LA Times Crossword 9 Sep 25, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Amie Walker & Amanda Rafkin

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Jump Around

The bulk of the letters in the themed answers each have a synonym of “JUMP” AROUND them:

• 59A House of Pain hit that begins “Pack it up, pack it in,” and a description of each set of circled letters : JUMP AROUND

• 17A Sweet apple cultivar from Minnesota : HONEYCRISP (HO-P around)
• 25A Enjoy a clothes-free swim : SKINNY-DIP (SK-IP around)
• 36A Common Banksy technique : SPRAY-PAINTING (SPR-ING around)
• 48A Buttery cookie made with citrus zest : LEMON SNAP (LE-AP around)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15A Ballet-inspired fitness class : BARRE

Barre is a form of exercise that uses a ballet barre and incorporates classical moves from the world of ballet. The barre program dates back to 1959 when ballerina Lotte Berk introduced it in London.

17A Sweet apple cultivar from Minnesota : HONEYCRISP (HO-P around)

The honeycrisp apple cultivar was developed at the University of Minnesota and released to the market in 1991. Among other traits, it is known for its juiciness. Apparently, more cells are ruptured, releasing juice, when biting into a honeycrisp compared to other apples.

20A TV series pts. : EPS

Episode (ep.)

22A Pedometer unit : STEP

A pedometer is an instrument worn by a runner or walker that measures the number of steps taken. The name of the device comes from “pes”, the Latin for “foot”.

23A Seattle WNBA team : STORM

The Seattle Storm started competing in the WNBA at the beginning of the 2000 season. The team name “Storm” is a reference to Seattle’s reputation as a rain-soaked city.

31A Statler and Waldorf, e.g. : DUO

Statler and Waldorf are two Muppets who are very fond of heckling other characters (especially Fozzie Bear) on “The Muppet Show” while sitting in their box seats in a theater. They are a cantankerous pair, and were named for the Statler Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria hotels in New York City.

34A Boca Raton’s st. : FLA

The name of the city of Boca Raton in Florida translates from Spanish as “Mouse Mouth”. There doesn’t seem to be a definitive etymology of the name but one plausible explanation is a nautical one. “Boca”, as well as meaning “mouth” can mean “inlet”. “Ratón”, as well as meaning “mouse” was also used to describe rocks that chewed away at a ship’s anchor cable. So possibly Boca Raton was named for a rocky inlet.

35A Chrysalis : PUPA

A pupa is a stage in the life of some insects. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. Pupae can look like little dolls, hence the name. “Pupa” is the Latin for “doll”.

A chrysalis is the pupal stage of a butterfly. It is similar to a “cocoon”, the silk case that a moth larva spins around its pupa. The word “chrysalis” comes from the Ancient Greek word “chrysós” meaning “gold”, a reference to the metallic-gold coloration of many butterfly pupae.

36A Common Banksy technique : SPRAY-PAINTING (SPR-ING around)

Banksy is an English graffiti artist who is noted for his contempt of the British government for condemning his work as vandalism. Banksy’s work can fetch a pretty penny at auction. No one seems to know for sure who Banksy actually is …

40A Landlocked Asian country : LAOS

The present-day nation of Laos can trace its roots back to the historic Lao kingdom of Lan Xang that existed from 1354 to 1707. The full name of the kingdom was “Lan Xang Hom Khao”, which translates as “The Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol”.

42A Laverne of “Orange Is the New Black” : COX

Actress Laverne Cox’s big break came with the role Sophia Burset on the hit show “Orange is the New Black”. The Burset character is a trans woman and, in flashbacks on the show, the pre-transition Burset is portrayed by Laverne’s identical twin brother Reginald, known by the stage name M Lamar. In 2018, Laverne became the first openly transgender woman to make the cover of a “Cosmopolitan” magazine, and is also the first openly transgender woman to have a wax figure representation of herself in Madame Tussauds.

52A V-sign sentiment : PEACE

One has to be careful making that V-sign depending where you are in the world. Where I came from, the V-for-victory (or peace) sign has to be made with the palm facing outwards. If the sign is made with the palm facing inwards, it can be interpreted as a very obscene gesture. Apparently, the latter originated from a gesture used by English archers in the Battle of Agincourt.

54A Linus’s sister : LUCY

In Charles Schulz’s fabulous comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, and who operates a psychiatric booth that looks like a lemonade stand. Then there is Linus, Lucy’s younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly, there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.

59A House of Pain hit that begins “Pack it up, pack it in,” and a description of each set of circled letters : JUMP AROUND

House of Pain was a hip hop trio that formed in the early 1990s. The group’s name is a direct reference to the H.G. Wells novel “The Island of Dr. Moreau”. “House of Pain” is the laboratory in which Dr. Moreau performs his vivisection experiments on animals to turn them into the Beast Folk. Yikes …

62A Pop singer Sands : EVIE

Evie Sands is a singer from Brooklyn, New York. She is also a noted songwriter, having penned songs that have been recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt and Dusty Springfield.

63A Thin woodwinds : OBOES

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

Down

3D “MMMBop” boy band : HANSON

Hanson’s 1997 hit “MMMBop” was a single released from their first studio album “Middle of Nowhere”. This was the second version released of the song, as it also featured, with a very different sound and slower tempo, on Hanson’s independent album “MMMBop” released the prior year.

4D Scrape (by) : EKE

The verb “to eke” originally meant “to increase” or “to lengthen.” This old meaning survives in the etymology of another common word: “nickname”. This term was once “eke-name”, meaning “additional name”, before the letter N was mistakenly attached to the front of the word.

5D Pre-K song subject : ABCS

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K)

12D “Young ears are listening” : KEEP IT PG

The Motion Picture Association’s (MPA) film-rating system (PG-13, R, etc.) is purely voluntary and is not backed by any law. Movie theaters agree to abide by the rules that come with the MPA ratings in exchange for access to new movies.

18D World’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments : YAMAHA

The Japanese company Yamaha started out way back in 1888 as a manufacturer of pianos and reed organs. Even though the company has diversified since then, Yamaha’s logo still reflects its musical roots. Said logo is made up of three intersecting tuning forks, and can even be seen on Yamaha motorcycles and ATVs.

22D __-Caps candy : SNO

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. They have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

26D Savory breakfast cake of South India : IDLI

Idli (also “idly”) are savory rice cakes in the cuisine from the Indian subcontinent. The cakes are made from de-husked, fermented black lentils incorporated into a batter and then steamed.

30D Inuit boats : KAYAKS

There is a type of boat used by Inuit people called a “kayak”. The term “kayak” means “man’s boat”, whereas “umiak” means “woman’s boat”.

The Inuit people live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada. A member of the Inuit people is known as an “Inuk”.

34D Avocado’s abundance : FAT

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

35D __ cut: cropped style : PIXIE

The pixie cut is a hairstyle that is relatively short at the back and sides compared to the top. Famous examples of women wearing the cut are Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday”, Twiggy for much of the 1960s, Goldie Hawn on the TV show “Laugh-In” and Halle Berry in the Bond film “Die Another Day”.

36D Marriage equality anthem by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis : SAME LOVE

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were a hip-hop duo from Seattle who were active from 2009 to 2017. “Macklemore” is the stage name of rap artist Benjamin Haggerty. Ryan Lewis is a record producer and DJ. The cover artwork for the single features a photograph of Macklemore’s uncle and his husband. During the song’s performance at the 56th Grammy Awards, Queen Latifah officiated the weddings of 33 same-sex and opposite-sex couples live on stage.

37D Taylor Swift genre : POP MUSIC

Taylor Swift is the first musician to become a billionaire primarily from her music and performances, including songwriting, touring, and her music catalog. There are other billionaire musicians, but they didn’t make their fortunes solely through music. For example, Rihanna made her fortune primarily from a cosmetics company, and Jay-Z built his wealth through a diverse business portfolio in addition to his music.

46D Like a situationship : CASUAL

The slang term “situationship” has been coined to describe a midpoint in a romantic relationship between dating and not dating. The couple have mutual feelings for each other, but those feelings are not clearly defined.

47D Light fixture on a wall : SCONCE

A sconce is a light fixture that today uses electric bulbs, but in the past used candles and torches. The defining feature of a sconce is that it is supported by a wall and does not have a base that stands on the ground. Usually the light is indirect, projected upwards towards the ceiling.

58D “__ making a list … ” : HE’S

The Christmas song “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” was introduced to us in November of 1934 on Eddie Cantor’s radio show. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie.

60D Purple yam : 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?!