LA Times Crossword 31 Mar 26, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): The Right Menu

Themed answers each end with a word found on a menu, going from SOUP to NUTS:

• 16A Hot mixture of elementary particles : QUARK SOUP
• 20A Match or Tinder : DATING APP
• 31A Colloquial name of the Christian symbol the ichthus : JESUS FISH
• 41A Large utility pipe : WATER MAIN
• 52A Head honcho : BIG CHEESE
• 59A Fasteners in a tyre change : WHEEL NUTS

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

Bill’s time: 5m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Vegan-friendly gelatin alternative : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

Gelatin is a foodstuff that is used as a gelling agent in cooking, and for the shells of pharmaceutical capsules. Over 800 million pounds of gelatin are produced every year worldwide. It is produced from by-products of the meat and leather industries. Gelatin is basically modified collagen derived from pork skins and the bones of cattle, pigs and horses. So, vegans usually avoid things like gummy bears and marshmallows.

9A Many emailed docs : PDFS

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. PDF documents can be shared between users and read using many different applications and platforms, making them more universally accessible than documents saved by one particular program.

13A Relaxed aesthetic : BOHO

“Boho” is short for “Bohemian”.

14A Roman forum robe : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the color of a man’s toga could indicate the wearer’s social status. For example, a plain white toga (known as a “toga candida”) was worn by candidates for political office, while a “toga praetexta” with a purple border was worn by magistrates and certain priests. A “toga picta”, which was decorated with elaborate embroidery and gold trim, was reserved for victorious generals and triumphal processions.

16A Hot mixture of elementary particles : QUARK SOUP

Quark-gluon plasma, nicknamed “quark soup”, is the universe’s original, liquid state that existed for just a few microseconds after the Big Bang. This cosmic “soup” was so intensely hot that protons and neutrons couldn’t yet form, leaving fundamental particles (quarks and gluons) to flow freely. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider now recreate this “soup”, studying how quarks and gluons combine to form protons and neutrons, and ultimately all the matter in the universe.

19A Ambulance wailer : SIREN

Our word “ambulance” originated from the French term “hôpital ambulant” meaning “field hospital” (literally “walking hospital”). In the 1850s, the term started to be used for a vehicle transporting the wounded from the battlefield, leading to our “ambulance”.

20A Match or Tinder : DATING APP

Match.com is an online dating service. The company was started in 1995 and claims to have over 20 million members worldwide, in the ratio of male to female of 49:51.

Tinder is a matchmaking app that uses Facebook profiles. Users “swipe” photos of potential matches, either to the right (“like”) or to the left (“not interested”). Users who “match” each other can then chat within the app.

22A Two-point football play : SAFETY

In football, a safety is a two-point defensive score occurring when an offensive player is tackled in their own end zone. The name traces back to a 19th-century loophole where players would “safely” retreat to their own goal to avoid a turnover, a move that carried no point penalty until 1882.

25A Outdoor gear giant : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

26A Texter’s hedge : OTOH

On the other hand (OTOH)

31A Colloquial name of the Christian symbol the ichthus : JESUS FISH

The ichthus is a simple, two-arc symbol resembling the profile of a fish. It was used by early Christians as a secret identifying code during Roman persecution. It transitioned from a clandestine mark of survival to a public declaration of one’s faith on car bumpers and merchandise starting in the 1970s. It was at that time that the ichthus became known as the “Jesus Fish”.

39A Luxury hotel chain : OMNI

The most famous Omni hotel has to be the Omni Parker House in Boston, the oldest continuously operating hotel in the country. Even though the original Parker House hotel opened in 1855, the current structure was completed in 1927. The Boston cream pie was invented in the hotel’s kitchen, and Senator John F. Kennedy proposed to his future wife, Jackie Bouvier, in the hotel’s restaurant. A young Malcolm X (then Malcolm Little) worked there as a busboy in the 1940s, and a young Ho Chi Minh claimed that he was a baker in the hotel in 1913.

47A Hair removal brand : NAIR

Nair is a hair-removal product that has some pretty harsh ingredients. The most important active constituents are calcium hydroxide (“slaked lime”) and sodium hydroxide (“caustic soda”). Other Nair components seem to be there to soothe the skin after the harsher chemicals have done their job. The name “Nair” probably comes from combining “no” and “hair”.

52A Head honcho : BIG CHEESE

The phrase “the big cheese” doesn’t have its roots in the word “cheese” at all. The original phrase was “the real cheese” meaning “the real thing”, and was used way back in the late 1800s. “Chiz” is a Persian and Hindi word meaning “thing”, and it’s not hard to see how the expression “the real chiz” morphed into “the real cheese”. In early-20th century America, instead of “the real cheese”, the most influential person in a group was labeled as “the big cheese”.

“Honcho” is a slang term meaning “leader”. The word comes to us from the Japanese military, in which language a “hancho” is a “squad” (han) “leader” (cho).

58A Former U.S. president Barack : OBAMA

In 2012, President Barack Obama visited Walt Disney World in Florida. He was there on official government business, and included a reference to Mickey Mouse in his speech:

And I confess, I am excited to see Mickey. It’s always nice to meet a world leader who has bigger ears than me.

Good one, Mr. President …

59A Fasteners in a tyre change : WHEEL NUTS

A lug nut is a nut on which one side is tapered. Lug nuts are used to secure wheels to a vehicle. The term “lug nut” is very common in American English, while “wheel nut” is more prevalent with English-speakers outside of the US.

66A Soybean paste : MISO

Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes miso soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

Down

2D Western writer L’Amour : LOUIS

Louis L’Amour was a very successful author of Western novels that he called “frontier stories”. L’Amour probably sold more books in the Western genre than anyone else in the history of the genre.

3D Catherine of “Home Alone” : O’HARA

Catherine O’Hara was an actress and comedian from Toronto. One of O’Hara’s more famous film roles is Kevin’s mother in the Christmas classic “Home Alone”. She also played a lead character (Moira) in the excellent sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” alongside Eugene Levy.

5D @ signs : ATS

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial world, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

7D __ fresca: Mexican beverage : AGUA

An agua fresca is a blended drink made with sugar and water flavored with fruit, cereal, flowers or seeds. Traditional aguas frescas are sold by street vendors, especially in Mexico and the American Southwest. Common flavorings are hibiscus and tamarind.

9D Elisabeth Moss’s “Mad Men” role : PEGGY

In the excellent TV drama “Mad Men”, my favorite character has to be Peggy Olson. She began the series as a timid secretary but eventually shattered the “glass ceiling” of the 1960s advertising world to become a formidable copy chief. Olson was portrayed by Elisabeth Moss, who had captured the attention of TV audiences playing President Bartlet’s daughter Zoey on the hit show “The West Wing”.

10D Tibetan spiritual leader : DALAI LAMA

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

15D “Queen of the Blues” Washington : DINAH

“Dinah Washington” was the stage name of the blues and jazz singer Ruth Lee Jones. She was also known as the “Queen of the Blues”, a title that Washington awarded herself.

21D “If u ask me … ” : IMO …

In my opinion (IMO)

26D __ the Grouch : OSCAR

Oscar the Grouch is the Muppet who lives in a garbage can. Oscar’s persona comes from various sources. He is named after Oscar Brand who was one of the board members of the Children’s Television Workshop, the backers for “Sesame Street” as the Muppets were being developed in the sixties. Oscar’s personality was inspired by an angry waiter that once served Jim Henson (father of the Muppets). The voice was modeled on a grumpy New York cab driver encountered one day by Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who brings Oscar to life.

30D “How you __?”: Joey’s “Friends” catchphrase : DOIN’

Actor Matt LeBlanc became famous playing Joey Tribbiani in the sitcom “Friends”, and extended that role into a less successful spinoff show “Joey”. For my money, LeBlanc’s best performances are playing a fictionalized version of himself in the excellent sitcom “Episodes” that ran from 2011 to 2017. In all three of the aforementioned series, we hear LeBlanc uttering his trademark pickup line “How you doin’?”

31D Funny prank : JAPE

“To jape” means “to joke or quip”. The exact origins of “jape” are unclear, but it does seem to come from Old French. In the mid-1600s, “to jape” was a slang term meaning “to have sex with”. No joke …!

32D Eve’s grandson : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve, and nephew of Cain and Abel. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

34D State with more pigs than people : IOWA

A handful of US states are home to more pigs than people. The ratio of pigs to people in South Dakota and Nebraska is 2:1, but “hog wild” Iowa tops the list with a ratio of around 7:1.

38D Toymaker that introduced Smart Bricks in 2026 : LEGO

I just tried reading up on Lego Smart Bricks, and didn’t understand anything. Now Lego has left me behind …?

44D Cymbals played by foot : HI-HAT

In a drum kit, a hi-hat is a pairing of cymbals that sits on a stand and is played by using a foot pedal. The top cymbal is raised and lowered by the foot, hence creating a crashing sound.

50D Circular windows : OCULI

“Oculus” (plural “oculi”) is the Latin word for “eye”, and is a term used in architecture for a circular window.

52D Treat consumed with a wide straw : BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

60D Flight takeoff hr. : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)