LA Times Crossword 15 Jun 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Gary Larson & Amy Ensz
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Living in the Past

Themed answers are common phrases in which an apparent verb in the present tense is changed to an apparent verb in the PAST tense:

• 22A Totally wild bibliography text? : LIT SOURCE (from “light source”)
• 24A Number jammed in an adding machine printout? : STUCK FIGURE (from “stick figure”)
• 45A Drink to toast the Apollo 11 landing? : SHOT FOR THE MOON (from “shoot for the moon”)
• 66A Cowardly FBI agent? : CHICKEN FED (from “chicken feed”)
• 70A Indictment based on falsified evidence? : MADE-UP CASE (from “makeup case”)
• 91A Skirmish at sea? : SPAT IN THE OCEAN (from “spit in the ocean”)
• 115A Ballroom pro who spent all of their cash on costumes? : BROKE DANCER (from “breakdancer”)
• 119A Tossed some hairpieces? : THREW RUGS (from “throw rugs”)

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

Bill’s time: 14m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Guitar clamps : CAPOS

A capo is a clamp-like device that is placed around the neck of a guitar or other stringed instrument to shorten the strings, and hence raise the pitch. The full name, rarely used these days, is “capo tasto”, which is Italian for “head tie”.

9 Jewish scholar : RABBI

The term “rabbi” traces its origins to the Hebrew word “rav”, meaning “great” or “master.” Over time, the suffix “-i”, indicating “my,” was added, forming “rabbi”, which literally translates to “my master” or “my teacher”. This title of respect and authority came to denote a Jewish scholar and teacher qualified to make decisions in Jewish law.

14 Omar of “House” : EPPS

Actor Omar Epps was originally a rapper and was a member of a group called “Wolfpack” before he pursued acting full-time. His really big break came in the form of a recurring role on the popular medical drama series “ER”, followed by a recurring role in the TV series “House” as Dr. Eric Foreman.

21 French Revolution journalist : MARAT

Jean-Paul Marat was a prominent figure in the French Revolution. Marat was famously murdered in his bath by a young woman named Charlotte Corday, who was a Royalist. The gruesome event was immortalized in a celebrated painting by Jacques-Louis David called “The Death of Marat”.

26 Hidden : LATENT

Something is said to be latent if it is present, but not active.

29 Cornmeal dish : POLENTA

Polenta is a porridge made from finely ground corn. The term “polenta” is Italian in origin.

30 Former Nair competitor : NEET

The hair removal product “Neet” was launched in Canada in 1901, and was also sold as “Immac”. Today, it is sold under the name “Veet”.

Nair is a hair-removal product that has some pretty harsh ingredients. The most important active constituents are calcium hydroxide (“slaked lime”) and sodium hydroxide (“caustic soda”). Other Nair components seem to be there to soothe the skin after the harsher chemicals have done their job. The name “Nair” probably comes from combining “no” and “hair”.

36 Paper purchase : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

37 German pronoun : ICH

Ich is the German for “I”, as in “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner), the famous words of support uttered by President John F. Kennedy (JFK) in 1963 in a speech in West Berlin.

43 Hillary Rodham __ : CLINTON

Hillary Rodham was born in Chicago, Illinois to Hugh Rodham (a businessman in the textile industry) and Dorothy Howell (a homemaker). Hillary was raised in a conservative home, and she campaigned for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the 1964 US presidential election. The following year, she served as president of the Young Republicans at Wellesley College. Our former First Lady left the Republican Party expressing disappointment at what she witnessed at the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami, citing “veiled” racist messages prevalent at that time.

45 Drink to toast the Apollo 11 landing? : SHOT FOR THE MOON (from “shoot for the moon”)

Apollo 11 was the most memorable of all space missions, landing the first humans on the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon’s surface in their landing craft “Eagle”, while Michael Collins orbited in the command module “Columbia”. It was to be the first of five moon landings that would take place from 1969-1972.

49 Sage and dill : HERBS

In Britain and Ireland, sage is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

Dill is a herb in the celery family. Dill seeds can be used for flavoring food, as can dill leaves. In this sense, dill “leaves” are sometimes referred to as dill “weed”.

54 Jewelry for a piggie : TOE RING

When talking to a little child, one might refer to his or her toes as “little piggies”.

55 Private eye : GUMSHOE

“Gumshoe” is a slang word used for a private detective or private investigator (P.I.). Apparently the term dates back to the early 1900s, and refers to the rubber-soled shoes popular with private detectives at that time.

A private eye is a private investigator, a PI, a private “I”.

57 God, in the Torah : ADONAI

“Adonai” is a Hebrew name for God.

61 Machu Picchu builder : INCA

Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and it can be visited on a mountain ridge in Peru, 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco in the southeast of the country. The name Machu Picchu means “old peak”. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu originates about 50 miles from Cusco on the Urubamba River in Peru. It can take travelers about 5 days to trek the full length of the trail, passing through many Incan ruins before reaching the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The trail was becoming greatly overused, forcing the Peruvian government to limit the number of people on the trail each day to 500. Book early …

64 Sardine containers : TINS

Sardines are oily fish related to herrings. They are also known as pilchards, although in the UK “sardine” is a noun reserved for a young pilchard. Very confusing …

66 Cowardly FBI agent? : CHICKEN FED (from “chicken feed”)

A fed is an officer of a US federal agency, although the term “fed” usually applies to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

75 Place for pennies : JAR

The official name of our smallest denomination coin is “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. In the UK, the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets in the US.

77 Longtime “Masterpiece Theatre” host Cooke : ALISTAIR

The British-American journalist Alistair Cooke was probably best known over here in the US as the genteel host of PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre” from 1971 to 1992. On the other side of the Atlantic, we knew him for his 15-minute BBC radio show called “Letter from America”, which ran every week from 1946 to 2004. “Letter from America” was the longest-running speech radio show in history.

PBS’s wonderful “Masterpiece Theatre” changed its name to “Masterpiece” in 2008. At the same time, three different versions of the show were introduced:

• “Masterpiece Classic” introduced by Gillian Anderson, and then Laura Linney
• “Masterpiece Mystery!” introduced by Alan Cumming
• “Masterpiece Contemporary” introduced by Matthew Goode, and then David Tennant

80 Sealy rival : SERTA

Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:

• #1 The Leader of the Flock
• #½ The Tweener
• #13 Mr. Bad Luck
• #53 The Pessimist
• #86 Benedict Arnold

82 Chronicles : ANNALS

“Annal” is a rarely used word, and is the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

86 Some deodorants : ROLL-ONS

Ban was the first roll-on deodorant, introduced in 1952. The formulation for Ban is the same as the brand called Mum, the first commercial deodorant, which dates back to the late 1800s.

91 Skirmish at sea? : SPAT IN THE OCEAN (from “spit in the ocean”)

The idiom “a drop in the ocean”. or sometimes “a spit in the ocean”, describes something so small or insignificant in comparison to a larger whole that it has virtually no noticeable impact. Like a single drop of water, or of saliva, disappearing into the vastness of the ocean, the action or amount is negligible and unlikely to make any real difference.

96 Indian tea region : ASSAM

Assam is a state in the far northeast of India, and just south of the Himalayas. It is noted for its tea, as well as its silk.

97 S&L investments : CDS

A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

Savings and Loan Associations (S&Ls) are financial institutions that historically specialized in providing home mortgage loans and accepting savings deposits from individuals. They originated in the 19th century as “building and loan” societies to help people finance homeownership, and played a significant role in the US housing market for much of the 20th century. However, deregulation allowed S&Ls to engage in riskier investments, leading to widespread failures and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. That crisis cost taxpayers billions, but resulted in significant regulatory reforms.

103 __ bene : NOTA

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

108 Three-piece suit garment : VEST

Here’s another word that often catches me out. What we call a vest here in the US is a waistcoat back in Ireland. And, the Irish use the word “vest” for an undershirt.

122 “Arsenic and Old Lace” director : CAPRA

I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra was the first person to win three directorial Oscars: for “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “You Can’t Take It With You”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is a Frank Capra film released in 1944. The movie is based on a 1939 stage play by Joseph Kesselring. The film stars Cary Grant as a completely madcap and frantic Mortimer Brewster. Grant was only the fourth choice for the role, after Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Ronald Reagan. That’s quite an eclectic mix of actors …

124 Some iPods : NANOS

The iPod Nano was the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There were seven versions of the Nano, until it was discontinued in 2017.

125 British puzzle pieces? : ZEDS

The letter zed has been around since about 1400, and derives from the Greek letter zeta. The spelling and pronunciation “zee”, used in America today, first popped up in the 1670s. The spelling and pronunciation “zed” is still used in Britain and Ireland.

Down

2 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA

Sarah McLachlan is a singer/songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia who lives in Vancouver. In 1997, McLachlan married Ashwin Sood, the drummer in her band. The 1998 hit song “Adia”, which she co-wrote and recorded, was intended as an apology to her best friend … for stealing her ex-boyfriend and then marrying him!

4 Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin : OLSEN

Merlin Olsen played in the NFL with the LA Rams. Olson was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 14 times (a record shared with Bruce Matthews). After retiring from the game, his career continued to flourish. He worked as a sports broadcaster for many years, and then landed a major role on television’s “Little House on the Prairie”, playing Jonathan Garvey. In one episode, Garvey was to help coach a boy’s football team, so the writers gave Olsen’s character the tongue-in-cheek line “I don’t know nothin’ about football!” Olsen was also the commercial face of FTD florists for many years. Olson passed away in March 2010, aged 69.

5 Avocado center : STONE

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

6 Winner of eight consecutive Norris Trophies : ORR

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in the NHL each year, based on votes by members of the professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Bobby Orr won the award every single season from 1967-1975.

7 Typesetting unit : PICA

A pica is a unit of measure used in typography. One pica is equivalent to 1/6 of an inch. Also, each pica unit contains 12 points.

9 Violin bow need : ROSIN

Rosin is a solid form of resin derived from plant sources. Rosin is formed into cakes that players of stringed instruments use to rub along the hairs of their bows to help improve sound quality. The rosin increases the degree of friction between the strings and the bow. That same friction-increasing property comes into play when baseball pitchers use rosin to get a better grip on the ball, or when dancers apply rosin to the soles of their shoes.

11 HVAC meas. : BTU

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured using the British Thermal Unit (BTU). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

12 Brand of 13-Down : BIC
13 Writing implement : INK PEN

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.

16 Medicare section : PART-A

Medicare is divided into four parts:

• A: Hospital Insurance
• B: Medical Insurance
• C: Medicare Advantage Plans
• D: Prescription Drug Plans

23 In __ : before birth : UTERO

“In utero” is a Latin term meaning “in the uterus”. The Latin “uterus” (plural “uteri”) translates as both “womb” and “belly”. “Uterys” comes from the Greek “hystera” that also means “womb”, which gives us the words “hysterectomy”, and “hysterical”.

28 “Armageddon” threat : ASTEROID

The vast majority of asteroids in the Solar System are found in the main asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Four large asteroids (Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygeia) make up about half the mass of the asteroid belt and are 400-950 km in diameter. The total mass of the belt is just 4% of the mass of our Moon. The larger asteroids are also known as “planetoids”.

As one might expect from the title, “Armageddon” is a disaster movie, released in 1998. The storyline centers on attempts to destroy an asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth. The cast includes quite a few big names, led by Bruce Willis. “Armageddon” was a huge success when released, even grossing more money than “Saving Private Ryan”, which came out the same year. That, I cannot explain, because I think “Armageddon” is a very average film, and “Saving Private Ryan” is a masterpiece …

31 Material for a suit : TORT

“Tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. In common law, a tort is a civil wrong that results in the injured party suffering loss or harm, and the injuring party having a legal liability. Tort law differs from criminal law in that torts may result from negligence and not just intentional actions. Also, tort lawsuits may be decided on a preponderance of evidence, without the need of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

37 “Marge in Charge” writer Fisher : ISLA

Isla Fisher is an Oman-born, Australian actress who really launched her career with a recurring role on the Australian soap “Home and Away”. She started a career in Hollywood portraying Mary Jane in the 2002 film “Scooby-Doo”. Fisher married English actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in 2010.

The “Marge in Charge” series of children’s books was penned by Australian actress Isla Fisher. The title character is a larger-than-life, mischievous and inventive babysitter who cares for children Jemima and Jake.

38 Neighbor of Sudan : CHAD

The landlocked African country called Chad takes its name from the second largest wetland on the continent, which is known as Lake Chad.

Sudan was the largest country in Africa until 2011, when the Southern Sudan region opted by referendum to become independent. “North Sudan” retained the name of Sudan, and the new state is called South Sudan. Sudan is now the third largest country in the continent, after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

39 __ bag: slouchy purse : HOBO

A hobo bag is a rather unstructured-looking, crescent-shaped bag with a long strap and soft sides that tends to slump when set down. It’s called a hobo bag because the shape resembles that of the bundle carried by archetypal hobos on the ends of sticks resting on their shoulders.

42 Ready to eat, as pistachios : SHELLED

The pistachio is a small tree that produces some very tasty seeds. We see the seeds in grocery stores labeled as “nuts”, but botanically they are termed “drupes”. Drupe or nut, they’re delicious …

46 Drink with quinine : TONIC

The original tonic water was a fairly strong solution of the drug quinine dissolved in carbonated water. It was used in tropical areas in South Asia and Africa where malaria is rampant. The quinine has a prophylactic effect against the disease, and was formulated as “tonic water” so that it could be easily distributed. In British colonial India, the colonial types got into the habit of mixing gin with the tonic water to make it more palatable by hiding the bitter taste of quinine. Nowadays, the level of quinine in tonic water has dropped, and sugar has been added.

48 Tiny pest : MITE

According to the American Lung Association, about four out of five homes in the US have dust mites in at least one bed. Houses with carpets are more likely to have dust mites, as are homes in humid parts of the country. Dust mites can be eradicated by exposing them to a temperature over 105 degrees C in a clothes dryer.

50 “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spinoff : RHODA

The seventies sitcom “Rhoda” was a spinoff of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that starred Valerie Harper. The eighth episode of the show was an hour-long special in which Rhoda married her fiance Joe (played by David Groh). At the time of airing it was the second-most watched television episode in history, second only to the 1953 birth of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy”.

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” originally aired from 1970 to 1977. It was a groundbreaking sitcom in that it featured a central female character who was not dependent on a man. Such was the success of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that it launched no less than three spin-off shows: “Rhoda”, “Phyllis” and “Lou Grant”.

55 Pool contents : GENES

The set of all genes in a particular population is known as the “gene pool”, a term coined in Russian by geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s. In general, the larger the gene pool, the more diverse and robust the population.

56 Disney’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls” singer : URSULA

In the original 1837 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Little Mermaid”, there is a villainous sea witch who plays a relatively small part in the story. When Disney made the big-screen, animated adaptation of the tale, the sea witch’s role was expanded, and she was given the name “Ursula”.

58 Who “cometh” in a Eugene O’Neill play : ICEMAN

“The Iceman Cometh” is a play written by American playwright Eugene O’Neill that was first performed in 1946 on Broadway. The play centers on some down-and-out men in a shabby saloon in Manhattan. The title is a reference to the “iceman”, the man who would have delivered ice to homes back in the time of the play. The reference is to a bawdy joke in which the “iceman” was having an affair with someone’s wife.

60 Reels post, for short : VID

Reels is a facility introduced by Instagram in 2020. Essentially, it is a feature that competes with TikTok.

62 Diarist Nin : ANAIS

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

64 Highlands designs : TARTANS

“Tartan” is sometimes called “plaid” over here in the US, and is a word not used in the same sense outside of this country. In Scotland, a plaid is a blanket or a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder.

The Scottish Highlands are that part of the country not classified as the Lowlands(!). The Highlands make up the north and west of Scotland.

67 Angels’ crowns : HALOS

The Greek word “halos” is the name given to the ring of light around the sun or moon, which gives us our word “halo” that is used for a radiant light depicted above the head of a saintly person.

69 Tree at a Christmas tree farm : FIR

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees, with several species being popular as Christmas trees. The most commonly used species during the holidays are the Nordmann fir, noble fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir. We also see a lot of Douglas fir trees at Christmas, but they’re not actually true firs.

70 Suited king and queen, in pinochle : MARRIAGE

Pinochle is a card game that was developed from the 19th-century French game called bezique.

71 Tonkatsu ingredient : PANKO

Panko is a breadcrumb used in some Japanese cuisine, primarily as a crunchy coating for fried foods.

Tonkatsu is a dish from Japanese cuisine consisting of a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. It originated in the late 1800s, and is based on côtelette de veau, a veal cutlet coated in breadcrumbs and fried from French cuisine.

75 Rocker Joan : JETT

“Joan Jett” is the stage name of rock guitarist and singer Joan Marie Larkin. She is best known as a member of the band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts that formed in 1979.

78 Sidewalk impediments : SLOWPOKES

Back in the early 1800s, a “poke” was a device attached to domestic animals such as pigs or sheep to keep them from escaping their enclosures. The poke was like a yoke with a pole, and slowed the animal down, hence the term “slowpoke”.

83 “Lawrence of Arabia” co-star Guinness : ALEC

Sir Alec Guinness played many great roles over a long and distinguished career, but nowadays is best remembered (sadly, I think) for playing the original Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”. He won his only Best Actor Oscar for playing Colonel Nicholson in the marvelous 1957 WWII movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai”. Guinness did himself serve during the Second World War, in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He commanded a landing craft during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.

“Lawrence of Arabia” is a 1962 movie that recounts the real life story of T. E. Lawrence, a British army officer who was famous for his role in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. The title role in the film is played by Irish actor Peter O’Toole. The role of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish is played by Omar Sharif.

91 “Gimme Love” singer : SIA

“Sia” is the stage name of Australian singer Sia Furler from Adelaide. She is a cousin of Australian Christian Rock musician Peter Furler. Sia is a very private person, and even covers her face with a blond wig while performing.

95 Hide text in a document : REDACT

Our word “redact”, meaning to revise or edit, comes from the past participle of the Latin “redigere” meaning “to reduce”.

102 Vitamin D source : UV RAY

The term “vitamin D” is applied to a group of fat-soluble chemicals related to steroids. Most of the vitamin D that we use in the human body is synthesized in the skin’s epidermis in the presence of UV light, usually coming from the sun. One of the main consequences of vitamin D deficiency is the softening of bones. In children, this can lead to rickets.

107 Danson of “A Man on the Inside” : TED

Actor Ted Danson is noted in particular for three successful roles that he has played on television. He played Sam Malone on the sitcom “Cheers”, the title role on the sitcom “Becker”, and eventually led the cast on the drama series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Danson has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen, his third wife, since 1995. He had a very public divorce from his second wife after an affair with Whoopi Goldberg that was covered widely in the tabloid press.

“A Man on the Inside” is a comedy TV series starring Ted Danson as Charles Nieuwendyk, a retiree-turned-amateur private investigator. The show is based on a 2020 documentary “The Mole Agent”, in which an elderly man is hired by a private investigator to investigate the goings-on in a nursing home in El Monte, Chile. “A Man on the Inside” is not set in Chile, but rather San Francisco. I saw this one, and really enjoyed it.

113 Awards acronym : EGOT

Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Awards (EGOT)

116 Edinburgh no : NAE

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and a really beautiful city. In days gone by, it might not have been quite so charming. Like many cities, plumes of smoke hung over Edinburgh when coal and wood fires weren’t regulated. To this day, the city has the nickname “Auld Reekie”, Scots for “Old Smoky”.

117 Tax return pro : CPA

Certified public accountant (CPA)