LA Times Crossword 20 Apr 26, Monday

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Big Finish

Themed answers each FINISH with a synonym of “BIG”:

• 63A Finale that earns a standing ovation, and a feature of 17-, 24-, 38-, and 50-Across : BIG FINISH

• 17A Piano studio instrument : BABY GRAND
• 24A Indulging in a luxurious existence : LIVING LARGE
• 38A Mascot on cans of peas and corn : JOLLY GREEN GIANT
• 50A NHL team in Salt Lake City : UTAH MAMMOTH

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

Bill’s time: 5m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Add voice-over to : DUB

If voices need to be altered on the soundtrack of a film, that means double the work as there needs to be a re-recording. “Dub” is short for “double”, and is a term we’ve been using since the late 1920s. The term has been extended to describe the adding of sound to an otherwise silent film or tape.

13A __ Puffs: chocolaty cereal : OREO

Oreo Puffs is a cereal introduced in 2025. In effect, Oreo Puffs replaced Oreo O’s, which were phased out at the end of 2024.

14A Atlas section : ASIA

The term “atlas” was first applied to a collection of maps in Gerardus Mercator’s posthumous 1595 publication, but the namesake wasn’t the Titan of Greek myth. Mercator dedicated the work to King Atlas of Mauretania, a legendary North African philosopher and astronomer he revered as the world’s first master geographer. The original frontispiece of Mercator’s collection featured this mortal king examining a globe with a pair of dividers. This image was later replaced by the familiar scene of Atlas the Titan straining under the weight of the heavens. This shift occurred as later publishers realized that a muscle-bound deity provided a much more dramatic, and marketable, visual for the cover.

16A “Star Trek” role for Nichelle Nichols : UHURA

Lt. Nyota Uhura is the communications officer on board the Starship Enterprise, and was played by Nichelle Nichols in the original “Star Trek” television series. The role was significant in that Uhura was one of the first African-American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first interracial kiss between a White man and a Black woman on a major scripted US television series. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner claims that he deliberately ran long on the first take (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second take (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.

Actress Nichelle Nichols was most famous for portraying Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original “Star Trek” TV show, and in several of the show’s spinoff movies. She considered leaving the show after the first season, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. personally intervened, calling her role the first “non-stereotypical” portrayal of a Black woman on television. Nichols famously volunteered her time with NASA, where she spent decades recruiting the agency’s first female and minority astronauts, including Sally Ride and Guion Bluford.

17A Piano studio instrument : BABY GRAND

A grand piano is one with the frame supported horizontally on three legs. An upright piano has the frame and strings running vertically. Grand pianos come in many sizes. For example, the length of a concert grand is about 9 feet, a parlor grand is about 7 feet, and a baby grand is about 5 feet.

21A Yahtzee cube : DIE

The dice game Yahtzee was introduced in 1956 and is a variant of earlier dice games, especially the game “Yacht” (which even has a similar name). Yahtzee is required entertainment in our house during holidays. The game involves the rolling of five dice, with the intent of getting certain combinations. A lot of those combinations resemble poker hands, such as a straight, three of a kind, four of a kind and a full house.

32A Printer brand : EPSON

Seiko Epson is a Japanese company, and one of the largest manufacturers of printers in the world. The company has its roots in the watch business, roots that go back to 1942. Seiko was chosen as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was asked to supply a timer that produced a printed record. This request brought Seiko into the business of printer production. The company developed the world’s first mini-printer for the 1964 Games and called it EP-101 (with “EP” standing for Electronic Printer). In 1975 Seiko introduced the next generation of EP printers which was called EPSON, from “SON of EP”. Cute, huh?

38A Mascot on cans of peas and corn : JOLLY GREEN GIANT

The Jolly Green Giant was introduced by Minnesota Valley Canning in 1925 to help sell the company’s peas. He was named after one of the varieties of pea that the company sold, the “Green Giant”. The Jolly Green Giant first appeared in a television commercial in 1953, walking through a valley with young boys running around at his feet. That first commercial proved to be so scary for younger viewers that it was immediately pulled off the air. In 1972, the Jolly Green Giant was given an apprentice called the Little Green Sprout.

43A Borden spokescow : ELSIE

Elsie the Cow is the mascot of the Borden Company. Elsie first appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, introduced to symbolize the perfect dairy product. She is so famous and respected that she has been awarded the degrees of Doctor of Bovinity, Doctor of Human Kindness and Doctor of Ecownomics. Elsie was also given a husband named Elmer the Bull. Elmer eventually moved over to the chemical division of Borden where he gave his name to Elmer’s Glue.

44A CBS military series in its 23rd season : NCIS

The “NCIS” franchise of military police procedurals was launched in 2003 with the original “NCIS” TV show. The franchise really grew over time:

1. “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2009)
2. “NCIS: New Orleans” (2014)
3. “NCIS: Hawaiʻi” (2021)
4. “NCIS: Sydney” (2023)
5. “NCIS: Origins” (2024)
6. “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” (2025)

50A NHL team in Salt Lake City : UTAH MAMMOTH

When the NHL welcomed a relocating team based in Salt Lake City for the 2024-2025 season, the franchise had no name, and used “Utah” as a placeholder. They played the first season as the “Utah Hockey Club”, and players wore “Utah” on their uniforms. A year later, the team became the Utah Mammoth.

55A Extinct New Zealand bird : MOA

Moas were flightless birds native to New Zealand that are now extinct. The fate of the Moa is a great example of the detrimental effect that humans can have on animal populations. The Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1300 AD, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. The Moa were hunted to extinction within 200 years, which had the knock-on effect of killing off the Haast’s Eagle, the Moa’s only predator prior to the arrival of man. Moas were huge creatures, measuring up to 12 feet tall with their necks stretched upwards.

56A Bit of fridge decor : MAGNET

Refrigerator magnets … I can’t stand them! But, there is something interesting about their structure. If we place two fridge magnets back to back, and slide them slowly against each other, then we can feel an alternating attraction and repulsion. This is because they are manufactured with alternating north and south poles on the back side, and do not have two distinct poles. Who knew …?!

66A __ gin fizz : SLOE

By definition, a cocktail known as a “fizz” includes lemon or lime juice and carbonated water. The most popular of the genre is the gin fizz, made from 3 parts gin, 2 parts lemon juice, 1 part sugar syrup and 5 parts soda water. There is also a variant known as a sloe gin fizz.

68A Motivation for a project, in hashtags : INSPO

The informal term “inspo” is used to describe something inspirational or motivational.

69A Canonized Fr. woman : STE

“Sainte” (ste.) is French for “saint”, when referring to a “femme” (woman).

Down

1D Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca : LOBO

Rebecca Lobo is a former WNBA basketball player who launched a second career as a sports reporter and analyst for ESPN. Lobo played with the New York Liberty, Houston Comets and Connecticut Sun.

2D Many a Syrian : ARAB

The modern state that we know as Syria was established after WWI as a French mandate. Syria was granted independence from France in 1946.

4D Bean used to make tofu : SOYA

“Tofu” is a name for bean curd, and is a Japanese word meaning just that … bean that has curdled. It is produced by coagulating soy milk, using either salt or something acidic. Once the protein has coagulated, the curds are pressed into the familiar blocks. Personally I love tofu, but my wife absolutely hates it …

6D Alysa Liu’s Olympic team: Abbr. : USA

American figure skater Alysa Liu made history in 2019 at the age of 13 when she became the youngest skater ever to win a U.S. Figure Skating Championship ladies’ title, breaking a record previously held by Tara Lipinski.

7D Bright forehead adornment : BINDI

A bindi is a bright decorative dot worn applied to the middle of the forehead, particularly by Hindu women living on the Indian subcontinent. The term “bindi” comes from the Sanskrit “bindu” meaning “point, dot, small particle”.

10D Vast cosmic expanse : OUTER SPACE

The exploration and use of outer space is governed by the Outer Space Treaty that came into force in 1967. The initial signatories were the US, UK and USSR, and now more than 100 nations are party to the treaty. For the purposes of the agreement, outer space begins at the Kármán line, a theoretical sphere that lies at an altitude of 100km above the Earth’s sea level.

15D Possible score after deuce : AD IN

In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. The player calling out the score announces “ad in”, or more formally “advantage in”, if he/she has the advantage. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

18D __ monster: Arizona lizard : 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.

26D “Auld __ Syne” : LANG

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne

28D Devoted fans of singer/actress Gomez : SELENATORS

Selena Gomez is an actress and singer from Grand Prairie, Texas. Gomez’s first television role was in the children’s show “Barney & Friends”. She then played the lead in the TV series “Wizards of Waverly Place”. Gomez’s fans often refer to themselves as “Selenators”. Offscreen, Gomez made a splash as the girlfriend of Canadian singer Justin Bieber for a couple of years. More recently, she has been playing a lead role in the hit TV show “Only Murders in the Building” alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short.

33D Shar-__ : PEI

The shar-pei breed of dog is one with a wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.

36D City in northern Oklahoma : 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.

46D Slangy “Touché!” : OH, SNAP!

“Touché” is a term from fencing, one acknowledging a successful “touch” in a duel. The usage has been extended to mean that a successful criticism or riposte has hit home in a conversation.

51D Owl’s claw : TALON

A talon is a claw of a bird of prey. The term “talon” ultimately derives from “talus”, the Latin word for “ankle”.

58D Khartoum’s river : NILE

Khartoum is the capital city of Sudan, and is located at the point where the Blue Nile and White Nile meet.

59D “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is a more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

60D Marvel’s hammer thrower : THOR

The 2011 movie “Thor” is yet another film based on a comic book hero. Even though I won’t be seeing it (I don’t do comics), I must admit it does have an impressive cast. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, supported by Natalie Portman, Rene Russo, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins. And to crown it all, Kenneth Branagh is the director.

62D Day-__ paint : GLO

“Day-Glo” is a registered trademark used for an ink or paint that glows when exposed to a black light in a darkened room. When Day-Glo paint is viewed in daylight, the colors can look particularly vivid because they respond to UV light present in sunlight.