LA Times Crossword 29 Jul 25, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Kelly Richardson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: System of a Down

Themed answers are all in the DOWN-direction, and each includes a kind of SYSTEM hidden within:

• 19D Grammy-winning metal band, or what can be found three times in this puzzle? : SYSTEM OF A DOWN

• 4D Unauthorized rock recordings : BOOTLEG ALBUMS (hiding “LEGAL”)
• 8D “SNL” sketch featuring Christopher Walken and a percussion instrument : MORE COWBELL (hiding “ECO”)
• 25D Retail rep’s quota : SALES TARGET (hiding “STAR”)

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

Bill’s time:5m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15A “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” star Lombard : CAROLE

Carole Lombard was an actress active in Hollywood’s Golden Age who was known for her quick wit and screwball comedy roles. She was married twice, to two high-profile Hollywood actors. She married William Powell in 1931, but they divorced two years later. In 1939, she married Clark Gable. Lombard tragically died in a plane crash in 1942 while returning from a war bond tour, making her the first Hollywood celebrity to die in the war.

16A Australian bird : EMU

The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

17A Silicon Valley city Palo __ : ALTO

The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.

18A 1920s dance craze that originated in South Carolina : CHARLESTON

The Cahrleston dance has its roots in Charleston, South Carolina. It almost certainly evolved from an African American dance called “The Walk Around”, that dates back to the early 1900s. The Charleston’s popularity exploded after it was included in a 1923 Broadway show “Runnin’ Wild”.

20A Oregon Trail river : PLATTE

The Platte River used to be called the Nebrakier, which is an Oto word meaning “flat river”. Indeed, the state of Nebraska takes its name from “Nebrakier”. For a while it was also called the River Plate as “plate” is the French word “flat”. Later this became “Platte”, the phonetic spelling of the French “plate”.

The Oregon Trail was established by fur trappers and traders as early as 1811. The first migrant wagon train traveled the route in 1836, starting off in Independence, Missouri and going as far as Fort Hall, Idaho. In the coming years, the trail was extended for wagons as far as the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

22A Letters that end a proof : QED

The initialism “QED” is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. QED stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

23A Oxen harness : YOKE

A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of animals so that they are forced to work together.

Oxen are herbivorous animals that have been domesticated for thousands of years, often used for pulling carts, plowing fields, and carrying heavy loads. They are usually castrated male cattle, castrated so that they are more docile and easier to train.

26A T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical __” : CATS

“Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” is a 1939 collection of poems by T. S. Eliot (TSE). The collection of whimsical poetry was a favorite of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber when he was a child. Webber used Eliot’s poems as inspiration for his megahit musical “Cats”.

28A “At Last” singer James : ETTA

The 1942 song “At Last” was written for the 1941 musical film “Sun Valley Serenade” in which it is performed by Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Etta James recorded a version of “At Last” in 1960, after which it became her signature song.

29A Raw bar mollusks : OYSTERS

Molluscs (also “mollusks”) are invertebrate (no-backbone) animals that comprise about a quarter of all known marine organisms. Examples are squid, cuttlefish, oysters and octopodes.

36A Reuben sammie side : SLAW

There are conflicting stories about the origin of the Reuben sandwich. One such story is that it was invented around 1914 by Arnold Reuben, an immigrant from Germany who owned Reuben’s Deli in New York.

38A Orange __ tea : PEKOE

A pekoe (or more commonly “orange pekoe”) is a medium-grade black tea. There is no orange flavor in an orange pekoe tea. The “orange” name most likely derived from the name of the trading company that brought the tea to Europe from Asia.

39A Like ice caps : POLAR

The polar ice cap at the north of our planet is floating pack ice in the Arctic Ocean. The southern polar ice cap is an ice sheet that covers the landmass known as Antarctica. About 70% of all the freshwater on Earth is held in the southern polar ice cap.

42A Troutlike fish in the Great Lakes : SMELT

“Smelt” is the name given to several types of small silvery fish, with examples being Great Lake smelts and whitebait smelts.

43A Use TurboTax, say : E-FILE

TurboTax is a software- and online-based income tax preparation service. It’s what I’ve used since I retired, and I have no complaints …

44A Oracle : SEER

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

47A Give up, informally : CUT BAIT

To cut bait is to give up, and is a term that has its origin in angling. When fishing, if you’re not getting any bites, you might as well “cut your bait”, i.e. stop preparing and using bait, and move on to something else.

52A Celebrity chef Emeril : LAGASSE

Emeril Lagasse is an American chef who was born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved celebrity as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

62A The “MO” of FOMO : MISSING OUT

Fear of missing out (FOMO)

66A MLB official : UMP

Back in the 15th century, “an umpire” was referred to as “a noumpere”, which was misheard and hence causing the dropping of the initial letter N. The term “noumpere” came from Old French “nonper” meaning “not even, odd number”. The idea was that the original umpire was a third person called on to arbitrate between two, providing that “odd number” needed to decide the dispute.

67A South Dakota’s capital : PIERRE

Here’s an old chestnut of a trivia question for you … what’s the only state capital in the Union for which the name of the capital and the name of its state share no common letters? You guessed it: Pierre, South Dakota …

69A Identity celebrated in Pride Month : GAY

The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.

71A __ a soul : NARY

The adjective “nary” means “not one”, as in “nary a soul” or even “nary a one”.

Down

2D __ lily: trumpet-shaped flower : CALLA

“Calla lily” is a common name for a lily of the genus Zantedeschia. There is a lily genus called calla, but the calla lily isn’t in it. Now that, that is confusing …

4D Unauthorized rock recordings : BOOTLEG ALBUMS

To bootleg is to make or smuggle alcoholic drinks illegally. The term arose in the late 1800s as slang for the practice of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. The term has been extended to mean the illegal production and sale of just about anything.

7D Country where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet : IRAQ

Mesopotamia was the land that lay between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, that flow through modern-day Iraq. The name “Mesopotamia” means “between the rivers”.

8D “SNL” sketch featuring Christopher Walken and a percussion instrument : MORE COWBELL

“More Cowbell” is one of the most celebrated “Saturday Night Live” sketches. It is a parody of the recording of the outstanding song “”(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. Will Ferrell portrays one of the band members playing a cowbell, and Christopher Walken portrays the record producer demanding “more cowbell”.

Actor Christopher Walken is known for his intense dramatic roles, but he started his career as a dancer. He began taking dance lessons at the age of three, learning ballet and tap, and even toured in musicals as a child, once dancing with a young Liza Minnelli. His dance training is on full display in the 2001 music video for Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice”, which features Walken dancing solo throughout a hotel.

10D Olympic gymnast Suni : LEE

Suni Lee is an American gymnast who won the women’s artistic individual all-around event at the 2020 Olympics. A few weeks after her victory in Tokyo, Lee competed in the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars”, finishing in 5th place.

11D Presidential power : VETO

The verb “veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The term was used by tribunes of ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

12D Out of control : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

19D Grammy-winning metal band, or what can be found three times in this puzzle? : SYSTEM OF A DOWN

System Of A Down is a Grammy-winning metal band formed in California that is noted for the political and social commentary in their songs. Their lyrics delve into issues like the Armenian Genocide (a core theme due to the band members’ heritage), environmentalism, consumerism, and broader social justice.

34D Pad thai protein option : TOFU

The delicious dish called pad Thai is a meld of stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind juice, red chili pepper plus a mix of vegetables and possibly tofu, meat or fish. It is usually topped with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime. The name “pad Thai” translates as “fried Thai-style”.

37D “The Godfather” actor Vigoda : ABE

Abe Vigoda played Detective Sergeant Phil Fish in television’s “Barney Miller” in the seventies, and even got his own spin-off show called “Fish”. On the big screen, Vigoda played Sal Tessio in “The Godfather” and Grandpa Ubriacco in “Look Who’s Talking”. When Vigoda was 60 years old, he was mistakenly reported as dead by “People” magazine. In response, Vigoda had a photo published in “Variety” showing him sitting up in a coffin, holding a copy of the offending issue of “People”.

53D South Pacific island group : SAMOA

The official name for the South Pacific nation formerly known as Western Samoa is the Independent State of Samoa. Samoa is the western part of the island group, with American Samoa lying to the southeast. The whole group of islands used to be known as Navigators Island, a name given by European explorers in recognition of the seafaring skills of the native Samoans.

57D Peru’s capital : LIMA

Lima is the capital city of Peru. It was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it “la Ciudad de los Reyes” (the City of Kings). He chose this name because the decision to found the city was made on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three kings to Jesus in Bethlehem. Lima is home to the oldest university in all of the Americas, as San Marco University was founded in 1551 during the days of Spanish colonial rule.

63D Hoppy brew letters : IPA

India pale ale (IPA)