LA Times Crossword 28 Jan 27, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Brian Russell & Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Jam Session

Themed answers are all associated with the word “JAM”:

• 63A Impromptu jazz performance, or an apt title for this puzzle : JAM SESSION

• 17A Filled pastry : JELLY DONUT
• 24A Office machine : LASER PRINTER
• 39A High-flying NBA All-Star event : SLAM DUNK CONTEST
• 51A Rush hour gridlock : TRAFFIC SNARL

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

Bill’s time: 7m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Violin players : BOWS

Our word “violin” is a diminutive of the “viola”, the name given to the larger stringed instrument. The contemporary violin is a modern version of the medieval viola da braccio (meaning “arm viola”).

19A Clarinet kin : OBOE

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

The clarinet is a lovely-sounding instrument, isn’t it? The name “clarinet” comes from the Italian word “clarino” meaning “trumpet”, with the “-et” suffix indicating “small”.

21A Field expert : REF

Back in the early 17th century, a referee was someone who examined patent applications. We started using the same term for a person presiding over a sporting event in the 1820s. “Referee” is a derivative of the verb “to refer”, and literally describes someone who has the authority to make a decision by “referring” to a book, archive etc.

24A Office machine : LASER PRINTER

The key features of a laser printer (or copier) are that it uses plain paper and produces quality text at high speed. Laser printers work by projecting a laser image of the printed page onto a rotating drum that is coated with photoconductors (material that becomes conductive when exposed to light). The areas of the drum exposed to the laser carry a different charge than the unexposed areas. Dry ink (toner) sticks to the exposed areas due to electrostatic charge. The toner is then transferred to paper by contact and is fused into the paper by the application of heat. So, that explains why paper coming out of a laser printer is warm, and the ink is sometimes powdery.

29A __ Martin cognac : REMY

Remy Martin is my favorite brand of Cognac (remember that when it’s my birthday!). In China, the name Remy Martin is not used, but rather the more colorful moniker “man-headed horse”, which describes the centaur logo on the bottle.

32A Charlottesville sch. : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who then sat on the original Board of Visitors alongside former US Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. In fact, the original UVA campus was built on land near Charlottesville that was once a farm belonging to President Monroe.

The city of Charlottesville, Virginia was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III. George’s queen consort also lent her name to the city of Charlotte, North Carolina.

34A “Peace” shape : VEE

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.

39A High-flying NBA All-Star event : SLAM DUNK CONTEST

The NBA’s All-Star Weekend takes place every February during the middle of the NBA regular season. The weekend features the NBA All-Star Game, the Rising Stars Challenge, the Skills Challenge, the Three-Point Contest, and the Slam Dunk Contest. The NBA All-Star Game is the main event, and is played between the best players in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

44A Keep a sauce from congealing, say : STIR

To congeal is to coagulate, to clot. The term applies in particular to the changing from liquid to solid due to a reduction in temperature. “Congeal” comes from the Latin “com” (meaning “with, together”) and “gelare” meaning “to freeze”.

45A Screw feature : SLOT

Screws come with slot-heads (-) and Phillips-heads (+), and other designs. The Phillips-head screw and screwdriver are named for Henry F. Phillips of Portland, Oregon. Phillips didn’t invent the “+” screw head, but as a businessman he was behind its successful implementation.

46A __ sequitur : NON

We use the Latin term “non sequitur” to describe an illogical statement, usually irrelevant to what has immediately preceded. The literal translation of “non sequitur” is “it does not follow”.

47A Tech in key cards : RFID

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to identify and track objects. It involves the use of an RFID tag, which is a small electronic device that consists of a microchip and an antenna, attached to the object. RFID technology is used in a wide range of applications, including payment systems and animal tracking.

49A Prove human, in a way : ERR

Alexander Pope’s 1709 poem “An Essay on Criticism” is the source of at least three well-known quotations:

• A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
• To err is human, to forgive divine.
• For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

56A Sheridan of “Ready Player One” : TYE

Actor Tye Sheridan had one of the lead roles in the 2012 coming-of-age film “Mud”, which starred Matthew McConaughey. More recently, he played the lead in the sci-fi action film “Ready Player One”, which came out in 2018.

“Ready Player One” is a 2018 film based on a 2011 sci-fi novel of the same name by Ernest Cline. The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg, and is about a future world in which many humans choose to live life in a virtual reality simulation.

57A Tree that’s tapped : MAPLE

The sugar maple is the state tree of New York, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It is also the primary source of maple syrup.

61A Ride-hailing company whose cars once featured big pink mustaches : LYFT

Lyft was founded in 2012 as a ride-sharing service in San Francisco, California. The company’s original name was “Zimride” and it was focused on long-distance ride-sharing. One of Lyft’s early marketing campaigns involved drivers attaching furry, pink mustaches on the front of their vehicles. The company walked back that idea in 2015 as some riders objected to arriving at formal events in a car with a giant mustache on display.

63A Impromptu jazz performance, or an apt title for this puzzle : JAM SESSION

The use of “jam”, meaning an improvised passage performed by a whole jazz band, dates back to the late twenties. This gave rise to “jam session”, a term used a few years later. The use of “jam” in this context probably stems from the meaning of “jam” as something sweet, something excellent.

67A In __ land : LA-LA

“La-la land” is a euphemism for a state of unconsciousness or a dreamworld.

68A Acting award won by Ke Huy Quan in 2023 : OSCAR

Ke Huy Quan is an actor who returned to our screens in 2021 after a 19-year hiatus that followed two notable appearances in movies. He played the young orphan named Short Round in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, and then the James Bond fanatic named Data in the 1985’s “The Goonies”.

71A Rosary components : BEADS

The rosary is a set of prayer beads used in the Roman Catholic tradition. The name “rosary” comes from the Latin “rosarium”, the word for a “rose garden” or a “garland of roses”. The term is used figuratively, in the sense of a “garden of prayers”.

72A Mount Olympus figure : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. He united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Greece. In Greek mythology, it was home to the gods, and in particular home to the principal gods known as the Twelve Olympians.

Down

1D Mexican peninsula, informally : BAJA

The Baja California Peninsula lies in the northwest of Mexico. It is bounded on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, and on the northeast by the Gulf of California. The border city of Mexicali sits at the north of the peninsula, and the resort city of Cabo San Lucas sits at the southern tip.

2D Screen on some handheld games, for short : OLED

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are light-emitting diodes that are often used for digital displays. They utilize organic compounds to produce light when an electrical current is applied. Unlike traditional liquid-crystal displays that rely on backlights, each pixel in an OLED emits its own light, enabling deeper blacks, higher contrast ratios, and more vibrant colors.

3D Canine in some fairy tales : WOLF

The Big Bad Wolf is a character in many folklore stories, including “Little Red Riding” and “Three Little Pigs”. Walt Disney’s version of the Big Bad Wolf is called Zeke Wolf, and has a son called Li’l Bad Wolf, or just “Li’l Wolf” to his friends.

5D Provided with kibble, say : FED

“To kibble” is to crush or grind coarsely. This verb evolved into the noun “kibble” meaning meat and/or grain that is ground into small pellets, especially when it is used for pet food.

6D El Dorado building material : ORO

The original El Dorado was a Muisca chief who was covered with gold dust in a tribal ritual and then dove into Lake Guatavita in present-day Colombia. Later, “El Dorado” was adopted as the name for a mythical “Lost City of Gold” that became a quest from many Spanish Conquistadors who explored the Americas.

8D Take illegitimately : USURP

To usurp is to seize and hold by force. The term “usurp” comes to us from Latin via French, from “usus” (a use) and “rapere” (to seize).

9D Units of length : METERS

On the other side of the Atlantic, we use the French spelling for measurements that originated in French, so “metre” for “meter” and “litre” for “liter”.

25D Chekov colleague : 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 …

Walter Koenig played Pavel Chekov in the original “Star Trek” series. Mr Chekov was a Russian character although Koenig himself was born in Chicago, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.

38D Those, in Havana : ESOS

Havana is the capital of Cuba. The city was founded by the Spanish in the early 1500s after which it became a strategic location for Spain’s exploration and conquest of the Americas. In particular, Havana was used as a stopping-off point for treasure-laden ships on the return journey to Spain.

40D Annoy slightly : MIFF

To miff is to put out, to tee off. It is a verb that has been around since the early 1600s. In 1824, Sir Walter Scott described the word “miffed” as “a women’s phrase”. That should get him a slap, I’d say …

50D Blood bank supply : PLASMA

Plasma (sometimes “plasm”) is the clear, yellow-colored liquid component of blood and lymph in which cells are suspended.

Prior to 1915, blood transfusions were carried out directly, from a vein of the donor into a vein of the recipient. All that changed pretty quickly when it was discovered that sodium citrate could be added to blood to stop it coagulating. Soon, it was clear that refrigerated blood treated with an anticoagulant could be stored, and blood “depots” were created in Britain during WWI. The term “blood bank” was first used in 1937, to describe the store of blood kept in the Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

64D Former Lynyrd Skynyrd label : MCA

MCA Records was a record label that was founded in 1934 as Decca Records.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is a southern rock band that formed in 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida as My Backyard. The name was changed to “Leonard Skinnerd” in 1969, and then to “Lynyrd Skynyrd” a few months later. The chosen name was a wry tribute to the member’s phys-ed teacher at high school, one Leonard Skinner. Lynyrd Skynyrd were most successful in the 1970s, when they recorded their two biggest hits: “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. Sadly, three of the original band members were killed in a plane crash in 1977.