LA Times Crossword 12 Aug 24, Monday

Advertisement

Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Break Dance

Themed answers include a DANCE hidden within, BROKEN up between the start and finish:

  • 57A Debut sport at the Paris Olympics, or what 16-, 22-, 36-, and 46-Across do to their circled letters : BREAK DANCE
  • 16A Brass player’s recital piece : HORN SONATA (break HORA)
  • 22A Port on the Strait of Gibraltar : TANGIER, MOROCCO (break TANGO)
  • 36A Anise-flavored Italian liqueur : SAMBUCA (break SAMBA)
  • 46A Classic Chaney horror film : HOUSE OF DRACULA (break HULA)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 40s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • KYLE (Lyle!)
  • KSU (LSU!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Wrap party party : ACTOR

When shooting of a film is concluded the movie is said to wrap, and everyone heads to the wrap party. There is one story that “wrap” is actually an acronym for “wind, reel and print”, a reference to the transition of the filming process into post-production. But, this explanation is disputed.

6 C and D in D.C. : STS

Famously, the layout of the streets in Washington was designed by French-born American architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The L’Enfant Plan called for a grid of east-west and north-south streets. This grid was crisscrossed with diagonal avenues. The avenues and streets met at circles and rectangular plazas. The east-west streets are generally named for letters, while the north-south streets are numbered. Later, many of the diagonal avenues were named for states of the union.

9 Muscat’s country : OMAN

Muscat is the capital city of Oman. It lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

13 “Say Anything … ” director Cameron : CROWE

Cameron Crowe was a contributing editor for “Rolling Stone” magazine before he moved into the world of film, becoming an actor, producer, director and screenwriter. Crowe wrote “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, and wrote and directed “Say Anything…” and the huge hit “Jerry Maguire”. He also wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical movie “Almost Famous”, which was released in 2000.

16 Brass player’s recital piece : HORN SONATA (break HORA)

A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labeled as something lighter and shorter.

The hora is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. It was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional, Israeli folk songs. The hora (also “horah”) is a regular sight at Jewish weddings. Sometimes the honoree at an event is raised on a chair during the dance.

18 “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is the more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

20 Concave navel : INNIE

The navel is essentially the scar left behind when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby. One interesting use of the umbilicus (navel, belly button) is to differentiate between identical twins, especially when they are very young.

22 Port on the Strait of Gibraltar : TANGIER, MOROCCO (break TANGO)

The Moroccan city of Tangier sits right on the Strait of Gibraltar. Even though Tangier is in North Africa, the continent of Europe is less than ten miles away, on the other side of the Mediterranean.

The Strait of Gibraltar is the very narrow strait connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. On one side of the strait is Spain (and the tiny British Territory of Gibraltar), and on the other is Morocco. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 9 miles wide, that’s just 9 miles of water separating the continents of Europe and Africa.

The dramatic tango dance originated in the late 1800s in the area along the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires in particular traveled to Europe and beyond in the early twentieth century and brought the tango with them. The tango craze first struck Europe in Paris in the 1910s, and from there spread to London and Berlin, crossing the Atlantic to New York in 1913.

25 Worker without lungs : ANT

Ants, like all insects, do not have lungs, Instead, oxygen and carbon dioxide pass through their exoskeleton via tiny openings called spiracles.

26 Pumpkin __ : PATCH

The pumpkin is a winter squash that is grown for food, and for carving as a jack-o’-lantern. Pumpkins can grow to very large sizes. Mature giant pumpkins can weigh over 2,000 pounds!

30 Networking device : MODEM

A modem is a device that is used to facilitate the transmission of a digital signal over an analog line. At one end of the line, a modem is used to “modulate” an analog carrier signal to encode digital information. At the other end of the line, a modem is used to “demodulate” the analog carrier signal and so reproduce the original digital information. This modulation-demodulation gives the device its name: a MOdulator-DEModulator, or “modem”.

33 FaceTime platform : IOS

FaceTime is an Apple video-telephony application. I guess it’s similar to Skype. Personally, I gave up on Skype and am now a loyal user of Google Meet …

35 Thai language kin : LAO

Lao is the official language of Laos. It is also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, but there the language is known as Isan.

36 Anise-flavored Italian liqueur : SAMBUCA (break SAMBA)

Sambuca is an Italian liqueur that is flavored with anise. It is often served straight up with three coffee beans floating on the surface. The beans are said to represent health, happiness and prosperity. A more “saucy” representation for the beans is husband, wife and mistress.

The samba is a Brazilian dance that is very much symbolic of the festival of Carnival. Like so much culture around the world, the samba has its roots in Africa, as the dance is derived from dances performed by former slaves who migrated into urban Rio de Janeiro in the late 1800s. The exact roots of the name “samba” seem to have been lost in the mists of time. However, my favorite explanation is that it comes from an African Kikongo word “semba” which means “a blow struck with the belly button”. We don’t seem to have a need for such a word in English …

39 Address in a hyperlink : URL

In essence, the World Wide Web (WWW) is a vast collection of documents that is accessible using the Internet, with each document containing hyperlinks that point to other documents in the collection. So the “Web” is different from the Internet, although the terms are often used interchangeably. The Web is a collection of documents, and the Internet is a global network of computers on which the documents reside. The Web was effectively the invention of British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. The key to Berner-Lee’s invention was bringing together two technologies that already existed: hypertext and the Internet. I, for one, am very grateful …

40 Flannel pattern : PLAID

“Tartan” is sometimes called “plaid” over here in the US, and is a word not used in the same sense outside of this country. In Scotland, a plaid is a blanket or a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder.

Flannel is a fabric originally woven using worsted wool, and nowadays mainly using regular wool, cotton or a synthetic fiber. The softness of flannel makes it ideal for blankets, bed sheets and sleepwear.

41 NASCAR great Petty : KYLE

Retired NASCAR driver Kyle Petty comes from racing stock. His father is former racer Richard Petty and his grandfather was racer Lee Petty. Kyle’s son Adam Petty was also a racer, but died in a crash during a practice round in 2000.

44 Prefix sometimes paired with “het” : CIS-

In Latin, the prefix “cis-” means “this side of”. The prefix “trans-” means “the other side of”.

The term “cisgender” is used as the opposite of “transgender”. Cisgender people have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

The noun and adjective “het” is sometimes used instead of “heterosexual”. “Heterosexuality” is sexual attraction between persons of the opposite gender. The prefix “hetero-” comes from the Greek “heteros” meaning “different, other”.

46 Classic Chaney horror film : HOUSE OF DRACULA (break HULA)

“House of Dracula” is a 1945 horror film starring Lon Chaney. It’s about a doctor, who lives in a castle, being sought out by Count Dracula and the Wolf Man. Both are seeking cures: Dracula for his vampirism and the Wolf Man for his lycanthropy.

The hula is a native dance of Hawaii that uses arm movements to relate a story. The hula can be performed while sitting (a noho dance) or while standing (a luna dance).

54 Aircraft carrier letters : USS

The first launching of an aircraft from a ship took place way back in 1910. Aviation pioneer Eugene Burton Ely flew a Curtiss Pusher airplane from a temporary platform erected on the bow of the USS Birmingham, which was anchored off Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia. Ely also recorded the first landing on a ship two months later, touching down on a platform on the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay.

57 Debut sport at the Paris Olympics, or what 16-, 22-, 36-, and 46-Across do to their circled letters : BREAK DANCE

Breakdancing was introduced as a competitive sport in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. It was introduced into the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

59 Item used onstage : PROP

We use the word “props” for objects that are used by actors on stage during a play. The term is a shortening of the older term “properties”, which was used with the same meaning up through the 19th century.

62 __ serif : SANS

Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

Down

1 Post-Pilates pain : ACHE

Pilates is a physical exercise system developed by, and named for, Joseph Pilates. Pilates introduced his system of exercises in 1883 in Germany.

2 Dubrovnik native : CROAT

Dubrovnik is a Croatian port city on the Adriatic Sea, and in the very south of the country. It has been a major tourist destination since the end of the war that raged after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. So many tourists have been flocking to the city that the authorities have resorted in recent years to staggering the arrival of cruise ships in order to manage the flow of visitors.

6 Escalator part : STAIR

Escalators have an advantage over elevators in that they can move larger numbers of people in the same time frame. They can also be placed in just about the same physical space that would be needed for a regular staircase. Patents for escalator-type devices were first filed in 1859, but the first working model wasn’t built until 1892 by one Jesse Reno. It was erected alongside a pier in Coney Island, New York, with the second escalator being placed at an entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon after, the Otis elevator company purchased the necessary patents and went into the business.

7 Symbol carved on a pole : TOTEM

“Totem” is a word used to describe any entity that watches over a group of people. As such, totems are usually the subjects of worship. Totem poles are really misnamed, as they are not intended to represent figures to be worshiped, but rather are heraldic in nature, and often celebrating the legends or notable events in the history of a tribe.

9 Second-largest spotted cat in South America : OCELOT

The ocelot is a wild cat found mainly in South and Central America, although there have been sightings as far north as Arkansas. An ocelot doesn’t look too different from a domestic cat, and some have been kept as pets. Perhaps most famously, Salvador Dali had one that he carried around everywhere with him.

10 Nashville nickname : MUSIC CITY

The Tennessee city of Nashville was founded in 1779 near a stockade in the Cumberland River valley called Fort Nashborough. Both the settlement and the fort were named for General Francis Nash, a war hero who died in combat during the American Revolution.

14 Hathaway of “Interstellar” : ANNE

Actress Anne Hathaway is a trained soprano singer. She put that training on display in the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Misérables,” for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

“Interstellar” is a sci-fi film released in 2014 with a “stellar” cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. I found “Interstellar” to be a really engaging movie, one that grabbed my attention the whole way through. That said, the ending was a little bit disappointing. I’m not one for walking out of theaters with unanswered questions …

23 “That’s What I Want” singer Lil __ X : NAS

“Thats What I Want” is a 2021 song co-written and recorded by rap artist Lil Nas X. The accompanying music video features scenes that are a homage to the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain”.

24 Oil cartel letters : OPEC

A cartel is a group of independent businesses that cooperate to regulate production, pricing and marketing of their common product(s).

27 __-ray disc : BLU

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 red in CD and DVD players. Blu-ray players are so called as they use blue lasers.

28 Pasta dish with bacon, eggs, and cheese : CARBONARA

A carbonara pasta dish includes a sauce made with eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper. Apparently, the name of the dish is derived from “carbonaro”, the Italian for “charcoal burner”. One suggestion is that it was first made for Italian charcoal workers in the mid-1900s.

30 UFC fighting style : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport in which competitors use a variety of techniques from a variety of traditional combat sports and martial arts.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …

31 __-Wan Kenobi : OBI

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the “Star Wars” characters. He was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man Kenobi was played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man by Alec Guinness.

41 Sunflower Showdown sch. : KSU

There exists a natural rivalry between the athletic teams of Kansas State University in Manhattan and the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Games between the two schools are referred to as Sunflower Showdowns, a reference to Kansas’ nickname: the Sunflower State.

43 Takes over by force : USURPS

To usurp is to seize and hold by force. The term “usurp” comes to us from Latin via French, from “usus” (a use) and “rapere” (to seize).

45 Winter river blockage : ICE DAM

A blockage made from ice that restricts the flow of a river is called an ice jam (sometimes “ice dam”). The ice usually floats downriver in fragments, and gets stuck at some natural or man-made obstruction.

47 Absurdist comedy : FARCE

A farce is a comedy play that features an exaggerated and improbable storyline, with lots of physical humor. I love a good farce …

50 Moon-related : LUNAR

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

51 Computer character set : ASCII

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) lists codes for 32 “control” characters, as well as the 95 printable characters. These binary codes are the way that our computers can understand what we mean when we type, say a letter or a number. Unicode is a more contemporary standard, and is like “Ascii on steroids”, encompassing more characters.

57 Tot’s dinner garb : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

58 13.7 billion years, for our universe : AGE

According to the Big Bang theory, the universe came into being just under 14 billion years ago. The theory posits that the universe started out as a hot and dense mass that began to expand rapidly (in a “big bang”). Within three minutes of the “bang”, the universe cooled so that energy was converted into subatomic particles like protons, electrons and neutrons. Over time, subatomic particles turned into atoms. Clouds of those atoms formed stars and galaxies.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Wrap party party : ACTOR
6 C and D in D.C. : STS
9 Muscat’s country : OMAN
13 “Say Anything … ” director Cameron : CROWE
14 At the summit of : ATOP
15 Bring back to health : CURE
16 Brass player’s recital piece : HORN SONATA (break HORA)
18 “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA
19 Gulp down : EAT
20 Concave navel : INNIE
21 Barely known celebs : D-LIST
22 Port on the Strait of Gibraltar : TANGIER, MOROCCO (break TANGO)
25 Worker without lungs : ANT
26 Pumpkin __ : PATCH
27 Emails covertly : BCCS
30 Networking device : MODEM
33 FaceTime platform : IOS
35 Thai language kin : LAO
36 Anise-flavored Italian liqueur : SAMBUCA (break SAMBA)
38 Digit covered by a sock : TOE
39 Address in a hyperlink : URL
40 Flannel pattern : PLAID
41 NASCAR great Petty : KYLE
42 Makes fuzzy : BLURS
44 Prefix sometimes paired with “het” : CIS-
46 Classic Chaney horror film : HOUSE OF DRACULA (break HULA)
52 Happen next : ENSUE
53 Got out of 63-Across : AROSE
54 Aircraft carrier letters : USS
56 Wild animal’s den : LAIR
57 Debut sport at the Paris Olympics, or what 16-, 22-, 36-, and 46-Across do to their circled letters : BREAK DANCE
59 Item used onstage : PROP
60 “It’s the least __ do!” : I CAN
61 “From the top!” : AGAIN!
62 __ serif : SANS
63 Place to sleep : BED
64 Scholarship factor : MERIT

Down

1 Post-Pilates pain : ACHE
2 Dubrovnik native : CROAT
3 Mexican sandwich : TORTA
4 Utterly dominate : OWN
5 Quit one’s job : RESIGN
6 Escalator part : STAIR
7 Symbol carved on a pole : TOTEM
8 Infrared sauna spot : SPA
9 Second-largest spotted cat in South America : OCELOT
10 Nashville nickname : MUSIC CITY
11 Drawing class offerer : ART SCHOOL
12 “Excellent!” : NEATO!
14 Hathaway of “Interstellar” : ANNE
17 “I’ll handle that!” : ON IT!
21 Comedy counterpart : DRAMA
23 “That’s What I Want” singer Lil __ X : NAS
24 Oil cartel letters : OPEC
27 __-ray disc : BLU
28 Pasta dish with bacon, eggs, and cheese : CARBONARA
29 Illegal cooperation : COLLUSION
30 UFC fighting style : MMA
31 __-Wan Kenobi : OBI
32 Commercial flop : DUD
34 “Didn’t I warn you?” : SEE?
36 Retail therapy session : SPREE
37 In addition : ALSO
41 Sunflower Showdown sch. : KSU
43 Takes over by force : USURPS
44 Whiskey barrel : CASK
45 Winter river blockage : ICE DAM
46 Assists : HELPS
47 Absurdist comedy : FARCE
48 Anticipate with fear : DREAD
49 Multicolored horse : ROAN
50 Moon-related : LUNAR
51 Computer character set : ASCII
55 In the mail : SENT
57 Tot’s dinner garb : BIB
58 13.7 billion years, for our universe : AGE