LA Times Crossword 3 Sep 25, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Michael Torch

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: A Head Of

Themed answers all start with something one might have A HEAD OF:

• 39A Leading, or, when parsed differently, what can lead into the starts of the answers to the starred clues : AHEAD OF or A HEAD OF

• 18A *Extracts dirt from the carpet, maybe : STEAM CLEANS (a head of steam)
• 59A *California’s “Eureka” and New York’s “Excelsior” : STATE MOTTOS (a head of state)
• 3D *Vidal Sassoon’s expertise : HAIR STYLING (a head of hair)
• 26D *Low-carb sandwich : LETTUCE WRAP (a head of lettuce)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A Spice made from the husk of a nutmeg : MACE

The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

14A Indian beach destination : GOA

Goa is the smallest state in India, and is located in the southwest of the country. The Portuguese landed in Goa in the early 1500s, at first peacefully carrying out trade, but then took the area by force creating Portuguese India. Portugal held onto Portuguese India even after the British pulled out of India in 1947, until the Indian Army marched into the area in 1961.

15A Moon mission program : APOLLO

The Apollo program is very much associated with President Kennedy, as he gave NASA the challenge to land men on the moon by the end of the sixties. However, the Apollo program was conceived during the Eisenhower administration as a follow-up to Project Mercury that put the first Americans in space.

17A Stat boosted by a home run : RBI

Run batted in (RBI)

20A Countesses’ counterparts : EARLS

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

23A Old Ford flops : EDSELS

The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel, son of Henry Ford. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced. When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel on 4 September 1957, Ford proclaimed the day to be “E Day”.

31A Bullfighting figure : TORERO

The term “torero” is used to describe all bullfighters. The term “matador” is reserved for the bullfighter whose job is to make the final kill. Aptly enough, “matador” is Spanish for “killer”.

32A Vegetarian frozen-food brand : AMY’S

Amy’s Kitchen is a company making organic and easy-to-prepare frozen food, all of which is vegetarian. The company was founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and Amy is their daughter.

34A Wells Fargo competitor : CITI

During the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, the US government rescued Citibank by providing loan guarantees and two payments of $25 billion each. It turns out that the government made a tidy profit on that deal, as Citibank has since repaid the loans in full, along with interest.

38A 8 pts. or 4 qts. : GAL

The name of our fluid measure called a “gallon” ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin term “galleta” meaning “bucket, pail”.

45A Source of inspiration : MUSE

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

• Calliope (epic poetry)
• Clio (history)
• Erato (lyric poetry)
• Euterpe (music)
• Melpomene (tragedy)
• Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
• Terpsichore (dance)
• Thalia (comedy)
• Urania (astronomy)

Before the adoption of the nine muses of Greek mythology, there were originally three muses, the three Boeotian Muses. These were:

• Mneme (memory)
• Melete (meditation)
• Aoede (song)

48A Light purple : LILAC

The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family. The name “lilac” comes from the Persian word “lilaq,” which means “flower.”

50A NFLer who plays at the Meadowlands : NY GIANT

The Meadowlands Sports Complex, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has three venues: the MetLife Stadium (home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets football teams), the Meadowlands Racetrack (for horse racing), and the Izod Center (former home to the New Jersey Nets basketball team).

58A Home to the Ninja Turtles : SEWER

The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” started out as a parody of comic book superheroes, first appearing in a self-published comic book in 1984. A couple of years later the characters were picked up by someone who built a whole line of toys around the characters, and then television and movies followed. Do you remember the names of all four of the Turtles? Their names were all taken from Renaissance artists:

• Leonardo
• Raphael
• Michelangelo
• Donatello

59A *California’s “Eureka” and New York’s “Excelsior” : STATE MOTTOS (a head of state)

Several US states have single-word mottos:

• Eureka (I have found it) — California
• Dirigo (I lead) — Maine
• Excelsior (Ever upward) — New York
• Hope — Rhode Island
• Friendship — Texas
• Industry — Utah
• Forward — Wisconsin

65A Online investment service : E-TRADE

E-Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E-Trade used to produce those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.

69A Parakeet or rabbit : PET

Parakeets are a group of bird species that are small parrots. The most common type of parakeet that we see in pet stores is the budgerigar.

Down

3D *Vidal Sassoon’s expertise : HAIR STYLING (a head of hair)

Vidal Sassoon was a hairdresser and businessman from London. Sassoon is credited with “liberating” women from the hair salon by popularizing hairstyles that one could “wash and wear”.

6D “The Simpsons” bar : MOE’S

Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender and owner of Moe’s Tavern in “The Simpsons” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the Moe character … him I like …

7D Community developer’s map : PLAT

A plat is a map showing actual and planned features. So, a town might have a plat showing existing and intended buildings.

8D Ticklish toys that caused a frenzy at Christmas in 1996 : ELMOS

The Tickle Me Elmo toy was a sensational fad in the late nineties, with stores raising prices dramatically above the recommended retail price to take advantage of demand. Reportedly, prices as high as $1500 were paid at the height of the craze. The toy’s manufacturer, Tyco, originally planned to market the “tickle” toy as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil (after the “Looney Tunes” character), but then went with “Elmo” after they bought the rights to use “Sesame Street” names.

9D “Guardians of the Galaxy” raccoon : ROCKET

“Rocky Raccoon” is a song by the Beatles that they released in 1968. The song’s title inspired the creation of Marvel Comics superhero Rocket Raccoon, who features prominently in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies.

10D Opera conductors : MAESTRI

“Maestro” is often used to address a musical conductor. “Maestro” (plural “maestri”) is the Italian word for “master, teacher”. The plural in English is usually “maestros”.

13D CPR crew : EMS

Emergency medical services (EMS)

21D Luau loops : LEIS

The anglicized name of the Hawaiian feast “luau” comes from the Hawaiian word “lu’au”, which translates literally as “young taro tops”. Taro leaves and corms are often served at luaus.

26D *Low-carb sandwich : LETTUCE WRAP (a head of lettuce)

Lettuce is a leaf vegetable in the daisy family.

27D Native Pennsylvanians : ERIES

The Erie people lived on lands south of Lake Erie, in parts of the modern-day US states of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Erie were sometimes referred to as the Cat Nation, a reference to the mountain lions that were ever-present in the area that they lived. The name “Erie” is a shortened form of “Erielhonan” meaning “long tail”, possibly a further reference to the mountain lion or cat, which was possibly used as a totem. The Erie people gave their name to the Great Lake.

28D “Death, Be Not Proud” poet John : DONNE

John Donne was one of England’s most celebrated poets, and was active at the start of the 17th century. He spent much of his life in poverty and even spent a short time in prison for having married his wife without procuring the appropriate permissions. After his release, his wife bore him 12 children in 16 years, passing away a few days after the twelfth child was born.

I don’t know about here in America, but at school in Ireland we all had to learn John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X”, also known as “Death, Be Not Proud”.

33D Unkempt : MANGY

Mange is a skin disorder in animals caused by parasitic mites that embed themselves in the skin, perhaps living in hair follicles. The same disorder in humans is called scabies. We use the adjective “mangy” to describe an animal suffering from mange, but also anything that is seedy or shabby.

The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.

39D Use a SodaStream : AERATE

When we add bubbles to a beverage using a SodaStream, we might describe the process as “aeration”, the addition of air. What we are actually doing is “carbonation”, as the gas used is carbon dioxide.

40D Big name in elevators : OTIS

Otis is a manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. By some accounts, Otis is the world’s most popular transportation company, with the equivalent of the whole world’s population traveling on Otis devices every few days.

45D Like peacocks : MALE

Male peafowl are peacocks, females are peahens, and the young are peachicks. A group of peafowl are referred to as an ostentation, pride or muster.

51D Govt. investment option : T-NOTE

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

54D Romantic rendezvous : TRYST

In the most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a pre-arranged meeting between lovers. The term “tryst” comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting. Further, a tryst taking place at lunchtime is sometimes referred to as a nooner.

A rendezvous is a meeting. The noun used in English comes from the French phrase “rendez vous” meaning “present yourselves”.

59D Cul-de-__ : SAC

Even though “cul-de-sac” can indeed mean “bottom-of-the-bag” in French, the term “cul-de-sac” is of English origin. The term was introduced in aristocratic circles at a time when it was considered very fashionable to speak French. Dead-end streets in France are usually signposted with just a symbol and no accompanying words, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”.

60D “Beetlejuice” director Burton : TIM

Movie director and producer Tim Burton makes my least favorite type of movie: dark, gothic, horror fantasies. The list of his titles includes “Edward Scissorhands”, “Sleepy Hollow”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Alice in Wonderland”. Also included in each of these movies is Johnny Depp in a starring role, as Depp and Burton are good friends and frequent collaborators. Another frequent star in Burton movies is English actress Helena Bonham Carter, who has been his domestic partner since 2001.

“Beetlejuice” is a 1988 comedy-horror film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the title role. Beetlejuice is an underworld character who tries to scare away the new inhabitants of a house that is haunted by the ghosts of a deceased couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis).

62D Prefix with meter : ODO-

An odometer measures distance traveled. “Odometer comes from the Greek “hodos” meaning “path” and “metron” meaning “measure”.