LA Times Crossword 7 Jun 22, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Robin Stears
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Get Out of Here

Themed answers each end with somewhere one might “GET OUT OF …”:

  • 54A “Shoo!,” and an instruction that goes with the last words of the answers to the starred clues : GET OUT OF HERE!
  • 19A *Social media time-out : FACEBOOK JAIL (giving “get out of jail”)
  • 26A *Channel bottom : CREEK BED (giving “get out of bed”)
  • 34A *Area of Hersheypark with the Candymonium roller coaster : CHOCOLATE TOWN (giving “get out of town”)
  • 47A *Bit of trickery on a return : TAX DODGE (giving “get out of Dodge”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Multivitamin mineral : ZINC

The metal zinc is an essential trace element in the human diet. There are 2-4 grams of zinc in the body typically, with the highest concentrations in the eyes and the male prostate gland.

“Vitamins” are substances that are “vital” to life in small quantities. The term “vitamine” was coined in 1912 by Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist who isolated several essential chemicals, all of which he assumed were amines. When it was later determined that these vital micronutrients were not all amines, then the letter E was dropped from “vitamine” to give us “vitamin”.

12 Rachael Ray sauteing initialism : EVOO

Virgin olive oil is oil produced from olives with no chemical treatment involved in the production process at all. To be labeled “virgin”, the oil must have an acidity level of less than 2% and must be judged to have “a good taste”. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production, and is the portion with acidity levels of less than 0.8% acidity that is judged to have “superior taste”.

“Sauté” is a French word. The literal translation from the French is “jumped” or “bounced”, a reference to the tossing of food while cooking it in a frying pan.

Rachael Ray is a celebrity chef and host of several shows on the Food Network television channel. Ray comes from a family that owned and managed a number of restaurants in the northeast of the country. One of Ray’s TV shows is “$40 a Day”, in which she demonstrates how to visit various cities in North America and Europe and eat three meals and a snack on a daily budget of just $40.

13 Ranch rope : LARIAT

Our word “lariat” comes from the Spanish “la reater” meaning “the rope”.

15 “Knives Out” actress de Armas : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

“Knives Out” is an intriguing murder mystery film released in 2019. There’s a great cast including Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer. I really enjoyed this one, partly because it’s a clever, contemporary take on a classic whodunit movie …

16 Foam ball brand : NERF

Nerf is a soft material used in a whole series of toys designed for “safe” play indoors. The Nerf product is used to make darts, balls and ammunition for toy guns. “NERF” is an acronym, standing for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam.

17 Kampala’s country : UGANDA

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda. The airport that serves Kampala is in the town of Entebbe. Entebbe airport is well known for the daring hostage-rescue carried out by Israeli Defense Forces in 1976 following a hijacking.

18 Pro Bowl org. : NFL

The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl is the NFL’s all-star game, and is played towards the end of the season around the time of the Super Bowl. The rules for the Pro Bowl differ from normal NFL games, in order to make the game safer. Apparently, NFL owners don’t want their players getting injured when they’re not playing for their own team.

30 Frozen rain : SLEET

Apparently, “sleet” is a term used to describe two different weather conditions. One is a shower of ice pellets that are smaller than hail, and the second is a mixture of rain and snow, with the snow melting as it falls.

31 How-__: DIY guides : TOS

Back in Ireland, we don’t have “hardware stores” as such, but rather “DIY centres” (and that’s the spelling of “centres”). “DIY” is an initialism standing for “do-it-yourself”.

32 “Life of Pi” director Ang : LEE

Taiwanese director Ang Lee sure has directed a mixed bag of films, mixed in terms of genre but not in terms of quality. He was at the helm for such classics as “Sense & Sensibility” (my personal favorite), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hulk”, “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi”.

The 2012 movie “Life of Pi” is based on a 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The “Pi” in the title is an Indian boy named Pi Patel who finds himself adrift for 227 days in a small boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

33 Jazz poet Scott-Heron : GIL

Gil Scott-Heron was a jazz poet and musician who is best remembered as a spoken word performer from the seventies and eighties. Scott-Heron’s most famous work is the poem and song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, the title of which became a popular slogan for the Black Power movements in the sixties.

34 *Area of Hersheypark with the Candymonium roller coaster : CHOCOLATE TOWN (giving “get out of town”)

When Milton S. Hershey founded the town of Hershey in 1903, he allocated a substantial tract of land to be developed as a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate factory. Hershey Park formally opened in 1906 featuring landscaped gardens, a boating lake and walking paths. The park’s first ride was installed in 1908, and its first roller coaster in 1923. Hershey Park fell largely into disuse in the 1960s, until a redevelopment plan was launched in 1971. As a result of the plan, the park was gated, a one-price admission was introduced, and the name changed to “Hersheypark”.

40 Half an umlaut : DOT

An umlaut (also “diaeresis”) is a diacritical mark consisting of two horizontal dots placed over a letter, usually a vowel. Here in the West, we are perhaps most familiar with umlauts in German, as in “Schön”.

41 “Blue Bloods” actor Cariou : LEN

Len Cariou is a Canadian actor who is famous for his Broadway portrayal of “Sweeney Todd”. I most recognize Cariou from supporting roles in “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Thirteen Days”, two great movies.

“Blue Bloods” is a police drama series about a family of police officers led by Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, played by Tom Selleck. The show first aired in 2010.

42 Thumbs-up at NASA : A-OK

Our term “A-OK” is supposedly an abbreviation for “A(ll systems are) OK”, and arose at NASA in the sixties during the space program.

47 *Bit of trickery on a return : TAX DODGE (giving “get out of Dodge”)

The phrase “get out of Dodge”, meaning “scram, flee”, is a reference to Dodge City, Kansas. The phrase became a cliché on TV westerns (mainly “Gunsmoke”, I think) and was then popularized by teenagers in the sixties and seventies.

53 Printer brand : EPSON

Seiko Epson is a Japanese company, and one of the largest manufacturers of printers in the world. The company has its roots in the watch business, roots that go back to 1942. Seiko was chosen as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was asked to supply a timer that produced a printed record. This request brought Seiko into the business of printer production. The company developed the world’s first mini-printer for the 1964 Games and called it EP-101 (with “EP” standing for Electronic Printer). In 1975 Seiko introduced the next generation of EP printers which was called EPSON, from “SON of EP”. Cute, huh?

59 “__ Rouge!”: Kidman film : MOULIN

“Moulin Rouge!” is a musical film that was released in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman as the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and Ewan McGregor as the young man who falls in love with her. Although set in the early 1900s, the film uses many, many contemporary songs. There were so many that it took the producers almost two years to secure the rights to use the music.

64 MSNBC journalist Melber : ARI

Ari Melber is a television journalist and the chief legal correspondent for MSNBC. He started hosting his own daily show called “The Beat with Ari Melber” in 2017.

66 Actor McGregor : EWAN

Ewan McGregor is a very talented Scottish actor, one who got his break in the 1996 film “Trainspotting”. McGregor’s first big Hollywood role was playing the young Obi-Wan-Kenobi in the “Star Wars” prequels. Less known is his televised marathon motorcycle journey from London to New York via central Europe, Ukraine, Siberia, Mongolia and Canada. The 2004 trip was shown as “Long Way Round” on TV. McGregor did a similar trip in 2007 called “Long Way Down”, which took him and the same traveling companion from the north of Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa.

67 “Science Guy” Bill : NYE

That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. Bill’s show ran on PBS for four years, from 1993-97.

68 Papaya discard : SEED

The papaya is the fruit of the Carica papaya, a large tree-like plant that is native to southern Mexico and Central America. One traditional use of papaya is as a meat tenderizer. The fruit and sap contain the enzyme papain that breaks down meat fibers. Papain is used today as a component in powdered meat tenderizers.

69 Many an auctioned auto, for short : REPO

Repossession (repo)

Down

1 Super chill, informally : ZEN

\Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

5 Stuffing herb : SAGE

In Britain and Ireland, sage is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

6 Many a Moroccan : ARAB

The country of Morocco is located in North Africa, but lies just 9 miles south of Spain. Spain and Morocco, and hence Europe and Africa, are separated by those 9 miles across the Mediterranean Sea known as the Straits of Gibraltar.

8 “Wonder Woman” star Gal : GADOT

Gal Gadot is an actress and former Miss Israel. She played Gisele Yashar in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise, and then began portraying Wonder Woman in superhero movies.

9 Cocktail party bite : CANAPE

A canapé is a finger food, something small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original canapés were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny couch.

Our word “cocktail” first appeared in the early 1800s. The exact origin of the term is not clear, but it is thought to be a corruption of the French word “coquetier” meaning “egg cup”, a container that was used at that time for serving mixed drinks.

11 “Swan Lake,” for one : BALLET

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “Swan Lake” tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

13 “Star Trek” captain Jean-__ Picard : LUC

When Gene Roddenberry was creating the “Star Trek” spin-off series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, I think he chose a quite magnificent name for the new starship captain. “Jean-Luc Picard” is imitative of one or both of the twin-brother Swiss scientists Auguste and Jean Felix Piccard. The role of Picard was played by the wonderful Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart.

21 Dessert that quivers : JELL-O

If you like Jell-O, then you might want to stop by LeRoy, New York where you can visit the only Jell-O museum in the world. While at the museum, you can walk along the Jell-O Brick Road …

23 Shoe with lots of holes : CROC

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I recently bought my first pair of crocs, and now my kids won’t talk to me …

27 Rorschach test component : BLOT

The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which a subject is asked to interpret a series of inkblots. The test was created by Swiss Freudian psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach in the 1920s.

33 Group with fortysomethings : GEN-X

The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

36 Halloween garb : COSTUME

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows’ Eve, better known by the Scottish term “Halloween”.

37 Spill the __: gossip : TEA

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

43 Jeong of “Community” : KEN

Ken Jeong is an actor from Detroit who is perhaps best known for playing the gangster Leslie Chow in the “The Hangover” series of films. Jeong isn’t only an actor; he has an M.D. degree and is a licensed physician in California.

“Community” is a sitcom that first aired in 2009. It is about a community college (hence the title) in the fictional town of Greendale, Colorado. I haven’t seen this one, but I hear good things …

44 Crocheted coverlet : AFGHAN

An afghan is a blanket or a wrap that is knitted or crocheted from very colorful yarns, and traditionally made in Afghanistan.

Crochet is the process of making a fabric using a hooked needle. “Crochet” is a French word meaning “hook”.

45 “Ramona the Pest” novelist Beverly : CLEARY

Beverly Cleary was a remarkably successful author of children’s books. Her first book, “Henry Huggins”, was published in 1950. Cleary passed away in 2021, just before her 105th birthday.

Ramona Quimby is a character in a series of “Henry Huggins” children’s novels penned by Beverly Cleary. As she became a little older, Ramona merited her own set of stories.

46 Blues and folk singer/songwriter Foster : RUTHIE

Ruthie Foster is a blues and folk singer from Texas. She served in the US Navy in her younger days, and sang in the naval band called Pride that performed at recruitment drives.

48 German article : DER

The definite article in German is der, die or das, for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. The indefinite article is ein, eine or ein, again depending on the gender of the noun. A further complication, relative to English, is that the masculine form (and only the masculine form) of the article changes when used in the accusative case, when used with the object of a sentence. The accusative forms are “den” and “einen”.

51 Jackets named for a British school : ETONS

An Eton jacket is usually black in color, cut square at the hips and has wide lapels. It is named for the design of jacket worn by the younger students at Eton College just outside London.

55 Chimney part : FLUE

The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that its opening is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition.

63 Ambient music pioneer Brian : ENO

Brian Eno was one of the pioneers of the genre of ambient music. Eno composed an album in 1978 called “Ambient 1: Music for Airports”, which was the first in a series of four albums with an ambient theme. Eno named the tracks, somewhat inventively, 1/1, 1/2, 2/1 and 2/2.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Multivitamin mineral : ZINC
5 Joined the choir : SANG
9 Corn discard : COB
12 Rachael Ray sauteing initialism : EVOO
13 Ranch rope : LARIAT
15 “Knives Out” actress de Armas : ANA
16 Foam ball brand : NERF
17 Kampala’s country : UGANDA
18 Pro Bowl org. : NFL
19 *Social media time-out : FACEBOOK JAIL (giving “get out of jail”)
22 Pinnacles : ACMES
25 Church topper : STEEPLE
26 *Channel bottom : CREEK BED (giving “get out of bed”)
30 Frozen rain : SLEET
31 How-__: DIY guides : TOS
32 “Life of Pi” director Ang : LEE
33 Jazz poet Scott-Heron : GIL
34 *Area of Hersheypark with the Candymonium roller coaster : CHOCOLATE TOWN (giving “get out of town”)
40 Half an umlaut : DOT
41 “Blue Bloods” actor Cariou : LEN
42 Thumbs-up at NASA : A-OK
44 Land measures : ACRES
47 *Bit of trickery on a return : TAX DODGE (giving “get out of Dodge”)
50 Move in a breeze, as a flag : FLUTTER
53 Printer brand : EPSON
54 “Shoo!,” and an instruction that goes with the last words of the answers to the starred clues : GET OUT OF HERE!
58 Skeptical laugh : HAH!
59 “__ Rouge!”: Kidman film : MOULIN
60 Written reminder : NOTE
64 MSNBC journalist Melber : ARI
65 Came afterward : ENSUED
66 Actor McGregor : EWAN
67 “Science Guy” Bill : NYE
68 Papaya discard : SEED
69 Many an auctioned auto, for short : REPO

Down

1 Super chill, informally : ZEN
2 “Now __ seen everything!” : I’VE
3 Neither’s partner : NOR
4 Dunkin’ serving : COFFEE
5 Stuffing herb : SAGE
6 Many a Moroccan : ARAB
7 Spanish boys : NINOS
8 “Wonder Woman” star Gal : GADOT
9 Cocktail party bite : CANAPE
10 Among one’s records : ON FILE
11 “Swan Lake,” for one : BALLET
13 “Star Trek” captain Jean-__ Picard : LUC
14 Doesn’t fight back : TAKES IT
20 Inquire : ASK
21 Dessert that quivers : JELL-O
22 Play a role onstage : ACT
23 Shoe with lots of holes : CROC
24 Netting material : MESH
27 Rorschach test component : BLOT
28 Fish that can swim backward : EEL
29 Handed out cards : DEALT
33 Group with fortysomethings : GEN-X
35 Poetic opening : ODE TO …
36 Halloween garb : COSTUME
37 Spill the __: gossip : TEA
38 Fistfuls of dollars : WADS
39 Thumbs-down at NASA : NO-GO
43 Jeong of “Community” : KEN
44 Crocheted coverlet : AFGHAN
45 “Ramona the Pest” novelist Beverly : CLEARY
46 Blues and folk singer/songwriter Foster : RUTHIE
48 German article : DER
49 Warm-up act : OPENER
51 Jackets named for a British school : ETONS
52 Shake awake : ROUSE
55 Chimney part : FLUE
56 Hurried, quaintly : HIED
57 Finish : END
61 Be indebted to : OWE
62 Slight touch : TAP
63 Ambient music pioneer Brian : ENO