LA Times Crossword 1 Mar 23, Wednesday

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Constructed by: August Miller
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Gender Creative

Themed answers each include a CREATIVE version (anagram) of the letter string “GENDER” hidden within:

  • 52A Not conforming to traditional male/female norms, and a hint to this puzzle’s circles : GENDER CREATIVE
  • 16A Brilliant artist beset by personal demons, say : TORTURED GENIUS
  • 21A Activities Rudolph was kept from joining : REINDEER GAMES
  • 33A Southern part of the Mariana Trench : CHALLENGER DEEP
  • 43A Leafy side : COLLARD GREENS

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

Bill’s time: 5m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Zither kin : HARP

The zither is a stringed instrument, one in which the strings do not extend beyond the bounds of the sounding box. That means that the instrument has no neck, unlike a guitar.

15 __ palak: dish of potatoes and spinach : ALOO

Aloo palak is a dish from Indian cuisine. It consists of potatoes and spinach simmered with onions, tomatoes and spices.

18 Condition that may be treated with CBT : OCD

Apparently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, making it about as prevalent as asthma.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that has been found to be helpful in treating a wide range of mental health issues, including anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse.

20 Coding shortcut : MACRO

A macroinstruction (usually shortened to “macro”) is a set of instructions in a computer program that are abbreviated to one simple command.

21 Activities Rudolph was kept from joining : REINDEER GAMES

The song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written by Johnny Marks, and was based on the story created by Marks’ brother-in-law Robert L. May.

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.

24 Dudes : GUYS

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

25 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP Wilson : A’JA

Professional basketball player A’ja Wilson was the first pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, after which she signed for the Las Vegas Aces. She won Olympic Gold at the 2020 Olympics, and captained the Aces in 2022 when the team won their first league championship title.

26 Sagan who hosted the original “Cosmos” : CARL

“Cosmos: A Personal Journey” is a TV show co-written and presented by astronomer Carl Sagan. Originally airing in 1980, it was the most-watched series in the history of public television until Ken Burns started to produce his documentaries a decade later. Sagan’s opening words for the series are:

The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.

28 Little red Corvette or little deuce coupe : AUTO

“Little Deuce Coupe” is one of those hits that was recorded as a B-side. It’s a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian that was released by the Beach Boys in 1963 on the B-side to “Surfer Girl”. The title refers to the Ford Model B automobile. In the 1940s, the 1932 Ford Model B was regarded by many as the ideal hot rod. It was given the slang name “deuce coupé”, with “deuce” being a reference to the “two” in the “1932” model year.

30 “The French Dispatch” director Anderson : WES

“The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun” is a 2021 comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson. It features an ensemble cast including Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand. The film is set in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé and follows the story of a group of journalists who publish a weekly magazine called “The French Dispatch”.

33 Southern part of the Mariana Trench : CHALLENGER DEEP

Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth’s oceans, with a depth of approximately 36,070 feet. It is located in the Mariana Trench, which is in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Mariana Islands. The location is named for the HMS Challenger, a British surveying ship that conducted the first systematic study of the world’s oceans in the late 1800s. Only three people have ever descended to its depths, including filmmaker James Cameron in 2012, in the deep-submergence vehicle Deepsea Challenger.

40 “Don’t __ me started” : GET

Nor me …

41 20s dispensers : ATMS

The twenty-dollar bill is called a “Jackson” as it bears the portrait of President Andrew Jackson on the front side of the bill. Jackson’s image replaced that of President Grover Cleveland in 1928, and there doesn’t seem to be any record documenting just why that change was made. Over one-fifth of all notes printed today are twenty-dollar bills. The average life of a Jackson is a little over 2 years, after which it is replaced due to wear.

43 Leafy side : COLLARD GREENS

Collard greens are a type of leafy green vegetable that is part of the Brassica family, which also includes broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. They are a staple food in the Southern United States, where they are often cooked with smoked meats. Collard greens are one of the oldest vegetables in human cultivation. They were first grown in the Mediterranean region and were brought to the Americas by African slaves, who used them in their traditional cuisine.

50 Word on Irish coins : EIRE

Euro coins are issued by all the participating European states. The reverse side is a common design used by all countries, whereas the obverse is a design specific to each nation. For example, the one euro coin issued by Malta features the Maltese Cross. That Maltese euro is legal tender right across the eurozone. The Irish euro features a harp.

51 Issa of “The Lovebirds” : RAE

“The Lovebirds” is a 2020 romantic comedy movie starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani as a couple on the run after witnessing a murder. The film’s release schedule was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Netflix stepped in and bought it for online release. As a result, “The Lovebirds” was the top-streamed title on Netflix on the weekend it became available.

56 Prison drama that was Jonathan Demme’s directorial debut : CAGED HEAT

“Caged Heat” is a 1974 women-in-prison exploitation film that has gained a cult following over the years. It was the first feature film directed by Jonathan Demme, who would later go on to win an Academy Award for directing The Silence of the Lambs.

Jonathan Demme was best known for directing “The Silence of the Lambs” for which he won an Oscar. Demme’s next movie was “Philadelphia”, which won an Oscar for lead actor Tom Hanks.

57 Multitude in a pointillist painting : DOTS

Pointillism is a style of painting that grew out of Impressionism. The pointillist technique calls for the artist to use small, distinct dots of bold color to build up the image. Pointillism was developed in the late 1800s by the great French painter, Georges Seurat. You can go see his magnificent work “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” at The Art Institute of Chicago the next time you’re in town.

59 Norway’s most populous city : OSLO

Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiana. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling of the city’s name to “Kristiana”, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiana.

Down

2 Jim who sang “I Got a Name” : CROCE

“I Got a Name” is a song co-written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce that was released in 1973, just two days after his untimely death in a plane crash.

3 Time to celebrate with one’s krewe mates : MARDI GRAS

“Krewe” is the name given to an organization responsible for putting on parades and balls during Carnival celebrations. The most famous is the krewe that pulls together Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

4 First responder: Abbr. : EMT

Emergency medical technician (EMT)

6 “Easy on Me” singer : ADELE

“Easy on Me” is a 2021 song co-written and recorded by Adele. In the song, Adele is directly addressing her 9-year-old son, asking him to be “easy on” her following her divorce from his father.

7 Rodeo contestant : RIDER

“Rodeo” is a Spanish word that is usually translated into English as “round up”.

8 GIF alternative : PNG

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a popular image file format that supports lossless compression, meaning it retains all the image data and quality even after compression. PNG files were developed to replace GIF files, which have a limited color palette.

9 Land on an isthmus : PANAMA

The nation that we now know as Panama sits on an isthmus that formed about 3 million years ago. The isthmus was the result of a land bridge forming between North and South America as two tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust slowly collided. Man first attempted to create a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama in 1881, but the 48-mile long Panama Canal only opened for business in 1914.

The word “isthmus” (plural “isthmi”) comes from the Greek word for “neck”. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that usually connects two large land masses. The most notable examples of the formation are the Isthmus of Corinth in the Greek peninsula, and the Isthmus of Panama, connecting North and South America.

10 Painter Neel known for nudes : ALICE

Alice Neel was an American artist best known for her expressionistic portraits. Although Neel painted mainly female subjects, she did so using a female gaze, and her work is viewed as a reaction to the attitudes embodied in the male gaze.

The term “male gaze” describes the act of depicting women in artistic works as sexual objects for the pleasure of masculine, heterosexual viewer. The male gaze can manifest itself as perhaps a man behind a camera in a movie, a male character in a story, or male spectators of a work.

26 Hypo units : CCS

Anything described as hypodermic (such as “hypodermic needle”) is related to parts under the skin. The term “hypodermic” comes from the Greek “hypo-” meaning “under” and “derma” meaning “skin”.

Cubic centimeter (cc)

27 Fish at a sushi bar : AHI

Ahi tuna is also known as yellowfin tuna and is a popular fish for sushi and sashimi. However, due to overfishing, ahi tuna populations are at risk.

28 Anti-apartheid org. : ANC

The African National Congress (ANC) started out as the South African Native National Congress in 1912 with the goal of improving the lot of black South Africans. After years of turmoil, the ANC came to power in the first open election in 1964. Today, the ANC remains the ruling political party in South Africa,

Apartheid was the system of racial segregation used in South Africa from 1948 to 1994 that was designed to maintain white supremacy and control over people of color. “Apartheid” is an Afrikaans word meaning “apart-hood, the state of being apart”.

31 Fish at a sushi bar : EEL

Anyone going to a sushi restaurant can order all types of raw fish (known collectively as “sashimi”). However, eel is always served cooked, and that’s because the blood of eels contains a protein that cramps muscles if eaten. If the heart muscle “cramps”, the result can be death. The protein is easily rendered harmless by applying heat, i.e. by cooking.

34 Actress-turned-artist Sobieski : LEELEE

Leelee Sobieski is an artist and retired actress from New York City. Sobieski is a fluent French speaker, having learned from her father, a painter and former actor from France. Despite her success in Hollywood, Sobieski chose to step away from acting in 2012 to focus on her personal life and family, and her career as an artist. In the art world, she uses her married name, Leelee Kimmel.

35 “__ Jones Sings Lady Day”: 2001 album : ETTA

“Etta Jones Sings Lady Day” is an album recorded by American jazz vocalist Etta Jones in tribute to Billie Holiday, who was known as Lady Day. The album was released in 2001 and features some of Holiday’s most famous songs, including “Lover Man” and “God Bless the Child.”

36 Title for Judi Dench : DAME

Dame Judi Dench is an outstanding English actress who has appeared for decades in her home country on stage and screen. Dench’s film career took off in the nineties with a relatively trivial role as “M” in the James Bond series of films. Since then she has played leading roles in several excellent movies including “Shakespeare in Love”, “Mrs. Brown”, “Notes on a Scandal” and “Philomena”. Sadly, Dench suffers from a condition called macular degeneration, which has caused her to lose most of her central vision.

43 Gnarls Barkley singer-songwriter Green : CEELO

Gnarls Barkley is a duo made up of instrumentalist Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) and rapper CeeLo Green (aka Thomas Calloway). The name “Gnarls Barkley” is a melding of the individual names Prince Gnarls and Bob Gnarley. These names are parodies of Prince Charles and Bob Marley.

45 Summary at the start of a new season, e.g. : RECAP

To recap is to recapitulate, meaning “to retell or restate briefly”.

46 Mournful tune : DIRGE

A dirge is a slow and mournful piece of music, like perhaps a funeral hymn.

47 __ blockade : NAVAL

“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

53 TV pioneer : RCA

RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, played a significant role in the history of television as a pioneer in the industry. RCA developed and introduced the first electronic television system in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair. RCA also created the NTSC (National Television System Committee) broadcast standard, which was adopted in the United States in 1953 and is still used today for analog television broadcasting. Additionally, RCA produced the first color television sets in 1954.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Pinnacle : ACME
5 Zither kin : HARP
9 Is profitable : PAYS
13 Like a clown car’s passengers : CRAMMED IN
15 __ palak: dish of potatoes and spinach : ALOO
16 Brilliant artist beset by personal demons, say : TORTURED GENIUS
18 Condition that may be treated with CBT : OCD
19 Hand (out) : DOLE
20 Coding shortcut : MACRO
21 Activities Rudolph was kept from joining : REINDEER GAMES
24 Dudes : GUYS
25 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP Wilson : AJA
26 Sagan who hosted the original “Cosmos” : CARL
28 Little red Corvette or little deuce coupe : AUTO
30 “The French Dispatch” director Anderson : WES
33 Southern part of the Mariana Trench : CHALLENGER DEEP
37 Certain sib : SIS
38 Engrave : ETCH
39 With competence : ABLY
40 “Don’t __ me started” : GET
41 20s dispensers : ATMS
43 Leafy side : COLLARD GREENS
49 Unsettling, in a way : EERIE
50 Word on Irish coins : EIRE
51 Issa of “The Lovebirds” : RAE
52 Not conforming to traditional male/female norms, and a hint to this puzzle’s circles : GENDER CREATIVE
55 Burn balm : ALOE
56 Prison drama that was Jonathan Demme’s directorial debut : CAGED HEAT
57 Multitude in a pointillist painting : DOTS
58 Copied : APED
59 Norway’s most populous city : OSLO

Down

1 Person in a cast : ACTOR
2 Jim who sang “I Got a Name” : CROCE
3 Time to celebrate with one’s krewe mates : MARDI GRAS
4 First responder: Abbr. : EMT
5 First responders, e.g. : HEROES
6 “Easy on Me” singer : ADELE
7 Rodeo contestant : RIDER
8 GIF alternative : PNG
9 Land on an isthmus : PANAMA
10 Painter Neel known for nudes : ALICE
11 “What’s mine is __” : YOURS
12 Meh : SO-SO
14 In need of a doggy bath, maybe : MUDDY
17 Key with four sharps : E MAJOR
22 No longer valid : NULL
23 Garden entrance : GATE
26 Hypo units : CCS
27 Fish at a sushi bar : AHI
28 Anti-apartheid org. : ANC
29 “Gross” : UGH
30 Episodes on YouTube, say : WEB SERIES
31 Fish at a sushi bar : EEL
32 Hidden asset? : SPY
34 Actress-turned-artist Sobieski : LEELEE
35 “__ Jones Sings Lady Day”: 2001 album : ETTA
36 Title for Judi Dench : DAME
40 Moves smoothly : GLIDES
41 “Deal!” : AGREED!
42 Traction aid : TREAD
43 Gnarls Barkley singer-songwriter Green : CEELO
44 ” … unless you’d rather do something else” : … OR NOT
45 Summary at the start of a new season, e.g. : RECAP
46 Mournful tune : DIRGE
47 __ blockade : NAVAL
48 Take care of : SEE TO
49 Quaint oath : EGAD!
53 TV pioneer : RCA
54 However briefly? : THO’