LA Times Crossword 7 Jun 26, Sunday

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Constructed by: Ricky J. Sirois

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Five Stars

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as FIVE-STAR ratings, GLOWING REVIEWS:

• 23A Glowing review for a groundskeeper’s work? : FLAWLESS DIAMOND
• 41A Glowing review for a preprandial prayer? : AMAZING GRACE
• 60A Glowing review for a wrestling team? : PERFECT MATCHES
• 69A Glowing review for a cheerleading squad? : GREAT PYRAMIDS
• 81A Glowing review for a purchase from a vintage music store? : SPOTLESS RECORD
• 96A Glowing review for a bootlegger? : AWESOME SAUCE
• 120A Glowing review for a chairmaker? : FIRST-CLASS SEATS

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

Bill’s time: 15m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

19A Freckles, e.g. : TRAIT

It is very uncommon for a child to be born with freckles. Rather, they form when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Freckles are clusters of melanin in melanocytes, melanin-producing cells in the skin’s epidermis.

21A Sch. in Sin City : UNLV

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) was established in 1957 as the Southern Division of the University of Nevada, Reno. One of UNLV’s flagship departments is the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, which is consistently ranked as one of the best hotel and hospitality colleges in the nation. I suppose that’s not surprising given the proximity to the Las Vegas Strip.

The Las Vegas nickname “Sin City” is not a modern marketing invention. It dates back to the early 1930s, when the construction of the nearby Hoover Dam brought a massive influx of male workers to the area. The combination of legalized gambling and the establishment of red-light districts quickly earned the city its enduring moniker.

22A Disney film with the song “Shiny” : MOANA

“Moana” is a 2016 animated feature film and the 56th animated Disney movie. The title character is the daughter of a Polynesian chief who heads off in search of the demigod Maui, hoping that he can save her people. Unlike many of the previous Disney Princess films, Moana’s story is not centered around romance. She is only the second Disney Princess who doesn’t have a love interest, the first being Merida in the 2012 feature “Brave”.

26A Nickname for the NFL’s Chargers : BOLTS

The Chargers were an AFL charter team, and so the franchise was founded in 1959. The Chargers played one season in Los Angeles, before moving to San Diego in 1961, and then returning to Los Angeles in 2017.

27A Like modern microchips vis-à-vis those of the past : TINIER

In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that transistor density on microchips would double every year. This prediction has largely proved to be true, resulting in smaller and smaller microchips with the same computing power. The principle came to be known as “Moore’s Law”.

28A “Physician, __ thyself” : HEAL

“Physician, heal thyself” is the English translation of the Latin “Medice, cura te ipsum”, a proverb found in the Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament. The phrase is intended to highlight the irony of a healer who cannot mend their own ailments.

35A Repeated word in the unofficial USPS motto : NOR

There is no official creed or motto for the US Postal Service (USPS). However, there is the oft-quoted inscription that is posted (pun!) over the entrance to the James Farley Post Office in New York City:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

39A Tennis great Björn : BORG

Björn Borg is a retired tennis player from Sweden, and a former World No. 1. Borg won 41% of the 27 Grand Slam singles tournaments that he entered, which is a record that stands to this day. He was known for reacting very calmly under pressure on the tennis court and hence earned the nicknames “Ice Man” and “Ice Borg”, the latter being my personal favorite.

41A Glowing review for a preprandial prayer? : AMAZING GRACE

A grace is a short prayer recited before or after a meal, especially in the Christian tradition. The term “grace” comes from the Latin “gratiarum actio” meaning “act of thanks”.

Something described as “preprandial” takes place before a meal, with “postprandial” coming after the meal. The term derives from “prandium”, the Latin for “luncheon”.

“Amazing Grace” is a very, very famous hymn, with words written by John Newton in 1779. The words have been set to a number of different melodies, and what we are used to hearing today is music from a tune called “New Britain”.

Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
’Twas blind but now I see

45A Hasbro’s “game of unspeakable fun” : TABOO

Taboo is a guessing game that was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1989. Players must encourage their teammates to guess a word on a card, without using that word or related words defined on the card. It’s a fun game that’s played regularly around here …

52A Moves like lava : OOZES

Lava is a phenomenon that results from the eruption of magma from a volcano. Depending on the type of lava and the volcano it comes from, lava can reach temperatures of up to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 degrees Celsius).

53A Grande of “Wicked: For Good” : ARIANA

The 2025 musical fantasy film “Wicked: For Good” is also known as “Wicked: Part Two”, and is a sequel to 2024’s “Wicked”. The original “Wicked” is a big screen adaptation of the first act of the 2003 stage musical “Wicked”, and the sequel is an adaptation of the second act. In turn, the musical is based on 1995’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire, a revisionist story set in the world created by L. Frank Baum’s in his 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”.

66A Star on a Christmas tree, often : TOPPER

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

68A Dorm VIPs : RAS

A resident assistant/adviser (RA) is a peer leader found in a residence hall/dormitory, particularly on a college campus.

69A Glowing review for a cheerleading squad? : GREAT PYRAMIDS

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and yet it is the only one of the Wonders that is basically intact today. Egyptologists believe that the structure took ten to twenty years to complete, and that it dates back to around 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man-made structure in the world for nearly 3,900 years, until it was surpassed by Lincoln Cathedral in England in 1311 AD.

78A Solo at the Met : ARIA

The Metropolitan Opera (often simply “the Met”) of New York City is the largest classical music organization in the country, presenting about 220 performances each and every year. Founded in 1880, the Met is renowned for using technology to expand its audiences. Performances have been broadcast live on radio since 1931, and on television since 1977. And since 2006 you can go see a live performance from New York in high definition on the big screen, at a movie theater near you …

79A Decorative pillow covers : SHAMS

A sham is something that is imitation, fake. In the world of bed linens, a sham is also an imitation or fake, in the sense that it is a decorative cover designed to cover up a regular pillow used for sleeping.

88A Result of a foul bunt with two strikes : OUT

That would be baseball.

89A World’s largest subtropical desert : SAHARA

The name “Sahara” means “desert” in Arabic. The Sahara is just that, a great desert covering almost 4 million square miles of Northern Africa. That’s almost the size of the United States.

90A Become overwhelmed : PANIC

In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god who was part-man and part-goat, and one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.

92A Bouquet holder : VASE

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

93A Rooibos, for one : TEA

Red tea is made from the leaves of the South African rooibos plant. The name “rooibos” translates as “red bush”.

96A Glowing review for a bootlegger? : AWESOME SAUCE

To bootleg is to make or smuggle alcoholic drinks illegally. The term arose in the late 1800s as slang for the practice of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. The term has been extended to mean the illegal production and sale of just about anything.

100A Money in Oman : RIAL

The rial is the currency of Oman (as well as Yemen, and Iran). Generally, there are 1,000 baisa in one rial.

103A Coq au __ : VIN

The French word “coq” actually means rooster, but a more tender bird is usually chosen for the classic French dish “coq au vin”. The most common wine used for the “vin” is burgundy, but sometimes another red wine is chosen, and you can also find on a menu “coq au Champagne” and “coq au Riesling”.

104A Nespresso inserts : PODS

A Nespresso machine brews espresso from single-use capsules of ground coffee. The machine was invented by a Nestlé employee in Switzerland in 1976. “Nespresso” is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “espresso”. I’m a big fan, and am drinking a cup of decaf from mine right now …

115A Younger Gallagher brother : LIAM

English singer and songwriter Liam Gallagher is best known as the confrontational frontman of the 1990s Britpop band Oasis. He and his brother Noel, the band’s songwriter, were famous for their public sibling rivalry, which eventually led to the band’s split in 2009.

117A Sugar substitute : STEVIA

Stevia is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute. It is extracted from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana, a plant in the sunflower family that is native to Brazil and Paraguay. The active compounds in Stevia are many times more sweet than sugar, but are not metabolized by the body. As such, stevia has zero calories.

118A Indigenous people of Nunavut : INUIT

Nunavut is a Canadian territory that dates back to 1999 when it was separated from the Northwest Territories. That makes Nunavut the youngest of all Canada’s territories. It is also the nation’s largest territory, the least populous, as well as the furthest north. Even though it is the second-largest country subdivision in North America (after Greenland), Nunavut is home to just over 30,000 people, who are mostly Inuit.

125A George of the original “Star Trek” : TAKEI

Actor George Takei is known for his presence on social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. He explores that presence in a 2012 memoir “Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet”.

130A Vehicle pulled by huskies : SLED

The Siberian Husky is one of the oldest breeds of dog, and originated in northern Asia. Siberian Huskies were imported into Alaska in great numbers in the early 1900s for use as sled dogs during the gold rush.

Down

2D Primrose variety : OXLIP

The plant known as the oxlip is more properly called Primula elatior. It is often confused with its similar-looking cousin, the cowslip.

The “primrose” name comes from an older term meaning “first rose”, reflecting the fact that the primrose is one of the first plants to flower in spring in Europe. That said, the primrose is not very closely related to true roses.

3D Digestive aid brand : BEANO

Beano is a dietary supplement that is used to reduce gas in the digestive tract. It contains an enzyme that breaks down complex sugars found in many vegetables. This makes the food more digestible and apparently cuts down on gas.

4D Gold medal hurdler Moses : EDWIN

Edwin Moses is a former track and field athlete from Dayton, Ohio who won gold medals in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics in the 400m hurdles.

7D Wingding : BASH

A wingding is a wild and enthusiastic celebration. This meaning of the term started to be used in the late 1940s. Back in the twenties, “wingding” was hobo slang, a word describing a fake seizure designed to attract attention and sympathy.

11D Radius neighbor : ULNA

The ulna is the forearm bone on the pinky side, and its name is the Latin word for “elbow”. The top of the ulna forms the sharp, bony point of the elbow called the olecranon.

12D Heat-and-serve option : TV DINNER

The term “TV dinner”, which describes a prepackaged frozen meal, was actually a trademark for C. A. Swanson & Sons back in 1953. Swanson’s original prepackaged meal was sold as “TV Brand Frozen Dinner” and came in an aluminum tray so that it could be heated in an oven. Swanson stopped using the name in 1962, and now “TV dinner” is a generic term.

13D Targeted trade ban : EMBARGO

“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

15D One of the Magi : BALTHAZAR

“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, “magi” is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born. In Western Christianity, the three Biblical Magi are:

• Melchior: a scholar from Persia
• Caspar (also “Gaspar”): a scholar from India
• Balthazar: a scholar from Arabia

16D Sinus specialist, briefly : ENT

The ear, nose and throat (ENT) branch of medicine is more correctly called “otolaryngology”.

24D Femur, for one : LEG BONE

The thigh bone, the femur, is the longest and strongest bone in the human body.

30D Run-of-the-mill object? : LOG

Something described as run-of-the-mill is unspectacular, quite normal. The idea is that the regular production from say a sawmill isn’t perfect, but does the job. Imperfections in the wood can be expected, but the milled wood should get the job done. Going back a few years, similar expressions were quite common, such as “run-of-the-kiln” and “run-of-the-mine”.

32D Famous “Dr.” from Compton : DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. He is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

The city of Compton in Los Angeles County was founded in 1888 by Griffith Dickenson Compton. He was one of the pioneers who settled in the area, abandoning the declining gold fields to the north in search of agricultural opportunities to the south. Back then, Compton was known for the growing of sugar beets and dairy farming. Today, the city is known as the birthplace of West Coast hip-hop, in the late 1980s.

43D Some high-ABV brews : IPAS

Single, double (or dual), and triple IPAs are all styles of hoppy beer that progressively increase in intensity. Brewers create the stronger double and triple versions by using significantly more malt, which boosts the alcohol content (ABV), with a corresponding increase in hops to balance the sweetness and amplify the bitter, aromatic flavors.

Alcoholic proof is a measure of the alcoholic strength of a beverage. In the US, alcoholic proof is twice the alcohol by volume (ABV), and ABV is simply the volume of alcohol in a the beverage compared to its total volume, and expressed as a percentage. Therefore a liquor that is 50% ABV, is 100 proof. The concept of “proof” dates back to the days of British sailors being paid partly with rations of rum. A “proof spirit” was the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder. Simply stated, if the rum that a sailor was given was so dilute that it doused burning gunpowder, then it was unacceptable to the sailor. The person providing the rum had to give “proof” that the rum would catch light, proving it was strong enough to be used as payment. It was found experimentally that rum of 57.15% ABV was the lowest concentration that could sustain a flame, so this was named as 100 degrees proof. But nowadays we round down to 50% ABV.

44D Williams of “Good Will Hunting” : ROBIN

Actor and comedian Robin Williams started his performing career as a standup in the San Francisco Bay Area. His big break came when he was cast as an alien named Mork in a 1978 episode of the sitcom “Happy Days”. That led to the spinoff sitcom “Mork & Mindy” that aired from 1978 to 1982. Williams’ first major film role was as the title character in 1980’s “Popeye”. Sadly, Williams committed suicide in 2014.

“Good Will Hunting” was the movie that gave both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck their big break in films, and deservedly so. Affleck and Damon are actually distant cousins who lived two blocks from each other in Cambridge, Massachusetts where the pair spent their teen years. The two friends wrote the film’s screenplay and of course took starring roles, alongside Robin Williams and Minnie Driver. Affleck and Damon won an Academy Award for the screenplay. What a great success story, eh?

45D Narrow : TAPER

I used to think that the word “taper” was used for a slender candle because said candle was “tapered” in shape, but it’s exactly the opposite. It turns out that our word “tapered” comes from the candle. “Taper” and “tapur” are Old English words meaning “candle”. From these nouns arose the verb “to taper” meaning “shoot up like flame”. This meaning evolved into “become slender” from the idea that a candle’s flame has such a shape.

48D Lummoxes : OAFS

The word “lummox” comes from Britain, from East Anglian slang, and describes an ungainly and often clueless person. The term is probably a contraction of “lumbering ox”.

62D Underground vault : CRYPT

A crypt is a chamber that is located partially or totally underground. The term “crypt” comes from the Greek “kryptos” meaning “hidden”.

70D Candy wrapped in gold foil : ROLO

Rolo was a hugely popular chocolate candy in Ireland when I was growing up. It was introduced in the thirties in the UK, and is produced under license in the US by Hershey. I was a little disappointed when I had my first taste of the American version as the center is very hard and chewy. The recipe used on the other side of the Atlantic calls for a soft gooey center.

71D Language from which “Alaska” is derived : ALEUT

When Russian explorers and colonizers arrived in what is now Alaska, they took the Aleut name for the area, “alaxsxaq”, and renamed it “Alyeska”. The Aleut term is a reference to the mainland (as opposed to the Aleutian Island off the coast), describing where the oceans waves hit the shore of the peninsula.

73D Zagreb resident : CROAT

Zagreb is the capital city of the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb has been around a long, long time, and dates back to the diocese of Zagreb that was founded at the end of the 11th century.

74D Wispy clouds : CIRRI

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

75D Nobel Peace Prize honoree Anwar : SADAT

Anwar Sadat was the third President of Egypt right up to the time of his assassination in 1981. Sadat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, for the role played in crafting the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1978 at Camp David. It was this agreement that largely led to Sadat’s assassination three years later.

76D __ lazuli : LAPIS

Lapis lazuli is a blue, semi-precious stone mined mainly in Afghanistan. “Lapis Lazuli” is Latin for “stone of Lazhward”, referring to the Persian name for the location where the stone was mined. Our word “azure”, a shade of blue, has the same root.

82D Fibonacci’s birthplace : PISA

Leonardo of Pisa was a famous and respected Italian mathematician, also known as simply “Fibonacci”. He is remembered for writing about a number sequence (although he didn’t “discover” it) that later was given the name “Fibonacci sequence”. He wrote about the series of numbers in his book called “Liber Abaci”, a celebrated work that introduced Arabic numerals (i.e. 0-9) to the Western world.

97D “Mamma __!” : MIA

The hit musical “Mamma Mia!” was written to showcase the songs of ABBA. I’m a big fan of ABBA’s music, so I’ve seen this show several times and just love it. “Mamma Mia!” is such a big hit on the stage that on any given day there are at least seven performances going on somewhere in the world. There is a really interesting film version of the show that was released in 2008. I think the female lead Meryl Streep is wonderful in the movie, but the male leads … not so much! By the way, one can tell the difference between “Mamma Mia” the ABBA song and “Mamma Mia!” the musical, by noting the difference in the punctuation in the titles.

101D Bluey, for one : AUSSIE

“Bluey” is a TV show from Australia aimed at preschoolers. The title character is an anthropomorphic blue heeler puppy whose full name is Bluey Christine Heeler. Her younger sister is Bingo Heeler. My granddaughter just loves Bluey …

105D Light meal : SALAD

Our word “salad” comes from the Latin “salare” meaning “to salt”. The Latin “herba salata” translates as “salted vegetables”, which I guess could be a salad …

112D Costa __ : RICA

Costa Rica is a country in Central America that is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1948, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

114D Greek god of love : EROS

Eros was the Greek god of love, desire and attraction, and usually depicted as a winged youth wielding a bow and arrows. The arrows had the power to ignite feelings of love or passionate longing in whomever they struck. Eros (Cupid or Amor in Roman mythology) was the son of Aphrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars).

116D Fast shark : MAKO

The shortfin mako shark can appear on restaurant menus, and as a result the species is dying out in some parts of the world. The mako gets its own back sometimes though, as attacks on humans are not unknown. It is the fastest-swimming shark, and has been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles/hour. And the shark in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, that’s a mako. “Mako” is the Maori word for “shark” or “shark tooth”.