LA Times Crossword 23 Feb 24, Friday

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Constructed by: Blake Slonecker
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: F-Stop

Themed answers are common phrases that have been shortened by stopping before including the final letter F:

  • 39A Camera setting, and what shortened 18-, 24-, 47-, and 58-Across? : F-STOP
  • 18A Pollinator who can’t fly? : GROUND BEE (from “ground beef”)
  • 24A Parents in the Hundred Acre Wood? : RAISES THE ROO (from “raises the roof”)
  • 47A Product of Shenandoah Valley shepherds? : VIRGINIA WOOL (from “Virginia Woolf”)
  • 58A Experimental soft cheese? : TRIAL BRIE (from “trial brief”)

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

Bill’s time: 10m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Nosegay : POSY

“Poesy” was the name given to a line of verse engraved on the inner surface of a ring. The related word “posy”, for a bouquet of flowers, arose with the notion that giving a posy might be a message of love, just as a poesy inside a ring could have the same meaning.

A nosegay is a posy, a bouquet of flowers. As one might expect, a nosegay is designed to make the nose gay and joyous with the aroma of fresh cut flowers.

10 Pod whose cross sections are pentagonal : OKRA

Okra seeds can be processed just like coffee beans, roasted and ground to make a coffee-like beverage that contains no caffeine. Okra seeds were a popular substitute for coffee beans when the supply of coffee from South America was disrupted during the American Civil War.

16 “Stay” singer Lisa : LOEB

Singer Lisa Loeb was discovered by actor Ethan Hawke, who lived just across the street from her in New York City. Hawke took a demo of her song “Stay (I Missed You)” and gave it to director Ben Stiller, who in turn used it over the ending credits of his 1994 movie “Reality Bites”. The movie was a hit, the song went to number one, and Loeb became the first artist ever to hit that number one spot without having signed up with a record label. Good for her!

17 __ Cup: PGA Tour prize : FEDEX

The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy that has been awarded since 2007 to golfers on the PGA Tour. Players win points throughout the season, with those earning the most points entering into playoff tournaments at the end of the season.

18 Pollinator who can’t fly? : GROUND BEE (from “ground beef”)

There are over 16,000 species of bees, with the best-known probably being the western honey bee, the most common of the honey bees worldwide. Bees feed on nectar and pollen, and in so doing play a crucial role in the pollination of many plants. That’s one of the main reasons there is great concern about diminishing populations of wild bees.

20 Middle of dinner? : ENS

There are two letters N (ens) in the middle of the word “dinners”.

23 “Island of the Blue Dolphins” novelist Scott : O’DELL

Author Scott O’Dell mainly wrote historical novels for young people. His best-known work is the 1960 novel “Island of the Blue Dolphins”, which is about a young girl stranded for years on an island off the California coast. The book is based on a true story of a Native American girl left alone on one of California’s Channel Islands for 18 years, before being rescued in 1853.

24 Parents in the Hundred Acre Wood? : RAISES THE ROO (from “raises the roof”)

In A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” collection of stories, Pooh has many friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Besides Christopher Robin, who doesn’t actually live in the woods, the list includes Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger and Owl.

27 Joie de vivre : ZEST

“Joie de vivre” means “joy of living” in French. We use the phrase to mean the happy, carefree enjoyment of life, like when we finish our crossword puzzles …

37 Sphere in old referee whistles : PEA

Some whistles have a pea inside them. The movement of the pea creates a discordant, warbling sound that can be more effective in attracting attention. The “pea” isn’t really a garden pea, and is usually a pea-shaped piece of cork.

39 Camera setting, and what shortened 18-, 24-, 47-, and 58-Across? : F-STOP

Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in a greater depth of field (more of the photograph is in focus).

40 Otter kin : MINK

There are two species of mink extant: the European Mink and the American Mink. There used to be a Sea Mink which was much larger than its two cousins, but it was hunted to extinction (for its fur) in the late 1800s. American Minks are farmed over in Europe for fur, and animal rights activists have released many of these animals into the wild when raiding mink farms. As a result the European Mink population has declined due to the presence of its larger and more adaptable American cousin.

41 Durango day : DIA

Durango is one of Mexico’s 32 “estados” (states). It is landlocked, and is located in the northwest of the country.

43 Well-mannered blokes : GENTS

“Bloke” is British slang for “fellow”. The etymology of “bloke” seems to have been lost in the mists of time.

44 Goofs in proofs : ERRATA

“Errata” is the past participle of the Latin word “errare” meaning “to err”. We use “errata” (singular “erratum”) to describe a list of errors that have been noted in some publication.

47 Product of Shenandoah Valley shepherds? : VIRGINIA WOOL (from “Virginia Woolf”)

The Shenandoah Valley extends about 150 miles, through much of Virginia and part of West Virginia. It is named for the Shenandoah River that drains most of the valley.

53 Bird in a bevy : QUAIL

“Quail” is a name used for several chicken-like wild birds. Quail are common prey for hunters.

“Bevy” is a collective noun used for a number of types of bird, including quail and swans. “Bevy” is also sometimes used as a collective noun for women.

58 Experimental soft cheese? : TRIAL BRIE (from “trial brief”)

Brie is a soft cheese that is named for the French region in which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) Camembert. Brie is often served baked in puff pastry with fig jam.

The term “brief”, in the context of the law, applies to a written legal document presented in court as an argument in a legal process. “Brief” comes from the Latin “brevis” meaning “short”. So, I guess those arguments were originally meant to be short, concise. And “briefs” can be carried in a “briefcase”.

60 Glossy material : SATIN

The material known as “satin” takes its name from “Zayton”, the medieval Arabic name for the Chinese port city of Quanzhou. Quanzhou was used for the export of large amounts of silk to Europe.

65 Fancy spread : PATE

Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made from a mixture of ground meat and fat to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, which is made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

67 Wrap sheet : SARAN

What’s known as plastic wrap in America, we call cling-film in Ireland. The brand name “Saran” is often used generically in the US, while “Glad” wrap is common down under. Plastic wrap was one of those unintended inventions, a byproduct of a development program to create a hard plastic cover for cars.

Down

2 Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne : ELENA

Elena Delle Donne is a professional basketball player who was the second pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, and was drafted by the Chicago Sky. She was the first WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club, an informal statistic used to rate shooters. The requirement is to achieve a 50% field goal percentage, a 40% three-point field goal percentage, and a 90% free throw percentage.

3 Many a sedan : MIDSIZE CAR

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.

4 Amit Majmudar’s “__ to a Drone” : ODE

Amit Majmudar is a part-time poet and novelist, and a full-time diagnostic nuclear radiologist. Here is the full test of his poem “Ode to a Drone”:

Hell-raiser, razor-feathered
risers, windhover over
Peshawar,

power’s
joystick-blithe
thousand-mile scythe,

proxy executioner’s
proxy ax
pinged by a proxy server,

winged victory,
pilot cipher
unburdened by aught

but fuel and bombs,
fool of God, savage
idiot savant

sucking your benumbed
trigger-finger
gamer’s thumb

5 People’s superlative : SEXIEST

There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call “People” magazine. “People” is noted for its annual special editions with features such as “Best & Worst Dressed” and “Sexiest Man Alive”. The “Sexiest Man Alive” edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for “Sexiest Man” was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

6 Sound of the Northwest : PUGET

George Vancouver was a British explorer, and an officer in the Royal Navy. As well as exploring the coast of Australia, he is best known for his travels along the northwest coast of North America. The city of Vancouver was named in his honor. Traveling with him on his American voyage was a lieutenant Peter Puget, and in his honor, Vancouver named the waters south of the Tacoma Narrows “Puget’s Sound”. Nowadays, the name “Puget Sound” describes an area much greater than Vancouver had envisioned.

7 O icon : OPRAH

The full name of the publication usually called “O” is “O: The Oprah Magazine”. Since the magazine’s founding in 2000, Oprah has appeared alone on the cover of each issue, with two exceptions. On the April 2009 cover Oprah was shown with First Lady Michelle Obama, and on the December 2009 cover Oprah shared the limelight with Ellen DeGeneres.

11 “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” writer Bryant : KOBE

“The Mamba Mentality: How I Play: is a 2018 retrospective book of photographs and quotes by NBA legend Kobe Bryant. He defines the Mamba Mentality as “constantly trying to be the best version of yourself.”

13 Cain’s brother : ABEL

The story of Cain and Abel not only appears in the Christian and Hebrew Bibles, it also features in the Qur’an. In the Muslim account the brothers are named Qabil and Habil.

19 Nary a soul : NO ONE

The adjective “nary” means “not one”, as in “nary a soul” or even “nary a one”.

22 “Spring forward” letters : DST

On the other side of the Atlantic, daylight saving time (DST) is known as “summer time”. The idea behind summer/daylight-savings is to move clocks forward an hour in spring (“spring forward”), and backwards in the fall (“fall back”) so that afternoons have more daylight. Here in the US, DST starts on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.

25 Quick meeting? : SESH

Session (abbreviated to “sess.” formally, and “sesh” informally)

29 Damage control pro : SPIN DOCTOR

We use the term “spin” to describe an attempt to influence media reporters, with the term “spin doctor” describing a public relations person who is spouting such “spin”. Apparently, the use of “spin” in this context was popularized during the Reagan administration, when White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan was known informally as the “Director of Spin Control”.

31 Shaggy beasts : YAKS

The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.

34 Pump letters : PSI

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

35 Lays aisle-mate : UTZ

Utz is the largest privately-held producer of snack foods in the US. The company was founded in 1921 and is based in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

36 Bass output : ROE

The freshwater and marine species of fish called bass resemble perch. The word “bass” comes from the Middle English “bars” meaning “perch”.

39 “__ the Turtle”: University of Maryland catchphrase : FEAR

The sports teams of the University of Maryland (UMD) are called the Maryland Terrapins, or “Terps” for short. The name dates back to 1932 when it was coined by the university’s president at the time, Curley Byrd. He took the name from the diamondback terrapins that are native to the Chesapeake Bay.

The terrapin is a species of turtle found in swamps in the east and south of the United States.

40 “I would like some more catnip, please” : MEOW

About 50% of all cats are affected in some way by the plant catnip. There is a terpenoid in the oil of the plant called nepetalactone that the cat inhales and that can cause anything from drowsiness to anxiety.

42 Bootlegger’s vessel : STILL

To bootleg is to make or smuggle alcoholic drinks illegally. The term arose in the late 1800s as slang for the practice of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. The term has been extended to mean the illegal production and sale of just about anything.

49 Campus climbers : IVIES

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

50 Focus of Maslow’s hierarchy : NEEDS

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a concept proposed in 1943 by psychologist Abraham Maslow. The hierarchy is often portrayed as a pyramid, with the needs stacked on one another, the most fundamental at the base. The needs are ranked, starting with the most fundamental:

  1. Physiological needs
  2. Safety needs
  3. Belongingness & love needs
  4. Esteem needs
  5. Self-fulfillment needs

51 Message board? : OUIJA

The Ouija board was introduced to America as a harmless parlor game at the end of the 19th century, although variations of the board date back to 1100 AD in China, where it was apparently used to “contact” the spirit world. The name “Ouija” is relatively recent, and is probably just a combination of the French and German words for “yes” … “oui” and “ja”.

52 Red Square honoree : LENIN

I made it to Russia only once in my life, and it was a memorable trip. I saw all the sites in and around Red Square in Moscow, but couldn’t get in to visit Lenin’s Tomb. It was closed for renovations …

53 Sample collector, maybe : Q-TIP

Cotton swabs were originally marketed under the name “Baby Gays”. This was changed in 1926 to “Q-Tips”, with the Q standing for “quality”.

54 __ Major : URSA

The constellation Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called “the Big Dipper” because of the resemblance of its main stars to a ladle or dipper. Those stars also resemble a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland the “Plough”.

61 Org. for OBs : AMA

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Tries out : DEMOS
6 Nosegay : POSY
10 Pod whose cross sections are pentagonal : OKRA
14 Skip a syllable or two : ELIDE
15 Until : UP TO
16 “Stay” singer Lisa : LOEB
17 __ Cup: PGA Tour prize : FEDEX
18 Pollinator who can’t fly? : GROUND BEE (from “ground beef”)
20 Middle of dinner? : ENS
21 Perfect : IDEAL
23 “Island of the Blue Dolphins” novelist Scott : O’DELL
24 Parents in the Hundred Acre Wood? : RAISES THE ROO (from “raises the roof”)
27 Joie de vivre : ZEST
28 Emo : ANGSTY
32 Storage furniture : CHEST
34 Prize money : PURSE
37 Sphere in old referee whistles : PEA
38 A pop : EACH
39 Camera setting, and what shortened 18-, 24-, 47-, and 58-Across? : F-STOP
40 Otter kin : MINK
41 Durango day : DIA
42 Apt rhyme for “freeze” : SEIZE
43 Well-mannered blokes : GENTS
44 Goofs in proofs : ERRATA
46 Tromp : PLOD
47 Product of Shenandoah Valley shepherds? : VIRGINIA WOOL (from “Virginia Woolf”)
53 Bird in a bevy : QUAIL
56 Hot spots : OVENS
57 Signal : CUE
58 Experimental soft cheese? : TRIAL BRIE (from “trial brief”)
60 Glossy material : SATIN
62 55-Down, properly : ISN’T
63 Like most whiskey : AGED
64 Heart Eyes or OK Hand : EMOJI
65 Fancy spread : PATE
66 Fool (with) : MESS
67 Wrap sheet : SARAN

Down

1 Schedule for later : DEFER
2 Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne : ELENA
3 Many a sedan : MIDSIZE CAR
4 Amit Majmudar’s “__ to a Drone” : ODE
5 People’s superlative : SEXIEST
6 Sound of the Northwest : PUGET
7 O icon : OPRAH
8 Took second, say : STOLE
9 Second person : YOU
10 One whose trick-learning years are behind them : OLD DOG
11 “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” writer Bryant : KOBE
12 Rod and __ : REEL
13 Cain’s brother : ABEL
19 Nary a soul : NO ONE
22 “Spring forward” letters : DST
25 Quick meeting? : SESH
26 Tough talk? : RASP
29 Damage control pro : SPIN DOCTOR
30 High-stakes shelter : TENT
31 Shaggy beasts : YAKS
32 Relinquish : CEDE
33 31-Down abundance : HAIR
34 Pump letters : PSI
35 Lays aisle-mate : UTZ
36 Bass output : ROE
39 “__ the Turtle”: University of Maryland catchphrase : FEAR
40 “I would like some more catnip, please” : MEOW
42 Bootlegger’s vessel : STILL
43 Visual aids : GLASSES
45 Really take off : AVIATE
46 Blame (on) : PIN
48 Canyon : GORGE
49 Campus climbers : IVIES
50 Focus of Maslow’s hierarchy : NEEDS
51 Message board? : OUIJA
52 Red Square honoree : LENIN
53 Sample collector, maybe : Q-TIP
54 __ Major : URSA
55 62-Across, improperly : AIN’T
59 “Bang!” : BAM!
61 Org. for OBs : AMA