LA Times Crossword 23 Oct 26, Friday

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Constructed by: Winston Emmons

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: At Last

Themed answers are all common phrases, but with “AT” added to the end:

• 48D “Finally!,” or what can be found in 18-, 30-, 46-, and 59-Across : AT LAST!

• 18A Gospel music? : PRAISE BEAT (“Praise be!” + AT)
• 30A Really, really sticky situation? : HONEY COMBAT (“honeycomb” + AT)
• 46A Brag obnoxiously after winning a swabbing contest? : MOP AND GLOAT (“Mop and Glo” + AT)
• 59A Generous Volkswagen promotion? : FREE PASSAT (“free pass” + AT)

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

Bill’s time: 8m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A “Ring out the thousand __ of old”: Tennyson : WARS

The poem “Ring Out, Wild Bells” was published by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1850 as part of his elegy “In Memoriam A.H.H.” written in memory of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam. “Ring Out, Wild Bells” now serves as a New Year’s anthem calling for moral and societal renewal. It is often recited during New Year’s Eve watch-night services in England, to bid farewell to the passing year …

Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

9A Figure in a Faustian bargain : SATAN

Faust is a character from a classic German legend who makes a pact with the devil. He agrees to exchange his soul for worldly gratification and unlimited knowledge.

14A Name on a former lake in Central Asia : ARAL

The Aral Sea is a great example of how humankind can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 26,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

15A Sandwich title : EARL

Meat placed between slices of bread was first called a sandwich in the 18th century, named after the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. The earl was fond of eating “sandwiches” while playing cards at his club.

17A Hayworth of “The Strawberry Blonde” : RITA

Rita Hayworth was born in Brooklyn as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her father was a flamenco dancer from Spain and so his daughter fell naturally into dancing. The family moved to Hollywood where Hayworth’s father set up a dance studio, and there worked with the likes of James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The young Hayworth had a slow start in movies, finding herself typecast because of her Mediterranean features. When she underwent extensive electrolysis to change her forehead and dyed her hair red, she started to get more work (how sad is that?). In 1941 she posed for that famous pin-up picture which accompanied GIs all over the world.

The leading actors in 1941’s “The Strawberry Blonde” are James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, but the title character is played by supporting actress Rita Hayworth. Cagney plays a turn-of-the-century dentist who reminisces about his infatuation with a “strawberry blonde”, before realizing his true love is his steadfast wife, played by de Havilland. There is a quirky bit of trivia associated with this film as the opening credits use the definite article in the title, whereas the movie posters and promotional materials simply go with “Strawberry Blonde”.

26A High cloud : CIRRUS

Cirrus (plural “cirri”) clouds are those lovely wispy, white strands that are often called “mare’s tails”.

30A Really, really sticky situation? : HONEY COMBAT (“honeycomb” + AT)

Honeybees create a structure within their nests called a honeycomb that is used to contain their larvae and also to store honey and pollen. The honeycomb comprises hexagonal cells made from wax.

34A Fiver : ABE

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.

36A Pulitzer winner James : AGEE

James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.

37A African language family : BANTU

There are hundreds of Bantu languages, which are mainly spoken in central, east and southern Africa. The most commonly spoken Bantu language is Swahili, with Zulu coming in second.

40A __ Atleos: big name in ATMs : NCR

NCR Atleos was founded in 2023 as an independent spinoff of the ATM and self-service banking division of NCR, a company founded in 1884 as the National Cash Register Company. Atleos now manages the world’s largest surcharge-free ATM network.

41A Oscar, but not Big Bird : AWARD

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards, also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a private dinner in 1929 with an audience of just 270 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

The man “inside” Big Bird on “Sesame Street” used to be Caroll Spinney, who played the character from 1969 to 2018, before passing away in 2019. That was a long time, so Spinney had an understudy named Matt Vogel starting in 1998. Vogel took over the role from Spinney.

42A Vicinity : AREA

A vicinity is an area surrounding a place. The term “vicinity” ultimately comes from the Latin “vicus” meaning “group of houses, village”.

43A Tenor Pavarotti : LUCIANO

Luciano Pavarotti was one of the most celebrated tenors of all time. He was able to appeal to audiences beyond the traditional fans of opera, helped by his performances with the Three Tenors: Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Pavarotti made his final performance on stage at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he sang his famous rendition of the moving aria “Nessun dorma” and brought the house down. Pavarotti passed away from pancreatic cancer the following year, at the age of 71.

45A Molecule in some vaccines : RNA

Traditional vaccines typically use weakened or inactivated viruses, or pieces of the virus, to stimulate an immune response. mRNA vaccines use a small piece of genetic material from the virus, called messenger RNA (mRNA), to instruct cells in the body to produce a harmless piece of the virus to trigger the immune response. mRNA vaccines are developed more quickly than traditional vaccines. This was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, where mRNA vaccines were developed and authorized for emergency use within months of the emergence of the novel coronavirus.

46A Brag obnoxiously after winning a swabbing contest? : MOP AND GLOAT (“Mop and Glo” + AT)

Mop & Glo is a brand of floor cleaner and polish.

50A Gymnast Olga with four Olympic gold medals : KORBUT

Olga Korbut is from modern-day Belarus, but was born during the days of the Soviet Union. She competed for the USSR team in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. Korbut was 17 when she appeared in the 1972 Munich Games, and had been training in a sports school since she was 8 years old. The world fell in love with her as she was a very emotional young lady, readily expressing joy and disappointment, something that we weren’t used to seeing in athletes from behind the Iron Curtain. Korbut immigrated to the US in 1991 and settled in Scottsdale, Arizona.

52A 128 oz. : GAL

The name of our fluid measure called a “gallon” ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin term “galleta” meaning “bucket, pail”.

53A Colorado Plateau Native : UTE

The Colorado Plateau is a geographical feature in the southwest, covering parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, roughly equivalent to what is known as the Four Corners region. It is home to the greatest concentration of national parks in the country. Included in the area are Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP and Mesa Verde NP, to name but a few.

54A Model/actress Kate : UPTON

Kate Upton is a fashion model from St. Joseph, Michigan. Kate is a niece of US Representative Fred Upton of Michigan. Kate married professional baseball pitcher Justin Verlander in 2017.

57A Mortar’s partner : PESTLE

I’ve loved the sound of the words “mortar” and “pestle”, ever since I was first introduced to them in the chemistry lab. The Romans called a receptacle for pounding or grinding things a “mortarium”, giving us “mortar”. Mortarium was also the word for the product of pounding and grinding, which gives us our “mortar” that’s used with bricks to build a wall. And further, short stubby cannons used in the 16th century resembled a grinding bowl and so were called “mortars”, which evolved into our contemporary weapon of the same name. As far as the pestle is concerned, it is also derived from its Latin name “pistillum”, which comes from the word for “crush”.

59A Generous Volkswagen promotion? : FREE PASSAT (“free pass” + AT)

“Passat” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

63A Panache : ELAN

Someone exhibiting panache is showing dash and verve, and perhaps has a swagger. “Panache” is a French word used for a plume of feathers, especially one in a hat.

65A Period after Shrove Tuesday : LENT

To shrive is to obtain absolution by confessing and doing penance. The past tense of “shrive” is “shrove”. The verb gives its name to Shrove Tuesday, the day before the season of fasting known as Lent. Shrove Tuesday is named in recognition of the early Christian tradition of confessing the week before Lent.

69A Minuscule : ITTY
49D Minuscule : TEENSY

“Minuscule” is one of those words that’s often misspelled, usually as “miniscule”.

Down

2D Oratorio solo : 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.

An oratorio is a large musical work for orchestra, choir and solo singers. Oratorios usually have a religious theme and are similar to operas, but without the action, costume and scenery.

3D Material for some patio furniture : 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.

5D Gatorade owner : PEPSI CO

Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida by a team of researchers at the request of the school’s football team. And so, Gatorade is named after the Gators football team.

6D Orecchiette shape : EAR

Orecchiette are small dome-shaped pasta from Southern Italy. Each piece resembles a small ear, hence the name. “Orecchietta” (the singular) comes from the Italian “orecchia” meaning “ear” and “-etta” meaning “small”.

7D Foie __ : GRAS

Pâté is a rich, spreadable paste made from a mixture of ground meat and fat to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, which is made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

11D Spot for a metti : TOE

Toe rings are commonly worn in the Indian subcontinent. The hindi name for toe rings is “bichiya”, and the Tamil name is “Metti”.

12D Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Wilson : A’JA

Professional basketball player A’ja Wilson was the first pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, after which she signed for the Las Vegas Aces. She won Olympic Gold at the 2020 Olympics, and captained the Aces in 2022 when the team won their first league championship title.

19D Golden St. region : SOCAL

“Golden State” has been the official nickname of California since 1968. The nickname reflects the expansion of the state’s economy that followed the discovery of gold in 1848, and also the fields of golden poppies seen growing wild across California in the spring.

27D Sitar piece : RAGA

Raga isn’t really a genre of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners). Western rock music with a heavy Indian influence might be called raga rock.

29D Pomegranate bit : SEED

The name of the fruit called a “pomegranate” comes from the Latin “pomum” meaning “apple” and “granatum” meaning “seeded”.

31D “__ Is Betta Than Evvah!”: 1976 album : ETTA

“Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!” is a 1976 studio album released by American singer Etta James. It marked the end of her sixteen-year run with the pioneering Chicago label Chess Records.

32D Home of the Kaaba : MECCA

The Kaaba (sometimes referred to as the “Bayt Allah”) is a large, cube-shaped structure that resides in a mosque in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. According to the Qur’an, the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham and his son, Ishmael. When Muslims turn to face Mecca during prayers, they are actually turning to the Kaaba.

36D Missing GI : AWOL

The initialism “GI” stands for “Government Issue”, and not “General Infantry” as is widely believed. “GI” was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

37D Flavorful part of a cinnamon tree : BARK

True cinnamon sticks are taken from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum verum tree. However, a lot of “cinnamon” sticks are also sold that come from a related species of tree, and these are more correctly referred to as “cassia”.

38D View from the Uffizi : ARNO

The Arno is the principal river in the Tuscany region of Italy, and passes through the cities of Florence and Pisa. Famously the Arno flooded in 1966, the worst flood in the region for centuries. There were numerous deaths and extensive destruction of priceless art treasures, particularly in Florence.

The Uffizi Gallery (“Galleria degli Uffizi” in Italian) is one of the oldest art museums in the western world and is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. The Palazzo was built in 1560, intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates. This original usage gave the gallery its name, as “uffizi” is Italian for “offices”.

43D Led Zeppelin’s “Whole __ Love” : LOTTA

“Whole Lotta Love” was a 1969 song that became Led Zeppelin’s first hit in the US. Some of the song’s lyrics were adapted from the Muddy Waters 1962 hit “You Need Love”, which was written by blues musician Willie Dixon. Led Zeppelin didn’t credit Dixon on their recording, and so a lawsuit ensued, which was settled in 1985.

51D Lake __ Vista, Florida : BUENA

Lake Buena Vista is the Florida city that is home to Walt Disney World. The city takes its name from Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California, which is home to Disney’s main studio.

59D TV monitor : FCC

Radio and TV broadcasting is monitored by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC has been around since 1934, when it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.

62D Pantry pest : ANT

The word “pantry” dates back to 1300, when it came into English from the Old French “panetrie” meaning a “bread room”. Bread is “pain” in French, and “panis” in Latin.