LA Times Crossword 28 Apr 20, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Kevin Salat
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer(s): Triple Threat

The three themed answers each include circled letters that spell out THREATS:

  • 5D With 47-Down, multitalented Broadway star … or what’s “veiled” in this puzzle’s circles : TRIPLE …
  • 47D See 5-Down : … THREAT
  • 18A 1981 fantasy about thieves hopping through historical eras : TIME BANDITS (hiding “I MEAN IT!“)
  • 39A Many a millennial, now : THIRTYSOMETHING (hiding “TRY ME!“)
  • 60A “It’s taken care of” : YOU’RE ALL SET (hiding “OR ELSE!“)

Bill’s time: 5m 47s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

4 Canadian capital : OTTAWA

Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.

10 River to the Severn : AVON

There are actually four rivers called the Avon in England, but “Shakespeare’s Avon” lies mainly in Warwickshire, and so is sometimes known as the Warwickshire Avon. The name “Avon” comes from the Old English word “abona” meaning “river”. Stratford-upon-Avon was the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

The River Avon that flows in the southwest of England is sometimes referred to as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon. The extra wording is to distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in the country, including the famous one through William Shakespeare’s Stratford. The Lower Avon passes through the cities of Bristol and Bath.

The River Severn is the longest river in the UK (the Thames is second). The Severn rises in the Cambrian Mountains in the center of Wales and empties into the Bristol Channel at the Severn Estuary. Tributaries to the Severn include the Warwickshire Avon (“Shakespeare’s Avon”) and the Bristol Avon.

14 Sashimi choice : AHI

Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, although it can also be raw meat. The word “sashimi” translates literally as “pierced body”, which may be a reference to the practice of sticking the tail and fin to sliced fish to identify it.

16 Gossip columnist Barrett : RONA

Rona Barrett is a gossip columnist originally from New York City but who plies her trade in Southern California. Barrett started out with a gossip column that was syndicated in newspapers but then made a successful transition to television. She made regular appearances in news broadcasts and on her entertainment shows in the sixties and seventies.

18 1981 fantasy about thieves hopping through historical eras : TIME BANDITS

“Time Bandits” is a 1981 movie by former “Monty Python” team member Terry Gilliam. Gilliam directed and produced the film, and co-wrote the script with fellow “Monty Python” performer Micahel Palin. Former Beatle George Harrison wrote the song “Dream Away” especially for “Time Bandits”, and performed the song over the closing credits.

22 Hedgehogs and gerbils, often : PETS

Hedgehogs are spiny mammals that have adapted to a nocturnal life. Even though they have spines, hedgehogs are unrelated to porcupines. The term “hedgehog” arose in the 15th century. They are often found in hedgerows and have hog-like snouts, hence the name “hedgehog”.

23 Ski lodge mugful : COCOA

The beverages hot cocoa and hot chocolate differ from each other in that the latter contains cocoa butter, whereas the former does not.

26 The Auld Sod : EIRE

“Auld Sod” (meaning simply “old sod”) is a familiar term for Ireland, especially when referring to the country as one’s homeland from abroad. ‘Tis true …

27 Alternatives to teleprompters : CUE CARDS

The world’s first teleprompter was built in1950, and sold under the trademarked name “TelePromTer”.

34 Channel covering Capitol Hill : C-SPAN

C-SPAN is a privately-funded, nonprofit cable channel that broadcasts continuous coverage of government proceedings.

The designer of Washington D.C., Pierre L’Enfant, chose the crest of a hill as the site for the future Congress House. He called the location “Jenkins Hill” and “Jenkins Heights”. Earlier records show the name as “New Troy”. Today we call it “Capitol Hill”.

37 Site with posts : BLOG

Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more specifically it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) that then occupy the “front page” of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. “Blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”.

38 Green and brown garb, for short : CAMO

Our word “camouflage” (often abbreviated to “camo”) evolved directly from a Parisian slang term “camoufler” meaning “to disguise”. The term was first used in WWI, although the British navy at that time preferred the expression “dazzle-painting” as it applied to the pattern painted on the hulls of ships.

39 Many a millennial, now : THIRTYSOMETHING

The Millennial Generation are sometimes referred to as “Generation Y” (Gen-Y). Millennials were born after the “Gen-Xers”, from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

42 The Beatles’ “Abbey __” : ROAD

Abbey Road in London was named for Kilburn Priory and the Abbey Farm in the priory’s grounds. The road is famous for the Abbey Road recording studios used most famously by the Beatles. The band’s last studio album is called “Abbey Road”, and the famous cover photo depicts John, Paul, George and Ringo walking across the zebra crossing located just outside the studio.

43 Sicilian volcano : ETNA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcanoes in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I eat”.

44 Nickname for the MLB’s Angels : HALOS

The Anaheim Angels baseball team is today more correctly called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (LAA). The “Angels” name dates back to 1961 when the team was founded in the “City of Angels”, Los Angeles. When the franchise moved to Anaheim in 1965 they were known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and most recently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels are also known as “the Halos”.

45 Quarterback Dawson : LEN

Len Dawson is a retired AFL-NFL quarterback who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (originally known as the Dallas Texans).

50 Poet Langston with a Spingarn Medal : HUGHES

Langston Hughes was a poet active in the Harlem Renaissance, and someone who helped develop the literary form known as “jazz poetry”. His poem “I, Too, Sing America” was published in 1925.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–

I, too, am America.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) awards the Spingarn Medal every year, to honor outstanding achievement by an African American. The award was created in 1914 and is named for Joel Elias Spingarn, the NAACP’s first Chairman of the Board.

65 Hebrew prophet : ISAIAH

The Book of Isaiah is part of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Isaiah is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but many Muslim scholars consider Isaiah a prophet. Isaiah is widely regarded as the most eloquent of the prophets, earning him the moniker “Shakespeare of the Prophets”.

68 Contribute to a GoFundMe campaign, e.g. : DONATE

GoFundMe is what is known as a crowdfunding website, and is based in San Diego.

Down

1 Ice-creamy drinks : MALTS

Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, back in 1922.

2 Chicago hub : O’HARE

O’Hare International was the world’s busiest airport from 1963 to 1998. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 and 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built, there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD (OR-chard D-ouglas). Orchard Place Airport was renamed to O’Hare International in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare who grew up in Chicago. O’Hare was the US Navy’s first flying ace and a Medal of Honor recipient in WWII.

3 “Inside Out” (2015) studio : PIXAR

“Inside Out” is a 2015 Pixar animated feature film. It’s all about a young girl who relocates with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco. The movie’s action is actually set inside the girl’s head, as five personified emotions deal with the changes she has to face. Those emotions are voiced by:

  • Amy Poehler (Joy)
  • Phyllis Smith (Sadness)
  • Lewis Black (Anger)
  • Bill Hader (Fear)
  • Mindy Kaling (Disgust)

5 With 47-Down, multitalented Broadway star … or what’s “veiled” in this puzzle’s circles : TRIPLE …
(47D See 5-Down : … THREAT)

In the performing arts, a person who excels at acting, singing and dancing might be referred to as a “triple threat”. A list of triple threats might include Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep and Hugh Jackman.

6 Heavy book : TOME

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

7 Help with a robbery, say : ABET

The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

8 Halloween decor : WEBS

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”.

9 Cavity-fighting org. : ADA

American Dental Association (ADA)

13 Artemis lunar program org. : NASA

NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. Artemis is viewed as a step along the road to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

19 TV maritime drama : NCIS

NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which investigates crimes in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The service gives its name to the CBS TV show “NCIS”, a spin-off drama from “JAG” in which the main “NCIS” characters were first introduced. The big star in “NCIS” is the actor Mark Harmon. “NCIS” is now a franchise, with spin-off shows “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans”.

21 Captain Jean-Luc of the Enterprise : PICARD

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.

34 Key near Alt : CTRL

Ctrl-Alt-Delete is a keyboard command on IBM PC compatible systems used for a soft reboot, or more recently to bring up the task manager in the Windows operating system. Bill Gates tells us that the command was originally just a device to be used during development and was never meant to “go live”. He once said that “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” was a mistake, and that he would have preferred a dedicated key on the keyboard that carried out the same function.

35 Adidas product : SHOE

The Adidas brand dates back to when Adolf “Adi” Dassler started making his own sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room in Bavaria after returning from WWI. With his brother, Adi founded Dassler shoes. The company’s big break came in 1936 at the Berlin Olympics, when Adi persuaded American sprinter Jesse Owens to use his shoes, and with the success of Jesse Owens came success for the fledgling shoe company. After WWII the brothers split, acrimoniously. Adi’s brother, Ru-dolf Da-ssler, formed “Ruda” shoes (later to become Puma), and Adi Das-sler formed “Adidas”.

40 Desires : YENS

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

41 “… wherefore art __ Romeo?” : THOU

In the balcony scene in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet utters the famous line:

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Every school kid must have commented with a giggle “he’s down in the garden!” Of course, “wherefore” isn’t an archaic word for “where”, but rather an old way of saying “why”. So Juliet is asking, “Why art thou Romeo, a Montague, and hence a sworn enemy of the Capulets?”

53 Police car, usually : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in the UK), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

54 Little fella : TYKE

“Tyke” has been used playfully to describe a young child since at least 1902, but for centuries before that a tyke was a cur or mongrel, or perhaps a lazy or lower-class man.

55 New Rochelle college : IONA

Iona College is a Roman Catholic school run by Christian Brothers in New Rochelle, New York. The school’s sports teams are called the Iona Gaels, and the team mascot goes by the name “Killian”.

56 Part of aka : ALSO

Also known as (aka)

57 Spanish dessert : FLAN

Flan (also “crème caramel”) is a delicious dessert comprising a molded custard topped with a clear caramel sauce. The related crème brûlée is a dessert made from molded custard with a hard, burnt caramel layer on top.

58 Home of the world’s six tallest buildings : ASIA

The world’s tallest buildings are, as of 2019:

  1. Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2,717 ft.)
  2. Shanghai Tower in Shanghai (2,073 ft.)
  3. Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Mecca (1,971 ft.)
  4. Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen (1,965 ft.)
  5. Goldin Finance in Tianjin (1,957 ft.)

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Disorderly do : MOP
4 Canadian capital : OTTAWA
10 River to the Severn : AVON
14 Sashimi choice : AHI
15 Investigated deeply : PROBED
16 Gossip columnist Barrett : RONA
17 Derelict in one’s duty : LAX
18 1981 fantasy about thieves hopping through historical eras : TIME BANDITS
20 Ensnare : TRAP
22 Hedgehogs and gerbils, often : PETS
23 Ski lodge mugful : COCOA
24 Story in installments : SERIAL
26 The Auld Sod : EIRE
27 Alternatives to teleprompters : CUE CARDS
31 Stick-in-the-__ : MUD
34 Channel covering Capitol Hill : C-SPAN
37 Site with posts : BLOG
38 Green and brown garb, for short : CAMO
39 Many a millennial, now : THIRTYSOMETHING
42 The Beatles’ “Abbey __” : ROAD
43 Sicilian volcano : ETNA
44 Nickname for the MLB’s Angels : HALOS
45 Quarterback Dawson : LEN
46 Patent pursuer : INVENTOR
48 10:1 or 5:2 : ODDS
50 Poet Langston with a Spingarn Medal : HUGHES
54 __ wave : TIDAL
56 In the distance : AFAR
59 Gutter locale : EAVE
60 “It’s taken care of” : YOU’RE ALL SET
63 No longer edible : BAD
64 A midi covers it : KNEE
65 Hebrew prophet : ISAIAH
66 State east of Wash. : IDA
67 Grub : EATS
68 Contribute to a GoFundMe campaign, e.g. : DONATE
69 Boxing count : TEN

Down

1 Ice-creamy drinks : MALTS
2 Chicago hub : O’HARE
3 “Inside Out” (2015) studio : PIXAR
4 Decide : OPT
5 With 47-Down, multitalented Broadway star … or what’s “veiled” in this puzzle’s circles : TRIPLE …
6 Heavy book : TOME
7 Help with a robbery, say : ABET
8 Halloween decor : WEBS
9 Cavity-fighting org. : ADA
10 Zeal : ARDOR
11 Phone message : VOICE MAIL
12 Suspicious of : ONTO
13 Artemis lunar program org. : NASA
19 TV maritime drama : NCIS
21 Captain Jean-Luc of the Enterprise : PICARD
25 Uncle’s love : AUNT
26 Cube part : EDGE
28 19-Down network : CBS TV
29 Solo : ALONE
30 Like some clock numerals : ROMAN
32 “Sorry, that’s not happening” : UM, NO
33 Pooches : DOGS
34 Key near Alt : CTRL
35 Adidas product : SHOE
36 Keyboard work for two : PIANO DUET
38 Dead battery’s need : CHARGE
40 Desires : YENS
41 “… wherefore art __ Romeo?” : THOU
46 Doing nothing : IDLE
47 See 5-Down : … THREAT
49 Challenges : DARES
51 Checking for messages, e.g. : HABIT
52 Dodge : EVADE
53 Police car, usually : SEDAN
54 Little fella : TYKE
55 New Rochelle college : IONA
56 Part of aka : ALSO
57 Spanish dessert : FLAN
58 Home of the world’s six tallest buildings : ASIA
61 Assistance : AID
62 None of __ above : THE