LA Times Crossword 4 Jun 22, Saturday

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Constructed by: Annemarie Brethauer
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 14m 01s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Rogan josh meat : LAMB

Rogan josh is a curried, aromatic dish from Kashmiri cuisine that is made with red meat. The traditional Kashmiri recipe does not include tomatoes, but many western versions base the sauce on tomato.

14 Vinaigrette acronym : 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”.

A vinaigrette is a mixture of oil with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. A traditional mixture of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar forms a stable emulsion that is commonly used as a salad dressing. The term “vinaigrette” is a diminutive form of the French word “vinaigre” (meaning “vinegar”). Back in the 1800s, such a mixture was referred to as “French dressing”, a term that has evolved to describe a creamy dressing in contemporary American cuisine.

15 “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” writer Bender : AIMEE

“The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” is a 2010 novel by author Aimee Bender. Bender is known for creating surreal characters and stories, and it sounds like “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” is a great example. It is about a young girl who can taste the emotions of the food that she eats. Trippy, man …

16 Olympic leap : AXEL

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

17 Centerpiece of a Hogwarts ceremony : SORTING HAT

In the “Harry Potter” series of books, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is divided into four houses:

  • Gryffindor
  • Hufflepuff
  • Ravenclaw
  • Slytherin

Each student is assigned to a house by the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat initially placed young Harry into Gryffindor House.

19 First digit in a California ZIP code : NINE

ZIP codes were introduced in 1963. The acronym “ZIP” stands for “Zone Improvement Plan”, a name indicating that mail travels more efficiently when the codes are included in the postal address.

22 Khartoum waterway : NILE

Khartoum is the capital city of Sudan, and is located at the point where the Blue Nile and White Nile meet.

23 Mid-month day : IDES

There were three important days in each month of the old Roman calendar. These days originally depended on the cycles of the moon but were eventually “fixed” by law. “Kalendae” were the first days of each month, originally the days of the new moon. “Nonae” were originally the days of the half moon. And “idus” (the ides) was originally the day of the full moon, eventually fixed at the 15th day of a month. Actually, the ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October. For all other months, the ides fell on the 13th. Go figure …

24 Sullivan of “This Is Us” : CHRIS

Actor and musician Chris Sullivan is a member of the ensemble cast in the family drama TV show “This Is Us”. If you’re into GEICO ads, you might know Sullivan as the voice for the camel in the “Hump Day” spot.

“This Is Us” is a television drama that debuted in 2016. The storyline centers on three siblings and their parents. Two of the siblings are the surviving members of a triplet pregnancy. The parents decide to adopt a child born on the same day as the surviving siblings. The adopting family is white, and the adopted child is black.

27 Weather bureau tool : RADAR

Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called “Radio Detection And Ranging”, which was shortened to the acronym “RADAR”.

29 Calendar col. : FRI

The name “Friday” comes from an Old English word meaning “day of Frigg”. Frigg was a goddess from Norse mythology who was usually depicted as the wife of Odin.

32 Marla who plays second base for the Peaches in “A League of Their Own” : HOOCH

Marla Hooch is the character who plays second base in the marvelous 1992 film “A League of Their Own”. Marla is played by Megan Cavanagh.

“A League of Their Own” is a comedy drama film released in 1992 that tells a tale about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League active during WWII. The lead actors were Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. The film spawned one of the most famous quotes in movie history: “There’s no crying in baseball!”

35 Brut alternative : AFTA

Afta is a brand of shaving products in the Mennen range, which is owned by Colgate-Palmolive.

36 Butterflies-to-be : PUPAE

A pupa is a stage in the life of some insects. All four stages are embryo, larva, pupa and imago. Pupae can look like little dolls, hence the name. “Pupa” is the Latin for “doll”.

38 Tony-winning role for Heather Headley : AIDA

The rock musical “Aida” is based on Giuseppe Verdi’s original opera. It premiered in 1998 and is still performed today. Music is by Elton John and lyrics are by Tim Rice.

Heather Headley is a singer and actress who was born in Trinidad and who moved with her family to the US when she was in her teens. Headley won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2000 for playing the title role in Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida”.

41 Sharp scarps : CRAGS

A scarp is a steep slope or a line of cliffs, especially one created by erosion. An alternative name for the same feature is “escarpment”.

42 Paradise in literature : SAL

Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel “On the Road” is largely autobiographical, telling the story of Sal Paradise (Jack K.) and the road trips that he and his friends took across the country in the fifties.

43 Javelin, essentially : SPEAR

A javelin is a light spear used as a long-range throwing weapon. That said, most of today’s javelins are designed for sporting use, in a competition to see who can throw the farthest.

45 Dad’s rival : HIRES

Hires Root Beer was introduced way back in 1876, making it the longest continuously-made soft drink in the country. The basic formulation was developed by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires.

Dad’s root beer was developed by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns in 1937, and was given the name “Dad’s” in honor of Klapman’s father who used to make root beer for his family at home.

47 “A Visit From the Goon Squad” novelist : EGAN

Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.

49 Venture capitalist’s dream : UNICORN STARTUP

In the world of finance, a unicorn is a privately-held startup company that has a value of over $1 billion. The derivative terms “decacorn” and “hectacorn” refer to companies with valuation of over $10 billion and $100 billion respectively. The use of the term “unicorn” reflects how unlikely such valuations are.

56 Psychological horror series starring Vera Farmiga : BATES MOTEL

“Bates Motel” is a television series that started airing in 2013. The show is described as a prequel to the famous 1960 Hitchcock film “Psycho”, although the TV adaptation is set in the modern day.

My favorite performance by film actress Vera Farmiga was in the 2009 film “Up in the Air”. In the movie, she played the love interest for the character played by George Clooney, and ended up with a nomination for that season’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

58 Site for finding home services : ANGI

Angie’s List is a website used by consumers to rate and research local businesses. The “list” was founded in 1995, originally as a call-in service and publication with reviews, by William S. Oesterle and the eponymous Angie Hicks. Angie’s List moved to the Internet in 1996, and by 2013 had 70,000 subscribers. The site was rebranded as “Angi” in 2021.

60 Part of one’s inheritance? : GENE

The set of all genes in a particular population is known as the “gene pool”, a term coined in Russian by geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s. In general, the larger the gene pool, the more diverse and robust the population.

61 “The Lady of Shalott” device : LOOM

“The Lady of Shalott” is a beautiful poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The storyline is based on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat. The opening lines are:

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky.
And thro’ the field the road runs by
To many-tower’d Camelot.

62 Eponymous museum founder : GETTY

J. Paul Getty was famous as an industrialist who made his fortune in the oil industry. Getty was also famous as a grandfather who had a grandson kidnapped for ransom. John Paul Getty III was 16 years old when he was taken in Rome in 1973. The ransom demand to his father was for $17 million, a sum that he had to ask from the child’s grandfather, as he was the one with all the money. Jean Paul Getty refused to pay and 4 months later an envelope was delivered to the family containing a lock of hair and an ear. The grandfather then entered into negotiations with the kidnappers, beat them down to $2 million, and the boy was released. Getty’s grandson never really recovered. He got into drugs, and an overdose left him speechless, blind and paralyzed. Sad story …

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is one of the most-visited museums in the country. Like many museums in developed countries these days, the Getty has been embroiled in disputes about ownership of artifacts. The curators of the Getty have gone so far as to repatriate some items in recent years, especially to Greece and Italy. The J. Paul Getty Museum has two locations. The Getty Center is the primary location, and houses art from the Middle Ages to the present. The associated (and beautiful) Getty Villa displays art from ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

63 __ buco : OSSO

“Osso” is the Italian word for bone, as in the name of the dish “osso buco” (bone with a hole), which features braised veal shanks.

Down

1 __ Fauves: Matisse group : LES

Fauvism was an art movement in the early 20th century characterized by “wild” brushwork and strong colors. The artists involved in the movement were known as “Les Fauves” (The Wild Beasts). The leaders of Fauvism were André Derain and Henri Matisse.

Henri Matisse was a French artist renowned for his contribution to modern art. In his early career, Matisse was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts” who emphasized strong color over realism in their works. He was a lifelong friend of Pablo Picasso, and the two were considered to be good-natured rivals so their works are often compared. One major difference between their individual portfolios is that Picasso tended to paint from his imagination, whereas Matisse tended to use nature as his inspiration.

3 “We’re Going to Need __ Wine”: Gabrielle Union memoir : MORE

Gabrielle Union is a successful American actress who is also an established author. She has written two memoirs (“We’re Going to Need More Wine” and “You Got Anything Stronger”) as well as two children’s books(“Welcome to the Party” and “Shady Baby”).

6 Designer Etienne : AIGNER

Étienne Aigner was a fashion designer from Hungary who launched his career in Paris after the end of WWII. He moved to New York in the early 1950s, where he spent the rest of his life.

7 Online qualifier : IMHO

In my humble opinion (IMHO)

10 Roman god associated with doors : JANUS

Janus was a Roman god usually depicted with two heads, one looking to the past and the other to the future. As such, as a god Janus is often associated with time. His two-headed image, looking in opposite directions, led to an association with the stepping in and out of doors to homes. That association also led to “ianua” becoming the Latin word for “door”. The Romans named the month of Ianuarius (our “January”) after Janus.

12 Glassmaker Lalique : RENE

The French jeweler René Lalique was also a glass designer and was well known for glass art, which included automobile hood ornaments. Lalique designed the art deco glass walls and columns in the dining room and grand salon of the SS Normandie. He also provided much of the interior art for St. Matthew’s Church on Jersey in the Channel Islands, so that it is sometimes referred to as “Lalique’s Glass Church”.

13 Blair Braverman vehicle : SLED

Blair Braverman is an adventurer, sled dog racer and advice columnist. She finished the celebrated Iditarod race in 2019. She also writes a regular advice column for “Outside Magazine”. Titled “Tough Love”, the column deals with relationships and the outdoors.

18 Like most of the cast of “Derry Girls” : IRISH

“Derry Girls” is a very entertaining teen sitcom set in a Northern Irish girls’ Catholic secondary school in the mid-nineties. Supposedly, the first season of “Derry Girls” was the most-watched TV show in Northern Ireland ever. It’s very, very entertaining, although some North American viewers might benefit from the use of subtitles …

Derry is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, after the capital city of Belfast. “Derry” is the anglicized version of the city’s name in Irish. The city’s legal name is “Londonderry”, a contentious name that was given when the city was granted a royal charter in the 17th century.

24 Pandemonium : CHAOS

The word “pandemonium” was coined in 1667 by John Milton in his epic poem “Paradise Lost”. It is the name he invented for the capital of Hell, “the High Capital, of Satan and his Peers”.

25 Pacino’s “The Irishman” role : HOFFA

Jimmy Hoffa headed off to meet with two Mafia leaders at a restaurant in a suburb of Detroit on July 30, 1975. The two men he was supposed to meet denied any appointment was made, and they were seen in public in other locations far from the restaurant. Hoffa was spotted by passers-by in the restaurant parking lot, the last time he was ever seen. His wife reported him missing later that night, and the resulting police investigation failed to find Hoffa or his body. Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982, seven years after he disappeared.

Al Pacino seems to be best known for playing characters on both sides of the law. Pacino’s big break in the movies came when he played Michael Corleone in “The Godfather”, a role that grew for him as the series of films progressed. But his Oscar-winning role was that of a blind ex-military officer in “Scent of a Woman”.

“The Irishman” is a 2019 Martin Scorsese crime movie starring the usual Scorsese suspects, namely Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Interestingly, comic actor Ray Romano has a significant supporting role in this film. “The Irishman” follows the life of a truck driver (De Niro) and his interaction with a mobster (Pesci) and Teamster kingpin Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).

29 Man on a mission : FRIAR

The term “monk” tends to be used to describe a male member of a religious order. More correctly, the term is limited to members of a community of men that lives a contemplative life apart from the world. The related term “friar” also applies to male members of a religious community, but friars work with the community at large.

40 Spanish pronoun : ESTO

In Spanish, if it’s not “esto” (this) or “eso” (that) then it’s the “otro” (other).

46 Curtain material : SCRIM

“Scrim” is the name given to that transparent fabric that hangs down onto a theater’s stage. It is often used with special lighting for various effects.

49 Eurasian range : URAL

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

50 Pitching gem : NO-NO

In baseball, a no-hitter (colloquially “no-no”) is a game in which one team fails to record even a single hit (and no runs). No-hitters are pretty rare, and only occur about twice a year in Major League Baseball. The related one-hitter is a game when one team records just one hit.

51 “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” speaker : IAGO

In William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Iago is the villain of the piece. At one point he readily admits this, saying “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse”. Here he is claiming to make money out of making fools of others. In this case, he takes money from Roderigo, who believes that Iago will help him bed Othello’s wife Desdemona.

52 DraftKings factoid : STAT

DraftKings and FanDuel are companies offering fantasy sports games and leagues.

53 Four Corners people : UTES

The Four Corners region of the US surrounds the meeting point of the four states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Four Corners is the only point in the US that is shared by four states.

57 A fire sign : LEO

Each of the twelve astrological signs is associated with one of the classical elements:

  • Fire signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
  • Earth signs: Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo
  • Air signs: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
  • Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Rogan josh meat : LAMB
5 Considerable care : PAINS
10 Tipping points? : JARS
14 Vinaigrette acronym : EVOO
15 “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” writer Bender : AIMEE
16 Olympic leap : AXEL
17 Centerpiece of a Hogwarts ceremony : SORTING HAT
19 First digit in a California ZIP code : NINE
20 “Do you see me smiling?” : WE ARE NOT AMUSED
22 Khartoum waterway : NILE
23 Mid-month day : IDES
24 Sullivan of “This Is Us” : CHRIS
27 Weather bureau tool : RADAR
29 Calendar col. : FRI
32 Marla who plays second base for the Peaches in “A League of Their Own” : HOOCH
33 “Give it all you’ve got!” : LET ‘ER RIP!
35 Brut alternative : AFTA
36 Butterflies-to-be : PUPAE
38 Tony-winning role for Heather Headley : AIDA
39 Like most dog parks : OFF-LEASH
41 Sharp scarps : CRAGS
42 Paradise in literature : SAL
43 Javelin, essentially : SPEAR
45 Dad’s rival : HIRES
46 Trick ending? : -STER
47 “A Visit From the Goon Squad” novelist : EGAN
49 Venture capitalist’s dream : UNICORN STARTUP
55 Surf sound : ROAR
56 Psychological horror series starring Vera Farmiga : BATES MOTEL
58 Site for finding home services : ANGI
59 Gather : AMASS
60 Part of one’s inheritance? : GENE
61 “The Lady of Shalott” device : LOOM
62 Eponymous museum founder : GETTY
63 __ buco : OSSO
Down
1 __ Fauves: Matisse group : LES
2 Swear : AVOW
3 “We’re Going to Need __ Wine”: Gabrielle Union memoir : MORE
4 Like herbal remedies : BOTANICAL
5 Advisory group : PANEL
6 Designer Etienne : AIGNER
7 Online qualifier : IMHO
8 “I like the way you think!” : NEAT IDEA!
9 Say when? : SET A DATE
10 Roman god associated with doors : JANUS
11 Graph line : AXIS
12 Glassmaker Lalique : RENE
13 Blair Braverman vehicle : SLED
18 Like most of the cast of “Derry Girls” : IRISH
21 Slight : MERE
24 Pandemonium : CHAOS
25 Pacino’s “The Irishman” role : HOFFA
26 “omg 2 funny” : ROTFL
28 Dominant : ALPHA
29 Man on a mission : FRIAR
30 Crest : RIDGE
31 “No thanks” : I PASS
34 All fired up : RARIN’ TO GO
36 Cheap cover for a textbook : PAPER BAG
37 Handle online : USERNAME
40 Spanish pronoun : ESTO
41 Win over : CHARM
44 Double-check : RETEST
46 Curtain material : SCRIM
48 Full of hot air : GASSY
49 Eurasian range : URAL
50 Pitching gem : NO-NO
51 “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” speaker : IAGO
52 DraftKings factoid : STAT
53 Four Corners people : UTES
54 Writes : PENS
57 A fire sign : LEO