LA Times Crossword 4 Sep 26, Friday

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Constructed by: Wendy L. Brandes

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Top Heavy

Themed answers are common phrases with “TOP” inserted:

• 35A Not well-balanced, or an apt title for this puzzle? : TOP-HEAVY

• 20A Concern that one’s sneakers are hopelessly out of style? : HIGH TOP ANXIETY (from “High Anxiety”)
• 27A Knocked over a bottle of booze? : TOPPLED THE FIFTH (from “pled the Fifth”)
• 46A “Project Runway” timer? : FABRIC STOPWATCH (from “fabric swatch”)
• 54A Going on and on about one’s new cookware? : IN PAN TOPIC MODE (from “in panic mode”)

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

Bill’s time: 14m 50s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Virginie-Occidentale et Californie : ETATS

In French, “Virginie-Occidentale et Californie” (West Virginia and California) are “états” (states).

10A Chilean sea __ : BASS

What we know from restaurant menus as “Chilean sea bass” is really Patagonian toothfish. The “Chilean sea bass” moniker was invented by a fish wholesaler named Lee Lantz in 1977 as a name that would be more easily accepted by American consumers. Smart cookie …

15A Diana Taurasi’s jersey number : THREE

WNBA player Diana Taurasi was the first pick in the 2004 draft, and signed up with the Phoenix Mercury. That first season, she won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award, the first of many, many awards in her career, including six Olympic gold medals.

17A Bach title : HERR

Johann Sebastian Bach died when he was 65 years old, in 1750. He was buried in Old St. John’s Cemetery in Leipzig, and his grave went unmarked until 1894. At that time his coffin was located, removed and buried in a vault within the church. The church was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during WWII, and so after the war the remains had to be recovered and taken to the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.

19A Leader of a chipmunk band : ALVIN

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a cartoon musical group that was created for the recording of a novelty song in 1958 called “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. The three Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) were all voiced by singer Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. but with a speedy playback to create high-pitched voices.

20A Concern that one’s sneakers are hopelessly out of style? : HIGH TOP ANXIETY (from “High Anxiety”)

“High Anxiety” is a Mel Brooks film released in 1977 that parodies suspense films, particularly Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound”, “Vertigo” and “The Birds”. Hitchcock actually helped Brooks with the movie’s screenplay. He also sent Brooks a case of wine after viewing the film with a note that read “A small token of my pleasure, have no anxiety about this.”

25A First responder gp. : EMS

Emergency medical services (EMS)

26A Indication that docs are included : ENCS

Enclosure (enc.)

27A Knocked over a bottle of booze? : TOPPLED THE FIFTH (from “pled the Fifth”)

A fifth is an American unit of volume used for liquor. It used to be equal to one fifth of a US gallon. Since the seventies, we’ve been using a “metric fifth” that is equal to 750 mL, the standard size for wine bottles around the world.

To plead the Fifth is to take advantage of the legal protection provided by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights. As a result of the Amendment, an individual can refuse to answer questions that could provide self-incriminating evidence of an illegal act.

34A Web design lang. : CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). It was developed as a way to separate the content and structure of a web page from its presentation, making it easier to maintain and update the design of a website.

39A Phillipa of “Hamilton” : SOO

Phillipa Soo is an actress and singer who is perhaps best known for portraying Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the title character’s wife in the original Broadway production of “Hamilton”.

41A Tax return fig. : AGI

Adjusted gross income (AGI)

42A Hit close to home? : BUNT

To bunt in baseball is to barely hit the ball, just enough to have it roll slowly in front of the infielders.

46A “Project Runway” timer? : FABRIC STOPWATCH (from “fabric swatch”)

“Project Runway” is a reality show in which contestants compete by presenting clothes designs having been given limited time and materials. “Project Runway” is now a worldwide franchise. North of the border, the show is called “Project Runway Canada” and is hosted by supermodel Iman. The show in the UK is known as “Project Catwalk” and has had several hosts, including Elizabeth Hurley and Kelly Osbourne.

53A Pirouetting, say : ON TOE

We took our word “pirouette” directly from French, in which language it has the same meaning, i.e. a rotation in dancing. “Pirouette” is also the French word for “spinning top”.

59A Pont des Arts city : PARIS

The Pont des Arts is a footbridge crossing the River Seine in Paris. It is named for the nearby Palais du Louvre, which used to be known as the Palais des Arts. In recent years, tourists have attached “love locks” to the railing on the side of the bridge. These are padlocks engraved with the names of a couple who are in love. The pair attach the lock to the railing and then throw the key into the Seine as a romantic gesture.

60A Olympic gymnast Strug : KERRI

Kerri Strug is that plucky little gymnast who made an outstanding final vault in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics despite having an injured ankle. I think we all remember her being carried off after her vault in the arms of the US team coach Bela Karolyi.

61A St. Louis landmark : ARCH

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, and is the tallest monument in the United States. It was designed by Eero Saarinen, with the help of structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel. They did their design work back in 1947, but construction wasn’t started until 1963. In 1980, a daredevil took it upon himself to parachute onto the top of the arch, intending to further jump from the apex of the arch and parachute to the ground. He hit the arch all right, and slid all the way down one of the arches to his death. No comment …

64A “My Brilliant Friend” novelist Ferrante : ELENA

Elena Ferrante is an Italian author, best known for her 4-part series known as the “Neapolitan Novels”. What is very interesting about “Ferrante” is that the moniker is a pseudonym, and no one seems to know the author’s real name. There is some speculation that “Elena” is in fact a man.

“My Brilliant Friend” is the first installment in Elena Ferrante’s series of four “Neapolitan Novels”. It introduces the reader to the complex and often turbulent friendship between Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, as they grow up in Naples in the 1950s.

68A Al __: pasta specification : DENTE

The Italian expression “al dente” literally means “to the tooth” or “to the bite” and is used to describe not only pasta, but also vegetables that are cooked so that they are tender and yet still crisp.

Down

1D “I can’t believe u” : SMH

Shaking my head (SMH)

4D Crayfish kin : SHRIMPS

The terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are often used interchangeably on menus. Over in the UK, the term “prawn” is most common, while “shrimp” is seen more often here in North America. Sometimes there is a differentiation from a food standpoint, with “prawn” being used for larger species and “shrimp” for smaller species. As a result, “jumbo prawns” seems to be an acceptable descriptor for a dish, whereas “jumbo shrimp” seems to be an oxymoron.

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans related to lobsters that indeed do look like small versions of their saltwater cousins. Crayfish are often referred to as “crawfish” and “crawdads”, especially in the south of the US.

7D Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO

Singer Arlo Guthrie is known for his protest songs, just like his father Woody Guthrie. The younger Guthrie only ever had one song in the top 40: a cover version of “City of New Orleans”. He has lived for years in the town of Washington, just outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His 1976 song “Massachusetts” has been the official folk song of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1981.

8D Protein in some vegan ribs : TEMPEH

Tempeh is a soy product that originated in Indonesia. It is made from soybeans that have been partly cooked and fermented. I’ve had quite a bit of tempeh used as a meat substitute in vegetarian dishes. It doesn’t have an appealing texture to me, so I’m not a fan …

9D Tahini ingredient : SESAME

“Tahini” is the Arabic name for a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It is a major ingredient in hummus, one of my favorite dishes.

12D Knit or purl : STITCH

As all of us knitters know, the purl stitch and knit stitch are very similar, one being sort of the inverse of the other. Yes, I’ve knitted a few sweaters in my day …

13D Some smart TVs : SONYS

Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The two partners met in the Japanese Navy during WWII.

16D Buildup on a menorah, perhaps : WAX

There is a seven-branched menorah used symbolically in ancient temples. However, the Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched lampstand that is lit during the eight-day holiday called Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. “Menorah” is the Hebrew word for “lamp”.

22D Research-funding org. : NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports research and education in all scientific fields outside of medicine. The NSF was founded in 1950 during the Truman administration. Today it has a budget of almost 10 billion dollars.

24D Hopping pal of Pooh : ROO

Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, the kangaroo named “Roo” was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin. Most of the original stuffed animals belonging to Christopher Robin are currently on display at the New York Public Library. Roo is the only major character in the stories whose original is missing from the famous collection, as the real Roo was lost in an apple orchard in the 1920s.

29D Big name in sealant : DAP

DAP is an American manufacturer of caulks, sealants and adhesives. The acronym “DAP” stands for “Dicks-Armstrong-Pontius”.

30D “Frankly,” in texts : TBH

To be honest (TBH)

31D In need of salt, say : ICY

Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, and is also known as “rock salt”. It is used to melt ice, as salt water has a lower freezing point than pure water. Adding salt to icy sidewalks can therefore cause any ice to melt (as long as the ambient temperature isn’t too low). A mixture of halite and ice can also be used to cool things below the freezing point of water, perhaps to make ice cream.

35D Publisher with a mountain peak logo : TOR

Tor Books is a publishing house in New York City that specializes in science fiction and fantasy novels.

42D Detail in a van Gogh self-portrait : BANDAGE

Vincent van Gogh famously severed a portion of his own left ear in 1888 following an argument with fellow artist Paul Gauguin in Arles, in the south of France. During his recovery in early 1889, van Gogh documented his injury in the celebrated work “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear”. Because the artist relied on a mirror to capture his own likeness, the oil painting inaccurately shows the heavy white dressing over his right ear rather than his injured left side.

44D Cpl. or sgt. : NCO

An NCO or “noncom” is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually, such an officer is one who has earned their rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant major (sgt. maj.).

45D With 51-Across, Wyle drama : THE …
51A See 45-Down : … PITT

“The Pitt” is a medical drama TV show that premiered in 2025. The title refers to the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. In each episode, we follow the staff through an hour in the emergency department, navigating challenges like staff shortages and underfunding. The show has been praised by the medical community for its realistic portrayal of healthcare workers and the psychological challenges faced in a post-pandemic world.

47D Pugsley kin : ITT

Pugsley Addams is the devious eldest child of Gomez and Morticia, on the 1960s sitcom “The Addams Family”. The boy wasn’t named in Charles Addams’s original New Yorker cartoons, and when the TV show was being created, Addams suggested the name “Pubert”. The network rejected the moniker as sounding too inappropriate for broadcast television, leading to the adoption of the name “Pugsley” instead. “Pubert” was resurrected decades later for the mustachioed baby brother in the 1993 film ”Addams Family Values”.

49D Rays home, for short : ST PETE

Tropicana Field (“The Trop”) in St. Petersburg, Florida is home to the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. It is a domed stadium, with four catwalks hanging from the roof. Those catwalks can interfere with the flight of a well-hit ball, and I’m told that upsets a lot of people …

51D Three-time Oscar nominee Laurie : PIPER

Piper Laurie garnered three Oscar nominations, for her performances in “The Hustler” (1961), “Carrie” (1976) and “Children of a Lesser God” (1986), but was beaten out each time. She eventually won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe, for portraying the devious and narcissistic Catherine Martell on the TV drama “Twin Peaks” in the early 1990s.

55D Intel org. : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

56D Persia, today : IRAN

Before 1935, the country we know today as Iran was referred to as Persia by the Western world. The official name of the country since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 is the “Islamic Republic of Iran”.

57D Lit __ : CRIT

Literary studies, also called literary criticism (lit crit), is the evaluation and interpretation of literature.