LA Times Crossword 18 Mar 26, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Aaron Ullman

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Strikes a Chord

Themed answers all end with a word that a guitar player might use when STRIKING A CHORD:

• 56A Stirs emotions, or how a guitarist might interpret the ends of the answers to the starred clues? : STRIKES A CHORD

• 20A *Some fruity sandwich spreads : RASPBERRY JAMS
• 27A *Criticize harshly : RIP TO SHREDS
• 36A *Long-handled, long-toothed combs : AFRO PICKS
• 49A *Hollow floaties : POOL NOODLES

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

Bill’s time: 7m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Sicilian volcano : ETNA

Mount Etna, located on the island of Sicily, is one of the world’s most active stratovolcanoes and one of the most frequently erupting volcanoes on Earth. It has been active for at least 500,000 years, with historical eruptions documented for over 3,500 years.

15A Crème de __ : CACAO

A “cream liqueur” is one that includes dairy cream. The most famous example is probably Baileys Irish Cream, which is made from cream and Irish whiskey. A “crème liqueur”, on the other hand, is one that includes a lot of added sugar, but no dairy cream. Examples are crème de cacao (chocolate-flavored), crème de menthe (mint-flavored) and crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored).

17A Savoir faire : TACT

“Savoir-faire” is a French term that literally means “to know (how) to do”. There’s a similar term in French that we haven’t absorbed into English, i.e. “savoir-vivre” meaning “to know how to live”. “Savoir-vivre” describes the ability to acquit oneself well in the world, in society.

18A “Just Mercy” actor __ Jackson Jr. : O’SHEA

O’Shea Jackson Jr. is an American actor and rapper who is best known for his portrayal of his own father, rapper Ice Cube, in the biopic “Straight Outta Compton” (2015).

“Just Mercy” is a 2019 legal drama movie that is based on a 2014 memoir of the same name by Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson, a defense attorney devoted to representing African-American prisoners on death row, is portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, Warner Bros. made the film available for free on several streaming platforms in an effort to educate the public about systemic racism. It’s a very powerful film …

20A *Some fruity sandwich spreads : RASPBERRY JAMS

Jelly is made using strained juice from crushed fruit. Jam is similar, but the whole crushed fruit is used, and often includes seeds.

34A Hawthorne Heights music genre : EMO

Hawthorne Heights is a rock band from Dayton, Ohio that formed in 2001 as A Day in the Life. The group had to change their name in 2003 as a Long Island band was already performing as A Day in the Life. The band’s genre has been classified as screamo. No, I’ve no idea …

35A Cold War initials : USSR

The term “Cold War” was coined by novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch, adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

43A Number of orbits around the sun Neptune has completed since its discovery : ONE

Neptune is an ice giant that moves very slowly around the sun, at a leisurely 3.4 miles per second (compared to the Earth’s orbital speed of 18.5 miles/second). Given that it is the farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System, this slow speed means that it orbits the Sun every 165 years.

44A Beer ingredient : YEAST

Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms in the kingdom Fungi. The species of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used for centuries in the making of wine and beer, and in breadmaking. Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol in the process of fermentation. When making beer and wine, the carbon dioxide and alcohol may be captured by the liquid. When making bread, the carbon dioxide and alcohol is driven off by heat.

52A Carne option : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

61A Hardy title character : TESS

In Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”, the heroine and title character is Tess Durbeyfield. Her father is an uneducated peasant and when he hears that his name is a corruption of the noble name of “D’Urberville”, the news goes to his head.

62A Dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt : PLUTO

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was welcomed as the ninth planet in our solar system. It is relatively small in size, just one fifth of the mass of our own moon. In the seventies, astronomers began to discover more large objects in the solar system, including Eris, a “scattered disc object” at the outer reaches. Given that Eris is actually bigger than Pluto, and other objects really aren’t that much smaller, Pluto’s status as a planet was drawn into question. In 2006 there was a scientific definition for a “planet” agreed for the first time, resulting in Pluto being relegated to the status of “dwarf planet”, along with Eris. This relegation led to the word “pluto” being used as a verb meaning “give a less important position than before”.

The Kuiper Belt is a vast, donut-shaped region of icy objects and dwarf planets extending outwards from the orbit of Neptune, the Solar System’s outermost planet. Named for astronomer Gerard Kuiper, this region is roughly 20 times wider and far more massive than the inner Asteroid Belt. The Kuiper Belt has been described as a “celestial junkyard”, containing icy remnants and dwarf planets from the Solar System’s formation 4.6 billion years ago.

63A “Why the heck not” hashtag : YOLO

You only live once (YOLO)

66A Actor Stoltz : ERIC

Eric Stoltz is an actor from Whittier, California who is best known for playing the disfigured Rocky Dennis in the 1985 movie “Mask”. In 1984, Stoltz spent weeks playing Marty McFly for the film “Back to the Future” before producers concluded that he was miscast and gave the role to Michael J. Fox.

67A Potpourri piece : PETAL

The French term “pot pourri” translates literally to “rotten pot”, but in France it used to mean “stew”. Over time, the term “potpourri” evolved in English usage to mean a “medley”, and eventually a mixture of dried flowers and spices.

68A “The Celts” singer : ENYA

“The Celts” is the title track from musician Enya’s debut solo album, released in 1987. Enya co-wrote the song, and performs it in her native Irish language. It was used as the theme song for an excellent 1987 BBC documentary series, also called “The Celts”, which examined the origins of Celtic culture, and its influence in Ireland and Britain, and more generally across Europe.

69A City near Tahoe : RENO

Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

Down

1D Burrito option : WET

A wet burrito is one smothered in a red chili sauce, and with shredded cheese melted on top.

6D “Rock the __”: hit song for The Clash : CASBAH

“Rock the Casbah” was a 1982 hit for the Clash, a punk rock band from England. It was the first song aired by Armed Forces Radio during Operation Desert Storm.

8D Boxer Max : BAER

Max Baer was an American Heavyweight Champion of the World in the thirties. Baer held the title for 364 days, and then went into the ring after hardly any training at all against the well-prepared James J. Braddock. Braddock was a huge underdog, and yet emerged victorious after 15 rounds (Braddock is the subject of the 2005 movie “Cinderella Man”). By the way, Baer’s son is Max Baer, Jr., the actor who played Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

12D Conquerors of England in 1066 : NORMANS

The Norman Conquest of England started in 1066 when William, Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold II of England at the Battle of Hastings. William was crowned King William I of England, and was dubbed William the Conqueror.

23D Honeylove purchase : BRA

Honeylove is a brand of shapewear, the creation of EDM vocalist Betsie Larkin. Larkin was in the habit of wearing shapewear on stage and was very frustrated with its lack of comfort and support. That led to her creating her own designs that featured flexible internal boning.

24D Substance in the Hanukkah miracle : OIL

The Miracle of Hanukkah (also “Miracle of the cruse of oil”) is a story recounted in the Talmud. The Hanukkah holiday commemorates the Maccabean Revolt which led to the recovery of Jerusalem and the recovery of the Second Temple. During the rededication of the temple, a single day’s supply of untainted olive oil miraculously burned for eight full nights.

30D Queen’s record label : EMI

Queen is an English rock band that formed back in 1970. With the help of lead singer Freddie Mercury (now deceased), Queen has a long list of great hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”. “Bohemian Rhapsody” spent a total of nine weeks at number one in the UK. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is also the title of an outstanding 2018 biographical film about the band.

31D Grumpy friend : DOC

In the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale called “Snow White”, the seven dwarfs were not given any names. The names were added for the 1937 classic Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The seven dwarfs are:

• Doc (the leader of the group)
• Grumpy (that would be me, according to my wife …)
• Happy
• Sleepy
• Bashful
• Sneezy
• Dopey

38D Subject of the song “Oh Yoko!” : ONO

“Oh Yoko!” is a song written and performed by John Lennon in 1971 that appears on his iconic album “Imagine”. The title refers to Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono.

39D Former capital of Japan : KYOTO

The city of Kyoto was once the capital of Japan. Indeed, the name “Kyoto” means “capital city” in Japanese. Kyoto is sometimes referred to as the City of Ten Thousand Shrines.

40D Bar mat : COASTER

A coaster is a small mat or plate that goes under a glass or cup. Back in the late 1800s, the original coaster was a small drink-stand that sat on a table. As the drink-stand “coasted” around from guest-to-guest, it earned the name “coaster”.

41D Spartan : AUSTERE

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece that was famous for her military might. Spartan children had a tough upbringing, and newborn babies were bathed in wine to see if the child was strong enough to survive. Every child was presented to a council of elders that decided if the baby was suitable for rearing. Those children deemed too puny were executed by tossing them into a chasm. We’ve been using the term “spartan” to describe something self-disciplined or austere since the 1600s.

46D Lighthouse view : SEA

The oldest lighthouse still in use is the Tower of Hercules located on the coast of Galicia in northwest Spain. Renovated in 1791, this magnificent lighthouse was built by the Romans in 2nd century CE and has been in constant use since that time. It is believed that the structure’s design is based on the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of Ancient World.

49D Intl. cricket powerhouse : PAK

Cricket was introduced into Pakistan by the English during their colonial rule of British India, and it is now the most popular sport in the country. One of the most successful players of the game was Imran Khan, who led the national team to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He also led the nation of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, as the country’s 19th prime minister.

50D Drink of the gods : NECTAR

In Greek mythology, according to Homer anyway, the drink of the gods was nectar, and their food was ambrosia.

53D __ fries: poutine kin : DISCO

Disco fries are a New Jersey diner staple, featuring thick-cut fries smothered in brown gravy and a gooey layer of melted mozzarella.

Poutine is a dish that originated in rural Quebec in the late fifties. It is made with french fries covered in a brown gravy sauce, all topped with cheese curds.

57D Comedian Mike of “The Upshaws” : EPPS

Mike Epps is a stand-up comedian and actor from Indianapolis. Epps played Day-Day Jones in the 2000 stoner film “Next Friday”, and in the 2002 sequel “Friday After Next”.

“The Upshaws” is a sitcom co-created and starring stand-up comedian Wanda Sykes. The storyline revolves around a working-class family living in Indiana. Mom and Dad Upshaw are played by Kim Fields and Mike Epps.

64D Soap chemical : LYE

Soap is basically made by adding a strong alkali (like lye) to a fat (like olive oil or palm oil). The fats break down in the basic solution in a process called saponification. The crude soap is extracted from the mixture, washed, purified and finished in molds.