LA Times Crossword 22 Mar 24, Friday

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Constructed by: Katie Hale
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Initial Changes

Themed answers are common, two-part phrases, with the first word anagrammed to form an initialism:

  • 18A Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game? : STEM JERSEYS (from “Mets jerseys”)
  • 24A Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables? : RCA WASHES (from “car washes”)
  • 38A One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd? : AARP TROOPER (from “paratrooper”)
  • 51A Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac? : GIF NEWTON (from “Fig Newton”)
  • 59A Lab work focused on data storage devices? : USB CULTURES (from “subcultures”)

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

Bill’s time: 10m 24s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994 : LA LAW

“L.A. Law” ran on NBC from 1986 to 1994, and was one of the network’s most successful drama series. It took over from the equally successful “Hill Street Blues” in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot until, after a six-year run, it was itself replaced by yet another respected drama, “E.R.” The opening credits showed that famous California license plate. The plate was on a Jaguar XJ for most of the series, but moved onto a Bentley towards the end of the run. For each series the registration sticker was updated, so no laws were being broken.

9 Lariat : ROPE

Our word “lariat” comes from the Spanish “la reater” meaning “the rope”.

13 Spring mo. : APR

The exact etymology of “April”, the name of the fourth month of our year, seems to be uncertain. The ancient Romans called it “mensis Aprilis”, which roughly translated as “opening month”. The suggestion is that April is the month in which fruits, flowers and animals “open” their life cycles.

16 Multicolored gem : OPAL

97% of the world’s opals come from Australia, so it’s no surprise perhaps that the opal is the national gemstone of the country. The state of South Australia provides the bulk of the world’s production, i.e. about 80%.

18 Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game? : STEM JERSEYS (from “Mets jerseys”)

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

We use the word “jersey” for a sports shirt worn by a particular team member, one that usually bears the player’s name and team number. Back in the mid-1800s, the term was used for a knitted shirt or close-fitting tunic. The item of clothing was named for Jersey in the Channel Islands off the coast of France. The island was famous for its knitting trade during the Middle Ages.

24 Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables? : RCA WASHES (from “car washes”)

RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, played a significant role in the history of television as a pioneer in the industry. RCA developed and introduced the first electronic television system in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair. RCA also created the NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcast standard, which was adopted in the United States in 1953 and is still used today for analog television broadcasting. Additionally, RCA produced the first color television sets in 1954.

29 Tangy red spice : SUMAC

Sumac (also “Sicilian sumac”) is a spice made from the dried and ground berries of the wild sumac flower. It has a sour, lemony flavor, and is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine.

30 “Jingle Bells” contraction : O’ER

The traditional Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was first published in 1857, penned by James Lord Pierpont. We associate the song with Christmas, although in fact Pierpont wrote it as a celebration of Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

32 CSNY’s “__ House” : OUR

“Our House” is a wonderful 1970 song written by Graham Nash, and recorded by supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. It describes the domestic situation enjoyed by Nash while he was living with fellow musician Joni Mitchell, and her two cats (who get a mention in the lyrics).

The supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) is made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. The band can grow to “CSNY” when the trio is joined by Neil Young. Fans have been known to call the act “C, S, N and sometimes Y”, a play on the expression that names all the vowels, “A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y”.

38 One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd? : AARP TROOPER (from “paratrooper”)

AARP is the official name now for the interest group that used to be called “The American Association of Retired Persons”. The name change reflects the current focus of the group on all Americans aged 50 or over, as opposed to just people who have retired. The AARP was founded by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus in 1958 and is a successor to the National Retired Teachers Association, also founded by Andrus over ten years earlier.

42 Afternoon rests : SIESTAS

We use the word “siesta” to describe a short nap in the early afternoon, and imported the word into English from Spanish. In turn, the Spanish word is derived from the Latin “hora sexta” meaning “the sixth hour”. The idea is that the nap is taken at the sixth hour after dawn.

44 Dudes : MEN

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

45 Romance novelist Dare : TESSA

Tessa Dare is a historical romance novelist who started off writing Jane Austen fan fiction. She won a Romance Writers of America RITA award for her 2011 Regency romance “A night to Surrender”.

51 Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac? : GIF NEWTON (from “Fig Newton”)

The Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) is an image format developed in the 1980s by CompuServe (remember CompuServe?). GIF images are compressed, reducing the file size, but without losing information. So, the original image can be reconstructed perfectly from the compressed GIF version. But, and it’s a big but, GIF images use only 256 individual colors. This means that GIF is a relatively poor choice of compression for color photographs, while it is usually fine for logos with large blocks of single colors.

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the most influential people in history, and the man who laid the groundwork for all of classical mechanics. The story about an apple falling on his head, inspiring him to formulate his theories about gravity, well that’s not quite true. Newton often told the story about observing an apple falling in his mother’s garden and how this made him acutely aware of the Earth’s gravitational pull. However, he made no mention of the apple hitting him on the head.

The Fig Newton cookie is based on what is actually a very old recipe that dates back to ancient Egypt. Whereas we grew up with “Fig Rolls” in Ireland, here in America the brand name “Fig Newton” was used. That’s because they were produced originally in Newton, Massachusetts.

57 Nintendo character option : MII

Nintendo introduced customizable avatars for the company’s video game consoles starting in 1997. The first customizable avatars for the Wii system were introduced in 2006, and were given the inventive name “Miis”.

58 Artemis org. : NASA

NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. Artemis is viewed as a step along the road to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

59 Lab work focused on data storage devices? : USB CULTURES (from “subcultures”)

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

64 Big-box shop : COSTCO

Costco is the largest warehouse club in the US, and the second largest retailer in the world (after Wal-Mart). Apparently Costco is also the largest retailer of wine in the whole world. The company was founded in 1983 in Kirkland, Washington. Kirkland Signature is Costco’s store brand, and you can even buy Kirkland Signature wine.

65 68-Across restroom : LOO
[68A U.K. part : ENG]

It has been suggested that the British term “loo”, meaning “toilet”, comes from “Waterloo” (water closet … water-loo), but no one seems to know for sure. Another suggestion is that the term comes from the card game of “lanterloo”, in which the pot was called the loo!

66 Drummer Ulrich : LARS

Lars Ulrich is a drummer from Denmark, and one of the founding members of the American heavy metal band Metallica. Lars is the son of former professional tennis player Torben Ulrich, the oldest Davis Cup player in history.

67 “Anything Goes” star Merman : ETHEL

Ethel Merman was an actress and singer, one noted for having a very powerful voice. Merman was married and divorced four times. The last marriage was to actor Ernest Borgnine in 1964, although it lasted only 32 days.

“Anything Goes” is a musical by Cole Porter, from a book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, that tells of the goings on aboard an ocean liner sailing from New York to London. Some of the famous songs from the show are “Anything Goes”, “You’re the Top”, “I Get a Kick Out of You” as well as “The Gypsy in Me”.

68 U.K. part : ENG

The terms “United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” and “England” can sometimes be confused. The official use of “United Kingdom” originated in 1707 with the Acts of Union that declared the countries of England and Scotland as “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”. The name changed again with the Acts of Union 1800 that created the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” (much to the chagrin of most of the Irish population). This was partially reversed in 1927 when the current name was introduced, the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in recognition of an independent Irish Free State in the south of the island of Ireland.

Down

2 Brief sketch : APERCU

An apercu is a first view, a glance. By extension, the term “apercu” can also be used for a detached view, an overview or a short synopsis. “Aperçu” is French for “perceived”.

4 Rock’s __ Lonely Boys : LOS

Los Lonely Boys is a rock band from San Angelo, Texas. The three band members are three brothers.

7 Teegarden of “Friday Night Lights” : AIMEE

Aimee Teegarden is an actress best known for appearing in the TV series “Friday Night Lights”, playing coach Eric Taylor’s teenage daughter Julie.

“Friday Night Lights” is a TV series about a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The television show was inspired by the book “Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream”, as well as the 2004 movie based on the book. I binge-watched the show some years back, and really enjoyed the characters and the writing …

8 Financial paper, for short : WSJ

“The Wall Street Journal” (WSJ) is a daily newspaper with a business bent that is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company. The WSJ has a larger US circulation than any other newspaper, with “USA Today” coming in a close second place.

9 “The Jetsons” maid : ROSIE

On “The Jetsons” animated TV show, the character Rosie the Robot was voiced by Jean Vander Pyl. Vander Pyl was also the voice actress behind Wilma Flintstone in “The Flintstones”

10 What love is, per a “Frozen” song : OPEN DOOR

“Love Is an Open Door” is a romantic duet from the 2013 animated feature film “Frozen”. It is performed by Kristen Bell as Anna, and by Santino Fontanan as Prince Hans.

12 Lapel edges? : ELS

The edges of the word “lapel” are letters L (els).

25 Lenovo rival : ACER

Lenovo is a Chinese manufacturer of computers that was founded as “Legend” in 1984. The name was changed to “Lenovo” in 2002. “Lenovo” is a portmanteau of “Le” (from “Legend”) and “novo” (Latin for “new”). IBM sold off its personal computer division to Lenovo in 2005.

26 Wireless speaker brand : SONOS

Sonos is a manufacturer of audio products, mainly of speakers and amplifiers. Founded in 2002, Sonos differentiates itself from other suppliers of similar items by focusing on multi-room applications and compatibility with voice assistants, i.e. Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri.

31 Elton John accomplishment, briefly : EGOT

Singer and musician Elton John joined the hallowed club of EGOT winners in 2024. He had already won five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and finally an Emmy (for the documentary “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”).

34 Basilica alcove : APSE

In its modern usage, the term “basilica” applies to a Roman Catholic church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope.

35 Result of angering a wasp, probably : STING

While wasps are considered a nuisance by many, they are very important to the agricultural industry. Wasps prey on many pest insects, while having very little impact on crops.

38 University of Michigan city : ANN ARBOR

Ann Arbor, Michigan was founded in 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey. Supposedly, Allen and Rumsey originally used the name “Annsarbour” in recognition of stands of bur oak that were on the land they had purchased and in recognition of their wives, both of whom were called “Ann” (i.e. Anns’ Arbor)

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is the oldest university in the state, having been founded in 1817 in Detroit. The move to Ann Arbor from Detroit was made in 1837. Michigan’s athletic teams are known as the Wolverines.

39 Spread out at a cocktail party : 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).

40 Rap’s Dr. __ : DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

41 “1984” superstate : EURASIA

The action in George Orwell’s 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” takes place in the intercontinental superstate of Oceania. Orwell also created two other superstates, one called Eurasia and the other Eastasia.

44 Maitre d’ offering : MENU

The full title of a maître d’ is “maître d’hôtel”, which means “master of the hotel”.

53 Colin of “1917” : FIRTH

Colin Firth is an English actor who came to prominence playing Mr Darcy in the fabulous television adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” that came out in 1995 (I cannot recommend that six-episode drama enough). More recently, Firth won the Best Actor Oscar for playing King George VI in “The King’s Speech”.

“1917” is a 2019 Sam Mendes movie about two British soldiers carrying a message across no man’s land in northern France during WWI. Although historically inaccurate, the storyline was inspired by accounts of the war given to Mendes by his paternal grandfather. One remarkable feature of the film is that it was shot using long takes that were carefully edited to give the impression that it was filmed as just two continuous shots. Remarkable …

56 “No Scrubs” group : TLC

“No Scrubs” is a 1999 song by girl group TLC. The title uses the slang term “scrub”, which refers to a person who cannot get his or her life together.

61 Mexican lager : SOL

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

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Trailhead posting : MAP
4 Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994 : LA LAW
9 Lariat : ROPE
13 Spring mo. : APR
14 Vague afternoon time : ONEISH
16 Multicolored gem : OPAL
17 “Gotta __!” : JET
18 Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game? : STEM JERSEYS (from “Mets jerseys”)
20 Miner concern : ORES
22 Water coolers : ICE
23 Water movers : MAINS
24 Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables? : RCA WASHES (from “car washes”)
27 Dead set on : WED TO
29 Tangy red spice : SUMAC
30 “Jingle Bells” contraction : O’ER
32 CSNY’s “__ House” : OUR
33 Making one’s hair stand on end? : TEASING
37 Doesn’t take well? : ROBS
38 One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd? : AARP TROOPER (from “paratrooper”)
40 Mark left by a bumper : DENT
42 Afternoon rests : SIESTAS
43 Sprint : RUN
44 Dudes : MEN
45 Romance novelist Dare : TESSA
49 Make space on the whiteboard : ERASE
51 Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac? : GIF NEWTON (from “Fig Newton”)
55 “__ you a barrel of laughs” : AREN’T
57 Nintendo character option : MII
58 Artemis org. : NASA
59 Lab work focused on data storage devices? : USB CULTURES (from “subcultures”)
62 Gov. or sen. : POL
63 Barrel of laughs : RIOT
64 Big-box shop : COSTCO
65 68-Across restroom : LOO
66 Drummer Ulrich : LARS
67 “Anything Goes” star Merman : ETHEL
68 U.K. part : ENG

Down

1 Focuses in college : MAJORS
2 Brief sketch : APERCU
3 Comms experts : PR TEAM
4 Rock’s __ Lonely Boys : LOS
5 Opposition parties : ANTIS
6 Hanger-on : LEECH
7 Teegarden of “Friday Night Lights” : AIMEE
8 Financial paper, for short : WSJ
9 “The Jetsons” maid : ROSIE
10 What love is, per a “Frozen” song : OPEN DOOR
11 Earnings report : PAY STUB
12 Lapel edges? : ELS
15 Take up, in a way : HEM
19 Playful “grr” alternative : RAWR
21 Try to hit : SWAT AT
25 Lenovo rival : ACER
26 Wireless speaker brand : SONOS
28 RN workplaces : ORS
31 Elton John accomplishment, briefly : EGOT
34 Basilica alcove : APSE
35 Result of angering a wasp, probably : STING
36 Fury : IRE
37 Taken up, in a way : RESEWN
38 University of Michigan city : ANN ARBOR
39 Spread out at a cocktail party : PATE
40 Rap’s Dr. __ : DRE
41 “1984” superstate : EURASIA
44 Maitre d’ offering : MENU
46 Paper clip alternative : STAPLE
47 “Time to go already?” : SO SOON?
48 Like a watch with hands : ANALOG
50 Factions : SECTS
52 “You can’t stop me” : I MUST
53 Colin of “1917” : FIRTH
54 Extended family member : NIECE
56 “No Scrubs” group : TLC
59 Clickable link : URL
60 Little piggy : TOE
61 Mexican lager : SOL