LA Times Crossword 7 Sep 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Chandi Deitmer

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Scientific Discoveries

Themed answers are common phrases, but with the SURPRISING insertion of a chemical ELEMENT:

• 112A Unexpected twist, or what’s found in the answers to the starred clues : ELEMENT OF SURPRISE

• 22A *Cowardly Lion or Scarecrow, probably? : TIN MAN’S BEST FRIEND (tin + “man’s best friend”)
• 33A *Question on a history test about westward migration in the 1840s? : WHY THE BIG GOLD RUSH (gold + “why the big rush?”)
• 49A *Surviving Victorian society, for a Dickens character? : COPPERFIELD GOAL (copper + “field goal”)
• 65A *Useful download for archaeologists? : CARBON DATING APP (carbon + “dating app”)
• 87A *Plea for a way to advertise a business that is open all night? : GIVE ME A NEON SIGN (neon + “give me a sign”)
• 100A *Primate habitat banner when the zoo acquires a new gorilla? : WELCOME SILVERBACK (silver + “welcome back”)

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

Bill’s time: 14m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11A One who’s crossed a line? : SCAB

We first started calling strikebreakers scabs in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word “scab” probably comes from the use of “scab” as a symptom of a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.

15A Old AOL missives : IMS

Even though instant messaging (sending and receiving IMs) has been around since the 1960s, it was AOL who popularized the term “instant message” in the eighties and nineties. The “AOL Instant Message” service was known as AIM.

18A How crêpe suzette is served : FLAMBE

“Flambé” is the French word for “flamed”, and was originally a term used to describe certain types of porcelain. The word “flambé” crept into cookery just after 1900.

Crêpe Suzette has to be my favorite dessert, although I haven’t dared to eat it in a long time. If you haven’t tried it before, you just have to indulge yourself when you get the chance. It is a pancake served with a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, as well as orange juice and Grand Marnier. The dish is brought to your table with the alcohol flaming spectacularly.

20A __ platter : PUPU

In Hawaiian, “pupu” is a word originally meaning “snail”. Nowadays “pupu” denotes many different types of food that are usually served as hors d’oeuvres. A “pupu platter” is a selection of such foods served in a Hawaiian restaurant.

21A Wray of “King Kong” : FAY

Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress who is best known for her starring role in the classic 1933 film “King Kong”. When Wray passed away at the age of 96 in 2004, the lights of the Empire State Building were extinguished for 15 minutes. That fine gesture was a nod to the celebrated Empire State Building scene in “King Kong”.

1933’s “King Kong” really is a classic. It stars Fay Wray as the young woman (Ann Darrow) with whom Kong falls in love. Wray was very interested in the role as she was told that she would be playing opposite the “tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood”. She thought it might be Clark Gable. At least, that’s how the story goes …

22A *Cowardly Lion or Scarecrow, probably? : TIN MAN’S BEST FRIEND (tin + “man’s best friend”)

The movie “The Wizard of Oz” is full of irony. The Scarecrow wants to be intelligent and discovers he is already very smart. The Tin Man wants to be able to love and finds out that he already has a heart. The Lion thinks he is a coward but turns out to be fearless. And the big reveal is that the Wizard of Oz, who is positioned as all-powerful, is actually just a bumbling and eccentric old man.

26A Feminine concept in Taoism : YIN

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

28A MMA decision : TKO

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

29A Hit the jackpot : WIN

The term “jackpot” dates back to the 1800s and comes from the game of poker. In some variants there are progressive antes. This means that players have to ante up, add to the “pot”, when no player has a pair of “jacks” or better. They build a “jackpot”.

30A Kevlar creator : DUPONT

Kevlar is a remarkably strong synthetic fiber that was introduced by DuPont in 1965. The material was developed as a lightweight substitute for steel. Kevlar fits the bill, as an equal weight of the synthetic fiber is five times stronger than the alloy. One of the downsides of Kevlar is that its strength degrades when exposed to sunlight.

32A Marina del __, California : REY

Marina del Rey is a coastal community in California located within the borders of the City of Los Angeles. Marina del Rey is home to the world’s largest harbor for small craft, with a capacity for 5,300 boats.

33A *Question on a history test about westward migration in the 1840s? : WHY THE BIG GOLD RUSH (gold + “why the big rush?”)

The California gold rush actually started in 1848. The first to exploit the find were those people already in California. By 1849 the word had spread and gold-seekers started to arrive from all over the world. The “out-of-towners” who arrived in 1849 became known as forty-niners.

42A Used a “Safe!” word? : UMPED

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.

44A Kapoor of Hindi cinema : ANIL

Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor who is probably best known in North America for playing the game show host in the 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire”. He also played the president of the fictional nation of Kamistan in the eighth season of the hit TV show “24”.

47A Actress Kate or Rooney : MARA

Kate Mara is an actress who plays a lead character in the US TV series “House of Cards”. She got her big break with a supporting role in the 2005 Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain, in which she played Heath Ledger’s daughter, despite being only four years younger than Ledger. Kate is the sister of fellow actress Rooney Mara, who played the lead in the American version of the film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

Actress Rooney Mara is noted for her role in the 2010 film “The Social Network” and for playing the title character in the 2011 hit movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Mara has American football in her blood. Her mother’s family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, and her father’s family founded the New York Giants.

49A *Surviving Victorian society, for a Dickens character? : COPPERFIELD GOAL (copper + “field goal”)

“David Copperfield” is the eighth novel penned by English author Charles Dickens, first published in serial form from 1848 to 1849. The novel is seen as a somewhat autobiographical work, with many characters and events mirrored in Dickens’ own life.

53A Tinkered (with) : TOYED

To tinker with something is to adjust or experiment with it. Back in the late 1500’s, “to tinker” was “to work as a tinker”. In those days, a tinker was someone who mended pots and pans.

58A __ trombone : SAD

The so-called “sad trombone” sound is used a lot in game shows to indicate that a player is losing. It’s that plaintive “wah wah” sound.

65A *Useful download for archaeologists? : CARBON DATING APP (carbon + “dating app”)

Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is found in nature in small amounts. Carbon-14 is used in the technique known as radiocarbon dating, a relatively accurate way of determining the age of something up to about 60,000 years old. When an organism is alive, the amount of radioactive carbon-14 it has compared to the amount of regular carbon-12, is a fixed ratio. After the organism dies, it is no longer exchanging carbon with the atmosphere through metabolism. So, the stable carbon-12 stays in the body as it rots but the radioactive carbon-14 gradually decays, causing the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 to fall. Scientists can determine the age of remains by measuring this carbon-14/carbon-12 ratio.

73A Preternatural glow : AURA

Our term “preternatural” comes from the Latin phrase “praeter naturam (praeterque fatum)” meaning “beyond nature (and beyond fate)”. “Preternatural” differs from “supernatural” in that the former describes something natural that has qualities beyond what is expected from nature alone. The latter describes something uncanny, caused by a force beyond the natural. For example, one might describe Mozart as preternatural, whereas a ghost would be described as supernatural.

75A Parliament members? : OWLS

Here are some colorful collective nouns:

• A pride of lions
• A shrewdness of apes
• A cloud of bats
• A bench of bishops
• A parliament of owls
• A clowder of cats
• A waddling of ducks
• An army of frogs
• A knot of toads

80A Font option : ITALIC

Italic type leans to the right, and is often used to provide emphasis in text. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

84A Mule, e.g. : SHOE

A mule is a shoe without a back and usually with a closed toe. The original mule was a shoe worn by the highest magistrates in ancient Rome.

91A “Storage __”: reality TV show : WARS

“Storage Wars” is a reality TV show about buyers looking for great deals when storage lockers are opened and the contents auctioned off due to non-payment of rent.

93A Omar of “House” : 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.

95A Many a soda can : POP-TOP

The term “pop-top” refers to a whole family of designs for opening the top of a soda can. The oldest method is the “pull tab” or “ring pull”, invented in Canada in 1956. The design was long-lived, but it had its problems, so the world heaved a sigh of relief with the invention of the stay-on-tab in 1975. The new design led to less injuries and eliminated all those used pull tabs that littered the streets.

98A Tundra or taiga : BIOME

I tend to think of “biome” as another word for “ecosystem”.

Tundra is an ecosystem that is treeless, or very nearly so. There are three types of tundra. Arctic and Antarctic tundra can’t support the growth of trees as the ground is pretty much frozen. Alpine tundra cannot support tree-growth due to high altitude.

The word “taiga” is used for an ecosystem largely covered in coniferous forests that exists in northern regions around the world. “Taiga” is Mongolian in origin, and is sometimes used interchangeably with “boreal forest”.

100A *Primate habitat banner when the zoo acquires a new gorilla? : WELCOME SILVERBACK (silver + “welcome back”)

Adult male gorillas are commonly called silverbacks, a reference to the silver hair that runs down their backs. Gorillas live in groups called troops. Each troop usually has one silverback who runs the show, with several adult females and their offspring.

107A Glinda portrayer : ARIANA

“Wicked” (2024) is the first installment of a two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, and shows the events that lead them to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. I skipped this one, because I am scared of flying monkeys …

109A Computing pioneer Lovelace : ADA

Ada Lovelace’s real name and title was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes, she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”. There is a computer language called “Ada” that was named in her honor. The Ada language was developed from 1977 to 1983 for the US Department of Defense.

110A Word in sloth names : TOED

All four of the extant species of three-toed sloths are native to South and Central America. Cousins of the three-toed sloths are the two-toed sloths, of which there are two species still living.

111A Peyton or Eli, to Archie : SON

Peyton Manning is a former NFL quarterback who played most of his professional career with the Indianapolis Colts. Manning retired at the top of his game, holding records for passing yards, touchdown passes, Pro Bowl appearances, and several other records. Peyton is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.

Eli Manning is a retired footballer who played quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titled “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

118A “Lenore” poet : POE

“Lenore” is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that was published in 1843. The name “Lenore” illustrates Poe’s penchant for using a dominant “L” sound in the names for females characters e.g. Annabel Lee, Eulalie and Ulalume. The opening lines of “Lenore” are:

AH, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll!—a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river;
And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?—weep now or nevermore!

122A Texting tech : SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is the name for the text messaging service that many of us still use on our cell phones to contact friends and family.

124A Organization that chases Carmen Sandiego : ACME

The “Carmen Sandiego” franchise is a remarkably clever and helpful series of computer games and other media that is designed to educate users (primarily children). The applications were originally designed to use an exciting espionage motif in order to expose young people to geography and history, and even math, English and other subjects.

Down

3D Sticky carnival treat : CANDY APPLE

“Candy apple” is yet another term that I had to learn when I came to the US. Candy apples are called “toffee apples” outside of North America.

5D Org. for James and Durant : NBA

Basketball player LeBron James (nicknamed “King James”) seems to be in demand for the covers of magazines. James became the first African-American man to adorn the front cover of “Vogue” in March 2008. That made him only the third male to make the “Vogue” cover, following Richard Gere and George Clooney.

Kevin Durant is a professional basketball player who started his career in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, and relocated with the team to Oklahoma City where they became the Thunder. You might come across Durant on the big screen as well, as he starred in the children’s film “Thunderstruck” in 2012.

6D Dimes, to dollars : TENTHS

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

7D Alicia Vikander’s “Ex Machina” role : ROBOT

Alicia Vikander is an actress from Sweden. She gained recognition with American audiences when she played the humanoid robot in the fascinating 2015 film “Ex Machina”. In 2018, she played the title character in the film “Tomb Raider”. Vikander is married to Irish actor Michael Fassbender.

“Ex Machina” is an intriguing science fiction movie released in 2015 about a computer programmer who is chosen to test a humanoid robot named Ava. I found this movie to be an engrossing thriller that was beautifully shot, especially the scenes filmed in Norway …

8D 1950s prez : IKE

“I Like Ike” was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.

9D “And here’s to you, __ Robinson” : MRS

When Mike Nichols was making the 1967 film “The Graduate” he apparently became obsessed with the music of Simon and Garfunkel, who were just coming into the limelight. Nichols made a deal with Paul Simon to write three songs that he could use on the soundtrack of his new movie. Simon and Garfunkel were touring constantly around that time, so Nichols had to badger Simon to hold up his end of the bargain. When Nichols was ready to lay down the film’s soundtrack there was only one commissioned song available, so Nichols had to basically beg Paul Simon for anything. Simon mentioned that he was finishing up one new song, but it wasn’t written for the film. It was more a celebration of former times, with lyrics about baseball great Joe DiMaggio and former First Lady, Mrs. Roosevelt. Nichols informed Simon that the song was no longer about Mrs. Roosevelt, and instead was about Mrs. Robinson …

11D Bit of thyme : SPRIG

In Britain and Ireland, thyme is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

13D Chimp, e.g. : APE

The common chimpanzee is a species of great ape, i.e. a member of the Hominidae family (along with gorillas, humans and orangutans). The human and chimpanzee branches of the Hominidae family tree diverged 4-6 million years ago, making the chimp our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. There is a common misconception that chimps are monkeys, but they aren’t …

17D EDM instrument : SYNTH

Electronic dance music (EDM)

23D Inner Hebrides isle : SKYE

The Isle of Skye is off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. It is the second largest island in the country, and has been linked to the mainland by a road bridge since 1995. I’ve never been there, but I hear the views are spectacular.

24D Texter’s “This might be useful” : FWIW

For what it’s worth (FWIW)

25D Getup : DUDS

“Duds” is an informal word meaning “clothing”. The term comes from the word “dudde” that was used around 1300 as the name for a cloak.

33D Like a panoramic view : WIDE

Panoramic paintings have existed for centuries, but the word “panorama” was coined around 1790 to describe an invention by the artist Robert Barker. He created an apparatus for exhibiting pictures on the inside of a cylindrical surface, allowing the viewer to stand in the middle with access to a 360-degree vista. The term comes from Greek “pan-” meaning “all” and “horama” meaning “sight, spectacle”.

34D Fruit of the Loom rival : HANES

The Hanes brand of apparel was founded in 1901. A related brand was introduced in 1986 called Hanes Her Way.

37D NFL star __ Beckham Jr. : ODELL

Odell Beckham Jr. is a National Football League wide receiver from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2014, “OBJ” made a much-applauded, one-handed catch while falling backwards to score a touchdown for the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys, a move that some have dubbed the greatest catch ever made.

42D Jackie Robinson Stadium sch. : UCLA

Jackie Robinson Stadium is the baseball stadium owned by UCLA that is home field for the UCLA Bruins. Located off-campus, the stadium was constructed using funds donated by Hoyt Pardee. Pardee and Jackie Robinson were classmates who graduated from UCLA in 1941.

45D Latissimus __: back muscle : DORSI

The muscles known as the “lats” are the “latissimi dorsi”, and are the broadest muscles in the back. “Latissimus” is Latin for “broadest”, and “dorsum” is Latin for “back”.

46D Fed. with artificial archipelagos known as the Palm Islands : UAE

The Palm Islands in Dubai are three artificial archipelagos that were constructed using 94 million cubic meters of sand dredged from deep sea beds and 5.5 million cubic meters of rock from inland quarries. The islands are shaped like palm trees, and were built to increase Dubai’s coastline, to attract more tourists.

53D U. of Maryland athlete : TERP

The sports teams of the University of Maryland (UMD) are called the Maryland Terrapins, or “Terps” for short. The name dates back to 1932 when it was coined by the university’s president at the time, Curley Byrd. He took the name from the diamondback terrapins that are native to the Chesapeake Bay.

57D Food court pizza chain : SBARRO

The Sbarro chain of pizza restaurants was founded by Italian immigrants, Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro.

64D American marsupial : OPOSSUM

Although they are both marsupials, the opossum and the possum are two distinct animals. True possums are found in Australia and other places in the South Pacific. Opossums are found in North America.

69D “Sommersby” star : GERE

Richard Gere is an American actor who is a practicing Buddhist and has been a student of the Dalai Lama for many years. He has been married three times, including his first marriage to supermodel Cindy Crawford. They were married from 1991 to 1995.

72D Subway network : METRO LINES

The Paris Métro is the busiest underground transportation system in western Europe. The network carries about 4.5 million passengers a day, which is about the same ridership as the New York City Subway. The system took its name from the company that originally operated it, namely “La Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris” (The Metropolitan Paris Railroad Company), which was shortened to “Métro”. The term “Metro” was then adopted for similar systems in cities all over the world.

77D Theater section : LOGE

In most theaters and stadiums today, “loge” is the name given to the front rows of a mezzanine level. Loge can also be used for box seating.

82D Actress Tyler : LIV

Actress and model Liv Tyler is the daughter of Steven Tyler, lead singer with Aerosmith, and Bebe Buell, a celebrated model and singer. Apparently, Buell hid the fact that Tyler was Liv’s father until Liv was 8 years old. Buell wanted to insulate her child from the rock-and-roll lifestyle. Liv Tyler plays the Elf maiden Arwen Undómiel in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

83D Rock, __, Scissors : PAPER

Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people, at least here in North America. Back in Ireland we called the game “scissors-paper-stone”, and another name encountered around the English-speaking world is “roshambo”. The game is often used as a way to choose between two options or two individuals.

86D Rescue rehoming org. : ASPCA

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

88D Game show creator Griffin : MERV

Merv Griffin was quite the entertainer, and truly a mogul in the business. He started his career as a singer on the radio during the big band era. In the sixties he hosted his own talk show, and then famously developed such great game shows as “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune”.

92D Kenya neighbor : SOMALIA

Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Sadly, the nation is noted today for a devastating civil war and for its use as a base for pirates who prey on ships passing through the Indian Ocean along the Somali coast.

Kenya lies on the east coast of Africa, right on the equator. The country takes its name from Mount Kenya, the second-highest peak on the continent (after Kilimanjaro). The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili.

97D Custard dessert : FLAN

Flan (also “crème caramel”) is a delicious dessert comprising a molded custard topped with a clear caramel sauce. The related crème brûlée is a dessert made from molded custard with a hard, burnt caramel layer on top.

98D Singer Erykah : BADU

“Erykah Badu” is the stage name of Erica Wright, an American “neo-soul” singer. Badu gained some notoriety in March of 2010 when she shot a scene for a music video in Dallas. In the scene, she walks to the spot where President Kennedy was assassinated, removing her clothes until she is nude, and then falls to the ground as if she has been shot in the head. For that stunt she was charged with disorderly conduct.

99D High-flying guy of myth : ICARUS

Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.

100D Winged stingers : WASPS

While wasps are considered a nuisance by many, they are very important to the agricultural industry. Wasps prey on many pest insects, while having very little impact on crops.

101D Pegg of “The Boys” : SIMON

Simon Pegg is an English actor and comedian who has hit the big time in Hollywood in the past few years. He played “Scotty” in a couple of “Star Trek” movies and tech wizard Benji Dunn in some of the “Mission: Impossible” films.

“The Boys” is a satirical superhero TV show based on a comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The superheroes (Supes) are marketed as heroic personae to the public, but their alter egos are corrupt and self-serving. The title characters are a CIA-sponsored black op team fighting that corruption.

102D Sherlock adversary Adler : IRENE

The character Irene Adler only appears in one of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.

105D Greek fabulist : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

115D Hobbit enemy : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

117D Oregon hrs. : PST

Pacific Standard Time (PST)