LA Times Crossword 22 Apr 26, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer(s): Calm Down

Themed answers are in the DOWN-direction, and each includes the word “CALM” hidden within:

• 9A With 64-Across, “Chill!,” or what can be found four times in this puzzle : CALM …
• 64A See 9-Across : … DOWN

• 3D Neighborhood spot for fresh produce : LOCAL MARKET
• 8D Make-or-break point : CRITICAL MOMENT
• 14D Genre with symphonies and sonatas : CLASSICAL MUSIC
• 25D Accessories favored by serious gamers : OPTICAL MICE

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

Bill’s time: 7m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13A “Hi there, matey!” : AHOY!

“Ahoy!” is a nautical term used to signal a vessel. When the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, he suggested that “ahoy” be used as a standard greeting when answering a call. However, Thomas Edison came up with “hello”, and we’ve been using that ever since.

16A Sprint or marathon : RACE

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

17A Green bug named for its camouflaging ability : LEAF INSECT

Leaf insects (sometimes “walking leaves”) are incredibly well camouflaged. They look just like leaves, some even with bodies with outlines that give the impression their “leaf” has bite marks. To add to the effectiveness of the camouflage, leaf insects move in a way that mimics leaves blowing in the wind.

19A Mrs. in Mallorca : SRA

The Island of Majorca (“Isla Mallorca” in Spanish) is Spain’s largest island, and is located in the Mediterranean Sea. The population of the island ballooned over the past few decades as Majorca became a mecca for tourists from all over Europe.

24A Go kaput : DIE

“Kaput” is a familiar term meaning “incapacitated, destroyed”, and comes to us from French (via German). The original word “capot” means “not having won a single trick” in the French card game Piquet.

25A Aveeno grain : OAT

Aveeno is a manufacturer of skincare and haircare products that was founded in 1945. The name Aveeno comes from the Latin name for the common oat, i.e. Avena sativa.

28A Largest deer species : MOOSE

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.

30A Solar event : ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth from the light of the Sun, in other words when the Earth is positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. The more spectacular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, so that the Earth falls into the shadow cast by the Moon.

34A “Broad City” star Glazer : ILANA

Ilana Glazer is a comedian from Long Island, New York. Along with comedian Abbi Jacobson, she is the co-creator of the Comedy Central sitcom “Broad City”.

“Broad City” is a sitcom shown on Comedy Central that started out life as a web series on the Internet. It’s about two young Jewish American women having misadventures in New York City.

36A “C u l8r” : TTFN

Ta-ta for now (TTFN)

38A Part of ACLU : CIVIL

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

40A Like some bourbons : OAKY

Bourbon is a whiskey made here in North America, with the primary ingredient being corn. Production of the whiskey has for centuries been associated with Bourbon County in Kentucky, which gave its name to the drink.

45A Stage presence? : LONG A

The letter A in the middle of the word “stage” is a long letter A.

47A Big Apple newspaper, for short : NYT

“The New York Times” (NYT) has been published since 1851, and is sometimes referred to as “the Gray Lady”. These days a viable alternative to buying the paper is to read the news online. NYTimes.com is the most popular online newspaper website in the country.

Apparently, the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote the following in his book “The Wayfarer in New York”:

Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.

Over ten years later, the term “big apple” was used as a nickname for racetracks in and around New York City. However, the concerted effort to “brand” the city as the Big Apple had to wait until the seventies and was the work of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

52A Shiba __ : INU

The Shiba Inu is a Japanese breed of dog that was developed for hunting. Although the exact etymology of “Shiba” is unclear, the term translates as “brushwood”. “Inu” is Japanese for “dog”.

55A NCAA sch. with the mascot Sparty : MSU

Michigan State University’s sports teams used to be called the Aggies, as the school was founded as the State Agricultural College of Michigan. The team name was changed to the Spartans in 1925, reflecting the school’s shift in focus beyond agriculture-centered education. The school mascot Sparty hit the scene in 1989.

56A Gives only perfunctory effort : PHONES IT IN

The idiom “phone it in” likely originated in journalism in days gone by, when reporters would literally phone in stories to a rewrite man at the newspaper office. It might also have been a metaphorical description of an actor’s performance so detached that they might as well have been on a telephone.

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61A Nerf darts, e.g. : AMMO

Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. By the way, “Non-Expanding Recreational Foam” is a popular backronym (an acronym created to fit an existing word) for “NERF”.

63A Rapper born Tracy Marrow : ICE-T

Rapper Ice-T must be tired of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” starting the year 2000.

Down

2D Busiest airport in the Midwest : O’HARE

O’Hare International was the world’s busiest airport from 1963 to 1998. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 and 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built, there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD (OR-chard D-ouglas). Orchard Place Airport was renamed to O’Hare International in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare who grew up in Chicago. O’Hare was the US Navy’s first flying ace and a Medal of Honor recipient in WWII.

7D Galoot : OAF

“Galoot” is an insulting word describing an awkward or boorish man, an ape. The term comes from the nautical world, where it was originally what a sailor might call a soldier or marine.

11D Inc. alternative : LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

14D Genre with symphonies and sonatas : CLASSICAL MUSIC

The symphony derives its name from the Greek “symphonia” meaning “sounding together”. The form originated as a functional “sinfonia” used to signal the start of 18th-century operas. This “sinfonia” was often a three-movement “curtain-raiser”, intended to drown out the noise of the audience members arriving and taking their seats.

A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labeled as something lighter and shorter.

18D French holiday : NOEL

“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, and ultimately comes from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). “Noel” has come to be used as an alternative for “Christmas carol”.

20D Key and Peele, e.g. : DUO

The Comedy Central sketch show “Key & Peele” stars comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The duo also wrote an action comedy film called “Keanu” that was released in 2016. The title character is a cat belonging to the boss of a drug cartel. Haven’t seen it …

23D N’awlins sandwiches : PO’ BOYS

A po’boy is a submarine sandwich from Louisiana. The name of the sandwich apparently dates back to 1929. It was a sandwich given away free to streetcar workers in New Orleans during a strike, i.e. to “poor boys” not earning a wage. A po’boy differs from a regular submarine sandwich in that it uses Louisiana French bread, which is soft in the middle and crusty on the outside.

Apparently the “N’awlins” pronunciation of “New Orleans” is common, but is usually uttered by tourists. Locals are more likely to say “New Awlins”.

25D Accessories favored by serious gamers : OPTICAL MICE

Thank goodness for the invention of the optical mouse. The old wheeled mouse, although it was a great device in its day, is prone to slipping on the wrong surface and clogs up with dirt. An optical mouse is the next level of technology and uses a light emitting diode and photo-diodes to detect motion.

51D Uses a Swiffer : DUSTS

Swiffer is a brand of cleaning products introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1999. The mainstays of the Swiffer cleaning system are the Swiffer WetJet mop and the Swiffer Sweeper.

57D Med. insurance option : HMO

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

58D Texter’s “Be there soon” : OMW

On my way (OMW)

59D St. known for spuds : IDA

Idaho has the nickname “Gem State”, mainly because almost every known type of gemstone has been found there. Idaho is also sometimes called the Potato State, as potatoes are such a popular crop in the state. I’d go for the potatoes over the gems, but that’s probably just me. Oh, and Idaho license plates have borne the slogan “Famous Potatoes” for decades …

60D Lie to spare someone’s feelings, perhaps : FIB

To fib is to tell a lie. The verb “to fib” likely comes from “fibble-fable” meaning “nonsense”, with “fibble-fable” coming from “fable”.