LA Times Crossword 29 Nov 25, Saturday

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Constructed by: Joe Marangell

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A “Cav/Pag” opera combination, notably : DOUBLE BILL

“Cavalleria rusticana” is an opera by Italian composer Pietro Mascagni that was first performed in 1890. The title translates as “Rustic Chivalry”, which is a reference to the opera’s bucolic setting. The beautiful symphonic intermezzo from “Cavalleria rusticana” is often heard in “highlights from movie soundtracks” as it was used in the opening of “Raging Bull” and the finale of “The Godfather Part III”.

“Pagliacci” (“Clowns” in English) is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo that premiered in 1892 in Milan. Included in the opera is one of the most famous arias of all time, “Vesti la giubba” (“put on the costume”).

17A App development using A.I. and natural language : VIBE CODING

“Vibe coding” is app development where the developer uses natural language to describe the intent or “vibe” of a desired feature to an AI assistant. Instead of writing precise code, the developer gives a prompt (say, “Add a button that turns green when clicked”), and the AI tool interprets this “vibe” to generate the functional code. Crazy …

18A New Age singer from Donegal : ENYA

Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

Donegal is the most northerly county in Ireland, and is also the name of the town that gave the county its name. “Donegal” is the anglicized form of the Irish “Dún na nGall” meaning “fort of the foreigners”. Donegal is a really beautiful part of the country, and my favorite county to visit …

20A Cave man? : PLATO

In Plato’s Socratic dialogue “Republic”, his thought experiment “Allegory of the Cave” describes prisoners who mistake shadows on a wall for reality. It illustrates that people can be so “comfortable in their ignorance” that they become hostile toward anyone who tries to make them aware of that ignorance. So true …

21A Designer Hugo : BOSS

Hugo Boss started a clothing company in a small town just south of Stuttgart in Germany in 1924. He joined the Nazi party before the war, and made a lot of money as an official supplier of uniforms to the likes of the SS and Hitler Youth. He paid the price of collaboration after the war (a fine), but his business survived. Boss (the boss) died in 1948, but the Hugo Boss company is still going strong today.

22A Cookie with 90 ridges per wafer : OREO

A standard Oreo wafer is a surprisingly detailed piece of work. It features 12 four-leaf clovers (or flower-like designs, depending on who you ask) in the center, and its outer perimeter is ringed by exactly 90 ridges or “radial lines”.

24A Title for a fictional rabbit : BR’ER

“Br’er” is an abbreviated form of “brother”.

Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox are characters in the Uncle Remus stories, written by Joel Chandler Harris. The “Uncle Remus” stories are adaptations of African American folktales that Harris collected across the Southern States. “Br’er” is an abbreviated form of “brother”.

29A Way of checking lines after they’re cast? : TABLE READ

A table read is an organized event in theater, film, or television production where the cast and production staff gather, usually around a table, to read the script aloud. This is often the very first time the script is heard in its entirety with the actors performing it. It’s a way to see how the dialogue sounds, if the story flows, and if any lines need changes.

34A Two-wheel carriage : HANSOM

A hansom cab is a very specific design of horse and buggy that was patented by Joseph Hansom in 1834 in England. The “cab” in the name is short for “cabriolet”, an earlier design of carriage on which the hansom was based. It’s from “hansom cab” that we get our modern term “cab”.

38A Taylor Swift, typically : SOLO ACT

Taylor Swift is the first musician to become a billionaire primarily from her music and performances, including songwriting, touring, and her music catalog. There are other billionaire musicians, but they didn’t make their fortunes solely through music. For example, Rihanna made her fortune primarily from a cosmetics company, and Jay-Z built his wealth through a diverse business portfolio in addition to his music.

43A Seijin-shiki garment : KIMONO

“Seijin-shiki” is a Japanese “Coming of Age Ceremony”, and a major national holiday held on the second Monday of January. It’s a formal celebration for young people who have reached the age of maturity (traditionally 20, though the legal age was lowered to 18 in 2022).

49A Steve of “Peacemaker” : AGEE

Steve Agee is multitalented. As a comedian, he had a regular role on “The Sarah Silverman Program”. As a more serious actor, he had a role in the superhero movie “The Suicide Squad” (2021). As a musician, he played guitar and bass in several rock bands in the nineties.

“Peacemaker” is a spin-off show from the 2021 movie “The Suicide Squad”. It stars John Cena reprising his role as a vigilante who is forced to join a black-ops team to hunt parasitic aliens.

51A Power unit : WATT

James Watt was a Scottish inventor. He figured prominently in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, largely due to the improvements he made to the fledgling steam engine. The SI unit of power is called the watt, and was named in his honor.

63A “Ratatouille” culinary genius : REMY

“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt. The veteran actor Peter O’Toole voiced the character Anton Ego, a restaurant critic.

64A Like melodramatic movie scenes : SET TO MUSIC

A melodrama is a play or film that usually pits good against evil, with an obvious hero or heroine vying against an obvious villain. Melodrama has evolved over time, originating in the 18th century as a drama for which there was a musical accompaniment. The term is derived from the Greek “melos” meaning “music” and the French “drame” meaning “drama”.

65A “Twittering Machine” artist : KLEE

“Twittering Machine” is a watercolor-and-ink drawing by Swiss-German artist Paul Klee. It depicts some birds on a wire, which is in turn connected to a hand-crank making a “twittering machine”. You can see the work in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it is regarded as one of the museum’s best-known and treasured pieces.

66A “Annie” song that’s a counterpoint to “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” : EASY STREET

In the stage musical “Annie”, “Easy Street” is a big number performed by the villains of the piece: Miss Hannigan, Rooster, and Lily. It serves as a counterpoint to “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” which the orphans sing to emphasize their miserable reality.

Down

2D Los Angeles Times co-founder Eliza Ann __ : OTIS

Eliza Ann Otis was a poet and journalist who, along with her husband Harrison Gray Otis, co-founded the “Los Angeles Times” in the 1880s. She was an associate editor and a regular contributor, writing some columns under the pen name “Susan Sunshine”.

3D Some PC ports : USBS

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

4D Boo : BAE

“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”, although I’ve also read that it is an acronym standing for “before anyone else”.

5D Business letters : 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.

8D Pelvic bones : ILIA

The sacrum (plural “sacra”) and the two ilia (singular “ileum”) are three bones in the human pelvis.

9D __ roller : LINT

“Lint”, meaning “fluff”, is one of those terms that I had to learn when I moved to the US. We call the same thing “fuzz” on the other side of the Atlantic.

10D Construction piece : LEGO BLOCK

Lego House is a huge visitor center in Billund, Denmark that is located near the Lego Group headquarters. It is home to several experience zones and exhibitions, as well as the Lego Museum. Inside the building, there are about 25 million Lego bricks!

11D Wedge salad base : ICEBERG

Iceberg lettuce is the most popular lettuce consumed in the US. Also known as “crisphead”, it is considered by many experts to be one of least flavorful varieties of lettuce available. I agree …

22D Chanting syllables : OMS

“Om” is a sacred mystic word from the Hindu tradition. It is sometimes used as a mantra, a focus for the mind in meditation.

23D Low-tech alarm : ROOSTER

The term “rooster” dates back to the late 1700s, and is used to describe an adult male chicken, primarily here in the US. “Rooster” originated as an alternative to “cock”, as puritans objected to the association with the slang usage of the latter term.

25D Harmful algal bloom : RED TIDE

An algal bloom that takes on a red or brown color is commonly referred to as “red tide”. The algae causing the bloom are phytoplankton containing photosynthetic pigments that give the red/brown color. Some red tides are extremely harmful to marine life as there can be a depletion of oxygen dissolved in the seawater. The algae can also contain natural toxins that can kill those creatures that eat it.

27D Element considered in a home inspection : RADON

The element radon (Rn) is a radioactive gas, and a byproduct produced when uranium decays naturally in the earth. Radon gas can collect and accumulate in buildings and rooms that are particularly well insulated with very little air exchange. The danger is very real, as radon is listed as the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoke.

30D Ancient assembly space : AGORA

In early Greece, an agora was a place of assembly. The assemblies held there were often quite formal, perhaps for the reading of a proclamation. Later in Greek history, things became less formal as the agora evolved into a marketplace. Our contemporary word “agoraphobia” comes from these agorae, in the sense that an agoraphobe has a fear of open spaces, a fear of “public meeting places”.

31D Drag strip? : BOA

The etymology of the term “drag”, as used in the transvestite world, seems to be unclear. It perhaps relates to the tendency of a transvestite’s skirts to drag along the ground in days of old (although why they just didn’t hitch up their skirts is beyond me!).

32D __ acids : AMINO

There are 20 different types of amino acids that make up proteins. However, only 11 of them can be synthesized by the human body, while the remaining nine essential amino acids must be obtained from food sources.

35D “Schitt’s Creek” character who tells her son to “stop acting like a disgruntled pelican” : MOIRA ROSE

In the excellent Canadian sitcom “Schitt’s Creek”, the character Moira Rose is an outrageous former soap star, and wife of Johnny Rose and their two adult children, David and Alexis. Moira is played by actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara. Supposedly, the character was inspired by the reality stars on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “The Real Housewives” franchise.

39D Summer sign : LEO

Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.

44D Springfield barkeep : MOE

“The Simpsons” television show is meant to be set in “Anytown, USA”. The creators chose the name “Springfield”, as it is one of most common town and city names in the country.

50D “Our Lips Are Sealed” band : GO-GO’S

“Our Lips Are Sealed” was released by the Go-Go’s in 1981. The song was co-written by the Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall of the Specials, and was about a secret affair the two had. Hall then recorded a different version of the song in 1983, after leaving the Specials, with his own band Fun Boy Three.

52D Second son of Adam and Eve : ABEL

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve had several children, although only the first three are mentioned by name: Cain, Abel and Seth.

57D Actress/model Sedgwick : EDIE

Edie Sedgwick became famous when she starred in several short films made by Andy Warhol in the sixties. Sedgwick’s life was portrayed in a 2006 biographical film called “Factory Girl”.

61D Defib expert : EMT

A defibrillator (defib) might be operated by an emergency medical technician (EMT).