship for several years, around the time they were recording “Gossip Girl”.

122 “Sky Landing” artist Ono : YOKO

Yoko Ono’s “Sky Landing” is a 2016 art installation in Chicago’s Jackson Park. A key visual element is a collection of twelve-foot-tall steel lotus leaf sculptures. Notably, the installation stands on the site of the former Japanese Pavilion from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

123 Salty septet : SEAS

The phrase “the seven seas” has been used for centuries by many different peoples. The actual definition of what constitutes the collection of seven has varied depending on the period and the culture. Nowadays we consider the seven largest bodies of water as the seven seas, namely:

• The North Pacific Ocean
• The South Pacific Ocean
• The North Atlantic Ocean
• The South Atlantic Ocean
• The Indian Ocean
• The Southern Ocean
• The Arctic Ocean

Down

1 Pen brand : BIC

Société Bic is a company based in Clichy in France. The first product the company produced, more than fifty years ago, was the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen that is still produced today. Bic also makes other disposable products such as lighters and razors.

4 Place to sample Dassai : SAKE BAR

Dassai is a premium sake brand produced in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

7 Falcons city, briefly : ATL

The Atlanta Falcons joined the NFL in 1965. The team name was suggested by a schoolteacher called Miss Julia Elliott. Elliot suggested that “the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”

11 Twitch streamer’s headache : LAG

Twitch is a live-streaming platform used primarily by gamers. Folks playing games can broadcast their game play live to an audience.

14 Lightweight metal : ALUMINUM

Aluminum is a silvery-white, lightweight metal and the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. It is known for its corrosion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio, it’s widely used in countless applications, from aircraft components to beverage cans.

15 “Code Switch” network : NPR

“Code Switch” is a blog and associated podcast that was launched by NPR in 2013. The show explores the themes of race, ethnicity and culture. The linguistic term “code-switching” refers to the practice of a speaker switching between languages while in the same conversation.

24 “Fresh Air” host Gross : TERRY

“Fresh Air” is a marvelous radio talk show broadcast on NPR, and hosted by Terry Gross. The first broadcast of the program was made in 1975, with Judy Blank hosting. Terry Gross took over a few months later, and Gross has been presenting and producing the show ever since. I had the privilege of hearing Terry Gross give a talk here in my hometown some years ago. What a fascinating woman she is, full of great stories about her experiences interviewing so many interesting personalities.

33 Egyptian peninsula : SINAI

The Sinai Peninsula is in the eastern part of Egypt, and is a triangular landform bounded by the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south. It is the only part of Egypt that lies in Asia as opposed to Africa. The eastern land border of the peninsula is shared with Israel, and Israel occupied the Sinai during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War of 1967.

37 Impossibly bottled objects : SHIPS

The tradition of creating ships in bottles has its roots in the 18th century, when sailors would create them as a way to pass the time during long voyages. The standard technique for construction involves building the ship outside of the bottle, using tools such as hooks and wires to maneuver the ship into the bottle, and then carefully arranging the rigging and sails once it’s inside.

38 Minimum needed for action : QUORUM

“Plenum” (plural “plena”) is the name given to a complete legislative assembly under the parliamentary system, with the associated term of “quorum” being the minimum number of members required to be present to conduct business.

39 Bearlike : URSINE

Something described as ursine is related to a bear. The term “ursine” comes from “ursus” (plural “ursi”), Latin for “bear”.

40 Serves the people : GOVERNS

The principle that “in a democracy, the government is expected to serve the people” is fundamental to the very concept of democratic governance. It is a reversal of the traditional power dynamic, where rulers held authority over subjects. In a democracy, sovereignty resides in the people, who delegate power to their elected representatives.

49 Vietnamese beef noodle soup : PHO

Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food. It is often ordered with a side of hanh dam, pickled white onions.

53 Creative type? : COMIC SANS

Comic Sans MS is a font that looks a bit like that used in old comic books. Comic Sans was released by Microsoft in 1994. If you live in the Netherlands, you are lucky enough to enjoy Comic Sans Day on the first Friday of July each year.

54 B-school course : ECON

A B-school is a business school.

55 Tail end? : ELL

The end of the word “tail” is a letter L (ell).

57 Shiba __ : INU

The Shiba Inu is a Japanese breed of dog that was developed for hunting. Although the exact etymology of “Shibu” is unclear, the term translates as “brushwood”. “Inu” is Japanese for “dog”.

58 Martini ingredient : GIN

The term “martini” probably takes its name from the “Martini & Rossi” brand of dry vermouth, although no one seems to be completely sure. What is clear is that despite the Martini name originating in Italy, the martini drink originated in the US. The original martini was made with gin and sweet vermouth, but someone specifying a “dry” martini was given gin and dry vermouth. Nowadays we use dry vermouth for all martinis, and the term “dry” has become a reference to how little vermouth is included in the drink. Famously, Noël Coward liked his drink very dry and said that a perfect martini is made by “filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy”. On the contrary, adding extra vermouth results in a “wet” martini. The German-American journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken referred to the martini as “the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet”.

66 Length of 24 film frames, briefly : SEC

Frame rate, measured in frames per second (fps), dictates the number of still images displayed per second in a video sequence. Higher frame rates result in smoother, more fluid motion, while lower rates can appear choppy or stuttering. Human perception plays a crucial role in determining what frame rate is acceptable. Generally, 24 fps is considered the minimum for realistic motion in film, while 30 or 60 fps is preferred for smoother visuals in television and video games.

68 Repeated syllable in Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” : RAH

The music video released with Lady Gaga’s 2009 hit “Bad Romance” involves drugs, supermodels, the Russian Mafia and sexual slavery. All a little out of my league …

71 Gregarious : SOCIAL

Back in the 1600s, the word “gregarious” applied to animals and meant “disposed to live in flocks”. The root word is the Latin “grex” meaning “flock, herd”. I guess the idea is that a gregarious creature plays nice with others.

73 Stitch’s friend : LILO

“Lilo & Stitch” was released by Disney in 2002. Compared to other Disney feature-length cartoons, “Lilo & Stitch” was relatively cheaply produced, using the voices of lesser-known actors. One interesting change had to take place in the storyline during production, when Lilo was meant to fly a Jumbo Jet through downtown Honolulu in one sequence. This was replaced with a sequence using a spaceship instead, as the producers were sensitive to public sentiment after the September 11 attacks.

76 “Footloose” singer Loggins : KENNY

Kenny Loggins is a singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his contributions to popular music in the 1970s and 80s. He rose to prominence as one half of the duo Loggins and Messina before launching a successful solo career. Loggins’ most celebrated recordings include “This Is It”, “Footloose” and “Danger Zone”, all of which were featured in hit films.

79 Lemonade stand stackers : DIXIE CUPS

Dixie Cup is a brand of disposable paper cups. The first such cups were introduced to promote hygiene at shared water fountains, as prior to disposable cups, glasses or dippers were shared by people taking a drink. As such, the Dixie Cup was introduced in 1907 as the “Health Kup”. The name was changed in 1919 to Dixie Cup, after a line of dolls (presumably as the cups were relatively small).

84 Big-brained ray : MANTA

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the biggest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

92 Ritzy Boston neighborhood : BACK BAY

Back Bay is an expensive residential neighborhood in Boston that is home to rows of Victorian brownstones as well as the Boston Public Library. Before the area was reclaimed in the 19th century, Back Bay was a tidal bay, hence the name.

93 Carrot cake additions : WALNUTS

Cooks started using carrots in cakes in medieval times, as carrots contain more sugar than any other vegetable other than sugar beet. Carrot cake really only became widely available in the US in the sixties, which I find surprising given how ubiquitous the confection is today …

94 Latin for “ram” : ARIES

According to the ancient Greeks, the constellation Aries the Ram represents the mythological winged ram with the Golden Fleece. The Greeks “hijacked” the constellation though, because it also represented a ram in late Babylonian times, long before the Golden Fleece came along.

95 Fish often served whole : SNAPPER

Snappers are a diverse group of fish primarily inhabiting tropical and subtropical waters. They are recognized by their streamlined bodies, sharp teeth, and palatable flesh, making them sought-after in cooking. Among the many varieties, the red snapper is particularly well-known for its color and delicate flavor.

98 Organ in the chest cavity : LUNG

The lungs are the two main organs in the human respiratory system. It is in the lungs that oxygen is extracted from the air and transferred into the bloodstream. At the same time, carbon dioxide is removed from the bloodstream and released into the atmosphere.

101 Fix, as syntax : EMEND

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

Syntax is the way linguistic elements are assembled to form phrases and clauses. The term “syntax” comes from Greek via Latin, and ultimately from “syn” meaning “together” and “tassein” meaning “arrange”.

102 Lunch box with compartments : BENTO

A bento is a single-person meal that is eaten quite commonly in Japan. A bento can be purchased as a take-out meal, or it may be packed at home. A bento is usually sold as a “bento box”.

103 Yours, in French : A TOI

“À toi” is the French term for “yours”, when talking to someone with whom one is familiar. “À toi” literally means “to you”.

106 “__ Pony Club”: Chappell Roan hit : PINK

“Chappell Roan” is the stage name of singer/songwriter Kayleigh Amstutz. Roan got her start in the music industry after she uploaded an original song titled “Die Young” to YouTube, when she was just 17 years old. She signed on with Atlantic Records soon after.

“Pink Pony Club” is a 2020 song, co-written and recorded by Chappell Roan, that celebrates queer identity and self-expression. Roan drew inspiration from her experiences growing up in a conservative environment, where she felt a sense of otherness. The “Pink Pony Club” represents a metaphorical space of liberation, a haven where individuals can escape societal constraints and embrace their true selves.

108 22nd U.S. vice president Morton : LEVI

Levi P. Morton served as US Vice President under President Benjamin Harrison, from 1889 to 1893. Morton lived to the ripe old age of 96 years, making him the second longest-lived of all US Vice Presidents. Only John Nance Garner lived longer, passing away just a few days shy of his 99th birthday.

111 “Fellow Travelers” airer, for short : SHO

“Fellow Travelers” is an American historical romance thriller miniseries that premiered in 2023. Based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon, it chronicles the decades-long love affair between Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin. These were two men who met in 1950s Washington D.C. amidst the “Lavender Scare”, the moral panic about gay people in the US government.

113 Carnival city : RIO

The Rio de Janeiro Carnival is the largest carnival celebration in the world. The city hosts about two million celebrants on its streets for the six days of the festival.

115 Rooibos, for one : TEA

Red tea is made from the leaves of the South African rooibos plant. The name “rooibos” translates as “red bush”.

116 Hip-hop pioneer Dr. __ : DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.