LA Times Crossword 14 Jun 25, Saturday

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Constructed by: Adrian Johnson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 9m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Longtime Harmon role : GIBBS

NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which investigates crimes in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The service gives its name to the CBS TV show “NCIS”, a spin-off drama from “JAG” in which the main “NCIS” characters were first introduced. The original big star in “NCIS” was actor Mark Harmon, playing Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

6 Solutions-oriented support group? : LAB TECHS

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”.

14 “The Misfits” star : MONROE

Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 in LA County Hospital, the child of Gladys Pearl Baker. The young girl was given the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson on her birth certificate, but her mother changed this to Norma Jeane Baker almost immediately. She and her estranged husband, Martin Edward Mortensen, had separated before Baker became pregnant so it is suggested that the Mortensen name was used just to give Norma Jeane “legitimacy”. Norma Jeane married Jim Dougherty when she was 16 years old, and took his name to become Norma Jeane Dougherty in 1942. During WWII she was discovered by a photographer and became quite a successful model. The modeling earned her a screen test, at which time it was suggested that Norma Jeane change her name yet again. The first name chosen for her by studio executives was Carole Lind (after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind), but then Norma Jeane chose “Jeane Monroe” for herself, using her mother’s maiden name. It didn’t take long before the studio intervened again, suggesting that they had too many “Jeans” already. The name Marilyn Monroe was floated as it had a nice ring to it. Along with the new name, Marilyn changed from a brunette to a blonde, and a star was born …

“The Misfits” is a 1961 drama starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, and directed by John Huston. It is noted for being the last screen appearances by both Gable and Monroe. Gable suffered a heart attack two days after the end of filming, and died ten days later. When the movie premiered in New York, Monroe attended, but was on a pass from a psychiatric hospital. She took a drug overdose and died a year and a half later. Montgomery Clift also starred in the movie. Six years later, the film was on television and his housekeeper asked him if he wanted to watch it. He replied curtly, “Absolutely not”. They were the last words he spoke, as he was found dead in bed the next morning. A movie with a bit of a curse, one might say …

17 Course layout : SYLLABUS

“Syllabus” (plural “syllabi”) is the Latin word for “list”.

18 Timepiece useful in lunar gardening : MOONDIAL

A moondial is a timepiece that is similar to a sundial, but it uses the Moon’s shadow to indicate the time on a marked dial, instead of the Sun’s shadow. The most basic form of a moondial is accurate only during a full moon. As the lunar phase changes throughout the month, the accuracy decreases, losing or gaining approximately 48 minutes each night from the full moon.

Lunar gardening is a traditional practice rooted (pun!) in the belief that the moon’s phases influence plant growth. It involves planting, transplanting, and harvesting according to the lunar cycle. While scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited, some gardeners find value in connecting to another natural rhythm.

21 Pandora selection : SONG

Pandora is a clever music-streaming site that runs what’s called the Music Genome Project. The idea behind the project is that particular pieces of music can be classified by specific characteristics (genes). The assumption is that given a person’s liking for the genome of a particular song, then a recommendation of another song with a similar genome will also be enjoyed by that person. I’ve used Pandora quite a lot, and it seems to work!

24 Image on the Lebanese flag : TREE

The Lebanese flag has two red stripes, one at the top and one at the bottom, designed to symbolize the blood that was shed in the cause of the country’s liberation. Between each red stripe is a white background that represents peace as well as the snow on the Lebanese mountains. In the center of the flag is a green cedar tree, a reference to the cedars of Lebanon that are mentioned several times in the Bible.

28 “The Low __ Theory”: A Tribe Called Quest album : END

A Tribe Called Quest was a hip hop group from Queens in New York City that was founded originally as a trio comprising rappers Q-Tip, Jarobi White and Phife Dawg, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A Tribe Called Quest was in a collective of hip-hop artists in the nineties known as the Native Tongues.

35 Banker who fills and empties pockets? : POOL HUSTLER

Back in the 1680s, “to hustle” meant “to shake to and fro”. The term particularly referred to shaking money in a cap as part of the game “hustle-cap”. “Hustle” seems to have evolved from the Dutch “hutselen” meaning “to shake”. By the end of the 1820s, to hustle was to bustle, to move quickly.

37 Clear dishes : BUS

A busboy is a person who assists a waiter, mainly by clearing tables. The verb “to bus” arose in the early 1900s and is probably a reference to the wheeled cart that was used to carry dishes.

38 Brief, for short: Abbr. : SYN

Synonym (syn.)

39 Disorder organizer : ANARCH

An anarch is someone who leads or advocates revolt or anarchy.

Our word “anarchy”, used to describe a society without a publicly enforced government, comes from the Greek “an-” (without) and “arkhos” (leader).

42 Source of some plant-based milk : OATS

Oat milk is one of the alternatives to cow’s milk, and is lactose free. I’m a huge fan …

46 Branch of Islam : SHIA

Shiism, the second-largest branch of Islam, distinguishes itself from Sunni Islam primarily through its belief in the rightful succession of leadership after the Prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims believe that leadership should have passed to Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, and his descendants, known as Imams, whom they consider divinely appointed and infallible. In contrast, Sunni Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad did not explicitly designate a successor, and that leadership should be determined through consensus among the Muslim community.

48 High winds : FLUTES

A flute is a woodwind instrument that doesn’t have a reed. Instead, sound is produced by blowing air across an opening. A flute player is often referred to as a flautist (sometimes “flutist”). Flutes have been around a long, long time. Primitive flutes found in modern-day Germany date back 43,000 to 35,000 years, which makes the flute the oldest known musical instrument.

51 Disorder organizers : NEATNIKS

The suffix “-nik” is of Slavic origin. It is somewhat like the suffix “-er” in English. By adding “-nik” to a noun, the new word describes a person related to what that noun describes. Examples of the use of “-nik” in mainstream English are “beatnik” and “”refusenik”. Examples of more casual “-nik” terms are “neatnik” and “peacenik”.

54 Liquidation event : FIRE SALE

A fire sale is a sale of goods at deeply discounted prices. The original fire sales were sales of goods that had been damaged in a fire, hence the name.

56 Some bees : DRONES

Drone bees (and ants) are fertile males of the species, whose sole role in life seems to be to mate with a queen. Given that drone bees make no honey, we sometimes use the term “drone” figuratively, to describe a lazy worker, or someone who lives on the labors of others.

57 Family time at the Y : OPEN SWIM

The YMCA (the Y) is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

60 Outdoor tables? : MESAS

“Mesa” is the Spanish for “table” and is how we get the term “mesa” that describes the geographic feature. A mesa is similar to a butte. Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, taller than it is wide.

Down

5 “Are we alone?” org. : SETI

“SETI” is the name given to a number of projects searching for extraterrestrial life. The acronym stands for “search for extraterrestrial intelligence”. One of the main SETI activities is the monitoring of electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) reaching the Earth in the hope of finding a transmission from a civilization in another world.

6 Hosiery thread : LISLE

Lisle is a cotton fabric that has been through an extra process at the end of its manufacture that burns off lint and the ends of fibers leaving the fabric very smooth and with a clean edge. Cotton lisle is mainly used in the manufacture of underwear and stockings. The process to make the thread was invented in the French city of Lille (formerly “Lisle”), hence the name.

The word “hose” meaning “covering for the leg” has the same roots as the contemporary German word “Hose” meaning “trousers, pants”.

7 “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” writer/illustrator Tan : AMY

“The Backyard Bird Chronicles” is a 2024 illustrated book by Amy Tan. It is structured as a journal, in which Tan records her observations of the birds visiting her backyard. She includes her own sketches of the birds.

8 New Grass Revival icon Fleck : BELA

Béla Fleck is a banjo player who performed with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. He was born in New York City and was given the name Béla Anton Leoš Fleck. He was named after Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, Austrian composer Anton Webern, and Czech composer Leoš Janáček. That’s quite a name to live up to, but by all accounts Fleck is one of the most technically proficient banjo players the world has ever known.

9 One end of the Mohs scale : TALC

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

11 Offensive actions online : CYBERWAR

Cyberwar refers to a state of conflict in cyberspace between nations. It involves Internet-based attacks on a country’s computer systems and networks with the aim of causing substantial disruption and damage, akin to traditional warfare. These actions can target government systems, vital infrastructure such as power grids and financial institutions, and may even seek to influence public opinion through the spread of disinformation. Sounds familiar …

14 “__ the word” : MUM’S

The phrase “mum’s the word” has been around since the early 1700s. “Mum” has been used to mean “silent” for centuries, the idea being that “mum” is the sound made when the lips are tightly sealed.

27 Running figure : TALLY

Back in the mid-1600s, a tally was a stick marked with notches that tracked how much one owed or paid. The term “tally” came from the Latin “talea” meaning “stick, rod”. The act of “scoring” the stick with notches gave rise to our word “score” for the number in a tally.

30 Stuffed dish from Turkey : DOLMA

Dolmas are stuffed vegetable dishes from the Middle East. Strictly speaking, dolmas are made by hollowing out some vegetables before adding a stuffing. The derivative dish called “sarma” is made by wrapping vine or cabbage leaves around a filling. In many cuisines, the name “sarma” has been dropped in favor of “dolma”.

33 Perkins who co-hosted “The Great British Baking Show” : SUE

Sue Perkins is a British comedian, presenter and writer who rose to prominence as one half of the comedic duo Mel and Sue. She gained widespread recognition as the co-host of “The Great British Bake Off” (“The Great British Baking Show” in North America). I’m a fan …

34 People with strong opinions on draft picks? : BEER SNOBS

When visiting Britain and Ireland, that “draught” beer on the menu is what we call a “draft” beer here in the US.

36 “Radical Optimism” singer : DUA LIPA

“Radical Optimism” is a 2024 album released by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was the singer’s third album, and was supported by her third concert tour: the Radical Optimism Tour.

37 West End smashes : BOFFOS

“Boffo” (sometimes “boff”) is show biz slang for “very successful”, and is a term that dates back to the early sixties.

The West End of London is part of the central area of the city that contains many tourist attractions and in particular a large number of theaters. It is also home to the most expensive office space in the world.

40 “Things Fall Apart” novelist Achebe : CHINUA

“Things Fall Apart” is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is set in Nigeria and deals with the changes that came with the invasion of Nigeria by Europeans, primarily from Britain. “Things Fall Apart” is regarded today as a seminal work, and is read and studied all over Africa and around the world. It is the most widely read book in the whole of African literature. The title is a quotation from the poem “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats.

43 Surgical tube : STENT

In the world of surgical medicine, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, in order to reduce the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

49 Petro-Canada rival : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

Petro-Canada started out as a government-owned corporation in 1976. “Petro-Canada” is now a brand name of Suncor Energy.

50 Maxims : SAWS

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”.

52 DeVine of “The Righteous Gemstones” : ADAM

Adam DeVine is a comedic actor, writer, and producer who gained prominence as a co-creator and star of the Comedy Central series “Workaholics”. When he was eleven years old, DeVine was involved in a severe traffic accident in which he was struck by a cement truck, resulting in multiple fractures and significant injuries that he continues to deal with today. DeVine reached a wider audience through his recurring role as Andy Bailey, the lovable manny who became a significant love interest for Haley Dunphy in the sitcom “Modern Family”.

55 “Weetzie Bat” writer Francesca __ Block : LIA

Francesca Lia Block is an author of fiction for young adults. Her most famous work is the “Dangerous Angels” series of novels, the first of which is “Weetzie Bat” published in 1989. The novels are set in a somewhat surreal version of Los Angeles that goes by the name “Shangri-L.A.”