LA Times Crossword 28 May 26, Thursday

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Constructed by: Jared Cappel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Right You Are

Themed answers are each have “UR” on the RIGHT, on the end:

• 57A “Correct!,” or a phonetic hint to 18-, 24-, 34-, and 52-Across : RIGHT YOU ARE!

• 18A Malaysian capital : KUALA LUMPUR
• 24A Flying reptile of the Mesozoic Era : PTEROSAUR
• 34A Required by etiquette : DE RIGUEUR
• 52A Frothy cocktail from Peru : PISCO SOUR

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

Bill’s time: 7m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8A Home of the Zambezi : AFRICA

The Zambezi is the largest African river flowing into the Indian Ocean, and the fourth-longest river on the continent. The most famous spot along the Zambezi is Victoria Falls.

15A Cosmic explosion : NOVA

A nova is a dramatic celestial event that results in a sudden and significant increase in the brightness of a star. The term “nova,” Latin for “new,” was coined because these events often make a previously dim star appear as a new, bright star in the night sky. Novae typically occur in binary star systems where one star is a white dwarf, the dense remnant of a sun-like star, and the other is a larger star like a red giant. The white dwarf’s strong gravity pulls material, primarily hydrogen, from its companion star onto its surface. Over time, this accumulated material heats up and becomes compressed, eventually triggering a runaway thermonuclear explosion on the white dwarf’s surface. This explosion causes a tremendous surge in luminosity, making the star visible to the naked eye for days or even weeks before it gradually fades back to its original brightness.

17A __ Speedwagon : REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.

18A Malaysian capital : KUALA LUMPUR

The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, which is often abbreviated to “KL”. The name “Kuala Lumpur” translates into English as “muddy estuary”. Famously, KL is home to the spectacular Petronas Twin Towers, which is currently the tallest twin-tower building in the world and was the tallest of any building from 1998 to 2004.

22A __ Dhabi : ABU

Abu Dhabi is an island city in the Persian Gulf that is capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Abu Dhabi” translates literally from Arabic as “Father of Gazelle”, a name honoring the animal that reportedly led the Bani Yas tribe to a fresh water source on the island in 1761. The Bani Yas then established a fort and some housing in the area. That fort is now the oldest stone building in the city today.

23A Fragrant tree : PINE

There are many species of pine tree (well over 100). The smallest is probably the Siberian dwarf pine, which usually grows to less than 10-feet tall. The tallest is the sugar pine, which has been “logged” at over 250 feet tall.

24A Flying reptile of the Mesozoic Era : PTEROSAUR

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic Era. The name “pterosaur” translates as “winged lizard”, and indeed, pterosaurs were the first known vertebrates to have mastered powered flight. They ranged in size, some being as small as sparrows, right up to the massive Quetzalcoatlus, which possessed a wingspan exceeding 30 feet. Their wings were not feathered but consisted of a skin membrane stretching from an elongated fourth finger.

The Mesozoic Era is also known as “the Age of the Dinosaurs” and “the Age of Reptiles”. Most dinosaurs developed during that time and the era ended with the extinction of all dinosaurs (except the avian species, which developed into our modern birds). The Mesozoic Era started with another cataclysmic event, the so-called “Great Dying”, the largest mass extinction in the history of our planet. During the “Great Dying” over 96% of all marine species and 70% of all terrestrial vertebrate species died off.

26A Group people are smart to join? : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

28A “Brokeback Mountain” star Heath : LEDGER

Heath Ledger was a movie actor from Australia who died in 2008, at only 28 years old. He passed away due to an accidental overdose and abuse of prescribed medications. Ledger had just finished filming “The Dark Knight”, in which he played the Joker. For that performance, Ledger was awarded, posthumously, that season’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

“Brokeback Mountain” is a 2005 movie about the romantic and sexual relationship between two cowboys, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Matt Damon was asked to play one of the leads but declined. Damon gave the excuse, “I did a gay movie (The Talented Mr. Ripley), then a cowboy movie (All the Pretty Horses). I can’t follow it up with a gay-cowboy movie!”

30A Pig __ : LATIN

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).

33A Unlikely pair? : ELS

There is a pair of letters L (els) in the word “unlikely”.

34A Required by etiquette : DE RIGUEUR

The term “de rigueur” translates literally from French as “of rigor,” and originally described requirements mandated by the strict letter of the law. By the mid-19th century, the phrase migrated from the courtroom to define “mandatory” social customs and dress codes. One might say, for example, “Black tie attire has been considered de rigueur for any high-society gala since the Victorian era”. So that’s why I don’t get those invites …

52A Frothy cocktail from Peru : PISCO SOUR

The pisco sour cocktail was the invention of an American expat bartender who was living and working in Lima, Peru. Victor Vaughen Morris developed the drink as a variant of the whiskey sour, by simply replacing the whiskey in the sour recipe with pisco, a brandy-like spirit produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Today, the pisco sour holds the official status of National Cultural Heritage in Peru, and even has its own public holiday on the first Saturday of February!

54A __ Kringle : KRIS

“Kris Kringle” (sometimes “Kriss Kringle”) is the name often used here in North America for Santa Claus. It is an anglicized form of “Christkind”, the bringer of gifts in many other countries including Austria, the Czech Republic and parts of Germany. “Christkind” is German for “Christ-child”.

55A Journalist Rather : DAN

Journalist and former news anchor Dan Rather is from Texas, and began his career as a reporter for the Associated Press in Huntsville, Texas. Rather was the man chosen to replace Walter Cronkite as anchor and Managing Editor of “CBS Evening News” when Cronkite retired in 1981.

60A “__ willikers!” : GEE

“Gee willikers!” is a minced oath. It’s a softening alteration of “Jesus”, and emerged in the 19th century as a way to express surprise without using the Lord’s name in vain. It’s similar to “gosh”, from “God”. The “willikers” part has no inherent meaning on its own and seems to have been added simply to further soften the exclamation.

62A Treat like a pariah : SHUN

“Pariah” is an anglicized version of the Tamil word “Paraiyar”. The Paraiyar are a social group of about 9 million people found in some Indian states and in Sri Lanka. The term “pariah” came to be a general term for members of the lowest caste in society, outcasts.

65A Jet stream direction : EAST

Jet streams are narrow air currents high in the atmosphere that move very quickly around the earth. The major jet streams surrounding our planet move in an easterly direction.

66A Ellipsis component : DOT

An ellipsis (plural “ellipses”) is a series of dots (usually three) used to indicate an omission in some text. The term comes from the Greek word “élleipsis”, which means “omission”.

Down

1D Highest-order angels : SERAPHS

A seraph is a celestial being found in Hebrew and Christian writings. The word “seraph” (plural “seraphim”) literally translates as “burning one”. Seraphs are the highest-ranking angels in the Christian tradition, and the fifth-ranking of ten in the Jewish tradition.

2D Lipton beverage : ICED TEA

Sir Thomas Lipton was a grocer in Glasgow, Scotland. He founded a tea packing company in North America in 1893, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was very successful, primarily due to his blends of tea becoming popular in the US.

4D Place to dip a quill : INKPOT

Quills have been used as writing implements since the 6th century. Historically, goose, swan and turkey feathers have been the quills of choice. A bird’s feather is well suited for writing, as the hollow shaft acts as a reservoir for ink which then flows to the tip due to capillary action. Choice of feather is important. Right-handed writers are best served by feathers from the left wing, as the feather curves away from the palm of the hand when writing. The tip of the quill is sharpened using a “quill knife”. This quill knife is the ancestor of what we know today as a “penknife”.

5D Creamy chocolate dessert : MOUSSE

Our word “mousse” is an Old French term meaning “froth”.

6D Cavaliers sch. : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) sports teams are known officially as “the Cavaliers”. The unofficial nickname is “the Wahoos”.

7D Country in Micronesia whose largest city is Koror : PALAU

Koror is the largest city and commercial heart of the island nation of Palau. It is home to about 70% of Palau’s population, over 12,000 people, despite having a footprint of only 8 square kilometers. Koro officially transitioned its role as the national capital to Ngerulmud in 2006, but it remains the primary hub for the republic’s trade, banking, and tourism. Ngerulmud is the seat of government, despite having no permanent fixed population.

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.

8D Org. with a People Power grassroots network : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was established in 1920 by a group of activists, including Helen Keller and Roger Baldwin, to defend the Bill of Rights during the post-WWI First Red Scare. The organization rose to national prominence in 1925 when it represented defendant John Scopes in the “Monkey Trial”, a landmark case centered on the teaching of evolution in schools.

9D Winter bug : FLU

Influenza (the “flu”) is an ailment that is caused by a virus. The virus is readily inactivated by the use of soap, so washing hands and surfaces is especially helpful in containing flu outbreaks, and other virus pandemics …

13D Overdue debts : ARREARS

To be in arrears is to have an unpaid obligation or debt. The term “arrears” came into English from the Old French “ariere” meaning “behind”.

19D Unlike the OED : ABR

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) serves as a definitive 20-volume historical record of the English language, tracing word evolution from the mid-12th century. There is an abridged counterpart to the OED: the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (SOED) is a two-volume publication (I own one; it is huge, and expensive!) that focuses on vocabulary used primarily since 1700. The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (Compact OED) offers the entire unabridged text through a micrographic printing process that fits the 20-volume set into a single volume. The print in the Compact OED is so small that it was bundled with its own magnifying glass!

26D List that may be opened with a QR code : MENU

A QR Code (for “Quick Response Code”) is a two-dimensional barcode that is favored over UPC barcodes as it can read more quickly and can store much more information. The QR Code comprises black squares within a square grid on a white background.

36D “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE

“Call Me Maybe” was released as a single in 2011 by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. Jepsen co-wrote the number originally as a folk song, but it was transformed into pop during production.

37D Angel who plays for Rose BC in the Unrivaled league : REESE

Before turning pro, WNBA star Angel Reese played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins and the LSU Tigers. While having an outstanding record on the court at LSU, she earned the nickname “Bayou Barbie”, referring to the location of the school and her use of eyelash extensions and long, pink nails on the court. Reese has embraced her glamorous image and has expressed an interest in taking up modeling after she retires from basketball.

38D Energy points in yoga : CHAKRAS

Chakras are energy centers in the body that are believed to correspond to different aspects of the physical, emotional, and spiritual self. There are seven main chakras, located along the spine from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each chakra is associated with a different color, element, and emotion.

39D Bullfight, in Spain : CORRIDA

Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, literally “running of bulls”.

44D Prenatal : IN UTERO

“In utero” is a Latin term meaning “in the uterus”. The Latin “uterus” (plural “uteri”) translates as both “womb” and “belly”. “Uterus” comes from the Greek “hystera” that also means “womb”, which gives us the words “hysterectomy”, and “hysterical”.

45D Least loquacious : TERSEST

I think that “loquacious” is a lovely word. To be loquacious is to be excessively wordy, full of excessive talk. Sort of like this blog …

49D Mythical figure who flew too close to the sun : ICARUS

Daedalus was a master craftsman of Greek mythology who was tasked with creating the Labyrinth on the island of Crete that was to house the Minotaur. After the Labyrinth was completed, King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in a tower, so that he could not spread word of his work. Daedalus fabricated wings so that he and Icarus could escape by flying off the island. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun so that the wax holding the wings’ feathers in place melted. Icarus drowned in the sea, and Daedalus escaped.

50D Convincing : COGENT

Something “cogent” makes sense, it is convincing and reasonable.

52D Kung __ shrimp : PAO

Kung Pao chicken (or sometimes shrimp or tofu) is a Sichuan stir-fry dish that includes peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers. The name “Kung Pao” is thought to come from a governor of the Sichuan province whose title was “Gongbao”, meaning “Palace Guardian”.