LA Times Crossword 10 Feb 26, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Matthew Gritzmacher

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Popping Boba

Themed answers each include the letters B-O-B-A POPPING out in circles within:

• 56A Bubble tea option, or a feature of 16-, 26-, and 43-Across : POPPING BOBA

• 16A Oscar-nominated Disney film set in Alaska : BROTHER BEAR
• 26A Hostile territory, idiomatically : BELLY OF THE BEAST
• 43A Canadian province that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics : BRITISH COLUMBIA

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

Bill’s time: 8m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Latte purveyors : CAFES

Our words “provide” and “purvey” have similar meanings, and both derive from the Latin verb “providere” meaning “to supply”.

10A Volcanic eruption residue : ASH

Our word “volcano” comes from “Vulcano”, the name of a volcanic island off the coast of Italy. The island’s name comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The Romans believed that the island of Vulcano was the chimney of the forge belonging to the god Vulcan. The Romans also believed that the eruptions on Mount Etna in Sicily were caused by Vulcan getting angry and working his forge so hard that sparks and smoke flew out of the top of the volcano.

13A Company name often said with a quack : AFLAC

In 1999, Aflac (American Family Life Assurance Company) was huge in the world of insurance but it wasn’t a household name, so a New York advertising agency was given the task of making the Aflac brand more memorable. One of the agency’s art directors, while walking around Central Park one lunchtime, heard a duck quacking and in his mind linked it with “Aflac”, and that duck has been “Aflacking” ever since …

14A Indiana NBAer : PACER

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, who play in the NBA. The name was chosen when the team was formed in 1967. “Pacers” is a homage to harness racing pacers (famed in Indiana) and the pace car used in the Indianapolis 500.

15A Community leader? : CEE

The word “community” leads off with a letter C (cee).

16A Oscar-nominated Disney film set in Alaska : BROTHER BEAR

“Brother Bear” is a Disney animated feature film released in 2003. It’s about an Inuit boy named Kenai who kills a bear, and then is turned into a bear himself by spirits who are angered by his action. Kenai is voiced by Joaquin Phoenix. There’s a sequel called “Brother Bear 2”, in which Kenai is voiced by Patrick Dempsey.

18A Programming language named for the first Countess of Lovelace : ADA

Ada Lovelace’s real name and title was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes, she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”. There is a computer language called “Ada” that was named in her honor. The Ada language was developed from 1977 to 1983 for the US Department of Defense.

20A Tinkered (with) : TOYED

To tinker with something is to adjust or experiment with it. Back in the late 1500’s, “to tinker” was “to work as a tinker”. In those days, a tinker was someone who mended pots and pans.

22A Kimono sash : OBI

The lovely Japanese kimono is a garment worn by men, women and children. The word “kimono” translates simply as “thing to wear”, with “ki” meaning “wear” and “mono” meaning “thing”.

23A P-like Greek letter : RHO

Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”, although it is equivalent to the Roman letter R. It is the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet.

26A Hostile territory, idiomatically : BELLY OF THE BEAST

The idiom “belly of the beast” refers to being in the middle of a dangerous situation or deep within a hostile environment. The phrase is likely a reference to the biblical story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a giant fish and spent three days and nights inside the beast.

31A Savory flavor : UMAMI

“Umami” is a loanword from Japanese, literally meaning “pleasant savory taste”. It was first scientifically identified as a distinct taste in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who discovered that the amino acid glutamate was responsible for the unique taste (umami) of kombu seaweed.

32A Comics icon Lee : STAN

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer, who is best known for co-creating many of Marvel Comics’ most iconic superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Black Panther.

33A Startup co.’s milestone : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

34A Angel City FC org. : NWSL

Angel City Football Club is a team based in Los Angeles that debuted in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022. It has an impressive roster of celebrity co-owners that includes actresses Natalie Portman, America Ferrara and Eva Longoria, as well as retired players Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.

38A “Fear of Flying” author Jong : ERICA

Author Erica Jong’s most famous work is her first: “Fear of Flying”, a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later, Jong wrote “Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir”, published in 1994.

41A __ dust: pervasive orange powder : CHEETO

Cheetos snacks were developed by the same guy who created Fritos, hence the similarity in name. On the market since 1948, up until the turn of the century the name was written as “Chee-tos”.

43A Canadian province that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics : BRITISH COLUMBIA

British Columbia hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, primarily in Vancouver and the resort town of Whistler. These Games marked the first time Canada won a gold medal on home soil, having failed to do so in both the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

50A Kauai, for one : ISLE

Because the Hawaiian island of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, all the rainfall has helped to carve out magnificent canyons and left superb waterfalls. The island is often used as a backdrop for movies. The facilities at the island’s Lihue Airport reflect the pleasant climate enjoyed by the Hawaiian Islands. Check-in takes place completely outdoors!

51A __ Rica : COSTA

Costa Rica is a country in Central America that is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1948, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

56A Bubble tea option, or a feature of 16-, 26-, and 43-Across : POPPING BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink. The alternative popping boba are juice-filled spheres that burst when bitten, a very different experience than consuming chewy tapioca pearls. They are created through a process called “spherification,” a technique that uses seaweed extract to form a thin, gel-like skin around a liquid center.

60A Pioneering computer : ENIAC

The acronym ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (although many folks insist that the C was for “Computer”). ENIAC was introduced at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, at which time it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, and dubbed “Giant Brain” by the press. Its original purpose was the calculation of artillery firing tables, but it ended up being used early on to make calculations necessary for the development of the hydrogen bomb. Given its uses, it’s not surprising to hear that development of ENIAC was funded by the US Army during WWII.

61A “Opposites Attract” singer Paula : ABDUL

“Opposites Attract” is a 1989 single released by Paula Abdul that first appeared on her debut album “Forever Your Girl”. Also featured in the song are the singing duo known as the Wild Pair: Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn. The song was destined to become Abdul’s fourth US number-one.

62A Arles article : LES

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and was where he painted many of his most famous works, including “Cafe Terrace at Night” and “Bedroom in Arles”.

63A Dangerous date for Caesar : IDES

In Act I of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, a soothsayer warns the doomed leader to “beware the ides of March”. Caesar ignores the prophecy and is subsequently killed on the steps of the Capitol by a group of conspirators on that fateful day.

64A Blockade : SIEGE

Our word “siege” comes from a 13th-century word for a “seat”. The military usage derives from the concept of a besieging force “sitting down” outside a fortress until it falls.

Down

1D Bus alternative : CAB

We use the term “bus” for a mode of transportation as it is an abbreviated form of the original “omnibus”. We imported “omnibus” via French from Latin, in which language it means “for all”. The idea is that an omnibus is a carriage “for all”.

2D Genre created by Nigerian musician Fela Kuti : AFROBEAT

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, a pioneer in the genre known as “Afrobeat”. Fela had an interesting relationship with women, and actually married twenty-seven different women in the same year, in 1978. He then slowed down a little and maintained a rotating roster of only twelve wives at any one time. Fela died from AIDS in 1997.

3D Nautical convoy : FLOTILLA

A flotilla is a formation of smaller warships, one that might be part of a larger fleet. The term “flotilla” is Spanish, and is the diminutive of “flota” meaning “fleet”, which in turn comes from “flotar” meaning “to float”.

5D CalArts or Caltech : SCH

The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private school located in Santa Clarita, California. CalArts was founded in 1961 by merging the Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles conservatory, a merger that was very much sponsored by Walt Disney.

Caltech is more properly known as the California Institute of Technology, and is a private research-oriented school in Pasadena. One of Caltech’s responsibilities is the management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. If you watch “The Big Bang Theory” on television like me, you might know that the four lead characters all work at Caltech.

6D Coddle : BABY

The verb “to coddle”, meaning “to treat tenderly”, was possibly coined in 1815 by Jane Austen in her novel “Emma”. At least, that is the first written record we have of the verb’s usage. John Knightley (younger brother of George Knightley) addresses his wife Isabella (elder sister of Emma Woodhouse) with the following words:

“My dear Isabella,” exclaimed he, hastily, “pray do not concern yourself about my looks. Be satisfied with doctoring and coddling yourself and the children, and let me look as I chuse.”

8D Salt lake fed by the Jordan River : DEAD SEA

The Middle East’s Dead Sea lies more than 1,400 feet below sea level, making it the lowest point on the Earth’s landmass. It is also one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, with a salt content that is almost ten times that of most oceans.

10D Prominent part of a giraffe’s diet : ACACIA

The giraffe is the tallest terrestrial animal on the planet. Its main source of food is acacia leaves that they eat from high, high up in trees, where other herbivores cannot reach.

11D Impalas and Civics : SEDANS

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

12D Publisher William Randolph __ : HEARST

William Randolph Hearst got into publishing when he took over “The San Francisco Examiner” from his father George Hearst. Beyond his work in the newspaper business, William Randolph Hearst was also a politician and represented a district of New York in the US House. His life was the inspiration for the lead role in the 1941 movie “Citizen Kane” with Orson Welles playing the Hearst-like character. If you’re ever driving along the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco, I’d recommend a stop at Hearst Castle, William Randolph’s magnificent estate located near San Simeon.

21D Ms. magazine co-founder Gloria : STEINEM

Gloria Steinem is a journalist whose name is very much associated with the feminist movement of the late sixties and early seventies. Steinem co-founded “Ms.” magazine with fellow-feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes.

“Ms.” magazine is a feminist publication co-founded by political activist Gloria Steinem in 1971. The first issue was an insert in “New York” magazine, with the first stand-alone issue being published the following year in 1972. That first issue used the byline “Wonder Woman for President”, and featured the cartoon character.

22D “Duh,” in a text : OBVS

“Obvs” is slang for “obviously”.

23D Bread with caraway seeds : RYE

Caraway is a plant in the carrot family that is prized for its fruits. The caraway “seeds” that we use in cooking are actually caraway “fruits” that contain two seeds each.

25D PC pioneer : IBM

The IBM PC entered the personal computer market in 1981 and was by all accounts a surprising success, even to many IBM executives. The PC was directed at the business world, and in 1983 IBM made its first foray into the home computing world with the introduction of the PCjr. Codenamed “Peanut” during development, the PCjr has been described as one of the biggest commercial flops in computing history. Various reasons have been cited for the failure, including the poorly-designed keyboard, relatively high price and lack of compatibility with existing IBM products.

27D Crescent moon shape : LUNETTE

Something with the shape of a half-moon, or crescent moon, can be called a lunette. “Lunette” comes from French, and means “little moon”, from the Latin “luna” meaning “moon”.

28D Rapper Shakur : TUPAC

Rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur adopted the inventive stage name “2Pac”. He was a hard man, spending eleven months in prison for sexual assault. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at only 25 years of age.

33D German personal pronoun : ICH

Ich is the German for “I”, as in “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner), the famous words of support uttered by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 in a speech in West Berlin.

36D Invasive insect native to East Asia : STINK BUG

The stink bug is so called due to its ability to exude a foul-smelling substance as a means of defense.

41D Like a radio edit : CLEAN

A radio edit is a modified version of a song that is more suitable for airplay. Historically, the most common modification is shortening, usually to 3-5 minutes in length, so that commercial stations are more likely to play the song. More recently, modifications are being made to remove profanity or offensive subject matter.

44D Job application document : RESUME

A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

46D Fiber-__ cable : OPTIC

Optical fibers are lengths of glass or plastic that are slightly thicker than a human hair. They are usually bundled into cables, and then used for transmission of data signals. Optical transmission has advantages over electrical transmission, especially in terms of interference and loss of signal strength.

52D Mayberry moppet : OPIE

A moppet is a young child, with “moppet” being a variant of “poppet”.

54D “Broad City” star Jacobson : ABBI

Abbi Jacobson is a comedian and actress who is perhaps best known as the co-creator, along with Ilana Glazer, of the Comedy Central sitcom “Broad City”. She also appeared in, wrote for and co-created the 2022 TV series “A League of Their Own”, which is based on the 1992 film of the same name.

“Broad City” is a sitcom shown on Comedy Central that started out life as a web series on the Internet. It’s about two young Jewish American women having misadventures in New York City.

56D Shar-__: wrinkly dog : PEI

The shar-pei breed of dog is one with a wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.

57D Hybrid need : GAS

A hybrid vehicle is powered by electric batteries, but still relies on a traditional internal combustion engine fueled by gasoline to operate over long distances. The first mass-produced hybrid automobile was the Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus, designed by Ferdinand Porsche all the way back in 1900!