LA Times Crossword 6 Sep 26, Sunday

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Constructed by: Katie Hale

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Read the Instructions

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as INSTRUCTIONS fitting the scenario in the corresponding clues:

• 22A “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” e.g.? : GUIDING PRINCIPLE
• 32A “Oral contracts are binding,” e.g.? : UNWRITTEN LAW
• 50A “A new pope shall be chosen at a conclave,” e.g.? : CARDINAL DIRECTION
• 66A “The strike zone is between the chest and knees,” e.g.? : BATTING PRACTICE
• 87A “The ball must hit the cushion before dropping into the pocket,” e.g.? : BANKING REGULATION
• 102A “Chickens will be fed in the coop,” e.g.? : PECKING ORDER
• 119A “Wear sensible shoes and a lumbar support belt,” e.g.? : LONG-STANDING RULE

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

Bill’s time: 20m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11A “The Marvels” director DaCosta : NIA

Filmmaker Nia DaCosta directed, and co-wrote, the 2021 horror film “Candyman”. The movie’s reception made her the first Black female director to have a film debut at number one at the U.S. box office. She was also the first African American woman to direct a Marvel Comics film, at the helm of 2023’s “The Marvels”.

14A Latch (onto) : GLOM

“Glom” is a slang term meaning “steal”, although it can also be used to mean “latch onto” when used as “glom onto”. The term probably comes from the Scots word “glam” meaning “to snatch at”.

18A Speckled horses : ROANS

In horses, there are two types of roan: red roan, which has a mixture of red and white hairs, and blue roan, which has a mixture of black and white hairs.

25A “Frozen” reindeer : SVEN

Sven is Kristoff’s loyal reindeer companion and best friend in Disney’s “Frozen” movies. Though he doesn’t speak, Sven is often seen acting as Kristoff’s conscience, guiding him with gentle nudges and reminding him to be kind and selfless. He’s also incredibly helpful, pulling Kristoff’s sled and assisting Anna and Elsa on their adventures.

29A Ms. Marvel, for one : HERO

The comic superhero Ms. Marvel was introduced through the character of Carol Danvers in March 1968. Carol Danvers later officially became the first to use the “Ms. Marvel” codename, gaining powers in January 1977 as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. Since then, the mantle of “Ms. Marvel” has been held by several characters in the Marvel Universe: Sharon Ventura in May 1986, Karla Sofen in March 2009, and Kamala Khan, who debuted as the newest Ms. Marvel in February 2014.

42A Character who calls Homer “neighborino” : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned was married to Maude, with whom he had two children Rod and Todd. Maude died in an accident involving a T-shirt cannon. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

43A Romania neighbor : MOLDOVA

The Republic of Moldova (usually referred to as “Moldova”) was the Moldavian Socialist Republic before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is a landlocked country, lying between Romania and Ukraine.

45A Letters said while showing a badge : FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was set up in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), with the name changing in 1935. The Bureau was set up at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was largely moved to do so after the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, as there was a perception that anarchists were threatening law and order. The FBI’s motto uses the organization’s initialism, and is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity”.

47A “Ew, stop talking!” : TMI!

Too much information (TMI)

50A “A new pope shall be chosen at a conclave,” e.g.? : CARDINAL DIRECTION

A new pope is elected in a papal conclave, a meeting of the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic church. After each round of voting, the individual ballots are burned. If the ballot is inconclusive, then the ballots are burned with a chemical (originally, damp straw was used) so that the resulting smoke is black. The smoke can be seen by crowds gathered near the Sistine Chapel where the conclave is held. If the ballot has resulted in a pope being selected, then the individual ballots are burned on their own so that they give off white smoke.

58A Castle protectors : MOATS

A moat is a protective trench that surrounds a castle, say, or an exhibit in a zoo. A moat may or may not be filled with water.

60A Ancient land of the Fertile Crescent : ASSYRIA

Assyria was an ancient kingdom located on the Upper Tigris river in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), named for its capital city of Assur. According to the Bible, of the original Twelve Tribes of Israel, Ten Tribes “disappeared” when the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 720 BCE.

64A NHL trophy namesake : NORRIS

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in the NHL each year, based on votes by members of the professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Bobby Orr won the award every single season from 1967-1975.

85A City bond, for short : MUNI

A municipal bond (“muni”) is one that is issued by a city or local government, or some similar agency. Munis have an advantage over other investments in that any interest earned on the bond is usually exempt from state and federal income taxes.

86A Birthplace of MLK : ATL

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, which back then was the center of Black commerce and culture in the segregated South. His childhood home is now the centerpiece of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

91A With 27-Across, patriotic Muppet : SAM …
27A See 91-Across : … EAGLE

The most overtly patriotic Muppet, by far, is Sam Eagle. In “The Muppet Christmas Carol”, he has a line spoken to Ebenezer Scrooge explaining why the young Scrooge will enjoy business: “It is the American Way”. Sam is corrected by Gonzo, who points out that “It is the British Way”, given that the movie is set in England.

92A Home security co. : ADT

ADT is a home and small-business security company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company was founded back in 1874 by Edward Calahan. Calahan invented the stock ticker several years earlier, and ran the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company. Calahan was awoken one morning by the sound of a burglar in his house, and so he decided to develop a telegraph-based security alarm system. The success of the system led to the founding of American District Telegraph, later known as ADT.

93A Malaysian fleet : AIRASIA

AirAsia is a low-cost airline based in Malaysia, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Reportedly, AirAsia has the lowest actual cost of operations of any airline in the world.

95A Mexican lager : SOL

Sol is a line of Mexican beers produced by the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery.

97A AKB48 genre : J-POP

AKB48 is a Japanese idol girl group, meaning a group comprising entertainers marketed primarily on their personality, youth, and approachability rather than for musical or vocal talent. The group has a massive, rotating roster divided into sub-teams that give simultaneous live appearances. In 2011, Guinness World Records recognized AKB48 as the world’s largest pop group. Seems strange to me …

100A Miami Beach fair for gallerists and curators : ART BASEL

Art Basel is an annual art fair that was founded in the Swiss city of Basel in 1970 by a trio of local gallery owners. Over time, it has come to be considered the premier international art fair for modern and contemporary work. It has also expanded into a global franchise with additional annual editions in Miami Beach (since 2002), Hong Kong (since 2013), Paris (since 2022) and Qatar (since 2026).

107A Designer initials : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

108A Former Yankee slugger, familiarly : A-ROD

Baseball player Alex Rodriguez, nicknamed “A-Rod”, hit his 600th home run on August 4th, 2010. He had hit his 500th home run exactly three years earlier, on August 4th, 2007, when he became the youngest player in Major League history to join the 500-home run club.

110A Tennis star Naomi : OSAKA

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese-born tennis professional who became the first Asian player to be ranked number-one in singles. She was also the first ever tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during an opening ceremony, doing so for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

118A Space City pro : ‘STRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

The city of Houston (sometimes “H-Town”) was named for General Sam Houston, who served as President of the Republic of Texas and then as Governor after Texas was annexed as a US state in 1845. As the city is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston was officially given the nickname “Space City” in 1967.

123A Cheap, plastic camera type : LOMO

The LOMO LC-A was a cheap, mass-produced Soviet camera manufactured in the 1980s. A group of Austrian students rediscovered it in 1991 and fell in love with its high-contrast photos and dark edges. That discovery led to a global analog photography movement called Lomography, which used the “light-leaky” cameras to produce blurry, spontaneous snapshots.

126A Latin 101 verb : ESSE

“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am”, “est” means “he, she is”, and “erat” means “he, she was”.

128A Public affairs network : C-SPAN

C-SPAN is a privately-funded, nonprofit cable channel that broadcasts continuous coverage of government proceedings. The acronym stands for “Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network”.

Down

2D Petulant look : MOUE

The term “moue” comes from French, and means “small grimace, pout”.

4D Like Dracula : UNDEAD

“Dracula” is a novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker and first published in 1897. Dracula wasn’t the first vampire of literature, but he certainly was the one who spawned the popularity of vampires in theater, film and television, and indeed more novels. Personally, I can’t stand vampire fiction …

5D Air pump meas. : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

6D Super Monkey Ball developer : SEGA

“Super Monkey Ball” is a series of video games that debuted in 2001 as a Sega arcade title simply called “Monkey Ball”. One of the unique features of the arcade game is that it has a memorable joystick that looks like a bright yellow banana.

11D Part of a table setting : NAPKIN

Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.

16D __ glasses : OPERA

Opera glasses are relatively small, and low-power binoculars designed for use at theater performances. The compact size makes the instruments convenient to carry into a theater, and the low magnifying power means that the user gets a large enough field of view without image shake.

17D Jen Psaki’s network : MS NOW

MSNBC underwent a significant rebranding in 2025 to become MS NOW. The “MS” is a hangover from the network’s 1996 roots as a joint venture with Microsoft. I believe the “NOW” reflects an intent to move towards real-time, digital-first journalism.

The very able Jen Psaki served as the first White House press secretary for the Biden administration. During the Obama administration, she held several positions including White House deputy secretary and spokesperson for the Department of State. After leaving the White House, Psaki started to carve out a new career as TV pundit and began hosting her own MSNBC talk show in 2023.

23D Liam of “The Naked Gun” : NEESON

Irish actor Liam Neeson’s big break came with the role of Oskar Schindler in the Spielberg epic, “Schindler’s List”. Neeson was in the news some years later when he lost his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, in a tragic skiing accident in 2009. Earlier in his life, in the 1980s, Neeson lived for several years with Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren.

Liam Neeson stars as bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. in the 2025 comedy “The Naked Gun”. The movie is the fourth installment in the franchise, and is a sequel to 1994’s “Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult”, in which Leslie Nielsen played the lead: Frank Drebin Sr. I haven’t heard good things about this one …

24D Draped neckline : COWL

A cowl is a long garment with a hood that is primarily worn by monks in the Christian tradition. The term “cowl” can also describe the hood itself.

31D Moore of “The Substance” : DEMI

Demi Moore was born Demetria Guynes and took the name Demi Moore when she married her first husband, Freddy Moore. Moore’s second husband was Bruce Willis. She changed her name to Demi Guynes Kutcher a few years after marrying her third husband, Ashton Kutcher. However, Kutcher and Moore split in 2013.

“The Substance” is a horror movie (so I haven’t seen it). It stars Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, the former portraying an aging film star, and the latter portraying the producer who fires her for being too old. The actress takes “The Substance” a black market drug that creates a younger version of herself. But, there are unintended, and horrifying consequences.

34D “__ go bragh!” : ERIN

“Erin go bragh!” is an anglicization of the Irish phrase “Éirinn go brách!”, which translates as “Ireland forever!”

36D “Hijack” star Elba : IDRIS

Idris Elba is a British actor and DJ. He was born in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. Elba’s breakthrough role came in 2002, when he was cast as Stringer Bell in the HBO series “The Wire”.

“H/JACK” is a thriller TV miniseries starring Idris Elba. He plays a passenger on a hijacked plane who takes on the task of negotiating a peaceful end to the incident. Great stuff …

42D Sweet Sixteen org. : NCAA

In the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, the teams remaining at various stages of the tournament are known as:

• The “Sweet Sixteen” (the regional semi-finalists)
• The “Elite Eight” (the regional finalists)
• The “Final Four” (the national semi-finalists)

46D Sarajevo’s region : BOSNIA

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is famous for many historical events. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated there, the single event that sparked off WWI. More happily, Sarajevo was the host of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Just over a decade later the city was the center of the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, lasting almost four years from 1992 to 1996.

48D “Light My Candle” singer in 117-Down : MIMI
117D Musical set in Alphabet City : RENT

“Light My Candle” is a duet from the 1996 Broadway musical “Rent” that marks the first meeting between the characters Mimi Marquez and Roger Davis. Composer Jonathan Larson adapted the scene from Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera “La bohème”, in which Puccini’s Mimì knocks on Rodolfo’s door for a light. Mimì and Rudolfo end up searching in the dark for a dropped room key. In “Rent”, Mimi and Roger search for Mimi’s dropped cocaine.

49D Long-term goals for some startups : IPOS

Initial public offering (IPO)

52D Dubai leader : EMIR

Dubai was founded as a fishing village in the early 1700s, and today it is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, and the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is home to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building since 2010. The city also holds Guinness World Records for the largest shopping mall, the deepest diving pool (at over 196 feet), and the world’s largest vertical maze, a facility integrated into the facade of the 57-story Maze Tower.

53D “Downton Abbey” countess : CORA

American actress Elizabeth McGovern is perhaps most famous today on the small screen for playing Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in the hit period drama “Downton Abbey”. She gets a lot of TV work in England, partly because she lives in London with her British husband, filmmaker Simon Curtis. McGovern is also a professional musician. She plays the guitar, and has fronted the UK-based Americana-folk band Sadie and the Hotheads since 2007.

61D Issa of “Barbie” : RAE

In the 2023 hit movie “Barbie”, actress Issa Rae plays President Barbie, the ruler of Barbieland.

65D Anxiety-related med. condition : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

67D Novelist Dinesen : ISAK

“Isak Dinesen” was the pen name of the Danish author Baroness Karen Blixen. Blixen’s most famous title by far is “Out of Africa”, her account of the time she spent living in Kenya.

68D Tuna roll wrap : NORI

In Japanese cuisine, dishes wrapped with nori seaweed are known as “norimaki”.

69D Singer Stefani : GWEN

Gwen Stefani is lead singer with the rock band No Doubt. She joined the band in 1986, focused on a solo career from 2004-2008, but is now back singing and working with No Doubt. She joined the reality show “The Voice” as a coach in 2014, replacing Christina Aguilera. A year later, Stefani announced a relationship with Blake Shelton, a fellow coach on “The Voice”.

70D Force measured in newtons : THRUST

Thrust is a force, and so is measured in newtons in the SI system. It is a mechanical force generated by an engine to overcome aerodynamic drag and push a vehicle forward.

72D “Star Trek” android : DATA

Actor Brent Spiner plays the android named Lieutenant Commander Data on television’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Spiner also played the eccentric Dr. Brackish Okun in the 1996 movie “Independence Day”.

77D How anchovies may be packed : IN OIL

Anchovies are saltwater fish that are quite small, although their adult size can vary from under an inch to over 15 inches depending on the species. Vegans should beware, as they are an ingredient in several common foods including Worcestershire sauce and Caesar salad dressing.

78D Guinness serving, often : PINT

Guinness is the most popular beer sold in Ireland. It is a stout and has that famous creamy white head, a result of mixing the beer with nitrogen as it is poured. You can also buy Guinness that has no nitrogen, which is sold in bottles bearing the name Guinness Export. This carbonated version of the beer has a very different mouth feel, and is my personal favorite …

82D __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1972, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

83D Michael of “Barbie” : CERA

In the 2023 blockbuster film “Barbie”, there are a whole host of Barbie characters and Ken characters living in Barbieland, and only one Allan. Played by Michael Cera, Allan is the ultimate outsider, and really the voice of reason in the perfectly uniform society of Barbieland. In the real world, Mattel introduced the Allan doll in 1964, marketing him as Ken’s buddy who could conveniently fit into all of Ken’s clothes. Allan wasn’t a hit, and had a very short production run.

84D Vegan thickener : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

87D Indonesian island : BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is known as the “Island of the Gods” due to its rich and unique culture, which is steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs.

89D Tripoli resident : LIBYAN

Tripoli is the capital city of Libya and sits on the Mediterranean Coast. The city was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC and was originally called Oea.

102D Wasabi product : PASTE

Sometimes called Japanese horseradish, wasabi is a root used as a condiment in Japanese cooking. The taste of wasabi is more like mustard than a hot pepper in that the vapors that create the “hotness” stimulate the nasal passages rather than the tongue. Personally, I love the stuff …

103D Some deco pieces : ERTES

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian-born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. “Erté” is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

104D __ Wafers : NILLA

As one might expect, “Nilla” is a shortened form of “vanilla”. However, you won’t find any vanilla in Nilla brand cookies or wafers. They have always been flavored with vanillin, which is synthetic vanilla. Is nothing sacred …?

112D College basketball coach Barnes : ADIA

Adia Barnes is a former WNBA player who was appointed head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team in 2016. Earlier in her career, Barnes played internationally for Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine, and also turned out for several Euroleague teams. She is married to a basketball coach she met in Italy.

116D Author Wiesel : ELIE

Elie Wiesel was a holocaust survivor, and is best known for his book “Night” that tells of his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was also the first recipient of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Award, which was later renamed the Elie Wiesel Award in his honor.

117D Musical set in Alphabet City : RENT

The musical “Rent” by Jonathan Larson is based on the Puccini opera “La bohème”. “Rent” tells the story of struggling artists and musicians living in the Lower East Side of New York, and is set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. We saw “Rent” on Broadway quite a few years ago, and were very disappointed …

Avenues A, B, C and D are the only avenues in Manhattan to have single letter names. The area bounded by Avenues A and D, 14th Street and Houston Street in the East Village is known as Alphabet City, a reference to those single-letter avenues. The “Alphabet City” moniker emerged in the 1980s.

121D Southwestern Indian state : GOA

Goa is the smallest state in India, and is located in the southwest of the country. The Portuguese landed in Goa in the early 1500s, at first peacefully carrying out trade, but then took the area by force creating Portuguese India. Portugal held onto Portuguese India even after the British pulled out of India in 1947, until the Indian Army marched into the area in 1961.