LA Times Crossword 28 Dec 25, Sunday

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: What’s the Matter?

Themed answers are all common phrases reinterpreted as kinds of MATTER:

• 22A Weighty matter? : HEAVY CREAM
• 24A Pressing matter? : FRUIT JUICE
• 47A Dark matter? : BLACK LICORICE
• 67A Small matter? : FINE PRINT
• 87A Private matter? : BASIC TRAINING
• 111A Sensitive matter? : TOUCH PANEL
• 115A Grave matter? : BURIAL SITE
• 35D Gray matter? : HUMAN ANATOMY
• 40D Laughing matter? : NITROUS OXIDE

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

Bill’s time: 15m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Caravan’s refueling spot : OASIS

A camel train carrying passengers or goods across a desert can be referred to as a caravan. “Caravan” derives from the Persian “karwan”, which has the same meaning. Over in Britain, “caravan” is the name given to travel trailers.

14A Hinge and Her : APPS

Hinge is a dating app that was launched in 2012. Apparently, a key feature of the app is the use of Facebook friends to facilitate introductions to potential matches.

Her is a dating app that serves the lesbian, bisexual, queer, non-binary, and transgender communities. It aims to provide a safe space for female-centered introductions. The app was launched in 2013, and originally titled “Dattch”, a portmanteau of “date” and “catch”, before rebranding to Her in 2015.

18A Cackling carnivore : HYENA

The spotted hyena of Sub-Saharan Africa is also known as the laughing hyena because of the sound it often makes, which resembles maniacal laughter.

19A Reebok rival : AVIA

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

26A Capri, for one : ISLE

The island of Capri off the coast of Southern Italy has been a tourist resort since the days of ancient Rome. Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto, a sea cave that is illuminated with sunlight that’s colored blue as it passes through the seawater into the cave.

30A Part of a flight : STAIR

A landing is the area at the top and bottom of a staircase. Apparently, we call the steps between the landings a “flight” of stairs, because one “flies” between landings! Can that be true?

32A Author with morals : 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.

38A Big name in orange soda : FANTA

The soft drink Fanta has quite an interesting history. As WWII approached, the Coca-Cola plant in Germany had trouble obtaining the ingredients it needed to continue production of the cola beverage, so the plant manager decided to create a new drink from what was available. The new beverage was built around whey (leftover from cheese production) and pomace (left over after juice has been extracted from fruit). The inventor asked his colleagues to use their “imagination” (“Fantasie” in German) and come up with a name for the drink, so they piped up “Fanta!”

41A Coin toss choice : TAILS

The two sides of a coin are known as the “obverse” and the “reverse”. The obverse is commonly referred to as “heads”, as it often depicts someone’s head. The reverse is commonly called “tails”, as it is the opposite of “heads”.

43A Letters before xis : NUS

Nu is the thirteenth letter in the Greek alphabet, and is the equivalent of our letter N. An uppercase nu looks just like the Latin capital N, but the lowercase nu looks like our lowercase V. Very confusing …

47A Dark matter? : BLACK LICORICE

Liquorice (also “licorice”) and aniseed have similar flavors, but they come from unrelated plants. The liquorice plant is a legume like a bean, and the sweet flavor is an extract from the roots. The flavor mainly comes from an ether compound called anethole, the same substance that gives the distinctive flavor to anise. The seedpods of the anise plant are what we know as “aniseed”. The anise seeds themselves are usually ground to release the flavor.

51A Nintendo Switch avatar : MII

Nintendo introduced customizable avatars for the company’s video game consoles starting in 1997. The first customizable avatars for the Wii system were introduced in 2006, and were given the inventive name “Miis”.

57A Wall paintings : MURALS

A mural is a painting that is applied directly to a wall or a ceiling. The term “mural” comes from the Latin “murus” meaning “wall”.

64A Copenhagen native : DANE

Copenhagen is the largest city and the capital of Denmark. I haven’t had the privilege of visiting Copenhagen, but I hear it is a wonderful metropolis with a marvelous quality of life. The city is also very environmentally friendly, with over a third of its population commuting to work by bicycle.

65A First woman, in Greek myth : PANDORA

According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. She was created by the gods, with each god bestowing on her a gift. Her name can be translated from Greek as “all-gifted”. Pandora is famous for the story of “Pandora’s Box”. The story should be about Pandora’s “Jar”,as a 16th-century error in translation created a “box” out of the “jar”. In the story of Pandora’s Box, curiosity got the better of her and she opened up a box she was meant to leave alone. As a result she released all the evils of mankind, just closing it in time to trap hope inside.

66A Skipjack, for one : TUNA

Skipjack tuna would be considered a medium-sized tuna, growing to about three feet long. Albacore tuna is a little larger.

69A Lens care brand : RENU

“ReNu” is a brand name of contact lens products sold by Bausch & Lomb.

71A Chain known for its Beauty Insider perks : SEPHORA

Sephora is a French chain of cosmetic stores, founded in 1969. The name “Sephora” is derived from the Greek for “beauty” (“sephos”). We’ve been able to visit Sephora outlets in JCPenney stores since 2006.

77A Wave radio maker : BOSE

Bose Corporation specializes in audio equipment, including headphones, speakers, and sound systems. The company was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar G. Bose, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Bose Corp. started as a research project in psychoacoustics, the study of how humans perceive sound.

80A Only country with a nonrectangular flag : NEPAL

The flag of Nepal is the only national flag in the world in the shape of two pennants (two triangles, one atop the other). It is actually the only non-rectangular national flag. Switzerland and Vatican City have square flags, but a square is a rectangle, one with sides of equal length.

85A Crepe served with sambar : DOSA

A dosa is a thin, savory pancake from South Indian cuisine. It is made using a fermented batter consisting of ground black lentils and rice. Dosas are usually served hot, and often with chutney and sambar, a lentil-based vegetable stew.

86A “Vive le __!” : ROI

“Vive le roi!” is French for “Long live the king!” “À bas le roi!” is French for “Down with the king!”, which was a phrase often heard during the French Revolution.

87A Private matter? : BASIC TRAINING

The lowest military rank of soldier is often private (pvt.). The term “private” comes from the Middle Ages when “private soldiers” were hired or conscripted by noblemen to form a “private army”. The more generic usage of “private” started in the 1700s.

93A Vietnamese New Year : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

94A “Interstellar” actress Burstyn : ELLEN

Ellen Burstyn is a wonderful actress from Detroit, Michigan. My favorite Burstyn performance is in the 1978 movie “Same Time, Next Year” opposite Alan Alda. Actually, she had appeared since 1975 in the original stage play that inspired that film. On stage, Burstyn acted opposite Charles Grodin in “Same Time, Next Year”, and won a Tony for her performance.

“Interstellar” is a sci-fi film released in 2014 with a “stellar” cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. I found “Interstellar” to be a really engaging movie, one that grabbed my attention the whole way through. That said, the ending was a little bit disappointing. I’m not one for walking out of theaters with unanswered questions …

95A Liam of One Direction : PAYNE

English singer Liam Payne rose to fame as a member of One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands in history. He was candid about his private struggles with alcoholism and mental health, often citing the pressures of achieving massive fame at a relatively young age (18, when the band produced their debut single). Tragically, Payne died at the age of 31 in 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.

101A Moth-repellent wood : CEDAR

Cedar is used for the manufacture of some wardrobes and chests as it has long been believed that the fragrant oil in the wood is a moth-repellent. However, whether or not cedar oil is actually effective at keeping moths away seems to be in doubt.

103A Recycle bin, e.g. : ICON

Microsoft introduced its “Recycle Bin” feature in Windows 95. Modeled on Apples “Wastebasket” and “Trash”, the Recycle Bin is temporary storage for files deleted by the computer user. These files can be recovered if necessary (undeleted), up until the time that the user “empties” the Recycle Bin, thereby deleting the files permanently.

105A Pet doc : VET

“Vet” is an abbreviation for “veterinarian”, a professional who treats animals for disease and injury. The word “veterinary” comes from the Latin “veterinae” meaning “working animals, beasts of burden”.

120A Karate rank indicators : BELTS

Practitioners of judo and karate proceed through a series of proficiency grades known as the kyu-dan system. At each progression, a different colored belt is awarded.

124A Spot to boop a doggo : SNOOT

In dog-speak, one might “boop” (tap) a “doggo” (dog) on the snoot/nose.

Down

3D Mammal that barks and claps : SEAL

There are three families of seals. The first is the walrus family, the second the eared seals (like sea lions), and thirdly the earless seals (like elephant seals).

6D Pork in a burrito : CARNITAS

Carnitas is a dish from Mexican cuisine consisting of pork shoulder that is braised or simmered in fat until tender and then crisped. It is a popular filling for tacos and burritos. The name “carnitas” translates to “little meats”.

9D “Unholy” singer Smith : SAM

“Unholy” was a 2022 hit for English singer Sam Smith, featuring Kim Petras. The lyrics present a pretty salacious storyline, about a “family man” leaving his wife and kids at home to cheat at the Body Shop, an LA strip club.

11D Sch. whose mascot is a buckeye nut : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”. The school’s athletic mascot was introduced in 1965, and is an anthropomorphic buckeye nut named Brutus Buckeye.

13D These, in Tijuana : ESTOS

Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.

14D Smith College graduate : ALUMNA

Smith College is a private women’s school in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith was founded in 1870 using funds bequeathed by Sophia Smith, who inherited her fortune from her wealthy farmer father.

15D Introductory food for keiki : POI

Keiki is the Hawaiian word for “child, baby, offspring”. The literal translation is “the little one”.

16D Pipe plastic, for short : PVC

PVC is polyvinyl chloride, the third most widely produced plastic in the world (after polyethylene and polypropylene). PVC is resistant to corrosion from biological and chemical agents making it a favored choice these days for sewage lines, replacing the traditional metal materials. It is so chemically stable that it will be around a long, long time …

25D Unit of energy : JOULE

James Joule was an English physicist who spent much of his life working in the family brewing business. Joule used his work in the brewery to study the relationship between heat and mechanical work. In honor of his achievements, his name is used for the unit of energy in the International System of Units (i.e. the joule).

28D “Being the Ricardos” role : DESI

“Being the Ricardos” is a 2021 biopic about the lives of married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lucy and Desi are played by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. The title comes from the show “I Love Lucy”, in which Ball and Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. I haven’t seen this one, but it’s on my list as the film was written and directed by the great Aaron Sorkin …

31D Key above Caps Lock : TAB

Like many features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious, involving lots of tapping on the spacebar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.

33D Early Boston settlers : PURITANS

“Puritan” was a pejorative term used in the 1560s to describe a Protestant extremist who was not satisfied with the extent of the reformation of the Church of England. The Puritans advocated further reforms, believing that the Church of England still harbored a lot of corruption. Facing staunch resistance to their ideals in Britain, many of the Puritans emigrated, the first wave to the Netherlands, with later emigrants moving to New England.

35D Gray matter? : HUMAN ANATOMY

“Gray’s Anatomy” is a very successful human anatomy textbook that was first published back in 1858 and is still in print today. The original text was written by English anatomist Henry Gray, who gave his name to the work. The TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” (note “Grey” vs. Gray”) is centered on the character Dr. Meredith Grey, but the show’s title is a nod to the title of the famous textbook.

36D Gerontologist’s focus : AGING

Gerontology is the study of all aspects of aging, including its biology, psychology and sociology. Geriatrics is the study of diseases encountered in older adults.

37D “Totally agree!,” on social media : THIS!

Way, way back (in the 2000s!), the term “This” (or “^This”) was used on message boards and forums to “upvote” the previous comment. It was used to point out “What this person says is correct”. Today “THIS” is used as shorthand to express agreement with an earlier post or comment.

40D Laughing matter? : NITROUS OXIDE

“Laughing gas” is a common name for nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is used as an anesthetic, particularly by dentists. It is also used in motor racing to increase the power output of engines. Laughing gas was first synthesized by the English chemist Joseph Priestley, but it was Humphry Davy who discovered its potential as an anesthetic. Once it was realized that the gas could give the patient a fit of the giggles, “laughing gas parties” became common among those who could afford them.

42D Practice depicted in the Japanese film “Flower and Sword” : IKEBANA

The Japanese art of flower arranging is very much focused on minimalism, the use of a minimum number of blooms arranged among a few stalks and leaves. The Japanese name for the art is “ikebana”, which can be translated as “making flowers alive”.

44D Mum : SILENT

The phrase “mum’s the word” has been around since the early 1700s. “Mum” has been used to mean “silent” for centuries, the idea being that “mum” is the sound made when the lips are tightly sealed.

60D __-Bismol : PEPTO

Pepto-Bismol was originally marketed as a remedy for infant diarrhea, and sold under the name “Bismosol: Mixture Cholera Infantum”.

64D Desserts with crushed Oreos : DIRT PIES

Dirt cake (sometimes “dirt pie, dirt pudding”) is a dessert usually made by breaking up Oreo cookies and scattering the pieces over chocolate pudding, and then adding gummy worms on top. Sounds delicious …

65D Natural disinfectant : PINE OIL

Pine oil is an essential oil extracted from several species of pine tree. Natural pine oil is usually steam-distilled from parts of the tree that are not used for lumber, i.e. needles, twigs and cones. Phenols in the oil give it powerful disinfecting properties, killing bacteria, fungi, and yeast by destroying their cell walls.

74D Kind of circle diagram : VENN

Englishman John Venn was an expert in the field of logic, and introduced the Venn diagram in his book “Symbolic Logic” in 1881. Venn diagrams are used in set theory, to illustrate the logical relationships between sets of variables.

75D Garlic __: pungent stalk : SCAPE

In the world of botany, a scape is a leafless, flowering stalk that arises from a bulb. The scapes of plants such as garlic, chives and scallions can be harvested as vegetables.

76D “Madam Secretary” star : LEONI

Téa Leoni is an American actress. One of Leoni’s early parts was in the great film “A League of Their Own” (a minor role: Racine at first base). She also played the fiancée of Sam Malone from “Cheers” on the spin-off sitcom “Frasier”. A leading role on the big screen was opposite Adam Sandler in “Spanglish”. My favorite of her more prominent movie roles was as Jane in “Fun with Dick and Jane”. Leoni started playing the title role in the drama series “Madam Secretary” in 2014, and that’s a show I quite enjoy …

83D Diamond size : ONE CARAT

The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 grams). It is used in sizing gemstones.

87D Tree with a “copper” variety : BEECH

Technically, the copper beech is a genetic mutant of the common European beech. Its leaves are usually purple in color, but can turn to a coppery color just before the leaves drop in the fall. Remarkably, botanists believe that nearly every specimen standing today is a descendant of a single mother tree discovered in a German forest in 1690.

89D Stat on a transcript : GPA

Grade point average (GPA)

98D Sussed (out) : DOPED

Apparently, “to dope out” is a slang term meaning “to figure out, infer from available information”. Our use of the word “dope” to mean “inside information” probably comes from horse racing. The idea is that a bettor might have information about which horse has been drugged (doped) to influence its performance.

102D “Narcos” org. : DEA

“Narcos” is a Netflix show that deals with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA’s) battles against drug cartels. The first two seasons focus on the rise and fall of drug lord Pablo Escobar of the Medellín Cartel, and is set and filmed in Colombia.

106D Enterprise navigator : SULU

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

108D County seat of Hawaii County : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the Big Island of Hawaii, and has a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

109D “Beetle Bailey” dog : OTTO

Sgt. Snorkel (“Sarge”) is Beetle Bailey’s nemesis in the cartoon strip that bears the latter’s name. Snorkel has a dog called Otto that he dresses up to look just like himself. Otto started off as a regular dog, but artist Mort Walker decided to draw him more like his owner, and soon Otto became a big hit.

111D Old film channel : TCM

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels as it delivers just what its name promises, i.e. classic movies.

113D Address with slashes : URL

Uniform resource locator (URL)

114D “Delta of Venus” author : NIN

“Delta of Venus” is a collection of short stories by Anais Nin that was published in 1977, not long after the author’s passing. The stories were originally written on commission for a private collector in the 1940s.