LA Times Crossword 5 Jun 20, Friday

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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Notch

Themed answers are each common phrases, but with the letter sequence “CH” removed from the end:

  • 45D V-shaped cut … or, in two parts, a hint to four long puzzle answers : NOTCH
  • 18A Result of severe yoga class over-registration? : THREE ON A MAT (from “three on a match”)
  • 30A Jeweler’s assurance about mounting one flashy gem? : IT’LL DO IN A PIN (from “it’ll do in a pinch”)
  • 36A Show whose wit is quicker? : BEAT TO THE PUN (from “beat to the punch”)
  • 52A Dander-sensitive visitor’s query at the doorway? : IS THERE A CAT? (from “Is there a catch”)

Bill’s time: 8m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Texter’s “Holy moly!” : OMG!

“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might care to use …

14 Batman after Michael : VAL

Michael Keaton is an actor from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. Keaton is perhaps best known for roles he played in Tim Burton films. Keaton had the title role in “Beetlejuice” in 1988, and the title role in “Batman” in 1989 and “Batman Returns” in 1992.

Val Kilmer’s first big leading role in a movie was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors”. A few years later, Kilmer was chosen for the lead in another big production, “Batman Forever”. Things haven’t really gone as well for Kilmer since then, I’d say. Off the screen, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010. A Hollywood actor as a governor? Would never happen …

15 Liszt creation : ETUDE

An étude is a short instrumental composition that is usually quite hard to play and is intended to help the performer master a particular technique. “Étude” is the French word for “study”. Études are commonly performed on the piano.

Franz Liszt was the original creator of the single-movement work known as a symphonic or tone poem. A symphonic poem is a musical piece usually based on another work, perhaps a play, story or poem. Liszt wrote the tone poem “Hamlet” in 1858, which was intended to be an introduction to Shakespeare’s play.

16 Sister of Thalia : ERATO

In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

  • Calliope (epic poetry)
  • Clio (history)
  • Erato (lyric poetry)
  • Euterpe (music)
  • Melpomene (tragedy)
  • Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
  • Terpsichore (dance)
  • Thalia (comedy)
  • Urania (astronomy)

Before the adoption of the nine muses of Greek mythology, there were originally three muses, the three Boeotian Muses. These were:

  • Mneme (memory)
  • Melete (meditation)
  • Aoede (song)

17 Brown URL suffix : EDU

The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

  • .com (commercial enterprise)
  • .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
  • .mil (US military)
  • .org (not-for-profit organization)
  • .gov (US federal government entity)
  • .edu (college-level educational institution)

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown has been around a long time, founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears, and their mascot is Bruno.

18 Result of severe yoga class over-registration? : THREE ON A MAT (from “three on a match”)

Three on a match is a superstition, one apparently dating back to the Crimean War. If three people light their cigarettes from the same match, then supposedly one of the soldiers would be killed. A further superstition, called “third on a match” was that the third soldier who gets the light would be killed. The rationale was that if an enemy sniper saw the light of a match, he would take aim as the first person takes the light, determine whether he was seeing friend or foe with the second lighting, and then shoot at the third lighting.

20 Like many SSA payment recipients : RET

The Social Security Administration (SSA) was set up as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The first person to receive a monthly retirement benefit was Ida May Fuller of Vermont who received her first check for the sum of $22.54 after having contributed for three years through payroll taxes. The New Deal turned out to be a good deal for Ms. Fuller, as she lived to be 100 years of age and received a total benefit of almost $23,000, whereas her three years of contributions added up to just $24.75.

22 Zion National Park sight : BUTTE

“What’s the difference between a butte and a mesa?” Both are hills with flat tops, but a mesa has a top that is wider than it is tall. A butte is a much narrower formation, and taller than it is wide.

To me, the most spectacular feature of southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park is the magnificent Zion Canyon. The canyon cuts through red Navajo sandstone and truly is a beautiful sight.

23 Thin man of rhyme : SPRAT

“Jack Sprat” is a nickname given in the 16th century to people of small stature. Jack featured in a proverb of the day:

Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane. Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.

Over time, this mutated into a nursery rhyme that is still recited in England:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.

25 Automaker whose Rambler sales were likely aided by the 1958 hit “Beep Beep” : NASH

“Beep Beep” is a 1958 song recorded by the Playmates. It is a novelty number about a Nash Rambler beeping away, trying to pass a Cadillac whose driver increases its speed as he is too proud to let a compact car overtake his luxury vehicle.

The Nash Rambler is credited with establishing a new segment in the North American auto market. It is often cited as the first successful American compact car.

29 Part of RNA : RIBO-

The two most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which play crucial roles in genetics. The DNA contains the genetic instructions used to keep living organisms functioning, and RNA is used to transcribe that information from the DNA to protein “generators” called ribosomes.

33 Dallas suburb : PLANO

Plano, Texas is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Settlers chose the name “Plano” in the 1840s. “Plano” is Spanish for “flat”, a reference to the terrain in the area.

40 Words from Caesar : ET TU

It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (meaning “And you, Brutus?”). They appear in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life (if anything at all) as he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

41 Whale’s mouthful : KRILL

Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that live in the oceans. Krill feed on plankton, and in turn, krill are the main part of the diet of larger animals such as whales, seals and penguins. There’s an awful lot of krill in the world, an estimated 500,000,000 tonnes of it. That’s about twice the biomass of humans on the planet!

42 Gemini, e.g. : SIGN

“Gemini” is the Latin word for “twins”.

46 Musical with the song “Endgame” : CHESS

The musical “Chess” is a very enjoyable show, with music written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (of ABBA fame) and lyrics by Tim Rice (of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita” fame). The story is about two chess masters, one American and one Russian, who face off against each other during the Cold War. Much of the action takes place in Bangkok at a World Championship Tournament, and there’s a woman, and a love triangle. I saw the show decades ago in the north of England, and recommend it …

50 God in the Vatican : DIO

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state that is walled off within the city of Rome. Vatican City is about 110 acres in area, and so is the smallest independent state in the world. With about 800 residents, it is also the smallest state in terms of population. Although the Holy See dates back to early Christianity, Vatican City only came into being in 1929. At that time, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy that established the city-state.

52 Dander-sensitive visitor’s query at the doorway? : IS THERE A CAT? (from “Is there a catch”)

Dander is microscopic material shed from an animal’s body. It is small enough to travel through the air, and becomes part of house dust. It is usually when traveling through the air that it can be breathed in by humans, and cause an allergic reaction. Dandruff is similar to dander, except that the skin that is shed comes from the scalp instead of the main body, and the flakes are larger in size.

55 U.K. singer Rita : ORA

Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.

56 Volga-Ural ethnic group member : TATAR

Tatars (sometimes “Tartars”) are an ethnic group of people who mainly reside in Russia (a population of about 5 1/2 million). One of the more famous people with a Tatar heritage was Hollywood actor Charles Bronson. Bronson’s real name was Charles Buchinsky.

57 Alpine mont : BLANC

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

58 Enterprise letters : USS

The USS Enterprise was Vice Admiral William Halsey’s flagship. She was also the ship that he was aboard in the Pacific when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Apparently, Halsey remarked right after the attack, “Before we’re through with ’em, the Japanese language will only be spoken in hell.”

61 __ Moines : DES

The city of Des Moines is the capital of Iowa, and takes its name from the Des Moines River. The river in turn takes its name from the French “Riviere des Moines” meaning “River of the Monks”. It looks like there isn’t any “monkish” connection to the city’s name per se. “Des Moines” was just the name given by French traders who corrupted “Moingona”, the name of a group of Illinois Native Americans who lived by the river. However, others contend that French Trappist monks, who lived a full 200 miles from the river, somehow influenced the name.

62 Rockefeller Center muralist : SERT

Catalan artist Josep Maria Sert was commissioned to paint a large mural for the west wall of the Grand Lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The work is titled “American Progress”, and features likenesses of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

63 Tupperware parts : LIDS

Back in the 1930s, Earl Tupper was working at the DuPont Chemical Company, and from DuPont obtained inflexible pieces of polyethylene slag. Tupper purified the slag and shaped it into unbreakable containers. He added airtight lids with a “burping seal” that provided tight seals similar to that provided by the lids on paint cans. He called his new product Tupperware.

Down

1 Flying foe of Godzilla : MOTHRA

Mothra is a giant moth-like monster that made its big-screen debut in the 1961 film “Mothra”. Mothra turns up quite often in “Godzilla” movies.

3 21-Across bonanza : LODE
(21A Natural resource : ORE)

A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The mother lode is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

A bonanza is a mine with a rich pocket of ore that can be exploited. “Bonanza” is the Spanish word for a rich lode, and we imported the term into English. “Bonanza” originally meant “fair weather at sea”, and from that came to mean “prosperity, good fortune”. Ultimately, “bonanza” comes from the Latin “bonus” meaning “good”.

4 Socially inept sort : DWEEB

“Dweeb” is relatively recent American slang that came out of college life in the late sixties. Dweeb, squarepants, nerd; they’re all not-nice terms that mean the same thing, i.e. someone excessively studious and socially inept.

8 Vegas array : SLOTS

Back in the 1800s, the Las Vegas Valley was given its name from the extensive meadows (“las vegas” is Spanish for “the meadows”) present in the area courtesy of the artesian wells drilled by local farmers. Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1905, in the days when it was a stopping-off point for pioneers travelling west. It eventually became a railroad town, although with the coming of the railroad growth halted as travelers began to bypass Las Vegas. The city’s tourism industry took off in 1935 with the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam, which is still a popular attraction. Then gambling was legalized, and things really started to move. Vegas was picked, largely by celebrated figures in “the mob”, as a convenient location across the California/Nevada state line that could service the vast population of Los Angeles. As a result, Las Vegas is the most populous US city founded in the 20th century (Chicago is the most populous city founded in the 19th century, just in case you were wondering).

9 Like bananas used for bread, often : OVERRIPE

The banana is actually a berry, botanically speaking. And, bananas don’t really grow on trees. The “trunk” of the banana plant is in fact a pseudostem. The pseudostem is a false stem comprising rolled bases of leaves, and it can grow to 2 or 3 meters tall.

11 Insatiable sort : GLUTTON

A glutton is a person who eats and drinks to excess, with the term “glutton” deriving from the Latin “gluttire” meaning “to swallow”.

12 Wyoming’s __ Range : TETON

Grand Teton National Park (NP) is located just south of Yellowstone NP, and a must-see if you are visiting the latter. The park is named after the tallest peak in the magnificent Teton Range known as Grand Teton. The origins of the name “Teton” is not very clear, although my one story is that it was named by French trappers, as the word “tetons” in French is a slang term meaning “breasts”.

13 Felt-tip marker pioneer : PENTEL

Pentel is Japanese company that is known for manufacturing pens and markers. Notably, Pentel invented the felt-tip pen in 1963.

19 Microsoft Office component : OUTLOOK

Microsoft Office is a suite of applications that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook,

24 Shellfish entrée : PRAWNS

The terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are often used interchangeably on menus. Over in the UK, the term “prawn” is most common, while “shrimp” is seen more often here in North America. Sometimes there is a differentiation from a food standpoint, with “prawn” being used for larger species and “shrimp” for smaller species. As a result, “jumbo prawns” seems to be an acceptable descriptor for a dish, whereas “jumbo shrimp” seems to be an oxymoron.

26 Break : HIATUS

A hiatus is a break or opening in a material object, or an interruption in time. “Hiatus” is Latin for “opening”.

31 Boomer? : TNT

“TNT” is an abbreviation for “trinitrotoluene”. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.

32 Fresh, to a Fräulein : NEU

In German, a “Fräulein” is an unmarried woman.

33 Lucy, a Clydesdale, in the comic “Non Sequitur,” for one : PET HORSE

“Non Sequitur” is an entertaining comic strip by Wiley Miller that has been published since 1992. The strip lost some of its publication outlets in 2019 when one of Miller’s panels included a hidden message aimed at President Trump that was far from respectful.

37 Harness racer : TROTTER

In harness racing, the horses race using one of two specific gaits, i.e. trotting or pacing.

39 Logical Queen : ELLERY

The Ellery Queen series of detective novels was somewhat unique in that Ellery Queen was the hero of the tales, and was also the pen name of the author. Actually, the “author” was a pair of writers; two cousins from Brooklyn, New York.

43 Security desk request : ID CARD

Identity document (ID)

44 NFL team that doesn’t play home games in the state it’s named for : GIANTS

The New York Giants (NYG) football team plays home games in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a stadium shared with the New York Jets (NYJ). The Giants are the only team remaining from a group of five that joined the league in 1925. For many years, the Giants shared team names with the New York Giants MLB team, before the baseball franchise moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season.

49 Rise up : REBEL

To rebel is to rise up. The term “rebel” comes from the Lating verb “rebellare” meaning “to revolt”. “Rebellare” comes from the prefix “re-” (against, opposite) and “bellare” (wage war).

54 Court game word : ALAI

Even though jai alai is often said to be the fastest sport in the world because of the speed of the ball, in fact golf balls usually get going at a greater clip. Although, as a blog reader once pointed out to me, you don’t have to catch a golf ball …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Italian sausage choice : MILD
5 Small amounts : BITS
9 Texter’s “Holy moly!” : OMG!
12 As of today : TO NOW
13 Code type : PENAL
14 Batman after Michael : VAL
15 Liszt creation : ETUDE
16 Sister of Thalia : ERATO
17 Brown URL suffix : EDU
18 Result of severe yoga class over-registration? : THREE ON A MAT (from “three on a match”)
20 Like many SSA payment recipients : RET
21 Natural resource : ORE
22 Zion National Park sight : BUTTE
23 Thin man of rhyme : SPRAT
25 Automaker whose Rambler sales were likely aided by the 1958 hit “Beep Beep” : NASH
27 Swarms (with) : TEEMS
29 Part of RNA : RIBO-
30 Jeweler’s assurance about mounting one flashy gem? : IT’LL DO IN A PIN (from “it’ll do in a pinch”)
33 Dallas suburb : PLANO
35 Asked for milk, maybe : MEWED
36 Show whose wit is quicker? : BEAT TO THE PUN (from “beat to the punch”)
40 Words from Caesar : ET TU
41 Whale’s mouthful : KRILL
42 Gemini, e.g. : SIGN
46 Musical with the song “Endgame” : CHESS
48 Obvious flirt : OGLER
50 God in the Vatican : DIO
51 Slice (off) : LOP
52 Dander-sensitive visitor’s query at the doorway? : IS THERE A CAT? (from “Is there a catch”)
55 U.K. singer Rita : ORA
56 Volga-Ural ethnic group member : TATAR
57 Alpine mont : BLANC
58 Enterprise letters : USS
59 Word before now and then : EVERY …
60 Heaven partner : EARTH
61 __ Moines : DES
62 Rockefeller Center muralist : SERT
63 Tupperware parts : LIDS

Down

1 Flying foe of Godzilla : MOTHRA
2 Accustoms (to) : INURES
3 21-Across bonanza : LODE
4 Socially inept sort : DWEEB
5 Dressed down : BERATED
6 How office directives may be relayed : IN A MEMO
7 Leaving word : TA-TA
8 Vegas array : SLOTS
9 Like bananas used for bread, often : OVERRIPE
10 Raised one’s auction paddle, say : MADE A BID
11 Insatiable sort : GLUTTON
12 Wyoming’s __ Range : TETON
13 Felt-tip marker pioneer : PENTEL
19 Microsoft Office component : OUTLOOK
24 Shellfish entrée : PRAWNS
26 Break : HIATUS
28 Requiring less effort : SIMPLER
31 Boomer? : TNT
32 Fresh, to a Fräulein : NEU
33 Lucy, a Clydesdale, in the comic “Non Sequitur,” for one : PET HORSE
34 Tardy student’s admission slip : LATE PASS
36 Muddle, as one’s judgment : BECLOUD
37 Harness racer : TROTTER
38 Sophisticated paintings, say : HIGH ART
39 Logical Queen : ELLERY
43 Security desk request : ID CARD
44 NFL team that doesn’t play home games in the state it’s named for : GIANTS
45 V-shaped cut … or, in two parts, a hint to four long puzzle answers : NOTCH
47 Locations : SITES
49 Rise up : REBEL
53 Store for future use : SAVE
54 Court game word : ALAI