LA Times Crossword 9 Oct 26, Friday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Jeremy Venook

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Put a Face to a Name

Themed answers are names of real and fictitious people. By adding the word “FACED” to their last NAMES, we get facial expressions described in the corresponding clues:

• 36A Finally meet in person, or how to make the starred clues match their answers : PUT A FACE TO A NAME

• 17A *Two-time Oscar winner with a stoic bearing? : EMMA STONE (stone-faced)
• 23A *Nursery rhyme lad with one eye closed? : WILLIE WINKIE (winkie-faced
• 46A *Fictional spy sporting a big yellow button? : GEORGE SMILEY (smiley-faced)
• 57A *NFL analyst with a sad demeanor? : HOWIE LONG (long-faced)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Blu-ray precursor : DVD

A CD player reads the information on the disc using a laser beam. The beam is produced by what’s called a laser diode, a device similar to a light-emitting diode (LED) except that a laser beam is emitted. That laser beam is usually near-infrared in CD and red in DVD players. Blu-ray players are so called as they use blue lasers.

9A South Asian crepes : DOSAS

A dosa is a thin, savory pancake from South Indian cuisine. It is made using a fermented batter consisting of ground black lentils and rice. Dosas are usually served hot, and often with chutney and sambar, a lentil-based vegetable stew.

14A Hispaniola nation : HAITI

The island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is known in Spanish as “La Española”.

15A Outdoor co-op with an “Uncommon Path” blog : 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.

17A *Two-time Oscar winner with a stoic bearing? : EMMA STONE

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. She really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher famous for teaching at the Stoa Poikile, the “Painted Porch”, located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens. Because of the location of his classes, his philosophy became known as stoicism (from “stoa”, the word for “porch”). We get our adjective “stoic”, meaning “indifferent to pleasure or pain”, from the same root.

22A Briquettes : COALS

The term “briquette”, French for “small brick”, describes a compacted mass of fine material usually used as fuel for a fire. In North America, the most common briquettes are compressed wood charcoal, often used in charcoal grills. Back in Ireland, we see a lot of peat briquettes, which we use in fireplaces to heat our homes.

23A *Nursery rhyme lad with one eye closed? : WILLIE WINKIE

“Wee Willie Winkie” is a nursery rhyme from Scotland that starts out:

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown,
Tapping at the window, crying at the lock,
Are the children in their bed, for it’s past ten o’clock?

29A Warped Tour sponsor : VANS

Launched in 1995, the Warped Tour is the longest-running touring music festival in North American history. It is known for attracting a relatively young audience so, starting in 2013, parents get free admission. They even get to hang out in the Reverse Day Care tent, which has plenty of seating and cooling fans for the “oldsters” as they wait to drive the kids home. The Warped Tour is credited with launching the careers of some notable acts, including Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, My Chemical Romance and Katy Perry.

31A Golfing goof : SLICE

A slice in golf doesn’t head straight down the fairway, but instead turns off to the right (if you’re a right-handed golfer).

41A Sarge’s superior : LOOIE

Lieutenant (lt., and “looie” in slang).

42A Hieroglyphic snakes : ASPS

The prefix “hiero-” comes from the Greek word “hieros” meaning sacred or holy. The classic use of the prefix is in the term “hieroglyph” (meaning “sacred carving”), the writing system that uses symbols and pictures.

43A Insider’s argot : CANT

Cant is insincere language, or the language associated with a particular group. Back in the 1600s, the term described the whining of beggars.

46A *Fictional spy sporting a big yellow button? : GEORGE SMILEY

George Smiley is the protagonist in many of John le Carré’s spy novels.

51A Partygoer who might stock up on glow sticks : RAVER

A glow stick comprises a plastic tube containing two substances that, when mixed, emit light as the result of a chemical reaction (chemiluminescence). One of the materials is confined within a brittle container that is located within a larger, flexible container. The larger container holds the second substance. When the outer container is flexed sufficiently to break the inner container, the two substances are free to mix and hence emit light.

56A Carne __ burrito : ASADA

A burrito is a common dish served in Mexican cuisine. It is a flour tortilla filled with all sorts of good stuff. The term “burrito” is Spanish for “little donkey”, the diminutive of “burro” meaning “donkey”. It’s thought that the name was applied as a burrito looks like a bedroll or pack that might be carried by a donkey.

57A *NFL analyst with a sad demeanor? : HOWIE LONG

Howie Long is a retired NFL defensive end who is now a sportscaster for Fox Sports Networks. Long tried some acting after retiring from the NFL, and appeared alongside John Travolta in the 1996 action movie “Broken Arrow”. Howie’s son Chris is also a retired defensive end in the NFL, and son Kyle is a retired NFL guard.

59A Romantic poet who died fighting for Greek independence : BYRON

George Gordon Byron, known simply as “Lord Byron”, was an English poet active in the early 1800s. Byron was equally as famous for his poetry as he was for the wild excesses in his personal life. Byron lived much of that life outside of England, and fought for revolutionaries in both Italy and Greece. He died from a fever contracted while fighting for the Greeks against the Ottomans.

60A “Eddington” director Aster : ARI

Ari Aster is a filmmaker associated with horror and dark comedy movies, and films that include graphic violence. Probably not for me …

“Eddington” is a 2025 dark comedy thriller film set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eddington is a fictional New Mexico town consumed by paranoia and political unrest, with a mayor (Pedro Pascal) who follows the governor’s orders and implements a lockdown and mask mandate. The conservative county sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) is married to a woman (Emma Stone) who is a follower of conspiracy theories, so he protests against the restrictive measures and decides to run for mayor. Trouble ensues. I have to put this one on my “To Watch” list …

63A Pewter component : TIN

Pewter is a relatively soft alloy that is made up mostly of tin, with some copper, antimony, bismuth and lead.

Down

2D Fabric with metallic threads : LAME

Lamé is a fabric that has metallic yarns included in the weave. It is a popular fabric for stylish evening wear, and also in the sport of fencing. The metallic threads are conductive and so help register a touch by an épée.

4D NYC transit org. : MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut).

5D Flower part : PISTIL

The pistil is the female reproductive part of a flower, often found at its center. It’s typically composed of three main structures: the stigma, a sticky surface at the top designed to capture pollen; the style, a slender stalk that supports the stigma; and the ovary at the base, which houses the ovules that develop into seeds after fertilization.

7D Starbucks order : VENTI

“Venti” is the Italian word for “twenty.” It’s most commonly known in English-speaking countries today as a size option for beverages at Starbucks. A venti-sized drink at Starbucks typically holds 20 fluid ounces.

9D Woman of La Mancha? : DULCINEA

The full name of Cervantes’s novel is “The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha”. In the story, Don Quixote is a retired country gentleman who heads out as a knight-errant and who renames himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. In his mind he designates a neighboring farm girl called Aldonza Lorenzo as his lady love, and renames her Dulcinea del Toboso.

10D Mirepoix vegetables : ONIONS

Mirepoix is a mixture of diced vegetables comprising two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery. The raw vegetables are cooked with butter over a low heat with butter, giving a flavor base for a variety of dishes from French cuisine. The aromatic trio was named in the 18th century for Charles-Pierre-Gaston François de Lévis, the Duke of Mirepoix, a French field marshal under King Louis XV. The duke was no great shakes as a military general, and no cook, but apparently, he did have a great personal chef.

11D Swordfish cut : STEAK

Swordfish are predatory fish with long, pointed bills that resemble swords, hence the name. The “sword” is not used to spear its prey, but rather is employed as a slashing tool, injuring the prey and making for an easier catch.

12D Garlicky mayo : AIOLI

Aioli is a French sauce made from garlic, egg yolks, and olive oil. The word “aioli” comes from “alh”, the Provençal word for garlic, and “oli”, a Catalan word meaning “oil”.

23D Large New Zealand cricket in the name of an Oscar-winning digital effects company : WETA

“Weta” is the common name of a group of insect species that are endemic to New Zealand. Several of those species rank among the heaviest insects in the world. The weta loaned their name to the Weta FX, the visual effects company co-founded by director Peter Jackson in 1993. Weta FX produced visual effects for some big movies, such as the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the “Avatar” series.

24D Paperless Post alternative : EVITE

Paperless Post has a website on which users can create, send and manage online invitations for events.

25D Baylor University city : WACO

Baylor is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas that was founded in 1845, making it the oldest continuously-operating university in the state. Baylor is named for US Congressman and Baptist minister Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, who co-founded the school. The list of Baylor’s past presidents includes Ken Starr, the independent counsel whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

26D Pros who work at home : UMPS

Back in the 15th century, “an umpire” was referred to as “a noumpere”, which was misheard, and hence caused the dropping of the initial letter N. The term “noumpere” came from Old French “nonper” meaning “not even, odd number”. The idea was that the original umpire was a third person called on to arbitrate between two, providing that the “odd number” needed to decide the dispute.

28D College Board exams : SATS

College Board is a company that develops and administers standardized tests used to determine college readiness in students and to provide a service within the college admissions process. The company was founded in 1899 at Columbia University by a dozen or so schools to provide guidance to secondary schools as they prepared students for third-level education.

31D Many Highland Games participants : SCOTS

The caber toss must be the most recognizable event in the Scottish Highland Games. The tall pole is 19’ 6” long and weighs a whopping 175 pounds. The event may have originated with the practice of tossing large logs across chasms in order to cross them.

37D Like a foul that might earn an automatic ejection : FLAGRANT

The word “flagrant” comes from the Latin verb “flagrare”, which translates as “to burn, blaze”. When the term first entered English in the 16th century, it was used in a literal sense to describe things that were physically on fire or emitting intense heat. The definition evolved to describe offenses, lies, or errors that were so glaringly obvious they seemed to blaze with notoriety.

39D Less than hardly, quaintly : NARY

The adjective “nary” means “not one”, as in “nary a soul” or even “nary a one”.

43D Assertions of faith : CREDOS

A creed or credo is a profession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

44D Jai __ : ALAI

Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, golf balls usually get going at a greater clip. That said, as a blog reader once pointed out to me, you don’t have to catch a golf ball …

48D Egg-producing organ : OVARY

The ovaries are the female reproductive organs. Most female vertebrates have two ovaries. However, only the left ovary develops in female birds, with the right remaining vestigial.

49D Language of a haka chant : MAORI

The haka is a war dance used by the Maori people of New Zealand. Famously, the New Zealand rugby team performs a haka before each of their matches.

50D Conservationist Bindi : IRWIN

Australian Bindi Irwin is the daughter of Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin. She very much followed in her father’s footsteps at a young age, appearing in wildlife documentaries. When she was nine years old, she starred in her own series “Bindi the Jungle Girl”. Bindi also appeared on the American version of “Dancing with the Stars”, winning the show’s 21st season.