LA Times Crossword 4 May 23, Thursday

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Constructed by: Max Schlenker
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Professional Education

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as teaching experiences from a professional in the field of zoology specified in the corresponding clue:

  • 17A Teaching surface for an ornithologist? : BILL BOARD
  • 27A Lecture given by an arachnologist? : WEB ADDRESS
  • 50A Demonstration given by a herpetologist? : SCALE MODEL
  • 64A Classroom icebreaker for a marine biologist? : SHELL GAME

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

Bill’s time: 6m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Produce duds? : SEW

“Duds” is an informal word meaning “clothing”. The term comes from the word “dudde” that was used around 1300 as the name for a cloak.

9 Graphic novel genre : MANGA

The Japanese word “manga” means “whimsical pictures” and is an apt term to describe the Japanese style of comic book. Manga publications are more diverse than American comic books and have a larger audience. Manga covers many subjects including romance, sports, business, horror, and mystery.

14 __-locka, Florida : OPA

Opa-Locka is a rather interesting city in Florida. Located near Miami, Opa-Locka has a themed city plan that is based on “One Thousand and One Nights”. The city hall has a very Arabian look, and some examples of street names are Ali Baba Avenue and Sesame Street.

17 Teaching surface for an ornithologist? : BILL BOARD

Ornithology is the scientific study of birds. The term “ornithology” comes from the Greek “ornis” meaning “bird” and “logos” meaning “theory, science”.

20 Org. co-founded by Helen Keller : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War. It grew out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB) that was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

Helen Keller became a noted author, despite being deaf and blind, largely through the work of her teacher Anne Sullivan. Keller was left deaf and blind after an illness (possibly meningitis or scarlet fever) when she was about 18 months old. She was to become the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The relationship between Sullivan and Keller is immortalized in the play and film called “The Miracle Worker”.

21 __-ball pens : UNI

Uni-ball is a brand of pens and pencils made by the Mitsubishi Pencil Company. The Mitsubishi Pencil Company is unrelated to the Mitsubishi Group company that makes so many products, including the Mitsubishi line of cars and trucks that we see on our roads.

22 Creamsicle flavor : ORANGE

A creamsicle is a popsicle with vanilla ice cream in the middle.

23 Writer Anaïs : NIN

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

27 Lecture given by an arachnologist? : WEB ADDRESS

Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, i.e. arthropods including spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks. The term “arachnology” comes from the Greek “arachne” meaning “spider” and “logos” meaning “theory, science”.

37 “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE

No one seems to be very certain of the origin of “that’s all she wrote”, meaning “there’s nothing more to be said”. One popular story is that it stems from the unfortunate “Dear John” letters that some soldiers received during WWII.

38 Private aid gp. : NGO

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

41 GOP org. : RNC

National leadership of the Republican Party is provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC). Only one former chairperson of the RNC has been elected to the office of US president, and that was George H. W. Bush.

43 AOC’s political party : DEM

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx, Queens and Rikers Island in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

44 Spa feature : SAUNA

As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word. It is pronounced more correctly as “sow-nah” (“sow”, as in the female pig).

46 Proxy : AGENT

Our word “proxy”, meaning “the agency of one who acts instead of another”, comes from the Latin “procurare” meaning “to manage”. So, “proxy” has the same root as our word “procure”.

48 Sidewalk stand drinks : ADES

Back in Ireland, the “pavement” is what we call the “sidewalk, footpath” (because the footpath is “paved”, often with “paving” stones!). It’s very confusing when you arrive in this country from Ireland, and a little dangerous when one has been taught from a young age to “walk on the pavement” …

50 Demonstration given by a herpetologist? : SCALE MODEL

Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles. The term “herpetology” comes from the Greek “herpeton” meaning “creeping animal” and “-logia” meaning “knowledge”.

52 Roof support beam : RAFTER

Rafters are the beams that slope from the ridge of a roof down to the tops of the supporting walls.

54 PD dispatch : APB

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

63 Repetitive musical piece : RONDO

A rondo was often chosen by composers in the classical period for the last movement of a sonata (or symphony or concerto, for that matter). In rondo form there is a principal theme that alternates with a contrasting theme(s). So, the original theme anchors the whole piece in between secondary digressions.

64 Classroom icebreaker for a marine biologist? : SHELL GAME

A shell game (also “thimblerig”) is a gambling game, at least at first sight. It is usually a confidence trick. Typically, a small ball is placed under three face-down containers on a flat surface. The containers are shuffled around, and a player wins if he or she can “follow the ball” and correctly guess which container has that ball. In an illegal street game, the operator will often use sleight of hand to fool the players. The alternative name “thimblerig” comes from the fact that the con was originally played out using sewing thimbles.

66 __-Saxon : ANGLO

Germanic tribes invaded Great Britain from the early 5th century and created the nation that we now call England. The Anglo-Saxons (sometimes simply “Saxons”), as these tribes came to be called, held sway in the country until the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Anglo-Saxons were descendants of three Germanic tribes:

  • The Angles, from Angeln in Northern Germany (and the tribe that gave the name “England”).
  • The Saxons, from Lower Saxony and Holland.
  • The Jutes, from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.

69 Scrooge, at first : MISER

Ebeneezer Scrooge is the main character in the novella “A Christmas Carol” By Charles Dickens. Through the course of the story, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, who show him the consequences of his miserly behavior. His name “Scrooge” has become a part of the English language as a term to describe someone who is stingy and mean with money.

Down

1 Buckwheat noodles often served chilled : SOBA

Soba is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. In Japan, the word “soba” tends to describe any thin noodle, in contrast with the thicker noodle called “udon”.

5 Circa : AROUND

“Circa” is a Latin word meaning “around, near, about the time of”. We use “circa” directly in English to mean “about the time of”, as well as in derivative words such as “circle” and “circus”.

6 Flatbread served with saag paneer : NAAN

Palak paneer is a dish from Indian cuisine. It consists mainly of paneer (a freshly-made cheese) in a puréed spinach paste. Saag paneer is a more generic form of the dish, one in which other leafy vegetables can be used to make the paste, e.g. mustard greens, collard greens or broccoli.

8 Ref. work whose “Concise” version has more than 1,700 pages : OED

Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.

9 Niña’s mother : MADRE

In Spanish, a “madre” (mother) might have a “niño” (boy) and/or a “niña” (girl).

10 Angular abode : A-FRAME

An A-frame house is one that has a steeply-angled roof, one forming the shape of the letter “A”. The A-frame design is popular in snowy regions, as the roof is so steeply pitched that it does not collect snow.

18 Like the Igbo calendar : LUNAR

The Igbo (also “Ibo”) people are an ethnic group living in southeastern Nigeria.

22 Director Welles : ORSON

Orson Welles is perhaps best-remembered in the world of film for his role in 1941’s “Citizen Kane”. In the world of radio, Welles is known for directing and narrating 1938’s famous broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”, a broadcast that convinced many listeners that the Earth was indeed being invaded by aliens.

26 __ projection : ASTRAL

An astral projection is an out-of-body experience. It is often associated with incidents of near-death and describes the phenomenon of the astral body leaving the physical body and traveling around the astral plane.

27 Sykes of “The Upshaws” : WANDA

Wanda Sykes is a very successful American comedian and comic actress. Interestingly, Sykes spent her first five years out of school working for the NSA. I saw her perform in Reno some years ago, and she is very, very funny.

“The Upshaws” is a sitcom co-created and starring stand-up comedian Wanda Sykes. The storyline revolves around a working-class family living in Indiana. Mom and Dad Upshaw are played by Kim Fields and Mike Epps.

29 Australian hunting tools : BOOMERANGS

The complete etymology of the word “boomerang” is a little unclear, but it definitely comes from the aboriginal name for a “returning throw-stick”. We tend to be impressed by the fact boomerangs, when thrown correctly, return to the thrower. In fact, it is likely that the first returning boomerangs were developed by accident, when thousands of years ago hunters were trying to change the shape of their weapons, in order to make them fly straight!

33 Streisand directorial debut : YENTL

“Yentl” is a play that opened in New York City in 1975. The move to adapt the play for the big screen was led by Barbra Streisand, and indeed she wrote the first outline of a musical version herself as far back as 1968. The film was eventually made and released in 1983, with Streisand performing the lead role.

45 Tusked Arctic swimmer : NARWHAL

The narwhal is a whale species in which the male has a large tusk. The “tusk” is actually a canine tooth that projects from the jaw through the lip. Usually only one tusk develops, on the left side of the jaw. Occasionally, a second tusk develops as well, on the right side of the jaw. The tusk is unlike a tooth in that it contains many nerves, making it a sensory organ. It is rarely used in an act of aggression.

47 Portable emergency kit : GO-BAG

A bug-out bag (also “go-bag”) is a portable collection of items that one would grab when evacuating from a disaster. One well-accepted guideline is that a bug-out bag contains all that would be needed to survive for 72 hours. A related kit is a get-home bag that might be kept in one’s car or place of work. A get-home bag contains the items needed to get back home in the absence of public transportation. My wife and I put together bug-out bags recently, having moved into an area that is at high risk for wildfires …

51 Philadelphia team : EAGLES

The Philadelphia Eagles were established in 1933 and joined the National Football League as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, also from Philadelphia. The “Eagle” name was inspired by the Blue Eagle insignia that was used by companies who were in compliance with the National Industrial Recovery Act that was central to President Roosevelt’s New Deal Program.

55 Mono- and sono- follower : -GRAM

A monogram is a design with two or more letters intertwined or combined in some way to make a single symbol. The term “monogram” comes from the Greek “mono” meaning “single” and “gramma” meaning “letter”.

A sonogram is an image made using ultrasound. “Ultrasound” is the name given to sound energy that has frequencies above the audible range.

56 Love of “The Real” : LONI

Loni Love is a comedian and TV personality from Detroit. She was the runner-up in 2003 on the relaunched “Star Search” show. In 2013, Love became one of the hosts of the daytime talk show “The Real”.

58 Nestlé bar with a bubbly texture : AERO

I must admit to having a weakness for Aero chocolate bars. Aero was introduced by Rowntree’s in the North of England in 1935. The “aero” name is a reference to the chocolate’s “bubbly” texture.

60 Hubble org. : NASA

The famous Hubble Space Telescope was installed in orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990. The telescope was named for the astronomer Edwin Hubble, the man who changed our view of the universe by postulating that the universe is expanding.

61 Gulf States dignitary : EMIR

The Persian Gulf is in effect an inland sea, although it technically is an offshoot of the Indian Ocean. The outlet from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean is one of the most famous maritime “choke points” in the world, and is known as the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s supply of petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

62 Basketball legend Jerry : WEST

Jerry West is a retired basketball player who played for 14 years with the LA Lakers. One of West’s nicknames is “The Logo”, as it is his silhouette that is used in the famous NBA logo.

64 Letters on a sunscreen bottle : SPF

In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

65 Mormon letters : LDS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is known colloquially as the Mormon Church.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Produce duds? : SEW
4 “I’ll show you!” : CAN SO!
9 Graphic novel genre : MANGA
14 __-locka, Florida : OPA
15 Speak from a lectern : ORATE
16 In progress, quaintly : AFOOT
17 Teaching surface for an ornithologist? : BILL BOARD
19 Source of some overhead footage : DRONE
20 Org. co-founded by Helen Keller : ACLU
21 __-ball pens : UNI
22 Creamsicle flavor : ORANGE
23 Writer Anaïs : NIN
25 Challenging words : DARE ME!
27 Lecture given by an arachnologist? : WEB ADDRESS
31 Not hard : EASY
34 Obsess over : ADORE
35 Spanish “these” : ESTOS
37 “That’s all __ wrote” : SHE
38 Private aid gp. : NGO
39 “Is that it?” : AND?
41 GOP org. : RNC
42 Relations : KIN
43 AOC’s political party : DEM
44 Spa feature : SAUNA
46 Proxy : AGENT
48 Sidewalk stand drinks : ADES
50 Demonstration given by a herpetologist? : SCALE MODEL
52 Roof support beam : RAFTER
54 PD dispatch : APB
55 “It’d be my pleasure!” : GLADLY!
57 Sign of puppy love? : WAG
59 Fresh : ANEW
63 Repetitive musical piece : RONDO
64 Classroom icebreaker for a marine biologist? : SHELL GAME
66 __-Saxon : ANGLO
67 Edited, with “down” : PARED …
68 Female sib : SIS
69 Scrooge, at first : MISER
70 Dental visit freebie : FLOSS
71 Sculpture, e.g. : ART

Down

1 Buckwheat noodles often served chilled : SOBA
2 Mind-blowing : EPIC
3 Safe spot : WALL
4 Ear piece? : COB
5 Circa : AROUND
6 Flatbread served with saag paneer : NAAN
7 Takes steps : STRIDES
8 Ref. work whose “Concise” version has more than 1,700 pages : OED
9 Niña’s mother : MADRE
10 Angular abode : A-FRAME
11 “We don’t care what you think!” : NO ONE ASKED!
12 Big bell : GONG
13 Suit to __ : A TEE
18 Like the Igbo calendar : LUNAR
22 Director Welles : ORSON
24 Brainstorms : IDEAS
26 __ projection : ASTRAL
27 Sykes of “The Upshaws” : WANDA
28 Trimmed, in a way : EDGED
29 Australian hunting tools : BOOMERANGS
30 Cut back : REDUCE
32 Perform well : SHINE
33 Streisand directorial debut : YENTL
36 Mischief maker : SCAMP
40 Mean-spirited : NASTY
45 Tusked Arctic swimmer : NARWHAL
47 Portable emergency kit : GO-BAG
49 Jockey’s seat : SADDLE
51 Philadelphia team : EAGLES
53 Trapdoor locale : FLOOR
55 Mono- and sono- follower : -GRAM
56 Love of “The Real” : LONI
58 Nestlé bar with a bubbly texture : AERO
60 Hubble org. : NASA
61 Gulf States dignitary : EMIR
62 Basketball legend Jerry : WEST
64 Letters on a sunscreen bottle : SPF
65 Mormon letters : LDS