LA Times Crossword 11 Feb 26, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Jill Singer

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Beastly Collections

Themed answers are all common phrases reinterpreted as collections of animals:

• 20A Fish exhibit only viewable by appointment? : PRIVATE SCHOOL (A school of fish)
• 36A Procession of new arrivals to a lion sanctuary? : PRIDE PARADE (A pride of lions)
• 43A Gorillas who give glowing testimonies? : TRIBUTE BAND (A band of gorillas)
• 58A “The Case of the Disappearing Crows,” e.g.? : MURDER MYSTERY (A murder of crows)

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

Bill’s time: 8m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Engineer Nikola : TESLA

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in a village located in modern-day Croatia, and later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

15A Mermaid whose best friend is : ARIEL

“The Little Mermaid” is a 1989 animated feature from Disney that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. It tells the story of a mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the human Prince Eric. Ariel’s father is chief merman King Triton. Her best friend is Flounder, who despite his name is not a flounder at all and is actually a tropical fish. Ariel is also friends with Sebastian, a red Jamaican crab whose full name is Horatio Thelonious Ignacius Crustaceous Sebastian.

17A Brontë novel locale : MOOR

“Wuthering Heights” is the only novel written by Emily Brontë, and one that she published using the pen name Ellis Bell. It was published in December of 1847, a date chosen to take advantage of the wave of success enjoyed by Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” that had been published just two months earlier.

18A Silver screen lovers : CINEPHILES

The screen on which one projects a movie is often referred to as a silver screen. The term “silver screen” has evolved to describe the film industry in general. The original silver screen was invented in the early days of motion pictures by a projectionist named Harry Coulter Williams. It comprises a tightly woven fabric on which was applied a silver layer (hence the name). The silvery surface provided a brighter picture from all viewing angles.

23A “XO, Kitty” creator Jenny : HAN

“Xo, Kitty” is a comedy-drama series created by Jenny Han that first aired in 2023. It is a spin-off series to the hit “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” trilogy of movies that in turn were based on Han’s trilogy of novels of the same name. “XO, Kitty” is a big hit worldwide, but surprisingly perhaps, not in South Korea where “XO, Kitty” is set.

24A Himalayan bovine : YAK

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.

33A 1990 accessibility law, for short : ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

36A Procession of new arrivals to a lion sanctuary? : PRIDE PARADE (A pride of lions)

The first gay pride parades were held all on the same weekend in 1970, in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

39A Tree with an edible heart : PALM

The vegetable known as heart of palm is the growing bud of palm trees such as coconut and acai palms. Harvesting of palm hearts is somewhat controversial, because it causes the death of a relatively young, 8- or 10-year-old plant.

42A Outfielder Tommie in the Mets Hall of Fame : AGEE

Tommie Agee was a Major League Baseball player who played mainly with the Indians, White Sox and Mets. He was one of the “Amazin’ Mets”, and was famous for making two phenomenal catches in game three of the 1969 world series, potentially saving five runs. Agee was also the first Mets outfielder to win a Gold Glove, doing so in 1970.

43A Gorillas who give glowing testimonies? : TRIBUTE BAND?

The gorilla is the largest primate still in existence, and is one of the nearest living species to humans. Molecular biology studies have shown that our nearest relatives are in fact the species in the genus Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo), which split from the human branch of the family 4-6 million years ago. Gorillas and humans diverged at a point about 7 million years ago. The term “gorilla” derives from the Greek “gorillai” meaning “tribe of hairy women”. Wow …!

46A 1960s youth activist org. : SDS

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was an activist group in the sixties. The SDS organized the largest student strike in the history of the United States, up to that point in time, on 26 April 1968, with about a million students staying away from class that day. The “Students for a Democratic Society” name was revived in 2006 with the foundation of a new US-based student organization with left wing beliefs. Today’s SDS was founded by a pair of high school students from Greenwich, Connecticut.

50A Yang counterpart : YIN

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

58A “The Case of the Disappearing Crows,” e.g.? : MURDER MYSTERY?

There doesn’t seem to be a definitive etymology for “murder” as the collective noun for crows. One suggestion is that it comes from the scavenging behavior of crows, sometimes feeding on rotting bodies of dead animals.

63A Comfortable in social settings : GREGARIOUS

Back in the 1600s, the word “gregarious” applied to animals and meant “disposed to live in flocks”. The root word is the Latin “grex” meaning “flock, herd”. I guess the idea is that a gregarious creature plays nice with others.

65A Oklahoma city : ENID

Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because it has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

66A Classic video game : PONG

Do you remember the arcade video game that is like a game of tennis, with paddles moving up and down to hit what looks like a ball, over what looks like a net? Well, that is Pong. The arcade version of Pong was introduced in 1972, with Atari selling a home version through Sears for the Christmas market in 1975.

69A Tunneling pests : ANTS

Anthills are actually underground nests. The ants in the colony excavate below ground, resulting in a pile of sand or soil above ground.

71A Love, in Lima : AMOR

Lima is the capital city of Peru. It was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it “la Ciudad de los Reyes” (the City of Kings). He chose this name because the decision to found the city was made on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany that commemorates the visit of the three kings to Jesus in Bethlehem. Lima is home to the oldest university in all of the Americas, as San Marcos University was founded in 1551 during the days of Spanish colonial rule.

Down

2D Source of a mighty oak : ACORN

These days, we don’t usually consider acorns (the fruit of the oak tree) as a foodstuff. But in days past, many cultures around the world have used acorns as food. Usually, bitter tannins that occur in acorns need to be leached out in water. Acorn meal can be a substitute for grain flour, which can then be used to make bread. Acorns have also been used as a substitute for coffee, especially when coffee was rationed. Notably, acorn coffee was brewed up by Confederates during the American Civil War, and by Germans during World War II.

3D Sept moins quatre : TROIS

In French, “sept moins quatre” (seven minus four) is “trois” (three).

6D Lake known for walleye : ERIE

The walleye is a freshwater fish that is native to Canada and the northern US, and takes its name from its distinctive eyes. The eyes reflect light, rather like those of a cat, creating a phenomenon of “eyeshine”. The walleye’s eyes are well adapted for hunting for food in turbid waters, but makes them a more visible prey to anglers that hunt for them at nighttime. It is the state fish of Minnesota and South Dakota, and the state warm water fish of Vermont.

7D Greed, lust, wrath, et al. : SINS

The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Pride
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony

8D Little sucker : LEECH

We are most familiar with medicinal leeches, which feed on the blood of mainly vertebrate animals. However, most leeches are predatory and swallow other invertebrates for food.

9D Generation after Z : ALPHA

“Generation Alpha” is a term used to describe those born in the years between the mid-2010s and mid-2020s.

10D Élan : BRIO

“Brio” is borrowed from Italian, in which language the term means “vigor and vivacity”. “Con brio” is a musical direction often found on a score, instructing the musicians to play “with energy, vigor”.

12D 16th pres. : ABE

Abraham Lincoln was the first US president to come from outside of the original Thirteen Colonies. He was born in 1809, famously in a log cabin, on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. His family moved when he was two years old to another farm a few miles away. The creek running through the farm gave it the name “Knob Creek Farm”. That same creek gave its name to the Knob Creek brand of bourbon.

19D Odyssey maker : HONDA

The Honda Odyssey is a minivan that has been around since 1994. We had one for many years …

26D Capped joints : KNEES

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

28D __ large : WRIT

Something writ large is expressed in a more obvious way, “written in large letters”, as it were.

29D Fan pub : ZINE

A fanzine (also “zine”) is a fan publication with a very limited circulation, dealing with a very specific subject matter. Fanzines are usually desktop published and distributed electronically or as photocopies.

30D “The Residence” actress Uzo : ADUBA

Uzo Aduba is an actress best known for playing prison inmate Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on the Netflix TV show “Orange Is the New Black”.

The very entertaining TV series “The Residence” is a comedic murder mystery that is based on Kate Andersen Brower’s non-fiction book of the same name. Both TV show and book explore the “upstairs” and “downstairs” of the White House. In the series, Uzo Aduba does a fantastic job portraying police consultant, and birdwatcher, Cordelia Cupp. Recommended …

35D Chiropractor’s concern : ALIGNMENT

Chiropractic is a type of alternative medicine that largely involves the adjustment of the spinal column. The term “chiropractic” was coined in the US in the late 1800s and comes from the Latinized Greek “chiro-” meaning “hand” and “praktikos” meaning “practical”.

40D Deg. for many a Wharton grad : MBA

Wharton is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. The school was established in 1881 largely due to a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton, co-founder of Bethlehem Steel.

45D Call for a reservation? : DIBS

The phrase “to have dibs on” expresses a claim on something. Apparently, the term “dibs” is a contraction of “dibstone”, which was a knucklebone or jack used in a children’s game.

52D Elba who voices Chief Bogo in the “Zootopia” films : IDRIS

Idris Elba is a British actor whose most celebrated TV roles are perhaps Stringer Bell in “The Wire”, DCI John Luther in “Luther”, and the lead in the 2023 series “Hijack”. On the big screen, he has played the Norse god Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as Nelson Mandela in the 2013 biopic “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. While best known for acting, Elba is also a successful musician and DJ, performing at major clubs and festivals under the moniker DJ Big Driis.

“Zootopia” is a 2016 Disney animated film about a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist who team up to uncover a bizarre conspiracy.

53D “The Translator” novelist Aboulela : LEILA

“The Translator” is the debut novel of Sudanese-born author Leila Aboulela, published in 1999. The story follows a young widow working as a translator in Scotland, and draws heavily from Aboulela’s own life experience as an immigrant from Khartoum moving to Aberdeen. The author herself has described the main character as “a Muslim Jane Eyre”.

55D Fabric first known as “sergé de Nîmes” : DENIM

Denim fabric originated in Nîmes in France. The French phrase “de Nîmes” (meaning “from Nîmes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

57D Truck rental choice : RYDER

The Ryder company was founded in 1933 in Miami, Florida by James Ryder. It started out as a concrete hauling company, but changed its focus a few years later to the leasing of trucks.

59D Some fluffy boots : UGGS

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

60D Solar panels spot : ROOF

Solar panels are arrays of solar cells that make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

62D Belgian river : YSER

The Yser is a river that originates in northern France and flows through Belgium into the North Sea. The Yser is often associated with WWI as it figured in a major battle early in the conflict. In the first three months of the war, the German Army pushed almost completely through Belgium, inflicting heavy losses on the Belgian Army as the defenders were forced to fight a fast-moving rearguard action. The Germans were intent on pushing right through Belgium and across France in a “race to the sea”. But the Belgians, with the help of their Allies, decided to make a final stand at the Yser Canal in an effort to prevent the Germans reaching the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The 22-mile long defensive line was chosen at the Yser because the river and canal system could be flooded to create a barrier that might be defended. The plan was successful and the front was “stabilized”. As we now know, millions of lives were lost over the coming years with very little movement of that battle line.

64D Director Howard : RON

Ron Howard sure has come a long way since playing Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show”. He has directed some fabulous movies including favorites of mine like “Apollo 13”, “The Da Vinci Code” and “A Beautiful Mind”, the latter earning Howard a Best Director Oscar.