LA Times Crossword 25 Jul 25, Friday

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Constructed by: Dan Schoenholz

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): An Easy Crossword

Themed answers all sound like common phrases, with each ending with an “ease” sound:

• 17A Baseball player who flirts with joining the Kansas City squad? : ROYAL TEASE (sound like “royalties”)
• 31A Release vital agricultural workers? : FREE BEES (sounds like “freebies”)
• 37A Sound of a job seeker who ran hard to get to an appointment on time? : INTERVIEW WHEEZE (sounds like “interviewees”)
• 46A Precaution for absent-minded drivers? : TWIN KEYS (sounds like “Twinkies”)
• 64A Coast Guard’s desire after a hurricane warning? : VACANT SEAS (sounds like “vacancies”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A “Love & Basketball” actor Omar : 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.

“Love & Basketball” is a film released in 2000 that stars Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan as two childhood friends who both pursue a career as pro basketball players. The film was the directorial debut of Gina Prince-Bythewood. Apparently, she wrote the screenplay in just three weeks, drawing on her own experiences as a high school basketball player.

15A Cartoon hunter Fudd : ELMER

Elmer Fudd is one of the most famous Looney Tunes cartoon characters, and is the hapless nemesis of Bugs Bunny. If you have never seen it, check out Elmer and Bugs in the marvelous “Rabbit of Seville”, a short cartoon that parodies Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. Wonderful stuff …

17A Baseball player who flirts with joining the Kansas City squad? : ROYAL TEASE (sound like “royalties”)

The Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team was founded in 1969. The team takes its name from the American Royal, a livestock show and rodeo held annually in Kansas City since 1899.

19A __ carotene : BETA

Carotene is an orange pigment that plants use in the process of photosynthesis. Carotene gives carrots their orange color, and it is carrots that give the pigment its name. “Carota” is the Latin for “carrot”. Carotene is found in nature in two structural forms: alpha-carotene and the more common beta-carotene.

23A Three-in-one vaccine, familiarly : DPT

The DPT vaccine is a combination vaccine providing protection against diphtheria (D), pertussis (P) and tetanus (T).

26A Cheap smoke : STOGIE

A stogie (also “stogy”) is both a rough, heavy shoe, and a long, cheap cigar. Both items were favored by the drivers of the covered wagons called Conestogas that wended their way across the Midwest in days gone by. The term “stogie” is derived from the name of the wagon, which itself is named after the area in which the wagons were built, i.e. Conestoga, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

34A French greeting : ALLO

The French word “Allô”, meaning “hello”, is mainly used when answering the telephone.

43A Hundred Acre Wood resident : ROO

In A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” collection of stories, Pooh has many friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Besides Christopher Robin, who doesn’t actually live in the woods, the list includes Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger and Owl.

45A Unagi roll fish : EEL

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

46A Precaution for absent-minded drivers? : TWIN KEYS (sounds like “Twinkies”)

The snack cakes called Twinkies have been around since 1930. They were created by a baker called James Dewar, who chose the name from a billboard advertising “Twinkle Toe Shoes”. The original filling in the cake was a banana cream, but this was swapped out as a result of rationing during WWII. The vanilla cream became so popular that the banana recipe was dropped completely.

52A Sneak : WEASEL

To weasel out of something is to back away from a prior commitment. The association of weasels with the concept of not being trusted might have arisen from the behavior in which a weasel sucks out the contents of an egg while leaving the shell virtually intact.

54A “To __ is human … ” : ERR

Alexander Pope’s 1709 poem “An Essay on Criticism” is the source of at least three well-known quotations:

• A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
• To err is human, to forgive divine.
• For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

58A Iranian language : FARSI

Farsi (also known as Persian) is a language spoken by about 62 million people as a first language, and another 50 million or more as a second language. It is the official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

64A Coast Guard’s desire after a hurricane warning? : VACANT SEAS (sounds like “vacancies”)

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has the distinction of being the country’s oldest continuous seagoing service. The USCG was founded as the Revenue Cutter Service by Alexander Hamilton in 1790.

66A German chancellor who presided over reunification : KOHL

Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down leading to German reunification. Kohl was Chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990, and Chancellor of Germany from 1990 to 1998. That made Kohl the longest serving Chancellor since Otto von Bismarck.

67A Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

69A Vodka brand in blue bottles : SKYY

Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

Down

2D Hundred Acre Wood resident : POOH

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

3D Actress Taylor-Joy : ANYA

Actress Anya Taylor-Joy had quite the international upbringing. She was born in Miami, and raised in Buenos Aires and then London. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma”, and the lead role in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”.

4D Airport express lane, briefly : TSA PRE

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates its precheck program known as “TSA Pre✓” (or “TSA PreCheck”). Members of the program receive expedited screening at most airports. In order to become a member, a traveler must apply online, appear in person at a designated office for a background check and fingerprinting, and pay a fee for a 5-year membership.

5D With 56-Down, annual NYC fashion event : MET …
56D See 5-Down : … GALA

The Costume Institute Gala is an annual fundraising event that benefits the Anna Wintour Costume Center in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. The fundraiser is commonly referred to as the “Met Gala” or “Met Ball”, and was established in 1948.

12D Marie Callender’s purchase : POT PIE

Marie Callender’s is a restaurant chain found mainly in California. The chain was started by Don Callender in Orange, California in 1948 as a retail outlet for selling mainly pies. Don named the store for his mother Marie, who had baked and sold pies for many years to make some extra money for the family.

13D Mexico’s 31 : STATES

Mexico is officially known as the United Mexican States, and is composed of 31 states and the federal entity of Mexico City. The largest state by area is Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico, covering about 96,000 square miles. The smallest state is Tlaxcala in east-central Mexico, with an area of about 1,500 square miles.

18D Kylo Ren’s mother : LEIA

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

22D NBA superstar Curry : STEPH

Basketball great Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and former volleyball player Sonya Curry. Off the court, Curry is an avid golfer, playing off a low handicap. He regularly participates in celebrity golf tournaments, and has played alongside President Barack Obama.

25D Patron saint of Norway : OLAV

Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated, as he was canonized and made the patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or “Olaf the Fat”) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of “Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae”, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

28D Comedian Wong : ALI

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”, and also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

31D Cat-nippers? : FLEAS

Fleas can jump incredibly high relative to their size, up to 150 times their own height. This is due to a specialized protein in their legs called resilin, which stores and releases energy like a spring.

35D Easter bloom : LILY

The Easter lily has distinctive trumpet-shaped, white flowers. The plant gets its name from its use as a symbol in Christian traditions, symbolizing the resurrection of Christ at Easter.

39D Al of “Today” : ROKER

Al Roker is best known as the weatherman on the “Today” show on NBC. He has successfully branched out from that platform though, and even co-wrote a novel called “The Morning Show Murders”, about a celebrity chef and TV host who gets entangled in mystery. Topical stuff …

41D Capital of Zimbabwe? : ZEE

The country now known as Zimbabwe started out as a British colony called Southern Rhodesia, and later just “Rhodesia”. The original colony was named for Cecil Rhodes, the British empire builder.

46D Shakes one’s booty : TWERKS

Twerking is a dancing move in which someone (usually a woman) shakes their hips up and down causing a lot of “wobbling”. It’s possible that “twerk” is a portmanteau of “twist” and “jerk”. The term may have been coined back in the early 2000s with the song “Whistle While You Twurk” released by the Ying Yang Twins. Twerking became a real phenomenon in 2013 when Miley Cyrus posted a video of herself twerking in a unicorn suit to the 2011 song “Wop” by J. Dash. That video went viral on YouTube, amassing over 4 million views in no time at all.