LA Times Crossword 1 Apr 26, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Tara Holland

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer(s) Rickroll

Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone! The five themed answers hide the title of RICK Astley’s hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. If you didn’t expect that, you’ve been “RICKROLLED” (see below):

• 71A With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle’s longest answers : RICK …
• 73A See 71-Across : … ROLL

• 17A “That’s the last time!” : NEVER AGAIN!
• 23A The Proclaimers hit subtitled “500 Miles” : I’M GONNA BE
• 39A Is apathetic : DOESN’T GIVE A HOOT
• 54A “Should’ve listened to me!” : TOLD YOU SO!
• 62A Began to relax : LOOSENED UP

71A With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle’s longest answers : RICK …
73A See 71-Across : … ROLL

Rick Astley is an English singer best known for his 1987 worldwide hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”. He retired in 1993 but became a huge hit on the Internet in 2007 when a YouTube video of “Never Gonna Give You Up” was chosen by tricksters as a link (labeled as something else) that was sent around the world so that the clip was seen by millions online. The phenomenon was given the name “Rickrolling”. With all the new exposure that the song received Astley made a whopping $12 in royalties from YouTube. Yep, 12 whole dollars.

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

Bill’s time: 5m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A Loops in on the sly : BCCS

Blind carbon copy (bcc)

19A __ monster : GILA

A Gila monster is a venomous lizard found in the southwestern US and northern Mexico, and is the only venomous lizard native to the US. Gila monsters move along at a snail’s pace so aren’t normally a danger to humans. The name “Gila” is a reference to the Gila River Basin in the American Southwest, where the Gila monster was prevalent.

23A The Proclaimers hit subtitled “500 Miles” : I’M GONNA BE

The Proclaimers are a Scottish singing duo comprising identical twins Craig and Charlie Reid. They achieved global stardom singing in their thick native accents, rather than adopting a radio-friendly “mid-Atlantic” tone. Their fantastic 1988 anthem “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” was written by Craig in just 45 minutes while waiting for a ride to a gig. Great song …

32A Top no. in a blood pressure reading : SYS

In the heart, the term “systole” describes the rhythmic contraction of the ventricles to pump the blood around the body.

44A __ squash : ACORN

Acorn squash is a winter squash with a shape resembling a large acorn, hence the name.

46A Pronoun for Miss Piggy : MOI

The Muppet named Miss Piggy has a pretentious air, and so refers to herself as “moi”. In 1998, Miss Piggy even released her own perfume called “Moi”.

49A “West Side Story” role for Rita and Ariana : ANITA

Actress Ariana DeBose’s breakthrough role was the lead in the jukebox musical “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical”, which opened on Broadway in 2018. She reached a wider audience playing Anita in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical “West Side Story”. That performance won her the season’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress Rita Moreno is one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony (EGOT). Moreno got her big break, and won her Oscar, for playing Anita in the 1961 screen adaptation of “West Side Story”. And, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2004.

61A “Song of Solomon” novelist Morrison : TONI

“Song of Solomon” is a 1977 novel by Toni Morrison. It is one of the novels cited when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.

Down

1D Country with the world’s largest moose population: Abbr. : CAN

The moose is the largest species in the deer family, and can stand almost at 7 feet at the shoulder. Moose are a little unusual in that they are solitary animals, unlike other deer who tend to move in herds. We use the term “moose” here in North America, but confusingly, the same animal is referred to as “elk” in British English.

3D Perspective, for short : POV

Point of view (POV)

4D Courtroom fig. : STENO

Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing). A stenographer might be a court reporter, or a person providing captions accompanying a live television broadcast.

6D Director Bergman : INGMAR

Ingmar Bergman was a director of movies, stage and television from Sweden. Late in his life, Bergman ceased working for several years and left Sweden when he was wrongly charged with tax evasion, an event that caused him to have a nervous breakdown. Despite pleas from even the Swedish Prime Minister to return to his homeland, Bergman stayed in Germany for eight years before finally picking up his life again in Sweden.

10D Bread traditionally boiled then baked : BAGEL

One step in the traditional process used to produce bagels is to boil them for 60-90 seconds in water before baking. That water may contain honey, baking soda, or even lye. These additives help create a crusty outside while keeping the inside soft and light.

11D Scallion relatives : CHIVES

Chives are the smallest species of edible onion, and a favorite of mine …

12D The “log” in the snack ants on a log : CELERY

Ants on a log is a snack food prepared by spreading something like peanut butter or cream cheese on celery and placing raisins on top. If you leave out the raisins, the snack becomes “ants on vacation”.

18D Actor Perlman : RON

Ron Perlman is a Hollywood actor noted for playing roles that require heavy make-up, as well as for voice-over work. Notably, he played the title character in the superhero film “Hellboy”, and its sequel “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.

24D Part of MSG : MONO

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of a naturally-occurring, non-essential amino acid called glutamic acid. It is used widely as a flavor enhancer, particularly in many Asian cuisines, intensifying the umami flavor. Whether or not MSG is harmful seems to be still under debate.

34D Govt. ID issuer : SSA

Social Security Administration (SSA)

36D __ mess: classic English dessert : ETON

The dessert Eton mess is a mixture of strawberries or other berries, meringue, and whipped cream. It is believed to originate from Eton College in England, hence the name.

40D Moxie : GRIT

Back as far as 1876, Moxie was a brand name of a “medicine” peddled with the claim that it “built up your nerve”. In 1924, “Moxie” was registered as a trademark for a bitter, non-alcoholic beverage (no more claims of nerve-building). We’ve used the term “moxie” to mean “nerve” ever since …

41D Island known as “The Gathering Place” : OAHU

Oahu has been called “The Gathering Place”, although the word “O’ahu” has no translation in Hawaiian. It seems that “O’ahu” is simply the name of the island. One story is that it is named after the son of the Polynesian navigator who first found the islands. The island is made up of two volcanoes, Wai’anae and Ko’olau, joined together by a broad valley, the O’ahu Plain.

46D Ibsen’s “The __ Builder” : MASTER

“The Master Builder” is an 1892 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play deals with a complex relationship between a young 23-year-old woman and a much older master builder who is a married man. Ibsen admitted that the play has some autobiographical elements. He conceived the plot while having a brief extra-marital affair with an 18-year-old student.

47D Cuttlefish cousins : OCTOPI

The term “octopus” comes from the Greek for “eight-footed”. The most common plural used is “octopuses”, although the Greek plural form “octopodes” is also quite correct. The plural “octopi” isn’t really correct as the inference is that “octopus” is like a second-declension Latin noun, which it isn’t. That said, dictionaries are now citing “octopi” as an acceptable plural. Language does evolve, and that drives me crazy …

Cuttlefish are marine animals that are related to squids and octopodes. They have a unique internal shell and are molluscs, not fish.

55D Monopoly cards : DEEDS

In the game of Monopoly there are 28 title deeds:

• 22 streets
• 4 railroads
• 2 utilities

56D Celebrity chef Martin : YAN

“Yan Can Cook” is a PBS show about Chinese cooking presented by Martin Yan. Yan is a Chinese-born American who arrived in the US via Hong Kong and Canada. Although his own show doesn’t run anymore, he still makes TV appearances and has been a judge several times on “Iron Chef America”.

66D Clickable link : URL

Uniform resource locator (URL)