LA Times Crossword 3 Mar 26, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Brad Lively

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Let That Sink In

Themed answers each end something that SINKS:

• 52A “Take a moment to reflect,” or what can be said about the ends of the answers to the starred clues : LET THAT SINK IN

• 20A *One who delivers the early news : MORNING ANCHOR
• 29A *Sandwich choice at an Italian deli : MEATBALL SUB
• 44A *”Peter Pan” pirate : CAPTAIN HOOK

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

Bill’s time: 6m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Scrapbooking project : ALBUM

The Latin word “album” translates as “white”. Back in the 17th century, public notices and lists of names were written on a board painted white, or in a souvenir book with white pages known as an “albo” (from “album”). Over time, the term “album” came to be used in English for a blank book created to collect signatures or other mementos. By the end of the 19th century, albums were used to collect photographs. The term “album” was applied to long-playing gramophone records as early as 1909, because the record sleeves resembled large photographic albums.

23A U.S. island in Micronesia : GUAM

Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, and is the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, the territory has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!

Micronesia is one of the three island regions of Oceania, along with Polynesia and Melanesia. The sovereign nations included in the region are the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau. Also in Micronesia are the US territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Wake Island.

33A Whole __ Market : FOODS

The first Whole Foods Market was opened in 1980 by John Mackey and partners in Austin, Texas. For the two years prior to the Whole Foods launch, Mackey was operating his natural foods store that he called “Saferway”, as opposed to “Safeway”. Clever name …

35A Unagi roll fish : EEL

“Unagi” is the Japanese term for” freshwater eel”, and “anago” is the term for “saltwater eel”.

37A Longtime late-night host Jay : LENO

Jay Leno was born James Leno in New Rochelle, New York. Jay’s father was the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother was from Scotland. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and attended Emerson College, earning a Bachelor’s degree in speech therapy. Leno also started a comedy club at Emerson in 1973. Today Jay Leno is a car nut and owns over 300 vehicles of various types. You can check them out on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com.

38A Messy happy hour fare : WINGS

I personally think that Happy Hour is best enjoyed shaken, not stirred; and with a good crossword …

40A Five-spots : ABES

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

44A *”Peter Pan” pirate : CAPTAIN HOOK

Captain Hook is the bad guy in “Peter Pan”, the famous play by J. M. Barrie. Hook is Peter Pan’s sworn enemy, as Pan had cut off Hook’s hand causing it to be replaced by a “hook”. It is implied in the play that Hook attended Eton College, just outside London. Hook’s last words are “Floreat Etona”, which is Eton College’s motto. Barrie claimed Hook was the only man that Robert Louis Stevenson’s Long John Silver ever feared.

60A Mischief-making Norse god : LOKI

Loki is a trickster god in Norse mythology known for continually creating chaos. He is the father of sons with his wife Sigyn. Because Loki is also a shape-shifter, he gave birth to children “himself” by assuming the shape of the opposite sex.

61A Honker in a gaggle : GOOSE

A collection of geese is referred to as a “gaggle” when on the ground. When geese are in V-formation in flight, they are referred to collectively as a “skein”.

62A Actor Schreiber : LIEV

Liev Schreiber is highly regarded as a stage actor, and has many classical roles under his belt. He won a Tony in 2005 for his Broadway performance in “Glengarry Glen Ross”, and earned excellent reviews for his performance in Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline”.

66A Breaks a commandment : SINS

In the Christian and Jewish traditions, the Ten Commandments are a set of principles relating to worship and ethics that the faithful should observe. Also known as the Decalogue, the Book of Exodus describes the revelation of the principles by God to Moses on Mount Sanai. Also according to Exodus, the Ten Commandments were inscribed by the finger of God onto a pair of stone tablets that were kept in a chest known as the Ark of the Covenant.

Down

1D Driver of “Ferrari” : ADAM

Adam Driver is an actor perhaps best known to TV audiences for playing Adam Sackler on the show “Girls” that airs on HBO. Driver’s movie career got a huge boost in 2015 when he played villain Kylo Ren in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

“Ferrari” is a 2023 biopic that is based on the 1991 biography “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine” by Brock Yates. Adam Driver (pun?!) plays Enzo, and Penélope Cruz, his estranged wife Laura Ferrari.

2D El Pollo __: fast-casual Southwestern chain : LOCO

El Pollo Loco (Spanish for “The Crazy Chicken”) is a chain of American-based restaurants that specializes in Mexican-style grilled chicken. The original El Pollo Loco restaurant was opened by Juan Francisco Ochoa in 1974 in Guasave, a city on the west coast of Mexico. He opened several more restaurants in Mexico before expanding into the US. He sold the US restaurants to Denny’s in 1983, but continues to operate an independent Mexico-based chain that uses the same “El Pollo Loco” name.

3D Comedian Bill who plays Migs Mayfeld on “The Mandalorian” : BURR

Bill Burr is a multi-talented comedian, actor, writer and director who started his professional career as a standup in the early 1990s. 7-8 years later, he started getting acting roles. One of the more noted roles is mercenary Migs Mayfeld in the TV series “The Mandalorian”, which is part of the “Star Wars” franchise. Burr spent years publicly mocking “Star Wars” and its spinoffs, and so series creator Jon Favreau wrote the Mayfeld part especially for Burr, and somehow convinced him to sign up.

5D Seance leaders : MEDIUMS

“Séance” is a French word meaning “sitting”. We use the term in English for a sitting in which a spiritualist tries to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

6D Mark of shame : STIGMA

A stigma (plural “stigmata”), in a social sense, is a distinguishing mark of disgrace. For example, one might have to suffer the stigma of being in prison. The term derives from the Greek “stigma” meaning “mark, brand”.

13D Items in jewel boxes: Abbr. : CDS

A CD case is also known as a jewel box, and I am really not sure why. I’ve heard some explanations, but not one that I really buy …

22D Initials for “good” cholesterol : HDL

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is a compound that is used to transport fats around the body. When HDL is combined with (i.e. is transporting) cholesterol, it is often called “good cholesterol”. This is because HDL seems to remove cholesterol from where it should not be, say on the walls of arteries, and transports it to the liver for reuse or disposal. Important stuff …

26D Insurer with a duck mascot : 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 …

30D Sophomore’s grade : TENTH

The term “sophomore” has been used since the 1680s for a student in the second year of university. The original meaning of the word was “arguer”. The term has Greek roots, from two Greek words that have been artificially combined in English. The Greek “sophos” means “wise”, and “moros” means “foolish”.

38D Game-stopping sounds from refs : WHISTLES

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.

47D Post-WWII treaty gp. : OAS

The Organization of American States (OAS) was founded in Bogotá, Colombia in 1948 to promote solidarity and cooperation among its member states. The charter was signed by 21 countries, including the United States.

53D Arizona people : HOPI

The Hopi people are a Native American tribe primarily residing on three mesas in northeastern Arizona. They are renowned for their cultural traditions, which predate European contact by centuries, including intricate kachina dolls, ceremonial dances, and a history of peaceful agriculture in an arid environment.

55D NBA legend Bryant : KOBE

Kobe Bryant played basketball for the LA Lakers. Bryant got his given name from a menu, would you believe? His parents were in a Japanese restaurant and liked the name of “Kobe” beef, the beef from around the city of Kobe on the island of Honshu in Japan. Very sadly, Bryant and his daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.

59D Ipanema’s city : RIO

Ipanema is a beach community in the south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The name Ipanema is a local word meaning “bad water”, signifying that the shore is bad for fishing. The beach became famous worldwide following the release of the song “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1962.