LA Times Crossword 4 Nov 25, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Robert S. Gard

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Photo Finish

Themed answers all FINISH with a synonym of “PHOTO”:

• 62A Close call in a race, or what the answer to each starred clue has : PHOTO FINISH

• 17A *Belt taken with lime and salt : TEQUILA SHOT
• 24A *Challenge for an antsy toddler : SITTING STILL
• 39A *Problematic backward pass in football : BAD SNAP
• 51A *Spotted pattern on faux fur, say : LEOPARD PRINT

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

Bill’s time: 7m 19s

Bill’s errors: 2

• IMGUR (Imbur)
• GAH! (bah!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Blue Ribbon lager : PABST

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is the most recognizable brand of beer from the Pabst Brewing Company. There appears to be some dispute over whether or not Pabst beer ever won a “blue ribbon” prize, but the company claims that it did so at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The beer was originally called Pabst Best Select, and then just Pabst Select. With the renaming to Blue Ribbon, the beer was sold with an actual blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle until it was dropped in 1916 and incorporated into the label.

6A Source of some memes : IMGUR

Imgur is an online hosting service that was founded in 2009 as a more user-friendly alternative to the cluttered image hosts of the time. It was initially conceived as a “gift to Reddit” by a computer science student at Ohio University. The name “Imgur” is a portmanteau of “image” and “ur” (you’re), and a nod to its original purpose of being “your image” host.

17A *Belt taken with lime and salt : TEQUILA SHOT

There is a claim that the salt, tequila, and lime ritual originated during the 1930s Spanish Flu epidemic. The claim is that doctors in Northern Mexico suggested the combination as a remedy for the disease. A more plausible suggestion is that the ritual arose in the mid-20th century, when it was used to make lower-quality tequilas more palatable for the American market.

28A Mapped biological sequence : GENOME

The genome is all the hereditary information needed to reproduce an organism, in other words, all of its chromosomes. When scientists unravel the human genome, it takes up an awful lot of computer storage space, and yet all of this information is in almost every cell in our bodies. Each and every cell “knows” how to make a whole human being.

38A Jaguar competitor : BMW

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

Auto manufacturer Jaguar started out as a manufacturer of sidecars for motorcycles back in 1922, when the company was known as the Swallow Sidecar Company (SS for short). The company changed its name to Jaguar after WWII, because of the unfortunate connotations of the letters “SS” in that era (i.e. the Nazi paramilitary organization).

39A *Problematic backward pass in football : BAD SNAP

The quarterback (QB) starts each play in football with a snap (also called a “hike”). He announces to his teammates the exact moment of the snap by calling out signals, usually including the word “hut” one or more times in a prearranged sequence.

45A Fix, at the vet : SPAY

Our verb “to spay”, meaning “to surgically remove the ovaries of” (an animal), comes from an old Anglo-French word “espeier” meaning “to cut with a sword”.

46A Piano exercise : ETUDE

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

51A *Spotted pattern on faux fur, say : LEOPARD PRINT

The spots on spotted animals such as leopards and jaguars are arranged in groups. Those grouped spots are termed “rosettes”. The spotted patterns on such animals are unique to each individual.

67A Jaguar competitor : LEXUS

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota. Lexus cars were originally developed as part of a top-secret project within Toyota that was code-named “F1” (Flagship One). The goal was to create a luxury car that could compete with the best in the world.

71A Actor/activist Davis : OSSIE

Ossie Davis was a prominent actor and civil rights activist. He married his wife, fellow actor Ruby Dee, in 1948. They remained together until his death in 2005, making their marriage one of the longest-lasting in Hollywood history. Davis was a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, and a close friend of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Davis delivered a powerful eulogy at Malcolm X’s funeral in 1965.

Down

7D Soccer star Lionel : MESSI

Lionel “Leo” Messi is a soccer player from Argentina. Before becoming a global superstar, a 13-year-old Messi was so impressive during a tryout that FC Barcelona’s sporting director immediately drew up his first contract on a paper napkin because no other paper was available. That napkin was later auctioned off for nearly $1 million.

9D GI show gp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

11D Spot to order bangers and mash : BRITISH PUB

Sausages are often referred to as bangers on the other side of the pond. The term “banger” is a reference to the tendency of the sausage to burst open with a bang while cooking. The rather tasty dish called bangers and mash is traditional British fare and comprises sausages with mashed potatoes, and smothered in brown gravy. Yum …

23D “Pronto!” : STAT!

The Spanish and Italian (and now English) word “pronto” is derived from the Latin “promptus” meaning “ready, quick”.

25D Film buff’s online resource : IMDB

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website was launched in 1990, and is now owned by Amazon.com. It’s a great site for answering questions one has about movies and actors.

26D Doofus : NINNY

“Doofus” (also “dufus”) is student slang that has been around since the sixties. Apparently the word is a variant of the equally unattractive term “doo-doo”.

27D Spanish painter Francisco : GOYA

Goya’s full name was Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. He was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker, considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is often called the “last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns”.

28D “Welcome Back, Kotter” actor Kaplan : GABE

Comedian and actor Gabe Kaplan is known more for his poker playing these days. As an actor, he played the title character in the seventies sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter”. He started winning poker tournaments in the 1980s, and started working as a TV commentator for poker events in the 1990s.

“Welcome Back, Kotter” is a sitcom from the late seventies. The title character is a teacher at Buchanan High, one Gabe Kotter who himself had attended the school as a student. Kotter teaches a remedial class of students who call themselves the Sweathogs. In fact, Kotter had himself been a founder of the Sweathogs, when he was a student in the same class. Kotter was played by Gabe Kaplan. One of the prominent students in his class Vinnie Barbarino played by a young John Travolta, a role that launched his film career. In recent years you might have seen Gabe Kaplan as co-host of the popular show “High Stakes Poker” on GSN.

29D Stone of “Poor Things” : 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 …

“Poor Things” is a 2023 big-screen adaptation of a 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. It is set in Victorian London, with Emma Stone playing the lead, Bella Baxter. Baxter has the body of an adult woman, but the mind of a fetus whose brain was transplanted into the adult woman. This one sounds very, very trippy …

33D Hybrid grad program for physician-scientists : MD-PHD

Physician-scientists can earn a double doctoral degree known as a Doctorate of Medicine and of Philosophy (MD-PhD).

34D Loose __ goose : AS A

Something described as loosey-goosey is extremely relaxed, very loose.

37D Dunk Club cookie : OREO

There is an “official” competition involving Oreo cookies, in case anyone is interested in participating. A competitor has to take several steps to finish an OREO Lick Race:

1. Twist open the cookie.
2. Lick each half clean of creme.
3. Show the clean cookie halves to the fellow competitors.
4. Dunk the cookie halves in a glass of milk.
5. Eat the cookie halves.
6. Drink the milk.
7. Ready, set, go …

40D Subj. for Neil deGrasse Tyson : ASTR

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who is noted for his ability to communicate science to the masses. Tyson is well known for his appearances on the great PBS show “Nova”.

41D Low-level worker : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

47D Big name in pizza snacks : TOTINO’S

Totino’s brand of frozen pizza was founded by Rose and Jim Totino, a married couple who had been running a take-out pizzeria in Minneapolis since 1951.

52D “The Buccaneers” writer Wharton : EDITH

Edith Wharton’s final novel, “The Buccaneers”, was left unfinished at the time of her death in 1937. It was published posthumously in its incomplete form. A full version, based on her detailed outline, was eventually completed by author Marion Mainwaring in 1993, more than 50 years after Wharton’s passing.

60D Croc, e.g. : SHOE

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I bought a pair of crocs, and then my kids said they would stop talking to me …

63D Malicious spell : HEX

“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

64D __Clean: stain remover : OXI

OxiClean is a bleaching agent and cleaner that was famously marketed using infomercials that featured the late Billy Mays.

65D Texter’s “I’d say” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)