LA Times Crossword 12 May 26, Tuesday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Mixed Greens

Themed answers each include the word “GREEN” hidden within, but with the order of the letters MIXED:

• 61A Simple salad, or what 17-, 26-, 36-, and 52-Across all have : MIXED GREENS

• 17A Practical baby shower gift : DIAPER GENIE
• 26A Sheer brilliance : PURE GENIUS
• 36A Hidden nerdy side : INNER GEEK
• 52A Pumping device in a pub : BEER ENGINE

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

Bill’s time: 5m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Supports for crow’s nests : MASTS

A crow’s nest is a structure atop the mainmast of a ship that is used as a lookout point. The first crow’s nest was erected in 1807, and was simply a barrel that was lashed to the tallest mast. Supposedly, the structure is named for the crows or ravens that Vikings carried with them on their voyages. The birds were released and used as navigation aids as, invariably, the crow or raven headed straight for the nearest land.

13A How ballerinas may stand : ON TOE

“En pointe” is ballet dancing on the tips of the toes, and is a French term. A ballerina wears pointe shoes (sometimes “toe shoes”) to perform this delightful-looking, albeit unhealthy, feat (pun!).

16A R&B singer Lennox : ARI

“Ari Lennox” is the stage name of R&B singer Courtney Salter. In choosing her stage name, Salter was influenced by a character named Mary Lennox in the 1993 movie version of “The Secret Garden”.

17A Practical baby shower gift : DIAPER GENIE

A Diaper Genie is a container that accepts used diapers, seals them using a scented film, and holds them for disposal when the container is full. When the diapers are removed, they are enclosed in a string of film that some folks call a “diaper sausage”.

20A First responder certified in AED use : EMT

An emergency medical technician (EMT) might use an automated external defibrillator (AED).

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically analyzes the heart rhythm of a person who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and, if necessary, delivers an electrical shock to the heart to restore a normal heart rhythm. AEDs are becoming more common sights, especially as most can now be used to help a patient, even if the operator has no training. On a recent trip to Britain and Ireland, I noticed that the iconic telephone boxes are being used to house AEDs rather than being removed as public phones become unnecessary.

21A “Stranger Things” actress Hawke : MAYA

Actress and singer Maya Hawke is the daughter of actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Her acting break came with the role of Jo March in a 2017 TV adaptation of “Little Women”, made by the BBC. Early in her career, she was a fashion model. She appeared in “Vogue”, as did her mother Uma, and her grandmother Nena von Schlebrügge.

22A Blacksmith’s workshop : FORGE

A blacksmith is someone who forges and shapes iron, perhaps to make horseshoes. A farrier is someone who fits horseshoes onto the hooves of horses. The term “blacksmith” is sometimes used for one who shoes horses, especially as many blacksmiths make horseshoes and fit them as well.

31A Monopoly players? : CARTELS

A cartel is a group of independent businesses that cooperate to regulate production, pricing and marketing of their common product(s).

32A Fish enjoyed on Unagi Day : EELS

Unagi Day, or “Doyo-no-Ushi-no-Hi”, is a Japanese tradition celebrated during the hottest part of summer. On this day, people eat unagi (freshwater eel) in a custom that dates back to the Edo period. The custom is believed to have originated from a marketing ploy by an unagi restaurant owner.

35A “Barbie” actress Issa : RAE

In the 2023 hit movie “Barbie”, actress Issa Rae plays President Barbie, the ruler of Barbieland.

36A Hidden nerdy side : INNER GEEK

Originally, a geek was a sideshow performer, perhaps one at a circus. Sometimes the term “geek” is used today for someone regarded as foolish or clumsy, and also for someone who is technically driven and expert, but often socially inept.

40A TruTV sister station : TBS

truTV is a Turner Broadcasting cable network that launched in 1991 as Court TV. The name, and programming, was changed to truTV in 2008.

44A Shawarma bread : PITA

Shawarma is a popular street food in the Middle East. It is made from thin slices of seasoned and marinated meat, stacked into a cone-shaped column, and then roasted on a vertical spit. Servings are prepared by slicing the outside roasted meat.

52A Pumping device in a pub : BEER ENGINE

A beer engine is a manual suction pump that allows a bartender to pull cask ale from a cellar without the use of pressurized carbon dioxide. Before the engine’s arrival in the 1780s, pub staff had to carry beer up from the cellar in jugs or serve it from casks sitting directly on the bar top. We are most familiar with beer engine pump handles in British pubs. Now I am really thirsty …

55A Leafy vegetable rich in vitamin K : KALE

Vitamin K is actually a group of vitamins that are essential to the process of blood coagulation. A form of vitamin K is also involved in photosynthesis in plants, so green leafy vegetables are the best source of the vitamin for humans.

56A Boutonniere spot : LAPEL

A boutonnière is a flower worn by men in the lapel of a jacket, in the buttonhole. In fact, sometimes a boutonnière is referred to as a “buttonhole”, which is the translation of the French term.

59A PC hookup : LAN

You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a computer and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.

66A Skirt with flare? : A-LINE

An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares towards the hem. The term “A-line” was first used in fashion by French designer Christian Dior in his 1955 spring collection.

68A Currency in MN and NM : USD

The dollar sign ($) was first used for the Spanish-American peso, in the late 18th century. The peso was also called the “Spanish dollar” (and “piece of eight”). The Spanish dollar was to become a model for the US dollar that was adopted in 1785, along with the dollar sign.

Down

4D Blouse or turtleneck : TOP

A blouse is a loose-fitting shirt, particularly one worn by women or children. The term “blouse” is French, and originally described a peasant’s smock.

The garment that we know as a “turtleneck” here in North America, is called a “polo neck” or “roll-neck” on the other side of the Atlantic, and a “skivvy” in Australia and New Zealand.

6D Pricey Japanese beef : WAGYU

“Wagyu” is a name given to four different breeds of beef cattle in Japan. The famous Kobe beef is obtained from wagyu cattle. The name comes from the Japanese “Wa gyu”, which simply translates as “Japanese cattle”.

8D Number of legs on a lobster : TEN

Decapods are an order of crustaceans that includes crayfish, crabs, lobsters, prawns and shrimp. Even though decapods can have perhaps over 30 appendages, only ten of these are considered legs, hence the name “decapod”.

9D “Yes,” in Osaka : HAI

The Japanese city of Osaka used to be called Naniwa, with the name changing to Osaka sometime before 1500. “Osaka” can be translated either as “large hill” or “large slope”. Osaka is sometimes referred to as “the Chicago of Japan” as it is a major center of commerce and industry. The city has also been named the “nation’s kitchen”, and was a center for Japan’s rice trade for centuries.

10D Verizon or T-Mobile : CARRIER

The telecommunications company that we know today as Verizon was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic, and was one of the “Baby Bells” that were formed after the breakup of AT&T. Bell Atlantic merged with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX in 1997, and then merged with GTE in 2000 to form Verizon. The new company name is a portmanteau of “veritas” (“truth” in Latin) and “horizon”.

T-Mobile is a German telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom has used the “T” prefix for a number of its services, including T-Com, T-Online and T-Home.

11D Leafy vegetable also known as rocket : ARUGULA

Eruca sativa is an edible plant that is known as “arugula” in North America, and “rocket” in Britain and Ireland. The Italian name for the plant is “rucola”, from the Latin name. It is “rucula” that evolved into the American term “arugula”.

18D Sings like G-Dragon : RAPS

“G-Dragon” is a rapper from South Korea. That stage name is a play on his real name “Kwon Ji-yong”. “Ji” is a homophone for the English letter “G”, and “yong” is the Korean word for “dragon”.

23D Toronto’s prov. : ONT

The city of Toronto was originally established as York in 1793 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, who named it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. It was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834. The name “Toronto” is believed to be of Indigenous origin, likely from Iroquoian words meaning “place where trees stand in the water” or “meeting place.”

25D Place to order a Reuben : DELI

There are conflicting stories about the origin of the Reuben sandwich. One such story is that it was invented around 1914 by Arnold Reuben, an immigrant from Germany who owned Reuben’s Deli in New York.

27D Vaping devices : E-CIGS

An electronic cigarette (also called an “e-cigarette”) is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. The e-cigarette vaporizes a solution that contains nicotine, forming a vapor that resembles smoke. The vapor is inhaled in a process called “vaping”, delivering nicotine into the body. The assumption is that an e-cigarette is healthier than a regular cigarette as the inhaled vapor is less harmful than inhaled smoke. But, that may not be so …

28D Battering wind : GALE

A gale is a very strong wind, one defined by the Beaufort scale as having wind speeds from 62 to 74 kilometers per hour.

30D Nine-digit ID that never begins with a nine : SSN

A Social Security Number (SSN) is divided into three parts, i.e AAA-GG-SSSS. Originally, the Area Number (AAA) was the code for the office that issued the card. Starting in 1973, the Area Number reflected the ZIP code from which the application was made. The GG in the SSN was the Group Number, and the SSSS number the Serial Number. This is all moot today. Since 2011, SSNs have been assigned randomly. Some random numbers, however, have been excluded from use, i.e. Area Numbers 000, 666 (!) and 900-999.

34D Blazer sleeve : ARM

A blazer is a less formal version of a suit jacket, usually one with a less formal cut and often metal buttons. The original “blazer” was a red jacket worn by members of the rowing club at Cambridge University in England. The “blazer” is so called because the Cambridge version was “blazing red” in color.

38D Org. that banned DDT : EPA

DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (don’t forget now!). DDT was used with great success to control disease-carrying insects during WWII, and when made available for use after the war it became by far the most popular pesticide. And then Rachel Carson published her famous book “Silent Spring”, suggesting there was a link between DDT and diminishing populations of certain wildlife. It was the public outcry sparked by the book, and reports of links between DDT and cancer, that led to the ban on the use of the chemical in 1972. That ban is touted as the main reason that the bald eagle was rescued from near extinction.

40D Picturesque scene : TABLEAU

“Tableau” (plural “tableaux”) is the French word for “picture, painting”. We use the same word in English to represent a graphic description or representation, especially in the derivative term “tableaux vivants” meaning “living pictures”. These were part of a parlor game where socialites would pose in costume to silently recreate famous paintings or historical moments.

45D Bit read by a fortune teller : TEA LEAF

Tasseography is the reading of fortunes by interpreting the patterns of tea leaves, coffee grounds and wine sediments that are left in the bottom of a cup or glass.

46D City with the world’s busiest airport : ATLANTA

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the world’s busiest airport, as measured by passenger traffic. Atlanta has had that distinction almost every year since 1998, and was the world’s busiest in terms of take-offs and landings from 2005 until 2013. Over 50% of Atlanta’s traffic comes from Delta Air Lines.

49D Alabama city in civil rights history : SELMA

The Alabama city of Selma was settled in 1815. It was named in 1820 by Alabama politician William R. King, who would later serve briefly as US Vice President under President Franklin Pierce. Meaning “high seat, throne”, King chose the city’s name from the Ossianic poem “The Songs of Selma”. Today, the city is perhaps best known for the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, which ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

50D __ shui : FENG

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese tradition of arranging objects, buildings and other structures in a manner that is said to improve the lives of the individuals living in or using the space. “Feng shui” translates as “wind-water”, a reference to the belief that positive and negative life forces ride the wind and scatter, but are retained when they encounter water.

53D Adler who outwits Sherlock Holmes in “A Scandal in Bohemia” : IRENE

The character Irene Adler only appears in one of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes expresses remarkable admiration for Adler as a woman and as a foe. As a result, derivative works in the Holmes genre often feature Adler as something of a romantic interest for Sherlock.

58D Mardi __ : GRAS

“Mardi Gras” translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”, and the holiday gets its name from the practice of eating rich foods on the eve of the fasting season known as Lent. Lent starts on the next day, called Ash Wednesday.