LA Times Crossword 18 Jun 25, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Emet Ozar
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: The Secret Garden

Themed answers each have a SECRET, they have a kind of GARDEN as a hidden word:

• 55A Frances Hodgson Burnett novel set at a country estate, or an apt title for this puzzle : THE SECRET GARDEN

• 16A “The,” grammatically : DEFINITE ARTICLE (giving “tea garden”)
• 24A Baseball overtime : EXTRA INNINGS (giving “rain garden”)
• 41A Heavy-duty material for cutting boards : BUTCHER BLOCK (giving “herb garden”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Stringed instrument : HARP

The primary materials used to make a harp are wood for the frame, and gut or wire for the strings. The frame is triangular. The top of the triangle is the crossbar or neck, to which the strings are secured and can be adjusted in tension to fine-tune the pitch. The other end of the strings are held by the soundboard, the side of the triangular frame that is hollow, allowing the body of the harp to resonate when strings are plucked. The long side of the triangular frame is the column or pillar, the purpose of which is to hold up the neck under the tension of the strings.

8 Some med. scans : MRIS

MRI scans can be daunting for many people as they usually involve the patient lying inside a tube with the imaging magnet surrounding the body. Additionally, the scan can take up to 40 minutes in some cases. There are some open MRI scanners available that help prevent a feeling of claustrophobia. However, the images produced by open scanners are of lower quality as they operate at lower magnetic fields.

14 Large paper format : FOLIO

Some common book formats/sizes are folio, octavo and quarto. For an octavo book for example, sixteen pages of text are printed, eight pages on each side of a “full-size” piece of paper. The pages are formed by folding the sheet of paper three times in half, giving a group of sixteen pages printed on eight leaves (after separation). The size of the resulting pages of course depends on the size of the original sheet, but each page is one eighth the size of that original (hence the name octavo). Nowadays the octavo size refers to books that are between eight and ten inches tall. If you do the math, folio books are twice the size of quarto, and quarto twice the size of octavo.

16 “The,” grammatically : … DEFINITE ARTICLE (giving “tea garden”)

A tea garden is a garden in which one might be served tea and other refreshments. Duh …

19 “Let You Love Me” singer : RITA ORA

“Let You Love Me” is a 2018 song that was Ora’s thirteenth to reach the top-ten in the UK. As such, it allowed Ora to beat the record for the most top-ten songs by a female solo artist from the UK.

22 “Washington Black” novelist Edugyan : ESI

Esi Edugyan is a Canadian novelist known for her historical fiction that explores themes of identity, race, and belonging. Her experience living in Germany, as a writer-in-residence in Stuttgart, significantly influenced her writing, particularly her novel “Half-Blood Blues”, which is set in Nazi-occupied Europe and explores the lives of Black musicians in Berlin. Adding to her distinguished career, she was also chosen to serve as chair of the Booker Prize jury in 2023.

23 __ Bradley bags : VERA

Vera Bradley is a manufacturer of fashionable patterned bags. The company was founded in 1982 by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller. The pair noticed that there was a dearth of feminine-looking luggage, as they passed through Atlanta Airport. So, they started their company to fill that demand. The company was named for Vera Bradley, Baekgaard’s mother.

24 Baseball overtime : EXTRA INNINGS (giving “rain garden”)

Rain gardens are landscaped depressions in an area that act as natural filters for stormwater runoff. Planted with native vegetation, these shallow basins capture rainwater from surfaces like roofs and driveways, allowing it to slowly soak into the ground. This process helps to reduce flooding and erosion, while the plants and soil naturally filter out pollutants and sediment before the water recharges local groundwater supplies. I’m a big fan …

29 Predatory insect : MANTIS

The term “praying mantis” is often used for species of insects more correctly called simply “mantis”. The familiar term refers to the prayer-like posture adopted by the insect with their forelimbs folded. Strangely, the praying mantis is the only animal that we know with only one ear. That ear is located deep in the thorax or chest.

33 Boxer Muhammad : ALI

After Muhammad Ali passed away in June 2016, there was a large prayer service and funeral procession in his hometown of Louisville. The pallbearers included actor Will Smith and boxer Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. Eulogies were delivered by Ali’s wife Lonnie, Billy Crystal, Bryant Gumbel and former President Bill Clinton.

36 Greek fabulist : AESOP

A “fabulist” is a writer of “fables”.

38 Cured fish often topped with capers and lemon : LOX

Lox is a brine-cured salmon filet that is finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

39 Aaron Judge stat : RBI

Aaron Judge is a baseball outfielder who was selected as 2017’s American League Rookie of the Year. Judge is a big guy. He weighs 282 pounds, and is 6 foot 7 inches tall.

45 Pixar film about a young sea monster : LUCA

“Luca” is a 2021 Pixar animated film. The title character is a sea monster boy who can take the form of a human while on land.

47 Trans- opposite : CIS-

In Latin, the prefix “cis-” means “this side of”. The prefix “trans-” means “the other side of”.

50 Tribute at a memorial : EULOGY

A eulogy is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone who has recently passed away or who is retiring. “Eulogy” comes from the Greek word “eulogia” meaning “praise”.

53 New Mexico’s “The City Different” : SANTA FE

Santa Fe is New Mexico’s capital, and the fourth most-populous city in the state (after Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Rio Rancho). Sitting at 7,199 feet above sea level, Santa Fe is the highest state capital in the US. The city’s name translates from Spanish as “Holy Faith”. The full name of the city when it was founded in 1607 was “La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís”, meaning “the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi”. It became the capital of the province Santa Fe de Nuevo México in 1610, making Santa Fe the oldest state capital in the US.

55 Frances Hodgson Burnett novel set at a country estate, or an apt title for this puzzle : THE SECRET GARDEN

“The Secret Garden” is a children’s novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett that was first published in serial form in 1910, and then as a complete book in 1911. The story is so popular that it has been adapted on several occasions for the stage, the big screen, and for television.

59 Flood-protection structure : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

Down

1 Core group : CADRE

A cadre is, most commonly, a group of experienced personnel at the core of a larger organization that the small group trains or heavily influences. “Cadre” is a French word meaning “frame”. We use it in the sense that a cadre is a group that provides a “framework” for the larger organization.

3 Commerce pact until 2020 : NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a treaty between Canada, Mexico and the United States. When NAFTA came into force in 1994, it set up the largest free trade zone in the world. It was replaced by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020, an agreement that is often referred to as NAFTA 2.0 because it largely maintains the provisions in the original NAFTA treaty.

4 Bloviator’s excess : HOT AIR

“To bloviate” is such a descriptive verb, one meaning “to discourse pompously”. “Bloviate” is mock-Latin and derived from “blow”.

6 Small inlet : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, and both are formed as sea levels rise. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

8 Island cocktail : MAI TAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

13 Domingo, for one : DIA

In Spanish (Span.), the days of the week are masculine (masc.) nouns. Unlike in English, the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized when used in the middle of a sentence:

• lunes – Monday
• martes – Tuesday
• miércoles – Wednesday
• jueves – Thursday
• viernes – Friday
• sábado – Saturday
• domingo – Sunday

18 Coastal flyer : TERN

Terns are a family of seabirds. They are similar to gulls, but are more slender and more lightly built. Many species of tern are known for their long-distance migrations, with the Arctic tern migrating so far that it is believed to see more daylight in a year than any other animal.

23 Apothecary container : VIAL

Nowadays, we would call an apothecary a pharmacist. “Apotecaire” is an Old French word from the 13th century meaning simply “storekeeper”.

25 Speak off-the-cuff : AD-LIB

“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage, the phrase is usually shortened to “ad-lib”. On the stage, the concept of an ad-lib is very familiar.

To speak off-the-cuff is to speak extemporaneously. The idea is that someone doing so would not be using learned lines, but rather is speaking with the use of a few notes that have been jotted on their cuffs or shirtsleeves.

26 Moon landing org. : NASA

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.

27 Grab, with “on to” : GLOM …

“Glom” is a slang term meaning “steal”, although it can also be used to mean “latch onto” when used as “glom onto”. The term probably comes from the Scots word “glam” meaning “to snatch at”.

29 Singer also known as Scary Spice : MEL B

“Mel B” is the stage name of Melanie Brown, who came to fame as a member of the Spice Girls musical group. She took the name Mel B to distinguish herself from fellow band member Melanie Chisholm (Melanie C). Mel B was also known as “Scary Spice”, a nickname given to her by the media. American viewers saw Mel B on the TV show “America’s Got Talent” from 2013 through 2019, on which show she served as a judge.

30 Baseball family name : ALOU

Moisés Alou played Major League Baseball, as did his father Felipe and his uncles Matty and Jesús.

31 Deli counter cry : NEXT!

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

35 Syllables in an incantation : ABRA

The incantation “abracadabra” has a long history. It was used as far back as the 2nd century AD in ancient Rome when the word was prescribed by a physician to be worn on an amulet to help his emperor recover from disease. “Abracadabra” is Aramaic, and roughly translates as “I will create as I speak”.

36 Tarot card group : ARCANA

In a 78-card tarot deck, the picture cards are referred to as the Major Arcana. The remaining cards are known as the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana included The Fool, the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man, and Death.

39 Give new life to something old : RECYCLE

The so-called “waste hierarchy” can be restated as the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The preferences are in order:

1. Reduce consumption
2. Reuse manufactured products
3. Recycle raw materials

42 Bedroom storage space : CLOSET

In Old French a “clos” was an enclosure, with the diminutive form “closet” describing a small enclosure or private room. Over time this evolved into our modern usage of “closet”, describing a cabinet or cupboard.

43 Gargantuan : HUGE

Our term “gargantuan” meaning “enormous” comes from a series of five novels titled “The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel” written in the 1500s by François Rabelais. Gargantua and Pantagruel are two giants in the tale, a father and a son.

47 West Point student : CADET

West Point is a military reservation in New York State, located north of New York City. West Point was first occupied by the Continental Army way back in 1778, making it the longest, continually-occupied military post in the country. Cadet training has taken place at the garrison since 1794, although Congress funding for a US Military Academy (USMA) didn’t start until 1802. The first female cadets were admitted to West Point in 1976, and as of 2018, about 15% of all new cadets were women.

50 Coup d’__ : ETAT

A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”. We also use the abbreviated “coup” to mean “sudden, brilliant and successful act”.

52 “The Chi” creator Waithe : LENA

Lena Waithe’s break as an actress came with a supporting role in the comedy-drama show “Master of None” starting in 2015. The same show brought her significant success as a writer, winning a Primetime Emmy for co-writing the “Thanksgiving” episode with the show’s creator Aziz Ansari. Waithe also serves as executive producer for the horror-drama anthology series “Them”.