LA Times Crossword 4 Aug 26, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Robin Stears

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Double-Check

Themed answers each comprise two (“DOUBLE”) words, both of which can precede the word “CHECK”:

• 59A Go over twice, or what can be found in the answer to each starred clue : DOUBLE-CHECK

• 16A *Video game boost that may repair damage : HEALTH SPELL (health check & spell-check)
• 23A *Waterproof garment : RAINCOAT (rain check & coat check)
• 34A *Internal setting controlled by thermoregulation : BODY TEMPERATURE (body check & temperature check)
• 49A *High-intensity workout program : CROSSFIT (cross-check & fit check)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Pet rehoming org. : ASPCA

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

10A Sandwich letters : BLT

The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second-most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

14A Replacements for flat tires : SPARES

Here’s another example of terms that change as we cross the Atlantic Ocean. When talking about tires (“tyres” in Britain and Ireland), a defect can cause a “flat” (“puncture” in Britain and Ireland).

18A __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1972, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

23A *Waterproof garment : RAINCOAT (rain check & coat check)

The original rain check is a complimentary ticket for a future game given to paying spectators at a baseball game that has been canceled due to rain. The first such rain checks were issued in the 1870s. The first professional team to use a rain check system were the St. Louis Brown Stockings, in 1877.

32A Vietnamese soup : PHO

Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food, and the nation’s unofficial national dish. It is often ordered with a side of hanh dam, pickled white onions.

34A *Internal setting controlled by thermoregulation : BODY TEMPERATURE (body check & temperature check)

When Gabriel Fahrenheit first defined his temperature scale he set 0 degrees as the temperature of a mixture of ice, water and salt. He also set 32 degrees as the point where water freezes into ice. He defined 96 degrees as the temperature under his wife’s armpit! Using this scale he determined that water boiled at 210 degrees. Later refinements moved the boiling point of water up to 212 degrees, and “body temperature” was shifted upwards to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

40A Span of epoch proportions? : EON

Geologic time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

• supereon
• eon (also “aeon”)
• era
• period
• epoch
• age

42A NBC show that inspired “30 Rock,” for short : SNL

“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey plays an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.

46A Superhero franchise initials : MCU

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 as Timely Comics, before becoming Atlas Comics in 1951 and eventually Marvel Comics in 1961. The “Marvel” brand had existed from day one, and Timely Comics’ first publication was “Marvel Comics #1” in October 1939. That first comic featured the superhero the Human Torch.

49A *High-intensity workout program : CROSSFIT (cross-check & fit check)

CrossFit is a trademarked fitness, strength and conditioning program that was introduced in 2000.

“Fit check” is slang for showing off or evaluating an outfit (a “fit”), often by snapping a mirror selfie or recording a quick video to share with friends or on social media. Yeah, I don’t do that …

52A Kissing in the open, for short : PDA

Public display of affection (PDA).

61A Alumna bio word : NEE

An alumnus (plural “alumni”) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural “alumnae”). The term comes into English from Latin, in which an alumnus is a foster-son or pupil. “Alum” is an informal term used for either an alumna or alumnus.

62A Add to a kitty : ANTE UP

The pot in a card game has been referred to as “the kitty” since the 1880s. It’s not certain how the name “kitty” evolved but possibly it comes from “kit”, the necessary equipment for the game.

63A Lo __: noodle dish : MEIN

“Chow mein” has two slightly different meanings on the East and West Coasts of the US. On the East Coast, basic chow mein is a crispy dish, whereas on the West Coast it is a steamed dish that is relatively soft. On the East Coast the steamed dish is available, but under the name “lo mein”. On the West Coast, the crispy dish is also on the menu, as “Hong Kong-style chow mein”.

66A Annual May auto race, informally : INDY

The Indianapolis 500, often referred to simply as “the Indy 500”, is an iconic automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It’s one of the oldest and most prestigious auto races in the world, famous for its 500-mile distance.

Down

1D “High Hopes” lyricist Sammy : CAHN

Sammy Cahn wrote for them all, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Doris Day. Cahn’s most famous song was probably “Three Coins in the Fountain”. He also wrote “All the Way”, made famous by Frank Sinatra.

Sammy Cahn wrote the lyrics for “High Hopes” for the 1959 film “A Hole in the Head”, and the song won an Oscar that year. Frank Sinatra was the star of the movie, and he recorded the most famous version of the song.

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant

But he’s got high hopes
He’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie
In the sky hopes

2D “Milk’s Favorite Cookie” brand : OREO

There is an “official” competition involving Oreo cookies, in case anyone is interested in participating. A competitor has to take several steps to finish an OREO Lick Race:

1. Twist open the cookie.
2. Lick each half clean of creme.
3. Show the clean cookie halves to the fellow competitors.
4. Dunk the cookie halves in a glass of milk.
5. Eat the cookie halves.
6. Drink the milk.
7. Ready, set, go …

4D __ solution: contacts wearer’s need : SALINE

The concepts that underpin the technology of contact lenses date back to Leonardo Da Vinci. Although Da Vinci didn’t propose the development of the contact lens, he did write about correcting vision by submerging the eye in a bowl of water. Over a hundred years later, René Descartes made a somewhat impractical suggestion, but along the right lines, of using a glass tube filled with liquid that could be placed in contact with the eye to correct vision. The first real contact lenses were developed by German ophthalmologist Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick in 1887.

5D Cathedral recess : APSE

A cathedral is the church at the center of a Christian diocese or episcopate. The name “cathedral” comes from the “cathedra” that it houses, the “seat” of the bishop. That seat is more like a throne.

6D Sticky tree juice : SAP

The sap of a plant can be broadly divided into phloem sap and xylem sap. The phloem is the tissue that transports sugars made by photosynthesis from the leaves to the parts of the plant needing those sugars. The sugary solution flowing through the phloem is the phloem sap. The xylem is the tissue that transports water and other nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant. The watery solution flowing through the xylem is the xylem sap.

8D String section instruments : CELLI

The cello is the second-largest instrument in the violin family, after the double bass. It is said that the cello produces a sound nearer the human voice than any other instrument in an orchestra. I can see/hear that …

9D Lion of Narnia : ASLAN

In the CS Lewis series of books known as “The Chronicles of Narnia”, Aslan is the lion character (as in the title “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”). “Aslan” is the Turkish word for “lion”. Anyone who has read the books will recognize the remarkable similarity between the story of Aslan and the story of Christ, including a sacrifice and resurrection.

Apparently, it’s not certain how CS Lewis came to choose Narnia as the name of the fantasy world featured in his series of children’s books, including “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. There was an ancient city in Umbria that the Romans called Narnia, but there is no evidence of a link.

10D Paul Revere House city : BOSTON

Paul Revere is famous for having alerted the Colonial militia when the British military arrived in the build up to the battles of Lexington and Concord. Revere earned his living as a silversmith. After the war, Revere returned to his trade and diversified into other metalwork. Revere was the first American to develop a process to roll copper into sheets so that the metal could be used to sheathe the hulls of naval vessels.

11D Cosmetics giant : L’OREAL

L’Oréal is a French cosmetics company, the largest cosmetics and beauty company in the world. Here in the US, L’Oréal runs a “Women of Worth” program that honors women who volunteer in their communities. The phrase “Women of Worth” underlines the longstanding L’Oréal slogan “Because I’m worth it”, which evolved into “Because you’re worth it” and eventually “Because we’re worth it”.

12D Two points, in tennis : THIRTY

The origin of the 15, 30, 40 scoring system in a game of tennis is disputed. One theory is that a 60-minute clock face was used to keep score. Points won would advance in quarters, 15, 30, 45 and 60 for the game. When the score “deuce” was introduced to avoid a win by a one-point difference, the score of 45 was pushed back to 40, so that 50 could indicate deuce.

14D TV soccer analyst Messing : SHEP

Shep Messing is a retired soccer goalkeeper who started a second career as a sportscaster in the 1980s. He made a bit of sports history in 1978 by becoming the first American soccer player to sign a six-figure contract, when he secured a $100,000 deal with the North American Soccer League’s Oakland Stompers.

21D “Amscray!” : SCOOT!

Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant or consonant cluster of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So, the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ixnay” (ix-n-ay), and for “scram” is “amscray” (am-scr-ay).

24D Bit of baloney : FIB

“Baloney” is an American English variant of “Bologna” as in the sausage. The term came to be used to mean “nonsense” in the 1920s. “Baloney” was popularized in the 1930s by New York Governor Alfred E. Smith as he used the term quite often.

25D Milne youngling : ROO

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

26D Infinity sign’s lack : END

The geometric shape of the infinity sign (∞) is officially known as a lemniscate, a term derived from the Latin word “lemniscatus” meaning “decorated with ribbons”. English mathematician John Wallis first introduced the sideways figure-eight to represent endless quantities in 1655.

31D “Jeopardy!” host Jennings : KEN

Ken Jennings is a remarkable man, the person who had the longest winning streak on television’s “Jeopardy!”. He has also won more game show money than any other person. He was defeated on his 75th appearance on the show, after racking up over $2.5 million in the prior episodes. In 2020, Jennings was named as the first interim host of “Jeopardy!” following the passing of Alex Trebek.

33D Like some Orthodox Jews : HASIDIC

The Hasidic Jewish movement was founded in the 18th century by Baal Shem Tov, a mystical rabbi from Eastern Europe.

38D 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.

44D Meteorite’s mark : CRATER

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body traveling through space. Once in the atmosphere, the meteoroid is referred to as a “meteor”, or “shooting star”. Almost all meteoroids burn up, but if one is large enough to survive and reach the ground then we call it a meteorite. The word “meteor” comes from the Greek “meteōros” meaning “high in the air”.

48D Vietnamese sandwich : BANH MI

The French introduced the baguette into Vietnam in the days the country was a French colony. Today, a single-serving baguette is known in Vietnam as “bánh mì” (meaning “wheat bread”). The term has been extended, particularly here in the US, to describe a Vietnamese sandwich.

51D Moving line on a weather map : FRONT

A cold front is the leading edge of a relatively cold mass of air, and a warm front is the leading edge of a warm mass of air. Both warm and cold fronts can bring rain to the land below.

52D Work overseen by a sous-chef : PREP

The “sous-chef de cuisine” (a French term) is the “under-chef of the kitchen”, the second-in-command.

57D Big Apple fashion letters : DKNY

Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the Donna Karan New York (DKNY) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.

60D Arthur of “The Golden Girls” : BEA

Bea Arthur is an American actress and comedian who rose to fame in the 1970s with her iconic roles in the hit TV shows “Maude” and “The Golden Girls”. Prior to launching her acting career, Arthur served in the US military. In 1943, at the age of 21, she joined the US Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, where she worked as a typist and truck driver.

“The Golden Girls” is a sitcom that originally aired in the eighties and nineties. The show features Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as four older women who share a house in Miami.