LA Times Crossword 10 Sep 25, Wednesday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Alex Stoneman

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Sporty Types

Themed answers are all common phrases reinterpreted as sports engaged in by parties cited in the corresponding clues:

• 17A Boat sport for pilots? : FLIGHT CREW
• 24A Beach sport for the self-absorbed? : EGOSURFING
• 35A Running sport for academics? : TENURE TRACK
• 49A Cue sport for children? : KIDDIE POOL
• 58A Combat sport for really tired people? : BEATBOXING

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

Bill’s time: 6m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Drink with marshmallows : COCOA

The beverages hot cocoa and hot chocolate differ from each other in that the latter contains cocoa butter, whereas the former does not.

Marshmallow was originally made from a paste from the root of the mallow plant. The mallow plant grows near salt marshes, and is sometimes called the “marsh mallow”. Hence the name of the confection. Interesting, but unexpected …

6A Long-legged birds : EMUS

The large flightless birds called emus make sounds by manipulating inflatable neck-sacs. The sac is about a foot long, has a thin wall and allows the bird to emit a booming sound. The type of sound emitted is the easiest way to differentiate between male and female emus.

15A Mars rover org. : NASA

There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. The British rover Beagle 2 was lost six days before its scheduled entry into the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and operated for over fourteen years. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today. Based on the Curiosity design, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021, along with the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity. The China National Space Administration landed its first rover, named Zhurong (“Rover” in English), five months after Perseverance started its mission on the planet.

16A Play charades, e.g. : MIME

In the parlor game known as charades, players take turns acting out words or phrases. “Charade” is a French word describing a literary puzzle that was popular in 18th-century France. In said game, the word or phrase was broken into its constituent syllables, with each syllable being described somewhat enigmatically. This puzzle evolved into “acted charades”, which we now refer to simply as “charades”.

17A Boat sport for pilots? : FLIGHT CREW

Competitive team rowing is sometimes referred to as “crew”. The narrow boat used in the sport is called a shell.

22A Xenon, for one : GAS

The element xenon was the first of the noble gases to be made into a compound, which was somewhat remarkable in that the noble gases were thought by many to be completely inert, unreactive.

32A “Bleeding Love” singer Lewis : LEONA

“Bleeding Love” is a 2007 song released by British singer Leona Lewis. The song had remarkable success around the world, and became only the second record to reach number-one in the charts in 35 countries. The first song to achieve that record was “Candle in the Wind 1997” by Elton John.

33A Younger 51-Down daughter : SASHA

Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, having been born in 2001. She was the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

35A Running sport for academics? : TENURE TRACK

A job in a university that is described as “tenure-track” is one that can lead to a tenured position. A tenured position is a “job for life”. A person with tenure can only be dismissed for cause.

39A Tactics, in gamerspeak : STRAT

The terms “strategy” and “tactic” are often confused. In the original frame of reference, namely war, strategy is decided prior to battle. Tactics are implemented during the battle, and are consistent with the strategy.

40A Notre Dame Fighting __ : IRISH

The athletic teams of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana are known as the Fighting Irish. There are several debated etymologies for the moniker “Fighting Irish”, with the most generally accepted being that it was applied by the press in the 1920s, reflecting the team’s fighting spirit and grit, determination and tenacity. I guess “grit, determination and tenacity” are characteristics often associated with the Irish.

43A Nail salon brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film. Opi also launched a collection of nail lacquers inspired by the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” in celebration of its 10th anniversary on Broadway.

47A Stressful parts of French class? : ACCENTS

In French, accents over the letter E can be acute (é, “accent aigu”) or grave (è, “accent grave”).

49A Cue sport for children? : KIDDIE POOL

The more correct name for the game of pool is “pocket billiards”. The designation “pool” arose after pocket billiards became a common feature in “pool halls”, places where gamblers “pooled” their money to bet on horse races.

53A Like Machu Picchu : INCAN

Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and it can be visited on a mountain ridge in Peru, 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco in the southeast of the country. The name Machu Picchu means “old peak”. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu originates about 50 miles from Cusco on the Urubamba River in Peru. It can take travelers about 5 days to trek the full length of the trail, passing through many Incan ruins before reaching the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The trail was becoming greatly overused, forcing the Peruvian government to limit the number of people on the trail each day to 500. Book early …

54A Ogres : BRUTES

An ogre is a monster of mythology and folktales that has the appearance of a man, and which eats human beings. The term “ogre” comes to us via French from the name of the Etruscan god Orcus, who feasted on the flesh of humans.

58A Combat sport for really tired people? : BEAT BOXING

Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion in which a performer primarily mics a drum machine. Today, beatboxing is largely associated with hip-hop music, although similar forms of vocal percussion have been around for a while. Actor Gert Fröbe, famous for playing Bond villain Auric Goldfinger, did some pseudo-beatboxing in the 1965 movie “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines”.

63A Oscar winner Stone : EMMA

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. She really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

64A “Zoom-Zoom” automaker : MAZDA

“Zoom-zoom” is a catchphrase used by the automaker Mazda. Mazda is based in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The ballpark where the Hiroshima baseball team plays was for many years known as the MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium.

Down

1D Half-__: coffee spec : CAF

The first successful process for removing caffeine from coffee involved steaming the beans in salt water, and then extracting the caffeine using benzene (a potent carcinogen) as a solvent. Coffee processed this way was sold as Sanka here in the US. There are other processes used these days, and let’s hope they are safer …

2D One who gives a hoot : OWL

Owls have 14 vertebrae in their necks (compared to our 7). The extra bones in the neck, along with other adaptations allow owls to rotate the head and neck about 270 degrees.

4D Challenging chem course : ORGO

Organic chemistry (“Orgo”)

By one definition, an organic chemical is a compound containing carbon-hydrogen and/or carbon-carbon bonds. A more broad definition is that a chemical containing carbon is classed as organic. Back in the mid-1600s, anything described as “organical” related to the body and its organs. In the early 1800s, the phrase “organic chemistry” was coined to describe the study of compounds derived from living things, from nature.

5D Ritalin target, for short : ADHD

Ritalin is a trade name for the drug methylphenidate that is used for treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy. Methylphenidate has a similar structure and similar properties to the drug cocaine, although it is less potent.

7D “That Girl” star Thomas : MARLO

Marlo Thomas’s most famous role was playing the title character in the television sitcom “That Girl”. Thomas is also well known as a spokesperson for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“That Girl” was a sitcom that ran in the late 1960s and early 1970s starring Marlo Thomas in the title role, an aspiring actress trying to make it in New York City. It was a pioneering show, featuring an unmarried woman as a lead character, something very much associated with “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that started airing a few years after the debut of “That Girl”.

10D Blue character in a mushroom-shaped house : SMURF

The Smurfs are little blue people created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist who went by the pen name Peyo. The Smurfs became famous in the US when Hanna-Barbera used them in a children’s cartoon series. The characters are largely a group of males. The original lineup included just one “Smurfette”, who is wooed by almost all of the boy Smurfs. Later, another female was introduced into the mix called Sassette, and still later along came Granny Smurf.

11D Hit the jackpot : WIN BIG

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”.

13D First president’s first name : GEORGE

The famous story about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree as a child has been shown to be fiction. He supposedly was confronted by his father after taking an axe to a tree and confessed with the words, “I’m sorry father, I cannot tell a lie”. Not true …

23D Renaissance faire beverage : ALE

A Renaissance faire (Ren faire) is an outdoor public event in which many participants recreate historical settings by dressing in costume. Usually held in North America, many such fairs are set during the English Renaissance, and more particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The definition of “Renaissance” is often stretched quite a bit, with fairs also set during the reign of Henry VIII, and maybe even during medieval times.

25D Solange’s “A __ at the Table” : SEAT

“A Seat at the Table” is a 2016 album released by Solange (aka Solange Knowles, sister of Beyoncé Knowles). It was destined to become the singer-songwriters first #1 album, topping the Billboard 200.

26D KGB country : USSR

The “Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti” (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

28D Binary digits : ONES

We use a base-ten numbering system, with ten digits (0 – 9). The binary system, or base-two, uses just two digits (0 & 1). The binary system is used at a fundamental level in computing, because the number 0 and 1 can be represented by microcircuits being switched “on” or “off”.

36D Michael of “Shrinking” : URIE

Actor Michael Urie caught the public’s eye for his supporting roles on television: Marc St. James in “Ugly Betty” and Brian in “Shrinking”.

“Shrinking” is a comedy-drama series co-created by and starring Jason Segel. He plays a therapist who breaches ethical principles by intervening in their lives in order to help them solve their problems. Segal’s character works with a senior therapist played by Harrison Ford. Good stuff, I thought …

41D “Rugrats” dad : STU

Tommy Pickles is the protagonist on the Nickelodeon cartoon show “Rugrats”. Dil Pickles is Tommy’s younger brother, and Tommy and Dil’s parents are Didi and Stu.

42D Pres. after FDR : HST

Harry Truman wanted to go to West Point having served with the Missouri Army National Guard on active duty in WWI, but he couldn’t get in because of his poor eyesight. Young Truman didn’t have the money to pay for college anywhere else. He did manage to study for two years towards a law degree at the Kansas City Law School in the twenties, but he never finished his schooling. So, Harry S. Truman was the last US President (out of a list of ten) who did not have a college degree.

44D ATM input instrument : PIN PAD

One enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Given that the N in PIN stands for “number”, then “PIN number” is a redundant phrase. And, given that the M in ATM stands for “machine”, then “ATM machine” is a redundant phrase as well. Grr …!

45D Proof of legal age, often : ID CARD

Identity document (ID)

47D Like some matters of the heart? : AORTAL

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. It carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Even though it is a single vessel, it is divided into four main sections: the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, the thoracic aorta, and the abdominal aorta.

48D __ sandwich : CLUB

The club sandwich is a double-decker affair with three layers of bread and two layers of filling. This style of sandwich has been around since the end of the 19th century, and some say it was invented at an exclusive gambling “club” in Saratoga Springs, New York.

50D Actor DeVito : DANNY

Danny DeVito’s big break as an actor came with the role of Louie De Palma on the sitcom “Taxi”. After parlaying his success on television into some major comic roles on the big screen, DeVito turned to producing. He co-founded the production company Jersey Films which made hit movies such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Garden State”. DeVito has been married to actress Rhea Perlman for well over 30 years.

51D First president born after 1960 : OBAMA

Despite rumors to the contrary, Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. Future US President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.

55D __ of Maine: personal care brand : TOM’S

Tom’s of Maine is a brand of personal-care products that emphasizes the use of natural ingredients and that does not test products on animals. The brand was introduced when Tom and Kate Chappell started their own company in Kennebunk, Maine in 1970. I’m a big fan of Tom’s lavender-scented deodorant …

59D My Chemical Romance genre : EMO

My Chemical Romance was an alternative rock band from Jersey City that was active from 2001 to 2013. One of the band members suggested the name, after noticing the title of the book “Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance” by Irvine Welsh.

60D Secret-protecting doc : NDA

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

61D Long-jawed fish : GAR

“Gar” was originally the name given to a species of needlefish found in the North Atlantic. The term “gar” is now used to describe several species of fish with elongated bodies that inhabit North and Central America and the Caribbean. The gar is unusual in that it is often found in very brackish water. What I find interesting is that the gar’s swim bladders are vascularized so that they can actually function as lungs. Many species of gar can actually be seen coming to the surface and taking a gulp of air. This adaptation makes it possible for them to live in conditions highly unsuitable for other fish that rely on their gills to get oxygen out of the water. Indeed, quite interesting …