LA Times Crossword 23 Aug 22, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Stella Zawistowski
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Starting Rank

Themed answers each start with a military rank, getting higher in rank as we descend the grid:

  • 16A Intimate meeting with an important person : PRIVATE AUDIENCE
  • 22A Rum brand with a pirate logo : CAPTAIN MORGAN
  • 48A Significant parts of family budgets : MAJOR EXPENSES
  • 58A United Nations body : GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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

Bill’s time: 5m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Covertly includes on an email : BCCS

A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

14 Tom yum soup cuisine : THAI

Tom yum is a delicious spicy soup served in Thai restaurants. It is usually described as “hot and sour”, and I love it …

19 Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

22 Rum brand with a pirate logo : CAPTAIN MORGAN

The Captain Morgan brand of rum comes from Jamaica in the West Indies. It is named for the privateer from Wales, Sir Henry Morgan, who plied his trade in the Caribbean in the 17th century.

27 Big-eyed bird : OWL

Owls have 14 vertebrae in their necks (compared to our 7). The extra bones in the neck, along with other adaptations allow owls to rotate the head and neck about 270 degrees.

28 Pride newborn : LION CUB

Here are some colorful collective nouns:

  • A pride of lions
  • A shrewdness of apes
  • A cloud of bats
  • A bench of bishops
  • A parliament of owls
  • A clowder of cats
  • A waddling of ducks
  • An army of frogs
  • A knot of toads

31 Stager of live shows : IMPRESARIO

An impresario is a stage-art equivalent of television or movie producer. He or she organizes and perhaps finances concerts, plays and operas.

36 Like some off-price merchandise: Abbr. : IRR

Irregular (“irr.” or “irreg.”)

38 Roomy family car, for short : SUV

“SUV” is an initialism standing for “sports utility vehicle”, and is a term that was introduced by our marketing friends. Using the phrase “sports utility vehicle” was a very clever way to get us to pay a lot of money for what was essentially a station wagon on a truck chassis, or at least it was back then.

39 Last Greek letter : OMEGA

The Greek alphabet starts with the letter “alpha”, and ends with the letter “omega”.

41 Gulf st. : ALA

Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State, in honor of the state bird. Alabama is also called the “Heart of Dixie”.

47 Former U.K. record label : EMI

The Big Four recording labels were (until EMI was broken up in 2012 and absorbed by what became “the Big Three”):

  1. Universal Music Group
  2. Sony Music Entertainment
  3. Warner Music Group
  4. EMI

54 Birch who had a recurring role on “The Walking Dead” : THORA

Thora Birch is an actress from Los Angeles. Birch is probably best known for her breakthrough role in the 1999 movie “American Beauty” in which she was the insecure daughter of a married couple played by Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening.

“The Walking Dead” is a horror television show made by AMC that is based on a comic book series of the same name. There are lots of flesh-eating zombies featured, so I won’t be caught “dead” watching it …

56 Rock’s __ 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”.

58 United Nations body : GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The United Nations was established right after the end of WWII, and was a replacement for the ineffective League of Nations that had been formed after the end of WWI. The US was at the forefront of the founding of the United Nations, led by President Franklin Roosevelt just prior to the start of WWII. The UN’s headquarters is in international territory in New York. There are three regional UN headquarters, also located in international territory, in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.

64 Javier’s “Being the Ricardos” role : DESI

Desi Arnaz was famous for his turbulent marriage to Lucille Ball. Arnaz was a native of Cuba, and was from a privileged family. His father was Mayor of Santiago and served in the Cuban House of Representatives. However, the family had to flee to Miami after the 1933 revolt led by Batista.

Spanish actor Javier Bardem is probably best known for playing the crazed assassin in 2007’s “No Country for Old Men”, and Bond villain Raoul Silva in 2012’ “Skyfall”. Bardem won the Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “No Country for Old Men”, making him the first Spaniard to win an Academy Award. Bardem wasn’t actually born on the Spanish mainland, but rather in Las Palmas in the Canary Island off the Moroccan coast. He married fellow-actor Penélope Cruz in 2010.

“Being the Ricardos” is a 2021 biopic about the lives of married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Lucy and Desi are played by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. The title comes from the show “I Love Lucy”, in which Ball and Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. I haven’t seen this one, but it’s on my list as the film was written and directed by the great Aaron Sorkin …

65 Pricey watch brand : ROLEX

My most-prized possession is a beautiful stainless steel Rolex watch that my uncle bought while serving with the RAF in Canada during WWII. Rolex watches were made available to the Canadian servicemen at that time as they were shipping overseas. My uncle brought his Rolex home to Ireland after the war. He needed money one weekend and so sold the watch to my Dad, for five pounds. My Dad gave it to me just before he died, as he knew I loved the watch, and my brothers weren’t interested in it all. Not so long ago I had the watch appraised ($3,000), and my brothers suddenly took a liking to it! Still, it’s not something that will ever be sold, that’s for sure …

66 Racing legend A.J. : FOYT

A. J. Foyt is a retired racing driver. Foyt is the only driver to have won the Indianapolis 500 (four times, in fact), the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

67 Garden of Genesis : EDEN

According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.

68 Prayer ender : AMEN

The word “amen” translates as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is also likely to be influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

Down

1 Quotable catcher Yogi : BERRA

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some greats:

  • It ain’t over till it’s over.
  • 90% of the game is half mental.
  • Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
  • When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
  • It’s déjà vu all over again.
  • Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.
  • A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

2 Like raw celery : CRISP

There’s an urban myth that the process of eating celery burns more calories than the body can obtain from the vegetable through digestion. While celery is indeed a low-calorie food, eating it does provide a net-positive number of calories.

3 Western __: history class, briefly : CIV

Civilization (civ.)

4 Salty expanse : SEA

Chemically speaking, the water (H2O) in the sea contains lots of salt, i.e. sodium chloride (NaCl).

5 Oktoberfest mug : STEIN

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

7 Non-pro sports org. : AAU

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)

8 Prefix with Atlantic : MID-

The earliest known mention of the name “Atlantic”, for the world’s second-largest ocean, was in ancient Greece. The Greeks called said ocean “the Sea of Atlas” or “Atlantis thalassa”.

9 “Top Gun” moniker : ICEMAN

In the movies “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick”, pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky was played by actor Val Kilmer.

“Top Gun” is an entertaining action movie released in 1986 starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. The movie is all about pilots training at the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. A lot of footage was shot on board the Navy’s carrier the USS Enterprise during flight operations. At one point in a day’s shooting, the commander of the Enterprise changed course as needed for normal operations, but this altered the light for the cameras that were filming at the time. Director Tony Scott asked for the course to be changed back, but was informed that a course change would cost the Navy $25,000. Scott wrote out a check there and then, and he got another five minutes of filming with the light he needed.

12 Dollar bills : ONES

Conspiracy theorists love to point out “suspicious” symbols on the one-dollar bill. The pyramid on the bill is unfinished, with 13 steps. The number 13 has been associated with the occult, but it is also the number of original colonies that declared independence from Britain forming the United States. Not so suspicious after all …

17 Coin toss choice : TAILS

The two sides of a coin are known as the “obverse” and the “reverse”. The obverse is commonly referred to as “heads”, as it often depicts someone’s head. The reverse is commonly called “tails”, as it is the opposite of “heads”.

18 Othello’s false friend : IAGO

Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. He is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. Iago hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife.

25 Tapenade fruit : OLIVE

The dish known as tapenade is traditionally made from olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. The name comes from the Provençal word for capers, i.e. “tapenas”.

26 __ de Janeiro : RIO

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

30 “Country Nation” singer Paisley : BRAD

Brad Paisley is a country singer from Glen Dale, West Virginia. As well as singing, Paisley has written a couple of books. He co-wrote “Jug Fishing for Greazy and Other Brad Paisley Fishing Stories”, which was published in 2003. Bradley then co-wrote an autobiography titled “Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me”, which came out in 2011.

32 Actress Kunis : MILA

Mila Kunis is a Ukrainian-born, American actress who plays Jackie Burkhart on “That ’70s Show”. Fans of the cartoon series “Family Guy” might recognize her voicing the Meg Griffin character. In ”Black Swan”, Kunis plays a rival ballet dancer to the character played by Natalie Portman. In her personal life, Kunis dated Macaulay Culkin for 8 years, but married Ashton Kutcher, her co-star from “That 70s Show”, in 2015.

34 Ed who plays Santa in “Elf” : ASNER

Ed Asner was most famous for playing the irascible but lovable Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spin-off drama “Lou Grant”. Off-screen Asner was noted for his political activism. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and was very involved in the 1980 SAG strike. When “Lou Grant” was canceled in 1982, despite decent ratings, there was a lot of talk that the cancellation was a move by the network against Asner personally. In fact, one of Asner’s activist colleagues, Howard Hesseman (who played Johnny Fever) found that his show “WKRP in Cincinnati” was also canceled … on the very same day.

“Elf” is a comedy movie that was released for the 2003 Christmas season. It was directed by Jon Favreau and stars Will Ferrell in the title role, with James Caan supporting and Ed Asner playing Santa Claus. It’s all about one of Santa’s elves who finds out he is human and goes to meet his father in New York City. The film was adapted into a stage musical that premiered on Broadway during the Christmas season of 2010.

39 “All __”: John Legend #1 song : OF ME

“John Legend” is the stage name of singer-songwriter John Stephens. He has received many awards, and made many memorable performances. Notably, he played Jesus Christ in a live concert version of the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” produced for NBC in 2018. In 2019, Legend started appearing as a coach in the TV show “The Voice”. He married model Chrissy Teigen in 2013.

40 Lo __: noodle dish : MEIN

“Chow mein” has two slightly different meanings on the East and West Coasts of the US. On the East Coast, basic chow mein is a crispy dish, whereas on the West Coast it is a steamed dish that is relatively soft. On the East Coast the steamed dish is available, but under the name “lo mein”. On the West Coast, the crispy dish is also on the menu, as “Hong Kong-style chow mein”.

42 Judge featured in a season of “American Crime Story” : ITO

Judge Lance Ito came in for a lot of criticism for his handling of the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial. The lead prosecutor in that trial was Marcia Clark, you might recall. I read the book that Clark wrote about the trial called “Without a Doubt”, and she pointed out one trait of Judge Ito that I think is quite telling. Ito would almost always refer to the prosecutor as “Marcia”, while addressing the men on both sides of the case with the honorific “Mister”.

“American Crime Story” is a true crime anthology TV series. Each season is a standalone mini-series. The first three seasons aired were:

  1. “The People v. O. J. Simpson”
  2. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace”
  3. “Impeachment” (the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal)

46 Open just a crack : AJAR

Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.

50 Marks, as a ballot : XES IN

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper or equivalent used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

51 Black fur : SABLE

Sables are small mammals, about two feet long, that are found right across northern Europe and northern Asia. The sable’s black pelt is highly prized in the fur trade. Sable is unique among furs in that it feels smooth no matter which direction it is stroked.

52 Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” : ELLEN

Actress Ellen Pompeo is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”. That gig has paid well. Pompeo was ranked third in the “Forbes” list of highest-paid TV actresses in 2017, with Sofia Vergara (from “Modern Family”) and Kaley Cuoco (from “The Big Bang Theory”) holding the first and second spots respectively.

Actress Ellen Pompeo is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”. That gig has paid well. Pompeo was ranked third in the “Forbes” list of highest-paid TV actresses in 2017, with Sofia Vergara (from “Modern Family”) and Kaley Cuoco (from “The Big Bang Theory”) holding the first and second spots respectively.

53 River that made Achilles (mostly) invincible : STYX

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

Achilles is the protagonist in Homer’s “Iliad”. When Achilles was born, his mother attempted to make him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx. As he was held by the heel while under the water, this became the only vulnerable point on his body (his Achilles’ heel”). Years later he was killed when a poisoned arrow struck him in the heel. That arrow was shot by Paris.

54 “Bring on the weekend!” letters : TGIF!

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Covertly includes on an email : BCCS
5 “You’re a winner!” email, often : SCAM
9 “In that case … ” : IF SO …
13 Chills-inducing : EERIE
14 Tom yum soup cuisine : THAI
15 Spanish hundred : CIEN
16 Intimate meeting with an important person : PRIVATE AUDIENCE
19 Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS
20 Pool float filler : AIR
21 Stock up on : AMASS
22 Rum brand with a pirate logo : CAPTAIN MORGAN
27 Big-eyed bird : OWL
28 Pride newborn : LION CUB
31 Stager of live shows : IMPRESARIO
36 Like some off-price merchandise: Abbr. : IRR
37 Hoarder’s heaps : PILES
38 Roomy family car, for short : SUV
39 Last Greek letter : OMEGA
41 Gulf st. : ALA
42 Didn’t mind one’s own business : INTERFERED
44 Hotel pricing information : DAY RATE
47 Former U.K. record label : EMI
48 Significant parts of family budgets : MAJOR EXPENSES
54 Birch who had a recurring role on “The Walking Dead” : THORA
56 Rock’s __ Speedwagon : REO
57 Prefix in some genre names : ALT-
58 United Nations body : GENERAL ASSEMBLY
63 Makes really mad : IRES
64 Javier’s “Being the Ricardos” role : DESI
65 Pricey watch brand : ROLEX
66 Racing legend A.J. : FOYT
67 Garden of Genesis : EDEN
68 Prayer ender : AMEN

Down

1 Quotable catcher Yogi : BERRA
2 Like raw celery : CRISP
3 Western __: history class, briefly : CIV
4 Salty expanse : SEA
5 Oktoberfest mug : STEIN
6 Bracelet ornament : CHARM
7 Non-pro sports org. : AAU
8 Prefix with Atlantic : MID-
9 “Top Gun” moniker : ICEMAN
10 Venture capitalist, e.g. : FINANCIER
11 Min. parts : SECS
12 Dollar bills : ONES
13 Large-scale tale : EPIC
17 Coin toss choice : TAILS
18 Othello’s false friend : IAGO
23 Ripped : TORE
24 Fills with wonder : AWES
25 Tapenade fruit : OLIVE
26 __ de Janeiro : RIO
29 Compulsion : URGE
30 “Country Nation” singer Paisley : BRAD
31 Apple tablet : IPAD
32 Actress Kunis : MILA
33 Bills included with some board games : PLAY MONEY
34 Ed who plays Santa in “Elf” : ASNER
35 Dirt road furrow : RUT
39 “All __”: John Legend #1 song : OF ME
40 Lo __: noodle dish : MEIN
42 Judge featured in a season of “American Crime Story” : ITO
43 Some towed cars, for short : REPOS
45 Hardest to find : RAREST
46 Open just a crack : AJAR
49 Totally remove : ERASE
50 Marks, as a ballot : XES IN
51 Black fur : SABLE
52 Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” : ELLEN
53 River that made Achilles (mostly) invincible : STYX
54 “Bring on the weekend!” letters : TGIF!
55 Courageous one : HERO
59 Fruit drink suffix : -ADE
60 Was on top : LED
61 Important time : ERA
62 Cry during an argument between siblings : MOM!