LA Times Crossword 29 Jun 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Zhou Zhang & Mallory Montgomery
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: News Splash!

Themed answers are common phrases with one word changed to a homophone that relates to CURRENTS, resulting in a NEWS headline:

• 120A Component of some social studies classes, or the name of the newspaper sporting the headlines in this puzzle? : CURRENT EVENTS

• 23A Weather: “Warning to Surfers During Storm Surge” : TIDE UP IN KNOTS (from “tied up in knots”)
• 38A Classifieds: “Isolated Waterfront Property Now Available” : SEA FOR YOURSELF (from “see for yourself”)
• 49A Op-ed: “Archipelago Expansion Has No Place in Our Waters” : ISLE BE DARNED (from “I’ll be darned”)
• 68A Style: “World’s Largest Jib Now Complete” : SAIL OF A LIFETIME (from “sale of a lifetime”)
• 89A Culture: “Five Stars for the New Jetty” : PIER REVIEWED (from “peer reviewed”)
• 97A Front page: “Waterway Corruption Exposed” : THE STRAIT TRUTH (from “the straight truth”)

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

Bill’s time: 18m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Activist Yoko : ONO

Yoko Ono is an avant-garde artist. She met her future husband John Lennon for the first time while she was preparing her conceptual art exhibit called “Hammer a Nail”. Visitors were encouraged to hammer in a nail into a wooden board, creating the artwork. Lennon wanted to hammer in the first nail, but Ono stopped him as the exhibition had not yet opened. Apparently Ono relented when Lennon paid her an imaginary five shillings to hammer an imaginary nail into the wood.

19 Stateroom window : PORTHOLE

A porthole is a circular window in the side of a ship that provides light and air. As it penetrates the hull of the ship, the porthole cover provides a strong, watertight seal. The name “porthole” has nothing to do with the port side of a ship, and rather is derived from the French word “porte” meaning “door”. Henry VI of England hired a French shipbuilder to come up with a way to mount large guns on his warships, below the upper deck. The design called for holes in the hull, and “doors” (“portes”) to be fitted for use in heavy weather.

23 Weather: “Warning to Surfers During Storm Surge” : TIDE UP IN KNOTS (from “tied up in knots”)

A nautical mile (sometimes “sea mile”) is a distance measurement that is about a one-minute arc of longitude at the equator. A nautical mile is also equal to about a one-minute arc of latitude along any meridian. The accepted length today is 1,852 meters. The unit of speed known as a “knot” is equal to one nautical mile per hour.

27 IRA options : 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.

30 Key contraction? : O’ER

“The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key was adopted as the US national anthem in 1931. The song had been used officially by the US Navy since 1889, and was played when raising the flag.

33 Inbox clogger : SPAM

The term “spam”, used for unwanted email, is taken from a “Monty Python” sketch. In the sketch (which I’ve seen) the dialog is taken over by the word Spam, a play on the glut of canned meat in the markets of Britain after WWII. So “spam” is used for the glut of emails that takes over online communication. I can just imagine nerdy Internet types (like me) adopting something from a “Monty Python” sketch to describe an online phenomenon …

44 Map showing elevation, for short : TOPO

A topographic map is one that illustrates land relief, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the terrain. Typically, this is done using contour lines that show the steepness of slopes.

48 “¡Ay, caramba!” : DIOS MIO!

“Dios mío!” translates from Spanish as “My God!”

57 Fern bump : SPORE

Spores are produced by many bacteria, fungi and non-flowering plants. A spore is a reproductive body encased in a protective shell that is highly resistant to damage, and resistant to heat in particular.

65 Monogram pts. : INITS

A monogram is a design with two or more letters intertwined or combined in some way to make a single symbol. The term “monogram” comes from the Greek “mono” meaning “single” and “gramma” meaning “letter”.

68 Style: “World’s Largest Jib Now Complete” : SAIL OF A LIFETIME (from “sale of a lifetime”)

A jib is a triangular sail that is set at the bow of a sailboat.

74 Greta Thunberg, for one : SWEDE

Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist from Sweden who came to national attention in her homeland when she was just 15 years old. In 2018, she went on strike from school and paraded with placards in front of the Swedish parliament to pressure the government to take stronger action to address climate change. She then took part in demonstrations across Europe, and became a regular speaker at such events. She addressed the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit at the UN headquarters, opting to sail to New York from Sweden, rather than fly. When she was named “Time” Person of the Year in 2019 at 16 years old, Thunberg was the youngest person ever to be so honored.

75 Disney’s “The Princess and the __” : FROG

“The Princess and the Pea” is a fairy tale from the pen of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The essence of the story is that a prince’s mother tests the royal blood of an apparent princess by placing a pea under a pile of mattresses on which the young girl sleeps. The girl complains of a restless night, demonstrating a physical sensitivity that can only be attributed to a princess. And they all lived happily ever after …

80 2022 Beyoncé hit that won a Grammy for Best R&B Song : CUFF IT

“Cuff It” is a hit single by Beyoncé, released in 2022 from her album “Renaissance”. The cover art accompanying the single looks kind of cool (to me), and consists of a single handcuff attached to a microphone.

82 Paper cutters, for short : EDS

Editor (ed.)

85 Lamb’s maa-maa : EWE

An adult male sheep is a ram, although a castrated ram is known as a wether. An adult female is a ewe, and a young sheep is a lamb.

95 Slugger Sammy : SOSA

Sammy Sosa was firmly in the public eye in 1998 when he and Mark McGwire were vying to be the first to surpass the home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire fell out of public favor due to stories of steroid abuse (stories which he later admitted were true) while Sosa fell out of favor when he was found to be using a corked bat in a 2003 game.

96 Philosopher Descartes : RENE

The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Anything pertaining to the philosophy of Descartes can be described by the adjective “Cartesian”.

97 Front page: “Waterway Corruption Exposed” : THE STRAIT TRUTH (from “the straight truth”)

A strait (str.) is a narrow waterway connecting two large bodies of water. A strait might be considered the opposite of an isthmus, which is a narrow strip of land connecting two large land masses. Straits often have significant economic and geopolitical significance, as they can form choke points for maritime traffic. Examples are the Strait of Hormuz (connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman) and the Strait of Gibraltar (connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea).

106 Director Anderson : WES

Wes Anderson is a film director and screenwriter known for his idiosyncratic cinematic style. His films feature quirky ensembles of recurring actors, and notable pastel color palettes. Some of the films he is known for are “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, “The Darjeeling Limited” and “The Royal Tenenbaums”. I’m a bit of a philistine when it comes to movies, and so am not a fan …

107 Clif Bar ingredient : OATS

A CLIF Bar is an energy bar, and is the flagship product of Clif Bar and Company based in Emeryville, California. The CLIF Bar was developed by baker and former mountain guide Gary Erickson in 1990. He named it for his father Clifford.

110 Architect born in Guangzhou : PEI

Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei was raised in Shanghai. He moved to the US to study architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Although he transferred soon after to MIT. The list of his designs includes the John F. Kennedy Library in Massachusetts, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and the celebrated glass-and-steel pyramid in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Pei passed away in 2019, at 102 years of age.

Guangzhou, historically known as Canton, is a large city in southern China and the capital of Guangdong province. It is a key port city on the Pearl River, it has a rich history as a vital trading hub. It is located about 80 miles northwest of Hong Kong, with high-speed trains making the journey to and from the former British colony in under an hour.

111 In-flight convenience : WI-FI

When one switches a smartphone or similar device to airplane mode, all processes that cause the transmission of radio waves are disabled. As such, Bluetooth, telephony and Wi-Fi are shut down. Many airlines do allow the user to switch on Bluetooth and W-Fi, while maintaining airplane mode. GPS may function in airplane mode as it works without emitting radio signals.

114 All-powerful : OMNIPOTENT

Someone or something described as omnipotent if almighty, possesses infinite power. The term “omnipotent” comes from the Latin “omnis” (all) and “potens” (powerful, potent).

117 “My brother from __ mother” : ANOTHER

The idiom “my brother from another mother” is used to describe a close male friend who feels like a sibling, despite not being biologically related.

123 Broadcasts on Twitch, e.g. : STREAMS

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

124 Wading bird : IBIS

The ibis is a wading bird that was revered in ancient Egypt. “Ibis” is an interesting word grammatically speaking. You can have one “ibis” or two “ibises”, and then again one has a flock of “ibis”. And if you want to go with the classical plural, instead of two “ibises” you would have two “ibides”!

127 Toy brick brand : LEGO

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

• The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
• The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
• The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
• Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
• The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)

128 Command post : HELM

In its broadest sense, the term “helm” describes the whole of a ship’s steering mechanism, including the rudder and tiller. In a more specific sense, the helm is the handle, tiller or wheel that is used to control the steering gear.

Down

5 Native Arizonans : HOPIS

Many members of the Hopi nation live on a reservation that is actually located within the much larger Navajo reservation in Arizona.

8 Sneakers with a checkerboard design : VANS

Vans is a manufacturer of mainly skateboarding shoes. The company was founded as a shoe manufacturer in 1966 called the Van Doren Rubber Company. The business turned towards skateboarders in the seventies, and then adopted the “Vans” name in the nineties.

10 D.C. player : NAT

If you attend a Washington Nationals baseball game, held in Nationals Park, you’ll see the Presidents Race in the middle of the fourth innings. Individuals dressed like seven former US presidents, each sporting a large and cartoonish head, have participated in the races over the years. Those runners are:

• George (Washington)
• Abe (Lincoln)
• Tom (Jefferson)
• Teddy (Roosevelt)
• Bill (Taft)
• Calvin (Coolidge)
• Herbie (Hoover)

12 Early ThinkPads, e.g. : IBMS

IBM introduced the ThinkPad notebook in 1992 and the brand is still sold today, although no longer manufactured by IBM. IBM sold off its personal computer division in 2005 to Lenovo. A ThinkPad was used aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1993 on a mission focused on repairing the Hubble Telescope. The ThinkPad was being tested to see how it performed in space, given the high levels of radiation found in that environment. Now, there are about 100 (!) ThinkPads on board the International Space Station.

14 Chocolate __ : LAB

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814. The breed comes in three registered colors: black, yellow and chocolate.

17 Cookie with a Space Dunk flavor : OREO

National Oreo Cookie Day is March 6th each year. There is an urban legend that the particular day was chosen as this was the day that the name “Oreo” was registered as a trademark. However, that’s not the case. The application was filed on March 14, 1912 and registration took place on August 12, 1913. The suggestion is that the first Oreos went on sale on March 6, 1912.

24 Actress Palmer : KEKE

Keke Palmer is a busy woman; an actress, singer and television host. She won a Primetime Emmy in 2023 for her work as host of the game show “Password”, a revival of the show hosted by Allen Ludden in sixties and seventies. She was also nominated for several Best Actress awards for her performance in the 2022 sci-fi horror film “Nope”.

32 Escape artist born in Budapest : HOUDINI

“Harry Houdini” was the stage name of Hungarian-born escapologist and magician Erik Weisz (later changed to “Harry Weiss”). Many people are under the impression that Houdini died while performing an escape that went wrong, an impression created by the storyline in a couple of movies about his life. The truth is that he died of peritonitis from a burst appendix. It is also true that a few days prior to his death Houdini took a series of punches to his stomach as part of his act, but doctors believe that his appendix would have burst regardless.

39 Journalist Curry : ANN

Television journalist Ann Curry is perhaps best known for the time she spent as co-host on NBC’s “Today” show. NBC executives asked Curry to resign from the “Today” show because ratings were low. I just read online that Curry was also pushed out because of the way she insisted on dressing and because she refused to dye her gray hair. I hope that isn’t true …

42 Mojito fruit : LIMES

A mojito is a Cuban cocktail, although the exact origins appear to be unclear, as does the derivation of the name. Want one? Put 4 mint leaves in a glass, and add the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of powdered sugar. Muddle the ingredients, smashing them together with a muddler or a spoon. Add some crushed ice, two ounces of white rum and stir. Top with a couple of ounces of club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a slice of lime. Cheers!

45 Cola brand : PEPSI

Pepsi has used many, many slogans over the years. The slogans range from “The Choice of a New Generation” featuring Michael Jackson in the eighties and nineties, to the original “Twice as Much for a Nickel” that ran from 1939 to 1950.

46 Brand of near beer : O’DOUL’S

I once did a blind taste test on all of the big-selling non-alcoholic beers with a friend of mine. O’Doul’s Amber won the day pretty decisively, which surprised us as it was the cheapest! But, released since then, the best non-alcoholic beer by far is Guinness Zero …

49 Craft beer letters : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

51 “To Kill a Mockingbird” novelist : LEE

Nelle Harper Lee was an author from Monroeville, Alabama. For many years, Lee had only one published novel to her name, i.e. “To Kill a Mockingbird”. That contribution to the world of literature was enough to earn her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Pulitzer Prize. Harper Lee was a close friend of fellow author Truman Capote who was the inspiration for the character named “Dill” in her novel. Lee was all over the news in 2015 as she had published a second novel, titled “Go Set a Watchman”. The experts seem to be agreeing that “Go Set a Watchman” is actually the first draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Lee passed away less than a year after “Go Set a Watchman” hit the stores.

53 Officiated a game : REFFED

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is a derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring” to a book, archive etc.

70 Super Bowl breaks : AD SPOTS

The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, Super Bowl XLIX (2015) had an average audience of 114 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.

73 “You did your best!” : A FOR EFFORT!

Apparently the phrase “E for effort” originated as a WWII campaign in the US to help boost productivity in factories. Over time, the phrase has been misconstrued as “A for effort”, apparently assuming that we’re talking about grades.

80 Young stallion : COLT

There are lots of terms to describe horses of different ages and sexes, it seems:

• Foal: horse of either sex that is less than one year old
• Yearling: horse of either sex that is one to two years old
• Filly: female horse under the age of four
• Colt: male horse under the age of four
• Gelding: castrated male horse of any age
• Stallion: non-castrated male horse four years or older
• Mare: female horse four years or older

84 Kindle tech : E INK

E Ink Corporation manufactures what is known as “electronic paper”, a material that is integrated into electronic displays used mainly in e-readers and smartphones. An example is the excellent display that comes with the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.

88 Fig. on an OTC bottle : RDA

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs don’t need a prescription (Rx).

91 __ de parfum : EAU

In the world of perfumery, eau de parfum (EdP) is generally more concentrated than eau de toilette (EdT), which in turn is generally more concentrated than eau de cologne (EdC).

94 Highest corporate levels : C-SUITES

The C-suite is the suite of offices assigned to senior management. The “C” reference is to the abbreviation for “Chief”, the word that starts the titles of many senior officers in a company, e.g. chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer(CFO).

95 Precut pattern : STENCIL

A stencil is a sheet of impervious material with perforations in the shape of letters or a design. The stencil is placed over a surface to be printed and then the printing medium is applied, so that the medium only attaches to the surface beneath the perforations.

98 __ Jima : IWO

Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since. Control of the island was wrested from the Japanese in the five-week Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Said battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific theater in WWII.

99 Heavy book : TOME

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

100 Waddingham of “Ted Lasso” : HANNAH

Hannah Waddingham is an English actress and singer. On the other side of the pond, she has quite the reputation as a stage actress, especially for her performances in West End musicals (she has a vocal range of four octaves). Waddington gained widespread international recognition for her Emmy-winning role as Rebecca Welton in the comedy series “Ted Lasso”, portraying businesswoman Rebecca Welton.

115 Egg cell : OVUM

A gamete is a reproductive cell that has half the full complement of genes needed to make a normal cell. In sexual reproduction, it takes two gametes, one from each parent, to fuse into one cell which then develops into a new organism. The female gamete is the ovum, and the male the sperm.

116 Bill’s partner in time travel : TED

“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is a 1989 comedy sci-fi film, starring Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted. It’s about two lazy students traveling through time in preparation for a history assignment, with a lot of “Dude!” and “Excellent!” scattered throughout the dialog. Reading the plot, this isn’t a movie that I’d normally go for, but somehow, I enjoyed it …

121 Yam in purple ice cream : UBE

Ube is a species of yam that is purple in color. I’m a big fan of ube ice cream. Potato-flavored ice cream; what’s not to like?!

122 18-wheeler : RIG

An 18-wheeler semi-trailer truck has eight wheels under the trailer, i.e. four on each of the two rear axles. There are 10 wheels under the tractor unit. Two of the ten wheels are on the front axle, and eight are on the rear two axles that sit under the front of the trailer.