LA Times Crossword 18 Oct 26, Sunday

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Constructed by: Patti Varol

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: California Schemin’

Themed answers are common phrases, but with CA inserted:

• 25A “12-Point Type: A History”? : LIFE OF PICA (from “Life of Pi”)
• 27A Prankster? : CAPER PERSON (from “per person”)
• 45A Cut-rate vacation rentals? : BARGAIN CABINS (from “bargain bins”)
• 83A Motto of a therapist who uses origami to teach anger management? : PAPER PLACATES (from “paper plates”)
• 98A Morning-after-the-wedding stories? : UNION RECAPS (from “union reps”)
• 104A Useful tool in making some Thanksgiving pies? : PECAN KNIFE (from “penknife”)
• 35D One with next-level skills in being thoughtful and compassionate? : CARING MASTER (from “ringmaster”)
• 40D The dog days of summer? : CANINE MONTHS (from “nine months”)

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

Bill’s time: 16m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A “Scrubs” role for Judy Reyes : CARLA

“Scrubs” is a comedy-drama TV show set in a fictional hospital. The show’s main character is Doctor J. D. Dorian, played by Zach Braff. “Scrubs” originally ran from 2001 to 2010.

Judy Reyes is an actress best known for her TV roles, playing Carla Espinosa on “Scrubs” and Zoila Diaz on “Devious Maids”.

15A Escalator part : STEP

Escalators have an advantage over elevators in that they can move larger numbers of people in the same time frame. They can also be placed in just about the same physical space that would be needed for a regular staircase. Patents for escalator-type devices were first filed in 1859, but the first working model wasn’t built until 1896 by one Jesse Reno. It was erected alongside a pier in Coney Island, New York, with the second escalator being placed at an entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon after, the Otis elevator company purchased the necessary patents and went into the business.

19A Large Hadron Collider org. : CERN

“CERN” is an acronym standing for “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire” (European Council for Nuclear Research. CERN’s mission is to provide the largest particle physics lab in the world, and it does just that, having built several enormous particle accelerators. The CERN particle accelerator most in the news these days is the Large Hadron Collider located near Geneva.

The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle accelerator. It is located on the French-Swiss border near Geneva, in a circular tunnel that is a whopping 17 miles in circumference.

24A Versace parent company : PRADA

Prada started out in 1913 as a leather-goods shop in Milan, one established by the two Prada brothers. One of the brothers, Mario Prada, prevented the female members of his family from participating in the running of the company as he didn’t believe women should be involved in business (!). When the sexist brother died, his son had no interest in the business so it was his daughter who took over and ran the company for about twenty years, handing it over to her own daughter. I’d say the devil loved that …

Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer. Versace’s death was perhaps as famous as his life. He was murdered in 1997 outside his mansion in Miami Beach by one Andrew Cunanan. It is not certain that Cunanan knew who his victim was, as this was the last in a spree of five murders committed by him over a three-month period. A few days after killing Versace, Cunanan used the same gun to commit suicide.

25A “12-Point Type: A History”? : LIFE OF PICA (from “Life of Pi”)

A pica is a unit of measure used in typography. One pica is equivalent to 1/6 of an inch. Also, each pica unit contains 12 points.

The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy named Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in a small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

30A Fortune : KISMET

“Kismet” is a Turkish word meaning “fate, fortune, lot”.

38A Silver-white metal : NICKEL

The whitish metal we know as “nickel” was given its name by Swedish mineralogist Axel von Cronstedt in 1754. The name he chose was an abbreviated version of “kopparnickel”, the Swedish for “copper-colored ore”.

41A Audition hopeful : ACTOR

A trial performance to appraise the merits of an entertainer is known as an audition. When a group of entertainers is involved, the informal term “cattle call” might be used instead of “audition”. The idea is that those auditioning are often corralled into a single, large room (like “cattle”) prior to performing.

44A “You for Me” singer Rita : ORA

“You for Me” is a 2021 dance-pop track produced by British DJ Sigala with lead vocals by Rita Ora. Sigala spent nearly three years working on refining the song, before finally recruiting Ora for the recording of the vocals.

49A Issa of “Insecure” : RAE

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

50A Chutney fruit : MANGO

Chutney is a typically southern Asian condiment made from spices with vegetables or fruit. The term “chutney” comes from the Sanskrit “caṭnī” meaning “to lick”.

52A D-backs st. : ARIZ

The Arizona Diamondbacks (also “D-backs”) joined Major League Baseball’s National League in 1998. By winning the World Series in 2001, they became the fastest expansion team to do so in Major League history.

53A Chimp kin : ORANG

Orangutans (also “orangs”) are arboreal creatures, the largest arboreal animals known to man. They are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, and live in rainforests. Like most species in rainforests these days, orangutans are endangered, with only three species surviving. The word “orangutan” is Malay, meaning “man of the forest”.

54A Helsinki native : FINN

Helsinki is the capital city of Finland, and is by far the country’s biggest urban area. In English we tend to stress the “-sink-” in “Helsinki”, whereas the Finns stress the “Hel-”.

56A Barbie’s boo : KEN

Barbie’s male counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. When Ken was introduced in 1961, it was as Barbie’s boyfriend. In 2004 it was announced that Ken and Barbie were splitting up, and needed to spend quality time apart. Soon after the split, Barbie “met” Blaine, a boogie boarder from Australia. Happily, Barbie and Ken reconciled and reunited on Valentine’s Day 2011.

58A Pickles : BINDS

To be in a pickle is to be in a fix, in trouble. One of the first uses of “pickle” in such a context was William Shakespeare (who else?), in his play “The Tempest”. Here is part of the conversation between Alonso, King of Naples, and his jester Trinculo:

ALONSO:
And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they
Find this grand liquor that hath gilded ’em?
How camest thou in this pickle?

TRINCULO:
I have been in such a pickle since I
saw you last that, I fear me, will never out of
my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

59A Rowlands with an Honorary Academy Award : GENA

Gena Rowlands was an actress best known for the films made with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes. Notably, Rowlands played a lead role opposite James Garner in the weepy, weepy 2004 film “The Notebook”. “The Notebook” was directed by her son Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands was nominated for Oscars for her performances in two films: “Gloria” (1980) and “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974).

61A Played a pipe in a parade : FIFED

A fife is a small flute that is often used in military and marching bands. The name “fife” comes from the German “Pfeife” meaning “pipe”.

62A Figure in the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition : NORGAY

Mount Everest was first summited in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese-Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Hillary and Norgay were part of an expedition from which two pairs of climbers were selected to make a summit attempt. The first pair were Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans, and they came within 330 feet of their goal but had to turn back. The expedition sent up the second pair two days later, and history was made on 29 May 1953.

66A Home network need : MODEM

A modem is a device that is used to facilitate the transmission of a digital signal over an analog line. At one end of the line, a modem is used to “modulate” an analog carrier signal to encode digital information. At the other end of the line, a modem is used to “demodulate” the analog carrier signal and so reproduce the original digital information. This modulation-demodulation gives the device its name: a MOdulator-DEModulator, or “modem”.

67A “MasterChef” host Gordon : RAMSAY

Gordon Ramsay is a celebrity chef from Scotland who appears more on US television now than he does on British TV. Personally, I think the man is pretty obnoxious …

“MasterChef” is a cooking competition TV show franchise that originated on the BBC in the UK in 1990. There are now versions of MasterChef made all over the world, from Albania to Vietnam. I quite enjoy the US version of the “MasterChef Junior” manifestation of the show. But, I have no time for host Gordan Ramsay …

69A Bank investment? : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

71A __ bean : FAVA

The fava bean is also known as the broad bean. “Broad bean” is used “broadly” (pun!) in the UK, whereas “fava bean” is common in the US. “Fava” is the Italian name for the broad bean.

76A With 16-Down, official cocktail of the city of Oakland : MAI …

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”. The mai tai was officially designated as the official cocktail of Oakland in 2024.

82A Playpen denizen : TOT

Nowadays we use “denizen” to mean simply “resident”, but historically a denizen was an immigrant to whom certain rights had been granted, somewhat like today’s resident alien.

83A Motto of a therapist who uses origami to teach anger management? : PAPER PLACATES (from “paper plates”)

Origami is the traditional Japanese art form of paper folding. The best-known example of the craft is the paper crane (“orizuru“). The word “origami” is derived from “ori“ (folding) and “kami” (paper).

87A Traditional source of wood for baseball bats : ASH TREE

The wood of the ash tree is hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

92A Had a snack : NOSHED

Our word “to nosh” has been around since the late fifties, when it was imported from the Yiddish word “nashn” meaning “to nibble”. We use “nosh” as a noun that means “snack”, or as a verb meaning “to eat between meals”.

95A H-Town ALer : ‘STRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

The city of Houston (sometimes “H-Town”) was named for General Sam Houston, who served as President of the Republic of Texas and then as Governor after Texas was annexed as a US state in 1845. As the city is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston was officially given the nickname “Space City” in 1967.

104A Useful tool in making some Thanksgiving pies? : PECAN KNIFE (from “penknife”)

Quills have been used as writing implements since the 6th century. Historically, goose, swan and turkey feathers have been the quills of choice. A bird’s feather is well suited for writing, as the hollow shaft acts as a reservoir for ink which then flows to the tip due to capillary action. Choice of feather is important. Right-handed writers are best served by feathers from the left wing, as the feather curves away from the palm of the hand when writing. The tip of the quill is sharpened using a “quill knife”. This quill knife is the ancestor of what we know today as a “penknife”.

108A Vedder of Pearl Jam : EDDIE

Eddie Vedder is the lead singer of the alternative rock band named Pearl Jam. As a songwriter, Vedder released a solo album in 2007, which is also used as the soundtrack of the interesting film “Into the Wild”.

110A Winged archer : EROS

In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love, desire, and sexual attraction. He is often depicted as a winged youth carrying a bow and arrows, with which he shoots either golden arrows to inspire love or leaden ones to inspire aversion. His Roman counterpart is Cupid.

111A Primer mes del año : ENERO

In Spanish, the “primer mes del año” (first month of the year) is “enero” (January).

112A PowerPoint unit : SLIDE

Given that PowerPoint is a Microsoft product, it is perhaps a bit of a paradox that the original application that was to become PowerPoint was designed for the Macintosh computer. This first release was called “Presenter”. The company that designed Presenter was purchased by Microsoft in 1987.

116A Words to live by : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is “held” to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

117A Short message of gratitude : TYSM

Thank you so much (TYSM)

Down

1D Adapter letters : AC/DC

Anyone with a laptop with an external power supply has an AC/DC converter, that big “block” in the power cord. It converts the AC current from a wall socket into the DC current that is used by the laptop.

2D “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope” speaker : LEIA

In the first “Star Wars” movie, Princess Leia hides plans for the Galactic Empire’s Death Star in the droid named R2-D2. She also records a holographic message, so when it is played we can see Princess Leia as a hologram, asking for help to destroy the Death Star:

I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.

5D “Priscilla” writer/director Sofia : COPPOLA

Sofia Coppola is a filmmaker, following in the footsteps of her father Francis Ford Coppola. She has made some very interesting films, with “Lost in Translation” (2003) and “Marie Antoinette” (2006) being my personal favorites. Before turning to filmmaking, Coppola appeared in front of the camera in several films. She was an infant at a baptism in “The Godfather”, an immigrant child in “The Godfather Part II”, and Michael Corleone’s daughter Mary in “The Godfather Part III”.

Sofia Coppola’s 2023 biographical drama “Priscilla” is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me”. The film centers on Priscilla’s perspective of her complicated romantic relationship with Elvis, beginning when she was 14 and he was 24. Notably, the film does not feature Elvis Presley’s original music on its soundtrack, because his estate withheld music rights.

9D “Devious Maids” star : ANA ORTIZ

The breakthrough role for actress Ana Ortiz was playing the title character’s older sister in the TV series “Ugly Betty”.

“Devious Maids” is a comedy-drama TV series that originally aired from 2013 to 2016. It was adapted from the Mexican telenovela “Ellas son… la alegría del hogar”, and follows four Latina maids working in the homes of Beverly Hills’ wealthiest and most powerful families. The ensemble cast, led by Ana Ortiz, was the first English-language television drama to feature five Latina actresses in the leading roles.

10D Magic, on sports tickers : ORL

The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …

11D Form of energy healing : REIKI

The Japanese practice of hands-on healing called “reiki” was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922. “Reiki” is a Japanese term meaning “universal energy”. Practitioners of reiki believe that they are transferring this universal energy through the palms of the hand into the patient’s body.

15D The continents, e.g. : SEPTET

The seven continents, in order of size, are:

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia

18D Split __ soup : PEA

A “split pea” is a dried pea that has had its outer seed coat removed, causing the pea to separate into its two halves, known as cotyledons. These cotyledons are the embryonic leaves of the seed, which store the food the young plant needs to germinate.

26D Forest plants : FERNS

Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

28D Hoka rival : REEBOK

The brand name Reebok was adopted as the new company name for Foster Shoes of the UK in 1958. The name Reebok (more commonly “Rhebok”) is an Afrikaans word for an antelope, and comes from the term “roe buck”.

Hoka One One (also just “HOKA”) is a sportswear company that is best known for its athletic shoes. The company was founded in 2009, and the first product was a shoe designed for faster speeds when running downhill. The term “hoka” can be translated from the Maori language as “to fly over the earth”.

33D Automatic drip-brew pioneer : MR COFFEE

The Mr. Coffee coffee maker was introduced in 1972, the first automatic drip coffee maker designed for home use. The brand really took off when baseball legend Joe DiMaggio signed on as its iconic television spokesperson.

36D Tanzania neighbor : UGANDA

Uganda is a landlocked county in East Africa lying just to the west of Kenya. It was ruled by the British as a protectorate from 1894 and gained independence in 1962. Uganda is very much associated with the tyrannical rule of Idi Amin in the 1970s.

Tanganyika was a former British colony that gained its independence from the UK in 1961. Three years later, Tanganyika joined with Zanzibar to form a new nation that soon adopted the name of Tanzania. “Tanzania” is a portmanteau of “Tanganyika” and “Zanzibar”.

38D Claim on some menus : NO MSG

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.

40D The dog days of summer? : CANINE MONTHS (from “nine months”)

“Dog days” is the term given to the warmest and most humid days of summer. The term derives from the ancient belief that hot weather was caused when Sirius (the Dog Star) was in close proximity to the sun.

42D Adam’s eldest : CAIN

As Cain was the first murderer according to the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

47D Zodiac ram : ARIES

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

54D Mozilla web browser : FIREFOX

Firefox is an open-source web browser produced by Mozilla. It was developed in 2002, and is in effect the successor to Netscape’s groundbreaking Navigator browser. Firefox was extremely popular in 2009, and challenged the domination of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer before succumbing to Google’s Chrome.

57D Down source : EIDER

Eiders are large sea ducks. Their down feathers are used to fill pillows and quilts, giving the name to the quilt called an “eiderdown”.

58D Figure, casually : BOD

“Body” is written compactly as “bod”.

61D Fin : FIVE-SPOT

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

67D Lanai furniture material : RATTAN

Rattan is the name of a large number of species of palms, all of which look less like trees and more like vines. The woody stems are used for making cane furniture.

A lanai is a type of veranda, and a design that originated in Hawaii. A kind blog reader tells me that the etymology of “lanai” seems unclear, but that the island name of “Lana’i” is not related.

68D Melodic passage : ARIOSO

An arioso (plural “ariosi”) is a solo vocal piece in a classical work such as an opera or an oratorio. An arioso’s structure lies somewhere between that of a full-blown aria and speech-like recitative.

69D Strike zone? : LANE

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

70D Pulitzer-winning rapper Kendrick : LAMAR

Kendrick Lamar is a hip-hop singer from Compton, California. Lamar’s full name is Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, with the singer’s given name honoring Motown artist Eddie Kendricks. Notably, his 2017 album “Damn” won a Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first non-classical or non-jazz album to do so.

75D Leader of the Holy See : POPE

In the Roman Catholic Church, an episcopal see is the official seat of a bishop, and is usually described by the town or city where the bishop presides and has his cathedral. The most famous see in the church is called the Holy See, the episcopal see of the Bishop of Rome: the Pope.

79D Big name in classic travel guides : BAEDEKER

Baedeker travel guides have been around since 1827. Baedeker guides were so popular in the early 20th century that “baedekering” came to mean travelling a country with the intent of writing a travel guide. During WWII the British used the term “Baedeker Blitz” for a series of air attacks on English towns that seemed to have no strategic importance. The suggestion was that the towns were targeted simply because they rated three stars in the Baedeker guide book.

80D Disorderly place : RAT’S NEST

The term “mare’s nest” has two meanings these days. More commonly it refers to a confused mess, although this usage is really an error, confusion with the idiom “rat’s nest”, which has that meaning. The correct usage of “mare’s nest”, dating back to the 16th century, is to describe a hoax, a promising discovery that turns out to be next to nothing.

84D Island feast : LUAU

The Hawaiian party or feast known as a “luau” really dates back to 1819, when King Kamehameha II removed religious laws that governed the eating of meals. These laws called for women and men to eat separately. At the same time as he changed the laws, the king initiated the luau tradition by symbolically eating with the women who moved in his circle.

85D Springsteen’s __ Band : E STREET

The E Street Band is the backing group for Bruce Springsteen. The band came together in 1972 but didn’t take a formal name until two years later. The keyboard player in the original line up was David Sancious, and his mother allowed the group to rehearse at her home. That home was on E Street in Belmar, New Jersey, and that’s where the band got their name.

91D “Guardians of the Galaxy” voice role for Bradley Cooper : ROCKET

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is a 2014 film based on a team of superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe. The movie’s cast is very impressive, including Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro. I don’t normally “do” superhero films, but I found this one very entertaining, and loved the soundtrack …

Actor Bradley Cooper made his TV debut with a brief appearance on “Sex and the City” in 1999, and his film debut with a role in the 2001 comedy “Wet Hot American Summer”. Decades later, he was garnering Oscar nominations for his performances in films such as “Silver Linings Playbook”, “American Hustle”, “American Sniper” and “A Star Is Born”. He is now one of the most-nominated actors in Academy Award history without a win.

97D Hathaway of “The Odyssey” : ANNE

Actress Anne Hathaway is a favorite of mine, I must say. She starred in “The Devil Wears Prada” in 2006 and in 2007’s “Becoming Jane”, a film that I particularly enjoyed. And yes, baby Anne was named after Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare.

2026’s “The Odyssey” is an epic fantasy movie written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The stellar ensemble cast includes Matt Damon as the Ithacan king Odysseus, and Anne Hathaway as the king’s wife Penelope. It is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX 70 mm film cameras.

100D All-father of Norse myth : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was not the sole creator, although his role in the formation of the cosmos was pivotal. After the primordial giant Ymir’s death, Odin and his brothers, Vili and Vé, used Ymir’s body to fashion the world: his flesh became the earth, his blood the seas, his skull the sky, and his eyebrows the barrier between the realms of men and gods. Odin also breathed life into the first humans, who were carved from trees.

101D Roddick who was the last American man to win the US Open : ANDY

Andy Roddick is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the US. Roddick retired in 2012, although he has been playing in what’s referred to as World Team Tennis.

102D __ in a blanket : PIGS

“Pigs in a blanket” are usually hot dogs that have been wrapped and cooked in some kind of dough. Over in Scotland, the same dish is called a “kilted sausage”.

103D Half note feature : STEM

In musical notation, a note is made up of the note head connected to the straight line called the stem, and perhaps a flag(s) at the opposite end of the stem to the note head.

105D Cy Young stat : ERA

Cy Young was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1890-1911. He is remembered for pitching the first perfect game of baseball’s modern era. Soon after he died in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created and is presented to the best pitcher in each baseball season.